"Is that true?"
Seeing the message from Yan, Ye Feng frowned slightly. "We don't seem to know each other very well, do we?"
"I'm serious. Come to the City of Arcane Arts quickly, and I'll introduce Princess Bing to you as your wife!"
"If you don't come soon, Princess Bing will be captured by someone..."
"Speaking of which, Bing is really something... She went out and met some strange person, losing her appetite... She's about to be captured herself, yet she won't say who that person is..."
"Sigh, young people..."
"Little one, use your Survivor's Bracelet less. It's been turbulent lately!"
Yan sent a barrage of somewhat chaotic messages and then went offline. Ye Feng's heart also became troubled, as the other party had directly mentioned Bing...
"Hoo!"
Ye Feng took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and deleted the words "Maybe I'll go take a look" from the [Private Chat Channel] chat box.
...
On the other side,
The highest tower in the City of Arcane Arts,
Shui Ling, a middle-aged man who looked more like a maiden than a girl, was reporting something to a woman in a sky-blue long dress.
"You're saying someone saw the Golden Medal left by the Flame Ranger for the first time and comprehended its mysteries?"
The woman in the sky-blue long dress looked at Shui Ling with surprise.
"Yes, Lord City Lord!"
Shui Ling also had an expression of disbelief on his face. "It's very strange. To understand the clues left by the Flame Ranger in the Golden Medal, one not only needs extremely powerful mental energy but also a profound understanding of arcane runes. Yet, the other party's strength is only at the intermediate Silver level..."
"I see! You may go."
The woman in the sky-blue long dress looked at a piece of paper that Shui Ling had just handed her, frowned slightly, and then spoke to Shui Ling.
"Okay!"
Shui Ling nodded and exited the room.
"Lin Dan Da? ... Interesting..."
After Shui Ling left, the woman in the sky-blue long dress muttered and turned to look at a charred crystal ball in the room, the one Ye Feng had used to test his talent in the Golden Hall before...
...
The next day,
Ye Feng continued to set up a stall to sell things, while Xiao Xiao and Qiao Ying went to inspect the map Ye Feng had drawn the previous day. Their research last night seemed to have yielded some results, but it needed verification...
...
Around noon,
"Huh? Why are you here?"
Ye Feng, who was eating a rice bowl, looked at Jiang Sishan with surprise.
"Ye Feng, the results of the second round of assessments are out. You've passed, and the Dawn Academy is now sending people to notify everyone individually..."
Jiang Sishan sat down next to Ye Feng and said.
"This should be a good thing, why do you seem so unhappy?"
Ye Feng looked at Jiang Sishan, bewildered.
"Ye Feng..."
Jiang Sishan turned his head and looked at Ye Feng seriously. "Don't you think the entire selection process is full of strangeness..."
"It's just a feeling... This so-called marriage tuyển chọn for Bing seems a bit hasty... I specifically inquired... In the first and second rounds, very few people were eliminated... Except for those who were too peculiar, most people successfully advanced to the next round..."
"But I also heard that the City Lord personally inquired about both the first and second rounds..."
"This gives me a very awkward and uneasy feeling..."
Jiang Sishan quickly explained to Ye Feng.
"Who cares, as long as I can see Bing in the end..."
Ye Feng didn't pay much attention to it. He took a few bites of his meal and then said, "By the way, Sishan, did you get any news about the people who need to undergo tribulation?"
"No~"
As he spoke, Jiang Sishan spread his hands helplessly.
"Is that so~"
...
Around three o'clock in the afternoon,
Ye Feng was sitting in a rattan chair, propping his chin with his hand, feeling drowsy.
"Boss, I heard you can help people through tribulation fire?"
Suddenly, a deep male voice rang out.
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, Ye Feng jolted awake, his eyes widened, and he looked towards the source of the sound. He saw a man wearing a gray veil hat, whose face was hidden, and who had a rather tall build.
"Yes... but it's not me, it's my master. He can indeed help through the tribulation fire in the heavenly tribulation! He can't help with other types of heavenly tribulations!"
Ye Feng nodded and quickly said to the other party.
"Do you know someone who needs help to get through tribulation fire?"
After a pause, Ye Feng spoke again. There was one sentence he didn't say, which was that the person who needed to undergo tribulation was the other party himself... because he found that he couldn't sense the other party's strength level...
The man in the gray cloth hat didn't speak. Instead, he scanned his surroundings and then looked at Ye Feng, whispering, "Ye Feng?"
"This..."
Hearing the man in the gray cloth hat's words, Ye Feng's expression immediately changed.
"It's me!"
Almost at the same time, the man in the hat reached out his left hand and pulled aside the gray veil hanging around the hat.
"My goodness..."
Seeing the elder with white hair and eyebrows beneath the gray veil hat, yet full of vigor, the fully alert Ye Feng relaxed. It was Shen Botian.
"Senior Shen, why are you in the City of Arcane Arts?"
Ye Feng lowered his voice and asked.
"My cultivation has reached a very critical juncture, so I came here to adjust my state of mind..."
Shen Botian released his hand, put the gray veil back, covering his face, and then quickly explained to Ye Feng.
After a while, Ye Feng finally understood Shen Botian's situation.
It turned out that Shen Botian was about to enter the Epic stage. He felt that he would encounter a heavenly tribulation, so he came to the City of Arcane Arts to see Shen Yunyao...
According to Shen Botian's explanation, the mentality for dealing with heavenly tribulations is very crucial, its importance is no less than one's own strength. Some people, despite having the strength to withstand the heavenly tribulation, collapse mentally under the overwhelming pressure of the tribulation, leading to a complete mental breakdown and being burned to ashes by the tribulation fire...
Others, while being burned by the tribulation fire, thinking of their families and wanting to escape from the heavenly tribulation... also turned to dust...
"If you encounter tribulation fire, you can't run? You can only resist it head-on?"
Ye Feng looked at Shen Botian with bewilderment.
"That's right!"
Shen Botian nodded. "The tribulation fire in a heavenly tribulation is a very special existence. Although it feels world-destroying, and it feels like you'll instantly turn to ashes if you get even a little bit of it, it's actually not that terrifying."
"As long as you endure for a while, the tribulation fire will become smaller and smaller. Dodging or escaping is not allowed, as it will make the tribulation fire more intense... Of course, if you can't withstand the first blow, then there's nothing more to say..."
"In my opinion, tribulation fire... it's more like a tempering..."
Shen Botian quickly explained to Ye Feng.
"Tempering..."
Ye Feng rested his chin on his fist, lost in thought.
"I came to the City of Arcane Arts this time to see Yao Yao, but I didn't expect you to be here too... To be honest, it took me two days to confirm..."
After a pause, Shen Botian spoke again. "Ye Feng, can your master really help through tribulation fire?"
As he spoke, Shen Botian looked at Ye Feng with a look of surprise and bewilderment.
"Uh..."
Ye Feng scratched his head. "Actually, the one who helps through tribulation fire is me..."