92: A mental challenge? All I care about is food!

Passing through the mess of Puppet Alley, Gu Yang patted the iron filings off his body and arrived at the core main hall of the War God Hall.

This was the third trial, and also the final one—"War God Will."

The hall was exceptionally grand, with a dome hundreds of feet high and walls covered in reliefs of ancient Body Cultivators fighting wild beasts and battling against the heavens.

In the very center of the hall stood a massive statue a hundred feet tall.

It was a man with a bare torso and knotted muscles, holding a battle-axe and glaring with wide eyes, as if roaring at the heavens.

The first Hall Master of the War God Hall!

Even as a stone statue, the pressure it emitted was as heavy as substance, making the faces of Fahai, Savage Mountain, and the others who arrived later turn pale, and even breathing became difficult.

"This... this is the War God's Divine Might?"

Fahai pressed his palms together, his body trembling with golden light as he desperately resisted the pressure piercing his Divine Soul. "What strong Battle Intent! It feels as if countless blades are slicing through this poor monk's Divine Soul!"

Savage Mountain dropped directly to one knee, panting heavily. The phantom of the Totem behind him flickered, as if it could shatter at any moment.

Young Lord Feng Sha was in the worst state; as one with the Yao Race Bloodline, he was suppressed by this vast Human Race Battle Intent and was currently cowering in a corner, shivering.

"Silence!"

The Elder in charge of the assessment appeared again, his expression solemn.

"This is the spiritual imprint left by our Ancestral Master. Only those with a firm Dao Heart and a will of iron can endure the baptism of the Ancestral Master's Battle Intent."

"Now, open your Divine Souls and accept the Ancestral Master's trial!"

"In the illusion, you will face your deepest fears. Only by overcoming fear can you gain the Ancestral Master's recognition!"

"Fear?"

Gu Yang stood at the very front, still holding that Puppet leg he used as a cane.

He looked up at the statue, somewhat puzzled.

"What fear do I have? Does having nothing to eat count?"

Buzz—

The statue's eyes suddenly lit up with two beams of divine light, instantly enveloping everyone present.

His vision blurred, and Gu Yang felt himself arrive in a vast, white space.

"Is this the illusion?"

Gu Yang looked around.

Suddenly, the scene before his eyes changed.

It was no longer an empty white void, but a... super luxurious, boundless, massive dining table!

The table was covered with all the delicacies Gu Yang had seen or never seen in his life.

There were Deep-Sea Demon Octopus Tentacles he had eaten in the Chaotic Star Sea, Roasted Whole Dragon Lizard from the Great Desolation, and golden Dragon Liver and Phoenix Marrow, Qilin Sashimi, Kunpeng Hotpot... the aroma was mouth-watering.

"Holy crap!"

Gu Yang's eyes instantly widened, and his drool flowed down like a waterfall.

"Is this heaven? Is the War God Hall being this generous? Is the reward for passing so bountiful?"

He threw away the Puppet leg in his hand, gave a cheer, and pounced toward the table of delicacies.

"I'm digging in!"

He reached out to grab a golden, crispy roasted Qilin leg.

However, just as his hand was about to touch the meat.

Whoosh!

That Qilin leg suddenly grew legs and ran away!

Not just the Qilin leg, but all the plates on the table grew legs and began to flee frantically.

The roasted whole sheep was flying, the hotpot was running, and even the wine flask grew wings and flew into the sky.

"???"

Gu Yang grabbed at thin air and stood there stunned.

Then, a majestic, grand voice that seemed to come from the Nine Heavens boomed in his ear:

"Mortal! You only know how to covet the desires of the palate; your Dao Heart is clouded by dust!"

"You are not worthy of possessing power! You are not worthy of eating these divine items!"

"Starve! Here, you will be eternally hungry, never to be satisfied!"

With that voice, Gu Yang felt an unprecedented sense of hunger rise from his stomach, instantly sweeping through his entire body.

That hunger was a hundred times more intense than when he was in the Nether Whale's belly, as if even his Soul was being hollowed out by hunger.

And those delicacies were dangling right before his eyes, emitting an enticing aroma, yet always just out of reach.

This was the ultimate torture for a foodie! And the most vicious curse!

"I'm not worthy?"

Gu Yang lowered his head, his body trembling slightly.

"You want me to starve?"

He slowly raised his head; his originally clear eyes had now turned blood-red, and in the depths of his pupils, it seemed as if a black hole was spinning.

That wasn't fear; that was... fury!

"Who gave you the nerve... to snatch my food?!"

