“Later, we will head to a forest, and what everyone has to do is actually very simple. In 10 days’ time, pa.s.s over the mountains, and reach the other side,” Fu Xiaoyun said.
Her description sounded very simple, but everyone looked grave.
If it was so easy to join the Fu Clan, then would it still be considered a three-star force?
But Fu Xiaoyun was only willing to say so much at this point, and they could not force her to answer their questions, either. They could only keep their doubts in their hearts. In any case, they would find out when they arrived at the destination.
Everyone left the area of the palace, and headed all the way north. The power of Regulation in a small world was really too weak. The spatial barrier seemed to be nonexistent. In only a few steps, they had already traversed many mountains and rivers.
Ahead of them was a mountain as tall as 30,000 meters, and its length was in tens of thousands of meters. But wasn’t this kind of tall mountain just the issue of a single step for a first severance elite?
“Everyone, please take this piece of paper. When you all arrive at the summit later, you have to ask a person there to place a stamp on your paper,” Fu Xiaoyun said. “If the person has arrived without a stamp, then it cannot be considered as having pa.s.sed the test.
Everyone exchanged looks. Could it be that the difficulty lay in obtaining this stamp?
Fu Xiaoyun continued, “Everyone, the path of cultivation is cruel. Everyone should first take their own measures to avoid losing their life in this place.”
Hearing these words, everyone’s expressions finally changed.
There was actually a possibility of losing one’s life in this small test?
“Those who do not want to take the risk do not have to partic.i.p.ate in the test, but those who ascend the mountain are responsible for their own lives,” Fu Xiaoyun stated calmly. “If there’s no other question, then let’s begin.”
Only after a slight hesitation did a great many people charge out.
Wasn’t the life of a cultivator all about fighting with the heaven and earth and with others?
If they took this gamble, there was a chance they could join the Fu Clan. Then, their future would be bright. Otherwise, if they remained in a one-star force, so what if they could live for a few hundreds of billions of years? In the end, they would not be able to survive the Immortal’s Tribulation, and would still be killed sooner or later.
Everyone ran out, while the companions that those Severing Mundane Tier elites had brought stayed behind.
Ling Han drew the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden into the Black Tower, and then slowly ascended the mountain with the Empress.
Fu Xiaoyun said that they only needed a stamp, and then head to the other side of the mountain. There was no rule that said that they had to definitely get the top few positions. Thus, the two of them naturally had no need to rush the journey.
When they had taken a few steps, they couldn’t help but be slightly surprised, because the suppression over their speed was overwhelming.
Usually, this was refined based on a small world, and the power of Regulation was too weak here, so it was completely impossible to bind a Severing Mundane Tier. But on this mountain, it was completely different. In fact, the power of Regulation here was even stronger than in the Celestial Realm, causing their speed to drop to the extent of being 100 times faster than an ordinary person, at most.
To a first severance elite, this was overwhelmingly slow.
“What powerful gravity. Moreover, the air is also very sticky and filled with some substance, being like a swamp, which further restricts speed,” Ling Han a.n.a.lyzed. However, if he used the Lightning Flash, he could attain a burst of rapid speed.
The Empress nodded, but was not afraid at all.
The Fu Clan had set this kind of test to recruit talented people, not to kill them. Thus, this test had to be something that a flawless severance could pa.s.s, but both Ling Han and the Empress had advanced into the Severing Mundane Tier successfully through striking the heaven and earth, so their first severance was capable of crus.h.i.+ng even second severance, so wasn’t pa.s.sing this test something very simple for them?
As the two of them continued walking, they discussed the art of cultivation.
Ling Han taught the secret technique of the Mult.i.tude Beasts Celestial King to the Empress. He was very expectant. If every single doppelganger of the Empress could produce 10 battle beasts, then when the Empress exchanged blows with others in future, she could summon her nine doppelgangers and 100 battle beasts. This lineup was slightly frightening.
Both of them were prodigies of cultivation. Though a Celestial King technique was incredibly difficult to grasp and understand, as they discussed, they still picked out a single thread out of this whole mess, and gained some ideas.
They both had a slight understanding, but compared with the true Celestial King technique, this was only the tip of the iceberg.
“Halt!” They were just talking when they saw a person suddenly appear in front of them. Dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, he appeared to be a guard, wielding a saber in his hand. “If you wish to advance, you must take a saber strike from me.”
Ling Han asked, “Then what if we can’t take it?”
“Then everything will be up to fate!” This man paused, and continued, “I will try my best to hold my punches, and not kill the two of you.”
Oh, no wonder Fu Xiaoyun had added a word of advice. So this was what was going on here.
Ling Han broke into a grin, and asked, “Can I take the offensive instead?”
The man paused, then laughed loudly, and said, “You are the seventh person to ask me this question. Not bad, not bad. Very smart. You can take the offensive, but if you took the offensive, your defenses would be greatly decreased when I strike. The possibility of being able to take this saber strike from me would be even smaller then.”
“You are a second severance, right?” Ling Han suddenly asked.
The man did not feel that it was strange that he was seen through, and said, “That’s right, I am a second severance. However, you do not have to worry. I will not use my full strength, and will limit my strength to the level of first severance. As long as you are an ordinary severance, you will at least be able to retreat safely under this saber strike of mine.”
Ling Han smiled, and said, “I am not worried, but you had best worry a bit.”
“Worry about what?” the man asked curiously.
The Empress suddenly moved, and shot out a palm strike at the man. Boom, suns, moons, and stars appeared in the palm of her hand, with multiple streaks of great dao appearing, and the power of Regulation rippling, like the descent of a supreme empress.
The man paled in shock. Instinctively, he was about to brandish his saber in a parry, but a hint of hesitation immediately appeared in his expression.
He was afraid that if attack clashed with attack, he would die.
This strike was extremely devastating!
After only an instant of hesitation, he gave up the idea of parrying. Instead, he held his saber over his chest, and activated it fully. He wanted to first block this attack, and then take advantage of the opening for a counterattack.
Peng!
The Empress’s palm strike landed onto the blade of the saber, and a clear palm print actually appeared on the blade. An irresistible force rolled over, and the man retreated continuously. His face had become pallid, and then became completely rid. Then, he began to throw up blood like mad.
“Worry about this.” Ling Han finally finished his words.
Though that man was a second severance, he was only a minor guard of the Fu Clan, so how could he possibly be a king tier? And the Empress’s battle prowess could rule even in the second severance, and only the likes of Bei Xuanming could possibly be a match for her. This man… was still a long way off from that.
He was defeated with a single move.
The man looked at the Empress with eyes full of disbelief. Who could believe that a first severance was actually capable of defeating a second severance so easily? If it was not for the fact that he was personally involved, he would completely treat it as a joke that was not funny at all should he hear it from others.
Ling Han chuckled, and said, “It’s my turn now, right?”
The man forcibly stood back up. Though it was already a complete mess inside his chest, he suppressed his injury. He was sure that with his cultivation level as a second severance, he was capable of completing the test for a first severance even with severe injuries.
“My husband is stronger than I am.” The Empress suddenly spoke up. These words were spoken with a very even tone, having completely no intention of showing off. She was only stating a very ordinary fact.
Meanwhile, the man s.h.i.+vered from the scare. With a ding, the saber in his hand fell onto the floor.
He had no wish to die at such a young age.