The Trial of the Divine Abilities Hall

This grey, misty space had nothing else. Ji Ning trod upon the greyish gaseous ground as if walking on solid earth.

“Where exactly is the trial of the Divine Abilities Hall?” Ji Ning swept his gaze around when suddenly—whoosh!—a massive black stele appeared out of thin air, crashing onto the ground. This jet-black stele was densely covered with nearly a hundred Fiendgod script characters.

“Use the power of the Fiendgod!” “Choose your weapons from the side!” “Go forth and kill!” “Divine abilities are the ultimate techniques of slaughter!” “The more Lishi you slay, the more powerful the divine abilities you will obtain. Slay too few, and you will not even obtain the seventh divine ability. The seven great divine abilities await you there—slaughter to your heart’s content. When you fall and your body shatters, the trial of the Divine Abilities Hall will come to an end.”

Ji Ning read the Fiendgod script on the stele. A moment later, a massive wooden table appeared beside the stele, laden with a vast array of weapons: hundreds of swords, hundreds of sabers, hundreds of spears, hundreds of staffs… weapon after weapon piled upon the table.

“Truly choose as I wish.” Ji Ning was stunned by the sheer quantity.

He did not dare delay.

Swish! Swish!

He immediately picked up two longswords, both similar in length and size to the Northsea Swords.

“Hmm…” Ji Ning hesitated briefly. “If I only rely on my sword techniques and the Rainwater Sword Domain, the consumption of my mental energy won’t be too great.”

At once, many of the thinner swords on the table rose into the air—nine flying swords in total. Yellow Bear only said I cannot use Ki Refining techniques. My soul is something every living being possesses; using my soul’s power for thought-movement certainly does not count as a Ki Refining method.

“The power of these nine swords under my thought-movement will be somewhat weaker, but at least they can provide support.” Ji Ning planned inwardly.

In this battle… He had to give his absolute best, striving to obtain the highest-level divine abilities. Even if he acquired the sixth or seventh ability, killing Xu Li would still be difficult. The most frustrating part was that neither Yellow Bear nor the black stele had told him how many kills were required for the third ability, or how many for the first.

As soon as Ji Ning had chosen his swords, the grey gas in the surrounding void began to condense rapidly, taking shape into humanoid figures.

“What is this!” Ji Ning’s heart tightened.

These humanoids were extremely muscular, each with three ferocious eyes. They were nearly naked, wearing only a loincloth or a protective skirt. Many had some extra flesh on their bodies, and each held a weapon—some axes, some long staves, some great hammers.

Their breathing was like rolling thunder. Their footsteps made the ground tremble. They exuded an overwhelming aura of savage brutality.

In the blink of an eye, several hundred of these humanoid monsters had condensed all around.

“Are these the ‘Lishi’ the stele spoke of?” Ji Ning was alarmed. He had read many books containing legends; great powers were said to have Lishi under their command—servants for heavy labor, such as gate-guarding Lishi, strength-bearing Lishi, mountain-guarding Lishi, and even mountain-carrying Lishi or sea-treading Lishi…

Their names differed based on their tasks, and of course, their strength varied enormously.

According to legend, most Lishi were not living beings but servants created by mighty ones, possessing only simple intelligence. Of course, some powerful cultivators might willingly serve under a great power and adopt the title of ‘Lishi’ as well. But ordinary mass-produced Lishi could hardly be considered life.

“Kill!” “Kill!”

Hundreds of fierce Lishi, weapons in hand, stepped through the mist and charged toward Ji Ning like a gale.

They shouted the Fiendgod word for “kill,” their three savage eyes locked onto Ji Ning. Their speed was astonishing—in an instant, they crossed a hundred zhang and arrived before him.

“Die!”

Rain began to fall, a fine drizzle blanketing the surrounding hundreds of zhang.

The raindrops instantly became sharp as blades, thousands of knives slicing into the Lishi. Infused with the mysteries of the Dao, the rain was remarkably powerful. One after another, the Lishi howled and were cut to pieces, dissolving into mist and vanishing into the air.

In the distance, more Lishi were still condensing—even more than before.

“Kill.” Ji Ning did not hesitate, using the rain to slaughter the Lishi.

The Rainwater Sword Domain was a Domain of the Dao—his own comprehension of the Dao. The rain itself was gathered from the power of Heaven and Earth. This was not a Ki Refining technique.

“Mm?” Ji Ning’s expression changed slightly. “The Lishi are getting stronger—their speed is faster, their bodies tougher, even their axe techniques and hammer techniques are improving.”

It had become noticeably harder to kill them with the Rainwater Sword Domain.

Within this grey void, Lishi continued to condense endlessly. Ji Ning relied on his Rainwater Sword Domain to slaughter them en masse, so his speed was very high. In just five breaths, he had killed over ten waves—thousands of Lishi.

Sssss…

The rain cut into the Lishi, leaving wounds on their muscular bodies, but could no longer kill them.

“The Rainwater Sword Domain alone is no longer enough.” A sharp glint flashed through Ji Ning’s eyes. Water and fire began to gather within the rain, forming blooming Water-Fire Lotuses. These huge, blossoming lotuses spun wildly, grinding and shredding the Lishi. The Lishi tried to block and dodge with their weapons, but some still fell.

