C19 The Beginning of the Breakthrough Competition

"However?"

A sense of foreboding crept into the hearts of the servant disciples gathered at the base of Peak-Bound.

At that moment,

Manager Bai, hovering in the air, opened his mouth and began to speak, "You must all grasp this concept: the greater the reward, the higher the price you pay. The prize for this year's Breakthrough competition is the richest it's been in a decade, but correspondingly, the challenge is immense. It's the sin of these ten years. To succeed, you must conquer the five hundred meter stretch of Bronze Warriors' Lane!"

Manager Bai's words struck the servant disciples like a bolt from the blue, leaving them stunned and speechless. It was as if a chill had doused their burning ambitions; the Bronze Warriors' Lane, with its eight hundred meters, small checkpoints every ten meters, and major checkpoints every two hundred and forty meters, had never required more than four hundred meters to pass in the past. Now, with just a few hundred meters added, the difficulty of the competition had more than doubled.

In an instant, all but a few prodigies lost their composure, their faces etched with worry. Martial artists like Tuoba Hong, in the early stages of the Fourth Layer, were particularly ashen-faced, their eyes hollow, hearts filled with nothing but despair.

Why? Why had it been so much easier before, when passing a three hundred and thirty meter stretch of Bronze Warriors' Lane meant advancing to the Outer Sect? Why had it become so arduous for them? It felt so unjust!

They seethed internally, yet none dared to voice their frustration; the lofty manager of the outer sect wouldn't spare a thought for the grievances of a servant disciple.

"Now, follow me up the mountain!" Bai Yunfei commanded, utterly indifferent to the servant disciples' dismay. The five hundred meter challenge of Bronze Warriors' Lane, though daunting, was merely a test for the average disciple, and the grumblings of these unremarkable individuals were of no concern to him.

Bronze Warriors' Lane wasn't located at the foot of Peak-Bound, but halfway up the mountain. There lay a cavernous grotto, several yards wide and nearly twenty feet high. From a distance, the cave mouth appeared as a dark maw, its depths unknown. Several outer sect disciples were already positioned at the entrance, some seated at a square table laden with papers for registration.

Upon the arrival of Manager Bai and the servant disciples, one of the outer sect disciples stepped forward and pressed a protruding stone on the cave wall. In an instant, the once dark cavern was awash with light.

The cave extended deep into the mountain, nearly three hundred meters. It looked vast and empty.

"The Breakthrough competition is about to commence. Who will claim the first victory this year?"

"Unless there's a surprise, the first place is likely to emerge from the Three Heroes. But picking the top contender is no easy task!"

"Don't overlook Lan Lingmei. Her talent rivals that of the Three Heroes, and rumor has it she broke through to the Sixth Layer of Heaven three months ago!"

As the competition drew near, the managers from Servicemen's Peak, trailing the servant disciples, quietly speculated amongst themselves, eager to see who would emerge as today's ultimate victor.

"Senior Brother Zhao, you better not forget our wager!" Amidst the crowd, Chen Jianhua quickly made his way to Zhao Yiming's side, a smug smile playing at the corners of his mouth, "If by some stroke of luck Junior Brother manages to win, don't mourn the loss of those ten Spirit Stones, Senior Brother!"

Chen Jianhua's demeanor oozed confidence, as if the ten Spirit Stones were as good as his.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Junior Brother Chen. You might be the one to lose!" Zhao Yiming retorted with a sneer, though his voice lacked conviction. Qin Feng, one of the Three Heroes, loomed over him like an insurmountable mountain, leaving him gasping for air.

"Hehe, we shall see, Senior Brother Zhao. Let's just wait and see."

"Before we kick off the competition, I'll have someone demonstrate. Pay close attention!" Manager Bai said, signaling to an outer sect disciple nearby.

"At your service, Manager Bai!"

The disciple acknowledged and strode confidently into the cave. A loud bang echoed as he entered, and the walls cracked open to reveal a pair of life-sized bronze warriors charging forward.

Crash after crash, more bronze warriors emerged from the walls, each pair more formidable than the last.

The first duo, wielding massive bronze hammers, swung at the disciple with a force to rival a martial artist who had opened one Heavenly Meridian. But the disciple, handpicked by Manager Bai, was no slouch. Among his peers in the outer sect, he was an expert. With just a couple of punches, he sent the bronze warriors flying.

In less than a moment, he had covered ten meters, and the bronze warriors' strength escalated, now on par with a martial artist who had opened two Heavenly Meridians. Twenty meters in, their strength surged again, yet they posed no real threat.

With a series of powerful strikes, the disciple sent bronze warrior after bronze warrior flying, none able to get within reach. In under ten breaths, he had traversed 240 meters, reaching the first major challenge of the Bronze Warriors' Lane. Here, the bronze warriors' might equaled that of a martial artist who had opened 25 Heavenly Meridians and possessed a Ninth-class Medium Bloodline, each blow carrying nearly the force of 40 ding.

At 480 meters, the bronze warriors' power took a qualitative leap, matching that of a Ninth-class Bloodline martial artist at the Early Period of the Fourth Layer.

Pressing on, the disciple's pace noticeably slowed after 600 meters, as each bronze warrior's strength now rivaled that of a Sixth Empyrean martial artist.

In the final 80 meters, the bronze warriors' strength surged once more. Though not quite at the level of an Eighth Grade Bloodline martial artist, they were formidable enough to match a lower-ranked Eighth Grade Bloodline, wielding thrice the power of a lower Rank-9. With each swing of their hammers, they could exert a force exceeding 200 ding. The disciple's speed dropped significantly; despite the bronze warriors' lack of Movement Technique and martial skill, their sheer numbers overwhelmed him. Surrounded by dozens, they pushed most outer sect disciples to the brink of despair. Although the disciple ultimately broke through, he emerged utterly spent, as if he had been dragged from the depths of water, clearly at his limit.

"It's terrifying. Can we really get through this?"

The faces of many servant disciples had turned deathly pale, their eyes brimming with hesitation and confusion. They had maintained their confidence for the initial four hundred meters, but when it came to the final hundred meters, particularly the last twenty, their confidence waned significantly. Each Bronze Man was as formidable as an early-stage Fifth Empyrean martial artist with a Rank-9 High Grade bloodline. They might not possess martial skills, but the sheer number of them was enough to compensate for that.

Just then.

An outer sect disciple by the entrance activated a mechanism, causing all the Bronze Men to immediately withdraw. The previously cracked wall also restored itself seamlessly, as if it had never been split open.

"Now, I hereby announce that the assessment is officially underway!" Manager Bai proclaimed loudly after the outer sect disciples had returned from the cave, "You're up first!"