Not long ago, as ancient beings each employed their means to probe the Trial Grounds, the three trial overseers frowned.
"How audacious!"
The burly overseer Wei glared.
Kandra was known as a godless land because they needed no gods to worship; they themselves wielded divine power.
Had it not been for the impending threat of the evil gods, the Kandra Empire would likely have erupted into war with the ancient gods. A war between mortals and gods.
However, even though Overseer Wei was enraged, he was powerless against the ancient gods secretly observing.
They were merely spirits of an artificial secret realm.
Within the Trial Grounds, they indeed possessed immense power, but their influence on the outside world was severely limited. Much less so against the ancient beings probing the Trial Grounds, who were Ninth and Tenth Realm existences wielding vast power and authority.
All the trial overseers could do was lock down the gates and windows of the entire secret realm, preventing the perspectives of ancient beings from entering.
They pondered whether to expel the reincarnated ancient gods from the Trial Grounds.
"Some ancient gods perished at the hands of the evil gods. They used the little divine power they had left to reincarnate. After reincarnation, they were no longer ancient gods but humans, and they obtained entry passes from other lower-tier Trial Grounds… their identities and credentials were all legitimate, which is why we allowed these reincarnated ancient gods to enter."
Another reason was that the overall power of humanity in this era was too weak, and their mission was to continue human inheritance, so they turned a blind eye.
But now,
The three trial overseers glanced at Lord Chi Tianzhu, their expressions invigorated.
"Let's kick them out fiercely."
"There's no need for such haste."
Fang You stopped them.
A bold idea also began to sprout in his mind.
This was the Trial Grounds. Internally, those who held the realm's authority possessed immense dominance. Since that was the case…
"We understand."
The three trial overseers exchanged glances.
This Lord wished to use the ancient gods to spur humanity, to instill a greater sense of urgency in humanity of this era, for they would soon face unfathomable evil gods, countless times more terrifying than ancient gods.
Being ranked high in the 'human civil war' was by no means a cause for complacency.
As expected of this Lord.
…
The Strongest Trial, the third stage. Only a mere hundred trial participants entered this place. Like the first stage, they were born in different locations.
A faint white halo surrounded them, and a countdown slowly pulsed above their heads.
"This is…"
The space was chaotic and disordered, fragmented like a mirror, constructing a vast galaxy. Within the galaxy, gray storms surged, and black rifts occasionally opened and closed.
This place was like a piece of paper being constantly crumpled, riddled with cracks.
They, the trial participants, were but insignificant insects on this paper, and with the slightest carelessness, they would be ground into a pulp.
"This is the High-level Void!"
Some demigods had set foot in this space.
However, it was too dangerous. Besides spatial turbulence and annihilation storms, there was nothing else of value.
Unless absolutely necessary for urgent travel, demigods rarely ventured into this layer of space.
"The trial in this stage is also a free-for-all, but in such an environment, the combat methods will be vastly different from the first stage. The true danger comes from the trial environment itself!"
"This means that the gap between mythical beings and demigods will be significantly reduced. Victory will depend more heavily on individual combat wisdom."
"And, one cannot have too bad luck!"
The demigods and mythical beings who set foot in this place quickly analyzed and formed a general strategy in their minds.
At this moment, the countdown reached zero, and the white halos surrounding the trial participants instantly vanished.
A breeze carrying annihilation power brushed against their faces.
"Holy hell!"
A mythical being, caught off guard, received a hideous gash on his cheek.
This wisp of gray wind had nearly pierced his head.
The trial participants used their unique abilities, constantly dodging the cleaving spaces and annihilating winds.
But one trial participant was less fortunate. The space where he stood became dislocated. In a moment of distraction, immense gray storms erupted on all four sides.
The mythical being struggled briefly before being swallowed by the storm, like a moth flying into a bonfire.
Some demigods expanded their heaven-reaching Dharma appearances, but under the storm's invasion, their Dharma appearances eroded visibly and could not last long.
Some trial participants forged ahead by creating barriers.
Demigod Xi Guang threw out a precious palace-type artifact. He piloted the artifact, like a small boat navigating a storm, but this boat would not be destroyed.
He narrowed his eyes.
"In this environment, defeating and eliminating a reincarnated ancient god in the demigod realm is not impossible."
On the surface, there were over a dozen reincarnated ancient gods who had entered the Trial Grounds. Their previous lives had not ended completely, or they had left behind contingency plans. This time, upon their return, they had already grasped great power.
