Chapter 413: The First Kill of the Seven Kills

Dong Zhao was not a petty person.

If a disciple truly surpassed him, that would be the student exceeding the master—he would be delighted.

But Xu Jin—

This was no longer the student exceeding the master.

This was surpassing the master by multiples.

Several times over.

It left Dong Zhao utterly heartbroken.

He estimated it would take him one day to deconstruct and deduce the first star pattern of the Seven Kill Dragon Stake.

Five star patterns, at fastest, would take five days.

Yet Xu Jin—after only five hours, even counting half a day as an upper bound—had already fully deconstructed and deduced all five star patterns.

At least ten times his talent!

Only because Dong Zhao had spent several years in the depths of despair had his temperament been fully tempered.

Otherwise, this gap would have shattered his Dao heart outright.

He had once been among the absolute top geniuses of the Chen Guo Dao Academy.

Gao Jie Zhang Lin was now an elite genius of the Heavenly Sun Star Palace.

For several years, he had firmly overshadowed Zhang Lin.

If Xu Jin had merely surpassed him by half a percent, one percent, even two or three or five percent, he could have accepted it.

He would have been delighted!

But now—he wanted to curse.

It was too devastating!

Dong Zhao had once believed he was among the tiniest handful of greatest geniuses in this world.

Now, he had been crushed by Xu Jin.

After several deep breaths, Dong Zhao steadied his emotions and began studying the jade tablet Xu Jin had given him.

Copying the work naturally went quickly.

But it made Dong Zhao even more heartbroken.

He himself had spent half a day copying.

Yet Xu Jin had spent only half a day total—deconstructing and deducing.

Half a day later, the set of jade tablets was passed to Liu Qingzhu.

Liu Qingzhu took most of a day before passing it to the next person, but Dong Zhao had already crafted his own set of Seven Kill Dragon Stake jade tablets and began distributing them as well.

By the time Liu Qingzhu passed the Seven Kill Dragon Stake star jade tablets to the next person, Xu Jin had already deconstructed and deduced the second layer of the Seven Kill Dragon Stake.

The second layer's star technique added one more star pattern, and all star patterns had been upgraded from fourth-tier upper to fifth-tier upper.

For Xu Jin, the difficulty was minor.

In just two days, Xu Jin completed the second layer.

According to the progression of the second trial of the Seven Kill Secret Realm.

Successfully casting the Seven Kill Dragon Stake once would allow direct passage to the next trial.

But Xu Jin was in no hurry.

The third layer was mandatory.

He even wanted to attempt the fourth layer.

The third layer of the Seven Kill Dragon Stake still had six star patterns, but each pattern had been upgraded to sixth-tier upper.

For Xu Jin, the difficulty remained minor.

Two days later, within the star core of his lower star palace, all star patterns of the Seven Kill Dragon Stake were fully inscribed at sixth-tier upper, and he had cultivated it to the third layer.

Now, Xu Jin could activate the Seven Kill Dragon Stake at any moment.

He had fully understood its function.

Unlike the Blood Puppet.

The Blood Puppet required time to forge, required personal blood essence, and after activation, could form an illusion and escape a thousand meters away.

But the Seven Kill Dragon Stake required prior setup.

The "dragon stake" in the Seven Kill Dragon Stake was, in fact, a spatial marker.

For example, at his current location, Xu Jin could mark and refine that spot through the Seven Kill Dragon Stake star technique into a spatial marker—what he called a stake position.

Within ten thousand meters, in an emergency, he could activate it instantly.

Moreover, the greatest difference between the first and third layers was that the first layer could only establish one stake position, while the third layer could establish three.

If used well, this star technique was absolutely a life-saving artifact!

Provided one had cultivated it to the third layer.

And the fourth layer's effect would certainly surpass the third.

Especially in range!

The Seven Kill Secret Realm's description mentioned a hundred-li range—if pre-set, this wouldn't just be a life-saving artifact; it could even become a devastating weapon.

Therefore, Xu Jin was determined to obtain the fourth layer of the Seven Kill Dragon Stake.

The next instant, Xu Jin began deducing and studying the fourth layer of the Seven Kill Dragon Stake.

The fourth layer's star patterns were all seventh-tier upper.

Once star patterns surpassed seventh-tier, the difficulty multiplied.

Even for Xu Jin, his research and deduction speed slowed considerably.

Three days!

Xu Jin watched the evolving Seven Kill Dragon Stake star technique in the sky—the first star pattern took a full three days to ascend from sixth-tier upper to seventh-tier upper.

