Unbeatable! Invincible! Unparalleled!

A good exercise you say?

Hais..

"Should I demonstrate the next skill arts?" said Duan Li remaining oblivious to the inner emotions of the four people.

"No! There is no need! With just your fist arts alone, you would be unhindered in the eternal maze." replied the principal with an annoyed expression.

In fact, any enemies that even dared to foolishly show their faces in front of him within the eternal maze later on would undoubtedly be just courting death.

If he were to continuously spam the fist art, not even a monster with the foundation establishment realm would survive.

"What about Xiahou Yu? Did she not needed a test?" asked Wang Guozhi feeling quite concerned for his niece.

The principal shook his head as he answered, "No, because she is at the level 1 of the Qi condensation realm, the most difficult hurdle she would face would only be monsters at the level 4 of the Qi condensation realm which is in terms of attributes, isn't that far off compared to a level 1, perhaps only one step stronger. Furthermore, from our intelligence reports so far, they do not attack on sight if not intimidated. Also, most of the monster's speed will be much slower, a trade-off with their much more tougher and rigged body."

He then continued, "The most effective combat strategy for her would be to target these monsters isolately and finish them off however she wants, even without the help of any skill arts. Here, take this monster guide. It details out the numerous strengths and weaknesses each monster has which will be useful for you both." the principal handed out two identical books to Duan Li and Xiahou Yu.

The principal then turned his attention towards Xiahou Yu.

"Since I chose you to enter the 4th trial, it means that I saw the future prospect in you to be boundless. Therefore, you will have to struggle in this test and prove yourself to be worthy of it. Once you come out from this trial, you would then have successfully mastered your basic experience as a beginner!" said the principal with a serious expression.

"And you Duan Li.. naturally, with your overpowered strengths, I imagined you to be massacring monsters here and there instead to make their life a living hell. I only hope that you do not provoke the eternal maze too much, because as far as our intelligence goes, the eternal maze is somehow alive." warned the principal towards the other party, as the latter smiled sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.

"I will have you both enter separately as well. Otherwise, it will upgrade the difficulty level instead which might prove fatal, even for you Duan Li. Alright, let's go to the entrace of the eternal maze right now."

The principal then chanted the teleportation spell as the teleport stones on each of their hands began to glowed brightly.

Woonggg!

...

The five of them were teleported and thenreappeared in a giant cave that was filled with countless stalagmites and stalactites. This cave has an aura of ancientness to it that made one feel that it belonged to an era far beyond the reaches of time itself.

Coldness crept up to them as the ground was covered up by shrouding mists up to their knees. Echoes of water droplets could be heard resounded through the cave, making the overall atmosphere detached and tranquil.

In front of them stood a vast coiling vortex. This vortex alternated between the shades of blue and violet in color. Spiralling towards the center, they became darker until it formed a void that was pitch black and seemed to be the entrance into the abyss.

Between the vortex and where they are standing right now, stood a mighty and gigantic red temple gate that appeared to be withered as if from experiencing the countless vicissitudes of time.

"Beyond that gate is already the zone that will start to suck you in to the vortex once you step in." said the principal as he pointed out towards the red gate.

"There are certain things that you should know about when inside the eternal maze. Firstly, any items you brought with you that was stored inside your spatial rings will be unusable. Somehow, the eternal maze forbids any separate dimension outside of its own. Therefore, you should take out items that you think you will need to use and put them inside this backpack."

Whoosh!

Two rucksack backpacks were materialized out from the principal's spatial ring as he then handed down one each to both Duan Li and Xiahou Yu.

"Use this backpack to store any items you found inside the eternal maze as well." said the principal as he watched them wear the backpack and continued.

"Secondly, the eternal maze will allocate separate region for the two of you. Thus, it will be highly unlikely for the two of you to meet. Furthermore, there are walls that goes straight up into the sky that will separate each space. So even if you wanted to enter the other, it will be nigh impossible to do so."

"Thirdly, there are other treasures that you could encounter within the maze as well if you got the affinity. However, be very careful as it could be a trap."

"Fourth, if there are any monsters that your instinct tells you to stay away from, you would do well to follow it and steer away. Especially those that are not pointed out inside the monster guide book. Also, some stronger monsters could actually found their way into the weaker monster zone somehow and we haven't yet a clue as to how they did it. Again, be very careful!" warned the principal as he highlighted that last sentence.

