962 – Everyone’s Response
TL: BluVerse

“Can an eight-ring Soul Master who controls pure elements, unleash such a powerful area attack?”

“If they charged up, they should be able to. That soul skill he just used must have taken a long time to prepare. An elemental storm is created by the four elements—water, fire, earth, and wind. This is a four-element boost, reminiscent of a Four-Element Martial Soul Fusion Skill, so the power increase is significant. His control over the elements is astonishing, and their intensity is extremely high. Could he be a Four-Element Master?”

“I think so too. His big move seems to take a while to charge, but if you combine it with his time-freezing type of spiritual domain, it’s a perfect match. The large-scale destructive power is terrifying, especially when facing weaker but numerous opponents—it’s incredibly effective.”

“No wonder he leads this class. Even though he only has five rings, his overall strength is probably around eight rings, right? And that’s just based on what we’ve seen so far.”

“The scariest thing is that with five rings, he already has the combat strength of a normal eight-ring Soul Master. When he reaches eight rings, wouldn’t he be able to slaughter a god-level opponent?”

“Ahem, Master Wang, I didn’t mean you!”

“Master, I also specialize in elemental control. I think this kid is promising. Let him become my disciple. I’ll take him under my wing,” said an elder teacher from the Inner Court with a white beard, laughing.

Wang Tianyu glanced at him and said, “This child will not take any master.”

“Second stage, passed—one person.” Ying Luohong’s voice echoed.

Yes, earlier there had been more than a dozen people ahead of Lan Xuanyu, but he was the first to pass the second stage.

Thousands of people—he dealt with them in one move. By this time, he had already entered the passage leading to the third stage.

Lan Xuanyu didn’t know how many stages the Blood Trial had. He only remembered Tang Zhenhua saying that he had to kill ten thousand people here. Although he hadn’t been counting carefully, it felt like after that last move, most of them should have been dealt with.

Using a large-area destructive soul skill to massacre, honestly, it reduced the psychological burden a little. After all, it ended in an instant, and there weren’t bodies scattered everywhere.

As he entered the third passage, he continued to probe with his spiritual power, but he was surprised to find that there were no enemies within his perception. However, an overwhelming pressure came at him from all directions, pressing down on him.

It was a pressure that made it hard for him to breathe, as if an immense force was invisibly crushing him, trying to grind him down.

With each step forward, the pressure grew stronger and stronger.

Gradually, the pressure shifted, no longer coming from all sides but instead pressing toward him from the front.

The enemy was ahead!

At this very moment, in the same Blood Trial, everyone was struggling through their most difficult second stage.

As Lan Xuanyu had previously thought, Soul Masters with large-scale destructive soul skills had an easier time in this stage because they could kill quickly. In contrast, melee Soul Masters faced much greater psychological pressure in this stage.

A faint silver light flowed around Liu Feng’s body. His speed was incredibly fast, and when facing opponents with three or four rings, it was a one-sided slaughter.

However, corpses piled up beneath his White Dragon King Spear, falling into spatial cracks. The entire world around him had turned blood-red, to the point that even his eyes had turned red.

The various negative emotions brought on by the slaughter began to manifest gradually. A faint bloodthirsty aura started to surround him.

“Frenzy, stop for a moment, calm down.” At that moment, a ribbon-like burst of silver light radiated outward from Liu Feng’s body. Under the swirling silver light, a large number of enemies charging toward him vanished, swallowed by the cracked space.

A figure beside him became solid, and a pair of silver-haloed eyes gazed at his now-bloodshot ones.

The White Dragon King Spear in Liu Feng’s hand almost struck the figure that suddenly appeared in front of him, but he stopped just in time, his mind somewhat dazed.

“Sit down and rest. Calm your mind. You need to think of yourself as a general on the battlefield. The ones you face are enemies who wish to wipe out your entire clan. Only by killing them can you protect your comrades and family. Only then can you continue forward with your companions.”

The deep voice echoed in Liu Feng’s mind, and he gradually calmed down. He sat heavily on the ground, no longer paying attention to the surrounding enemies, and crossed his legs to focus and clear his mind.

The figure that appeared next to him, providing crucial help at that moment, was naturally his Spirit Soul, the Thorn Dragon. This was the advantage of having a true Spirit Soul—a genuine Spirit Soul carried with it the knowledge and experience of its past cultivation and could assist its Soul Master in critical moments. In this situation, fighting wasn’t Liu Feng’s main challenge; keeping his mind calm and avoiding being consumed by his bloodlust was the most important thing. With the Thorn Dragon’s guidance, passing this stage became much easier for him.

It wasn’t just Liu Feng—everyone in this stage received help from their Spirit Souls.

Qian Lei was also in the second stage at that moment, though he had his hands over his eyes, mumbling, “Goldie, you’re so disgusting.”

Not far in front of him, the Golden Behemoth was wreaking havoc, not just killing but also… eating.

It crunched as it ate…

Around Qian Lei, enormous light gates opened one after another, and a dozen Behemoth Beasts had gathered around him. The destructive power of these ordinary Behemoths was far beyond what the three- or four-ring Soul Masters could handle. Moreover, as Qian Lei’s cultivation improved, the Behemoth Beasts he summoned became increasingly larger, developing toward adulthood.

At this point, Goldie, the Golden Behemoth, stood over six meters tall. Its sharp claws spread wide, far more terrifying than even the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. Its instinct was to kill, and no one was more excited than it in this Blood Trial. As it slaughtered, its instincts grew stronger, and even Goldie’s body became more powerful. The blood in this place was accelerating its evolution.

In contrast, Soul Masters with group attack abilities had a relatively easier time in this stage.

Bai Xiuxiu was like this. Although the range of her “Withering of Death” wasn’t as large as the Elemental Storm, within the hundred-meter radius around her, no enemy could step inside. As she moved, enemies melted away, consumed by the Withering of Death. She didn’t need to do anything; she just had to wait for the enemies to keep rushing into the Withering of Death and be annihilated. All she had to do was maintain it. Having already formed her soul core, her continuously regenerating soul power ensured the strength of her ability.

The entrance to the third stage was right in front of her.

In the Blood Trial, the test of willpower actually ended at the second stage. As long as someone passed the second stage, they were considered to have passed the trial and would not be eliminated from the Inner Court. That was the rule. The third stage, however, was a test of strength for the participants.

Lan Xuanyu was the first to pass the second stage, so he was also the first to meet his opponent in the third stage. The space here was wide open, not as large as the second stage but with a diameter of about 100 meters. The ceiling was about 20 meters high. In the center of this open space stood a single person.

Even though there was only one person, Lan Xuanyu’s expression became serious for the first time.

That person held a long spear and stood there as though he had merged with the entire world. More importantly, there were nine pitch-black soul rings circling his body.

Nine rings—a Titled Douluo!

Yes, this was the challenge of the third stage of the Blood Trial: extreme suppression!

The purpose of this stage was to push the participants to their limits when facing a powerful opponent. According to the Inner Court’s rules, victory wasn’t required in this stage; the key objective was to be pushed to one’s extreme limits under pressure.

Generally, after one to two years of training in the Inner Court, disciples could reach the level of eight rings. While there was still a significant gap between eight rings and nine, it wasn’t an instant defeat. Under the suppression of a nine-ring expert, the potential of an eight-ring Soul Master was most easily brought out.