Chapter 217: It’s Not That I Have a Problem, It’s This Chosen One Who Has a Problem!
“Sure enough, there’s a trap right at the bottom of the ice slide.”
Seeing this, Rahman felt a pang of emotion. If it weren’t for relying on his ice axe the entire way, he believed that sliding down would have sent him tumbling into that pitch-black abyss.
Regular viewers of these bizarre trials all have a keen sense of danger. Just seeing that slope would make them anticipate potential threats.
Many Chosen Ones didn’t dare get close to the deep pit. Shining a flashlight from a meter away revealed a bottomless drop—one misstep would mean certain death.
The most difficult situation had arrived. Above this bottomless pit stretched a passage two hundred meters long, with the two sides separated by a five-meter gap.
On the left and right edges were two narrower paths, each only thirty centimeters wide—barely enough for one person to pass.
In other words, to cross this bottomless ice pit, the Chosen Ones had to choose one of these two narrow ledges.
It wasn’t just the Chosen Ones; even the other members of the mountaineering team gulped nervously at the sight of this fathomless ice pit.
If anyone fell down there, not even a god could save them.
The team had crossed iron chains over cliffs before, but this challenge was on a whole different level of difficulty.
First, there were no handholds. They had to either press their backs against the wall or face it directly, shuffling sideways like crabs. There simply wasn’t enough space for the team to walk straight ahead.
On the iron chains, they could walk straight and even use balancing poles.
Second, these two ledges had a slight incline. While not steep, the surface was slippery and treacherous.
The iron chains were covered with snow and were relatively stable; as long as they followed in the footsteps of the teammate ahead, major issues could be avoided.
Finally, and crucially, it seemed no one was willing to get too close to each other, let alone tie themselves together with ropes.
Because if anyone fell here, the others wouldn’t just be unable to help—even attempting a rescue pull would likely drag everyone down to their deaths.
No one would risk their own life to save a teammate under these circumstances.
The rules stated that teammates wouldn’t harm the Chosen One, but that didn’t mean they would sacrifice their lives to save them either.
On the iron chains, teammates had helped each other. Here, everyone was on their own.
How to increase safety margins, and which path was the correct one—these were the questions the Chosen One and the other teammates were debating.
And it was at this moment that many Chosen Ones began to realize something.
This wasn’t right. Something was definitely off.
The rules hadn’t given a hint, but the intelligence suggested the presence of special creatures here.
That meant during this stage, an attack was almost guaranteed.
Rahman from Pyramid Country, looking at the bone-crafted ice axe in his hand, suddenly had a moment of clarity.
Logically, this checkpoint should have special creatures lurking.
Because earlier, at the site where the skeletons were found, two climbers had fought special creatures, killing three before being slain themselves.
Although those two climbers had died, it served as a warning to the Chosen Ones: special creatures were definitely hiding here.
Take the previous checkpoint, for example. The special creatures had appeared in a bizarre manner.
“Why did those two climbers discover the special creatures, but we haven’t seen any?”
Rahman pondered the details of their journey, wondering if he had missed something.
Since he couldn’t figure it out, Rahman began to think in reverse: if he were a special creature, how would he take out the mountaineering team?
If it were a direct assault, they could have attacked from the very beginning.
At this thought, Rahman’s eyes suddenly lit up.
He looked at the two two-hundred-meter-long, thirty-centimeter-wide ledges beside the bottomless abyss. Wasn’t this the perfect ambush spot?
If attacked here, the mountaineering team wouldn’t even have a chance to fight back.
But how would the attack happen? There didn’t seem to be anyone around.
People?
Suddenly, Rahman’s heart began to race.
There were people nearby!
To be precise, mirror images of people!
Since the special creature in the first checkpoint could transform to look exactly like a person, nearly identical, and even had some special abilities to convincingly mimic them, then this special creature should also have unique skills.
Thinking this, Rahman’s pupils dilated.
Oh! I get it now.
So, the cracks on the wall near the corpses weren’t from a struggle. They were from the two climbers discovering that the special creature had transformed into their likenesses and was hiding within the ice-crystal mirrors on either side.
That’s why they attacked the icy walls with their weapons, creating those cracks. Unfortunately, they lost the fight and died on the earlier path, leaving a clue for the Chosen Ones.
Once the Chosen One stepped onto the ledge beside the deep pit, the special creature hidden in the mirror would only need to give a light push, and the entire mountaineering team would be doomed!
So that was the hidden message from the skeletons.
The special creature’s unique ability in this checkpoint was almost certainly related to transformation and mirrors.