"Fifth, it would be best if you can gather some monster cores. The monster guide will tell you their exact location inside their body. These are extremely helpful to increase the pace of your cultivation speed as the spiritual Qi inside the monster cores are denser. These monster cores will vary in color according to their element attributes which you can also refer to the monster guide book."

"And finally, the One Hundred Thousand Graveyard lake is the only place that connects between all space together as its center. That place is an unchartered territory as it is way too potent for anyone within the two realms to explore. But I guess that won't be an issue for Duan Li I guess. Although Xiahou Yu, you must definitely steer clear away from it, do you understand?"

"En! I will principal, thank you for your advice!" replied Xiahou Yu as she nodded.

The trio then handed out some protection and supportive talisman mostly to Xiahou Yu. They weren't worried too much for the overpowered Duan Li. Furthermore, those talisman could only help so much as the more powerful a talisman is, the more spiritual Qi it will require to activate, which a level 1 Qi condensation realm students wouldn't have.

After some more tips and walkthrough from the principal, they are finally ready to enter the eternal maze.

"Alright, I guess that should be the gist of it all. Don't worry too much, I have personally sent a few students here before and everyone had made it out safely, albeit a few injuries here and there. But, being both a martial artist and a cultivator, the path to the dao had always been filled with both pains and gains."said the principal as he clasped his hands behind his back, his expression solitude while tilting his head 45 degrees to the ceiling.

Duan Li wondered why their principal would act like this from time to time. What did he even gaze up there for? Its not like there are birds flying. There are only stalactites that could fall at any moment now towards unsuspecting victim. Is he actually worrying about that?

Duan Li cupped his chin as he contemplated.

Cough cough!

Noticing the weird gaze Duan Li was giving him, the principal made a dry cough as he complained in his heart.

Can't you let a man act a little bit?!

Hais..

"Alright Xiahou Yu, you go on first. We will just stand here and watch from this distance. I don't dare to get anywhere closer than this." said the principal towards Xiahou Yu, his expression a little bit guilty.

Understanding the worries of the principal, Xiahou Yu chuckled for a bit as her views on the principal changed a little. Previously, she was afraid of the strict air the principal has around him and his weird whipping habit. But now, she found out that the principal was actually kindhearted as well.

"En! I will go first!" she nodded as she began to step forward and walk slowly towards the gate.

The four of them watched her from behind as they saw her small figure was walking forward without turning back. Her fists clenched tight, and a reminiscent aura of an indomitable will exuded out from her.

"En! That is an excellent determination! She will be able to go far in her cultivation with such a will!" complemented the principal.

"That's only natural, after all, she is my niece!" said Wang Guozhi smiling proudly as he crossed both of his arms together while standing straight.

He was actually quite worried for her, but since the principal had guarenteed that they will be safe, he reined it in. After all, he also knew best that the path to cultivation is something that will always be wrapped in danger and setbacks. Only when one managed to persevere, will one succeed to become stronger!

Ling Yu nodded as she agreed with the principal as well.

Tap!

Xiahou Yu finally stood right below the red gate. Clenching her teeth tightly, she stepped forward.

Whooshh!

As soon as her feet stepped into the zone outside the gate, she immediately felt a mysterious tugging force that dragged her in slowly. She did not resist this pulling force as she just let it drag her all the way into the vortex.

Woonggg!

Her figure disappeared as she entered the pitch black vortex.

"Alright, now Duan Li its your turn!" said the principal. This time his face is really serious.

After all, Duan Li is the only hope they have to tide through the end times. Therefore, he was quite worried if any mishaps were to befall on him in the eternal maze. This is the kind of guy that loves to break the laws of nature, perhaps some form of retribution would definitely find its way towards this fella sooner or later.

But thinking about how this same brat would be the one to ascend to the pinnacle of the immortal ascension realm, even if it were the heavenly tribulation themselves that are trying to smite him to dust, that wouldn't even be close to enough to stop him.

In fact, he even started to wonder if the heavens itself has the capability to even do so after witnessing the bizarre event when Duan Li was ascending to the Qi condensation realm the other day. Those crimson thunders were already the tribulation level of the nascent soul realm. Yet, it couldn't even scratch him even for a tiny-teeny bit.

"Okay, here I go! Take care everyone and I will return soon!" said Duan Li as he floated a meter above ground and bolted casually through the gate and into the vortex in the blink of an eye.

"..." the trio.

Are you going on a picnic?

Hais..

...