137: Entering the Former Palace of Emperor Wu, the Trial of Prodigies

Just like that, time passed quickly under the lead of the Old Ancestor of the Tianshan Sect.

In just over two hours, the two had crossed tens of thousands of miles, traveling from Qing Province to Martial Province... Martial Province was the undisputed center of the Nine Provinces.

Since the Martial God established the Nine Provinces and founded the Sacred Martial Dynasty, Martial Province had been the most prosperous province in the Nine Provinces.

Its area was massive, comparable to two Qing Provinces, and its population exceeded a terrifying thirty billion! This was far more than the population of the entire Earth in his previous life.

Countless experts and Prodigies played out epic stories of love, hatred, and sorrow across this vast land.

At this moment, at the foot of the massive Liuzhong Mountain in Martial Province, which stood tens of thousands of feet high and pierced the clouds like a heavenly pillar.

A streak of green light suddenly flashed across the sky, then landed on a grassland at the foot of the mountain, transforming into two figures.

These two were Lin Yi and the Old Ancestor of the Tianshan Sect!

"This is Liuzhong Mountain."

At the foot of Liuzhong Mountain, looking at this majestic and vast divine mountain, the Old Ancestor of the Tianshan Sect couldn't help but show a hint of awe in his eyes as he spoke:

"Legend has it that the Martial God attained the Dao at the summit of Liuzhong Mountain, breaking through to a realm of Divine Understanding, and then ascended through the void to leave this world. That is why the Martial Emperors Relic Palace he built back then remains here."

"Unfortunately, the Martial God's methods were truly inconceivable. Even though everyone knows the Martial Emperors Relic Palace is in Liuzhong Mountain..."

"...for thousands of years, throughout the history of the Nine Provinces, not a single Martial Saint—including the Ancestors of the Three Great Sacred Lands—has ever found the Martial Emperors Relic Palace within Liuzhong Mountain."

"Thus, it is common knowledge that there is only one way to enter the Martial Emperors Relic Palace, and that is with the help of the emperor wus final edict!"

"Little fellow, take out the token!"

"Yes, Old Ancestor!"

Lin Yi nodded slightly. With a thought, the emperor wus final edict, which was fused into his flesh, appeared in his hand.

As soon as the sun's rays hit the emperor wus final edict...

In an instant.

"Buzz!"

Countless rays of sunlight seemed to be drawn by the emperor wus final edict, converging frantically toward the token in Lin Yi's hand.

Then, before Lin Yi's eyes, the emperor wus final edict suddenly erupted with a brilliant green light.

That light was incredibly dazzling, even more so than the sun in the sky!

Simultaneously, as the emperor wus final edict shone brightly, the Void Realm around Lin Yi began to vibrate.

Finally, after vibrating for about four or five breaths, an incredibly powerful force suddenly emanated from the emperor wus final edict, completely enveloping Lin Yi in an instant.

And then... "Whoosh!"

A flash of green light, and in a split second, Lin Yi completely disappeared from the foot of Liuzhong Mountain.

"I hope this little fellow can gain enough Opportunity from this!"

Seeing Lin Yi's disappearing figure, a flash of excitement appeared in the eyes of the Old Ancestor of the Tianshan Sect as he waited in silent anticipation... Meanwhile.

"Whoosh!"

The world spun, and the stars shifted.

Lin Yi felt as if he had been stuffed into a tumble dryer, his body tumbling incessantly.

Endless dizziness rose in his mind. After tumbling for an unknown amount of time, when Lin Yi finally felt his body hit the ground, he found himself inside a massive palace where the walls and floor were made entirely of pure gold.

"Is this the Martial Emperors Relic Palace?"

Inside the palace, Lin Yi scanned his surroundings and nodded secretly.

"It's exactly as recorded in the Heavenly Mountain Sect's literature."

"According to the experiences of predecessors, a mechanical man at the Early Stage to Middle Stage of the Innate True Essence Realm will appear before me in ten breaths to conduct the assessment."

"With my talent, as long as I can withstand a thousand moves from this bronze mechanical man, I can obtain the treasure that helps in breaking through to Martial Saint, as well as divine weapons and peerless divine weapons."

"If I can defeat it, I will not only get those treasures but also additional, incredibly precious Heaven And Earth Treasures."

"And these treasures will be of great benefit for my future Breakthroughs into the Innate True Essence Realm, Xiantian Golden Core Realm, and even the Innate Golden Core Realm!"

At this thought, Lin Yi's eyes lit up, and he waited silently within the palace.

Time passed quickly as Lin Yi waited. In the blink of an eye, ten breaths had passed.

"Buzz!"

As the ten breaths concluded, the Void Realm about seven or eight hundred meters in front of Lin Yi suddenly trembled.

Then, a Golden Giant over ten meters tall and golden all over abruptly appeared. Without a word, it let out a roar and threw a punch directly at Lin Yi.

"Early Stage of the Innate True Essence Realm. My luck is quite good!"

Feeling the power in the Golden Giant's fist, Lin Yi felt a surge of joy.

Mechanical men were generally the weakest among Martial Artists of the same rank, and even those in the Martial Emperors Relic Palace were no exception!

The threshold of the Early Stage of the Innate True Essence Realm was even weaker than Chu Chuan's strength back then. Even before reaching the Fifth Level of Breaking Limits, Lin Yi wouldn't have spared it a glance. As for now, after his Breakthrough...

To defeat it, Lin Yi only needed... one strike!

"Swish!"

A cold blade light suddenly flared in the palace. In the next instant, a brilliant river of stars spanning over a hundred zhang sliced through the air, rushing toward the Golden Giant.

Under the terrifying attack of this brilliant river of stars, the Golden Giant was instantly like a small boat in a massive wave. With a "clang," it was sent flying by Lin Yi's strike, crashing into the golden wall of the palace thousands of meters away with another "clang."

"That's it for the first stage! This trip to the Martial Emperors Relic Palace is quite easy!"

Seeing the fallen Golden Giant, Lin Yi smiled with satisfaction and waited for the Martial Emperors Relic Palace to grant him his reward.

But... one breath!

Two breaths!

Three breaths!

...Time slowly passed. As Lin Yi waited, there was no sound from the Martial Emperors Relic Palace, as if it had crashed.

Seeing this, Lin Yi's expression couldn't help but change slightly.

Finally, after ten breaths had passed.

Suddenly, a mechanical voice rang in Lin Yi's ear:

"Examinee No. 0000396, defeated the Early Stage Innate True Essence Realm mechanical man in one move."

"[Strength Evaluation: Middle Stage Innate True Essence Realm]."

"[Actual Cultivation: First Rank Limit]."

"[Bone Age Scan: 16 years, 6 months, and 9 days]."

"[Force Exertion Realm: Fifth Level of Breaking Limits]."

"[Martial Arts Techniques: Great Perfection in Low Grade Innate Martial Arts]."

"Based on all the above conditions, the final talent evaluation is—Rank C-Lower!"

"This talent meets the minimum requirements to start the Heavenly Pride Assessment. The formal assessment is scheduled to begin in one hundred breaths. Please be prepared, Examinee!"