The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

Daohe remained silent, his hesitation deepening. Su Qi, standing beside him, chuckled and said, "Alright, Daohe, you should go first. Interrupting someone's conversation with a beautiful woman will get you kicked by a donkey."

Daohe sighed softly, "Where did you hear this nonsense from?"

After saying that, he finally greeted Su Qi and turned to leave.

"So, Ms. Daorun, what would you like to discuss with me next?"

"Come with me."

Then, Su Qi followed Dao Run to a dark and deserted alley nearby.

He tucked his hands into his sleeves and walked down the long, shady alleyway, casually glancing at the tall, moss-covered brick walls on either side. “If a fight breaks out here, the sound will be blocked and weakened by the walls on both sides, making it sound very quiet from the outside. It’s a great place for fighting and killing, isn’t it?”

At this moment, the two people and a zombie had reached the deepest part of the alley.

Dao Run finally stopped, turned around, half of his face was shrouded in shadow, and said coldly, "It seems you already know what I want to do."

Su Qi also stopped and looked up to meet her gaze. "Killing me might get you punished by Dao Yuan, so you want to injure me before the duel so that Dao Lian can win easily?"

“If you admit defeat, I don’t have to do this.”

"That means you want me dead."

"If Dao Lian loses, she will have to go into seclusion. If she cannot break through Father's sealing magic array, she will starve to death in the seclusion room."

"But he lost, though it was a near-death experience, and he still had a chance to fight back desperately. But if I die, I will definitely die."

"I'm sorry..." Dao Run deftly pulled out a few talismans from the sock on his left thigh and said in a cold tone, "If you want to resent me, then resent me, but I only have this one brother, and I absolutely cannot let him take any risks."

“Good, very good.” Su Qi laughed. “You have perfectly inherited the shameless tradition of Taoism that has not valued other people’s lives for more than two thousand years. You can cheat outside the game so brazenly. But unfortunately, God said that I cannot die here yet.”

"Want to resist? It's useless. The terrain here is narrow, which is perfect for Bai Long's fist techniques. And you don't even have a weapon. You have no chance against my Bai Long!"

"Who said I don't have a weapon?"

As Su Qi spoke, he casually ripped off the pendant around his neck, instantly pulling out the Tiger Spirit. He slapped it against the tiger's teeth, performing a spiritual fusion. A transparent longsword, materialized from witchcraft and spiritual power, swiftly formed in his palm. "Watch closely. A hundred martial arts, this is... Super Spirit Body - Tiger Devour!"

A super spirit?! No, we absolutely cannot let him complete this!!

Dao Run's pupils contracted, and he immediately flicked his hand, shooting out a talisman that landed on the forehead of the white dragon behind him. He shouted, "White Dragon, knock him unconscious!!"

The next moment, a red light flashed in Bailong's eyes, and he stomped on the ground, unleashing a burst of energy like a cannonball, instantly rushing towards Su Qi.

Dive bomber punch!

The kung fu superstar, now a zombie, seemed to unleash a silent roar at this moment. His fists whistled through the air, leaving behind more than a dozen afterimages, and slammed down on Su Qizhou with the ferocious momentum of a bomber attack.

"Secret Technique: Eight Blades in One Flash!"

Su Qi certainly didn't know the Eight-Sword Flash of a certain one-winged angel, but that didn't stop him from simulating its visual effects with his sword skills and shouting it out in a chuunibyou voice in order to collect chuunibyou points.

The next moment, the air was torn apart, and a lightning-fast blade of light burst forth, slicing through the white dragon's body in the blink of an eye. Then, blood exploded, limbs fell to the ground, and the white dragon, cut into more than a dozen pieces, crashed to the ground with a thud.

Chapter Eight: All of you, charge forth!

"White Dragon!!"

Upon seeing the horrific scene, Dao Run cried out in alarm, his heart filled with fear and panic.

Immediately afterward, Su Qi rushed over, cold and ruthless, and plunged a knife into her chest. The transparent blade emerged from her back with a soft thud, spraying blood.

"Uh……"

Dao Run's face turned pale, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his body went limp, collapsing onto Su Qi.

With a thought, the latter dispelled his super spirit body, then gently pushed the heavily injured Dao Run to the ground, displaying a cold and ruthless demeanor, and said, "How is it? Don't you feel a sense of exhilaration and refreshing coolness?"

"Ho...ho..."

