396: Chapter 396 The Trialer

"Xiao Weiqing, I'm a few years older than you, but I've never heard you call me 'big brother'."

"Hahaha... If you can ever withstand a move or two of mine, I wouldn't mind calling you 'big brother'."

"Hey... Once we're out, let's find a place to spar properly. It's too cramped here; I can't go all out," Lou Xiaoxing said defiantly.

Tian Zhenzhen laughed, "With those skills of yours, you'd better not compare yourself to Xiao Weiqing. You're just asking for trouble."

"By the way, where's that woman from yesterday?"

Xiao Weiqing briefly repeated what he had told Yin Wenzheng.

"Are you really going to enter the fourth door?" Lou Xiaoxing asked with some concern.

"Yeah. Rather than waiting here, it's better to take the initiative." Xiao Weiqing didn't change his mind. He had survived under a god; what was an 'invincible' Eighth Realm expert to him?

Besides, whether Aonaya Fang was truly invincible in the Eighth Realm was another matter entirely.

"Then you'd better be careful. If even a servant has Eighth Realm strength, that Aonaya Fang is definitely no ordinary person."

"Of course. I never underestimate any enemy."

"So, when are you planning to leave?"

"In about an hour. After I leave, be careful. If you can't wait for me, leave the ruins first."

"Alright," Lou Xiaoxing nodded.

Then he added, "But what if something happens to you?"

"..."

"How about you leave your nirvana stones with me?" Lou Xiaoxing joked.

Xiao Weiqing glared at Lou Xiaoxing. "I won't have an accident even if you do!"

However, just in case Lou Xiaoxing and the others had to leave the ruins first, Xiao Weiqing said, "Give me your nirvana stones. I'll keep them for now and return them to you once we're out of the Secret Realm."

"Oh, right. You can take a twenty percent cut. If I take them out, I'd have to give them all to the Vermilion Bird Empire."

After saying that, Lou Xiaoxing glanced sideways at Yin Wenzheng. "You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

Yin Wenzheng shook his head with a smile; he knew Lou Xiaoxing had misunderstood Xiao Weiqing's intention.

Lou Xiaoxing thought Xiao Weiqing wanted an extra twenty percent cut.

He didn't realize Xiao Weiqing had already reached a deal with him. However, seeing that Xiao Weiqing didn't clarify, Yin Wenzheng wouldn't say anything either.

"Who wants your nirvana stones? I'll return most of them to you after we leave the ruins—at least twenty pieces."

"Twenty pieces?"

Lou Xiaoxing was puzzled. "You're not planning to give them to the Vermilion Bird Empire? Is that allowed?"

"You don't need to worry about that."

"Fine, I'll listen to you."

Lou Xiaoxing didn't ask further. Since Xiao Weiqing had given him four first-grade nirvana stones, he wouldn't mind even giving all his nirvana stones to Xiao Weiqing.

Returning to the room, he handed a pile of nirvana stones to Xiao Weiqing.

The quantity was as Yin Wenzheng had said: 34 pieces in total.

An hour passed quickly.

"Be careful, you guys. I'm off."

After bidding farewell to the three, Xiao Weiqing stepped into the fourth door.

...

The passage was pitch black.

It wasn't much different from the passage he came from.

Although it was pitch black, Xiao Weiqing spread his Mental Energy, scouting a hundred meters ahead, making everything clear at a glance.

What struck Xiao Weiqing as strange was that both the incoming passage and the passage of the fourth door were much shorter than average.

Xiao Weiqing could touch the ceiling just by reaching up.

"Could it be that the civilization that built this place consisted of short beings?"

But that didn't make sense; all the nirvana stone warriors were tall, exceeding two meters.

Before he could think further.

A change occurred ahead.

For some reason.

The distance his Mental Energy could probe grew shorter and shorter. The deeper he went, the harder it became to control.

Xiao Weiqing didn't force it.

Withdrawing his Mental Energy, he took a few steps, and his figure vanished into the passage as if he had never been there.

