Chapter 98

In the bright sunshine and the vast wind, a large number of disciples walked out of the seven halls, heading for the Eighth Circle Martial Arena, and then to the Mechanism Building.

Chen Zong walked with Chen Chuyun, Li Zhen Shi, and others, and from a distance, they saw a huge brown wooden building standing on the ground.

The wooden building looked quite tall, about ten meters, and was also very wide and long, estimated to be over a thousand meters, square and rectangular like a giant wooden box placed on the ground.

Outside the main gate of the Wooden Man Building, a red line was drawn, and four wooden figures, each about two meters tall with two arms, stood in four directions, arranged in batches of four, with a total of ten batches. Some were unarmed, while others held hard wooden swords and knives, their cold and stern appearance piqued Chen Zong's curiosity.

"Can they move?" Chen Zong couldn't help but wonder, and someone beside him asked directly.

"Of course they can move. You'll see in a moment," some of the older disciples said proudly, as if showing off.

"Those who want to enter the Wooden Man Building must first pass the test. This test involves passing through four wooden figures. Be careful, the wooden figures strike hard. Those who aren't confident should not attempt it, or they might get injured," a steward said. "Also, disciples who have already passed the Wooden Man Building should not participate to avoid wasting time. However, you can try it to get a feel for it and prepare for the Iron Man Building later."

"Form ten teams and line up."

As the steward's voice fell, the disciples who had not yet passed the Wooden Man Building lined up in front of the ten rows of wooden figures. Those who had already passed stood to the side as spectators, while some walked into the Wooden Man Building with great interest to try their hands and prepare for the Iron Man Building.

Passing the Wooden Man Building means successfully getting through it. Chen Chuyun did this last year, being one of the few disciples to pass the Wooden Man Building at the seventh level of the Blood Qi Realm. Now, she entered the Wooden Man Building again to prepare for the Iron Man Building. As for Chen Zong, Chen Chuyun was confident that he could pass the Wooden Man Building and might even make it to the top ten.

Chen Zong was in the seventh group, able to see the tests of those in front of him.

The first person in each of the ten rows walked towards the four wooden figures. As soon as they crossed the red line, the wooden figures, which had been still like trees, began to move and immediately attacked.

"Their movements are stiff, but very fast," Chen Zong observed clearly.

The disciples who entered the attack range of the wooden figures either immediately used footwork or body techniques to dodge, or countered with hard strikes, or defended themselves, each using different methods.

As Chen Zong saw, the movements of the wooden figures were stiff, being made of wood, and could not match the flexibility of real people. However, their speed was very fast, and their attacks were simple and direct, with no complex techniques.

If it were just one wooden figure, each disciple could likely avoid it, but with four wooden figures attacking simultaneously, the speed was extremely fast, and the difficulty of dodging increased tenfold.

Immediately, someone was hit and flew backward.

Of the first ten, only one passed quickly, six were hit and flew away, and three were still struggling under the attack of the four wooden figures.

After a while, one of the three was also pushed back and failed to pass, while the other two succeeded.

"Only three out of ten passed!"

"That's too difficult."

The people waiting in line were stunned.

All ten were at the seventh level of the Blood Qi Realm, but only three passed, which was a very low ratio.

It's important to note that this was just a test, not the actual entry into the Wooden Man Building, so the difficulty was different.

The second batch of ten entered the red line, and the wooden figures moved again.

This time, four people passed.

The third batch had five people pass.

The fourth batch had four people pass.

In the fifth batch of ten, one person stood out, a disciple from the Earth Radiance Hall, looking spirited and confident, with an initial eighth level of the Blood Qi Realm. Facing the attack of the four wooden figures, he did not dodge but directly punched, and with four consecutive punches, he made the four wooden figures pause, then walked through calmly.

"Amazing."

"Truly the top new disciple of the Earth Radiance Hall."

Occasionally, one or two people would perform exceptionally well, either with powerful strikes that could repel the wooden figures or with extremely light and agile footwork, moving like a breeze and making the four wooden figures' attacks miss instantly.

Batch after batch, it was soon Chen Zong's turn.

Having observed multiple times, Chen Zong had a clear understanding.

The attack speed of the four wooden figures was very fast, and their attacks were very powerful. A typical seventh-level Blood Qi Realm disciple would find it difficult to resist, while an eighth-level disciple could withstand it. However, to repel them, one needed even greater strength. The weakness of the wooden figures was their stiff movements, with almost no variation, attacking and moving in straight lines.

Stepping over the red line, a strong wind immediately howled, and the four wooden figures attacked from four directions, either unarmed or with wooden swords and knives, with astonishing power. If hit, Chen Zong felt he could not withstand it.

However, the test was just to pass through the attack of the four wooden figures, and any method was acceptable.

