"This..." Elder Xiong Yan frowned a little before turning towards Elder Feng Wanjia. "What does Elder Feng think about Yekong's suggestion?"
Xiong Yekong's suggestion was not exactly a radical one. After all, it was not as though they had never allowed their allies and guests to go through the tribulations of the Zodiac Tree in the past. However, the circumstances were slightly different this time.
While they had already performed a few tests on the newly expanded Zodiac Tree, there could still be some hidden dangers that had slipped past their detection. If one such hidden danger were to emerge, someone from the Black Tortoise Sect could end up injured while going through the tribulations.
That would be a tricky situation to manage.
However, Elder Feng Wanjia's response was surprisingly a lot more nonchalant than he had expected.
"If Elder Xiong is all right with it, then I have no objections as well, so long as it is on a voluntary basis," Elder Feng Wanjia replied. "After all, it would be a huge opportunity for any of our disciples to be allowed to experience the famed Zodiac Tree."
"In that case, let's go with that," Elder Xiong Yan answered. Since Elder Feng Wanjia had personally agreed to the matter, the responsibility of keeping her disciples safe now rested on her shoulders.
"Why don't you give it a try, Junior Martial Brother Gan?" Hua Shui asked without hesitation.
"M-Me?" Gan Luozhi was taken aback by the sudden mention of his name. "Must I?"
"Is there a problem?" Hua Shui furrowed his brows, clearly not expecting such an adverse reaction.
"For such a rare opportunity, why don't we leave it to Junior Martial Brother Zhao instead? He is still young and inexperienced, so this is a rare chance for him to widen his horizons," Gan Luozhi carefully proposed. "Considering that, I am willing to cede this opportunity to him."
This was a no-brainer for him.
After all, wasn't this supposed to be an assessment of the safety and efficiency of the Zodiac Tree?
He did not care about the efficiency of the Zodiac Tree, but the safety aspect was extremely important here!
While Elder Feng Wanjia had agreed to observe the situation, the chances of accidents happening were not zero. If he were to go through the tribulations and something really ended up going awry, who knew what would happen to him?
More importantly, the inner disciples of the Armed Ape Tower were all watching right now.
If he ended up struggling to go through the tribulations within the Zodiac Tree, wouldn't his reputation take a huge hit?
He had spent just about the entirety of last night trying to build the foundation of his reputation within the Armed Ape Tower, so he would definitely like to avoid doing anything that could render all of that effort meaningless in one fell swoop!
As for the benefits that could come with going through the tribulations... just how good could they possibly be?
Wasn't it just some experience and boost to physique?
As someone who did not cultivate the body strengthening system, such benefits simply did not outweigh the cons.
And who knew? After he had built up his reputation here, there could be plenty of chances to give it a go in the future!
Of course, Gan Luozhi was not nearly foolish enough to reveal his true thoughts. Instead, he phrased it beautifully, portraying himself as a kind senior who was giving up a rare opportunity for the sake of his lacking junior martial brother.
This way, not only could he prevent any mishaps to himself, but also allow everyone to realise just what the difference was between him and other outer disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect!
"Fine," Hua Shui's frown deepened before turning towards Zhao Yunxiao. "What do you think, Junior Martial Brother Zhao? Would you like to give it a try?"
He understood just how great of an opportunity this was, and had wanted to give Gan Luozhi the honour of challenging the Zodiac Tree due to the latter's ties to Hua Sheng. Who knew that the latter would actually turn it down?
Since Gan Luozhi did not appreciate his thoughts, then so be it!
"I would be my honour!" Zhao Yunxiao naturally jumped on that opportunity.
The Zodiac Tree had traditionally only been made available to disciples of the Armed Ape Tower and rare guests. Under normal circumstances, an outer disciple of the Black Tortoise Sect like him would never have an opportunity to challenge it.
In fact, not even disciples of the Armed Ape Tower would be able to try this as and when they wanted to, so how could he pass up on such a rare chance?
As for Gan Luozhi's concerns, they were completely irrelevant in Zhao Yunxiao's eyes.
So what if he ended up looking pathetic while struggling through the tribulations within the Zodiac Tree?
So what if his reputation took a hit and made him appear to be of a lower standing than Gan Luozhi?
These were matters that had no tangible impact on him whatsoever!
As for the safety aspect, just how unsafe could it be with both the Armed Ape Tower sect administrators and Elder Feng Wanjia watching right outside?
Even if he ended up suffering a small loss, the potential benefits far outweighed the consequences!
And this would have been his decision even if Zhao Yunxiao did not cultivate the body strengthening system. After all, he did not see any reason to turn down any form of benefits, no matter how small it was.
Zhao Yunxiao's response was met with varying reactions.
Gan Luozhi let out a triumphant smirk, believing that his plan worked on a foolish junior.
Hua Shui nodded in satisfaction, glad that at least one of the two was willing to take on this assignment.
On the other end, the corners of Xiong Yekong's lips curled up as well.
This was exactly what he had in mind when proposing this. Even if Hua Shui had successfully pushed that other outer disciple to give it a try, he would have stepped in to interfere. Or at the very least, he would have pushed for Zhao Yunxiao to give it a try after.
Now, it was time to sit back and watch carefully.
