The subterranean corridor of the Sovereign Night Tomb stretched deep into the bowels of the black mountain.
Unlike the dark, oppressive atmosphere one might expect from an ancient burial site, the inner walls carved from polished black obsidian were embedded with millions of tiny, glowing cosmic crystals. They illuminated the grand pathway with a soft, ethereal starlight, mimicking the boundless expanse of a galaxy.
Li-Wen walked with unhurried, measured steps.
His light-grey robes fluttered faintly as the dense, ancient spiritual energy inside the corridor swirled around his body. The pure spatial laws lingering in the air were continuously absorbed into his Dantian through his pores, nourishing his Divine Spiritual Core and solidifying his peak Third-Stage Earth-Realm cultivation.
"An isolated spatial pocket created by an ancient Spatial Law expert," Li-Wen analyzed silently as he observed the intricate murals lining the walls. "The master of this tomb was at least a supreme expert at the Saint Realm in this mortal world."
As he navigated deeper, the wide corridor opened into a massive, subterranean square supported by twelve giant obsidian pillars.
At the center of the square stood three heavy, ancient bronze gates, each sealed with glowing, complex array runes. Above the gates were carved ancient seal characters: Trial of Mind, Trial of Strength, and Trial of Fate.
Li-Wen stopped at the edge of the square.
Before he could approach the gates, the floor beneath his feet hummed vibrantly.
HUMMMM—!
The dark spatial energy inside the square condensed violently, forming a towering, fifteen-foot shadowy warrior clad in pitch-black ancient armor and wielding a giant spectral broadsword!
The shadowy guardian radiated a terrifying pressure equal to the Peak Eighth Stage of the Earth-Realm!
"Intruder..." a hollow, ancient voice echoed from within the guardian's helm, reverberating against the stone pillars. "To pass into the inner sanctum of the Sovereign Night Tomb... you must prove your qualifications! Defeat me, or leave your soul here forever!"
The shadowy guardian raised its spectral broadsword, bringing it down toward Li-Wen's head with earth-shattering speed! A sixty-foot wave of dark, spatial sword Ki tore through the obsidian floor, leaving a deep, burning fissure in its wake!
Li-Wen looked at the descending dark sword wave with absolute tranquility.
"A simple array phantom formed by residual spatial energy," Li-Wen murmured softly.
He didn't draw a weapon, nor did he retreat. He took a single step forward, raising his bare right hand into a fist.
Void Sovereign Technique: Sovereign Shatter!
The translucent gold luster of his Jade-Bone Foundation flared with divine radiance. The raw, physical force of over one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, combined with his silver-gold liquid Ki, exploded from his knuckles in a blinding beam of light!
BOOM—!
Li-Wen's fist struck the sixty-foot spatial sword wave head-on!
The terrifying dark sword Ki shattered instantly like fragile glass under the absolute, tyrannical momentum of the punch!
"WHAT?!" The shadowy guardian's hollow voice sounded a rare trace of shock!
Before the array guardian could raise its weapon a second time, Li-Wen blurred into a silver-gold streak, appearing directly in front of the guardian's massive chest in a fraction of a second.
He drove his open palm straight into the core rune at the center of the guardian's black armor!
PUNCH!
BOOM!
A concentrated spatial shockwave passed through the fifteen-foot shadowy guardian. The complex core runes sustaining its existence cracked, exploded, and dissolved into fine, harmless dark particles that rained down onto the stone floor!
Defeated in less than three seconds!
With the guardian destroyed, the array runes on the three ancient bronze gates hummed softly.
However, instead of opening just one gate, the residual divine sense of the tomb's master seemed to react to the silver-gold aura emanating from Li-Wen's body.
RUMBLE—!
All three heavy bronze gates vibrated violently, sliding open simultaneously to reveal a single, luminous golden path that led directly into the central main hall!
Li-Wen smiled subtly, withdrawing his palm into his sleeve. "Recognizing the aura of supreme laws... intelligent."
He stepped onto the golden path, entering the true core of the Sovereign Night Tomb.
The main hall of the tomb was a breathtaking, suspended cosmic sanctuary.
The floor was made of clear, star-lit crystal, giving the illusion of walking on air above a swirling, dark nebula. At the far end of the sanctuary, floating high upon a three-tiered white jade platform, rested an ancient, pitch-black coffin carved from Void-Nourishing Crystal.
Floating directly above the coffin were three blinding, radiant orbs of light, each containing an invaluable, ancient treasure!
