"You're in trouble. If Jin Zhenhuan beats you, he probably won't let you live." Ah Fei whispered after Li Xiu returned.
"Then let him keep losing." Li Xiu replied.
Ah Fei shook her head in silence. She could see that Jin Zhenhuan was more enhanced than she was; it wouldn't be easy to keep winning against him.
Li Xiu didn't explain further because the trial had already begun. People were being transported into the arena to undergo the basketball trial.
The E-level trial was indeed relatively simple. Everyone who went up before passed the test. Unless one was particularly unlucky, the mortality rate of this trial was quite low.
Ah Fei went before Li Xiu, scoring six out of ten, and easily passed the test.
When it was Jin Zhenhuan's turn, he didn't shoot immediately. Instead, he glanced back at Li Xiu outside the field, his eyes seeming to say, "Watch closely and see what a real Trial Taker is."
Swish!
The basketball went through the net cleanly. Jin Zhenhuan's shooting posture was graceful and fluid, surpassing even professional players.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
One after another, every shot by Jin Zhenhuan went in, all of them clean through the hoop, with an unnervingly high accuracy.
He made all ten shots, with only two barely touching the hoop. The rest went straight through, undoubtedly at a professional level.
After a few more people, one person was too nervous, or just very unlucky, missing all ten shots and becoming the first casualty.
When it was Li Xiu's turn, both Jin Zhenhuan and Ah Fei watched him closely.
Swish!
The ball went in cleanly as well, surprising Ah Fei a little as she hadn't expected Li Xiu to be skilled at basketball.
Without any hesitation, Li Xiu shot immediately after grabbing the ball. His movements were as graceful and fluid as Jin Zhenhuan's.
He made all ten shots, all clean through the hoop without ever touching the rim.
For Li Xiu, who had absolute precision, this was very easy. Others might make mistakes, but he wouldn't. He could replicate the same trajectory perfectly every time without the slightest deviation.
Jin Zhenhuan's expression slightly darkened, watching Li Xiu return to the stand and said, "On to the next round of trials."
"Of course." Li Xiu directly responded to Jin Zhenhuan's provocation.
"Good." Jin Zhenhuan said no more, turning back and sitting on the steps, waiting for the next round to begin.
After this round of trials, apart from that unlucky guy, everyone else passed.
Some chose to remove their bracelets and quit, while others chose to continue.
Li Xiu felt the pricking sensation from the bracelet. Such body enhancement was very weak, almost unnoticeable, and it was over; the reinforcement reward of the E-level trial was clearly much weaker than that of the C-level.
The second round still involved free-throw shooting, but the passing standard required making at least two shots to pass.
Jin Zhenhuan again made all ten shots, and upon finishing, he provocatively said, "A Trial Taker must not only have strong physical abilities but also a strong will and a continuously advancing spirit. I train for at least twelve hours every day, learning different techniques, day after day for many years, to be ready for different trial challenges. What about you?"
"I've worked hard." Li Xiu nonchalantly responded.
When it was Li Xiu's turn again, he also made all ten shots, all clean through the hoop, making Jin Zhenhuan frown.
"I didn't expect you to be so skilled at basketball. Did you practice baseball before?" Ah Fei asked in pleasant surprise, whispering to Li Xiu.
"I didn't practice, but they're all ball games, so it's probably similar." Li Xiu answered.
"Very different." Ah Fei said speechlessly.
One round after another, the passing line rose from one shot, to two, to three, until later eight, nine, with people continuously quitting the trial; Ah Fei quit when the passing line was five shots.
By the seventh ball, only Li Xiu and Jin Zhenhuan were left, both of them still perfect, not missing a single shot so far.
On the eighth ball, a slight angle issue caused one of Jin Zhenhuan's balls to circle around the inner hoop twice before falling out, slightly changing his expression.
For the remaining shots, they all went in, while Jin Zhenhuan looked at Li Xiu, he found that Li Xiu was still perfect, with all shots clean through the hoop.
"How is this possible! Is he a machine? How can he control the ball so accurately?" Jin Zhenhuan felt a bit of anger rising, recalling past memories.
Back then, he had tried his best to catch up with that boy, but he could only be left far behind.
The unfathomably strong talent evoked a deep sense of despair and helplessness in Jin Zhenhuan, no matter how hard he worked, he couldn't even catch up to the opponent's shadow.
Now, he started to recall that feeling, that fear dominated by helplessness.
"Talent is innate; no one can change it. But this is the Trial Ground; as long as you work hard enough, you can win. I will win..." With intense emotion, Jin Zhenhuan entered the next round of testing.
This round required at least nine balls for a pass. Under the surge of emotions, not only was Jin Zhenhuan's rhythm not disrupted, but he became steadier, scoring ten balls, all clean through the hoop.
"Your turn." Jin Zhenhuan turned back proudly, looking at Li Xiu.
At this point, Jin Zhenhuan thought Li Xiu must be under significant psychological pressure and couldn't maintain his previous consistent state.
But at the next moment, Jin Zhenhuan saw Li Xiu still shooting without hesitation, taking the ball and shooting it without a pause.
The result was the same; all ten went in, all clean through.
"How is this possible!" Jin Zhenhuan's expression flickered, looking at Li Xiu's back, the shadow hidden deep in his heart grew larger, seeming to make even Li Xiu's silhouette appear much taller.
Li Xiu making all ten shots wasn't surprising, but the fact that he continued to shoot without the slightest hesitation and appeared entirely unpressured, that kind of confidence made Jin Zhenhuan feel more and more pressured.
"Trial round ended. Rewards distributed. Countdown to the next trial begins."
Jin Zhenhuan locked his eyes on Li Xiu and, in the final moments of the countdown, removed his bracelet, quitting the trial.
The tenth round required ten perfect shots. Jin Zhenhuan lacked the confidence to make no mistakes and had initially intended to wait for Li Xiu to give up, but only saw Li Xiu's calm face.
"Once you give up, there will be countless times of giving up; he hasn't overcome the hurdle in his heart yet." Li Xiu muttered with some disinterest, as if he had long expected Jin Zhenhuan to surrender.
Outside the Blue Stone Gate, Jin Zhenhuan's expression was unpleasant, yet he self-reassured himself, "Such trials have elements of luck and cannot truly reflect a Trial Taker's actual strength. There's no need to compete with him in luck. In subsequent trials of real strength, I will crush him with absolute power."
Ah Fei saw Jin Zhenhuan coming out but didn't see Li Xiu, and was immediately shocked in her heart.
However, finding the trial not yet over, she became even more amazed, "Li Xiu won, Jin Zhenhuan actually gave up!"