Urban Martial Saint

Seeing Du Feng like this, Ye Qing couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental. Among everyone, Du Feng's aptitude is probably the weakest, but his character is not bad; at least he understands gratitude and loyalty, which Ye Qing appreciates.

"If you don't try, how do you know you have no hope?" Ye Qing said softly, "If you really want to make your grandfather proud, at least you have to give it a shot. Retreating in the face of battle will only disappoint him even more."

"But I really have no way of passing," Du Feng said helplessly. "You just heard it: 'Risking One's Life' is basically gambling with one's life. Even a slight mistake means the Five Poisons infest you, and that's fatal. If I die here, my grandfather would be more heartbroken."

Just as Du Feng finished speaking, a scream came from outside, which was the voice of Huang Linxuan.

Upon hearing this sound, everyone inside the room turned pale. Lin Qianqiu had just passed the first project, surprising everyone, as nobody expected the method to pass this project. But Lin Qianqiu passed directly, letting everyone know that passing the first project isn't impossible, maybe even very simple. But Huang Linxuan's screams shattered everyone's illusions; it seems passing the first project is definitely not an easy task.

The sound startled Du Feng as well; he originally didn't have much confidence but now felt even more dejected. He glanced at Ye Qing and said in a low voice, "You hear it, passing the first project is really hard; I think I really have no hope."

Ye Qing shook his head, not speaking, but carefully listening to the sounds outside. Even though the door was shut tightly, Huang Linxuan's screams kept coming in, showing he was heavily injured. However, it was clear that even though his scream sounded wretched, his voice remained strong, proving he wasn't severely poisoned, which confirmed Ye Qing's previous speculation.

Actually, when Shen Da mentioned this project, Ye Qing had been speculating. The Shen Family proposed this first project, seemingly dangerous, but in fact, the Shen Family wouldn't do anything truly dangerous. After all, those participating in the recruitment are heroes with great backing, and the Shen Family wouldn't let anyone die here. Hence, Ye Qing speculated earlier that the Five Poisons weren't as terrifying as Shen Da claimed, without the blood-sealed throat fatality. Now Huang Linxuan's screams verified Ye Qing's guess; he screamed for this long with robust voice, showing no signs of poisoning. This means the so-called Five Poisons aren't poisonous; Shen Da was merely scaring everyone.

Others naturally don't have Ye Qing's keen observation abilities. Hearing Huang Linxuan's screams, everyone turned pale. The harsher Huang Linxuan screamed, the more frightened everyone became. How could they pass the first project under such circumstances?

Huang Linxuan screamed for nearly a minute before suddenly stopping, as if someone had blocked his throat. Everyone sat up straight, anxiously watching the door, eager to know what happened to Huang Linxuan.

Before long, the door opened and Shen Da walked in, sighed, and said, "Huang Linxuan couldn't pass the first project, severely poisoned. Luckily, he's somewhat fortunate, only bitten by the Three Poisons; he's been sent for rescue and should be able to keep his life. Again, I advise everyone not to take chances; best to think clearly about what to do, otherwise, any mishap could be bad."

Everyone took a deep breath; Huang Linxuan going for rescue showed that the Three Poisons are indeed terrifying. It's almost their turn; how should they extract the steel needle? Could it be, this first project will eliminate everyone, leaving only Lin Qianqiu as the one to pass?

Ye Qing's expression remained calm, as Huang Linxuan's screams verified his first guess, and his second guess was likely also correct. So, he already had a plan for passing the first project.

Shen Da ignored the crowd's panic, loudly saying, "Next, the third to go."

The third person named Li Hongyi, the son of Li Tianyi. Hearing Shen Da call him, his face turned white; Huang Linxuan's screams were still fresh in his ears, he truly dared not go out.

But now, staying cooped up in this room indefinitely was impossible. After hesitating for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth and stepped out of the room.

The few remaining inside didn't say anything more, instead held their breath and focused intently on the direction of the door, waiting to see how Li Hongyi would fare.

Li Hongyi went out, and after a full ten minutes, there was no sound at all. This made everyone breathe a little easier; could it be that Li Hongyi also passed the first project? So, the success rate for the first project was rather high, wasn't it? Didn't this mean they also had a chance?

