The Battle Tower.
The trials were over, but many figures remained.
Liu Feng, Xing Jinglei, Yi Luoxi, and other core members of the Spark were still contemplating the recent battle.
Moments ago, they had undeniably charged towards an ancient existence.
"We lost," Liu Feng mused to himself.
He now possessed power far exceeding his peak in his previous life, having briefly contended with a nine-star anomaly. He felt that even if he couldn't match a true high-level being, he wouldn't be far off.
Yet, the recent battle told him the gap was as vast as the heavens.
He unleashed his full power and could only momentarily rival high-level beings in terms of destructive force.
"My mythic peak can fight demigods."
"But my demigod peak still struggles to contend with high-level beings."
After all, high-level beings far surpassed demigods.
"Although I can continue to improve by comprehending Law Stone Tablets, cultivating skills, and honing myself in the Battle Tower, I haven't reached my bottleneck yet, but..."
Lingering at his current realm was meaningless.
His foundation was already perfect; no amount of refinement could further strengthen it. He had reached his limit.
Conversely, if he could ascend to the high level and possess high-level cognition, his progress in law power would be ten to a hundred times faster.
"I am already at the peak of demigodhood, having forged my demigod body and demigod Dharma appearance to perfection."
"And my path to the high level..."
...
"The path to the high level..." Trial Administrator Yuan shook his head. "Even in the empire's most glorious era, a systematic path directly leading to the high level was never discovered."
"It's not that there were none, but the paths to the high level were unique. Once a strong individual tread upon a path, even if it was generally applicable, it would be sealed off for others. Successors would have to find a different route."
"Therefore, for us humans to reach the high level, in addition to the most top-tier foundation and talent, a bit of luck might be needed."
"Sometimes, this small amount of luck can seal the fate of many top geniuses."
"A human expert at the peak of demigodhood might ascend to the high level the following year, or it might take ten, a hundred, or even a thousand years. More likely, they might toil their entire lives without finding the way in."
"However..." He changed his tone. "A 100% chance of ascending to the high level still exists, right here."
"The nine great inheritances left here contain a trace of the origin power of nine Pillar Lords. As long as one's innate talent is sufficient and they absorb the inheritance power of a Pillar Lord, they have a very high probability of ascending to the high level."
"Because these nine... oh no, eight paths are already very clear and unobstructed."
Under the normal procedure, trial-takers ranked highly would have the qualification to attempt the nine Pillar Lord inheritances one by one. If their affinity matched, the trial-taker would accept a certain inheritance. Afterward, the next trial-taker would attempt.
But Trial Administrator Yuan glanced around and noticed that all the highly ranked individuals were subordinates of this lord. Thus, he decided to let this lord arrange all the inheritances.
This did not violate the rules.
From a personal standpoint, they also hoped to leave the inheritances to 'their own people.' Those in the same organization as Lord Scarlet Pillar were their own people.
"Eight clear paths?" Fang You nodded.
The Pillar Lords' inheritances seemed more precious than he had imagined.
Not long ago, when an ancient existence exploited a loophole to enter the trial grounds, Chi Yan also exploited a loophole to enter the trial arena and used her authority to create a trial-taker identity for herself.
Chi Yan defeated an ancient existence; this matter was not important. What was important was that after the trial, Chi Yan seized the opportunity to obtain her own inheritance.
I inherit myself.
The knowledge of the inheritance was not important, but by obtaining the origin power she had left tens of thousands of years ago, Chi Yan's divine body and soul damage significantly recovered.
Her self-healing speed also greatly improved.
If before, Chi Yan had only recovered 30%, now she was at least 50% recovered.
She also figured out a path to recovery—combat and slaughter. Previously, killing two nine-star anomalies had provided her with some recovery. However, kills within the Battle Tower were not real, and she couldn't recover from them.
Fang You arrived at the inheritance grounds.
In the ancient hall, nine colossal pillars, seemingly capable of supporting the sky, were lined up in order.
The first eight pillars exuded a profound and mysterious rhythm, while the last pillar, a crimson one, had already dimmed, its power taken.
"Sixth Pillar Lord, Secret Pillar Lord."
"Fourth Pillar Lord, Steel Pillar Lord."
"Third Pillar Lord, Flame Pillar Lord."
On the inheritance pillars, some displayed the figures of these Pillar Lords.
Steel Pillar Lord was an existence shrouded in a steel helmet, their face obscured.
Flame Pillar Lord had fiery red hair like a hedgehog, cascading to their waist, their upper body bare, dancing with extraordinary vigor.
Fang You looked at the Pillar Lord at the very front.
"First Pillar Lord, Martial Pillar Lord."
