In an instant, a deep crack appeared on Dongfang Bufan's Level B Spirit Body that he hadn't retracted in time.

Even though Dongfang Bufan was somewhat prepared in that moment, he still broke out in a cold sweat.

Although his true body was unharmed, the aura of destruction on that lightning made his heart race with fear.

...If I block it, how much destructive power can the Barrier Spirit Pattern weaken?

Or is the barrier useless?

No, where exactly did it go wrong?!

As if hearing his thoughts, the ether flow within the Spirit Rune Array suddenly began to accelerate, and both the spiritual materials and spirit patterns began to flicker.

This scene was like simulating the state of long-term operation.

Then…

Under Dongfang Bufan's gaze, the Spirit Rune Array flickered a few times and suddenly burst apart with a bang, the spirit patterns gradually losing their luster and vanishing on the spot.

Cold sweat dripped down.

It was as if electricity coursed through Dongfang Bufan's mind, and he finally realized where he had erred.

—The array he had constructed was not stable enough to operate long-term.

The functionality of the entire Spirit Rune Array was not difficult to sense; it was merely for water containment, soil solidification, and heat resistance, but its structure was extremely intricate, with a dozen One-Star Spirit Patterns achieving a rather subtle balance.

To common thinking, the core of an array should be the highest-level, key spirit pattern, which is why Dongfang Bufan chose a Two-Star, one suitable for water storage, as the core.

That was the issue.

Incorporating a Two-Star spirit pattern would indeed strengthen the array's effect.

This was not incorrect.

However, if not handled well, without properly integrating it with the spiritual materials, the array would become unstable over time.

Either find a way to make the integration more perfect, or choose a One-Star spirit pattern as the core for stability.

However, with a One-Star spirit pattern as the core, the strength cannot meet the specific requirements of the problem, requiring other solutions, which is not simpler than stabilizing this Two-Star pattern.

If I can't figure it out… that means I'll still have to suffer the punishment.

Upon realizing this point, Dongfang Bufan massaged his brow, but that wrinkle couldn't be smoothed out, just like his heart was still somewhat frightened.

It was clear that the second trial had no set answer and depended entirely on one's ability.

But the first stage was already this difficult…

He couldn't help but doubt.

Dongfang Bufan considered that even if he wasn't top-ranked, he was definitely in the middle tier.

If he faced penalties of this degree, then for those dozen or so people behind him…

Was this trial really something a Three-Star Spirit Master could complete?

After a brief rest, Dongfang Bufan was sent a distance upwards by the inheritance, beginning the next exam round.

...

The fifteenth hour after the second trial.

[Fourth Stage Completion Rate: Fifty Percent]

[Penalty Begins.]

[Lifebound Spirit Beast detected holding Spirit Body core, forced summoning.]

"Fifty percent?!"

"How is that possible?!"

With Le Xinghan's exclamation, a massive entity appeared beside him, a Spirit Beast of an elephant species with entirely purple long fur, standing five meters tall, with four large tusks and an oval amber gemstone embedded on its forehead.

Boom——

A flash of heavenly thunder struck, leaving the giant elephant battered, blood flowing, crying out in pain and collapsing to the ground, even the gorgeous yellow gemstone on its forehead grew dim.

Le Xinghan, shocked and heartbroken, hurried to check on the [Amber Mammoth].

"Ah, Elephant!"

His Level C Spirit Body had shattered in the last stage, unable to withstand the torrent of heavenly thunder with his flesh, so he had no choice but to entrust the Spirit Body core to the Amber Giant Elephant.

No one could have imagined that the thick-skinned Tier Three [Amber Mammoth] would actually get hurt by heavenly thunder.

Though the injuries weren't severe, this was just the fourth stage's punishment, and there were still five whole stages to go!

The most crucial part was that Le Xinghan didn't even know why his completion rate was so low.

He only saw the Array Patterns he set up break.

But he had no idea what caused it!

"F*ck your mother! The difficulty and punishment aren't even matched!"

