“Hmph, so what if there’s gravity? I’ll still kill you!”
Liu Yan took two consecutive steps, but as he tried for a third, his face twisted in strain— he couldn’t move forward.
“Haha, that old fool looks hideous when he can’t walk!” Hu Yue, having dispersed her aura-mixing powder to reveal her youthful, slightly childish face, pointed at Liu Yan’s nose and snickered.
Liu Yan seethed, his eyes nearly spitting fire, but the gravity was too immense.
“Patriarch, I’ll kill him!” Liu He’s eyes surged with killing intent. Humiliating the patriarch was humiliating them all— as a top genius of the region, he couldn’t bear such disgrace.
Thud! Thud!
He slowly took two steps, each one a struggle. On the third, sharp pain ripped through him, his organs churning, and he spat blood.
“Hmm?” Seeing Liu He vomit blood, Liu Yan paused, startled. Taking a step himself, he grasped the trick and said to Liu He, “This place is strange— the higher your cultivation, the greater the gravity. The more steps you take in a row, the heavier it gets.”
“It’s a test of physical talent— don’t push past your limit!”
Liu Yan immediately warned his family. Though higher cultivation meant stronger gravity, as a Martial Venerable, his physique and talent were exceptional— he wouldn’t have reached this realm otherwise.
Yet even he could only manage two steps at once— a testament to the test’s difficulty.
Still, he was relieved. Liu He’s third step, surpassing him slightly, hinted that Liu He’s talent at the same realm might outstrip his own.
Once Liu He matured, the Liu family’s future would soar.
“He’s spitting blood, spitting blood, hahaha…” Hu Yue mocked loudly from ahead, her voice tinged with youth, pushing Liu He to spit another mouthful in rage.
Seeing the Liu family falter, Lin Xiao felt a surge of glee, feigning concern, “Little He, you alright? Not hurt, are you?”
“Hahaha…” Hu Yue doubled over laughing.
The Liu family fumed, eyes blazing with shame and anger.
The two brats mocked and insulted them from ahead, and they were powerless— infuriating beyond measure.
Nearby, the Ji family, Jade Fan Sect, and others wanted to laugh but couldn’t— partly due to their own struggles with the gravity, partly fearing Liu Yan’s wrath.
The black-robed Martial King youth, however, stood aloof, gazing at the scene with cold indifference, barely acknowledging even Lin Xiao ahead.
“Move— we can’t dawdle too long, or our vital qi will drain!” the Ji family patriarch spoke up. The constant gravity, even if their bodies could endure, would sap their vital qi over time.
“Take it step by step,” he instructed his family.
At his word, the Ji family began moving.
“Consecutive steps test talent? Liu He can’t fully manage three— but I can!” Ji Mo muttered, unwilling to lag as one of the four geniuses. He took three slow steps, but on the third, he too spat a muffled mouthful of blood.
Like Liu He, he couldn’t take three steps unscathed.
The gravity was simply too overwhelming!
Liu He snorted coldly. Another of the four regional geniuses— did Ji Mo think he’d outdone him?
Wishful thinking!
“Pfft!” “Pfft!” “Pfft!”
One after another, Liu family youths spat blood. A single step was too much for them.
“This…” The Ji patriarch’s face grew grave. Injured after one step— with two hundred metres ahead, how could they cross?
And retreat wasn’t an option— were these Ji family youths doomed to waste away here?
These were the Ji family’s elite!
His face twitched— he couldn’t bear to imagine it.
The Jade Fan Sect and Liu family looked equally grim. It seemed only a few could make it through.
That meant heavy losses of disciples.
“Move!” A white-robed elder from the Jade Fan Sect barked the order.
No matter how hard, they had to walk— staying put was death.
Qi Mubai aimed to outshine Liu He and Ji Mo but stopped after two steps.
He could feel the third step’s pressure— one more, and he’d spit blood like them.
“Brother Qi can only manage two? Seems he’s a cut below us!” Ji Mo, though injured, wasn’t badly hurt. After a brief recovery, he mocked Qi Mubai’s two steps.
“Heh, I’m not daft enough to spit blood for no reason,” Qi Mubai retorted with a sardonic laugh.
Ji Mo’s face darkened— his jab had backfired, leaving him to snort and fall silent.
“What rubbish geniuses— just a bunch of mutts!” the black-robed youth sneered, scanning the crowd with thick arrogance before stepping forward.
Then a second step.
Thud!
After the heavy landing, he took a third.
Thud!
The third step landed safely.
But his arrogance turned to shock, then dismay. Lifting a fourth step, he hesitated mid-motion and pulled back.
The crowd was stunned— even this true Martial King genius could only manage three steps without injury?
The Heavy Force Palace’s test was indeed terrifying— speeding through was impossible.
“Nothing special!” Liu He snorted, irked by the youth’s dismissal.
“Hmph, if I spat blood like you lot, I could take four steps too. Four versus three— a world apart, just like my Martial King second tier against your half-step!” the black-robed youth replied, brimming with confidence and disdain.
Liu He’s face sank, speechless.
To everyone’s shock, this youth was Martial King second tier— not first.
It underscored his prowess— each extra step in the Heavy Force Palace marked a vast talent gap.
Those taking two steps were patriarchs and Martial Kings; three with blood were the region’s top geniuses; three without were young Martial Kings.
Most others couldn’t take consecutive steps— many spat blood after one.
It proved the point— one step more meant a talent chasm.
“Hahaha, what are these idiots doing? Two or three steps and they’re knackered— didn’t they eat breakfast?” Hu Yue roared with delight.
“One step, rest— two steps, rest— at this pace, can you lot make it out by nightfall?” Lin Xiao’s mocking gaze swept the crowd, dripping with sarcasm.
