On the second day.
Outside the Longevity Hall of Black Heaven Sect.
Nangong Huang, Murong Xuan, Jun Yi, Qin Wushuang, and other Daoists gathered as they awaited Chu Kuangren's arrival.
Among them was also Shang Qingxue, who had just joined Black Heaven Sect not long ago. However, the rest of the group did not bat an eyelid at her.
After all, it was evident that Shang Qingxue possessed the Deep Freeze Physique and had all the rights to stand alongside them.
Shang Qingxue stood aside as she quietly observed Nangoong Huang, Murong Xuan, and the others. After all, these were the most remarkable disciples of Black Heaven Sect.
As time pa.s.sed, an hour was gone.
Only then did Chu Kuangren appear with Lan Yu. Nangong Huang and the rest did not have any intention of blaming Chu Kuangren for his lateness at all. Instead, they all gave Chu Kuangren a fist salute.
“Greetings, Sect Leader.”
“Hmm. I'm sure you all know why I've called all of you here, and that's for the Sky-Pride Champions.h.i.+p. Honestly speaking, I'm personally not interested in this champions.h.i.+p.”
“But I do feel that this is a good opportunity for you to experience the outside world. Hence, I've prepared a special training routine for all of you so that you won't embarra.s.s the Black Heaven Sect in the champions.h.i.+p.”
The group did not react much towards Chu Kuangren's announcement.
They had known about the Sky-Pride Champions.h.i.+p for a while now.
It was then when Shang Qingxue raised her hand and asked, “Sect Leader, am I partic.i.p.ating in this Sky-Pride Tournament too?”
It was not that Shang Qingxue was afraid. However, she had just awakened her Deep Freeze Physique and her cultivation base was still in the Nascent Core realm, losing to even Lil Bing. If she was to partic.i.p.ate in the Sky-Pride Champions.h.i.+p, it would probably be a waste of resources.
“Not necessarily. But since your Deep Freeze Physique has just awakened, you can use this special training routine to refine it. We'll talk more about the champions.h.i.+p when the time comes,” said Chu Kuangren.
“Oh, I see.”
“If there are no further questions, then follow me.”
Chu Kuangren turned around and guided the group to leave.
The Black Heaven Sect's territory was vast, covering many mountain ranges and valleys. It was in a quiet valley that Chu Kuangren brought the rest to.
“Sect Leader, what're you bringing us here for?”
Nangong Huang asked curiously.
Once he said that…
Chu Kuangren unleashed a boundlessly domineering aura and slammed it onto their bodies.
Under such oppression, the group felt as if their bodies were carrying the weight of countless mountains. They could not even move a single finger.
Being the weakest amongst them all, Shang Qingxue immediately collapsed onto the floor with her face downwards. She could feel her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were almost flattened by the sheer amount of weight.
F*ck!
What was the Sect Leader doing?!
The remaining Daoists were struggling.
“This is… the Battle Monarch's Domain.”
“It's the Sect Leader's Battle Monarch Domain. This is terrifying. It's more terrifying than the weights I've felt in the Gravity Training Grounds.”
Nangong Huang and others channeled their spiritual energies to resist.
However, the more they resisted, the more powerful Chu Kuangren's Battle Monarch Domain became.
Shang Qingxue was eventually on the brink of total collapse.
Chu Kuangren lifted his hand and channeled his spiritual energy to form a shapeless giant hand, grabbing Shang Qingxue out and tossing her aside.
Reacting quickly, Lan Yu immediately went to receive her with a helpless smile. “Master sure doesn't know how to treat a woman politely.”
As the pressure of the Battle Monarch's Domain increased, Jun Yi, Qin Wushuang, and some Daoists could not hold on much longer, so they began to lie on the ground in exhaustion. However, Chu Kuangren had no intention of going easy on them at all.
It was only until they were close to collapsing like Shang Qingxue that Chu Kuangren grabbed them and tossed them outside the Battle Monarch Domain's parameters.
