Unrivaled Martial Emperor

The outside world burst into a commotion. Voices buzzed across the crowd as they stared at the sky screen.

"It really is farming. I've never seen anything like this."

"An immortal sect's test truly is out of the ordinary."

"This can't be as simple as it looks. They are all powerful martial artists. Even moving mountains and overturning seas would be easy for them. And yet, here they are, plowing the earth by hand. Their powers must be sealed."

"Good point. Without cultivation, plowing sixteen and a half acres isn't easy."

"They must be so frustrated they could vomit blood."

"......"

The Valley of Hardship:

All three thousand and six hundred people were hard at work.

Chen Fan was already drenched in sweat, panting like a dog.

After just fifteen minutes, his hands were burning. The spots where he gripped the plow had turned bright red. At this rate, his skin would tear.

He furrowed his brow.

His physique was comparable to a Grade-9 treasure, for goodness' sake.

Yet now, stripped of power, he was no different from an ordinary man. Plowing a field could wear him raw.

Staring ahead at the long stretch of dark soil, he paused to rest, then resumed his work.

Before long, someone threw their plow on the ground and cursed, "God damn it, I'm done, I'm done! Is this a job for humans?"

Instantly, a ray of immortal light descended, wrapping around the man and ejecting him from the valley.

Their subsequent pleas and screams resounded in the crowd's ears, claiming that they were merely complaining in anger and didn't intend to give up.

The others were speechless.

No one wanted to miss the chance to cross the dragon's gate. It was only farming; could it really tire them to death?

With that thought, a surge of determination rose in many hearts, and they continued plowing.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in Chen Fan's ear, stirring a flicker of annoyance.

"Give up, you're destined to fail at the Immortal Draft Assembly. You're not fated with the immortal sect. If you continue, you will tire yourself to death..."

However, he gritted his teeth and pressed on, head down, watching the soil turn as the furrow stretched further.

Before long, that voice disappeared, but it returned not long after, repeating the same message.

"This isn't just enduring hardship. This is simply the Longevity Monk chanting the band-tightening spell. How annoying!" [1]

Chen Fan felt very helpless.

Farming was already frustrating enough.

Now, there was also a voice nagging him to quit, calling him a failure. It was like oil on a blazing fire. His frustration teetered on the edge of eruption.

However, Chen Fan knew that this was the test.

A dual trial of body and mind.

The other candidates were being tortured the same way.

Some short-tempered people finally couldn't take anymore of the voice and snapped.

Some gave up. Some collapsed. Some nearly lost their minds.

One by one, they were eliminated.

From the original three thousand and six hundred people, the number kept dropping.

Even more people silently endured the devastation, chanting the tranquility mantra in their hearts to dispel all distracting thoughts.

The sun shone fiercely like fire, burning them viciously.

An hour later, Chen Fan let go of his plow and held his palms up. His hands were covered in torn flesh, blood and blisters blurring together.

However, he didn't feel much pain, as his hands were already numb.

He shook out his arms slightly, brows knitted tight.

It was as if his hands no longer belonged to him, as if heavy stones hung from his elbows.

"This body of mine... It's weaker than that of an average man. But the worse it gets, the more I must push forward. This Valley of Hardship doesn't temper only the flesh, but also one's will, patience, and perseverance!"

Chen Fan's eyes gleamed.

A moment later, he forced himself to move again.

Fifteen minutes passed, and a large golden gate suddenly appeared in his mind. He walked toward the gate; just as he was to enter, a spear suddenly shot out from behind the gate and pierced straight through him.

"This..."

Chen Fan didn't expect the Valley of Hardship to show him an image of himself being killed. Clearly, this was meant to shake his mind.

Although his heart rippled, he didn't mind it and continued plowing.

After another hour, he stopped again. Looking at his bloody hands, he sat between the fields helplessly. His legs trembled lightly, completely out of his control.

Grrr... Chen Fan's stomach rumbled lightly.

"So now it's hunger." Chen Fan sighed helplessly.

Fatigue and injury were manageable; he could grit his teeth and endure. But hunger... it was like worms gnawing through his bones. It was far harder to bear.

After resting for a while, Chen Fan brought his hand to his forehead, looking at the sky with a furrowed brow. Hours had passed, yet the sun was still right above his head, showing no signs of setting.

He gritted his teeth, slowly got up, and got to plowing the fields again.

After another quarter of an hour, he was seeing stars. However, he knew that he couldn't rest. In the Valley of Hardship, one could neither sleep nor eat. They could only keep working until they accomplished their goal.

Two more hours passed. Chen Fan grew increasingly weaker, making his plowing speed also slower. Consequently, he was expending more energy than before to plow the same distance of ground.

Simultaneously, all kinds of noises rang out in Chen Fan's ear, agitating him.

"Damn it!"

He could have endured the voices. However, accompanying the voices were incomparably realistic images flashing in his mind, like fragments of his memories. Before long, he found himself struggling to differentiate between dreams and reality.

Everything about him was sealed, even the Bodhi Ancient Tree.

Chen Fan gritted his teeth and kept plowing away.

Unfortunately, he was tired, his hands were bleeding, and he was ravenous. And as if that wasn't enough, he kept being influenced by the fake memories. Maintaining sanity was becoming harder and harder.

"I'm going to break through this Valley of Hardship. No one can stop me!"

As time passed, Chen Fan's hands bled onto the plow. Blood mixed with sweat, soaking the handles. Drops of red fell into the furrow like rain.

Time crawled.

But he no longer felt it. That was the true terror of the Valley of Hardship: time itself felt frozen.

Nothing changed—no shift in sky, sun, or distant scenery. Only the land beneath the plow showed progress. The rest was still. Dead still.

This place was a cage of despair.

More people gave up. Some collapsed outright. The number kept falling.

Some people even fainted from exhaustion.

Ten hours later, Chen Fan's grip loosened. He toppled to the ground.

"I fell? What happened..."

He lay on the dirt, his mind foggy. He neither remembered when he collapsed nor why.

He tried to push himself up but nothing. No strength left. He was drained.

His stomach was hollow. His arms were numb. Hunger had spread through every inch of him. It was like a fire in his gut, and despite the sun overhead, he felt cold.

"Just a short rest..."

He closed his eyes, silently resting on the ground. Suddenly, he felt incomparably thirsty, and his throat cracked with dryness.

Am I going to die here?Chen Fan thought.

But the thought jolted him awake.

No, I have to continue. How can I give up just like this!

Chen Fan sat up with difficulty.

This place tests more than flesh. It breaks the mind. It pushes you to your limits, then drags you beyond.

For a moment, retreat crossed his mind. He crushed it.

I am Chen Fan! I'm going to break through the Valley of Hardship!

He gritted his teeth and slowly stood up; his body screamed, pain slicing through his chest, arms, and legs.

Beneath the sky and above the ground, Chen Fan moved forward once more.

1. Reference to the Journey to the West. The master monk of the group has a spell to tighten the band/circlet Sun Wukong is wearing to force him to obey. ☜