Chapter 260

Chapter 260: Li Shuang’s Discovery

Li Shuang ignored what others thought. She focused for a while, and a faint insight rose in her mind.

She felt that if she kept up this perfect evasion, it would not be long before she reached the second level.

After realizing this, Li Shuang kept using her powerful soul to force the Blackiron Warhammers to change course.

Even if she stood still, not a scratch would touch her.

She hesitated, thinking: [So… beat this stage quickly?]

She calmly watched the Blackiron Warhammers spinning at high speed, and curiosity stirred.

Since the Thousand Mechanisms Hammer Array was called a Formation, it had to have rules.

Yet from the way it moved, besides spinning, there was no pattern at all.

Another heavy hammer rushed in, and Li Shuang again used soul power to bend its path.

Suddenly, her mind stirred.

As the Azure Lotus lifted the hammer, she seemed to see strange runes on the head flash for an instant.

Her eyes tightened; for a moment she almost thought she imagined it.

She steadied herself and watched more carefully when the next hammer came. This time, she clearly saw the rune flicker.

She fell into deep thought.

The central Sky-Piercing Pillar held endless, profound runes, so deep and vast that Cultivators at her level could not understand them.

The Blackiron Warhammers also held a portion of those runes. Even though it was only a small and likely the simplest part, it was still beyond her grasp.

Yet with every collision between the Azure Lotus and the hammer, her soul seemed to form a subtle link with those runes, a feeling she could not name.

But building that link this way was slow. Too slow.

In the first trial, a Cultivator could stay at most three days.

Three days was not much time. The pace was too slow. She would not uncover the true secret of the runes in time.

Her expression grew solemn: [Do I have any other way?]

In Myriad Arts City, huge Water Screens hung in every district.

People gathered before them to watch and chat.

Voices rose: “Here it is, the City Lord’s first question! Who will earn the highest score in the first trial? The City Lord will grade it herself. Guess right, and you split the Merit Points prize pool.”

Someone snorted: “Interesting. Highest score? What decides the score? The City Lord did not say.”

Another scolded him: “Are you doubting the City Lord? She holds all right to explain. She is absolutely fair and will not favor anyone.”

Someone began: “In the past, sure. But this time, isn’t there a Li…”

A bystander hushed him: “Shut up. Do you want to die? The City Lord cultivates the Path of Rules. Rules are like the sky. How would she break them for someone named Li?”

The first man backed down: “I spoke out of turn.”

A third added, half nervous and half joking: “Good thing the City Lord never cares about small stuff. With a petty expert, you would already be a corpse.”

They whispered a while, then fell quiet as names flashed across the screen.

Everyone trusted the City Lord’s fairness. Even if Li was an old friend’s daughter, she would get no special treatment.

In that case, the one most likely to earn the highest score was still You Lan.

The Wanfa Eye now showed a separate betting panel where viewers could pick a contestant.

Each person could bet only once, and each bet cost ten Merit Points.

Also, the betting window would close five shichen after the first trial began.

People watched the Water Screen and weighed their choices.

Soon after, You Lan lived up to the hype and reached the second level first.

After her, one familiar genius after another rose to the second level.

The highest score might not be only about speed; it could also depend on how you cleared the trial.

Most chose You Lan, but a few who loved risk picked others.

As for Li Shuang, people had expected something from her, but as she still did not go up, that little hope faded away.

Under Li Shuang’s name, the bet total was a stark zero Merit Points.

In the City Lord’s Manor, within the void, the City Lord sipped tea and watched the tiny figures on the Golden Soul Altar with interest.

Over the years, she had used the Wanfa Eye to raise wave after wave of geniuses.

But what she truly needed was not ordinary talent. She wanted peerless powerhouses who could stand beside her and fight at her side.

The Heaven Severing Lands had been quiet for a hundred years. Many top leaders of the Human Race had started to think the Devil Seeds had finally settled down.

But was that true? She doubted it.

She believed the Devil Seeds in Heaven Severing City were brewing a shocking plot.

Only a handful of the Human Race could go deep into the Heaven Severing Lands. Losing even one would be a disaster for the whole race.

Yet the Devil Seeds would keep appearing, one after another.

If one day the True Devils in Heaven Severing City poured out in full, the Human Race would face ruin.

There were still too few true top experts among the Human Race.

The City Lord looked closely at You Lan.

The Devil Heaven Sect’s You Lan was a fine seedling, but she was still far from what the City Lord hoped for.

Others lagged behind You Lan even more, far from meeting her expectations.

She sighed: [When will the Human Race bring forth someone who can stand beside me? If that one person appeared, and we worked together, perhaps we could really wipe out the Heaven Severing Lands one day.]

For now, she could only keep holding the line.

Her gaze shifted to Li Shuang.

Like the other geniuses, Li Shuang had clearly found the secret to reaching the second level.

It should not be long before she joined You Lan and the others.

The City Lord remained calm. With Li Shuang’s soul strength, this was easy.

She was a bit slower only because it was her first time there.

Li was a decent seed candidate.

The City Lord was about to look away, when the Water Screen changed.

Li Shuang’s actions shifted, and the City Lord’s eyes narrowed.

[Wait… what is she doing?]

On the Water Screen, Li Shuang stopped dodging and stopped bending the hammers’ paths.

She stood there and let a Blackiron Warhammer crash into her Spirit Soul Body.