Zhou Tian had only heard from his sect members that the old man wasn't one of the shopkeeper's men, and looking at the man's round belly, he knew he wasn't a member of the martial arts world.
He was already somewhat irritable, and when he heard the old man's words, he became even more impatient, "Stop talking nonsense and start the trial for me now."
The old man's expression remained unchanged; he still smiled and said, "Okay, I wish you success."
Zhou Tianyi already knew the trial format from his disciples. In his opinion, these trials were nothing new; what he valued more was the lottery after passing the trials.
It is said that someone once won a special piece of equipment and sold it for an astronomical price on the black market.
People in the martial arts world generally don't have much of a livelihood, and they usually save money by eating and scrimping to enter the arena. However, as long as they obtain some special items inside, they can recoup their investment. Therefore, many people even regard the trial as an opportunity to make a fortune.
Zhou Tianyi was somewhat dismissive of this. As the leader of a major sect, he naturally didn't lack that kind of money.
When the trial began, Zhou Tianyi waited for the little wooden figure to appear, but unexpectedly, cavalry appeared first.
Zhou Tian was shocked and became flustered. He finally managed to defeat his opponent, but before he could rest, several special martial artists appeared and killed him in one move.
Logically speaking, the first level should not have been difficult for Zhou Tianyi, but due to underestimating the enemy and the enemy's sudden appearance, he was defeated in the first level.
Zhou Tianyi's expression changed, and he scolded the disciple who had given him the message.
In the next two attempts, he encountered unexpected problems each time, just before he could succeed. He used up all his free revivals before even clearing the first level.
Zhou Tian gritted his teeth in anger, not because he was heartbroken about the money, but because he couldn't believe that he had failed to pass the first level even after dying three times.
As far as he knew, his disciples, even those with slightly better strength, only died twice in the first round.
"Did you deliberately adjust the difficulty?" Unable to think of a more reasonable explanation, Zhou Tian turned his attention to the old man.
In his view, this old man, who didn't even have a name, must have used some method to make things difficult for him.
The mysterious old man's expression changed. "Great hero, don't speak nonsense. I don't have that authority. This is how the first test is. If you can't pass it, the only solution is to look for the problem with you."
The old man wasn't lying; although he oversaw the arena, he didn't have the authority to adjust the difficulty of the levels. However, he could occasionally adjust the order in which the enemies appeared.
The guy in front of me seems to be quite strong, but I didn't expect him to be unable to get past the slightest change in the formation.
Thinking of this, a mocking look appeared in the old man's eyes.
Zhou Tianyi didn't notice the mysterious old man's sarcasm. At this moment, he was only focused on the level and didn't bother arguing with the old man anymore.
He bought ten resurrection coins in one go and headed back to the Trial Grounds. He died twice more, but finally cleared the game.
Looking at the lottery card in front of him, Zhou Tianyi shook off his previous gloom and chose one according to his own wishes.
"Congratulations on receiving: a crumpled piece of paper."
Zhou Tianyi was overjoyed; he believed this was definitely not an ordinary object.
"Maybe it's some kind of martial arts manual or treasure map." Thinking this, Zhou Tian excitedly took out the reward, but when he opened the crumpled paper and saw the words on it, he was dumbfounded.
"Hehe, you didn't expect that, did you? It's just a piece of ordinary waste paper. Little Wang Xiaohu littered so carelessly, it's really annoying. If you find a crumpled piece of paper, you must not litter it, or something bad will happen."
Zhou Tian angrily crumpled the paper into a ball again. He wanted to throw it away, but remembering the reminder above, he could only suppress his anger and put the waste paper away.
The old man paused in stroking his beard when he saw Zhou Tianyi's furious expression.
It's really not his fault!
Generally speaking, even if the items in the prize pool aren't special equipment, they're usually somewhat useful. This is the first time he's ever drawn something so junk.
The old man rolled his eyes. How much did the Heavenly Dao dislike this person? How could such a one-in-ten-thousand chance be triggered?
An Ge, who was once rejected by the heavens...
He died more than ten times before finally passing the second level.
Zhou Tian's eyes were vacant, as if he had been tormented greatly. He looked at the card that had reappeared, closed his eyes, and tapped it.
"Congratulations on winning: Grandpa Wang's vegetable pancake."
Zhou Tianyi breathed a sigh of relief. He had heard that many people had drawn food, which could restore physical strength and energy.
Although it wasn't anything special, compared to the previous ones, Zhou Tianyi thought this vegetable pancake was pretty good.
Without reading the description, Zhou Tian ate most of the vegetable pancake in just a few bites.
He frowned, finding the vegetable pancake utterly inedible. Just as he was contemplating whether to finish it, a message appeared out of nowhere: You have been severely poisoned and will continue to lose health.
Zhou Tianyi quickly looked down at the small half-eaten vegetable pancake in his hand.
Spoiled vegetable pancakes: Grandma Wang wasn't home, so Grandpa Wang made the vegetable pancakes himself. His cooking skills were poor; he mixed in some poisonous mushrooms. If you ate them, you'd be in big trouble. But they taste so awful, surely no one would actually eat them?
"I..." Zhou Tianyi was about to curse when everything went black. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the old man's disgusted expression.
Zhou Tianyi took a deep breath. "This must be an accident! It would be better to treat it as poison; I used the wrong method."
Zhou Tianyi was a master who had been stuck at the first-class martial arts level for many years, and after dying more than ten times, he finally passed the third level.
"Congratulations on winning: Granny Wang's foot binding cloth. It's pretty useless. I don't know which stray dog found it. If you won, I'll mourn for you for a while."
"Again!"
"Congratulations on winning: Grandpa Wang's Stinky Insoles. You're quite the talent to have drawn this."
"Congratulations on obtaining: Wang Xiaohu's bib. No wonder Xiaohu couldn't find his bib; you picked it up. It's all his fault for being naughty; he'll definitely get a beating when he gets back."
Having died countless times, Zhou Tianyi felt almost numb from dying, but he finally passed the sixth level.
Zhou Tian's eyes glazed over, and he shakily extended his finger and pressed down hard.
"Congratulations on winning the umbrella that Wang Xiaomei gave to the unfaithful man."
Zhou Tianyi's eyes finally focused. Surely this wouldn't be trash again. He clicked on the description with hope: "An ordinary umbrella, but it carries Wang Xiaomei's wish for her ex-lover: If you can't get it, then it's a sunny day."
Upon seeing the introduction, Zhou Tianyi could no longer contain his pent-up anger.
Does this Wang family have a grudge against him? How come all the items he drew were made by their family?
He couldn't believe his luck could be so bad; he assumed someone was playing tricks. Besides him, the only other person in the arena was the old man beside him—it must be the old man who did it.
"Did you deliberately let me draw these things?"
Upon hearing Zhou Tianyi's accusation, the old man, who had been surprised by Zhou Tianyi, changed his usual gentle demeanor and looked at Zhou Tianyi with a sinister gaze.
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