'It should be a test to see who could think fast and talk clever nonsense to get out of tough situations. In other words, it was a test of the brain, not a test of power. She went about it the wrong way,' Long Chen came to a conclusion.
Ruan Yi came out with the girl. The girl walked back to the other Disciples while keeping her head down.
"Since these are the internal trials, I would hope to save as much of you as I can from dying, but don't take it as if I was lying about the Temple Sacrifice. No one will use a Life-Giving Pill there because it would be ineffective," Ruan Yi told all the disciples.
She once again brought out the black box and placed it on the ground.
"The next person, get your task," She declared
Another girl walked forth and picked out a paper from the black box.
She unfolded the paper.
"Stab your..." She muttered, but her face turned pale as well before she could continue it.
"Do I have to tell every single one of you separately, or would you guys not learn if I don't kill you personally!" Ruan Yi thundered as she glared at the girl. "Read everything out loud!"
"Stab your heart with a sword and survive for two minutes without using anything for healing," She finished reading the paper.
"Good. You need to stab a sword in your heart and survive for two minutes," Ruan Yi said to the girl.
She brought a sword out of her storage ring and gave it to the girl.
The girl took the sword, but she looked hesitant.
"The more you delay in doing it, the less likely I'll be to give you a Life-Giving Pill. Also, you will not get the Life-Giving Pill if I kill you myself in anger," Ruan Yi said as she glared at the girl in anger.
The girl gripped the sword firmly in her hand as she pointed it towards her chest.
She took a deep breath before she inserted the sword in her heart so deep that it came out from her back.
She coughed out a mouthful of blood. Her eyes were turned red as she fell down on her knees.
Ruan Yi couldn't help but shake her head.
Long Chen and Ru Shen also reacted the same way. They had seen the hidden message of the paper. The paper only said that one had to stab the heart; it didn't mention how deep one needed to stab. If one was careful, it was easy to survive for a few minutes, but the girl was so affected by the seriousness of these tasks that she couldn't see this small thing.
'A test for the presence of mind and for observation. Interesting. The tests are quite interesting," Long Chen thought.
The girl dropped to the ground, headfirst. Her eyes closed as she died just after sixty seconds. She couldn't complete her task.
"Idiot," Ryan Yi muttered as she turned her body and took the sword out of her chest as she fed her the Life-Giving Pill.
The girl was healed, and she woke up as well.
"You failed. Go back," Ruan Yi said to her.
The girl walked back with a disappointed look on her face.
"Next person," Ruan Yi let out.
****
One after another, disciples kept coming forth and selecting a task for themselves, but none of them could succeed. All of them died and weren't able to complete the task.
Soon, it was Ru Shen's turn.
People were hopeful that Ru Shan might be able to do it since he was way above everyone's league, according to his fellow disciples.
Ru Shen inserted his hand inside the box and pulled out a paper.
He unfolded the paper, and his emotionless face also turned pale as he saw the task.
"Read it out loud," Ruan Yi reminded him.
"Enter the swamp of Life and stay inside for ten minutes without dying," Ru Shen let out.
'They included this as well? Are they serious?' Ruan Yi frowned as she heard the task.
Long Chen looked around and saw the open mouth of everyone present there. He didn't understand why everyone was so shocked. Was this swamp of life really that dangerous?
Long Chen looked at one of the guys beside him and asked what the Swamp of Life was.
The guy didn't take his eyes off of Ru Shen as he replied. "That is one of the most terrible places of this sect. I can't believe it's a task! Even Elders are scared to get inside the swamp,"
"Hmm? Sounds somewhat serious," Long Chen muttered.
"It's not serious, it's frightening. Dying is a better option than entering the Swamp of Life."
"If I were in Ru Shen's place, I would prefer dying right here instead of going into the Swamp of Life,"
"Ru Shen really has the worse luck here,"
"I don't think he will do it."
"I think he will do it. He values face more than anything. If he is scared before the elder, he'll lose face. He will surely do it."
"Poor guy."
People started whispering their opinions as they sighed.
'Looks like that Swamp is something really bad if Ghost Temple disciples are so scared of it. This Ru Shen seems to be somewhat unlucky. He probably wouldn't die, though. So far, no one has died, but if it's really that dangerous, I can't ignore the possibility of him dying,' Long Chen thought.
Ru Shen stared at the paper while Ruan Yi waited for his response. No matter how dangerous it is, she wouldn't let him break the rules of the internal trials.
"I will do it," Ru Shan said as he clenched his fist.
"Good," Ruan Yi nodded her head in appreciation of Ru Shen's courage.
"You guys get on the Giant Tiger Swan. It'll drop you back in the arena. No one is to get out of that place. I'll be back soon. If I found anyone missing, I'll make sure that you regret being born," Ruan Yi told the fellow disciples before she held Ru Shen's hands and flew away.
"Poor guy. I don't think he would return alive. It's all over for him," One of the guys said, shaking his head.
Long Chen started walking towards the Giant Tiger Swan with a few others while others were busy discussing.
Long Chen got on top of the Giant Tiger Swan. He could continuously feel the killing intent of someone that was targeted towards him. He couldn't help but shake his head.