Swish! Swish! Swish!…

Nine streaks of sword-light shot through the air—the nine flying swords under Ji Ning’s thought-movement. Driven by his soul’s power, each executed his strongest sword-strike—‘Silk Rain Forms Threads.’ He had chosen only nine swords because it was extremely difficult to control more while executing complex sword arts.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Like chopping vegetables, the thought-controlled swords—though each had only the power of an early Zifu Disciple—cut through the Lishi with devastating efficiency thanks to the sword techniques and the Rainwater Sword Domain.

Sword-light flashed, and large numbers of Lishi were sliced in half, dissolving into mist.

Using the Rainwater Sword Domain, Water-Fire Lotuses, and thought-controlled flying swords, Ji Ning slaughtered the Lishi at a terrifying rate.

Ji Ning had used the Ten-Thousand-Mile Trace-Away Talisman to reach Winged Serpent Lake and then entered the aquatic palace. In truth, very little time had passed; the only part that took more than a moment was his conversation with Yellow Bear—still far less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Now, as he slaughtered the Lishi in the Divine Abilities Hall…

Halfway up Oxhorn Mountain.

“Yichuan, be careful on this trip.” Ji Jiuhuo looked at Ji Yichuan. “Drag out the time as long as you can. We only have five people left, and we need to hold out for nearly two more days. You still have your old injury, but try to last as long as possible.”

“I understand.” Ji Yichuan nodded.

He glanced at the Whitewater Hound beside him. The Whitewater Hound gently nudged Ji Yichuan with his head, clearly reluctant.

“Xiaobai,” Ji Yichuan said softly, stroking the hound.

His parents had died early. The most important beings in his heart were his wife, his son, and this sworn brother of life and death—Xiaobai. Xiaobai had been with him far longer than his wife or son.

Only Xiaobai would always follow him.

Together they had taken risks…

Even when death lay ahead, Xiaobai never backed down.

“I’m going.” Ji Yichuan lowered his head and lightly kissed the Whitewater Hound’s head.

Tears glistened in the Whitewater Hound’s eyes.

Ji Yichuan turned and charged into the passage formed by the parted miasmic energy. The Whitewater Hound watched him leave… He desperately wanted to accompany Ji Yichuan, but once Ji Yichuan activated the forbidden technique, his strength would skyrocket, and with the boost from the Blackflame Dragon Prison Formation, he would become even more terrifying. A mere Xiantian-perfect spirit beast would only be a burden. He knew he was a burden; he knew this trip was deadly. Yet he had come anyway, because he understood that his most important elder brother, Ji Yichuan, would likely die this time. How could he not come?

“Whitewater Hound,” Ji Jiuhuo called out.

The Whitewater Hound turned to look at the clan leader, Ji Jiuhuo.

“Our Ji Clan now has only five people left, barely enough to sustain the Blackflame Dragon Prison Formation,” Ji Jiuhuo said. “Once Yichuan dies, that will leave four. The formation will no longer be at its peak. Here, I have a bottle of Primordial Liquid that Ji Ning left behind. You can try to break through with it. If you can become a Zifu-level great demon, then after Yichuan’s death, you can take his place.”

Trapped within the sealing formation, no one could escape…

If death was coming, at least die more gloriously.

Roar. The Whitewater Hound nodded gently, accepting the jade bottle in his mouth.

Earlier, Ji Ning had consumed about a third of the Primordial Liquid to break through to Zifu and stabilize at the early Zifu stage. He had not wasted the remainder but left it with the clan leader.

The Whitewater Hound’s eyes blazed with desire. He wanted to break through. He wanted to go back and help his master, his elder brother—the most important family he had in this world.

Outside the Divine Abilities Hall, in the aquatic palace, the Black Ox and Yellow Bear stood together.

“Sigh!” Yellow Bear let out a long sigh.

“Big brother? What’s wrong?” the Black Ox asked hurriedly.

“As I expected,” Yellow Bear said with mixed emotion. “Ji Ning is the only one in all these long years who truly has a chance to obtain the divine ability techniques left by the master. His soul is strong enough for thought-movement. His Dao comprehension is also very high—he has reached the Domain level. With the Rainwater Sword Domain, thought-controlled weapons… he swept through everything, slaughtering countless Lishi. But now the Lishi are growing stronger and stronger. He’s struggling more and more, even using his own two swords to fight, yet he’s still under tremendous pressure.”

“If we could wait another five years…”

“His Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens might reach the eighth or even ninth level. With his rate of progress in Dao comprehension, five years would bring a dramatic leap. With a stronger divine body and deeper Dao insight, he would very likely obtain the master’s divine ability techniques. What a pity. What a pity.”

Yellow Bear shook his head and sighed.

“Then he…” the Black Ox asked worriedly.

“His slaughter is fast—in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he has already killed tens of thousands of Lishi. But from the look of it, even obtaining the third divine ability technique will be dangerous.” Yellow Bear shook his head again. “As for the first technique… he’s not even close. What a shame. Another five years…”

“Yes, but he wouldn’t wait five years,” the Black Ox said with a sigh of his own.