Chapter 36: The Third Trial

"Hmm?" Qin Xi felt a sudden spark of interest upon seeing A-Ling's performance.

So, this was the spell A-Ling had learned?

Although A-Ling's body was naturally remarkably resilient—being able to fall from tens of thousands of feet in the air and end up with only a few bruises instead of being scattered into pieces already spoke volumes—Bu Weiwei’s newly learned technique could not be underestimated. The brick had been imbued with the power of the Five Elements and countless hidden forces. Yet, when it struck A-Ling, it didn't even leave a dent, as if it had hit some divine, indestructible metal.

It was hardly like human skin anymore.

Having exhausted all her strength and methods, Bu Weiwei failed to break through A-Ling’s defense. Flushed with exertion, she collapsed onto the ground, unable to move.

Seeing this, Qin Xi canceled his "Haste" spell and walked over to A-Ling.

He then began to gesture with his hands in front of her...

"Hehehehehehe!"

Qin Xi’s fingers were extraordinarily nimble, wriggling and flipping like an octopus—a display that would have made any female cultivator scream that he was a pervert.

Once he struck that terrifying pose, the motionless A-Ling finally snapped out of her trance. With a start, she leaped several feet backward.

"You—what are you doing!"

Indeed, lecherous hands were far more terrifying than spells.

Qin Xi felt no shame. Instead, he lectured A-Ling with a straight face, "It seems your 'Golden Body' has been broken by me. You still have much to practice, A-Ling!"

"…I’m sorry, I misunderstood. I thought you were testing my technique." A-Ling paused, then added, looking somewhat embarrassed, "My apologies. I thought you were trying to harass me... I was projecting my own petty thoughts onto a gentleman."

These words made Qin Xi feel a bit awkward. How could this girl believe everything she was told?

In this world of cultivation where the strong prey on the weak, how had a girl so lacking in common sense survived this long?

"Don't believe him... he *is* harassing you..." came a faint, half-dead voice from Bu Weiwei.

"Oof!"

Qin Xi promptly plopped his rear end onto Bu Weiwei’s back and asked A-Ling, "It seems your spell requires you to remain motionless?"

"Yes. The effect is that as long as my body remains perfectly still, I can drastically increase my physical durability. Like this." A-Ling straightened her legs, and a faint golden light began to shimmer over her body.

Qin Xi nodded, then asked, "But how do you attack?"

A-Ling scratched her head and gave an awkward smile. "It seems... I have no way to attack."

"A purely defensive spell, then." Qin Xi nodded. Whether intentionally or not, he shifted his weight, settling more firmly into his seat.

"Qin Xi, get off me..." Bu Weiwei struggled on the ground, but she was as pinned down as if she had the Mountain of Five Elements crushing her. Exhausted, she couldn't stand up at all.

Just then, Jiang Baiqiu waved her hand and shouted, "Qin Xi, Qin Xi! The requirements for the next stage have appeared on the scroll!"

Hearing this, the three of them quickly unfolded the scroll. Sure enough, the seal from the second stage had vanished, replaced by a passage of text.

"In this Age of Dharma Decline, various sects hold different ideologies and paths, and their conflicting interests inevitably lead to strife, sometimes viewing one another as mortal enemies. Such is the relationship between the Xiaohong Sect and the Leshui Gang; their philosophies are diametrically opposed, and their disciples fight to the death upon sight."

"The condition to pass the third stage is to have the seals of both a Xiaohong Sect disciple and a Leshui Gang disciple stamped onto this scroll simultaneously."

"Passing the third stage will grant you entry as a disciple of our Daqian Sect."

"Xiaohong Sect? Leshui Gang? What kind of conflict do these two have?" Qin Xi, still sitting on his 'leather chair,' set the scroll down, puzzled. He turned to look at the others, only to find Bu Weiwei’s face looking pale, her breathing rapid.

Seeing the person most knowledgeable about the cultivation world looking this way, Qin Xi gasped. "What is it? Is this stage really that difficult?"

"You jerk, you're sitting on me so hard I can't breathe!"

"Oh, my apologies."

