Chapter 082
Chapter 82: The Candle Flame Unextinguished
Li Mu Sheng’s gaze flickered briefly, glancing sideways at the woman in palace robes before allowing Li Yuan Ling to pull him onto the wooden boat.
Truth be told, this underground iron-chain wooden boat journey did appear rather thrilling, though he knew the excitement here was probably quite different from what he imagined.
Once everyone had boarded, the palace-robed woman, who had remained unmoving at the edge of the platform, turned toward the abyss below, calling out into the darkness:
“Set sail!”
Her voice echoed through the shadows. Immediately, the chains began to writhe rapidly, pulling the five wooden boats slowly into the darkness beneath the cliffs.
Each wooden boat held four soft, cushioned seats wrapped in thick cotton robes, indicating each could only hold four passengers.
Li Yuan Ling took her seat. Before they departed, she reached for the fire striker on the small table before her and lit the candle flame placed there.
Li Mu Sheng sat across from her, glancing around into the surrounding darkness.
Nearby, candles were also lit on the other four wooden boats, their gentle, yellow glow flickering softly in the pitch-black cavern like fireflies hovering in the night.
Li Yuan Ling’s gaze fell upon the table before her. Noticing a line clearly engraved there, she parted her lips slightly and slowly read aloud:
“The First Stage: After entering the Spinning Wheel, keep your boat’s candle flame unextinguished.”
“For every ten breaths the flame remains lit, earn one Mark. Two Marks for twenty breaths, five Marks for half an incense stick, and ten Marks for a full incense stick.”
“Once one incense stick duration is reached without the flame extinguishing, each additional breath adds another Mark. After thirty breaths, the boat will briefly halt before advancing to the Second Stage.”
After reading everything engraved upon the table, Li Yuan Ling’s eyes sparkled mischievously. Qi swirled gently from her palm, protecting the candle flame. She then raised her gaze to Li Mu Sheng and blinked playfully.
“I heard,” she began, “that in this underground Floating Boat City, whoever gathers the most Marks will earn a mysterious item. And if someone breaks the record, they may receive something unimaginable.”
Li Mu Sheng glanced at her with folded arms, responding dryly, “As a princess of Great Li, could you really be lacking any good treasures?”
Li Yuan Ling tilted her head thoughtfully, looking him over with an ambiguous glint in her eyes. Pouting slightly, she replied, “I suppose not. But who would complain about having more treasures?”
Li Mu Sheng raised an eyebrow slightly, looking around and shaking his head, unimpressed.
“I’ll admit this place has its peculiarities,” he said. “But overall, it’s nothing remarkable.”
Yet, stroking his chin, he continued lightly, “Still, since we’re here already and have nothing better to do, I might as well play along. I wouldn’t want you complaining everywhere about how your sworn elder brother isn’t considerate.”
Hearing this, Li Yuan Ling blinked quickly, lips moving in soft mutters, though what she said was inaudible.
At that moment, the boats sliding through darkness arrived at a massive iron-frame wheel positioned horizontally ahead. Li Yuan Ling looked up, seeing boats glowing softly from all directions, each candle flame flickering faintly in the gloom.
Chains connected to the boats slid into grooves within the iron wheel. With a clanking of gears, the boats were secured tightly. Li Yuan Ling quickly counted, noticing thirty boats fixed upon the iron wheel, including theirs.
Soon, a resonant bell rang, signaling the iron wheel to suddenly spin, quickly gathering speed. Within mere moments, everything became a blur of shadows.
Initially, Li Yuan Ling worried Li Mu Sheng might be thrown off, but when she saw his calm, expressionless face, entirely at ease, she softly gasped in surprise. She hadn’t expected him, who seemed without any Qi, to be so composed, even more so than herself.
“Stop staring. Mind yourself first,” Li Mu Sheng remarked lightly, as the spinning grew faster. Screams echoed from nearby boats.
Yet Li Yuan Ling, possessing strong martial cultivation, easily managed the spinning, maintaining her candle flame steadily. She even spared a proud glance at Li Mu Sheng, as though this were merely child’s play.
Ten breaths passed quickly, then twenty—soon, nearly an incense stick’s time had elapsed. Candles on other boats flickered and died, leaving only seven boats with lit flames.
Among these, a nearby boat still maintained its candle flame. On this boat sat two figures—the Martial World warrior who had previously spoken, and a slender, middle-aged swordsman.
The swordsman, glancing toward Li Mu Sheng and Li Yuan Ling, narrowed his eyes slightly. He seemed surprised that these two young figures had endured for a full incense stick’s duration.
Soon, an incense stick’s time passed completely, yet the wheel continued spinning relentlessly.
Suddenly, palm winds descended from above, targeting the seven remaining boats with precision.
Li Mu Sheng lifted his gaze. At the center of the wheel, an elderly man dressed in black sat calmly, martial Qi surging around him. Each palm strike he sent down created powerful gusts of wind, steadily intensifying.
At first, Li Yuan Ling easily shielded the flame with her own Qi. But after twenty breaths, the pressure grew overwhelming. By the twenty-fifth breath, the elder’s palm winds grew fierce enough to scatter Li Yuan Ling’s protective Qi entirely, making her candle flame waver violently, nearly extinguishing into a faint ember.
Panicked, she gasped in alarm, certain the flame would die. [This is my limit!]
Yet, just as the candle flame teetered on the brink of extinguishing, it suddenly regained strength, burning steadily once more. Even with further gusts passing through, the candle flame remained unaffected, calm and unshaken.
The black-robed elder gazed curiously toward Li Mu Sheng’s boat, eyebrows knitted. He hadn’t expected the flame, clearly destined to fail, to endure so mysteriously.
Still, he dismissed his doubts quickly, launching several more palms.
By now, only three boats remained illuminated, including the swordsman’s boat nearby.
“We won’t last another round,” the swordsman murmured quietly, observing carefully. The warrior beside him shielded their flame, allowing the swordsman to leisurely assess the others.
Having witnessed Li Yuan Ling’s earlier struggle, he was convinced she couldn’t withstand another, stronger strike.
[She will fail in the next wave for certain.]
Yet, even as he confidently judged, events had taken a mysterious turn.