503: Chapter 503 The Ten Trials, Part One [Mortal]

No one answered.

Because this battle was so spectacular, most people were still savoring it.

Chu Wujiu, naturally, went without saying.

The most renowned Genius of the Chu Family, holding the heaven-opening battle halberd to confront the Immortal Body head-on, gambling his life with every strike.

The youngest Prodigy to comprehend a Life-Bound Technique, Ji Wuchen of the Ji Family.

Multiple times, he snatched half a breath's worth of time from beneath Qin Wangchuan's sword.

The eccentric talent who first created the Divine Ability Sword, Li Xuan.

With a Mortal body, a single man and a single sword, he clashed head-on with the Immortal Body without falling into a disadvantage.

If Qin Wangchuan hadn't comprehended Heaven's Judgment in the heat of battle, there was no telling how long this sword duel would have remained at a stalemate.

Zhao Lingyun was even more of a monster.

White paper flew out from the book, suspended in mid-air, and the Talisman was completed as the brush tip danced—it took no more than a breath from start to finish.

Not until the moment the Talisman light exploded did one know exactly what kind of Talisman he had drawn.

The strategist who never missed a calculation, Yun Zexuan—this person was somewhat intriguing.

He didn't make a single move from beginning to end, yet he calculated everyone's lives into his chessboard.

And then there was the wielder of the immortal burying coffin, Ye Lingchuan.

The moment the tentacles pierced through the arena, the entire earth trembled for him.

The madman who fused Dual Heaven and Earth Methods, Yan Wujin; the flames of the Heaven Burning Sea Boiling King once turned the entire arena into scorched earth.

And that white feather—the Zhou Family's First Feather, Zhou Yunyi.

He shuttled freely through the all-destroying offensive as if it were his own back garden.

A single monster was already Heaven-Defying enough.

And there were a full seven such monsters!

"Seven people..." At the edge of the stands, someone murmured, their voice raspy. "Seven monsters laying siege, yet they were almost crushed by one person."

The person beside them didn't respond.

They all saw it very clearly.

The Breakthroughs of those seven, the transformations of those seven, and every step those seven took in their desperate situation were all incredibly real.

But even so, they still won in a pathetic state.

In fact, if not for that final halberd strike being so exquisite, this wouldn't have been the outcome at all.

"Compared to those seven..."

Someone whispered, their voice carrying an indescribable emotion, "Qin Wangchuan is the true monster, isn't he?"

No one refuted it.

Because it was the truth.

Seven monsters among monsters, joined together and giving their all, only barely managed to win once.

On the other side, Gu Tianye suddenly laughed.

"Brother?" Gu Yixuan turned her head to look at him, extremely puzzled.

In her eyes, her brother had always treated Qin Wangchuan as a goal to catch up to.

Now that his idol had been defeated, he should have been sad.

"It's nothing."

Gu Tianye restrained his smile and glanced back at the arena; there was no longer any need to keep watching.

He turned and walked toward the exit of the stands.

Gu Yixuan took another look at the figure lying in the rubble before quickly catching up.

"Let me ask you," Gu Tianye said casually as he walked ahead, "when do you think I started becoming strong?"

Gu Yixuan tilted her small head and thought for a moment. "After meeting Qin Wangchuan?"

Gu Tianye shook his head.

"No."

He paused.

"It was after I was defeated."

"After losing to that woman and seeing that high mountain."

Gu Yixuan was stunned for a moment, suddenly understanding something.

"Let's make a bet."

Gu Tianye stopped and looked back at her, the moonlight falling on his face and reflecting a pair of very bright eyes. "Qin Wangchuan will become even stronger."

"The next time he appears—"

He paused, as if imagining the scene.

"He will carry an edge that crushes everything, descending from the heavens like an emperor to suppress all."

In the distance, Wang Xuance leaned against a pillar with his arms crossed, his gaze falling on the receding backs of Chu Wujiu and the others.

A smile curled at the corner of his mouth—not one of mockery, but of amusement.

"Seven people, fighting so pathetically."

"If I were there..."

As if thinking of that scene, Wang Xuance shook his head and left the place.

On the opposite side.

In the shadows of the stands, a graceful figure also stood.

Lü Yingxin leaned against a corridor pillar, the moonlight outlining her seductive silhouette.

Her gaze fell on the figure lying in the rubble at the center of the arena as she whispered in her heart, her voice as gentle as if she were coaxing a child to sleep.

