197: You've cultivated for ten thousand years, and this is all you've got?

He had cleared all obstacles in a straight line!

Regardless of which era the Beast Emperor phantom belonged to, or how powerful and glorious it was in life... in the face of such absolute power, they all melted away instantly, like snow under the sun!

This was no longer a gap in power... It was simply... a dimensional crushing! It was a thorough... humiliation!

A sense of absurdity, mixed with extreme shock and incomprehensible frustration, burned like toxic fire in the heart of every Beast King!

Star Sea Merchant Guild, Circular Council Hall.

Nicola sprang up from his seat, oblivious to the chair he knocked over behind him. He pressed his hands tightly against the control console, his body leaning forward, his eyes wide as copper bells, and his mouth hung open involuntarily, wide enough to fit an egg.

"O... One punch?!" His voice was dry and distorted, filled with extreme disbelief and irrepressible surprise. "He... he didn't even use his Talent?! Pure power?! This... how is this possible?! Those are the phantoms of the Beast Emperors from past generations!!"

Lan Xin also covered her red lips, her beautiful eyes filled with shock and ecstasy. Her previous worries had been swept away, leaving only a near-blind worship for that figure!

In the trial space, Su Chen seemed not to notice the five Beast Kings, who stood there as if petrified, nor the turbulent waves rising in their hearts.

He continued walking unhurriedly. Only when his figure was about to disappear at the end of the ancient path did he seem to remember something. He turned his head slightly and cast a faint glance at the five Beast Kings with his deep, black eyes.

That gaze was calm and waveless, without any provocation, yet it was more piercing than any words. It was as if he were saying:

"Is this... the end?"

"You've cultivated for ten thousand years, and this is it?"

Afterward, Su Chen stopped looking at the five Beast Kings, who were still trapped in shock and humiliation.

He stepped forward, his figure like a ghost, and within a few flickers, he had crossed the end of the Ancient Path of Ten Thousand Beasts and disappeared into the vast mist.

Almost the moment his figure disappeared, the ancient and grand voice of the rules, as if following his footsteps, resounded once again throughout the entire trial space:

"The Second Trial, Trial of Bloodline and Will — Bloodline Abyss, Activate!"

Boom—!!!

In the area where Su Chen had just stepped, the ground suddenly collapsed and vanished!

A boundless, bottomless black abyss, like the greedy maw of a giant beast, suddenly stretched out before him!

Beneath the abyss, it was not emptiness, but a surging flow of viscous, sludge-like, chaotic energy.

This energy emitted a heart-palpitating aura that seemed capable of eroding all tangible matter, and even more so, of triggering restlessness deep within the Bloodline and igniting hidden Heart Demon karmic fire!

The rules of the trial appeared clearly:

【You must use your own most fundamental Bloodline Power to condense a "Bridge of Bloodline" to cross the abyss. The purer, nobler, and closer to the ancient Origin the Bloodline is, the more stable the bridge will be, and the better it will be able to resist the erosion and temptation from below.】

At this moment, above the vast abyss, five figures exuding majestic auras were struggling to move forward.

Beneath the Sea-Overturning Dragon Whale King was a giant bridge woven from deep blue water patterns and the phantom of an ancient dragon whale. The bridge was heavy, yet it constantly rippled under the scouring of the chaotic energy.

The Heaven-Burning Vermilion Bird King waved its wings, constructing a rainbow bridge formed entirely of undying flames. The scorching high temperature repelled the erosion below, but the flames themselves were being slowly "polluted," becoming flickery and unstable.

The Sky-Rending Giant Ape King roared, stepping on a solid giant bridge condensed from dark golden savage blood energy. Every step he took caused the bridge to emit a muffled thud as he resisted the pervasive whispers of the Heart Demon.

The Thunder Winged Dragon King had lightning flashing all over its body, and a thunder bridge woven entirely from lightning carried it through at high speed, but the lightning was constantly being consumed and distorted within the chaotic energy.

The Abyssal Ghost Eel King was the most bizarre; its bridge was nearly transparent, like a twisting snake of shadow, moving silently through the chaotic energy, yet it also frequently rippled with violent fluctuations.

They were all doing their utmost, stimulating their proud Bloodlines inherited from ancient times, resisting the erosion of the abyss, and slowly pushing forward.

And just at this moment, Su Chen's figure appeared at the starting point of the abyss.

"Not good! That brat is here!" For the first time, the Sea-Overturning Dragon Whale King's massive eyes revealed true anxiety. It let out a muffled roar, the sound waves echoing in the abyss. "His Bloodline... the Kraken is one of the most ancient legendary species of the Endless Sea! In terms of Bloodline rank alone, I'm afraid..."

It didn't finish its sentence, but the hearts of the other four Beast Kings sank. Their Bloodlines were indeed powerful and noble, but if they were to truly compare with the Kraken that was born at the beginning of the world... they would likely be inferior by half a notch!

"Quick! Whatever the cost! He must not be allowed to get ahead!" The Heaven-Burning Vermilion Bird King let out a sharp cry, its flames surging again, pushing the flame rainbow bridge to accelerate.

"Roar! Get out of this King's way!" The Sky-Rending Giant Ape King pounded his chest even more violently, his savage blood energy rising like smoke into the sky, accelerating forward while forcefully resisting the erosion.

The Five Great Beast Kings no longer dared to hold back in the slightest. They burned their Bloodline Origins one after another, sparing no cost to increase their speed, wanting to cross this Bloodline Abyss before Su Chen could condense his Bridge of Bloodline!

However, Su Chen, standing at the edge of the abyss, merely glanced indifferently at the surging chaotic energy below, which was attempting to trigger some kind of resonance deep within his Bloodline.

The corners of his mouth curled into an undisguised arc of mockery.

"Bloodline?" He softly spat out the two words, his voice not loud, yet carrying a sense of indifference that transcended all things.

"That kind of narrow thing, imprisoned by the Innate and confined to a circle... is it worthy of being used to measure me, Su Chen?"

The next moment, he performed an act that left all the existences watching this place, including the Five Great Beast Kings, wide-eyed and shaken to their cores—

He did not, like the other Beast Kings, stimulate any so-called ancient Bloodline to condense any form of "bridge."

He just... casually... stepped... forward for the first step!

Hum—!!! The moment his foot was about to fall into the abyss, a sudden change occurred!

The Void Realm beneath his feet did not condense into phantoms of giant whales, divine birds, or giant apes as Bloodlines; instead, countless dense, twisting, wriggling black tentacle phantoms, which seemed to possess independent life, suddenly surged forth!

These tentacle phantoms crazily intertwined, entangled, and proliferated, instantly constructing a "bridge" that was completely different from any known Bloodline!

This bridge had no fixed form; it was constantly twisting and changing, as if it were a living, breathing, massive life form!

On the surface of the bridge, those dense tentacles greedily devoured and tore at the chaotic energy surging up from beneath the abyss!