152: Chapter 152 The True Trial

Lin Mo stood on the thirtieth-floor platform, but he didn't immediately continue upward.

He looked up at the bone steps higher up, his expression solemn.

After clearing dozens of floors, he had come to understand one thing.

In this Bone Platform trial, the true difficulty was never the skeletons themselves.

Instead, it forced you to dismantle, understand, and then reassemble your own power piece by piece under suppression.

If one relied solely on brute force, they wouldn't get far.

Even with Rank 3 peak combat power, once they reached the twentieth floor, they would be forcibly bogged down by swarms of skeletons.

To continue upward, one had to comprehend a higher level of power.

Lin Mo whispered to himself, then stepped forward onto the thirty-first floor.

On this floor, five skeleton warriors appeared.

They no longer simply swung their blades and pounced like before; they had begun to understand coordination.

Front and back, left and right—there was even one circling to the side, specifically targeting Lin Mo's footwork placement.

If he had used his previous method of relying purely on speed to clear the stage, he might not have passed this floor so smoothly.

But Lin Mo's fighting style had changed now.

He was no longer simply charging.

He was observing.

Observing the skeletons' strikes, their skeletal structures, the turning points of their power during attacks, and how they used the bone steps' suppression to lock down his movements.

Then, as he acted, he began to consciously dismantle his own way of attacking.

He raised his hand and his long blade left its sheath, the blade light as fast as an aurora streaking across the sky.

But this time, the sight everyone expected—a single skeleton being cleaved apart by one strike—did not happen.

As Lin Mo's blade edge swept across the chest of the foremost skeleton, it actually paused slightly in mid-air.

That pause was extremely subtle, almost imperceptible.

But right after this pause, the blade's momentum suddenly shifted slightly, as if using the cutting force from the previous instant to drive in another layer deeper.

Chii!

The first layer of damage sliced through the bone armor.

The second layer of damage exploded directly from the crack, shattering the entire skeleton from within.

One strike, two layers of damage.

When the bone fragments exploded, everyone was momentarily stunned.

"That was..."

Someone blurted out, their eyes filled with shock.

"How can the same move deal damage twice?"

"Did he just... pause for a moment?"

"No, it wasn't a pause, it was leveraging force!"

Standing on the twentieth step, Shen Zhihan's eyes, which had remained steady, flickered slightly.

She saw it very clearly.

Lin Mo's move just now wasn't a simple variation in blade technique, but a secondary utilization of power.

The first layer was the cut from the blade itself.

The second layer was using the residual momentum of the blade after the cut to penetrate through once more.

In other words—

He had turned one attack into two.

This wasn't a simple technical variation.

This was a re-understanding of the essence of combat.

"So that's how it is..."

Shen Zhihan said softly.

She didn't rush to charge again. Instead, she lowered her head slightly, looking at the bone steps beneath her feet, a calm nearly akin to enlightenment appearing in her eyes for the first time.

She suddenly understood that these Bone Platforms weren't simple obstacles blocking the way at all.

They were whetstones.

They were specifically designed to sharpen the blades, temperament, judgment, and martial understanding of these trial-takers.

And this was the truly terrifying part.

Because if you only viewed it as a hindrance, you would always be suppressed.

But once you viewed it as a whetstone, your mindset would be completely different.

This wasn't torture.

This was an opportunity.

A massive opportunity that would allow a person to undergo a complete transformation.

Thinking of this, the expression on Shen Zhihan's face became completely calm.

She looked up toward the higher floors, her gaze no longer filled with irritability or urgency.

"So that's it."

She said softly.

"This isn't meant to keep me stuck."

"This is to force me to truly sharpen myself."

She no longer looked at those bystanders who had begun to get arrogant, nor did she look at Azerbaijani own and Zhou Jingyue.

Because in her eyes, those people were still stuck in the superficial emotion of 'being blocked.'

Only those who truly settled their hearts could see the meaning behind this trial.

Thus, she turned around and sat down cross-legged again.

She wasn't in a hurry to chase after Lin Mo anymore.

She needed to understand herself first.

Before moving further up.

On the other side, Azerbaijani own, Zhou Jingyue, and the others finally began to recover from their previous emotions of being overtaken, struck, and suppressed.

They were originally the most competitive group of people.

But after Lin Mo charged to the thirtieth floor in one breath, they finally realized that their previous irritability and comparisons were completely meaningless.

Because a true gap isn't something to be angry about.

It's something to be closed.

Azerbaijani own took a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his brow, and his gaze gradually became calm.

"...I was too impatient."

He whispered.

"If I keep charging like this, I'll only get more and more stuck."

Zhou Jingyue didn't speak, but he also slowly closed his eyes.

He had been stuck near the tenth floor earlier, and his state of mind had actually been wavering.

But now, looking at Lin Mo's back, he suddenly realized something as well.

Lin Mo had also been stuck at the beginning.

And he had been stuck longer than them.

But Lin Mo didn't panic.

He just kept observing, dismantling, and constantly smoothing out his power.

And then, he charged up.

So why couldn't he?