The first orb held an ancient, dark-purple pill pulsing with rhythmic life—a Void-Breaking Pill, capable of guaranteeing an Earth-Realm cultivator an instant breakthrough to the Heaven-Realm without a single side effect!
The second orb contained a dark-gold jade scroll emitting razor-sharp weapon intent—a High-Grade Earth-Tier Martial Technique, the Sovereign Night Sword Art!
The third and central orb was the smallest, yet it emitted an aura so ancient and heavy that it caused the surrounding space to ripple continuously—a marble-sized, deep-purple crystal heart known as the Spatial Sovereign Source!
Li-Wen walked slowly up the white jade steps, his golden pupils locked onto the central purple crystal heart.
"A Spatial Sovereign Source..." Li-Wen murmured, a genuine glint of satisfaction appearing in his eyes. "Formed from the condensed life essence of a Saint-Realm cultivator who mastered Spatial Laws. Refining this will allow my Divine Spiritual Core to undergo its second major evolution!"
Just as Li-Wen raised his hand to touch the central orb of light—
BOOM!
A violent, catastrophic explosion shattered the heavy entrance array of the main hall!
Shrapnel of dark obsidian flew into the air as four powerful figures rushed into the sanctuary at high speed, landing heavily on the crystal floor!
The leader was a middle-aged man clad in luxurious, gold-embroidered dragon robes, carrying a heavy golden saber. His aura flared with the terrifying pressure of the Ninth Stage of the Earth-Realm—the Vice Governor of Azure Sky City, Lord Zhao!
Flanking him were two senior elders of the City Guard in heavy steel armor and a young man in extravagant blue silk robes—Young Master Ye of the prestigious Ye Clan!
"Hahaha! The rumors were true!" Lord Zhao laughed greedily, his eyes burning with intense lust as he stared at the three floating treasures above the white jade platform. "An ancient Saint-Realm inheritance!"
"Father! Look!" Young Master Ye pointed his finger toward the jade platform, his face twisting in anger as he spotted the grey-robed youth standing beside the treasures. "It's that kid! He's the one who bypassed the outer barrier!"
Lord Zhao turned his gaze onto Li-Wen, his Ninth-Stage Earth-Realm pressure erupting like a volcano, sweeping across the main hall to crush the youth!
"A Second-Stage Earth-Realm brat managed to reach the main chamber first?" Lord Zhao sneered arrogantly, stepping forward with his golden saber drawn. "Kid, you have good luck, but your life ends here. Hand over your spatial ring and step away from the platform, or I will turn your body into minced meat!"
Li-Wen slowly turned around, looking down at Lord Zhao, Young Master Ye, and the two City Guard elders from the height of the white jade platform.
His dark eyes were devoid of any panic or anger, carrying only a cold, supreme indifference.
"You broke into my domain," Li-Wen spoke calmly, his smooth voice echoing through the vast cosmic sanctuary. "And you dare demand my treasures?"
"Insolent brat!" one of the City Guard elders, a Sixth-Stage Earth-Realm expert, roared in anger. "You are speaking to the Vice Governor of the province! Die!"
SWOOSH!
The elder blurred into a streak of metallic light, brandishing his iron spear as he leaped up the white jade steps, thrusting the spear point directly toward Li-Wen's throat!
Li-Wen didn't even blink. He casually reached out his bare right hand, catching the sharp point of the heavy iron spear between his thumb and index finger!
CLANG—!
The explosive force of the elder's strike vanished instantly upon contact with Li-Wen's fingers!
"W-WHAT?!" The elder's eyes bulged in pure terror as he tried frantically to pull his spear back, but it felt as if it were cemented into an ancient mountain!
Li-Wen lightly flicked his index finger against the spear blade.
BANG!
A terrifying shockwave of silver-gold Ki traveled along the shaft of the spear!
The heavy iron spear exploded into thousands of razor-sharp shards, which cannoned straight back into the elder's body!
PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH!
"AAAAAAARRGH!"
The elder let out a blood-curdling scream as his body was shredded into a bloody mist, crashing back down the white jade steps as a lifeless corpse!
Silence descended onto the main hall like a heavy mountain!
Young Master Ye's arrogant smile froze instantly, his face turning pale as paper.
Lord Zhao's eyes narrowed into slits, his heart pounding violently against his ribs. He realized with absolute, horrifying clarity that the grey-robed youth before him was not a harmless Second-Stage ant, but an absolute monster in human skin!