It was the feather left by the demigod Kolen taking effect.

...

He didn't know how long he had been walking, or rather, Xiao Weiqing didn't know how much time had passed. It was a strange feeling, as if time lost its meaning the deeper he went.

Suddenly.

A beam of light ahead pierced the darkness.

Xiao Weiqing felt a moment of dizziness and couldn't open his eyes at all.

But.

His consciousness remained clear, and he could see the surroundings through his Divine Soul.

Xiao Weiqing felt as if he had entered a space-time tunnel, with everything around him receding rapidly.

Suddenly.

His vision returned.

Xiao Weiqing felt solid ground beneath his feet and found himself in a hall.

"This is..."

A hall spanning hundreds of thousands of square meters.

Corpses were scattered everywhere—roughly a hundred in total. There were bizarre humanoid creatures, massive beasts, eerie Mechanical Lifeforms, and many humans who looked similar to those from Blue Star.

It appeared they had been dead for many years; the oldest corpses were on the verge of turning to dust.

These corpses shared a common trait: the aura emanating from their Physical Bodies was not weak. Xiao Weiqing estimated they all had Eighth Realm strength while alive.

Blood of various colors on the walls had long since solidified. Traces of battle were everywhere, and several pillars in the hall were broken.

Xiao Weiqing could well imagine how intense the battle that once broke out here must have been.

No longer concerned with these details, Xiao Weiqing focused his attention on the opposite side.

At the end of the hall were six passages.

Four were pitch black, their contents unknown.

Two others glowed with a faint white light, resembling the teleportation passages Xiao Weiqing had seen before.

Above all the passages.

There were warning lights, similar to those on the doors for challenging Nirvana Warriors.

What made Xiao Weiqing's heart tighten was that the warning lights for the pitch-black passages were all dark, appearing to be broken.

As for the passages glowing with white light, the warning lights were one red and one green.

If they were like the warning lights for the Nirvana Warrior challenges outside, green meant entry was possible, while red meant... someone was inside.

"Could it be someone from the Aona Family?"

After scanning the area, he found no other exits besides the passage he came from.

"I have to go in."

Xiao Weiqing made his judgment. With his current strength and the precedent set by the Second-Generation Empress of the Vermilion Bird Empire, he didn't believe his life would be in danger.

It would be truly dangerous if he just waited here until the person inside finished the assessment or claimed the Divine Fire.

With that thought, Xiao Weiqing hesitated no longer.

He gripped ten thousand calamities in his hand.

He reached out and touched the white light.

It felt very gentle to the touch, as if passing through a layer of mist.

His vision blurred.

Xiao Weiqing arrived in a vast, empty room.

Although called a room, it wasn't much smaller than the previous hall. The room was empty, and just as Xiao Weiqing was feeling puzzled...

Several beams of light converged.

A short silhouette of light appeared, less than 1.2 meters tall. It looked human but had a pair of elf-like ears.

Looking closely, it was actually a thin, small old man.

"Trialist, which civilization do you come from?" the old man asked.

Xiao Weiqing replied, "Senior, I come from the Blue Star Civilization."

"Blue Star Civilization?"

"I see. Seventy years ago, a woman came here and passed the trial. She was also from the Blue Star Civilization."

The old man waved his hand.

Countless beams of light converged, transforming into five figures.

"Please choose your opponent."

"Senior, is a challenge mandatory?"

"Why did you come in if not to challenge?" The old man frowned.

Xiao Weiqing said, "To claim the Divine Fire."

"Then accept the challenge. There are three stages in total; once successful, you may proceed to claim the Divine Fire."

"What I mean is, can you let me through without the challenge?"

The old man was taken aback, then said playfully, "In all these years, countless geniuses have come here, but this is the first time I've heard such an unreasonable request."

"It is this Junior's honor."

"I wasn't praising you," the old man said irritably.

Xiao Weiqing didn't mind. If he could pass the trial without a challenge, why not? He was just asking on a whim anyway.

If it wasn't allowed, then so be it.