Now, Le Xinghan realized that although these questions didn't seem tough, only at the standard of Tier Three Spirit Rune Arrays, they were full of traps and pitfalls, easily stepped into if not careful!

Le Xinghan could bet that at least a Three-Star Array Miracle Master was needed to score high.

After the anger, a feeling of powerlessness surged within him.

The initial excitement of knowing about the Tier Seven peak inheritance had already subsided, as his ranking was always in the last few, long extinguishing any ideas of seizing the inheritance.

There was only one thought in Le Xinghan's mind.

—Can I really hold on until a True Man rescues me…

Having experienced the taste of heavenly thunder with his flesh, he decided to delay as long as possible, completing the trial only when the countdown was close to ending, but seeing the [Amber Mammoth]'s state, even stalling, it might not withstand many strikes.

For some reason, since the first trial started, Spirit Beasts on Celestial Ladder Mountain were almost unable to absorb ether or recover from injuries, even self-healing skills had no effect.

Damn it, where are the rewards?

Why are there no elixirs for Spirit Beasts?

Le Xinghan was extremely anxious.

Besides the [Amber Mammoth], his two remaining Spirit Beasts, the [Purple Crystal Cat] and [Yellow Jade Tiger], were not defense-type Spirit Beasts.

If the [Amber Mammoth] couldn't withstand such blows, then he would have to smear blood on the Spirit Body core and let them bear it... But how could they withstand it!

Perhaps even a single strike might severely injure or bring them to the brink of death!

Le Xinghan's heart was almost bleeding.

These rare gemstone type Spirit Beasts had always been considered his family.

How could he abandon them? How could he be willing to abandon them?

After a long silence, he bit his lip and finally made a decision:

There was still some elixir left, if he could stall for time, then he would endure it himself.

...

Celestial Ladder Mountain Secret Realm, outside the trial space.

It could be seen that most of the True Men had uneasy expressions.

Because they could simultaneously observe all the trial takers facing their assessments, so the ranking and everyone's real-time situations were transparent to them.

[First Place: Lin Guang——50,000 zhang]

[Second Place: Jiang Nalan——14,300 zhang]

[Third Place: Zhao Yue——13,700 zhang]

[Fourth Place: Zuo Qingtian——13,400 zhang]

[Fifth Place: Heaven-slaying Demon——12,400 zhang]

[Sixth Place: Du Qing——12,300 zhang]

It could be seen that the scores for the first and second trials were calculated separately, with no specific data meaning anything beyond the ranking and rewards.

The front ranks seemed even more stable than the first trial, progressing steadily and overcoming hurdles.

But… the back ranks were off.

This second trial, focused on testing array setup, had a difficulty level that couldn't be adjusted, presenting an extremely high challenge from the start, almost making it unbearable for them.

At this moment, among the crowd, Bai Wu's eyes shot forth a cold light.

His main viewpoint was always locked on Leng Shengnan.

Among the geniuses participating this time, Leng Shengnan was inherently at a disadvantage, lacking family roots and thus digesting True Intent more slowly, with combat and willpower being her only strengths, where she barely kept up with the other Trial Takers, with other areas lagging behind.

Just in the third stage, Leng Shengnan's Level B Spirit Body had already become useless, and she had no intention of letting her Spirit Beast withstand the difficulties, so all subsequent stage's trials fell upon her alone.

At this point, she was resting at the fifth stage, blood at her lips, recovering her injuries with the help of elixirs.

But she was among the relatively well-off.

As a Ancient Martial Spirit Master, her body's recovery and resistance were comparable to Spirit Beasts of the same level, so transferring punishment to them didn't aggravate the damage.

She managed to exploit a loophole.

This way, she was able to continue advancing.

Worse off were those seven or eight ranked even lower than her, who had been stuck there for a long time without moving.

After all, examples like Le Xinghan were not unique.

If they went forward, the contractual partners would truly be in mortal danger; how could they make such a choice easily?

They could only hope to delay as much as possible, allowing the Spirit Beasts or themselves to recover from the injuries—even if it was just a temporary relief—to endure the punishment.

Those True Men were almost on the edge of their seats.

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