Soul Emperor Awakening

The sudden appearance of the Asura trial left Lin Xuan a bit baffled, but it sounded incredibly formidable. ’Does the Asura trial mean it’s exceedingly difficult?’

"What exactly is this Asura trial?" Lin Xuan inquired.

His question received no response, making it seem as if he were talking to himself. Being told to undertake some Asura trial without any explanation... ’Isn’t that a bit ridiculous?’

However, he only hesitated for a moment before answering, "I choose the Asura trial!"

The moment the words left his mouth, he felt a ray of light envelop him. His vision blurred for an instant, and then he vanished.

「Outside the Cloud Ascension Tower.」

When the crowd saw the light emanating from Lin Xuan’s floor suddenly vanish, they were all stunned, unable to process what had just happened.

"Why did the light on Lin Yunlong’s floor disappear?" Huang Ming turned to Elder Chen, completely bewildered.

Everyone else turned to Elder Chen, hoping for an answer, only to find him looking just as baffled, with no idea what was happening.

"I’m not sure. This seems to be the first time such a situation has occurred; it’s never happened before..." Elder Chen said with a frown, completely unfamiliar with this sort of event. "Let’s just wait and see..."

"Could Lin Yunlong be dead?" Huang Ming sneered.

"It’s not impossible, but if he were truly dead, he would have been teleported out. Yet he hasn’t been... What is this?!" Elder Chen’s eyes widened as he stared at the Cloud Ascension Tower.

Just then, the light that marked Lin Xuan reappeared. But it wasn’t on the Fourth Layer, nor the Fifth Layer—it was on the Seventh Layer!

Jumping directly from the Fourth Layer to the Seventh Layer—everyone was utterly dumbfounded. They all wondered if their eyes were playing tricks on them, but the light on the Seventh Layer was undeniably real, proving someone was there. And that person was Lin Xuan!

"Th-That’s impossible! How did he jump from the Fourth Layer to the Seventh Layer?" Huang Ming was flabbergasted, completely stunned by the sight.

If Lin Xuan had truly reached the Seventh Layer, then Huang Ming’s own achievement of reaching the Fourth Layer was a complete joke. What’s more, Lin Xuan would qualify to become an Inner Hall Disciple. The gap between them was simply insurmountable.

"This is truly bizarre. Report it to the higher-ups at once!" Elder Chen said, turning to the Steward beside him.

The Steward nodded and immediately turned to report the situation. It was all too strange—to inexplicably arrive at the Seventh Layer. This had never happened before. The climb had always been one layer at a time, not a single leap to the Seventh Layer!

"We’ll have to question him in detail when he emerges. I hope nothing disastrous happens." Elder Chen’s tone was filled with concern. This bizarre phenomenon could only be explained by Lin Xuan himself once he came out.

Huang Ming’s expression was grim and uncertain. The attendant beside him had long since fallen silent, not daring to utter a single word. How could he? Even if the circumstances were strange, the fact remained that Lin Xuan had reached the Seventh Layer, not the Fourth!

The situation left everyone else dumbfounded, and they all began discussing what could possibly have happened. Had Lin Xuan found some item that allowed him to leap to the Seventh Layer?

While the outside world was in an uproar, the situation inside the tower was also a complete mess!

When Lin Xuan came to his senses, he found himself in a spacious room with decorations no different from the previous ones. The only distinction was the color of the Iron Man before him: it had changed to gold, though its form was otherwise unchanged.

However, the aura it radiated made Lin Xuan’s scalp tingle. This was clearly an exceptionally powerful Iron Man. From its aura alone, he could sense that it possessed power at least equivalent to the Peak of Body Refining Stage!

The Peak of Body Refining Stage was a full three layers above his own. A tyrannical power seemed to emanate from its metallic sheen, creating an immense sense of pressure.

’So this is the Asura trial, and on the Seventh Layer, no less?’ Lin Xuan was taken aback. It was definitely difficult. ’If it’s not too outrageous, I should be able to put up a fight with Soul Possession. Defeating it is impossible, but I can at least last for a while.’

He also spotted the number "7" on a nearby wall, confirming he was on the Seventh Layer. Jumping from the Fourth Layer to the Seventh was bizarre, ’but it certainly saved me a lot of time and effort.’

’Jumping up from the Fourth Layer really was a time and energy saver. It’s just... this Iron Man’s Cultivation is a little on the high side. But it’s fine. As long as I defeat this Golden Man, I’m guaranteed a spot in the Inner Hall!’

Just as this thought crossed his mind, another flash of light appeared, and a brown Iron Man materialized before him. Based on its aura, it was another opponent at the Peak of Body Refining Stage! Then another appeared, and another... The apparitions finally stopped after three more had materialized.

In total, there were five Iron Men, each a different color: brown, gold, green, blue, and red! From the Elemental Power they were releasing, Lin Xuan could sense they each had a different Attribute, corresponding to the five elements: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

The Red Venerable he had fought previously was of the Fire Attribute, and its explosive power had nearly burned him to a crisp. This time, however, the Red Venerable’s Cultivation was not at the Eighth Layer of Body Refining Stage, but at the Peak of Body Refining Stage!

Five Iron Men, all at the Peak of Body Refining Stage. The pressure was simply overwhelming. ’Forget Soul Possession,’ he thought, ’even if I used my Stone Golem Possession on top of it, it would be useless.’ The power gap was simply too immense, especially since these Iron Men were fearless and possessed incredible regenerative abilities.

"How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!" Lin Xuan sucked in a sharp breath. With five of them here, he didn’t even need to fight to know he was doomed to lose.

"Can I change my mind? I don’t want to do this Asura trial anymore, okay?" Lin Xuan was on the verge of tears. This was a hopeless situation. He wouldn’t last for the time it took half an incense stick to burn, let alone a full one.

’The normal trial for the Seventh Layer must have just been this one Golden Man,’ he realized. ’The addition of these four other Iron Men must be the real Asura trial!’

This trial really lived up to its "Asura" name; it was a challenge with virtually no chance of survival.

His words met with silence from the room. Instead, a cold, mechanical voice announced, "Please choose two of the Protectors as your opponents!"

"Choose two Protectors as my opponents?" Lin Xuan’s eyes lit up. If it was only two of them, the pressure would be reduced immensely. ’At least then I might stand a chance!’

He had been on the verge of pulling out his Token to teleport away. Since it was a death sentence either way, why bother staying?

"In that case, I choose the blue and green ones!" Lin Xuan selected the two Iron Men he thought would be the easiest to handle.

The blue one was Water Attribute, and the green one was Wood Attribute. Neither possessed the kind of overwhelming destructive power seen in the tyrannical Fire and Gold Attributes.

The moment he spoke, the other three colored Iron Men disappeared, leaving only the green and blue ones behind.

"With the Water Venerable and Wood Venerable as your opponents, survive for the time it takes two incense sticks to burn to pass the trial!" the cold voice announced.

’Survive for two incense sticks against two Iron Men at the Peak of Body Refining Stage...’ Lin Xuan licked his lips, a flicker of fighting spirit returning to his eyes. "Well, this could be interesting..."

But the moment he said it, the auras emanating from the Water Venerable and Wood Venerable seemed to fuse. Their combined presence changed, growing even more powerful!

"Damn it, I chose wrong..."

Seeing this, Lin Xuan wanted to cry but had no tears. Water nourishes Wood in the elemental cycle—this was only enhancing their power! ’I don’t know who designed this,’ he fumed internally, ’but it’s pure sadism!’

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