Thankfully, Rahman observed carefully; otherwise, this stage would have been nearly impossible to survive.
While his teammates discussed how to cross, Rahman used his peripheral vision to scan the surroundings. It seemed difficult to distinguish which mirror images were the transformed special creatures.
Since he couldn’t tell, he would destroy them all!
With this in mind, Rahman couldn’t announce it loudly, fearing the special creatures might hide upon hearing. So, he again used the white card given by the Purple-Eyed Woman, writing on it continuously.
The first part instructed everyone to remain calm and not look around suspiciously upon reading—this was crucial.
Then came his observations and the strategy he had deduced.
These teammates, whether normal or supernatural, certainly didn’t want to die here.
Before the danger was eliminated, or before finding the Ice Ling Sacred Tree, they wouldn’t openly turn on each other.
Put simply, they were still using each other.
Even if they figured out who the supernatural Chosen One was, they wouldn’t say anything.
Blindly reducing the team’s numbers could trigger a death ending later on, as demonstrated by that detective Chosen One from Sakura Country.
After reading Rahman’s notes, the other mountaineering team members felt a surge of surprise.
They had sensed something was off but hadn’t pinpointed what exactly.
But Rahman’s explanation felt right. The only place nearby that could hide ‘people’ was these mirror-like surfaces.
In the first checkpoint, the terrain was complex, so hiding a special creature made sense, and they were familiar with the area.
If a special creature were following them in this relatively smooth, open space with few hiding spots, they would have noticed something strange.
Having spent several days together, the team trusted Rahman’s judgment.
So, everyone began rummaging through their backpacks for tools.
With a cough from the Goatee Team Leader as the signal, the mountaineering team sprang into action, attacking the mirror images of themselves.
Some of the special creatures in the mirrors seemed caught off guard, struck by the Pompadour Man’s blade.
Blood soon oozed from the cracks in the shattered ice.
Others reacted in time, scurrying frantically along the wall.
Then, they were killed by a tool thrown by the Purple-Eyed Woman.
The sounds of combat echoed through the area, though relatively muted.
While fighting, everyone also had to avoid slipping and falling into the abyss.
The difficulty factor was undoubtedly high.
Here, Rahman didn’t get in the way; his duty was simply to ensure he didn’t get killed.
The combat strength of the special creatures in these two stages was naturally inferior to the mountaineering team’s.
The logic was simple: if they could overpower the team, they wouldn’t need to resort to such tricks; they’d just attack directly.
Three special creatures were eliminated in total. Not every mirror image was a transformed special creature.
After the killings, Rahman’s teammates seemed a bit paranoid, continuing to poke at the mirror images, changing positions, and attacking several more times to confirm the threat was gone before proceeding. Rahman didn’t interfere.
Crossing this two-hundred-meter stretch was no easy feat.
If they had sufficiently long materials, like a rope over two hundred meters or planks over five meters long, the Chosen Ones could have fashioned a passage with handrails.
However, it would be more troublesome for Goatee Team Leader, as many setups would require him to go first with the materials to the other side. But this also increased his risk. Whether he was willing was another matter—he was the team leader, not a death-defying warrior raised by the Chosen Ones.
There were various methods to cross. Some teams waited until others had moved about fifty meters before following. Some waited for the person ahead to reach the other side completely before the next person started.
Teams that had discovered and dealt with the mirror special creatures could basically pass this checkpoint, provided they didn’t slip.
Every time viewers saw their Chosen One inching along the edge of the abyss, they clasped their hands in prayer, hoping time would pass quickly and their Chosen One would reach the opposite side soon.
While viewers often boasted they could do it themselves, faced with this challenge, few dared claim they could actually attempt it.
Crossing here required strong mental fortitude and certain physical capabilities. If someone’s legs gave out halfway, it was basically game over.
Thankfully, the participants were elite Chosen Ones; otherwise, many would have fallen here.
But some accidents inevitably occurred.
The Chosen One from Swiss Country seemed not to have detected the special creatures in the mirrors. When he had shuffled a hundred meters along the narrow ledge and was about to catch his breath, a pair of hands suddenly shot out from the ice wall.
A tremendous force shoved against his chest. He frantically grabbed at anything around him, but the hands had already retracted.
With a scream echoing through the vast ice pit and the sound of his body scraping and colliding against the ice, Swiss Country’s large screen went black—the Chosen One had perished.
Dying at this final stage was truly regrettable.
Sometimes, life and death hang on a moment. Without sufficient experience, a sudden spark of insight, or careful observation, it was impossible to anticipate certain dangers.
