Chapter 116: Five-Level Frenzy, The Unfortunate Latecomers

"Huh? The Fire Plain is in a rage?" Zuo Zizhi was sipping wine when he noticed one of the mirrors shaking and immediately looked over.

It wasn't the mirror itself that was shaking, but its surface, as if a stone had dropped into a calm lake, stirring up ripples.

"No need to be alarmed, Brother Zuo," Lu Bang said without opening his eyes. "With the Three Suns in the Sky, a rage level of one to three is normal. The ley lines of the Fire Plain are inherently unstable."

Zuo Zizhi looked at the red bead next to the mirror, and sure enough, it flashed three times.

However, just as Zuo Zizhi was about to look away, the red bead flashed once more.

"Huh? A level four rage?" Zuo Zizhi put down his wine glass and looked up at the rising sun. "Brother Lu, there aren't four suns in the sky, so is a level four rage normal?"

Zuo Zizhi had not been transferred to the Ten-Sun Grotto-Heaven long and was not as familiar with the place as Lu Bang.

Of course, his magical cultivation was also inferior to Lu Bang's.

Zuo Zizhi belonged to the Heavenly Timeliness faction; his control over Earthly Advantage faction spells was merely satisfactory, not masterful.

Lu Bang, on the other hand, was proficient in both and also quite knowledgeable about mechanical divine weapons from the Artisan school.

"A level four rage?" Lu Bang opened his eyes. "Are all three suns in their correct positions?"

"No," Zuo Zizhi shook his head.

"Let me see if this Earth Mirror is malfunctioning." Lu Bang walked over to the mirror. The front of the mirror was incredibly smooth, while the back had numerous mechanisms and spell formations. "No problem... then there's an anomaly in the Fire Plain."

"Let me see what's going on."

Lu Bang performed a series of operations, and soon the Earth Mirror's surface stabilized. Although the image inside was still undulating, the viewpoint zoomed out, allowing him to clearly see the specific problematic area.

"Yes, yes, Brother Lu, I can see it now," Zuo Zizhi called from the front. "Hmm? There's a new recruit casting a spell."

"Oh?" Lu Bang walked to the front and looked at the mirror.

In the mirror, the figure of Zhao Xing appeared.

As he cast a spell towards the ley lines, the rock layer of the Fire Plain immediately cracked open. Large quantities of lava surged out, arcing through the air before scattering onto the ground.

The fissure extended for over ten *li*, with its widest part spanning one to two hundred meters and its narrowest still twenty to thirty meters.

"Hmm? Is that the Earth-Rending Spell?" Lu Bang watched the situation in the mirror with keen interest.

"The Earth-Rending Spell, can it really be this powerful?" Zuo Zizhi asked, perplexed. "That can't be right; for this fissure to stretch so far, can a reserve recruit really have such power?"

"It should be the Five-Element Earth-Rending Spell," Lu Bang mused. "A single Earth-Rending Spell has a constant power, its strength at each turn is fixed. Only the Five-Element Earth-Rending Spell has unpredictable power."

"Furthermore, this area was already a weak point in the rock formation. His spell just happened to disrupt the balance, causing the subterranean fire to rage."

"Should we send someone to fix it?" Zuo Zizhi asked.

"No need," Lu Bang shook his head. "In just a few hours, this level four rage will subside. Besides, the Three Suns in the Sky are about to move into their correct positions, and even if we fix it, it will still remain at level three. The difference isn't significant."

Zuo Zizhi hesitated, "What about those who come later?"

Lu Bang chuckled, "We didn't cause the level four rage. If this kid blocks those trying to cross the Fire Plain by his own skill, we don't need to intervene."

"If latecomers lack the strength, they can simply take a detour. If they know their abilities are insufficient but still insist on pushing through, then such fools can die. It prevents them from burdening the entire army later."

Zuo Zizhi nodded. He had a gentler disposition and didn't wish to see the new recruits get injured, but Lu Bang was the primary person in charge of this new recruit registration, so his word was final.

Moreover, what Lu Bang said made sense: if you can't pass but insist on forcing your way, any problems that arise can only be blamed on yourself.

"Brother Lu, why aren't you sleeping?" Zuo Zizhi asked, seeing Lu Bang return to his seat and start flipping through a roster.

"This kid is quite interesting. Let me see what his name is," Lu Bang said, turning pages.

While the fissure in the Fire Plain was indeed due to the plain's inherent instability, the effect of the Five-Element Earth-Rending Spell could not be ignored.

The Five-Element Earth-Rending Spell was known as a "gambler's combat art"; most people wouldn't even attempt to cultivate it. Who would want to deal with such an unpredictable spell?

Upon seeing this person's surprisingly high spell cultivation, Lu Bang's interest was immediately piqued.

"Either this person has incredibly strong luck, or their spell cultivation has reached the seventh turn or higher... Found him."

