Hovering above them, the dragon spread its rough claws and sank them deep into the steep mountainside. It opened its massive jaws, a faint whirlwind already forming within.
"What is it doing?" Seeing the dragon anchor itself to the steep mountainside, Wei Long wondered, his gaze darting between Wu Jin and the others. "Maybe they figured something out," he thought.
But they too stood frozen, their eyes fixed on the elephant-sized dragon above them.
Wei Long's eyes shifted away for no more than a heartbeat, yet in that fleeting instant, the faint spiral of wind had already grown into a roaring vortex that churned within the beast's mouth.
Howl!
A violent gust descended upon Wu Jin and the others, ripping rock shards, small trees, and dirt from the mountainside as it swept toward them like a raging tide.
"Fuck," Wu Jin cursed inwardly as he flooded his hands with qi.
The rocks beneath his grip splintered with sharp cracks. He clenched his teeth, holding onto the mountain with all his might.
Fortunately, all four of them had qi; their grip strength was incomparable to that of mortals. And the dragon wasn't aiming to kill them.
Under the crushing wind, Wu Jin forced his head up. The gale blasted straight into his eyes, blurring his vision with involuntary tears as he stared at the dragon. Seeing the dragon right above them, pressuring them with nothing but its wind, enlightenment shone in his eyes.
He forced his mouth open shouting, "Brothers we can't all be in the same place, let's split up. That way this thing won't be able to take us all down at the same time."
The dragon's wind breath could only affect an area ten feet wide and thirty feet long, but its limited range was meaningless since Wu Jin and the others were huddled together, desperately clinging to the mountainside, leaving them all within the attack's reach.
Noticing this Wu Jin did not hesitate to advise his fellow disciples.
Wei Long and the others only exchanged glances and nodded, speaking under this wind pressure was very difficult at the moment.
They immediately began to disperse. Hao Jun scrambled toward the right side of the mountain, Wei Long went to the left, and Xiao MeiYue remained in place, slowly continuing her descent.
Wu Jin, however, went up, climbing straight toward the dragon. "With that long neck, it can target any one of us whenever it wants. But that doesn't matter. As long as I can find even the slightest opening to strike..." He narrowed his eyes.
"These juniors.. The dragon's eyes emitted a profound light, clearly impressed by their survival tactics.
"No wonder they were able to climb this mountain before and fully complete the martial artists ritual all through sheer will, even though they're merely at shrine master realm... still i believe they have great potential, It's unfortunate Yu Peak sect has this strange way of nurturing its disciples, at this rate I'm not even sure if they'll be able to survive the oncoming trials."
"Ah,"
Just as it was thinking the dragon jolted attentively. Its wind breath abruptly stopped. "it seems time is up my wind breath can only last for three minutes, i need to do it all over again."
Although the dragon had been created by Elder Feng Jing, a Profound Scenery Realm expert, it hadn't inherited the elder's full strength. Rather, it had only been granted enough power to overwhelm the disciples.
But the dragon wasn't dissatisfied since it was more than enough to deal with disciples who were merely at shrine master realm, it opened its mouth preparing its second wind breath attack.
But before attacking again, it paused. Its shining green eyes swept across the disciples, "I should give these juniors a few words of encouragement before attacking again, they're the future of Yu Peak sect." The dragon thought and shouted. "Juniors, please hang in there. Persevere! Just a day or two and you will reach the foot of the mountain." Its voice was deep and sharp.
Thwack! Up at the peak of the mountain Elder Feng Jing softly slapped her forehead and shook her head, "I only made this thing to intimidate them and gauge how far they've mastered their martial arts but...
Just as she was murmuring to herself, her words trailed off. Her gaze settled on Wu Jin, a faint glimmer passing through her eyes.
"This is my opportunity," Wu Jin thought as he roared, "To hell with persevering!" He put strength into his legs and leapt upward, closing the distance in an instant as he desperately slashed his sword at the beast's jaw.
"Junior..." The dragon's pupils narrowed. Its massive body shuddered as it hastily closed its mouth and tried to retract its jaw.
Clang!
However Wu Jin's blade still slammed into its jaw, screeching violently as bright sparks erupted into the air. But When the sparks cleared, Wu Jin's heart sank.
The dragon's jaw was completely unscathed. Not even a single scratch on it.