Only a vague human figure appeared above it.
This individual was the oldest and most powerful Pillar Lord in the Kandra Empire, second only to the Radiant Emperor. Chi Yan herself had once received guidance from this Martial Pillar Lord.
The inheritance he left behind was the most precious among the nine Pillar Lords.
However, whether it was inherited or not, Fang You didn't place too much importance on it. What he valued were the secrets. Trial administrators were, after all, advanced tools, with limited knowledge of true secrets.
"Chi Yan survived, the ancient gods returned through reincarnation, but did the other Pillar Lords of Kandra perish so completely?"
He stepped forward and lightly touched the inheritance pillar of the Martial Pillar Lord.
A profound and mystical character, "武" (Wu), surged towards him. Before this single character, he felt as small as an ant. If his will was insufficient, his martial foundation lacking, he might have been crushed the moment he saw this character, losing the opportunity to accept this inheritance.
However, Fang You slightly raised his head, his gaze meeting the enormous "武" character, and walked forward alone.
One step, two steps, he passed through the character, shattering the entire symbol.
The next moment, the world spun, and he entered a space that was neither real nor illusory.
"Inheritance space."
He was no stranger to it.
This space bore some resemblance to when he cultivated skills using training cards.
Only this space was vaster, and his movements were not restricted.
Sunlight shone upon the land, and waves crashed against the long beach. At the edge of the sand, a hunched old man, dressed in casual clothes, slowly turned around.
He wore sunglasses and had his hands behind his back.
However, he exuded no aura of a powerful being, resembling only an old man strolling in a park.
To be frank, Fang You was astonished. He truly hadn't expected the legendary First Pillar Lord to look like this.
"You've arrived."
"Yes, I have."
"Since that is the case, this old man shall bestow upon you this power of martial arts. I hope you can truly wield this power..."
"Wait a moment."
The old man took a step forward. His gait was slow, yet it seemed to shorten the distance between the ground, as if even the passage of time had slowed. The ordinary and hunched old man gradually exuded the aura of a peerless expert. He held his palm upwards, cradling a mysterious origin of inheritance, but at this moment, a "Wait a moment" sounded, and he abruptly stopped, nearly stumbling.
"Young people are always impatient. The inheritance process takes a great deal of time. You can ask whatever you wish to ask then." The old Martial Pillar Lord spoke as if he saw through everything.
But he still retracted his hand. "Ask whatever you wish. This old man still holds many secrets in his mind."
What Fang You most wanted to know was, naturally, the battle of deicide.
However, Chi Yan's memories of that battle were completely shattered, let alone...
As expected, the old Martial Pillar Lord shook his head.
"Ask another question, ask another question."
"This wisp of consciousness is something old Martial Man left behind in his early years. I have no idea about any battle of deicide, but looking at the current situation, the battle of deicide indeed failed, didn't it?"
He conjured a pipe and his expression was placid, like an ordinary old man who had given up.
This Martial Pillar Lord seemed rather unreliable.
Fang You changed his question.
Regarding evil gods. The Kandra Empire had conducted extensive research on evil gods, perhaps more than on ancient gods. Surely the empire's second-in-command wouldn't be unable to answer?
The old Martial Pillar Lord exhaled another smoke ring.
"Evil gods are nameless, unspeakable, unexplorable."
"Don't be surprised, because the Scarlet Moon, the Gloomy Shadow, the Eternal Night Lord, and the like are not the true names of these indescribable evil gods. They are merely names we gave them after seeing them."
"We described the indescribable, conceptualized them."
"But true evil gods are far beyond what can be summarized by words, images, scenes, or descriptions. What we see are merely their exteriors."
The old Martial Pillar Lord paused and continued,
"The situation in this era is very similar to the predicament we faced back then."
"The slumbering evil gods are about to awaken. However, even during their slumber, evil gods have 'sleep-talking.' Their wisps of consciousness and power will leak out, and from this, the war of evil gods arises."
"Sleep-talking evil gods are still terrifying, capable of inadvertently causing dreadful calamities that only evil gods can orchestrate. However, as long as an evil god does not awaken, it can only slumber in a certain area."
"In other words..."
"Furthermore, sleep-talking evil gods lack reason, but according to our research in Kandra, awakened evil gods possess reason. However, the logic, reason, and behavior patterns of evil gods are difficult for us humans to fathom. Perhaps when they awaken, the evil gods will destroy each other..."
"This is, of course, impossible."
The old Martial Pillar Lord didn't describe much about evil gods.
After all, before the battle of deicide, Kandra had not truly encountered evil gods.
These elder generation humans are not very reliable.