'Just like that, my King.'

'This is an important turning point. From here, you will begin to realize—your power is not enough. You must be stronger. Stronger than everyone else.'

Behind her, Xuan Ye stepped out from the shadows.

His white hair floated slightly in the night breeze, and no expression could be seen on his excessively handsome face.

"Princess."

His voice was very soft, but his gaze remained locked on Qin Wangchuan.

"Allowing Qin Wangchuan to continue like this might not be good."

"Should we think of some way?"

Lü Yingxin didn't turn around.

"The Heavenly Emperor's gaze is upon this world; if you're looking for death, don't drag me with you."

"Once he steps into the Outlands, there will be ten thousand ways to kill him."

Her voice was decisive, a tone that left no room for discussion.

Xuan Ye fell silent for a moment.

These words were irreproachable.

The Princess had always been like this, every step measured perfectly, never letting anyone catch a weakness.

But a sentence still inexplicably surfaced in his heart.

It was something Qin Wangchuan had said.

'Lü Yingxin is my slave.'

Xuan Ye lowered his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

"He really dares to say that."

He whispered, unsure if he was talking about Qin Wangchuan or something else.

On the highest stand, the Headmaster of the Myriad Dao Academy remained silent.

Those of the older generation didn't look at victory or defeat, but at something else.

His gaze fell upon the wrecked arena, on the fragments of Talismans sliced to pieces, the ground pierced by tentacles, and the stone walls scorched by fire.

"Shen Tong Realm, Divine Ability Method..." the Headmaster murmured softly. "I thought this was already the limit, but now a Divine Ability Sword has evolved."

"This Divine Ability Method that Qin Wangchuan came up with seems to still have room for exploration."

The Elder beside him stroked his beard and nodded, his gaze falling on the young people who were leaving, as he let out a long sigh.

"The younger generation is to be feared; truly remarkable."

Amidst the rubble.

Only after Li Qingluan watched Chu Wujiu's back fade away did she look down at the person on her lap.

She had intended to say a few words of comfort.

But the moment she looked down, she was stunned.

A smile played at the corners of Qin Wangchuan's mouth, and his eyes looked forward.

But that gaze did not fall on any of the four.

He was looking at a much farther place.

Looking above the moon, looking at the end of the sky.

Li Qingluan suddenly understood.

—She understood why she had fallen in love with such a person.

She also understood exactly how he was different from people like Chu Wujiu.

Those people looked at his back, thinking about how to catch up.

But Qin Wangchuan never looked at anyone else's back.

He looked ahead.

To places where no one had ever been.

An inexplicable shiver ran up from her tailbone, and goosebumps densely covered her arms.

She couldn't restrain her emotions.

Li Qingluan lowered her head, her lips gently brushing against Qin Wangchuan's forehead.

"You will become even stronger," she said softly, "stronger than anyone else."

Qin Wangchuan didn't snap out of it; his gaze remained on the horizon.

"Yes."

His voice was very soft, like a murmur, yet also like a promise.

"I lost this time."

"But next time, and the time after that, I will win."

"Whether it's seven, ten, or seventy."

"No matter what schemes are devised, what traps are dug, or how many backup plans are prepared."

"I will win."

"Winning beautifully, winning decisively."

His voice wasn't loud, yet like nails, it was driven one by one into the night.

Li Qingluan didn't answer.

Who would question a fact?

She just lowered her head, gently pressing her face against his hair.

The moonlight shone on them, on the four receding backs in the distance, and on the rubble and bloodstains covering the ground.

The wind blew across the arena, carrying the scent of blood and the chill of night dew.

She closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat.

Thump, thump.

Steady and powerful.

'It sounds so good.'

However, in a place Li Qingluan couldn't hear—

Within Qin Wangchuan's mind, a cold mechanical voice suddenly rang out.

[Conditions for the Ten Lifetimes Trial have been met.]

[The Ten-Life Trials Roulette has been activated.]

A roulette wheel with ten markings appeared before his eyes, pitch-black throughout, with dark golden light flowing around its edges.

The roulette began to spin, the markings flashing past so quickly that the writing on them could not be discerned.

Qin Wangchuan didn't move, just watched quietly.

The roulette spun slower and slower.

Slower and slower.

Finally, the pointer stopped on two words—

[Mortal]