Chapter 18: The First Step of the Trial

The more Li Mingxing wished to avoid something, the more it seemed to find its way to him. No sooner had he learned five skills from Siyada and stepped out of the cave than the two manticores from earlier appeared before him once again.

"You have already learned what you wished to learn. Now, there is an opportunity for you to put those skills to the test. The youth trial is about to begin; prepare yourself to participate." The speaker was the scarred manticore. The look he gave Li Mingxing felt somewhat strange, carrying the cold gaze of someone looking at a corpse, as if Li Mingxing were not expected to survive the day.

From that look alone, Li Mingxing could tell that the manticore youth trial was a nine-deaths-and-one-life ordeal. Yet, he had no choice but to participate. Putting aside the potential benefits he could gain upon completion, his current relationship with the manticore clan depended on this trial for consolidation.

To put it bluntly, if Li Mingxing wanted to secure the assistance of this manticore tribe and subjugate both manticores and griffins in one fell swoop, he had to take part in this youth trial.

Realizing this, Li Mingxing raised his head and looked straight at the manticore before him. "What must I do?"

His response seemed to catch the manticore off guard. In his mind, Li Mingxing should have been the kind of manticore who fled from his maternal clan out of fear or a lack of strength to pass the trial. He had not expected Li Mingxing to readily agree to participate, let alone dare to meet his gaze head-on, which stirred a flicker of curiosity within the manticore.

Years of experience, however, suppressed that curiosity. Instead, the manticore responded coldly, "Be at the top of this cliff by dawn tomorrow. Remember, you are not allowed to use any external force to reach the summit. This is to prove your qualification to learn how to fly."

With that, the manticore turned and left. As Li Mingxing stepped out of the cave, he noticed that the night had deepened. Near the cliff, several young manticores, only a meter or two long, were relentlessly clawing their way upward. It appeared they were also juvenile manticores racing to reach the cliff top by dawn for the youth trial.

Judging by the speed of their movement, the independent combat capabilities of these juvenile manticores were by no means inferior to Li Mingxing's own level. One of them, upon catching sight of him, actually flashed a look of disdain.

Gazing at this manticore, which was barely over two meters long, Li Mingxing could not fathom where it got such audacity. A heavy, deep grunt escaped Li Mingxing's throat as the imperial aura within him surged instantly, crushing down toward the manticore. Lacking an imperial aura of his own, the manticore was forced to brace against the immense pressure; though he managed to hold his ground, his limbs inevitably grew weak and sore. Seizing the opportunity, the other juvenile manticores pushed past and left him far behind.

The manticore's complexion turned quite ugly. He let out a furious roar at Li Mingxing before scrambling upward with renewed haste, desperate to catch up with the others. At that moment, Li Mingxing also began to climb, quickly drawing level with the manticore and murmuring in a low voice, "Useless trash."

Hearing those words, a flash of rage crossed the manticore's eyes. He desperately wanted to drag Li Mingxing down with him, but ultimately turned his head away, ignoring him and accelerating his ascent.

From these actions, Li Mingxing could infer that scaling the cliff top was also considered part of the youth trial. Though the exact details eluded him, he was certain this task would yield considerable advantages in the trials to follow.

Without lingering any longer, Li Mingxing surged upward. Because his frame was much larger than those of the other manticores and his limbs possessed greater strength, his speed was noticeably faster than average.

His sudden burst of speed caught the attention of the nearby manticores, who simultaneously accelerated. This only served to validate Li Mingxing's suspicion, prompting him to push his speed even further in a bid to reach the summit first.

Even so, his speed remained far below theirs, largely because he lacked knowledge of the cliff's layout—where leverage could be easily found and where climbing was treacherous.

Consequently, no matter how fast Li Mingxing moved, they easily outpaced him. Just as he felt himself falling behind, a sudden sensation welled up inside him, reminiscent of the mythical layer world where he could perfectly control every single muscle and ounce of force within his body. This realization boosted his speed significantly. While he still lacked familiarity with the local terrain, it was enough for him to catch up to the other manticores.

