Chapter 1209: An Unusual Method
Seeing that those five poisonous creatures were almost shaken, Wan Yan Ming immediately placed the box on the ground and reached inside to start searching for the steel needle. His method was indeed effective; the five poisonous creatures seemed dazed, and when he reached in, none of them moved.
However, the steel needle was too small and difficult to find in this box. Wan Yan Ming looked all around the box but couldn't find it; it seemed likely that it was pressed underneath the bodies of the five poisonous creatures.
Wan Yan Ming initially didn't want to touch those five creatures, but at this point, he had no choice. Taking a deep breath, Wan Yan Ming carefully picked up the Green Snake and set it aside, just at that moment he saw a part of the steel needle exposed from under the Green Snake's body.
Wan Yan Ming was overjoyed and immediately grasped the steel needle, ready to pull it out. However, who would have thought that the Green Snake would suddenly open its mouth and bite directly into his wrist.
"Ah!" Wan Yan Ming couldn't help but let out a scream, but he was quick to react. He immediately pulled his hand out of the box, thereby avoiding the fate of being bitten by the remaining four poisonous creatures and only ending up bitten by the Green Snake.
Enduring the intense pain, Wan Yan Ming raised the steel needle in his hand and said to Shen Da beside him: "The steel needle, I've retrieved it. Does it count as passing?"
Looking at the Green Snake on Wan Yan Ming's wrist, Shen Da hesitated slightly. When he looked up, Shen Tianjun was also watching him, nodding slightly as a sign that it counted as passing.
"The steel needle has been retrieved; Wan Yan Ming passes the first project!" Shen announced loudly.
Upon hearing this, Prince Wan Yan was overjoyed. Wan Yan Ming was already the fifth person to attempt, but aside from the first person Li Qianqiu, Wan Yan Ming was the second to pass this project. Keep in mind that those who come here are all young talents from various places; Wan Yan Ming being able to pass the first challenge gave him a sense of pride, and he couldn't help but glance over at Northern Martial Zen.
Northern Martial Zen's face was now ashen. His son's ability was about the same as Wan Yan Ming's, but his son didn't pass the first challenge, whereas Wan Yan Ming did, resulting in a stark contrast; he also felt embarrassed.
After Shen announced the event, Wan Yan Ming immediately tossed away the steel needle and hurriedly pulled down the Green Snake. People came over and took him away to receive antidote treatment.
Shen returned to the room and announced to everyone that Wan Yan Ming had passed.
This left everyone astonished. Everyone knew Wan Yan Ming's ability was about the same as Bei Shisan's, yet Bei Shisan hadn't passed, while Wan Yan Ming did; just what method did he use?
"Isn't that right?" Nalan Tianyu said calmly: "I clearly heard Wan Yan Ming's scream just now; he must have been bitten by the poisonous creature, right? He can still pass?"
"Who said being bitten by a poisonous creature means you can't pass?" Shen Da said with a faint smile: "For our first project, the key is to retrieve the steel needle. If you can retrieve the steel needle, even if you are bitten to death, it counts as passing the first challenge."
"Is that so?" Nalan Tianyu took a deep breath, already starting to contemplate.
"Next, the sixth participant." Shen Da glanced deeply at Ye Qing. He was actually a bit worried that Ye Qing might not be able to pass this challenge, so he made his words quite clear this time.
Ye Qing nodded but did not follow Shen Da outside; instead, he walked to the worried Du Feng nearby, gently patted his shoulder, and whispered a few words in his ear.
Du Feng immediately looked up at Ye Qing, nervously asked: "Really... will it really work?"
"If I pass in a moment, you go ahead as I say. If I can't pass, then it's not too late for you to withdraw!" Ye Qing said quietly.
"Why don't I go try it first?" Du Feng said: "If I can't pass, you can still use another method, right?"
"No need." Ye Qing said with a faint smile, calmly: "I will definitely pass."
After saying this, Ye Qing turned and left the room. Over here, Du Feng watched Ye Qing's back and could not help but feel a sense of gratitude.
As Ye Qing walked into the hall, there was some commotion among the people upstairs. After all, Ye Qing's reputation had soared during this period. Moreover, with Shijia and the Joyous Monk here to back him up, Ye Qing had a big chance of winning. Now everyone wanted to see whether he could pass the first round. In fact, most people were hoping to see Ye Qing eliminated right at the first hurdle.
Ye Qing walked over to the box and looked carefully at the Five Poisons inside. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly rolled up the sleeve of his right arm. Then, with his arm exposed, he slowly extended his hand into the box.
Seeing Ye Qing do this, the people nearby immediately held their breath, watching the situation below tensely. Fang Cai, both Huang Linxuan and Bei Shisan were bitten, and now Ye Qing dared to do the same, and his movements were even slower. Isn't he afraid of being bitten by all the Five Poisons at once, putting his life in danger?
