Chapter 1042

Everyone in the Genesis Vortex Core didn't know how long they had waited, until Wandi spoke up and broke this irritating silence.

... Aglaea, forgive my bluntness. This trial is too long.

It feels like forty-two days have passed.

Dan Heng looked puzzled: '... How did you come up with such an exact number?'

Aglaea: 'Master, what is your view on this?'

Tingyun: 'The flow of the vortex core is hard to grasp. Only fragments of words, and distant battle cries...'

Is that Bai'e's voice?

'I don't know, it's hard to make out...' Tingyun listened carefully for a while, then suddenly let out a panicked cry.

... Ah, ahhh! Xiao Bai's voice... cut off... the things in the trial, like the sun... he's going to be burned to a crisp...!

Aglaea seemed unsurprised by all this, only sighing deeply: 'Still, we've come to this point... Get ready, Maidemos.'

'What do you plan to do?'

Wandi explained: 'Backup plan—if anything goes wrong, we'll pull him out. Aglaea, per our agreement, I'll intervene in the trial to rescue your savior... but that's all.'

'Of course, for now I won't ask for more.'

Wandi nodded: 'Hmph, not bad. Then, to make full preparations, I hope the two foreign warriors can lend me a hand.'

Xiadie objected: 'This... probably isn't proper. The fire seed trial is far more complex than ordinary rites; if we misjudge the procedure, go against it, or distort it, the consequences are unimaginable... the two honored guests have no obligation to lay down their lives for the Fire Pursuit Journey; it would be better if I accompanied Lord Wandi.'

Dan Heng stepped forward: 'The situation is urgent and concerns Bai'e's life; as nameless guests we naturally cannot shirk responsibility. What should we do?'

'Follow me into the trial, find that guy, Aglaea's golden thread will guide us back to reality... provided we preserve ourselves under Nicadoli's wrath.' Wandi turned to look at Xiadie, 'If anything changes, prioritize their safety—I have a way to carve out a path of survival.'

——

Death God.

Winter Lion Lang watched Wandi and the others' backs as they entered the depths of the vortex core, his tone full of disbelief: 'They actually failed? Bai'e's strength is clearly fine—could this trial be more dangerous than their previous battle against the Strife Titan?'

'I've said it before—this trial isn't to test his strength but his character.' Jingliu Chunshui slowly set down his wine pot, wiped the liquor stain from his lips, 'This kid's character doesn't seem to match the Strife Titan; now that he's failed, it means the only candidate to inherit the divine position and become a demigod is someone else.'

'Wandi is indeed the most fitting golden heir for Strife, but he himself is unwilling, and Aglaea can't force him, right?'

Nicadoli has long resisted the erosion of Heichi; if one succeeds it as a demigod, it means walking the same path of opposition as Nicadoli. Behind this is endless battle; for Wandi, who has lived amidst slaughter since childhood... he must surely be tired of it by now.

Called a demigod, it is more like an eternal cage that forever imprisons a deity inside, locked in mortal combat with Heichi until the end of life.

Even Winter Lion Lang thought this was truly too cruel for Wandi.

'Could we look for another golden heir?' Winter Lion Lang frowned slightly, 'Bai'e's failure doesn't mean other golden heirs would fail—does Wufaluos only have these few golden heirs from Aohema left? Could we issue a notice beyond Aohema for other golden heirs to take over the fire seed?'

'Look elsewhere?' Jingliu Chunshui gave a light laugh tinged with helplessness, 'You put that lightly. Finding a golden heir capable of bearing the Strife fire seed among the vast masses is less likely than Gengmujianba washing his heart, turning over a new leaf, sheathing his sword forever and never fighting again. Rather than go to great expense and wander aimlessly, it'd be better to figure out how to persuade Wandi to accept this fire seed.'

Having said that, Jingliu Chunshui paused, and the smile on his face quickly faded a bit.

'Just...' he said in a low voice, '... Even if Wandi accepts the fire seed, it probably won't solve the root problem. All turmoil in Wufaluos stems from Heichi; if we don't clarify how Heichi came to be, then a demigod Wandi being eroded is merely a matter of time. By then letting Bai'e draw his sword against Wandi? That would be unimaginable for Bai'e.'

——

'As Aglaea chanted the prayer, the echo of the Strife Titan's divinity appeared before everyone once again.'

'But this time, the Titan reached out its hand toward the Star.'

'Then step forward—souls that ought not exist in this world, warriors awaiting forging. Follow me through mist and battlefire, straight to the deepest fear in the fighter's heart—'

'With your valor, push back darkness, restore the sun's universal light—so that the myriad lost warriors may clearly find their way home.'

……

'When the Star opened its eyes again, it found the surrounding scenery was actually inside Aohema City.'

'However, unlike past scenes, the Aohema before her was littered with corpses in disarray, the strong stench of blood making her frown involuntarily.'

'Of course, there were also many living people among them—some gathering their companions' remains, others staring with ill intent, resentment, and malice at the not‑far‑off spearmen.'

'This...'

'How, feeling startled?' Wandi walked up from behind her, 'Wherever there is strife, there must be slaughter... Nicadoli's trial being this grim is no surprise.'

'Just you? What about Dan Heng?'

'Your companion seems not nearby... let's go first. I hope he's safe.'

'Looking at the corpses scattered across the city, Wandi was somewhat surprised: 'The deepest fear in one's heart... that man's greatest dread is actually this sight?''

'Aohema City seems to have erupted in fierce bloodshed, spearmen and locals clashing; even though soldiers separated them, the insults never ceased.'

'Get out! Wufaluos has no place for you!'

'You are Aohema's calamity...'

'You can't escape, you spearsmen's dogfly!'

'Wandi seemed long accustomed to these insults, calmly walking past those people without paying them any mind. But when they reached a street corner, an extremely strong smell of blood forced him to stop.'