Bu Weiwei was finally freed. After catching her breath, she pointed at Qin Xi and cried, "How could you have the heart to use a delicate, pretty girl as a chair!"

"I am a believer in gender equality," Qin Xi said, showing no remorse. "I beat both men and women just the same."

"Besides, who told you to go berserk earlier? I was afraid you’d do it again. Even if you couldn't hurt us, it’s bad for the environment." Qin Xi pointed to the tree Bu Weiwei had cut down. "Look, it’s not as gloomy here as it was a moment ago. Don’t you know how to protect the environment? You didn't just destroy a tree; you destroyed a ghost's home!"

Bu Weiwei, whose flush had just faded, turned red again. She had never seen such a shameless person.

*And wasn't I driven to madness because of your spell in the first place?*

"Forget it, forget it. Let’s talk business. I do know a thing or two about the conflict between the Xiaohong Sect and the Leshui Gang," Bu Weiwei said, sighing as the most 'normal' of the three problem children.

"The Xiaohong Sect only accepts female cultivators. The entire sect is made up of women; there isn't a single man. That’s been their rule since they were founded."

"The Leshui Gang is the exact opposite. The entire sect consists of men, with no women at all."

"I heard from a storyteller that, in the past, the relationship between the two wasn't actually that bad. The relations between the men and women were relatively harmonious..."

"But in the last few centuries, as the divisions between the sects have grown wider and the conflicts over their paths have intensified, the friction between the Xiaohong Sect and the Leshui Gang has become constant. By now, they hate each other so much they would love to tear each other limb from limb."

"Nowadays, the Xiaohong Sect despises all men, and the Leshui Gang despises all women. They are so opposed that any minor friction leads to an immediate war."

"Getting people from these two sects to stamp our scroll at the same time is harder than ascending to heaven. Take you, for example, Qin Xi—the Leshui Gang would certainly be willing to give you a stamp. But if the Xiaohong Sect saw that your scroll already had a Leshui Gang seal, they might only leave you with half a life, out of respect for the Daqian Sect." Bu Weiwei’s expression was visibly troubled. "For us three, it’s the opposite. The Xiaohong Sect would stamp our scrolls, but the Leshui Gang probably wouldn't let us off easily."

After hearing this, Qin Xi felt like these two sects sounded somewhat familiar.

"She said it wasn't like this in the past. Could the cause be this 'Age of Dharma Decline'? What on earth is this Age of Dharma Decline anyway..." Qin Xi mused.

But the most critical issue now wasn't the nature of the Age of Dharma Decline, but figuring out a way to get both sects to stamp their scroll so they could pass.

Qin Xi turned his head and asked, "Do you have any ideas?"

"Just beat them both up, like we did before!" Jiang Baiqiu displayed her astonishing 'wisdom.' "Just like the first two stages, they’re just two Foundation Establishment cultivators—what’s so hard about giving them a beating?"

"Next. Bu Weiwei, you go."

"Hey! Why did you skip me without even thinking about it!" Jiang Baiqiu was very dissatisfied.

"Our success in the first two stages was a fluke that can't be replicated. The first round was because the opponent was careless; the second was because your 'Haoran Righteousness' was a perfect counter to ghosts. Under normal circumstances, the four of us absolutely cannot defeat two Foundation Establishment cultivators."

"How about we steal it?" Bu Weiwei gestured with her hands, looking sneaky. "Stealing the stamps would be much easier than defeating them."

"Do you have the confidence to steal from them?"

"...No, but we could try!"

"None of us have any stealth or thievery spells. The risk is too high. Dismissed."

A-Ling, after deep thought, let a flicker of rare wisdom cross her eyes. "We could appeal to their emotions and reason... try to bridge the gap between them. After all, if they were both invited by the Daqian Sect, it proves their conflict isn't necessarily irreconcilable!"

"...No."

"Eh? That won't work either?"

"Of course not. The conflict between these sects has lasted so long—how could they change their views just because of a few words from outsiders? I suspect this Daqian Sect trial is meant to test how we solve a dilemma when both sides are hostile."

Qin Xi looked up. "Then it has to be this way."