He wasn’t the only Chosen One who failed to spot the mirror special creatures.
The Heavenly Practitioner from A-Three Country was another. However, this time they had sent a transcendent — a young martial monk.
He wasn’t as ridiculously powerful as Zhang Yangqing or Gregory, but he had some capabilities and reacted swiftly.
When shoved, his center of gravity began to plummet, but his feet were still on the ice. With a powerful kick and a forward roll, he managed to leap onto the ledge on the other side.
Seeing its attack fail, the special creature tried to flee. The A-Three Country martial monk passed this checkpoint, though not without a scare.
Were there even more formidable Chosen Ones?
Naturally, there were. Gregory, the Chosen One from Noodle Country, sprinted across the thirty-centimeter ledge at astonishing speed.
To put it simply, he moved so fast that the special creatures in the wall mirrors couldn’t even keep up!
They had no chance to push him off.
Then, the special creatures were exposed and killed by the holy energy erupting from Gregory’s fingertips.
At this stage, he remained relatively cautious, not using too much holy energy for fear of causing a collapse.
His outrageous method of clearing the stage had Noodle Country viewers exclaiming in awe.
“I unofficially declare Gregory’s performance this time the most perfect; he’s demonstrated the pinnacle of human capability in clearing stages.”
“As expected of someone from our Church. I heard Gregory is a candidate for the next Pope.”
“I fully support Gregory. From today, I am his most devoted follower!”
“Let’s go check the Dragon Country broadcast. Will the Dragon Country Heavenly Master imitate Gregory’s method?”
After all, Gregory had woken up early and reached this point ahead of others.
Zhang Yangqing had slept in and was progressing slower than other Chosen Ones.
Noodle Country viewers felt a competitive urge.
If Zhang Yangqing’s clearing method was similar to Gregory’s, even if he hadn’t copied it after seeing Gregory, Noodle Country viewers would still use it to elevate Gregory’s status.
After always being overshadowed by the Dragon Country Heavenly Master, wasn’t it their turn to feel proud now?
When they opened Dragon Country’s large screen, they weren’t just stunned—they wondered if they had opened the wrong broadcast.
After refreshing a few times, they realized: it wasn’t them who had a problem, it was this Chosen One who had a problem!
On Dragon Country’s screen appeared a clearer who didn’t look like a clearer at all.
His clearing speed was like a bolt of lightning—a method other Chosen Ones wouldn’t dare dream of.
When it came to pulling off stunts, one had to watch Zhang Yangqing’s broadcast.
At this moment, Zhang Yangqing’s entertainment value was off the charts.
While other Chosen Ones carefully descended the sloping ice and nervously shuffled across the narrow ledges, Zhang Yangqing stood out by taking an unconventional path—he slid down directly!
Not only did he slide down himself, but he also brought the entire mountaineering team sliding down with him.
While other Chosen Ones added anti-slip materials to their soles, Zhang Yangqing cleared the small ice bits from his shoe soles to slide more smoothly.
At this point, viewers witnessed several ‘short track speed skaters’ racing down the ice!
Zhang Yangqing, with his hands behind his back, continuously adjusted his body’s lean and footwork, executing a beautiful, fast turn.
Whooshing sounds filled the passage, and his clothes flapped loudly, indicating Zhang Yangqing’s incredible speed.
Even professional athletes highly praised Zhang Yangqing’s skillful turns.
If the space had been larger, viewers believed Zhang Heavenly Master could have pulled off even more impressive stunts!
After elegantly skating through several turns, they reached the vast ice pit.
Even here, no one worried about Zhang Yangqing’s survival.
As expected, Zhang Yangqing had no need for the narrow side ledges.
Given his personality, if there was a path, he’d take it; if not, he’d create one.
With a focused gaze, golden energy erupted from his pupils.
He directly used golden light to pave a two-hundred-meter road, steadily covering the giant pit.
Zhang Yangqing and his mountaineering teammates slid down this golden highway in a flash, the motion utterly smooth.
Just like that, they effortlessly passed what was a nightmare for other Chosen Ones.
As for the special creatures, unless they were blind, the sheer energy contained in Zhang Yangqing’s golden-light-paved road would deter them from making a move.
They could only watch as Zhang Yangqing and the other ‘freeloaders’ of the mountaineering team departed.
Viewers might be accustomed to it, but if other Chosen Ones saw Zhang Yangqing’s team playing like this, they’d probably cough up blood in frustration.
They took every step with extreme caution, and here you were, ice-skating through the bizarre trial world?