In the domain, only Murong Xuan and Nangong Huang were left as they painstakingly held on. Even so, they did not last long before both of them were on the ground.
That was when Chu Kuangren recollected his domain.
“Fifteen minutes.”
“Even the best amongst you have only managed to last in the Battle Monarch's Domain for fifteen minutes. How… disappointing.”
Chu Kuangren said softly.
The group members were embarra.s.sed at his words.
It was a weak performance.
They were all reputable Daoists in the outside world. This was especially for Nangong Huang, whose reputation even surpa.s.sed the rest as he was one of the renowned Young Emperors.
However, all of them had put on such an underwhelming performance in front of Chu Kuangren.
“Besides, I haven't even unleashed the full power of my Battle Monarch's Domain.”
Chu Kuangren revealed yet another hard truth. The group members were so embarra.s.sed by that, they could use a hole to bury their heads in now.
“Fine, I don't blame all of you. Perhaps my expectations are too high,” Chu Kuangren said indifferently.
Despite his seemingly comforting words, the group did not feel any better. On the contrary, they could feel the humiliation piling up on them. Tears began to form on Jun Yi and the other two female Daoists' eyes as they could not take the embarra.s.sment any longer.
It was fine if such a remark was coming from another person.
However, those words had come out of Chu Kuangren himself!
In their hearts, they had nothing but the utmost admiration for Chu Kuangren, and he was an idol for all of them.
To think that they had disappointed their idol whom they admired so much was a crus.h.i.+ng defeat to them.
Chu Kuangren was closely observing all of their reactions.
Hmm.
Not bad, it looked like Chu Kuangren had achieved his desired outcomes.
It was only through provoking the members that Chu Kuangren could motivate them even more into striving harder. With this, the special training routine would be even more effective.
“Let's not slack off any further, follow me.”
Chu Kuangren then walked towards a deeper part of the alley.
The exhausted Daoists gritted their teeth and mustered all their strength to get back on their feet. They helped each other up before they followed unsteadily behind Chu Kuangren.
Having resisted Chu Kuangren's Battle Monarch Domain, their spiritual powers were completely depleted. They could hardly complete the few hundred meters walk with their limp and weak bodies despite helping each other along the way.
However, they soon sensed a surge of mysterious Daoist Rhymes accompanied by spiritual energy fluctuation coming from not far away. Looking ahead, they noticed a pool that was fuming with a cloud of mist.
It was a fairly large pool that was at least twenty meters in diameter. A wooden plank was installed in between that separated the pool in half.
Nangong Huang and the rest gulped as they could sense the mythical Daoist Rhymes that were brewing within this pool.
The pool's water was definitely a remarkable treasure!
“Sect Leader, what's this?”
“Marrow Cleansing Pool. Your current state is the best timing for you to soak yourself in it. All of you, remove your clothes and get in there. The male should go to the right side and the female to the left,” said Chu Kuangren to the group.
Nangong Huang and others did not think much of it. It was only Jun Yi, Shang Qingxue, and the other female members who felt a little shy.
“What're you waiting for? Go on. Soak yourself for an hour, I'll come back when the time's up.”
Then, Chu Kuangren left.
The rest looked at each other in hesitation.
Nangong Huang and the other male members went over to the right side of the pool. Not seeing a need to be embarra.s.sed, they immediately removed all their clothes and went into the pool.
Jun Yi, Shang Qingxue, and the other two female Daoists went over to the left side. They looked at their surroundings hesitantly before they slowly loosened their robes.
With their slender figures exposed under the sunlight, they took a look at each other before one of the female Daoist smiled pridefully and jumped into the pool before the rest.
The remaining three female Daoists pouted their lips.
“What's there to be proud about? It's only slightly bigger.”
Once everyone was in the pool, they could not help but gasp in shock.
They could feel that there was an endless source of energy in the Marrow Cleansing Pool penetrating their bodies, cleansing the impurities within and strengthening the bone structures that were once thought to be fixed.