Just when everyone harbored wishful thinking, the door opened, and Shen Da walked in from the entrance, loudly announcing, "Li Hongyi has withdrawn from the recruitment, next the fourth to go."

The fourth person was Bei Shisan; his face turned white. Apparently Li Hongyi didn't pass, he withdrew from the recruitment, and now all the pressure fell on Bei Shisan's shoulders. Could he pass this project?

Bei Shisan took a deep breath, though very nervous inside, he still left the room, coming into the hall. On the second floor of the hall, the Shen Family and those who came watched silently from above, observing Bei Shisan and the box below.

Inside the box, the Five Poisons lay in the same state as before, now seeming more terrifying than ever.

Bei Shisan looked up at the Northern Martial Zen upstairs, who also looked at him. The gaze between father and son dispelled any thought Bei Shisan had of exiting the recruitment. If he declared his exit here, wouldn't that ruin his father's reputation?

Unable to withdraw from the recruitment, Bei Shisan had to brace himself and approach the box. Taking a deep breath, he suddenly reached into the box, grabbing the centipede nearest to the box entrance, throwing it out with lightning speed. So fast that the centipede didn't even react and couldn't bite him.

Bei Shisan's method was just a try, surprised it went so smoothly. With one move successful, he became excited and immediately reached for another scorpion. Unexpectedly, at that moment, the scorpion in the box seemed to go berserk; as soon as Bei Shisan's hand entered, the scorpion directly stung his finger with its tail.

"Ah!" Bei Shisan cried out in pain, unable to contain the scream as the scorpion's sting was truly unbearable.

Bei Shisan hurriedly tried to retract his hand, but suddenly noticed the steel needle placed near the scorpion. This caused a moment of hesitation, unsure whether to retrieve the steel needle. In this moment of indecision, the Green Snake lunged over, biting his wrist, causing Bei Shisan immense pain, screamed even louder.

Bei Shisan finally regretted why he hesitated for that moment. Quickly trying to withdraw his hand, however, the toad and lizard also came over, the lizard biting his other wrist, while the toad sprayed a cloud of mist at him. In that mist, Bei Shisan felt his wound rotting, making him suffer unbearably, screaming continuously. Hastily withdrawing his hand, but the three poison creatures that bit his arm also came out with it. Bei Shisan writhed on the ground in pain, unable to change anything, until Shen Da rushed over from behind, pressing a point on his temple, gratefully stopping his screams, and carrying him out.

Everyone inside heard Bei Shisan's screams and turned extremely pale. Bei Shisan was quite capable among them, yet who'd expect him to scream like this; proving the Five Poisons are truly terrifying. Everyone's wish to pass the first project now seemed like a pipe dream.

Soon, Shen Da entered the room, loudly announcing, "Bei Shisan bitten by four poison creatures, didn't pass the first project, now undergoing rescue. Next, the fifth to go."

The fifth person was Prince Wan Yan, his ability similar to Bei Shisan. Since Bei Shisan didn't pass, it appeared Prince Wan Yan's chances were slim. After a quiet pause, he took a steady walk outside, entering the hall.

The box was still in the same position as before, the five poisonous creatures now returned to the box, laying as they did previously.

Prince Wan Yan stood by the box for quite a while, then suddenly took off his coat, walked over to block the box entrance, and began shaking the box vigorously.

"What are you doing?" beside him Shen Si couldn't help but ask urgently.

Shen Da stopped Shen Si, saying, "He has his own method; as long as he can extract the steel needle, we don't need to worry about his approach."

Shen Si said nothing more, curiously watching Prince Wan Yan. Watching for a while, his expression suddenly changed as he finally understood Prince Wan Yan's plan.

The five poisonous creatures inside were all shaken dizzy by Prince Wan Yan's vigorous shaking, clearly confused. Prince Wan Yan intended this maneuver to confuse the creatures, proving his strategic cunning.

Upstairs, Prince Wan Yan's father watched his son's act, nodding with pride; in this respect, his son was indeed better than the previous ones.