Martial World (Web Novel)
chapter-1026

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As Monarch Sweetyfox and the others called out the title of the Highest Elder, Chu Redcloud, Sun Cyprestar, and the many disciples of the three branch palaces were all left dumbfounded. They didn’t think that this red-robed old man was actually the Highest Elder of the Ancient Phoenix Clan.

The Highest Elders were titanic figures. Whether it was strength or status, they were equal with the Patriarch. There were even some Highest Elders that had been the Patriarch in the past, but then had abdicated the throne in order to go into seclusion and cultivate. Their strength was even higher than the current Patriarch’s.

These characters were lofty and existed above others. Normally they would never come into contact with low level disciples of the Ancient Phoenix Clan, nor would they visit the 72 branch palaces. If a Palace Master of one of the 72 branch palaces went to the Ancient Phoenix Clan Headquarters to request an audience with the Highest Elder, they would also have to respectfully bow.

As for low level palace Elders like Chu Redcloud and Sun Cyprestar, they would simply never see any of the Highest Elders in their lifetimes. At most they would see someone at a lower level like the Internal Affairs Envoy or the Merit Elder. And in their opinion, these types of people were already extraordinary figures. Meeting them was similar to a countryside magistrate seeing an imperial emissary. As for the Highest Elder, that was the emperor.

Now the Highest Elder had come to Fire Spirit Star. There could only be one explanation for it, and that was that he had come here to observe Lin Ming’s trial!

As Chu Redcloud and Sun Cyprestar thought of this, both of them gulped. Lin Ming had even managed to arouse the interest of such a grand character!

“Lin Ming is inside?”

The red-robed old man indifferently asked Duke Golden Sword as he floated high in the sky.

“Yes.” Duke Golden Sword swallowed a mouthful of saliva. This old man speaking to him was named Huo Violentstone and was also his father-in-law’s grandfather. In the face of a Highest Elder whose status was so great it could frighten others to death, even the normally impertinent Duke Golden Sword felt an immense pressure.

Huo Violentstone looked over to the single star shining on the arch of the Illusionary God Combat Array. Of the nine stars, only one had lit up. This signified that Lin Ming had slain his first opponent.

“He just entered?”

“Yes, it’s only been a dozen or so breaths of time.”

“Mm.” Huo Violentstone nodded. Normally the Illusionary God Combat Array trial took an extremely long period of time to complete. In a battle between two geniuses where their strength wasn’t too far apart, a battle could last several quarter hours or even several hours, not to mention the time it would take to complete the Thousand Slaughter. Even though the beginning would be a bit faster, the further one progressed, the longer each battle would take.

Normally, it would take around a few hours to slay 600 to 700 people. But to kill 800 people, that would take most of the day. As for 900 people, that might take a full day.

40,000 years ago, when someone completed the Thousand Slaughter, that had lasted for two days and two nights!

The last section of the battles was particularly difficult. Withstanding such an endeavor was far easier said than done! A martial artist that completed the Thousand Slaughter would have to have terrifying endurance, and a recovery ability that would allow them to continue through a near-endless revolving war. They also had to possess strong nerves and a powerful will. Otherwise, in a high intensity battle where one’s mind was stressed from maintaining total concentration, even if one’s body and true essence could withstand it, their mind might not. In a battle between masters, a single distraction could prove to be fatal!

Huo Violentstone thought for a moment and then fell onto the ground in front of Totem Tower. As for everyone else, they retreated in unison, giving ground to Huo Violentstone. In front of a Highest Elder, all of these people were vigilant and also cautious in their discussion.

At this time, the second star lit up; this star symbolized that 10 people had been slain.

Currently, Lin Ming had only been in there for 20 breaths of time. The first 10 people within the Illusionary God Combat Array came out one at a time. After killing one, it would take one or two breaths of time for the next opponent to appear. For Lin Ming to slaughter 10 opponents within 20 breaths of time, that proved that he had instantly killed his opponents as they showed up.

This was also natural. The opponents at the beginning wouldn’t surpass the sixth stage of Life Destruction. With Lin Ming’s killing strength, it was no different from cutting vegetables.

Then, the third star also lit up. Lin Ming had slain 50 opponents within the Illusionary God Combat Array.

Starting at the 51st opponent, Lin Ming would have to face three at a time.

In this battle, three opponents would appear. Moreover, two of these three would have a seventh stage Life Destruction cultivation, the same as Lin Ming.

These three people appeared and then joined forces to rush at Lin Ming. Each one was fully focused on attacking without giving a single thought to defense. Their moves were all designed for them to perish together with Lin Ming.

Lin Ming’s expression was calm. He waved the Phoenix Blood Spear and endless spear lights covered his body. With a ‘peng peng peng’ sound, the combined attack of the three was blocked by Lin Ming.

Then, Lin Ming swept his spear out. A beautiful spear light drew a brilliant arc, a simple move capable of sweeping through an army. The spearpoint slashed the throats of the three opponents, instantly beheading all of them. They collapsed and vanished in a bloody light!

Lin Ming’s moves were extremely simple, but they could be described with a single word – fast, so fast that they reached the extremes of velocity. With such a high speed, the might that such a simple move could display was unimaginable.

After slaying these three people, more and more opponents emerged. However, none of them were Lin Ming’s match.

100 slaughtered!

200 slaughtered!

300 slaughtered!

400 slaughtered!

After killing 400 people, the geniuses Lin Ming faced were all at the seventh stage of Life Destruction and above, with many at the eighth stage of Life Destruction.