Among them, reincarnated ancient gods in the mythical and demigod realms were roughly split evenly.
In the first and second stages, Demigod Xi Guang had already clashed with reincarnated ancient gods. He had been defeated in the second stage.
"It's not heroic to attack fellow human trial participants. If you want to hunt, hunt the stronger reincarnated ancient gods!"
"Moreover, the second stage trial gave tiered rankings. Hunting reincarnated ancient gods in the first tier could earn the most combat points."
"Slaying one would be enough to rank among the top!"
Some were preparing to hunt the strong.
Some cast their gaze upon the weak.
More trial participants continued to dodge spatial turbulence, arduously familiarizing themselves with the stage environment.
Iluoxi and other Lumina mythical beings arrived in the bizarre High-level Void, and their situations were equally perilous. However, they had experienced the high-level void environment in the Tower of Battles beforehand, and after a short while, they calmed down, navigating the gaps in the storms with their experience.
This was not special tutoring from Instructor Fang. The High-level Void was a common battlefield.
More familiar with this place than the Lumina mythical beings were the reincarnated ancient gods.
They blended in like fish in water.
No matter how terrifying the annihilation storms were, they couldn't catch the hem of their robes.
Soon, the battles between trial participants erupted.
A roar echoed throughout the trial grounds, and the spatial turbulence seemed to be swept away.
Countless tree roots, like tentacles, extended from a single point, rapidly spreading outwards. One thousand meters, ten thousand meters, a million meters, a hundred million meters…
Innumerable roots began to spread outwards, seemingly forming a city.
Within the city, countless colossal tree-people bowed their heads, guarding a towering figure seated on a divine throne.
An ancient being, shrouded in divine light, resembling a ginseng.
"He is…"
"The Lord of Ten Thousand Roots!"
Some demigods exclaimed.
This ancient being's whereabouts were elusive, but he seemed not to have perished, leaving behind many legends over the millennia.
But why would an ancient being like the Lord of Ten Thousand Roots enter the Trial Grounds?
It was the ancient gods' scheme!
During the Kandra Empire's most glorious era, even the Divine Sovereign of Edge had to be wary. Were these ancient beings not covetous of Kandra's power?
They were bound to be covetous!
Sending reincarnated ancient gods who met the criteria to compete was one aspect, but they didn't expect the ancient gods' appetite to be even greater. They…
"They don't want rankings, nor the inheritances obtained through the rules. They want the entire secret realm, everything Kandra left behind!"
"This is outrageous!"
However, the City of Ten Thousand Roots built by the Lord of Ten Thousand Roots was too formidable; neither spatial turbulence nor annihilation storms could approach it.
Within the city, the colossal tree-people guarding the divine throne each possessed the power of the demigod realm.
There were dozens or even hundreds of them!
The Lord of Ten Thousand Roots, a single ancient being, was enough to annihilate all the trial participants.
Let alone human powerhouses like Demigod Xi Guang and Demigod Hui Gang, even many reincarnated ancient gods' expressions changed drastically.
Their interests did not necessarily align with the Lord of Ten Thousand Roots.
At this moment, another blinding divine light burst forth.
An ancient being emerged from another part of the trial grounds.
The void continuously collapsed, turning into absolute nothingness. Within this void, only a single figure existed.
Where his gaze fell, all things were annihilated.
"It's the Lord of Annihilation!"
A mythical being from the Great Chaos City licked his lips.
This ancient being was one of the three ancient gods worshipped by their Great Chaos City.
However, the interests of the ancient gods and the human oasis did not align. They were merely in a cooperative relationship with the ancient gods, and were in a weaker position within that cooperation.
They did not wish for Kandra's遗宝 to fall into the hands of the ancient gods.
However, if they had to choose between the two, it was better for it to fall into the hands of the Lord of Annihilation than the Lord of Ten Thousand Roots.
But the arrival of the Lord of Ten Thousand Roots and the Lord of Annihilation was not the only one.
In an instant, several more ancient beings descended.
The Divine Sovereign of Molten Volcano, Delusional Ice Crystal, the Demon Lord of Dry Bones…
Regardless of whether these ancient beings were familiar to humans or completely unknown, upon seeing them, their true names involuntarily surfaced in the minds of the human powerhouses.
They were ancient beings who combined the divine power and mysterious power of ancient gods.
