Chapter 271

Chapter 271: One Link After Another

Seeing that they would not give up until they got their way, Ember could only sigh.

This time, it seemed she would have to teach, like it or not.

She spoke softly: “I am telling the truth. But since you do not believe me… each of you may send one junior you think highly of. I will personally teach them for a few days. But I really am not good at teaching, so when the time comes…”

“We will never go back on our word!” the top Human Race experts answered with cheerful smiles. They all knew that anything Ember agreed to, she would surely do. If she said she would teach with full effort, then she would.

Ember fell silent.

[Fine. If they are happy, let them be.]

Afraid Ember might change her mind, the experts left their heavy gifts and hurried away.

They were eager to choose their candidates.

Ember sighed, a little troubled.

She had not expected it.

Li’s talent was this frightening.

She had thought the Lunar Star was everything.

She had not thought the Lunar Star was only one part of it.

Ember even grew a bit curious.

The Nanlan Continent was known for its less advanced cultivation methods. To the Central Continent, it could even be called a wild land.

Yet now, in such a wild land, a genius had appeared who shone even brighter than You Lan.

Could it be that in this Great Calamity, fate truly rested with the Nanlan Continent?

Ember’s eyes flickered.

Perhaps she should pay even closer attention to Li.

On the Golden Soul Altar, ten days passed.

You Lan used every method she had and finally held on.

The fifth layer was now a vast empty space with only two lonely golden altars left, one under Li Shuang and one under You Lan.

The two said nothing and sat cross-legged.

One raced against time to absorb the insights from the Five Elements Crystals.

The other did everything to recover her state.

You Lan bit down, took out a pill, and swallowed it.

Her state returned to its peak at once.

A pill that restores you instantly is a second life in many fights.

Its value even made You Lan’s heart ache.

But compared to the gifts from clearing the fifth layer, it was nothing.

The distant voice rose again: “Fifth-layer trial: Thousand Mechanisms Hammer Array.”

Li Shuang and You Lan opened their eyes and stood with solemn faces.

This was their third time seeing the Thousand Mechanisms Hammer Array.

Each time, the formation grew more terrifying.

By the third time, the number of Blackiron Warhammers had gone up again.

Cold light gleamed across the hammerheads.

As the voice faded, the Thousand Mechanisms Hammer Array began to turn.

Li Shuang’s face grew very serious.

She stood still and let one hammer land to test it.

Then her expression changed a little.

This time, it was different.

Completely different.

The Blackiron Warhammers carried something extra now.

That one strike faintly held the sharp edge of metal-attribute power.

At this level, the Blackiron Warhammers actually carried some of the Five Elements inside them.

The weight of their blows shot up because of it.

Yet a spark of joy flashed in Li Shuang’s eyes.

After she took that hit, the Intermediate Five Elements Crystal in her sea of consciousness began absorbing a little faster.

Li Shuang understood in an instant.

This Golden Soul Altar links each part to the next.

Those who chose to endure the hammer array on the first layer would have much denser souls. In the layers after that, they would hold a huge edge.

By this layer, the Blackiron Warhammers had even fused with the Five Elements. Anyone who had gained Five Elements Crystals would receive great benefits here.

Only those who pushed every step to the limit could enjoy such benefits now.

Of course, there was still risk in letting the hammers help you absorb the Five Elements Crystals.

You could only enjoy the benefit if you could endure the massive impact.

Luckily, Li Shuang’s soul had been tempered twice. In terms of solidity, she was even above You Lan.

With strike after strike, the Five Elements Crystals were absorbed at high speed.

Li Shuang kept getting smashed, yet a pleased look slowly spread across her face.

In front of the Water Screen, Yan Fan shivered.

A moment ago, he had seen that black sword and the way Li moved and had started to feel a sneaky doubt.

But now, seeing that smile, he did not dare think more.

Li Shuang was just a little cold, but this Li… she looked like a maniac.

Did she get more excited the more she got hit?

Yan Fan muttered to himself: “There are many black swords in this world. Many people use similar sword forms. This is all just a coincidence.”

Otherwise, could Li really be Li Shuang?

[When I meet Li Shuang, I must talk to her about this peerless genius who is even more talented and even more of a maniac than she is. Her face will be priceless.]

People whispered as the hammers boomed: “It is already the fifth layer,” one said. “Last time, You Lan fell off her altar on the second day. How long can she last this time?” another asked. “Li may be here for the first time, but she looks much more relaxed than You Lan,” someone judged. “She went through a full soul tempering once, and at the third layer she took more hits than You Lan. She is already used to heavy blows,” said another. “Do you think we might see a genius who can clear seven layers this time?” someone finally asked.

Silence fell.

Clearing six layers?

That was not unheard of.

Across the long life of Myriad Arts City, there had once been a person who cleared the sixth layer and reached the seventh.

But the images for the seventh layer were not public.

No one knew the exact test of the seventh. They only knew that the genius who reached it improved at a shocking speed afterward.

Now, he was one of the Strongest of the Human Race.

Who would clear six layers?

You Lan or Li?

Both were gifted, but that goal was still very hard.

“This is You Lan’s last Golden Soul Altar. Her chance to clear seven is not high. But Li… she is young, and this is her first time. Give her some time, and she might really try for seven,” someone said quietly.

Give her time, and she might reach seven.

As for Li Shuang right now, no one believed she could truly do it.

By the second day of the Thousand Mechanisms Hammer Array, the Intermediate Five Elements Crystals that Li Shuang had gained were fully absorbed under the pounding.

From how each link led to the next on the Golden Soul Altar, Li Shuang had reason to believe the hammer array was helping her absorb the crystals to raise her odds for the sixth layer.

If nothing unexpected happened, the sixth layer would still be a trial of the Five Elements.

The deeper the understanding of the Five Elements, the greater the chances of passing.