Chapter 1321: The Final Trial
A pillar of light fell from the sky. Zhang Lie appeared on a platform surrounded with golden light, though one that seemed to be a little blurred.
A humanoid figure in silvery white walked down a staircase leading up to the heavens. Half his body was flesh, and half metal. He shone resplendently and with metallic luster.
Another silvery-white figure followed behind, perhaps in the manner of an attendant or servant.
"An alien from the Milky Way, a galaxy nearing its destruction? To think someone like you would dare to show up." One silvery man walked up onto the platform with the sound of ringing metal.
Zhang Lie: ? ? ?
What in the world was this?
The man rushed over while those behind him sat cross-legged in meditation, chanting from some arcane text.
"Something's wrong!" Zhang Lie was shaken. Somehow, space felt thick and sluggish here, making it difficult for him to move.
The silvery attendants had combined their efforts to summon an implement that seemed like a silvery sun, shining down on the region and sealing it in place.
Zhang Lie was astonished. Who knew what that silvery sun was?
It was no technology from the Milky Way, nor a soulshard from the dimensional world. Even with two lifetimes' worth of experience, Zhang Lie had no clue what it could be.
Was it an object that had been produced by the trial itself? No, that couldn't be the case. Mysterious and strange though the trial-taker's chamber was, all the trials had only replicated lifeforms that had truly existed.
This final trial, however, overturned all his expectations. This wasn't according to plan! Was this an unwinnable trial?
The silvery figure rushing over toward him was neither an alien nor a lifeform, without any sign of life whatsoever. It seemed more like a projection.
It was unaffected by the strange sluggishness of the space, and it arrived before Zhang Lie within moments. It punched straight at his skull with a silver burst of light.
"Open!" Zhang Lie shouted. Genetic energy surged through his body as he radiated light. Pale-blue genetic energy exploded all around him as he barely managed to hold up an arm in self-defense. contemporary romance
On impact, Zhang Lie was sent flying. He frowned. The silvery figure in front of him was no projection after all, but a physical being!
"To have survived the first ordeal..." The silvery figure likewise seemed shocked.
Zhang Lie trudged steadily onward against mounting resistance. Pale blue genetic energy surged all around him, flowing like a whirlpool, blazing like divine flames. Zhang Lie felt as though he was dragging a mountain behind him.
Dots appeared from all around the platform and transformed into figures of light, all of whom shouted in shock.
Zhang Lie shouted to bolster himself as he charged forward faster and faster, unable to be suppressed by the silver sun.
With explosive force, divine light radiated from him as he soared into the sky, causing everything around him to shake.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Soar]!" fr(e)e
Pale blue genetic energy rippled about Zhang Lie's arms. He flicked his wrists, causing a frightening aura to descend on the world. The sky began to darken, and a fish the size of a whale materialized in the air.
A howling gale swept over the space. As more and more genetic energy gathered around Zhang Lie's arms, it looked as though he were at the heart of a whirlpool.
A huge wave soared into the air. As Zhang Lie punched forward, the fish slammed its huge tail on the ground and sent a torrent of water surging.
Ripples of energy spread out from Zhang Lie, warping the space around him. The towering waves looked like enraged black dragons, flooding the space and striking the silver sun, knocking it flying.
The world reverberated with force. As the waves burst apart, the air filled with echoes of Zhang Lie's signature genetic energy, shattering space and swallowing up all life in its vicinity. Light and shadow danced in the air.
The silvery attendants were knocked back by tremendous force. The silvery figure remaining on the platform was naturally no match for Zhang Lie in this state. He was blown into the air by the wind as he rapidly deployed a shield, hoping to escape.
"[The Boundless Blade: Yawning Wave]!"
Water-attuned genetic energy encircled Zhang Lie's finger as he unleashed devastating sword energy.
One of the silvery figure's arms was chopped off.
Zhang Lie left afterimages behind him as he shot forward. He smashed into the figure, causing him to vomit out silver blood. His body was almost crushed; he fell to the ground, immobile.
"We're leaving!" the other silvery figures called out. The silver sun flashed as it was restored, sending silver light brimming through the space.
Zhang Lie was shocked. Perhaps this was some functionality of the relic or some unusual property of the trial space—he was certain he had sent it flying beyond the horizon.
The silver light shone down with glaring intensity. It broke apart at its highest point and unfolded to form a silver lotus, with formless runes that spread throughout heaven and earth. Silver roots extended from its base and into the natural law of the space.
The feeling of suppression returned in full force, stronger than ever.
Zhang Lie felt his body being restrained by the silver roots to such an extent that even moving became difficult.
"Scram!" Pale blue genetic energy exploded from him like a boundless ocean.
As Zhang Lie activated his blood ant and dragonwolf soulshards, he transformed into a dragonwolf with russet fur and limbs covered with dragons' scales. His aura became magnified as a hurricane of blood spawned around him.
The silvery figures shrieked in horror. Even the silver lotus was unable to restrain his actions!
They fled in panic. Zhang Lie rent the sky with bloody claws, causing a huge explosion. Two of the silvery figures fell, but were taken away by their comrades.
"Che—none of them were left behind!" Zhang Lie couldn't help but be annoyed.
The figures of light all around began to murmur to each other. One alien walked over, his body covered in golden scales, a pair of divine wings to his back, staring at Zhang Lie. He had three eyes, two where a human's would be, and a third, vertical one at the center of his forehead. His aura was immense, so strong it was almost physical.
In the stands, the figures of light cheered in excitement.
"He's Ling Gu, from the spirit race! His talent is astonishing, and he's considered a spirit king!"
Zhang Lie was utterly confused. The sight before him made him feel as though he were in a movie. A virtual reality?
"It's almost as though this is part of history, which I'm experiencing in person..."
Zhang Lie thought the idea of a virtual reality more believable. The second would be far too frightening.
"May we have a good fight." Ling Gu cupped his palms. He was over two meters tall, and his body shone in gold. He had the aura of a martial god, shining with a blazing corona of light whose might could be felt all over heaven and earth.