However, to everyone's surprise, when Ye Qing put his hand into the box, the poisonous insects did not bite him at all. In fact, his hand moved right next to the scorpions, but the scorpions seemed completely unaware of him, showing no signs of movement.
"What's going on?" Huang Yidao, seated on the second floor, couldn't help but say, "Were the Five Poisons just stunned by Wan Yan Ming's shaking earlier, and now they haven't recovered yet?"
"These poisonous insects definitely wouldn't be stunned. Moreover, after being attacked from the outside, their aggression would be even stronger!" Du Longwang sitting next to him said, "There must be a reason for his actions."
"What reason?" Huang Yidao asked curiously.
"How should I know!" Du Longwang stared at Ye Qing for a while, then said solemnly, "But, look carefully at where he's positioning his arm; it seems like he's deliberately avoiding something. This posture looks extremely weird indeed. The lack of reaction from the Five Poisons is probably due to the position of his arm."
"Is there such a theory?" Huang Yidao widened his eyes and said, "Are you sure this kid isn't cheating?"
"Whether he's cheating, the Shen Family will naturally determine later." Shen Tianjun said loudly from the side, "Mr. Huang, if you don't trust our Shen Family, feel free to evaluate it personally later."
Upon hearing Shen Tianjun say this, Huang Yidao's face immediately showed an embarrassed expression, laughed dryly twice, and turned his head away, not speaking further.
At this moment, Ye Qing had already taken the steel needle out of the box downstairs, carefully retracing the original path with his arm. Until his arm left the box, Ye Qing finally let out a long sigh of relief, raised the steel needle in his hand, and said loudly, "The steel needle is taken out."
"Very good!" Shen Tianjun laughed heartily and said, "Ye Qing, you passed."
Shijia, sitting between Shen Tianjun and Prince Nalan, said proudly, "My sworn brother is indeed capable. Look, he has good character, even the venomous creatures don't bite him. Unlike some people, bitten to pieces, oh dear, how miserable, how miserable. Still don't know if they can survive, if gone, what about those One-knife Two-knife, isn't it the end?"
Shijia was clearly targeting Huang Yidao, who was so angry he blew his beard and glared, but dared not say anything. After all, earlier he suffered a great loss at the hands of the Joyous Monk, and he knew that his strength was far inferior to these two, not even qualifying to speak.
With Shen Tianjun announcing Ye Qing passed, the next steps needed no further explanation. Ye Qing let out a long sigh; this time confirmed his second assumption was correct, proving his method indeed could extract the steel needle.
Handing the steel needle to Shen Da, Ye Qing directly left the hall. Next up was Nalan Tianyu. Prince Nalan had already sat up straight, clearly nervous as well.
Not long after, Nalan Tianyu walked out, looking a bit surprised, suggesting he was actually discontented and puzzled by Ye Qing passing. However, it was his turn, and he had no choice but to approach the box in the hall. But instead of starting right away, he looked up at Prince Nalan upstairs.
Their eyes met, and Prince Nalan subtly gave Nalan Tianyu an eye signal. Nalan Tianyu hesitated slightly but quickly understood what Prince Nalan meant. He hugged the box, just like Wan Yan Ming before, and shook it vigorously for a good while. When the poisonous insects were shaken into dizziness, he immediately reached into the box, grabbed the steel needle, and pulled his hand out. However, he was ultimately a fraction too slow, and the scorpion's tail struck his wrist, causing him to scream in pain, yet he still managed to extract the steel needle, tossing the poisonous scorpion to the ground.
Seeing Nalan Tianyu also take out the steel needle, Prince Nalan's face finally eased. He was really worried that his grandson would be eliminated in the first round. After all, the reason they came here was to ally with the Shen Family through marriage, and he held high hopes. At least now it seemed his grandson had some brains, being able to understand his eye signals, this made things much easier.
Nalan Tianyu's situation was quite similar to Wan Yan Ming's, so naturally, he also counted as passing the first item. The remaining was Du Feng; he was the last person. After he tried, he would know how many people could enter the second item.
Du Longwang was already sitting upright, watching the entrance to the hall below with tension. He brought Du Feng here for the matchmaking event without much hope because he knew well his grandson's abilities. However, he just wanted Du Feng to gain some experience and learn something from this. Honestly, he was somewhat hopeful inside, hoping Du Feng could win him some face; after all, he had only this one grandson, and who doesn't hope their grandson would achieve greatness?
Du Feng's body trembled slightly as he slowly walked into the hall, arriving in front of the box. Looking at the five poisonous creatures inside the box, Du Feng's face became even paler, truly fearing these things.