Thinking of this, Zhou Jingyue's hand holding his sword tightened slightly, then slowly relaxed.

He no longer looked at the number of skeletons on the steps, nor did he compare himself with others to see who was ahead.

He began to truly organize himself.

Organize his Sword Intent.

Organize his breathing.

Organize the flow of force every time he struck.

Su Heng, Su Heng, Qin Yuan, quadrupole, Pei Lin, Song Yan, and the others also quieted down at almost the same time.

They had previously become arrogant because they saw themselves pass the tenth floor.

But now, seeing that Lin Mo had already reached the thirtieth floor, they finally realized:

A so-called lead was never the end point.

It was just a fleeting illusion.

Thus, more and more people began to sit cross-legged on the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth-floor platforms, quietly organizing themselves.

Some closed their eyes in deep thought.

Some repeatedly simulated the battles they just had.

Some gritted their teeth and recalled their answers during the Martial Inquiry, trying to find the roots of their own martial path again.

Time passed bit by bit.

Half an hour later, the first person to stand up again was Azerbaijani own.

When he opened his eyes, the irritability in them had clearly lessened significantly, replaced by a steadier, deeper sharpness.

"I understand now."

He whispered.

"I shouldn't be chasing after others."

"I need to sharpen my own sword first."

After saying that, he stepped onto the eleventh floor.

This time, although his speed wasn't as exaggerated as Lin Mo's earlier, he was clearly much steadier than before.

Zhou Jingyue followed closely behind.

Shen Zhihan was still sitting on the twentieth step, but she wasn't in a hurry.

She was just quietly watching.

Because she had understood earlier than the others that her sitting now wasn't falling behind, but accumulating.

She had even guessed—

This entire Bone Platform was likely a sharpening ground prepared for them from the very beginning.

As long as one could figure it out here, there would definitely be gains.

Thus, her expression became increasingly calm, and her breathing became steadier.

She began to re-organize herself.

The secret patterns of the Xuanqing Palm.

This wasn't her first time encountering this technique.

But previously, she only knew how to use it.

Now, what she needed to do was truly understand it.

To understand why this palm could be struck, how to strike it, and when to strike it, only then could she truly sharpen it into her own sharp edge.

And just as everyone began to settle their hearts, Lin Mo had already stepped onto the thirty-second floor.

The skeletons on this floor were no longer at the level of simply overwhelming people with numbers.

They began to understand how to use the suppression on the steps to deliberately lock down a person's center of gravity, forcing the trial-taker to choose between striking and moving.

Lin Mo wasn't in a hurry.

He was even a bit slower than before.

Because the further up he went, the more he felt that his previous understanding of power was still far from enough.

traits weren't simple bonuses.

Skills weren't just simple movements.

In essence, they were all different ways of expressing power.

And the real key lay in—

Whether you knew why you struck like that, why this move was fast, why this technique could explode, and why you would instinctively choose a certain angle at a certain moment.

This was the essence of power.

Lin Mo paused for a moment on the thirty-second step.

Then, he struck with his blade again.

Aurora Flowing Cloud Slash.

This time, he was even a fraction slower than before.

But it was precisely this fraction that allowed the blade light, after sweeping across the skeleton's chest, to leave behind an additional, almost perfectly overlapping cutting mark.

Three layers of damage.

And it was even more natural than before.

A nearly imperceptible light flashed in his eyes.

"It can still be faster."

He whispered.

"It can also be steadier."

"It can even... be more effortless."

He began to learn how to find the optimal solution from every attack.

And this change was actually more terrifying than simple acceleration.

Because speed was just a surface level phenomenon.

What truly set people apart was whether they had mastered the internal logic of combat.

Lin Mo pushed upward like this, floor by floor.

Thirty-third floor.

Thirty-fourth floor.

Thirty-fifth floor.

The skeleton warriors on the Bone Platform grew stronger and stronger, and their numbers increased.

But Lin Mo's fighting style also became more and more like someone who had truly seen through the trial.

He no longer blindly pursued overwhelming force.

Instead, he began to use minimal movements to exchange for maximum gains.

One strike dealt three layers of damage.

One turn neutralized three layers of pressure.

One leveraging of momentum directly sent two skeletons off the steps.

And all of this, falling into the eyes of those below who were re-organizing themselves, was another form of massive stimulation.

Because they had originally thought Lin Mo had charged to the thirtieth floor by relying on brute force.

But looking at it now, he wasn't simply strong.

He was fighting, comprehending, and refining his power more and more along the way.

This made it even more convincing.

It also gave people more hope.

Even Xu Jin, who had been the most arrogant before, had now put away his contempt and was honestly sitting cross-legged, beginning to recall exactly how to use his bit of fire intent more steadily.

Su Heng, Su Heng, Qin Yuan, quadrupole, Pei Lin, and Song Yan all settled down one by one.

They were no longer in a hurry to climb.

Because they had all seen Lin Mo's back.

That back, which had already charged to the thirties and was still continuing upward, gave them the most direct stimulation.

If Lin Mo could do it, then they could too.

It just required time.