The girl struggled to support herself on the ground, one hand tightly clutching the wound on her chest, her face deathly pale as she gasped for breath, enduring the pain as she said, "You...you killed me, and the Taoist sect...will certainly not let you go..."

"Don't worry." Su Qi squatted down, pinched her chin, and made her look at him. A pleasant smile appeared on his lips. "I deliberately avoided your internal organs with that knife, so as long as you stop the bleeding and get treatment in time, you won't die. After all, I'd rather have a living Dao Run than a dead you."

Seeing the other person's meaningful smile, Dao Run felt a chill run down his spine, a strong sense of foreboding rising within him. He asked nervously, "You... what do you want to do to me?"

"No, no, no, you guessed wrong. Although your figure, especially your long legs, is indeed nice, I am a champion of justice and would never do something as dirty as forced clapping. What you should ask is, what do I want to do to Dao Lian?"

Dao Lian!?

Dao Run trembled, feeling as if he had fallen into an ice cave. "You want to kill Dao Lian!?"

That's it! This guy's strength has increased dramatically for some reason, and he's even comprehended the Super Spirit Body. If Dao Lian, who knows nothing about this, were to fight him...

The image of her younger brother being torn to pieces by a blade, just like the white dragon from before, flashed through her mind. A chill ran down her spine, and endless panic welled up like a fountain.

"No..." Tears streamed down Dao Run's dust-covered face as she looked up at Su Qi, her eyes pleading, "Please... spare Dao Lian this time... kill me instead... this has nothing to do with him..."

"Ridiculous! How can you say something like 'it has nothing to do with him'?" Su Qi sneered. "If you disregard the lives of others, you should be prepared to be disregarded yourself. Coincidentally, I'm the kind of person who loves an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. So, since you're here to kill me for Dao Lian, I'll kill Dao Lian because of your actions!"

After saying that, he leaned down and whispered in Daorun's ear, "Daorun, be sad! Be resentful! Be in pain! Fall into hell! Originally, I only wanted to win and did not intend to take Daolian's life to avoid trouble. But now, because of your arrogance, your selfishness, and your stupidity, I will personally kill the younger brother you love so much, cut off his head, cut off his hands and feet, dismember his body, and tear him into eight pieces. And all of this is because of you."

His tone was gentle as water, but every word was like a cold icicle, piercing Daorun's heart and leaving it riddled with holes.

"No! Don't! Please don't do this!!"

All her composure and rationality crumbled in an instant. Filled with fear and guilt, she completely abandoned her self-respect and begged Su Qi with tears streaming down her face.

"Remember this feeling well, Daorun. Think about it: after Li Bailong was killed so casually by you, wouldn't his relatives, friends, wife, and children feel the same grief you feel now?"

After saying this, the cold-blooded Su Qijiang ignored the former's pleas, released her, and was about to get up and leave.

"No! Don't go! Don't kill Dao Lian!"

Ignoring the blood still seeping from the wounds on his chest and back, and disregarding his current wretched state, Dao Run frantically clung to Su Qi's leg, pleading in a heart-wrenching, blood-soaked voice, "Kill me! Kill me! Kill me! Kill me! Spare Dao Lian! Please, kill me!"

Su Qi frowned slightly, kicked her hand away, and walked out without looking back.

Behind him, deep in the dark alley, Dao Run lay on the ground, disheveled and covered in blood, only able to reach out and grab his back. In the end, his hopes were dashed, and he cried out in despair in the pool of blood.

……

"Huh? Daohe, my friend, you're actually back. I didn't expect you to be so loyal."

As Su Qi walked out of the alley, he saw Dao He waiting outside with a complicated expression, and immediately showed a surprised look.

“I never expected this…” the latter sighed softly, “I never expected that you had already mastered the super spirit body, and to be this strong. If I had known, I wouldn’t have needed to sneak back.”

"This is called 'playing dumb to fool the enemy,' an essential skill for any protagonist. My friend, if you also want to become a protagonist, you still have a lot to learn."

"I'm out of the question, the kind of dazzling protagonist isn't suitable for me..." He said, then turned and glanced into the alley, "But is Dao Run really alright? If she dies in your hands, you'll have no choice but to run away immediately, right?"

"How about we run together?" Su Qi said as he walked outside.

Daohe hesitated for a moment, then started to catch up. "Of course, you run by yourself, and I'll keep watch from behind, hoping to gain Lord Daoyuan's favor. Okay, enough nonsense, you still haven't answered my question."

