books44 Chapter 294 Cherish the present
Chapter 294 Cherish the present
In the bustling city, the sisters Ziqian and Muxue are not only stunningly beautiful, but also very lively and cheerful, and are definitely not evil forces. After Zhang Liang learned about their true identities, his doubts immediately disappeared.
"Don't be nervous, we won't hurt you." Zi Qian said, pulling him into their small apartment.
Zi Qian picked up a rag and wiped the table and chair, then invited Zhang Liang to sit down.
"Mr. Zhang, please sit down for a moment. I'll go help my sister prepare the meal. It will be ready in a moment." Zi Qian said and left the room.
"Is the kitchen outside?" Zhang Liang asked puzzledly as he watched her walk towards the door.
"Well, yes. It's spring here all year round, so the kitchen is over there on the balcony." Zi Qian paused, answered and continued walking.
The small apartment is simply decorated and is roughly divided into two areas: the living room and the bedroom. There is only a sofa and two benches in the living room, and a few pots of green plants are placed at the door, which is simple and warm.
The bedroom is obviously a rest area. Although the creatures here don't need to eat or sleep, the sisters still decorated it like a real home, with warmth in its simplicity.
Zhang Liang was sitting inside the house, while Zi Qian was already outside. Seeing Mu Xue busy in the small kitchen on the balcony, he followed her.
"Sister, Zhang Liang has entered the barrier. What should we do next?" Zi Qian approached Mu Xue and whispered.
"The next step is to see if he can break our illusion. If he can't even break this barrier, even if he can really reach the Guixu realm, he will be powerless to save the situation." Mu Xue responded calmly.
"Sister is right."
Zhang Liang sat in the room, unaware that a new round of challenges had quietly arrived. After sitting for a long time, his legs felt a little numb, but the two sisters had not returned yet, so he planned to go out and look for them.
As soon as he took a step, he realized something was wrong and his body suddenly became weak. He almost fell when he stood up, but fortunately Zhang Liang reacted quickly and held onto the corner of the wall.
Zhang Liang immediately realized that something was wrong, and he tensed his entire body, quickly mobilizing his internal energy throughout his body.
The internal force slowly overflowed, forming a protective film. However, just as the "internal force protection" was formed, he felt the internal force leaking away.
Could it be that this barrier is absorbing my internal energy? This discovery shocked Zhang Liang. If this is true, he can only break through the barrier by force.
This pair of sisters really have ulterior motives!
Zhang Liang's heart sank and he drew out his sword, ready to use the sword skills he learned in the third level to break through the blockade.
At this time, Mu Xue and Zi Qian stood outside the balcony, watching how Zhang Liang would respond. If he succeeded, that would be the best. If he failed, they would wait until the barrier exhausted his energy and then send him out of the forest.
As they were thinking, they saw the roof being blown up by a tornado, and then a bigger storm broke through the apartment, and the scope continued to expand. Seeing that the storm was about to affect them, the two sisters quickly retreated.
The apartment was destroyed, the terrible storm gradually subsided, and the debris was scattered all over the ground. Just as the two sisters were surprised by this powerful force, Zhang Liang appeared in front of them.
"Why do you want to hurt me?" Zhang Liang stared at the two pale sisters and asked coldly, without any warmth in his tone.
"Mr. Zhang, this is your second challenge." Mu Xue and Zi Qian said at the same time, and their beautiful faces quickly returned to calm.
"The second challenge?" Zhang Liang asked back.
"Yes, the second challenge." Mu Xue saw that Zhang Liang didn't believe her and answered affirmatively.
"What does this second challenge test? Why couldn't you tell me in advance?" Zhang Liang still didn't believe it and wanted to hear how they would make excuses to frame him.
"This second challenge is to test your ability to identify danger and break through the barrier." Mu Xue explained again.
"You know, in actual combat, identifying danger is crucial. If you are in danger but are unaware of it, or if you know you are in a dilemma but cannot break through, what does this mean in battle? We don't need to say more, right?" Mu Xue continued to add.
After listening to Mu Xue's explanation, Zhang Liang began to believe what they said.
"Is that so?" Zhang Liang muttered to himself, not knowing whether he was talking to himself or to the two sisters.
He waited for the sisters to continue speaking, while Mu Xue and Zi Qian were also waiting for his response.
After a while, seeing that Zhang Liang did not move, Mu Xue and Zi Qian had no choice but to say, "Congratulations, you have passed the second challenge. Soon, you will be recognized by all the creatures in this forest."
“Is that so? What do you mean by ‘soon’? Are there any other challenges?” Zhang Liang asked.
"Yes, one last question." Zi Qian looked at Zhang Liang, her purple eyes sparkling with a strange light, "I believe that if it is you, you will definitely pass it."
"One last question? Can you tell me the content of the test?" Zhang Liang glanced at Zi Qian and then shifted his gaze calmly.
"The third challenge is to test your fighting ability. Let's see how strong you are." Mu Xue answered Zhang Liang's question.
"Who is going to test my fighting ability?" Zhang Liang asked. He was not arrogant, but he probably had no rivals in this forest, otherwise he would not have been trapped in the darkness for tens of thousands of years.
"Of course it's the strongest fighting force in our forest." Mu Xue looked at Zhang Liang as if she was looking at a fool. Isn't this question obvious?
"If anything unexpected happens, don't blame me." Zhang Liang deliberately showed his concern.
"We know that your opponent is strong enough. You can rest assured about this." Mu Xue believed that Zhang Liang's strength had not yet reached its peak, although as can be seen from the tornado just now, his strength should not be underestimated.
"Hearing what you said, I am looking forward to seeing it. Where is he?" Zhang Liang asked.