While the sect administrators used Zhao Yunxiao to assess the functionality of the newly expanded Zodiac Tree, he would be using the newly expanded Zodiac Tree to assess the full combat capabilities of Zhao Yunxiao.
And if the latter was proven to be truly not up to par, let's see how Chen Pingxi would react to that!
"Come here then, good lad," Elder Xiong Yan beckoned.
Zhao Yunxiao looked towards Hua Shui, who nodded in acknowledgement. Only then did he step out to stand before Elder Xiong Yan.
"Not too bad, you have a pretty good body constitution," Elder Xiong Yan praised after giving him a quick look. "Well then, let me tell you what you will be facing next. Are you aware that the Zodiac Tree is our Armed Ape Tower's tribulation chamber?"
"I am aware, Elder Xiong," Zhao Yunxiao answered respectfully.
"In that case, do you know the history behind the Zodiac Tree?" Elder Xiong Yan asked.
"I have heard that it is constructed by a wise ancestor of the Armed Ape Tower..."
"That's right. More specifically, it is constructed by the Zodiac General Long Shiqian," Elder Xiong Yan explained. "You might not have heard of him before, but the Zodiac General is a direct disciple of our progenitor – a mighty cultivator known for his twelve zodiac spirits. Within the Armed Ape Tower, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest ancestors."
"The great Zodiac General Long Shiqian! I have indeed heard of his great name!" Zhao Yunxiao exclaimed in awe. "With his twelve guardian spirits, he is famous for leading campaigns that ended up doubling the territory of the Armed Ape Tower. Such feats are unprecedented throughout history!"
"Hahaha! It seems that you are rather well learned! That makes things simpler," Elder Xiong Yan laughed in pride. "After stepping into the Zodiac Tree, you will be going through what we call the Tribulation of Combat, where you will face avatars of the twelve zodiac spirits that the Zodiac General has left within the Zodiac Tree. If you do manage to defeat any of these avatars, you will get a blessing from the zodiac spirits that gives a boost to your physique. So, give it your best shot and don't hold anything back!"
"I understand, Elder Xiong. My capabilities might be lacking, but I will definitely do my best!" Zhao Yunxiao nodded in understanding.
Of course, Zhao Yunxiao already knew all of that from his research.
He merely wanted to avoid making mistakes by allowing Elder Xiong Yan to speak first. This way, he could gauge Elder Xiong Yan's attitude towards this matter, and then react accordingly.
"Make sure not to push yourself too hard," Fei Weng cautioned.
"I understand, Senior Fei," Zhao Yunxiao replied. "I will act within my limits."
"I sure hope so..." Fei Weng murmured.
Zhao Yunxiao: "..."
Why did it feel like he was being doubted?
"Well then, feel free to enter whenever you are ready," Elder Xiong Yan gestured towards the door at the base of the giant tree.
Thus, under the gazes of the Black Tortoise Sect entourage, the sect administrators of the Armed Ape Tower, and all of the latter faction's inner disciples, Zhao Yunxiao slowly made his way towards the giant door.
Elder Xiong Yan nodded to a few deacons of the Armed Ape Tower, who immediately started working together to activate a grand array that encompassed the entire Zodiac Tree.
Creak-!
The giant wooden door slowly opened, revealing a long tunnel into the depths of the tree.
"Proceed to the end of the tunnel," Elder Xiong Yan said. "I wish you all the best, good lad."
After taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Zhao Yunxiao stepped through the door and into the tunnel. The door quickly closed behind him, plunging his surroundings into a state of complete darkness.
Just as Zhao Yunxiao was about to scan his surroundings with his spiritual sense, the wooden floor started to emit a dim red glow – a colour that might have looked a little too ominous for his liking.
Nevertheless, he started walking down the now-illuminated tunnel, carefully checking each step in preparation for anything unexpected. In the end, nothing strange occurred along the way, and he eventually arrived at a huge chamber with a height even taller than that of the door.
In fact, that might be a little bit of an understatement.
The round chamber seemed to stretch on endlessly above, looking like a cylinder that covered the entire height of the giant tree. There were also several doors embedded into the sides of the chamber walls – not at the base, but at various heights all the way to the top. Strangely, there were no stairs that led up to these doors.
At ground level, twelve wooden sculptures were erected along the edges of the chamber, forming a neat circle with regular spacing in between each of them.
Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, boar.
These were the twelve wooden sculptures of the zodiac spirits, polished to a shine and complete with exquisite intricacies and lifelike features. That said, despite their impressive stature, one would be hard pressed to differentiate these supposed zodiac spirits from ordinary beasts.
Or perhaps they were supposed to look the same from the start.
Regardless, Zhao Yunxiao knew better than to underestimate these ordinary-looking creatures.
As he stepped into the centre of the chamber, the eyes of the wooden sculptures started emitting dim red light. With a low rumble, the floor started to rise, rotating as it did until it was eventually level with the first door that was embedded into the side of the chamber walls.
By now, the door that had originally been hanging at an awkward height was now directly behind him, where the entrance to the Zodiac Tree had been earlier.
What he had to do next was clear.
Zhao Yunxiao took another deep breath to calm himself down, then walked forward to push open the door.