Lu Bang's finger moved along the names on the roster. Each name he pointed to brought the corresponding appearance, age, background, and military unit to his mind.

"Zhao Xing, from Gucheng in Nanyang Commandery, selected and transferred into the Divine Might Army... Hmm? Through a civil service selection process?" Lu Bang was somewhat surprised.

"A civil servant transferred to regular service, and then chosen by the Divine Might Army?" Zuo Zizhi was also somewhat surprised upon hearing this. "That's quite rare."

"Not just rare," Lu Bang shook his head, "it's extremely rare. Given the standards of the Divine Might Army, civil servants wouldn't possibly appear on their selection lists. Even the nine garrisons of the Ten-Sun Grotto-Heaven, by rights, wouldn't have civil servants who've transferred to regular service on their radar."

"This time, the more than ten thousand reserve recruits were basically selected from academies, Taoist temples, and secondary military legions."

"It's relatively rare to select people from local armies."

Lu Bang had initially only intended to casually look, but he discovered that Zhao Xing's method of joining the army was quite unique. He bypassed the Military Supervisor of Agriculture's assessment and went directly to the Divine Might Army?

He didn't even have experience as a local official; as soon as he transferred to regular service, he was immediately selected and transferred.

"Could it be that Marquis Boping has found another gem? There was already Chen Shijie, who was quite remarkable..."

Upon realizing this, Lu Bang immediately remembered Zhao Xing's name.

Three quarters of an hour after Zhao Xing cast the Five-Element Earth-Rending Spell on the Fire Plain.

Ouyang Song circled around, found his bearings, and arrived outside the Fire Plain.

"Damn it, I finally found the right spot. Those cursed directions were all wrong. Now I've finally located a landmark."

Ouyang Song held his map and compared it.

"With my strength, taking the route through the Fire Plain should be no big deal, and it will be much faster."

Ouyang Song confidently stepped into the Fire Plain area and hurried forward.

Shortly after he left, people began to appear one after another outside the Fire Plain.

Some, upon discovering it was the Fire Plain, chose to bypass it.

Those confident in their own strength, however, chose this path.

However, only thirty percent chose to brave the Fire Plain, while the remaining seventy percent all took detours.

After all, if the Fire Plain was impassable, those behind might catch up.

*Whoosh*

Ouyang Song moved forward through the Fire Plain, leaping on his cloud-treading steps.

The surrounding air was scorching, and he gradually began to sweat.

As he continued, Ouyang Song also started to feel somewhat strained.

"This isn't right. The information provided by the Garrison Army stated that the Fire Plain's ley line rage was between level one and three."

"The Three Suns in the Sky haven't even reached their correct four-directional positions yet, so why is the rage intensity so high?"

His Golden Coir Raincoat had fire-warding and water-repelling effects.

Ordinary heat couldn't penetrate it.

But at this moment, the Golden Coir Raincoat could no longer fully withstand the scorching erosion.

Ouyang Song felt his vital energy consumption rate continuously increasing, as he had to expend effort to resist the invasion of the fiery energy.

*Whoosh*

He cast a wind spell, but only hot winds blew.

Ouyang Song wanted to rest for a while and cast a Cloud-Moving spell to make it rain.

He discovered that in the Fire Plain, he could only conjure a cloud layer fifty meters in diameter at a height of ten meters above the ground.

"Is it that exaggerated? I'm a mid-tier seventh-turn cloud spell user..."

Ouyang Song felt a bit helpless, but he still made it rain to cool himself down.

After resting for a moment, he continued forward.

However, as he walked, he increasingly felt that something was amiss.

The cloud layer above his head also became smaller and smaller.

Two quarters of an hour later, Ouyang Song's eyes widened as he looked at the fissure ahead, from which pillars of lava erupted.

"Damn it! How am I supposed to cross this?!"

At this moment, the power of the subterranean fire had reached its peak. Not to mention making it rain, even his Cloud-Moving spell was compressed to its limit, almost on the verge of dispersing.

"I walked for half an hour only to find I can't cross?"

Ouyang Song was extremely frustrated.

Stubbornly, he walked left along the fissure, trying to find a narrower spot to cross.

The effect of his Cloud-Treading Boots was also greatly diminished in this place.

The Cloud-Treading Boots' ability to perform short leaps and flights was directly related to the environment.

Across a hundred-meter-wide river of lava, his cloud energy would likely dissipate halfway through the flight.

Ouyang Song certainly had no desire to bathe in lava.

"Even the narrowest part is thirty to forty meters wide, and subterranean fire erupts intermittently." Ouyang Song frowned deeply; he didn't want to take a detour.

He had already walked for so long and consumed so much vital energy. What if he took a detour now?

That would be much slower than if he had simply detoured from the beginning.

"This is the only spot."

