The Corruption Dragon God: Lust System Chapter 677 - Ten lights (02)

The pillar test proceeded according to the sequence of arrivals.

The initial young man to step forward hailed from a merchant family whose affluence was only marginally less than that of the Guo family.

With his chest conspicuously puffed out and a vibrant sparkle in his gaze, he laid his hand upon the pillar with an air of blatant arrogance.

A single light illuminated, followed by a second, and then...

Bewilderment washed over the young man's countenance.

Only two lights? This couldn't be right.

The second light flickered momentarily before extinguishing altogether.

How could such a thing be possible?

"This is impossible; the apparatus must be malfunctioning!" he vociferated, fixing a hostile glare upon the elder.

"There is no malfunction," the elder responded with a voice devoid of inflection.

"The pillar assesses not the quantity of beasts your protector vanquished and surrendered to you, but rather the efficacy of your utilization of them. The fact that only a solitary light remained, despite possessing such a formidable protector, indisputably demonstrates the extent of your inadequacy."

These pronouncements struck the young man with such force that he nearly succumbed to cardiac arrest, overcome by sheer indignation.

His assigned protector, a budding talent who had narrowly missed defeating Monk Fa Yun in the second round of the tournament, could only offer a resigned sigh.

Had he been assigned to protect anyone else, securing passage to the second stage would have been a certainty. However, tethered to such an arrogant and incompetent charge, it was an unattainable objective.

Ultimately, he found himself lamenting his unfortunate lot.

Shortly thereafter, the examinations recommenced in their customary fashion.

Sixty disciples underwent the trials within mere moments, with a scant three managing to ascend to the fourth level and a solitary individual reaching the fifth.

Subsequently, it was the turn of the ravishing beauty under the protection of Monk Fa Yun.

She advanced with deliberate, unhurried steps, and Qingyi, observing her progress, perceived something noteworthy within her statistics.

It was evident that the maiden had been a virgin prior to entering the secret realm, yet she had now shed that status.

A smile played on his lips.

Evidently, he was not the sole individual to have profited from the confines of the secret realm.

Surveying her presented statistics, he offered an approving nod towards Fa Yun, whose expression shifted from momentary confusion to focused attention.

He would engage in a discussion with Qingyi at a later juncture.

The comely young man maintained his contented smile.

Not only was the maiden aesthetically pleasing, boasting ample bosom that surpassed even Xue Hua's in size, but she also possessed exceptionally favorable traits.

Fa Yun, it seemed, possessed discerning taste in women.

Qingyi could only harbor the hope that the monk's sect permitted its adherents to maintain romantic affiliations, lest he find himself compelled to assist a comrade in absconding from the sect with his beloved in tow.

With a faint blush suffusing her cheeks, the maiden's hand made contact with the pillar. It quivered instantaneously, igniting four lights in a singular motion, and this illumination did not cease.

Five lights...

Six lights...

The seventh light flickered precariously before sputtering out, eliciting a

disappointed grimace from her.

She would not, it seemed, shatter the sect's long-standing record: seven lights, nearly achieving eight, a feat accomplished by a dragon a millennium prior.

Nevertheless, a satisfied smile graced her lips. She rejoined Fa Yun's side,

and the monk greeted her with a look of genuine warmth.

Following her trial, which garnered admiring glances from all observers, several more disciples presented themselves. Only one among them managed to achieve the fifth level. With these results, the top three contenders were definitively established, leaving only Xue Hua's turn.

She disengaged from Qingyi's side, her movements swift and graceful.

Fingers resembling slender jade, adorned with sharp, obsidian nails, extended and made contact with the pillar.

A profound silence ensued.

For an extended moment, nothing transpired. Then, the pillar began to tremble with

palpable power.

Seven lights blazed to life simultaneously, their radiance intensifying without faltering. The surge of energy continued its ascent.

Eight lights, nine lights, and then, accompanied by a deep resonance that vibrated through the very stone beneath their feet, a column of brilliant light surged skyward.

An overwhelming pressure descended upon every disciple in the subsequent instant, causing several to stagger involuntarily backward.

Xue Hua retracted her hand, and the luminescence gradually receded. A subtle fracture, posing no threat to its operational integrity, now marked the pillar's

surface.

For a considerable duration, an awed silence permeated the assembly.

The seventh light had been attained only once in the sect's extensive chronicle.

It was widely acknowledged that the sixth light represented the zenith for the majority, with the three tiers above existing merely as aspirational benchmarks for future generations.

"Xue Hua... tenth light, authenticated."

The elder's voice quivered, his wide eyes fixated on the residual glow that had manifested as a radiant pillar, now dissolving into the open air.

This was, unequivocally, an occurrence of unparalleled rarity. Xue Hua returned with unhurried composure, betraying neither surprise nor elation.

She raised her gaze, met her father's eyes, and offered a smile. The elder stood utterly dumbfounded, his mouth slightly agape, incapable of processing the spectacle before him, yet brimming with an irrepressible joy.

In truth, over the preceding month, Xue Hua herself had not experienced discontent.

Qingyi had treated her with nothing but affection. Even when he perceived her subtle manipulations and the soul attacks she initiated subsequent to unlocking her Qi, he remained indifferent.

She had even begun to feel a degree of unworthiness creep into her heart.

He endured all of it, while she, like an ungrateful woman, persisted in her attempts to humiliate him.

Had she revealed to her mother how Qingyi had treated her, and how she had reacted to that treatment, she would likely have faced severe scolding and a lengthy lecture on the duties of a good wife.

Xue Hua picked up her pace.

She moved in front of Qingyi and stood on her tiptoes, her fingers grasping

the material of his robes to draw herself nearer.

Their lips met in a gentle kiss.

Astonishment erupted like a blast among the onlookers.

What in the world was happening?

Why was the Grand Elder's daughter suddenly kissing that man?

Gradually, Xue Hua withdrew from Qingyi. A faint dark mark of lipstick lingered on his lips for a fleeting moment before vanishing completely. She cast another look at her father. His countenance conveyed utter defeat.

She intended to ensure he grasped a very straightforward message: she would select her own husband, not him.

As the names of those who had qualified for the second stage were revealed, coupled with the circulating rumors concerning Qingyi, Rou'er, and Xue Hua, excited murmurs surged through the entire sect like an uncontrollable blaze.

What an incredibly fortunate fellow!