"Ahem, although I cannot describe the true appearance of evil gods, I once slaughtered countless servants and familiars of evil gods, as easily as killing chickens."
At this point, Fang You raised a question.
Were the servants of evil gods a bit weak?
Of course, they weren't truly weak, but compared to ancient gods, these servants of evil gods seemed to function only as combat units?
The old Martial Pillar Lord was somewhat speechless.
He had just said he treated servants of evil gods like killing chickens, and this kid was asking why they were so weak.
"Young man, don't aim too high. High-level beings are currently beyond your grasp..."
Wait a minute.
The old Martial Pillar Lord stroked his chin.
This young man's descriptions of the servants of evil gods and the high-level ancient gods seemed a bit too detailed.
It was as if he had stood by and witnessed battles of high-level beings firsthand, or even torn apart a high-level being, to be able to reveal such secrets. But a demigod, let alone tearing apart a high-level being, couldn't even witness a battle of high-level beings up close.
This young man was somewhat mysterious.
...But it seemed to have nothing to do with him.
The old Martial Pillar Lord said, "In terms of individual combat power, the servants of evil gods are indeed not very impressive. This is because these servants of evil gods do not advance through their own power; their improvement and breakthroughs are all granted by the evil gods."
"Evil gods have the ability to elevate an ordinary person to the ninth realm of high level, naturally, such high levels are incomparable to true high levels."
"Although ancient gods are also beings living off past glories, their status is sufficiently high, unlike the servants of evil gods, whose power is like a fleeting bubble."
"However, even a fleeting bubble is a high-level fleeting bubble. Moreover, the most troublesome aspect of the servants of evil gods is their sheer numbers."
"Of course, they are mere pushovers."
The old Martial Pillar Lord completely disdained the servants of evil gods.
According to him, if not for the indescribable evil gods themselves, the Kandra Empire would have long ago wiped out the evil god faction. Even though their number of high-level beings was far inferior to the enemy.
Whether there was exaggeration in this... there certainly was.
He, Fang You, was a traveler who had roamed Kandra! Didn't he know the situation back then?
However, back then, Kandra's defenses had repeatedly shrunk because they had concentrated most of their strength to prepare for the deicide plan.
Fang You decided not to expose him.
"The servants of evil gods are not only unable to cultivate and their power comes entirely from the evil gods, but they are also subject to other restrictions."
"When evil gods are active, they can be active; when evil gods are dormant, they will also be dormant."
"When the evil gods are not 'sleep-talking,' most servants can only remain in a standby state."
"In other words..."
"As the evil gods gradually awaken, the tentacles and power of the servants of evil gods can extend beyond the Middle Anomaly Realm."
Fang You understood and pondered with a furrowed brow.
The old Martial Pillar Lord said, "Having said so much, you probably understand, but understanding is useless. In this world, power is everything. You need martial might to resist evil gods."
"Now, digest this power. It will help you advance further..."
"Wait a moment."
The old Martial Pillar Lord: "?"
What is it now?
Young man, before you is the highest inheritance of humanity, an opportunity to reach the ninth realm, and perhaps even the tenth realm!
The old Martial Pillar Lord was puzzled.
Fang You was also puzzled. He had only come in to ask a few questions.
He left very quickly.
The old Martial Pillar Lord: "?"
He looked up at the sky, then at Fang You. "Isn't this my inheritance space?"
"Although it is indeed, but..."
But entering the inheritance space doesn't necessarily mean accepting the inheritance.
The choice is mutual.
The old Martial Pillar Lord could choose someone else, and the trial-taker could choose another inheritance.
Fang You simply wanted to chat with the old man.
The inheritance power of the Martial Pillar Lord was indeed excellent, akin to a meteoric rise. However, accepting this inheritance meant having to walk a path identical to the Martial Pillar Lord's.
This was someone else's path.
Fang You only wanted to walk his own path.
Even if the Martial Pillar Lord was a tenth-realm being, and this path led directly to the pinnacle, it held no appeal to him.
"You don't need to worry, old sir. There are many excellent trial-takers behind me."
What could the old Martial Pillar Lord do?
He angrily sent Fang You away and welcomed the second candidate.
A slender young man, like a drawn divine sword, entered.
He took a closer look and exclaimed, "Oh, this is quite good. This young man is very suitable to inherit my mantle. This batch of human candidates is quite impressive."
Half an hour later,
The old Martial Pillar Lord angrily sent the second candidate away.
An hour later, the old Martial Pillar Lord, doubting his own existence, sent the third candidate away.
Two hours later,
Three hours later,
The old Martial Pillar Lord lay on the beach, gazing at the blue sky and white clouds.
"Are the trial-takers of this generation crazy!"