Tony Clark slowly raised his hand while standing before Elsa of the Demonic Sea Tribe.
Hundreds of disciples were staring at the confrontation unfolding before them.
The Sea Tribe Princess stared back coldly while her followers surrounded her. The atmosphere grew increasingly dangerous.
Elsa’s eyes narrowed as she observed the killing intent hidden behind Tony’s smile. Unlike before, she could clearly tell this wasn’t another joke. He was genuinely considering eliminating her from the World Tree Blessing altogether.
Just as Tony’s hand began descending, the entire white world trembled violently. Golden light exploded throughout the trial grounds. The World Tree Spirit appeared between them.
Several participants secretly sighed in relief. Others looked thankful. Elsa herself remained expressionless, though internally she felt her nerves relax slightly.
The spirit stared directly at Tony before speaking. "Tony Clark. You are forbidden from killing any participant during the first trial. The World Tree Blessing exists to nurture talent. Death within this trial would taint the World Tree itself. If you kill another participant before the completion of the trial, you shall be expelled immediately."
The atmosphere became completely silent. Everyone waited for Tony’s response. Some expected him to argue.
Tony merely smiled. "Senior Spirit, why didn’t you say so earlier?" he asked casually.
The spirit’s face visibly twitched. Everyone noticed it. Nobody dared mention it.
After several moments, the spirit simply disappeared without answering. The moment she vanished, countless disciples released deep breaths of relief. They genuinely thought a massacre had nearly occurred.
Tony stretched lazily and glanced toward the glowing doorway leading toward the second trial. "Boring," he muttered. "Now I can’t even have fun properly."
With those words he turned around and began walking toward the exit.
The entire first trial instantly became livelier. The Seventh Prince almost cried from happiness. The Bald Monk silently thanked every deity he knew. The Demonic Sea Tribe disciples felt as though a mountain had been lifted from their shoulders. Even Elsa relaxed slightly.
Finally. The monster was leaving. Finally... The first trial could return to normal. Finally. Everyone could focus on passing the trial without worrying about Tony Clark appearing beside them.
Many participants even started circulating their cultivation techniques more enthusiastically after seeing him leave. Hope returned. Confidence returned. Peace returned.
Then Tony stopped at the end gate.
Every heart froze.
Slowly... Tony turned around.
The smile on his face immediately caused a sense of dread to spread through the room.
Elsa felt a bad feeling.
Tony walked back toward her.
The closer he came, the worse her feeling became. "What do you want?" Elsa asked coldly.
Tony stopped before her.
PAH!
He slapped her directly. The sound echoed throughout the chamber. Elsa rolled backward several meters.
The entire first trial froze. Nobody expected it.
The World Tree Spirit had forbidden killing... She never forbade bullying.
Tony immediately grabbed Elsa by the collar before she could recover and dragged her backward through the pressure zone.
"You wanted to be a villain, right?" Tony asked cheerfully. "Then learn how villains suffer first." Before Elsa could respond, another slap landed. Then another. Then another. Every strike wasn’t powerful enough to seriously injure her. Every strike was simply humiliating. Worse than injury. Worse than defeat.
By the time Tony finished, Elsa had been dragged all the way back to the very rear of the trial. The very starting line. The place occupied by the weakest participants.
The surrounding disciples stared in disbelief.
Tony wasn’t finished... Not even close. His eyes slowly shifted toward the Demonic Sea Tribe disciples.
The moment they noticed his gaze, their faces turned pale.
"No..."
"Wait..."
"We didn’t do anything..."
Tony ignored them completely.
Several moments later screams echoed throughout the first trial. One Sea Tribe disciple was kicked backward. Another was dragged away by the collar. Another was slapped so hard he lost concentration and rolled across the ground.
Within minutes every single Demonic Sea Tribe disciple had been relocated to the very last row beside Elsa.
The entire tribe stared at Tony with expressions filled with hatred.
Tony stared back with satisfaction. "Now the competition is fair."
The Seventh Prince almost laughed. The Bald Monk immediately pretended he couldn’t see anything. Several participants secretly celebrated. After all, the Demonic Sea Tribe wasn’t exactly popular.
Elsa finally exploded. "TONY CLARK!"
Her roar echoed throughout the chamber. "I WILL KILL YOU!"
Tony nodded thoughtfully. "Good."
Elsa nearly vomited blood.
Tony continued. "Use that anger. Maybe you can reach the middle of the trial before everyone finishes."
Several disciples instantly turned away because they couldn’t suppress their laughter anymore.
Elsa’s face became completely red with fury. "TONY! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"
Tony smiled. "Get in line. Lots of people say that."
Finally satisfied, Tony walked away once more. This time nobody stopped him. Nobody spoke. Nobody even breathed loudly. They simply watched as he casually moved through the trial grounds. As he passed by Lily Frost, he casually pushed her forward several steps through the pressure field. Lily immediately gained a considerable advantage. When he passed Leo, he did the same. When he passed Kevin Ten, he grabbed his shoulder and practically dragged him halfway toward the doorway. Kevin almost cried from happiness. "Brother Tony! I knew you were reliable!" Tony waved dismissively and continued walking.
Behind him, Elsa watched everything with murderous eyes.
Ahead of him, the glowing doorway leading toward the second trial stood open. Without hesitation Tony stepped through.
The scenery changed instantly... The white trial chamber vanished. A massive hall filled with floating scrolls appeared before him.
Thousands of techniques floated throughout the air.
Martial arts, Movement techniques, Weapon arts, Finger techniques, Palm techniques... An ocean of opportunities.
Golden light gathered once more. The World Tree Spirit appeared before him.
Unlike before, she looked calm. "This is the second trial," she announced.
Tony barely listened. His eyes had already begun scanning the countless floating scrolls.
His eyes landed upon a particular scroll. The moment he saw its name, he smiled.
The World Tree Spirit noticed immediately.
Tony reached forward and grabbed the scroll.
The title glowed brilliantly. "Heaven Rank Martial Art: Heaven Piercing Finger."
"You really chose that?"
Tony nodded. "Looks fun."
The spirit folded her arms. "Fun? Do you understand how difficult that technique is? Every participant before you selected techniques similar to their existing paths. And you selected one of the most difficult Heaven Rank finger techniques inside the entire hall."
Tony continued reading.
The spirit almost became annoyed again. "You had enormous advantages in the first trial. That advantage no longer exists here. Mastering that technique won’t be easy."
Tony sat cross-legged beneath the floating scroll. The Heaven Piercing Finger began unfolding before his eyes.
The World Tree Spirit stared at him for several moments before finally disappearing with an annoyed look. "This Tony fellow is really head strong. I must reach him some manners before sending him back."