With a flash, Chen Zong incorporated the subtleties of the Wind Step into his movements. In one step, he seemed to be wrapped in a gentle breeze, and his figure lightly passed through the attacks of the four wooden figures, appearing on the other side and passing through directly.

"Brother Chen is indeed impressive," Li Zhen Shi said with a smile.

"Another one who passed instantly, truly impressive."

Immediately, the eyes of the disciples who had easily passed the test focused on Chen Zong's face, as if trying to see through him.

Although this was just a qualification test for the Wooden Man Building, it could reveal some clues, such as the time taken or the difficulty of passing, which were closely related to one's abilities.

Undoubtedly, those who could pass instantly were strong contenders for the top ten. The more there were, the more intense the competition.

Bai Yushan, Bai Yulou, and others looked increasingly grim. Looking at Chen Zong, a glint of killing intent flashed in Bai Yushan's eyes, which Chen Zong caught.

"Bai Yushan's strength is no less than Zhan Ying. I can't defeat him yet," Chen Zong thought to himself.

Meanwhile, as the disciples were tested in batches, others had already entered the Wooden Man Building, but Chen Zong couldn't see what was happening inside.

"Yao Qian from the Earth Radiance Hall is truly impressive, passing in less than five minutes."

"An eighth-level peak Blood Qi Realm, it's said his strength is comparable to some ninth-level disciples, of course, he's impressive."

"Who's the second one out?"

"Chen Chuyun from the Sword Radiance Hall."

Chen Zong was quite surprised, not expecting Sister Yun to be so strong.

"Hmph, what's the big deal? I've heard the Iron Man Building is much more difficult than the Wooden Man Building. That's where the real test of who is stronger will be."

"That's true. Passing the Wooden Man Building is just for warming up. Many people haven't shown their true abilities."

"Are you Chen Zong, the one who was punished with black room confinement for breaking into the Martial Radiance Hall and injuring someone?" Bai Mingze, the top new disciple of the Earth Radiance Hall, walked up, his gaze scrutinizing.

"Is there something you want?" Chen Zong asked in return.

"Nothing much, just heard you've been making a lot of noise and gaining a lot of fame, so I came to take a look." Bai Mingze's sharp gaze scanned Chen Zong from head to toe, as if trying to see through him, then a mocking smile appeared on his lips: "But now, you seem quite ordinary. I'm a bit disappointed."

"I'll give you a surprise when I pass the Wooden Man Building," Chen Zong replied casually.

"Oh, can I take that as a challenge?" Bai Mingze raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile on his lips.

"You can take it that way," Chen Zong said sharply.

"Good, you have some courage. But I'll show you with facts that no matter how much noise you make, without enough strength, you're no different from a clown on stage making people laugh," Bai Mingze said sharply, without any courtesy.

Hearing the conversation, the surrounding disciples became excited, looking forward to the show.

Bai Mingze's targeting and provocation did not bother Chen Zong. His current goal was opponents like Bai Yushan and Zhan Ying. Bai Mingze might have outstanding talent and great strength, but he could only dominate at the eighth level of the Blood Qi Realm, at most comparable to an ordinary ninth-level disciple.

Chen Zong, after eight days of black room confinement, had undergone a mental and willpower transformation, making him even stronger.

To be honest, without using his full strength, Chen Zong was unsure how powerful he had become.

Batch after batch of disciples participated in the test, with the most being five passing and five failing.

There was only one chance. Those who failed did not have the qualification to enter the Wooden Man Building.

In the end, all ten teams completed the test, with about thirty percent passing.

This time, a total of 1,800 disciples participated in the test, and about four hundred, or sixty percent, passed.

It was unknown how many of these six hundred could truly pass the Wooden Man Building.

"Alright, those who did not pass the test can only wait for the next opportunity," the steward said, scanning the crowd. "Those who passed should prepare. When I say start, the ranking will begin. Whether you can make it to the top ten depends on your own abilities. Remember, the actual difficulty of the Wooden Man Building is much higher than the test. Note that if you cannot pass within fifteen minutes, it will be considered a failure. The current record for the fastest pass is four minutes."

"Also, listen carefully: the wooden figures have no consciousness and no concept of holding back. If you're not careful, you might not just be injured, but killed," the steward said, immediately changing the expressions of many.

In their minds, entering the Mechanism Building would not result in death, at most just injury.

"There are two ways to avoid being killed: one is to give up and not enter the Mechanism Building, and the other is to lie down when you feel something is wrong. As long as you lie down, you won't be attacked, and you can crawl out through the side ditch, which also counts as a failure."

Those who had not entered the Mechanism Building remembered this clearly, as it might come in handy.

"You all understand," the steward said loudly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, immediately making everyone more alert. Then, a loud shout like thunder echoed: "Start!"