Fang Yun carefully observed that the four corridors showed no trace of the three great scions Douji, Yingyan, and Longling. He thought to himself that it was no surprise, as these three were the most outstanding demon generals among the Demon Clan. Unlike the Starfall Bridge and the Avalanche Slope, where one could quickly run across if strong enough, the Avalanche Slope could only be climbed step by step.
Fang Yun remembered that before them, there were probably more than fifty Demon Barbarians who had climbed the Avalanche Slope, including eight scions of the Blood Demon Barbarians and five scions of the Star Demon Barbarians. The latter’s strength was clearly slightly inferior. The rest were from the noble Demon Clan and some followers. But now, at the head of the fourth corridor’s bridge, only about twenty Demon Barbarians stood, with more than ten still advancing on the Starfall Bridge.
This meant that more than ten Demon Barbarians had already died.
These Demon Barbarians were the elite of their clans, geniuses destined to become Demon Kings. Their deaths weighed heavily on Fang Yun’s heart.
The Demon Barbarians on the bridge were scattered about, with a Tiger Demon Saint standing at the forefront, only half a mile from the end of the Starfall Bridge.
The Tiger Demon Saint stood there without moving, his vital energy burning like fire, blocking the shockwaves from the falling stars, yet no star struck him directly.
Beneath the Tiger Demon Saint’s feet, Fang Yun noticed a faint layer of cold air. If it weren’t for the fifth movement of The Courage to Write and the illumination of the God of Literature, he wouldn’t have been able to see the cold air clearly.
Fang Yun remembered seeing this Tiger Demon Saint on the Avalanche Slope, a strong figure indeed. With its speed, it could rush through in a short time, and with the ancestral spirit, its strength could only be stronger than imagined. Its stillness surely meant something strange.
Ancestral spirits were powers formed by the Demon Clan when they stimulated their ancient bloodlines, equivalent to the human’s The Courage to Write. However, generally, Demon Barbarians only obtained ancestral spirits when they reached the rank of Demon Marquis, while noble Demon Barbarians could gain them as Demon Commanders, and the most outstanding ones even as Demon Generals.
Demon Barbarians continuously nourished their ancestral spirits with their vital energy. As the ancestral spirits grew, they brought immense power to the Demon Barbarians. When sealing their sainthood, Demon Barbarians would consume their ancestral spirits, transforming them into their own power.
While keeping an eye on the Tiger Demon Saint, Fang Yun listened to the conversations of the Demon Barbarians at the entrance of the fourth corridor.
The newly arrived Presented Scholars stood still, watching the meteors fall, listening to the piercing roar of the meteors flying at high speed, and feeling the heat of the flames formed by the friction of the meteors with the air. They remained silent for a long time.
The meteors were too fast, flying past several miles or even tens of miles in the blink of an eye. If they came from directly ahead, it would be manageable, but they fell from above, making it impossible to calculate their trajectory.
As Fang Yun pondered strategies, he saw the Tiger Demon Saint move. A blood shadow of a tiger’s head emerged behind it, and with a roar to the sky, an invisible force infused into the Tiger Demon Saint. It then sprinted forward at a terrifying speed, each step on the ice bridge sounding like a thunderous drum.
Everyone felt that the Tiger Demon Saint at this moment was like a fierce beast that could swallow mountains and rivers, capable of shattering even a mountain with its charge.
Suddenly, a meteor the size of a human head appeared in the sky, almost instantly appearing above the ice bridge.
Everyone remembered that a noble Elephant Demon had been killed by a meteor of this size. Even if the Tiger Demon Saint was far stronger than that Elephant Demon General, it would undoubtedly die if hit by the meteor.
Then Fang Yun was stunned. The meteor was not falling but chasing, aiming to strike the Tiger Demon Saint.
Just as the meteor was about to hit, the Tiger Demon Saint suddenly retreated, leaping back an incredible thirty feet. Then the meteor struck the ice bridge, shattering it and falling down with the broken ice.
The meteor’s impact on the ice bridge created an invisible shockwave, blowing the vital energy around the Tiger Demon Saint as dim as a candle in the wind.
Fang Yun thought the Tiger Demon Saint would relax after this ordeal, but it suddenly accelerated, leaping over the large hole created by the meteor’s impact on the ice bridge and continuing to run wildly.
Suddenly, a fireball flew up from the hole below.
“It’s the same meteor! But it’s halved in size,” someone whispered.
Fang Yun stared intently at the meteor, seeing the tiger head ancestral spirit behind the Tiger Demon Saint suddenly confront the meteor, while the Tiger Demon Saint continued to run forward.
“Boom…”
The tiger head ancestral spirit collided with the meteor, creating a powerful shockwave that swept in all directions. The Tiger Demon Saint was hit, spewing a mouthful of fresh blood, and ran forward even faster.
As the dust from the collision between the meteor and the tiger head ancestral spirit cleared, a meteor the size of an egg once again struck towards the Tiger Demon Saint.
The Tiger Demon Saint suddenly turned around. His entire body’s vital energy surged into his right foreleg, which swelled to twice its size. With a roar, he pounced towards the small meteor.
The Tiger Demon Saint’s right forepaw, carrying a force that could tear the heavens and split the earth, struck the meteor.
“Bang…”
A loud noise erupted, and the meteor, like a meat grinder, first shattered the Tiger Demon Saint’s left forepaw, then continued unstoppably, eventually pulverizing the entire right foreleg of the Tiger Demon Saint. However, the meteor’s own force was also exhausted.