In the real world, inside the hall.

The originally solemn War God statue suddenly trembled slightly.

The Elder in charge of the assessment's face changed: "What's going on? Why is the Ancestral Master's will fluctuating so violently?"

He looked at the other Prodigies; Fahai was weeping in repentance, Savage Mountain was roaring in battle, and Feng Sha was screaming for mercy.

Only Gu Yang.

He stood there with his eyes tightly shut, but the aura on his body was climbing frantically, and a hair-raising intent to devour erupted from within him.

In the illusion.

Gu Yang's figure began to swell.

In this spiritual world, will was power.

Since you want to starve me, then I will eat everything!

"Heaven-Devouring Will—Activate!"

Boom!

Gu Yang transformed into a Taotie giant beast that stood between heaven and earth.

He opened that massive mouth capable of swallowing the world and took a sudden, powerful breath at those fleeing delicacies.

"Come... back to me!"

The terrifying suction instantly froze all the plates.

The legged roasted meat and the flying hotpot were all sucked back and swallowed by Gu Yang in one gulp.

"Not enough! Still not enough!"

Gu Yang's eyes were red with hunger.

He looked at the table, looked at the vast white space, and finally looked at the illusory "Eye of the War God" in the sky.

"You were the one talking just now, right?"

"Don't want me to eat? Then I'll eat you too!"

"Roar—!!!"

Gu Yang roared and actually jumped into the sky, biting down hard on the eye that represented the War God's will!

Crack!

Space shattered.

That high-and-mighty War God's will actually let out a muffled groan of terror.

"Madman! You madman! This is a spiritual body! It can't be eaten..."

"Crunchy! Tastes like chicken!"

Gu Yang didn't listen at all, biting the eye to pieces and chewing loudly.

As he devoured it, the entire illusion space began to collapse, turning into the purest spiritual energy, which he sucked into his belly.

Real world.

Crack!

A crisp sound of cracking echoed through the hall.

Under the terrified gazes of the Elder and the Prodigies, the War God statue that had stood for ten thousand years... cracked!

A fine crack extended from the forehead all the way down to the chest.

All the pressure instantly dissipated.

Burp—

Gu Yang snapped his eyes open and let out a long burp.

He rubbed his stomach and looked at the stone statue with some lingering desire:

"Although it was fake, that spiritual body tasted quite crunchy, a bit like mint-flavored potato chips."

"You... you..."

The Elder pointed at Gu Yang, his finger trembling as if he were playing a zither. "You... you ate the Ancestral Master's will?!"

Rumble!

Just then, a violent tremor came from deep within the hall.

An aura a hundred times more terrifying than the statue just now awakened.

A middle-aged man wearing hemp clothes, with bare feet and loose hair, appeared silently before Gu Yang.

The current Hall Master of the War God Hall—Wu Wudi (a Void Refining stage powerhouse)!

He looked at the mess of Puppet fragments on the ground, looked at the cracked statue, and finally looked at the innocent-looking Gu Yang who was still picking his teeth.

His gaze went from shock to strangeness, and finally turned into... wild joy.

"Good! What a Heaven-Devouring Will!"

The Hall Master laughed out loud, making the hall hum with vibration.

"Body Cultivators are inherently acting against the heavens, plundering heaven and earth to nourish their own bodies!"

"If one doesn't even have this bit of greed and dominance, what Indestructible Body is there to cultivate?"

"This lad... though he is mischievous, this thirst for 'eating' (power) is the very essence of body cultivation!"

He waved his hand and announced:

"The Champion of this trial—Gu Yang!"

"I bestow upon him the Complete Manual of the War God Illustrated Record! And a Starry Sky Giant Beast cub!"

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and a small beast that looked like a puppy, emitting starlight and looking adorable, was led out.

When Gu Yang saw the little beast, his eyes instantly turned green.

Slurp...

He unconsciously swallowed his saliva.

That Starry Sky cub seemed to sense the aura of a natural predator; it let out a "yip," tucked its tail, and hid behind the Hall Master, shivering.

Seeing this, the Hall Master's mouth twitched, and he quickly shielded the cub behind him, warning sternly:

"Gu Yang! Listen well!"

"This is a mount! A partner! Not emergency rations!"

"If you dare to eat it... even just one bite, I will expel you from the sect and hang you at the mountain gate to dry!"

Gu Yang withdrew his gaze regretfully and wiped the corner of his mouth:

"I know, I know... a mount, I get it."

"We'll wait until it's fattened up," he whispered under his breath.

Hall Master: "..."