The third test was simple: survive.
Fifty disciples were herded onto a series of floating platforms above a bottomless chasm.
"Last one standing advances," the proctor said.
Chaos erupted.
Ling Tian fought defensively, conserving energy. He disarmed two attackers with quick strikes, sending them tumbling off the platform.
Then—Bai Zhan appeared, a dagger gleaming in his palm.
"Soul-Rending Dagger," he whispered. "One cut, and your meridians rot."
He lunged.
Ling Tian barely twisted aside—but the dagger grazed his arm.
Agony. His qi stuttered, the dragon mark dimming.
Bai Zhan laughed—until Ling Tian's skin rippled with crimson scales.
Dragon Scale Armor.
The dagger shattered on contact.
Ling Tian's fist met Bai Zhan's face with a crunch.
The noble flew backward, his expensive amulet cracking on impact.
Silence.
Then—a roar from the observation deck.
"YOU DARE?!"
Elder Bai, the sect's disciplinary elder and Bai Zhan's father, leaped toward the platform, murder in his eyes.