Lin Ming discovered that the number of opponents he had to face at the same time increased by three for every 100 people he killed. For instance, he faced 12 enemies simultaneously after killing 400 people, and now he faced 15 enemies simultaneously after killing 500 people!

The cultivation of these opponents didn’t sound too high. In the past, let alone Life Destruction powerhouses, Lin Ming had even slain numerous Divine Sea powerhouses. But, those Divine Sea powerhouses he had killed couldn’t compare with these people in front of him.

If any one of these opponents were chosen, they would be equal to a 29 year old Huo Yanguang or Zhou Fei. In the future they would become characters that crossed the ninth stage of Life Destruction.

Moreover, these people all attacked as if they didn’t care for their lives. Their coordination was impeccable and their various attack moves sealed away all avenues of retreat!

However, in the face of absolute strength, all of that was useless!

Spear light swept out and blood splashed out. The Phoenix Blood Spear was like a red dragon diving through a sea of blood. Wherever it visited, flesh and blood would rain down!

Outside of the Illusionary God Combat Array, another star lit up.

Before, because fewer enemies had appeared, Lin Ming’s kill count had increased slowly. But now that over 10 opponents appeared each time, the number of them he slaughtered rapidly grew!

An hour later, Lin Ming had already slaughtered 600 people within the Illusionary God Combat Array. This was the same distance that Yan Littlemoon had reached.

Once he passed the checkpoint of slaying 600 enemies, 18 of them appeared at a time!

Moreover, these 18 people all had eighth stage Life Destruction cultivations, a single stage higher than Lin Ming. This meant that if they were real people, their cultivation speed would surpass Lin Ming’s, reaching the same level as White Daohong and Lu Xiaoyun!

Correspondingly, their combat strength wasn’t very different from a 29 year old White Daohong and Lu Xiaoyun. Now, Lin Ming had to face 18 of these enemies at a time!

“Trial challenger, for you to rush this far, you have done well. But, this is where your journey ends. Starting from slaughtering 600 opponents, the difficulty will soar to another level. Us 18 people will send you on your way out of here!” The leader of the 18 people suddenly said out loud.

“Mm?” Lin Ming was slightly surprised. He didn’t think that these people would actually speak out like real living persons. It was clear that these 18 people were different from his previous opponents, and this difference was that they all had spiritual wisdom. They weren’t too different from true living opponents. They weren’t like the previous opponents, without the slightest bit of will, risking everything to bring down Lin Ming.

“Then bring it on!” Lin Ming faintly began to stir with excitement. His opponents so far hadn’t been able to place the least bit of pressure on him. But now, he felt a tiny bit of threat from these 18 enemies. He could finally be a bit serious about this, even if it was only a little bit.

“Kill!”

The black-clothed man in the lead roared out and then all 18 of them attacked together as if they were a single person. They moved in in sync, launching a barrage of attacks at Lin Ming.

And, the weapons they used to attack were all top grade saint artifacts!

These weren’t weapons formed from energy, but true top grade saint artifacts!

Within the Illusionary God Combat Array, there were many top grade saint artifacts stored. Their purpose was to stabilize the eye of the array formation. Now, these weapons were used by these virtual energy simulacrums to attack.

The previous opponents Lin Ming faced had only used high-grade saint artifacts, and the majority of them were formed by energy so their strength was limited. But now, all the weapons used were top grade saint artifact. The might of a top grade saint artifact was far from what a high-grade saint artifact could ever hope to compare with!

18 top grade saint artifacts!

Although there was still a great disparity between these top grade saint artifacts and the Phoenix Blood Spear that neared being a transcendent saint artifact, when these 18 weapons were combined together, their power absolutely surpassed the Phoenix Blood Spear’s!

In the moment when the 18 enemies attacked, Lin Ming felt a great pressure fall over him. This was the might and glory of a top grade saint artifact, as well as the influence of a domain!

18 layers of domains!

Each of these enemies Lin Ming currently faced actually possessed a domain!

The grade of these domains was no worse than the Blue Lotus Domain. If any of these people were placed in the 72 branch palaces, they would be splendid and famous characters. 99% of the disciples that attended the Fire Spirit Star smelting trial this round would be unable to be a match for any of them!

18 different domains superimposed on each other! And then, the pressure of 18 top grade saint artifacts was added on top of that!

Because these different domains could directly multiply each other’s strength due to the competing influences, this was still not a pressure that the average person could withstand. If one’s combat strength wasn’t high enough, they wouldn’t even be able to move their true essence in this combined domain field. In other words, if any of the other trial challengers from the three branch palaces were to be in his shoes, they would find it difficult to even stand, so how could they begin to fight back?

“Great!”

Lin Ming’s eyes brightened. After killing 600 people and reaching this point, he finally felt pressure! Only such a vigorous battle could stir his excitement and rouse his heart. He simply hadn’t been able to display his strength before this. Since breaking through to the seventh stage of Life Destruction, this would be his first chance to verify the insights he comprehended from within the 18 Hells of Flame!

Bang!

With an explosive sound, Lin Ming’s figure instantly disappeared, avoiding the combined strike of the 18 people. And this strike ruptured the earth, able to cause mountains to collapse. Endless amounts of crushed stone flew into the air.

Lin Ming raised the Phoenix Blood Spear as he floated in the air. He didn’t have a serious expression on at all. Instead, he grinned with fervor. “You’re not bad, but you’re still far short of being able to defeat me.”

“Haha! Don’t worry, the fun part is still coming. Combined martial skills, kill!”

The black-clothed man in the lead gave a loud shout. The 18 people combined forces to attack. The entire sky was filled with the light of top grade saint artifacts!