Chapter 263

Chapter 263: Tribulation

Someone tried to comfort the crowd as the second level began: “Stay calm, it may not be set yet. Li has not cleared it.”

Night was Li Shuang’s home field. When the Lunar Star shone, she was at her strongest. With moonlight and starlight bright and the Azure Lotus glowing with clear light, Li Shuang passed the night with ease.

At dawn, the Lunar Deity faded and the sun rose again. Li Shuang’s aura weakened a little. Even so, after a full day and night of soul tempering, her soul was much more refined than the day before. Without the boost of Lunar Starlight, she still held on.

When her soul was about to break, night fell once more.

So it went in a cycle. Li Shuang endured on the first level to the very end.

During these three days and nights, some people saw what Li Shuang was doing and tried to imitate her soul tempering. Yet even with careful prep, not everyone could endure the impact of the heavy hammer. Several were knocked out of the void on the very first strike. A few lasted a handful of blows, then felt their souls go hazy. When they wanted to give up, they found that with their souls injured, they could not dodge hammers they could have avoided before.

After a few cases like that, the rest decisively gave up copying Li Shuang. Some things, even if you know the method, you simply cannot do.

Even so, as they watched Li Shuang’s soul grow more and more refined, many could not hide a touch of envy.

At last, three days and three nights of the Thousand Mechanisms Hammer Array ended. For those who had not gone ahead to the second level early and had never fallen, the golden platforms under their feet slowly rose until they were level with You Lan and the others.

A voice rang out across the space: “The Thousand Mechanisms Hammer test has ended. Final clearers: 533.”

Li Shuang’s eyes shifted slightly. More than a thousand had joined, yet fewer than half had gone on to the second level. The Golden Soul Altar offered a great chance, but it was not for everyone.

In Myriad Arts City, the little betting game also ended. Every bettor lost. Not one guessed right. The City Lord’s answer was simple. The one who gained the most on the first level was, without a doubt, Li.

People grumbled but soon gathered themselves. They were not worried. This was only the first round. There would be more chances.

Another voice announced the next wager as the second level opened: “Second level bet: who clears it the fastest. Betting time: ten breaths. After ten breaths, no more bets.”

This bet was different and fun. It was about speed. Those who had wanted to bet on Li Shuang hesitated. Li was a true dark horse, but she never rushed. She did not seem like someone who chased speed. In a race of speed, she might not have an edge. And they had only ten breaths to choose.

Time flashed by, and people placed their bets. The one with the most Merit Points was still You Lan. To everyone’s surprise, Li Shuang also drew a lot of Merit Points and ranked fifth among all the Trialists.

In front of the Water Screen, a man stared at his own bet with a troubled face. Just now, as if guided by a ghost, he had bet on Li. Not because he thought she would win, but because she gave him a strange feeling of familiarity. Her name was Li, and she had once blurted out that she was a Sword Sect Disciple.

If this were not Myriad Arts City, he would have thought she was Li Shuang of the Sword Sect.

He muttered to himself under his breath: “I must be overthinking it… no, I am definitely overthinking it.”

A month ago, this man, Yan Fan, had contracted a Wanfa Eye. His Master had been thrilled, saying the future of Cangyuan Sect was bright. Yan Fan did not yet know what the Wanfa Eye really meant, so he asked his Master a simple question: “With the Wanfa Eye in hand, can Li Shuang still catch up to me?”

His Master laughed: “Yan Fan, stop thinking about Li Shuang. You walk different paths now. She will not surpass you. She will only fall farther and farther behind. Your target is the geniuses of the Central Continent. If one day you can enter the Genius Ranking, even at the very bottom, then no one will be able to compete with you for the future Sect Master’s seat.”

Remembering that, Yan Fan had felt a small regret. Being unmatched among your peers could feel pretty lonely. But since he had gotten such a chance, he could not give it up.

Yan Fan had come to Myriad Arts City with his heart on fire. His Master said that reaching the tail of the Genius Ranking would already be a win. But Yan Fan asked himself: was he really worse than the geniuses of the Central Continent? His goal was first place.

However, after he finished the Three Grand Secret Grounds, that grand ambition faded fast. Later, when he learned he was not even qualified to enter the Soul Prison, Yan Fan faced the truth. Cultivators of Nanlan Continent and those of the Central Continent were worlds apart in strength. As the number one genius of Nanlan Continent, here he was nobody.

Yet You Lan and Li were brilliant even in the Central Continent, where geniuses were as common as clouds.

Earlier, when Li challenged the Sixth Peak of the Grand Dao Mountain, he had been there. When she blurted out “Sword Sect,” his heart had truly shaken. After all, this Li not only felt similar to Li Shuang, she even had the same Ice Spiritual Root.

But soon he dropped that absurd thought. Li was a peerless genius taught by the City Lord. That “Sword Sect” was probably just something she said in passing, since the name was not rare. He, the top genius of Nanlan Continent, could barely move here. How could Li Shuang ever come this far?

He admitted his idea had been exaggerated. Yan Fan looked at Li in the Water Screen with a bit of envy. Forget the Golden Soul Altar. When would he even get to try the Soul Prison?

He talked himself down with a sigh. [Never mind. I am still one step ahead of the others from Nanlan Continent.]

On the second level of the Golden Soul Altar, those who had held on for three whole days were completely drained. Keeping their soul force working at full power for so long had taken a big toll. Li Shuang, however, looked full of energy. Three days of tempering had let her soul fully adapt to this hammering. When she was forced to leave the first level, she even felt a little disappointed.

Seeing Li like this, people muttered under their breath: “Monster,” and, “Li is not human.”

Without giving them any time to adjust, the voice rang out again: “Golden Soul Altar, second level test: Tribulation!”

Li Shuang’s face grew solemn. The test for this level had only one word: tribulation?

What tribulation?

Lightning tribulation? Heavenly Tribulation? Devil Demon tribulation? Tribulation of All Things?