"Friend, I'm trying to help. if you just focus on descending you will reach the foot of the mountain, why are you attacking me?" The dragon roared. Not understanding Wu Jin's logic.
"Wu Jin you fucking stupid bastard why are you attacking that thing?..." Hao Jun screamed his lungs out. His eyes burning with rage. "Didn't you tell us to disperse so we wouldn't have to fight it?"
As he plummeted after his failed attack, Wu Jin sneered and shouted, "Brother Hao Jun, you're really naive." He jammed his sword into the mountain face to arrest his fall and continued, "Do you really think we can endure this thing's wind pressure for two days? And even if we do, what then? Who's to say there isn't another trial waiting for us at the foot of the mountain? By then, we'll have exhausted our qi and lose our lives to whatever trial awaits us there. We can't even climb down any faster because of the intensity of its wind, so isn't it better to kill it?"
"Kill it?" Hao Jun retorted. "Brother Wu Jin, you're simply courting death. This thing is way out of our league, yet it was kind enough to let us descend under its wind pressure when it could have knocked us off the mountain."
As he said this, he paused. The anger in his eyes faded as he continued, "To speak the truth, I know you lack qi beads, which is why you're anxious. But fighting this thing would only make your death imminent. I urge you not to provoke it and to let us continue descending the mountain."
"Hmph..." Wu Jin narrowed his eyes. Xiao MeiYue was the one he had given qi beads to in exchange for her guidance, and since Hao Jun and Xiao MeiYue had always been together, even before becoming disciples of the Yu Peak Sect, Wu Jin didn't find it strange that Hao Jun knew he was short on qi beads.
"Brother Hao Jun you're just a coward go ahead and descend the mountain as i deal with this thing." Wu Jin said expressionlessly
Hao Jun clenched his fists, then slowly unclenched them with a sigh. Refusing to be provoked by Wu Jin's words, he resumed his descent.
"Enduring this thing's wind pressure for two days? No way. Not happening. I'd rather risk my life trying to kill it than keep climbing down, where I'm sure to die. I've already burned forty percent of the qi within my shrine just withstanding its wind earlier. Besides, its wind is far more powerful than the wind we faced during our first ascent."
Wu Jin could feel death weighing on his heart. He knew the dragon was leaps and bounds stronger than he was, but at the same time, trying to endure its wind pressure for two days was a death sentence.
He simply didn't have enough qi beads to last that long, not to mention whatever dangers might be waiting for them at the foot of the mountain.
This was akin to a gambler facing a single hand, go all in and risk everything for a chance to win, or fold and lose for certain.
Thus, he chose to fight.
"Surely Elder Feng Jing would reward me if I were to take down this thing, but... the problem is that my strength alone is definitely not enough...."
Thinking like this, Wu Jin looked down at his fellow disciples, his calm gaze sweeping over them. Hao Jun had already left, descending the mountain, there was no hope of fighting the dragon alongside him. And Xiao MeiYue had been steadily descending since the moment Wu Jin attacked the dragon.
Wei Long, however, was still clinging to the mountainside nearby, gazing up at the dragon.
"Keke. Junior, what do you mean deal with me?" The dragon snickered, its massive jaws curling into a wicked grin. "Weren't you breaking out in a cold sweat just moments ago? What gave you this sudden confidence? Hmph, you would be better off listening to your companion's advice."
Wu Jin calmly pulled his jammed sword free from the mountainside. Keeping his other hand firmly wrapped around a protruding rock, he raised the blade and pointed it at the dragon.
"You...sigh" The dragon sighed, then turned toward Wei Long. "And what about you? Why aren't you continuing your descent?
Wei Long retracted his gaze from the dragon, and gave Wu Jin a meaningful glance, saying "naturally I too lack qi beads I'm not confident if I can last two days."
Both Wei Long and Wu Jin were formerly slaves and illiterate. Just as Wu Jin paid Xiao MeiYue for her guidance, Wei Long also paid Hao Jun in qi beads for guidance.
"Now I only have nine of the fifteen qi beads Elder Feng Jing gave me," Wei Long thought.
Being in the Yu Peak Sect, where their lives were constantly in danger, they had long since learned to manage their resources carefully and never waste them.
The only reason they each had fewer qi beads was that they had exchanged some for guidance, and it had been a necessary expense. Without learning to read, they might never have been able to learn martial arts.