Determined, Huali reached into his purple silk pouch, which contained an internal storage space of one hundred cubic meters.
It was a type of spatial pouch that held a small pocket dimension within, drastically increasing its capacity.
Huali did not know how such pouches were made. He had only obtained one because he was considered one of the promising immortal seeds of the Murong Family.
Even before taking the first test, he already knew that he possessed a unique fire spiritual root of lower high grade, ranked at the sixth level—an excellent root that already placed him above many cultivators.
"Come!"
Huali's eyes burned like flames. At the same time, he took out a two-meter-long spear from the pouch, its shaft made of yellow ore and its tip a sharp gray blade.
This was his main trump card.
The Solar Spear—a lower yellow-grade weapon.
To cultivators, it was merely for beginners.
But to him, still a mortal, it was practically a divine weapon, placing him at the peak among mortals.
"Even this won't be enough to defeat all five."
Dissatisfied, he took out an enlightenment pill.
Under normal circumstances, it would be used during cultivation, reducing the time needed to perceive spiritual power.
But now, Huali decided to use it to win—and to immediately begin his journey into the inner court.
Bringing the pill to his mouth, he prepared to swallow it. Before it reached his lips, another attack came from the fire statue, which extended its fist toward his head.
"Get lost!"
Huali shouted. Holding the spear with his right hand, he positioned it horizontally to block the blow.
Bam!
At the moment of impact, the bones in his arm shifted, and his fingers nearly lost their grip on the weapon.
Holding firm, Huali used his left hand to toss the pill into his mouth and swallowed it without chewing. The small white tablet slid harshly down his throat.
In the next instant, he entered a state of absolute focus.
Unlike Lu Han, whose concentration merely deepened, Huali felt his thoughts accelerate, while his five senses sharpened dramatically.
Watching the fire statue launch another attack, he did not attempt to defend this time. With a burst of speed, he advanced directly toward the incoming punch.
Whoosh!
At the moment he was about to be struck, he twisted his body to the left and dodged, letting the blow whistle past his ears.
Taking advantage of the opening created by the statue's offensive posture, he pulled the spear back and thrust it into the opponent's neck.
A metallic tearing sound echoed, followed by the statue's head separating from its body.
Strong attack, weak defense—that was the defining trait of the fire statue.
"Now you."
Huali intended to decapitate the water statue before the other three arrived. But to his shock, the situation shifted again.
Glancing quickly behind him, he saw the gray-eyed statue spit out a metal sword, while the green-eyed statue extended its arms toward him.
"Is that even possible?"
His thoughts raced.
He hadn't expected such a sudden turn.
"My plan failed…"
Huali sighed, sensing defeat approaching.
Now he was cornered.
If he defended the front, the water statue would strike him. If he tried to decapitate it, he would be brutally hit by the other two.
"I'll take three down with me in a single strike."
At that moment, even knowing he would fail to enter the inner court, he decided to extract as much as possible from the situation.
"A flame can grow as long as there is fuel, reducing everything to ashes."
These words were deeply rooted in his mind.
He intended to use them to create a technique during cultivation.
At first, he had thought of throwing a spear that would continuously gain speed. If he could use real flames, it would be even more impressive—fire tearing through the sky.
But how?
How could he use the "fuel" of the air?
He didn't know. He had spent hours contemplating it before that monument.
Until he found a clue—at the wood monument, through a disheveled youth.
As if by fate, that youth used the same idea.
A light strike at the beginning that became heavy at the end.
That sparked Huali's desire to study it.
After observing, he reached a conclusion:
For it to work… he would have to be crazy.
A raging flame, willing to burn everything ahead.
"Hahaha!"
A cold laugh escaped his lips.
"You bastards!"
Hatred overflowed within him.
Half directed at the statues, half at himself.
He blamed them for breaking the rules—and himself for failing to achieve a perfect result.
"I will burn everything in front of me."
With dangerously gleaming eyes and blood boiling like a cauldron, Huali charged toward the incoming attacks.
"So this is what Lu Han felt? This is so exhilarating…"
Seeing the hand and sword that could kill him, an intense thrill surged within him.
Unable to contain his excitement, he halted two meters before the attacks and hurled the spear with all the strength in his forearm.
"Burn! Burn!"
The spear shot forward with a piercing hum.
Much faster than the attack he had used against Lu Han, it surged like a falcon diving toward its prey, accelerating with every passing moment.
In seconds, it became a blur before the statues.
It did not collide directly—it slipped through the gaps between the attacks and pressed onward.
The sword was deflected by the wind around the spear, and the wooden statue's arm was shredded like paper.
The spear kept accelerating.
The metal and wood statues stood side by side.
The metal one prepared another attack. The wooden one was still damaged.
Before they could react, a sharp whistle cut through the air.
In the blink of an eye, both were cleanly split in half.
The spear continued forward.
Sparks formed around it.
Its speed surpassed that of any arrow.
The earth statue, the slowest, had no time to react.
Boom!
The blade collided with the stone.
Its speed slowed upon impact. Its destructive force was gradually absorbed as it penetrated the resilient material.
In the end, the spear pierced through, leaving only a hole—without completely destroying it.
The earth statue was made of a material nearly unbreakable by ordinary means.
"I took down three in the end…"
Huali sighed, dissatisfied.
At that very moment, a blow struck his back, sending him crashing to the ground.
Before things could worsen, he was teleported out of the third test.