Nine Yang Life and Death Transformation

After saying this, the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect began distributing number tags to everyone present. Upon receiving their tags, people checked their assigned group. Wu Feilong looked down and saw that his number tag clearly read 998; while Sun Wang, standing beside him, held a tag with 999 printed on it.

Contestants numbered 1 to 100 were divided into ten groups, each eager and impatient, their eyes gleaming with a strong desire to win. At the sound of the starting signal, the competition officially began! Like arrows released from a bow, everyone surged upwards with all their might.

Among the crowd, a lithe man stood out. Light as a feather, he moved with incredible speed, covering dozens of meters in the blink of an eye. Looking at the road ahead, he couldn't help but feel a surge of pride: "Hmph, I thought it would be much harder!" However, at that moment, a sudden gust of wind arose. The wind, like a ferocious dragon, howled and swept in. The previously steady iron chain instantly began to sway violently from side to side. Caught off guard, the man stumbled, lost his balance, and fell forward, plummeting straight off the chain.

The group, which had started with a full hundred people, was reduced to less than forty after the sudden gust of wind. Those who remained were startled and slowed their pace, becoming extremely cautious as they cautiously made their way uphill.

Standing by, watching the competition, Dong Wu shook his head helplessly and sighed, "Alas, there's not a single one of them worth watching!" Before he finished speaking, another gust of wind swept in. This time, the wind was even stronger than before, making it almost impossible for people to open their eyes. More than thirty contestants swayed precariously in the wind, and eventually, half of them unfortunately fell, leaving only about ten people struggling to hold on.

With only a few dozen meters to go before reaching the flying island, and time running out, the dozen or so people knew that if they didn't speed up, they would likely be eliminated. So, they gritted their teeth, exerted all their strength, and sprinted desperately towards the finish line. However, fate seemed to enjoy playing tricks on them. Running too fast, several of them slipped, lost control, and slid rapidly down the chains.

"There's oil!" With this exclamation, the dozen or so people who were standing on the iron chain bridge suddenly lost their footing, and half of them fell straight down like kites with broken strings.

At this moment, Sun Tong, a disciple on the floating island, shouted loudly, "Time's up!" To everyone's astonishment, not a single one of the first batch of one hundred disciples who participated in the assessment was able to successfully cross the iron chain bridge.

The disciples who had unfortunately fallen were all filled with indignation, complaining, "This has never happened before! What's going on this year? There's a strong wind and oil everywhere!"

Another disciple chimed in, "Who says otherwise! All the hard work we did before has been for nothing. It seems we can only start over in five years." With that, the group of unwilling disciples had no choice but to turn and leave.

Among the crowd, Wu Feilong held a crudely made telescope, thoughtfully observing the situation below the bridge. After a moment, he seemed to have guessed the general outline of the matter, but the others around him remained completely unaware.

Wu Feilong turned to look at the bustling crowd below and shouted, "Gentlemen, not a single one of the first hundred people managed to cross this iron chain bridge. Actually, I've already figured out some clues. If you're willing to pay ten taels of silver, I can lend you this telescope so you can see this iron chain bridge clearly and understand its ins and outs!"

However, most people were dismissive of Wu Feilong's boasting. Some scoffed, "Tch, stop trying to fool us! Who would believe your nonsense?" Others mocked, "With your shabby gadget, do you really think you can see what's going on down there?" A chorus of doubts and ridicule rose and fell.

Just then, with a loud clang of a gong, disciple Ouyang Chen shouted again, "No one passed the first batch!" His voice boomed like thunder in everyone's ears, making the atmosphere even more tense.

"Now you should believe me, right? Not only that, I know exactly why you failed this test! So, is there anyone who wants to know the reason? Just give me two thousand taels of silver, and I'll tell you the secret right away," Wu Feilong said smugly.

"Two thousand taels? Why don't you just rob someone?!" came an angry shout from the crowd.

"Exactly, they're just obsessed with money!" another voice chimed in.

Faced with the accusations and doubts of the crowd, Wu Feilong remained calm and shouted, "Hey, it's not like everyone has to come up with two thousand taels of silver! There are so many of you here, each of you only needs to contribute a few dozen taels, then we can easily raise that amount!"

Just then, a rich young man dressed in fine clothes and holding a folding fan walked out from the crowd. He looked at Wu Feilong with disdain and said coldly, "Hmph, fine! I'll give you two thousand taels of silver, but if you dare to make up lies and deceive me, I assure you, I will personally break your legs!" With that, he threw a thick stack of silver notes in front of Wu Feilong.

Upon seeing this, Wu Feilong's eyes lit up instantly. He quickly stepped forward to pick up the silver notes, then cautiously leaned close to the wealthy young man's ear and whispered, "As far as I know, every now and then, a strong wind blows here. When the wind comes, the iron chain bridge shakes incessantly. If someone crossing the bridge isn't careful, they could easily fall off. What's even more terrifying is that near the end, the iron chain bridge is coated with a layer of grease. If someone accidentally steps on it, they will inevitably lose their footing and fall."

After hearing this, the rich young master suddenly realized what was going on and couldn't help but grit his teeth and curse, "No wonder no one has been able to pass this test before. It turns out they secretly tampered with it and kept it from everyone! How despicable!" Then, he turned to face everyone and introduced himself, "My name is Zhang Hao. I am very happy to meet you all here. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will definitely make more friends with you all."

As soon as he finished speaking, two more people stepped out from the crowd. One of them, a taller man, said, "My name is Sun Kang, and this is my elder brother, Sun Wang. It is an honor to meet you here today; it is quite a coincidence."

However, despite knowing these insider details, none of the second batch of participants passed the assessment.

Ouyang Chen was a little anxious: "Elder, there are already two hundred people, and not a single one has passed. Isn't this too strict?"

"It will happen, let's wait and see."

In the next few batches, only five people passed in total.