"Just keep going forward, someone will come to pick you up, and you'll see him then." Zi Qian replied with a gleam in her eyes.
Zhang Liang bid farewell to Mu Xue and Zi Qian, embarked on a new journey, and prepared to face the third challenge.
A few steps away from Mu Xue and Zi Qian, he noticed a giraffe staring at him.
This giraffe has dark black spotted fur, erect ears, a pair of small horns on its head, and its neck is much longer than that of an ordinary giraffe, even exceeding the highest treetops, like a giant mutant.
Zhang Liang walked towards the park in the city center. A tall giraffe lowered its head in the crowd and looked at Zhang Liang level.
"I'm Han Mo, I'm here to take you to the next challenge location."
Han Mo looked at Zhang Liang, wondering why this young man was so thin and small, forgetting that he was actually a tall man with an unusual figure.
Zhang Liang was also looking at Han Mo, his eyes full of curiosity.
"Are you Zhang Liang?"
"Yes."
"Okay, you are the one I am waiting for. Follow me and I will take you to a new place of challenge."
Zhang Liang said no more and followed Han Mo's steps closely.
Han Mo deliberately slowed down his pace, but four legs were faster than two legs after all. Zhang Liang quickened his pace and barely caught up.
Not long after, they came to an open square. There was nothing around it, which was a perfect arena.
"This time, your fighting skills will be tested. You will face the most ferocious creatures we have here: mandrills, rhinos, brown bears, and wild boars. I will be the referee. Do you have any objections?"
"No." Zhang Liang answered calmly.
The mandrill looks a bit like a monkey, but with a sturdy body and a short, thick tail. It has a large head, bulges on both sides of the nose, and a colorful face that exudes a fierce look.
The mandrill looks bad-tempered, belligerent and ferocious. When you get closer, you'll be impressed by its long, sharp teeth and sharp claws.
"Oh, it's just a show of force." Zhang Liang said contemptuously. This guy is just scary in appearance.
"You, what did you say!" The mandrill seemed furious when he heard this.
"Referee, I ask them to come up together." Zhang Liang ignored the mandrill and turned to Han Mo.
"Zhang Liang, you need to think it over carefully." Han Mo reminded.
"of course."
"Okay. You all come together." As soon as the words fell, four beasts rushed towards the venue.
Zhang Liang's arrogance made Han Mo secretly decide that he must teach him a lesson.
"Is it you?" Zhang Liang looked at the four approaching beasts without any fear.
Zhang Liang reached out and grabbed the long sword, with the tip of the sword pointing straight to the sky. He then used his body rotation to drive the sword to dance, forming a storm under his feet, blocking the attack of the beast.
However, the four beasts were not easy to deal with. They jumped over the storm and were about to break through the defense. At this time, the storm expanded with Zhang Liang's feet as the center, and instantly swept one of the beasts into the air.
The other three beasts were stunned and panicked when they were also swept up by the storm.
The creatures in the audience were all shocked. What kind of power could defeat the strongest force here?
The storm formed a funnel shape from bottom to top and lasted for a long time before it gradually died down. The four beasts that were swept up fell to the ground in a miserable state.
Zhang Liang nodded with satisfaction. This Blade Storm was different from the last robot challenge. Last time, it was all about swordsmanship, but this time, he incorporated his own internal force and materialized it into attack power.
In this move, only one-tenth of the real swordsmanship was used to knock the four beasts to the ground, which made Zhang Liang quite satisfied.
"Okay, I declare that Zhang Liang wins this challenge!" Han Mo looked at the fallen beast, raised his head and announced to the audience.
Exciting words rang out and the whole city was boiling. They knew exactly what this meant - he was their hope and their savior.
"Zhang Liang! Zhang Liang! Zhang Liang!..." Such cries echoed throughout the city, as if the sufferings of the past had never existed.
In a blink of an eye, it was the tenth day. The sun rose in the east. The faint sunlight just illuminated the sky, and a strange picture came into view.
The animals and plants in the forest seemed to be still, staring at the direction of the sunrise. Some animals climbed to the top of the mountain, and birds perched on the branches, making mournful calls from time to time, each of which was filled with endless sadness, as if they were holding a sacred ceremony.
The "return of life" that happens once every ten thousand years is about to end, and life will once again fall into darkness and despair.
Zhang Liang watched all this quietly, feeling mixed emotions. He never thought that he would feel sad for others, but he was more determined to save the forest.
"Don't be so heavy, just treat this as a long sleep. Tomorrow, I will definitely break the pot and free your souls." Zhang Liang stood in the woods and said to the front.
Although Zhang Liang's voice was not loud, it was clearly heard by every creature. In the silent forest, a ripple appeared because of Zhang Liang's words.
All creatures turned to look at him, their eyes filled with anticipation for tomorrow but more importantly, fear of the unknown darkness.
Over the past hundred thousand years, there have been a few challengers who happened to catch up with the once-in-ten thousand-years return of life, but each time they either defeated the guardian and forgot their promise, or were defeated and withdrew from the path of inheritance.
"Even if today is really the last day of your life, shouldn't you cherish the present moment?" Zhang Liang continued when he saw them looking at him.
Silence, still only silence.
Seeing that persuasion was ineffective, Zhang Liang decided to leave and find a quiet place to wait for the night to fall.
As soon as I turned around, I heard movement behind me. The animals on the top of the mountain ran down the mountain, because the top of the mountain was too boring; the birds on the branches flapped their wings and flew far away, because they still had to find food, and their chicks were still waiting.
A gust of wind blew by, stirring the leaves and bringing life to the forest. It would be great if it could continue like this.
Zhang Liang stopped and smiled with satisfaction, and everything returned to normal.