Then the Tiger Demon Saint roared, spewing a large amount of vital energy like flames from its mouth, turning the last of the meteor into dust.
The Tiger Demon Saint laughed wildly, limping on three legs, leaving the ice bridge surface, and finally entering a light gate, officially passing through the fourth corridor.
Many Demon Barbarians cheered, congratulating the Tiger Demon Saint.
“This fourth corridor is impossible to pass,” Zong Wude said, looking at the place where the Tiger Demon Saint had departed.
“The power formed by our poetry is no match for the meteors.””Unless someone claims to have a trick to cross, I’d rather die than traverse this fourth corridor. You all figure out a way; I’ll just sit here and wait for the results!” Li Fanming didn’t even step onto the ice bridge. He found a spot on the flat ground beneath it, sat down, and began feeding carrots to a rabbit.
The rabbit had grown even sturdier since entering The Holy Land, its fur sleek and glossy, clearly nourished by the power of the stars.
Li Fanming stroked the rabbit’s ears and chuckled, “This fur could be sold for at least a thousand taels of silver.”
The rabbit glared at Li Fanming with annoyance, snatched the carrot, and began munching away with its back turned to him.
The other Presented Scholars, however, did not give up. They carefully observed the fourth corridor. The meteor shower was not like an avalanche that covered the entire path from start to finish; there were always safe spots, except for the last half-mile where one meteor possessed a miraculous tracking ability. The rest did not change direction. With the right judgment, quick reflexes, speed, and a bit of luck, there was a chance to get across.
Zong Wude suddenly said, “Brother Delun, that dragon of the Kong Family didn’t pass the Comet Corridor by his own strength, did he?”
Kong Delun was taken aback, seemingly organizing his thoughts. After a while, he replied, “Our Kong Family is vast and prosperous, and unexpected things happen all the time. There are always people who obtain incredible things.”
No one questioned him, for what Sage Confucius had done back then remained a mystery. Where he went before his seclusion, what he did after emerging and before his death, all remained enigmas.
With Confucius’s strength at that time, a mere scavenging trip to the ancient lands would have been enough to make the Kong Family wealthy enough to rival nations.
“Master Fang, what are your thoughts on this Falling Star Bridge?”
Fang Yun did not answer immediately but instead carefully observed the surface of the ice bridge. Too far to feel the chill above, he walked forward onto the bridge, and the familiar coldness immediately hit him, stronger than that of the first and third corridors, but it posed no threat to him.
The others also noticed the chill of the ice bridge, stepping onto it to feel it and then quickly retreating.
“It’s like being between ice and fire.”
“The power of that meteor is somewhat unbelievable. Such a small stone could sever a Demon Elephant in half, and even the Demon Saint’s son couldn’t withstand it. How could we possibly get across?”
“Indeed, it’s utterly unreasonable.”
Fang Yun helplessly said, “You’re wrong. The force of a meteor the size of a human head falling at high speed is incredibly strong, strong enough to rival a full-force strike from a Demon King. If that Demon Saint’s son hadn’t let the meteor expend most of its energy by missing him, he would have died long ago.”
“Do you study astronomy?” Yan Yukong asked.
“I know a bit.” Fang Yun wanted to say that the impact of a human-head-sized meteor falling at high speed was equivalent to the explosion of a miniature nuclear bomb, but he had no way to explain that to them.
“Could you explain it simply?”
Fang Yun pondered for a moment, then said, “You know, a regular arrow shot at someone can only penetrate flesh and blood, right?”
Everyone nodded.
“But if a Demon General shot that arrow with a strong bow, it could leave a big hole in a person’s body and push them back repeatedly. That’s not a problem, right?”
“I’ve seen the power of the Demon Clan’s strong bows and arrows. When they hit a person, it’s not just about being pushed back; the person can even be sent flying backward,” Sun Naiyong said.
“If someone with even greater strength shot that arrow, making it travel at a higher speed, then the force carried by the arrow would be enough to cut a person in half,” Fang Yun said.
Sun Naiyong added, “I remember, during a battle, a Demon King suddenly threw a spear and split a soldier in two.”
“I see. But how do we deal with these meteors?”
Yan Yukong glanced at Fang Yun, cleared his throat, and said, “I’ll just share my thoughts. The Comet Corridor is a place where the Demon Ancestor selects disciples, not a place for killing. The power of these meteors is too strong, so strong that even the three Great Saints would undoubtedly die if they faced them head-on. Therefore, I believe there must be a special way to cross this Falling Star Bridge. Fang Yun, I’m placing my hopes on you.”
“Let’s put our heads together. You all think it over; I’ll go aside and take a look.”
Fang Yun walked to a secluded spot and quietly observed the Falling Star Bridge and the Demon Barbarians, continuously pondering in his heart, hoping to find a way to cross the bridge.
“To cross the bridge, one must calculate the landing points of the meteors. The Demon Clan can burst forth with extreme speed in an instant, but the human race doesn’t have such explosive power. Without predicting where the meteors will land, death is certain.”
“Furthermore, that Demon Saint’s son stood there for a long time without being directly hit by a meteor, indicating there are relatively safe spots on the bridge.”
“The power of the meteors is not particularly strong; on the contrary, when they hit the bridge’s surface, they only break small holes, with much of their force absorbed by the ice bridge. This might be the key!” (To be continued.)