Observing his renewed acceleration, the manticores in the lead realized what he was doing. With still some distance left to the summit, they knew that if they failed to suppress Li Mingxing now, he would become their greatest rival.

Thus, as they climbed, they began setting minor traps. Naturally, lacking the means to rig bear traps or heavy gear on the cliffside, all they could do was dislodge loose stones and send them tumbling down to strike Li Mingxing.

Hindered by this interference, by the time Li Mingxing finally hauled himself onto the cliff top, three manticores were already waiting there ahead of him. He also noticed that each of the three held a glowing sphere made of crystal.

Beside those three manticores, two more light spheres rested on the ground. A sudden realization struck Li Mingxing; he lunged forward, throwing himself directly at one of the spheres and pressing his front paws against it. The moment he made contact, knowledge regarding flight using dorsal wings and several minor techniques flooded into his mind.

This discovery startled him slightly. Since he certainly had not yet completed the youth trial, these prematurely provided flight techniques and tips were clearly meant as preparation for subsequent tasks. To prevent later-arriving manticores from losing this learning opportunity, either those arriving later would be given a chance to challenge and seize the crystal spheres, or the knowledge imparted by the spheres was time-restricted.

Following this train of thought, Li Mingxing indeed uncovered certain limitations hidden deep within the crystal spheres. While the records contained within each sphere were identical, the knowledge acquired varied depending on the duration of contact.

Furthermore, this information was not simply imprinted directly into the mind as fully mastered knowledge; the crystal spheres also emitted a wave designed to help the manticore's body adapt to flight. Naturally, the shorter the contact time, the briefer the adaptation period induced by these vibrations, resulting in poorer subsequent flight performance that could only be compensated for through future study and training—unless someone possessed absolute control over every muscle in their body, allowing them to master flight in the shortest possible time.

Naturally, none of the other manticores had uncovered the secret hidden within the spheres, remaining entirely unaware that breaking this restriction would allow them to fully master the flight skill instantly.

Hegenerated a moment of hesitation before forcibly breaking the restriction on his sphere. The moment he did so, several elderly manticores residing in nearby caves abruptly lifted their heads, turning their gazes toward the cliff where the first stage of the trial was taking place. After a long silence, one of the elder manticores spoke, "It has been many years since anyone directly located the source during the preliminary inheritance."

"It is merely a sign of our regression. Do not forget, that one came from the maternal clan; even if he fails to pass their youth trial, he is still not someone our little ones can compare to. Let it be; consider it a debt we owe him, allowing him to learn the natural aerial flight method. You must remember, that was originally learned from the griffins by our ancestors back in the day."

"Ancestors, my foot! They merely transitioned from subterranean hovering flight into the gliding style we use now. What faces do those old ancestors have to speak of it?" another manticore scoffed.

Amidst their bantering laughter, Li Mingxing had already fully mastered the art of flight. Just as he flexed his wings, intending to take off, a surge of spiritual energy emanated from the crystal sphere, sealing away the flight skill he had just acquired.

Before he could react, a voice echoed in his ear, "You are the fourth to reach the summit. Therefore, you may only use your flight ability three times during the subsequent trials. After three uses, you will temporarily lose the ability to fly."

Hearing this, Li Mingxing wanted to ask for an explanation, but the voice fell silent. He cast his gaze around. Among the manticores who had already arrived, aside from one who looked remarkably calm, astonished expressions flashed across the eyes of the others.

It was evident that they, too, had received a warning from that voice, though the allowed number of flight uses remained unknown to him. As for the exceptionally calm individual, Li Mingxing found him inscrutable. Whether the fellow had anticipated the situation or simply lacked any emotional response altogether, such an entity warranted deep respect. Right then and there, Li Mingxing marked him as his primary adversary.