The most feared by humans, reincarnated ancient gods, and ancient beings was an ancient being shrouded in infinite radiance, whose humanoid silhouette was only vaguely discernible.
He stood at the highest point, casting down his indifferent gaze.
"Lord of a Billion Lights!"
This was his true name.
A demigod well-versed in history gazed at this towering figure and couldn't help but want to worship him. "He is the God of Light, one of the oldest beings from the era of ancient gods."
"Historical records state that He perished at the hands of the Shadow of Darkness, but as expected, such a top-tier ancient god would not die so easily. He has returned to reclaim His former power!"
At this moment, the Lord of a Billion Lights seemed to be at the Ninth Realm's high level.
However, upon his appearance, he elicited deep wariness from beings like the Lord of Ten Thousand Roots and the Divine Sovereign of Molten Volcano.
But they were all in the Ninth Realm! These tens of thousands of years, in addition to recovering from injuries, they had also sought breakthroughs, while the Lord of a Billion Lights had only just returned from the river of time.
Who was afraid of whom!
A battle of the high realms erupted in an instant.
Some ancient beings, while fighting, also cast some of their power towards the human trial participants.
The law power of reincarnated ancient gods was merely a bucket of water, a small stream.
The law power of these true ancient gods was a mighty river!
Innumerable roots were planted throughout the void, as if drawing nourishment from the entire trial secret realm, using it as a foundation to resist everything.
The radiance in the sky descended like silken ribbons, seemingly carrying beauty. Mythical trial participants shouted and plunged into the silken ribbons of light, transforming into light.
"Ancient gods, high-level beings!"
Some human demigods clenched their fists.
The power gap was too vast.
Although this was not their first time seeing it, and although they could wield some high-level power after taking charge of a Level Nine Oasis, the gap…
The gap was still too vast!
"Merely taking charge of a Level Nine Oasis is not enough!"
"One must advance to the high level; only then will one have the qualification to contend!"
Some demigods gazed towards the heavens, at the towering figures amidst the infinite divine radiance, and licked their lips, an incredible thought slowly arising in their minds.
They wanted to slay gods!
This was the Trial Grounds; they would not truly die. If they couldn't muster the courage to contend with and kill high-level beings here, they would never be able to in their lifetime!
And they would never be able to advance to the high level in their lifetime!
"Humanity may not necessarily be weaker than ancient gods."
"Fight!"
"In the name of humanity!"
Towering Dharma appearances appeared one after another.
They were immensely large, yet like fireflies, they lunged towards the infinite radiance.
After a long while…
Trial Grounds Waiting Area.
"We're back."
"This is… the true power of high-level beings, huh? We still underestimated it."
Some demigods murmured.
Some demigods were bitter.
Others had light in their eyes, blazing like the great sun.
"The path to the high level, the path to the high level…" it seemed no longer so unattainable.
But for the mythical beings, the distance to the high level was so great that they couldn't even see its back.
What they most wanted to know at this moment was:
"How is the trial scored?"
"Who obtained the inheritance?"
"Was it us trial participants or the ancient gods?"
Some mythical beings speculated, "The Trial Grounds follow the rules. As long as the final outcome is not the secret realm being plundered by ancient gods, our trials will still count."
"And according to the trial rules, rankings are based on achievements in the three stages. The third stage might hold a significant weight."
But they hadn't even begun the third stage before it ended.
No, perhaps not.
If there were no combat achievements, then performance and survival time would be considered.
Many mythical beings were eliminated in the first wave of high-level assaults, but quite a few survived. Moreover, some trial participants obtained kill counts during this period.
And many demigods had bravely charged into the high-level battlefield.
So, in this trial, who would take the top ten, top three, and first place?
Time continued to flow.
In the waiting area, on this vast plaza, more and more trial participants returned. Trial participants eliminated in the second round were also here, waiting nervously and anxiously.
The trial plaza did not tremble, and no towering figures emerged.
This reassured the trial participants.
After waiting for another hour, a mechanical prompt sounded in the minds of the trial participants.
The trial results were out!
Any trial participant who came here received a basic gift package, which was valuable. But the rewards obtained above this were the true treasures!
"Who got a high ranking?"
"Did anyone obtain the inheritance of the Nine Heavenly Pillars?"
The ranking list was known only to oneself.
Trial participants began to exchange information with acquaintances, but after searching, they couldn't find many who ranked highly, let alone anyone who obtained the inheritance of the Nine Heavenly Pillars.