They needed to sharpen themselves first.

Thus, the second round of true cultivation began.

...

When Lin Mo stepped onto the thirty-sixth floor, the wind pressure on the bone steps was clearly different.

If the first twenty floors were simple suppression and interception, then from the thirtieth floor upward, the bone steps were more like forcing the trial-takers to face their own shortcomings.

Every skeleton warrior seemed to be generated specifically for a certain type of martial path defect.

Lin Mo didn't rush to overpower them.

Instead, he began to slow down by half a fraction.

Because he had already discovered that his Aurora Flowing Cloud Slash still had many areas that could be improved.

Lin Mo raised his blade.

As the blade edge passed, a skeleton warrior had just raised its bone arm when its chest was already sliced open by the blade intent.

But this time, the bone crack didn't explode in the first instant.

Instead, after the blade edge swept past, a second muffled sound suddenly came from deep within the bone crack.

Ka.

Boom!

The first layer was the blade momentum slicing through the bone armor.

The second layer was the force penetrating into the crack and then exploding directly inside.

Lin Mo's eyes lit up slightly.

"That's it."

He whispered.

This time, he didn't stop, but instead continued to deduce following this move.

He began to think:

If the first layer of damage was the blade edge itself, could the second layer of damage come from the residual waves of the blade momentum?

If the slash itself could cut through the enemy's surface protection, could the subsequent vibration directly damage the internal core?

If Aurora Flowing Cloud Slash wasn't just 'slashing' but 'slashing and then pressing,' would its power increase by another level?

Once this thought appeared, Lin Mo's entire aura changed slightly.

He began to dismantle this S-rank technique, down to every point of force exertion, every retraction, and every inch of the blade's trajectory.

Then he reassembled it.

Thirty-seventh floor.

Thirty-eighth floor.

Thirty-ninth floor.

Lin Mo continued upward, his steps becoming steadier and his blade technique becoming smoother.

And those behind him who were still organizing themselves on the spot gradually felt a very direct contrast.

Lin Mo, in front, wasn't simply fighting.

He was getting stronger.

And he was getting stronger with every floor.

This change was even clear enough that people didn't dare to ignore it.

On the eleventh-floor platform, Xu Jin finally reopened his eyes after sitting cross-legged for a long time.

The fire intent in his palm was steadier than before, and there was even a faint hint of extremely fine flame patterns.

In that instant, he suddenly understood that his previous contempt was actually quite laughable.

It wasn't that Lin Mo was being caught up by them.

It was that Lin Mo had already been walking on a different path from the very beginning.

"So he wasn't slow."

Xu Jin whispered.

"He was walking the path deeper."

As soon as these words left his mouth, he himself paused for a moment.

Because he suddenly discovered that he was actually able to evaluate Lin Mo relatively calmly.

What did this mean?

It meant he had truly settled down.

And once one settled down, that superficial sense of superiority from before would quickly recede.

Similar changes were also happening to others.

When Su Heng stood up again, his original irritability had lessened significantly.

He began to understand that if he wanted to continue upward, he shouldn't always be thinking about who to overtake, but rather let his own wind intent truly take shape first.

Su Heng sat in place for a long time, finally organizing his scattered fighting style into a clear outline.

Qin Yuan no longer just stared at Lin Mo, but began to think about how his defensive traits could be combined with the pressure of the bone steps to achieve the maximum effect.

quadrupole and Pei Lin were also adjusting.

They finally stopped being like they were at the beginning, only wanting to quickly overtake the other trial-takers.

Instead, they truly viewed this trial as an opportunity to temper themselves.

Near the tenth floor, Azerbaijani own also stood up again.

This time, his gaze was clearly much more composed.

He took a deep breath and looked up at the bone steps of the eleventh floor ahead.

On that floor, many bystanders had already returned to their climbing state, and some were even trying to charge toward higher steps.

And Azerbaijani own didn't rush to curse this time.

He just gritted his teeth and whispered:

"If Lin Mo can go up, there's no reason I can't."

After saying that, he stepped onto the tenth floor again.

This time, the suppression was still very heavy.

But he was no longer as irritable as before.

He began to observe seriously.

Observe the skeleton warriors' way of striking.

Observe how they changed their positioning under pressure.

Observe when his Sword Intent should be released and when it should be retracted.

Consequently, the barrier that had originally stuck him actually began to show signs of loosening.

Until he finally grasped a certain key point, and the Sword Intent in his hand shook violently.

"Open!"

Azerbaijani own gave a low shout, his sword light swept across, and he finally forcibly tore through the tenth floor and charged onto the eleventh-floor platform.

"So that's how it is."

"I was too eager to win."

"So I never saw myself clearly."

At this moment, he finally stopped viewing people like Lin Mo and Shen Zhihan as opponents.

As it turned out, the true opponent was each trial-taker themselves!

Comparing who got up first with others was meaningless.

Only by truly sharpening oneself would one have the qualification to continue chasing upward.

This was the answer this Bone Platform truly wanted.

And at this time, Lin Mo had already stepped onto the fiftieth Bone Platform!