"A real man with cute big tits!"

Speak like a human.

"She won't die as long as she doesn't want to."

"You want to kill Dao Lian?"

"Did you hear that?"

"She was screaming so loudly, how could I not hear her? Now, don't change the subject, tell me, are you really planning to kill Dao Lian?"

"Oh, you're pressing me so hard, could it be... that you have feelings for Dao Lian?"

"Pah! I was just concerned... I didn't want to see you die such a horrible death that I wouldn't even be able to collect your body. Killing Dao Lian would have far more serious consequences than killing Dao Run, don't tell me you didn't think of that!"

“Yes, Dao Lian is, after all, the eldest son of the Daoist family…” Su Qi stroked his chin and smiled with amusement. “So, should we kill him or not?”

"Tsk, you disgusting jerk. Do whatever you want. Just let me make this clear beforehand: if you do something wrong, I will absolutely not risk my life to save you."

"That would be best. Remember to endure hardship and avenge me."

"Get lost! I'm not going to waste my wonderful life avenging you. Don't come back to me in my dreams after I die."

"Alas, friendships as fragile as plastic, I... have come to understand sadness."

……

Not long after, the two finally caught up with the assessment deadline and arrived at the Tribulation Platform in the northwest corner of the dojo.

Jiebo Terrace is a large arena-like structure similar to the ancient Roman Colosseum, but in red and white with a style entirely rooted in ancient Chinese aesthetics. Its basic structure is designed based on the concept of a round heaven and a square earth. At the very center stands a large, nine-square-meter arena, surrounded by a buffer zone, then a high wall, and finally, layers of spectator stands rising upwards. The outer walls enclose the arena, topped with a roof of green tiles, thus creating the arena itself.

Shortly after the two arrived at the Tribulation Platform, the end-of-month assessment was announced to begin.

According to the rules, the children are divided into several tiers based on their strength rankings from the previous month. Then, from weakest to strongest, the children in the same tier first engage in a free-for-all to determine their approximate rankings. Next comes the free challenge phase, where more generous resources and a reward and punishment system encourage the top members of each tier to challenge the stronger ones and strive for the top.

As a bottom-ranked nobody, Su Qi and the other twelve nobodys in his tier were the first to go on stage and start a chaotic battle, with the last one standing getting a higher ranking. Meanwhile, the other spiritual children and Taoist members who hadn't yet had their turn sat around, watching the battle from a superior position.

Before taking the stage, all participants are free to choose their weapons.

Although Su Qi's current skill level allows him to unleash the full power of any cold weapon, he finds the katana the most comfortable to use, capable of reaching over 120% of its potential. Therefore, he chose a katana of decent quality as his weapon.

"What should we do? Who should we attack first this time?"

"It's Dao Cheng, pick on the weak. That guy seems pretty weak. Besides, he had his arms and legs broken by Young Master Dao Lian during the last assessment and spent time recovering, so his strength probably hasn't increased much."

"No! I heard that his strength has increased greatly. He had a conflict with Young Master Daolian before, but he easily dodged Young Master Daolian's attack. His strength is unfathomable."

"Then we should eliminate him first, otherwise, when the number of people decreases, he can easily eliminate others with his strength, and the initiative will no longer be in our hands."

"You're right, let's get him?"

"Get him!"

……

As soon as they stepped onto the arena, the group of casual fighters began exchanging glances, wary and observing each other. Some who had formed alliances beforehand started discussing tactics using various eye contact, gestures, and even words, preparing to outnumber the opponent.

Soon, almost everyone's attention was focused on Su Qi. There was no way around it; he was too famous for opposing Dao Lian.

"Too insignificant..."

As for the scornful looks and hostility from the other players, Su Qi, being a powerful mutant, was naturally unafraid and took the opportunity to indulge in his chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) tendencies. After all, whether in the early or late game, the more powerful one's special skill, the better.

"How can the light of a firefly compete with the brilliance of the moon?"

With an air of superiority, as if a god were looking down upon mortals, he slowly swept his gaze over the crowd of slackers present and said indifferently, "All of you, come at me."

This guy is such a show-off!

Feeling looked down upon, the group of lazy bums exchanged glances, shouted, and charged forward. Then... they were all chopped down by Su Qi in just a few minutes, like cutting melons and vegetables.