The inheritance of the Nine Heavenly Pillars not only represented nine supreme inheritances but also the identity of the legitimate successors of Kandra.
Only they were qualified to receive Kandra's遗宝.
The Central Holy Court claimed to be the successor of Kandra, and they had indeed obtained a lot of Kandra's technology and heritage, but in front of the Nine Heavenly Pillars, they were nothing.
"No, not a single one found."
Old King Chi Sha shook his head.
"Could it be that the reincarnated ancient gods took them?"
"Logically, it shouldn't be, but we don't know what the ancient beings who forcibly entered the Trial Grounds did."
"Perhaps some human powerhouses also obtained the inheritance of a Heavenly Pillar, but have not publicly disclosed it."
Even so, with ancient beings descending in the third stage, and the strength of the reincarnated ancient gods being above theirs,
These guys were the most likely to have obtained the major treasures!
"We have no way of knowing these things, but at least, we have benefited quite a bit."
"As for the inheritances taken by the ancient gods, hmph, I'll find a way to take them back once I advance to the high level!"
Some demigods snorted coldly and disappeared from the Trial Grounds.
…
A hidden place.
The ancient beings had long since been expelled and repatriated, returning here several hours ago.
"I was careless. Molten Volcano had some restraint on me."
The Lord of Ten Thousand Roots shook his head. "The space of the Kandra Trial Grounds is also somewhat peculiar, seeming real yet not, seeming fake yet not… If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have been so easily expelled. However, the other old fellows, including a Billion Lights, were also expelled, and none of them succeeded."
This meant that the plan to sneakily seize the Trial Grounds had failed.
Doing it again would definitely not work.
The defense of the Trial Grounds was also far beyond expectations. The Lord of Ten Thousand Roots believed that if several different ancient god factions had not acted simultaneously, they wouldn't even have been able to pry open a crack in the Trial Grounds.
"But we haven't failed completely."
The Lord of Ten Thousand Roots and several other ancient beings turned their gaze to several reincarnated ancient gods.
The reincarnated ancient gods had grim expressions.
"The core inheritance and遺宝 are not with us."
"They must have been obtained by fellows from other divine factions."
…
In another location, the Divine Sovereign of Molten Volcano scratched his shiny scalp.
"I failed. The rest is up to you all."
"Oh, you didn't get the core inheritance either? Then it must be with Ten Thousand Roots, Annihilation, Lights, or some other old fellow."
"We'll find out the day we go up and fight."
…
In a third hidden place.
The Lord of Stars' pupils reflected the vast starry sky. "As expected, Kandra's Trial Grounds are not easy to invade."
"What's unexpected is that our arranged trial participants didn't get a high ranking."
"Who took it?"
The Lord of Stars, the Moon Lord, and the Great Sun Divine Venerable looked at the symbols of other ancient divine factions and fell into thought.
…
"It's over."
"The Ninth Realm ancient gods who descended this time seem to be much stronger than the servants of evil gods like Lord Yujin?"
"Are the ancient gods too strong, or are the servants of evil gods too weak?"
"But theoretically, the power of the evil god faction is far above that of the ancient gods."
Fang You pondered.
He then cast his gaze upon the gleaming conceptual light clusters, and his mood instantly became wonderful.
He had granted Xiao Huan some access to the Tower of Battles.
Xiao Huan lunged towards the sparkling light clusters, unwilling to get out.
Fang You asked her to prioritize clearing out the light clusters related to law power.
"Conceptual Light Cluster (Law of Annihilation · Small)"
"Conceptual Light Cluster (Law of Annihilation · Medium)"
"Conceptual Light Cluster…"
If the conceptual light clusters he had obtained before were merely small drops of water, then now they were water balls, buckets, and water vats! The difference was immeasurable.
Fang You lightly touched one of the clusters.
He felt as if he had touched the core of the world, the origin of the universe.
The surging law power exploded in his divine soul.
He was not absorbing it indiscriminately. This was pure Law of Annihilation, containing destructive power. But light could be annihilated, fire could be annihilated, and swords could also be annihilated.
As he absorbed it, he integrated his own understanding, making this Law of Annihilation no longer pure but more suitable for himself.
Fang You extended his hand.
On his palm, wisps of lightning arcs flickered. The arcs turned from blue to purple, then from purple to red.
It seemed to contain power stronger than the lightning of the High-level Void.
He called it: Lightning of Annihilation.
"The trial has come to a temporary end. It's time to witness Kandra's true secrets."