Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Ming Yue looked at them and followed Ling Xue's charade. Her true goal of hunting the Tao Feng was something that could not be revealed. 

"She saved me from an ambush by the Mu Clan. I'm sure she can do it."

Ling Xue defended her from those who felt a bit uncertain as to whether Ming Yue could really do something. 

"An ambush by the Mu Clan?! They've done such a thing?"

The clansmen looked both surprised and furious at the same time. Their eyes turned towards the Mu Clan with murderous looks but the Mu Clan brushed it off. Unlike the Yao who wore light armor and clothes, the Mu Clansmen were all dressed in heavy armor similar to that of the Glaive Guards and Protectors. 

"Those bastards, to think they would try to manipulate the entrance and now, they dare to attack the princess?! Outrageous!"

The fire in their hearts began to grow as they glared at the Mu. 

"Calm down! This is not place to fight!" Ling Xue tried to placate her clan while Ming Yue searched the area. 

It didn't take long until her eyes fell upon three figures dressed in violet colored uniforms, Dai Mian's personal disciples. 

"Two men and one women... One of them is a Beast Tamer, the other uses gauntlets, the woman... Is her weapon her sleeves or hidden within them?" she wondered. 

Ming Yue commited their appearance to mind, planning on how to deal with them. 

"Fourth Senior Brother, someone is looking at us..."

Junior Sister Feng whispered into his ears and the Fourth Senior Brother did not move but responded.

"I know. But I cannot pinpoint where exactly it is coming from. Junior Brother Shou, can you find it?" he asked. 

The Junior Brother quickly glanced around before whistling to his Black Fang Wolves.  The two wolves sniffed the air but only whimpered, unable to help. 

"I cannot, whoever is watching us must have concealed themselves well", the Junior Brother said. 

"Is that so? Then we must be on our guard and watch for whoever is targeting us."

"Yes, Fourth Senior Brother."

The three disciples noticed Ming Yue's stare but didn't know that it came from her. She had concealed her presence, making it almost unnoticeable to everyone else. 

Despite that there was someone who noticed her. 

"So Ling Xue and that girl is here now... That's good, less work for me."

Tie Ja saw the two as soon as they mingled with the Yao Clan, long before Ming Yue had hidden her presence. 

However, the crux of the situation was still unresolved. Who was going to walk forward and attempt the Heaven Slayer's trial?

No one could make a decision and it was especially difficult for those who had never attempted it before. After all, no one would know how newcomers would do and there was a certain fear that perhaps the next newcomer could obtain the third key. 

For a while, no one came up until Mu Jing and her Protectors arrived, joining with the Mu Clan. She glanced at Ling Xue before looking towards the steps. 

"No one is climbing it then?"

She spoke loudly toward her clansmen who shook their heads. 

"No one has dared for the past several hours", they replied. 

"Is that so? Then I shall go."

Mu Jing looked at it before taking off her mantle revealing a fancy and exquisite set of armor, made to fit her slender body. Her third eye glowed with power as a white ring emerged. 

Without caring of the others, she confidently approached the set of stairs while all of her clansmen moved with her, protecting their princess. 

Ling Xue snorted, "I doubt she's going to reach high. A pampered child whose never even fought a battle in her life."

The others like Tie Ja and the Tao Feng looked but showed no change to their emotions. After all, they did not have a grudge against the Mu even though their curretn behavior was overbearing. 

Mu Jing then stepped forward and walked the Heaven Slayer's Trials. 

The first ten steps were quite easy and she was quick. Her smile grew to one of cockiness as she climbed the eleventh step and suddenly collapsed, sent out of the secret realm. 

"Princess!" they called out. 

The protectors immediately activated a medallion in their hands, leaving the secret realm to protect Mu Bing. 

The Yao suddenly burst into laughter at Mu Jing's sad display. 

"That's how much your princess could do?" they ridiculed, "A measly eleven steps? Is she even that talented?"

"Our princess nearly broke one hundred steps, what can your princess do?"

The Mu Clan did not speak, looking away to hide their faces which were twisted in anger and humiliation.  Ling Yue watched them retreat, unable to look at the Yao Clan. She then turned to the stairs and walked forward. 

Her face was focused as she stepped to the trial. 

The Mu Clan watched her, hoping that she would be unable to break one hundred steps. Unfortunately, someone stood in her way, 

"Seeing you in front of me... you're passable, I guess."

Tie Ja casually strolled in front of her. 

"You, Ironclad Tie Ja, what do you want?"

Ling Xue looked at him icily, her voice matching the cold glare she gave him. 

"Although the Mu Clan's Princess didn't do quite well, I've been asked by her to step in."

His voice was of a higher pitch, sharp and a bit annoying to the ear. To add to that, he spoke with a cocky and lustful voice as his eyes looked up and down Ling Xue's body. It was unsettling for her, almost to the point of disgusting her. 

"Step in? To do what?" she said.

"This-"

His fist flickered forward at quick speed, aiming to grab her by the neck. Ling Xue did not expect him to move so suddenly and was too slow to avoid his hand. 

"Eh."

Rather than grab her neck, Tie Ja's fist was grabbed by someone else. That person was the Fourth Senior Brother, who grabbed his wrist tightly. From his hands to his shoulders, they were covered in armor, thick plated gauntlets tightly grasping Tie Ja. He stood in front of Ling Xue, protecting her from the Ironclad King. 

"Do you really want to do such a thing?" he said, his voice carrying a trace of warning. 

Tie Ja chuckled, he tried to pull his arm away but could not and he looked at his wrist. To his surprise, the dense flesh that he was known for was slowly being crushed as the one in front of him tightened his grip. 

"Interesting, what a pleasant surprise. I wonder if you can put up a decent struggle."

His other fist whipped forward, flying towards his opponent's face and smashed into his cheek. Tie Ja's smile turned into a surprised expression after finding that his strike did nothing to the Fourth Senior Brother. His face didn't even budge from the strike. 

"Is that it?" he asked, "Can you take my strike then?"

Raising his other fist, the Fourth Senior Brother struck in the same fashion as Tie Ja. Colliding into his cheek, Tie Ja's wrist was let go as he flew back and his body smacked into the ground like a stone skipping on water. 

But he spun and landed on his feet, recovering in an instant as he touched his bruised cheek. 

"Not many can hurt me..."

Tie Ja rushed forward and began to let loose a flurry of blows. His fists like a hammer beating down on his opponent but it was not some one-sided beatdown. 

The Fourth Senior Brother fought back, punching back for every hit he took. The two began to trade blows with each other, not caring to block at all. Each strike was like a small shockwave. The fight was like a wildly beating drum that gave rise to one's own fiery heart, a battle of pure strength and power. 

They did not back down, fighting to move forward, to push the other one back.