"Who... who are you?!" Lord Zhao shouted, tightening his grip on his golden saber, his Ninth-Stage Earth-Realm Ki flaring to its absolute maximum. "No backwater cultivator could possess such terrifying physical force!"
Li-Wen didn't answer. He turned his back to them, casually waving his hand toward the three floating orbs of light.
SWOOSH!
The Void-Breaking Pill, the Sovereign Night Sword Art scroll, and the Spatial Sovereign Source were swept directly into his spatial ring in a single second!
"YOU DARE TAKE MY TREASURES?!" Lord Zhao roared in pure, hysterical greed and fury, completely losing his composure!
He knew that if he let this youth refine those treasures, he would never have another chance!
"Secret Art: Golden Dragon Slash!" Lord Zhao bellowed, leaping fifty feet into the air. His golden saber flared with a massive, eighty-foot golden dragon blade-beam that sliced down toward the white jade platform, aiming to cleave Li-Wen in two!
This was the absolute peak attack of a Ninth-Stage Earth-Realm Expert!
Li-Wen slowly turned around to face the descending eighty-foot golden dragon blade-beam.
His dark, golden-flecked pupils flared with divine brilliance.
He took a step forward, his light-grey robes fluttering as he unleashed the full, unsuppressed aura of his Divine Spiritual Core!
BOOM—!
A terrifying, silver-gold pillar of light erupted from Li-Wen's body, piercing through the roof of the cosmic sanctuary!
The sheer physical pressure alone caused the obsidian walls to crack and the crystal floor beneath Lord Zhao's feet to shatter into dust!
"N-Ninth-Stage pressure?! No... this is beyond Earth-Realm?!" Lord Zhao gasped in mid-air, his mind collapsing into pure terror as his golden blade-beam began to tremble under the crushing weight of Li-Wen's aura!
Li-Wen raised his right hand, making a simple, casual pushing gesture toward the descending golden dragon.
Void Sovereign Technique: Sovereign Suppression!
BOOM!
An invisible, cosmic gravitational palm, fifty feet in size, materialized in mid-air and slammed directly onto Lord Zhao's golden blade-beam!
CRACK!
The eighty-foot golden dragon blade-beam exploded like fragile glass into dust!
"AAAAARGH!"
Lord Zhao spat a fountain of fresh blood as the lingering force of the gravitational palm slammed into his chest! His golden dragon robes tore into rags, his ribs shattered instantly, and he cannoned backward, crashing violently through two obsidian pillars before slamming into the far wall!
He collapsed onto the floor, coughing up blood and shattered internal organs, his Ninth-Stage Ki completely destroyed!
"F-Father!" Young Master Ye shrieked in utter despair, falling to his knees as he wept in terror.
Li-Wen stepped down the white jade steps with slow, rhythmic strides, stopping beside the dying Lord Zhao. He looked down at the Vice Governor with cold, absolute detachment.
"Greed," Li-Wen said softly, "is the shortest path to the grave."
"P-Please..." Lord Zhao gasped, blood trickling from his mouth as he looked up at the grey-robed youth with wide, terrified eyes. "Don't... don't kill my son... I am the Vice Governor... the Imperial Court—"
CRUSH!
Li-Wen's boot descended, crushing Lord Zhao's chest with absolute, unyielding finality.
Lord Zhao's eyes went blank, his life force completely extinguished.
Li-Wen turned his gaze toward Young Master Ye and the remaining City Guard elder, who were trembling so violently on the floor they couldn't even form a sentence.
Li-Wen casually swept his sleeve, pulling Lord Zhao's spatial ring into his hand.
"Hand over your wooden plaques," Li-Wen commanded indifferently.
Young Master Ye and the elder frantically stripped off their spatial rings and entry plaques, throwing them onto the floor while bowing repeatedly until their foreheads bled.
Li-Wen swept the plaques into his ring—his total token count officially crossing five hundred!
He didn't bother killing the two terrified survivors. He turned around, walking toward the secluded meditation chamber behind the ancient black coffin.
"The selection trial ends in two days," Li-Wen murmured, sitting cross-legged on a clean jade mat inside the secret chamber. "That is enough time to refine the Spatial Sovereign Source and break through to the Fourth Stage of the Earth-Realm."
He closed his eyes, pulling the deep-purple spatial heart from his ring.
SWOOSH!
The spatial heart dissolved into a roaring liquid river of pure dark-purple cosmic energy, surging violently into his Dantian!
Li-Wen's aura began to climb once more, shattering all barriers as his cultivation pushed rapidly toward the Middle Earth-Realm!
See you in next chapter...