Ouyang Song observed the pattern, felt he had a seventy percent chance of making it across. He slowly retreated, then gained momentum and ran.

*Hiss, hiss, hiss*

Layers of mist appeared under his feet, but as soon as it formed, a small portion dispersed, becoming scorching hot.

But Ouyang Song gradually lifted off the ground, ascending into the air, and, treading on the mist, flew towards the opposite bank.

*Gurgle!*

Two pillars of fire suddenly rose diagonally, resembling an arched bridge or a fiery net, blocking Ouyang Song's path.

"Gale!"

Ouyang Song abruptly conjured a strong wind, blowing towards the two pillars of fire.

He slipped through a gap before they could fully enclose him.

*Thud*

Ouyang Song rolled on the ground, landing on his backside in the dirt.

*Hiss, ah*

Ouyang felt his cheeks burning, and looking at his hair, even the individual strands had been singed and curled.

"Thank goodness I made it across. If I hadn't, my life would have ended there..."

Ignoring rest, Ouyang Song stood up and walked forward, as the ground was starting to burn his backside; this was no place to rest.

But as he walked, Ouyang Song discovered another fissure ahead!

"You've got to be kidding me..."

Ouyang Song's mouth gaped open. Was this even playable anymore?!

"Halt, this path is impassable."

At that moment, a voice came from ahead. Ouyang Song looked closely and saw a tall young man who appeared significantly younger than himself.

"I am Ouyang Song of the Garrison Army. May I ask who you are, brother?"

"Zhuo Li, Fiery Sun Army."

The young man didn't turn his head, merely watching the pulsating pillars of fire ahead.

"Brother Zhuo, what's going on with this Fire Plain? Didn't the information state that with the Three Suns in the Sky, the rage level would be at most three?"

"The three suns haven't even reached their correct four-directional positions yet, so why do I find it so incredibly difficult to advance!"

Having finally encountered someone, Ouyang Song couldn't help but vent his frustration.

He felt that something was seriously abnormal here and believed there was an issue with the information provided by the authorities.

"It's not that the information is wrong; it's that someone has already passed through," Zhuo Li said, pointing to the cracked area. "The cracks in the subterranean fire rocks on both sides align perfectly, proving they separated very recently."

"Under normal circumstances, even if such fissures appear in the Fire Plain, the gaps wouldn't be this smooth."

"The ley lines have been disturbed, and from this perspective, there are also traces of spellcasting."

Ouyang Song couldn't help but exclaim in a rage, "What a scoundrel! He crossed the river and then burned the bridge!"

Zhuo Li said nothing, feeling that impotent rage was useless.

He had originally thought about whether he could cooperate with Ouyang Song to cross the lava river, but it now seemed that the other party would be of no help.

"Brother Zhuo, you seem to know something about the Earthly Advantage faction, do you have... Hey?"

Before Ouyang Song could finish his sentence, Zhuo Li leaped forward.

He ran off again?!

What kind of person is that? I was talking, and he's so unfriendly!

"Sigh, I have to figure out how to cross the river again..." Ouyang Song sighed, beginning to search for a way to get across. "Damn it, don't let me find out who did this! It's too utterly malicious!"

Directorate of Agriculture, Grand Granary.

The fiery red bead on the Earth Mirror flickered incessantly.

At this moment, Zuo Zizhi had forgotten to put down his wine glass, staring wide-eyed at the Earth Mirror.

Because the fiery red bead had flashed five times in a row!

The Fire Plain had reached a level five rage!

"Those taking this path later are going to have a bad time," Lu Bang said, watching gleefully. "A level five rage, heh heh. Mid-tier Cloud-Moving spells, if not perfected, are basically useless under level five rage conditions."

"Even conjuring wind cannot disperse the fiery energy; it will only fuel the subterranean fire."

"With the Three Suns in the Sky already in their correct positions, vital energy consumption will greatly increase."

Zuo Zizhi helplessly said, "Zhao Xing doing this, won't there be any problems? Brother Lu, should we intervene?"

Lu Bang snorted, "No need. If there's a problem, I'll take responsibility. Let's see which commanding general dares to question me?"

Having taken on this training assignment, he wasn't afraid of others questioning him. Sent by the military to be a training instructor for the Nine Armies' reserve recruits, Lu Bang was no pushover.

"But if Brother Lu is in charge, those new recruits are going to have a tough time..." Zuo Zizhi said, looking at the mirror.

Those who hadn't started yet were fine, but now, with the Three Suns in the Sky, it was clear that something was amiss.

Yet many people had already made it halfway through.

Those people were truly caught between a rock and a hard place: they couldn't cross the fissure ahead, nor could they jump back over the one behind them!

They could only watch helplessly as they were trapped within the plain.

"I hope no one has died." Zuo Zizhi began to silently mourn for those attempting the trial behind them.

The third update will be a bit later.

(End of chapter)