This was pure accumulation bearing fruit—and now it was truly testing his talent.

Earlier deconstruction and deduction had been aided by the Can Dou Terrace Star Lamp.

Here, he relied solely on his own accumulation.

He relied on his mastery in this field.

The six star patterns—later ones took slightly less time, yet still required fifteen days total.

When the fourth layer of the Seven Kill Dragon Stake star technique was fully inscribed, one day remained until the end of the second trial of the Seven Kill Secret Realm.

Some had already passed through and left the second trial's spatial realm.

The reason was simple: learning the first layer of the Seven Kill Dragon Stake had already consumed most of the time; the second layer was impossible.

Better to advance early and see if any benefits remained.

Beside Xu Jin, Dong Zhao, watching Xu Jin open his eyes after days of heartbreak, hurriedly asked, "How far have you deduced it?"

"I completed the third layer only a few days ago—the fourth layer is too difficult."

In the end, Xu Jin held back and did not mention the fourth layer.

Mainly because he had seen Dong Zhao's heartbroken expression and didn't wish to further discourage his headmaster.

Hearing this, Dong Zhao nodded and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

At least, in the final outcome, he wasn't too far behind.

He had barely deduced and learned the third layer, though he hadn't yet inscribed it successfully—but it wouldn't take long.

His result was roughly the same as Xu Jin's, though he had benefited from Xu Jin's help, saving at least five days.

He knew well that his gap with Xu Jin was still enormous.

But it was no longer the despair-inducing chasm it had been at first.

Not like heaven and earth.

"I have no hope of reaching the third layer—I only finished the second layer six days ago," said Liu Qingzhu beside them.

This was perfectly normal—Liu Qingzhu's talent was slightly inferior to Dong Zhao's, yet superior to most other disciples.

"Then I'll go ahead."

Xu Jin spoke to the two teachers, then activated the Seven Kill Dragon Stake star technique with a thought—in that instant, starlight flashed before his eyes, and his body vanished from the spot.

【Congratulations. You have fully comprehended the third layer of the Seven Kill Dragon Stake. Your comprehension ability is among the rarest in the human race. In the subsequent trials, if you are killed in battle and eliminated, you will have three chances to resurrect.

Of course, you may also choose to leave the Seven Kill Secret Realm alive.】

The starlight faded, and the message left Xu Jin pondering.

This implied that the coming trials would likely involve mortal danger. Yet those who reached later trials were at least elites who had comprehended the first layer of the Seven Kill Dragon Stake.

In other words, everyone had gained at least one resurrection chance.

But they could choose whether to continue or leave.

If they chose to leave, they could survive.

If they chose to continue and died again, they would truly die.

From this, the Seven Kill True Person, though named "Seven Kill," was no madman obsessed only with slaughter.

He had still left a path to survival for the elite participants of the Seven Kill Secret Realm.

Xu Jin surveyed his surroundings.

The Seven Kill Secret Realm was strange—his Ming Ji Star Pattern's sensing range could not penetrate outward; it sensed very little, yet when he looked across, the distance felt immense.

He didn't know how large it truly was.

If real combat began, he didn't know how vast the space would be.

If it's large enough, that's fine.

Then there's room for various tactical depths.

But if the space is too small, the cultivation advantages of the eighth-rank powerhouse Qu Xuan and the seventh-rank powerhouse become too great.

At this moment, nearing the end of the second trial, the star-gate space visible to Xu Jin contained the Jin Zhu aliens, as well as disciples from the Tianyang Star Temple and the Chen Guo Dao Academy.

Only about half the disciples had successfully passed.

The other half remained inside the second trial.

But that doesn't mean those still inside are destined for elimination.

On the contrary, those who passed early mostly only mastered the first level of the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes.

Those still inside now are either still working out the second or even third level, or are stuck at the first level.

Yet based on Xu Jin's own deductions:

Those who complete the third level are likely very few.

The number who complete the second level should not be small.

Someone like him, who completed the fourth level—there probably isn't anyone else, right?

Then, Xu Jin took out a small amount of clean water and dried meat from his Numinous Space and slowly chewed, replenishing his body's needs.

Even at fifth or sixth rank, one cannot completely forgo food.

But the frequency of eating has been drastically reduced.

【Countdown for the Second Trial of the Seven Kill Realm has begun. Those who fail to successfully activate the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes before the countdown ends are deemed eliminated!】

【The Seven Kill Dragon Stakes is a secret transmission of the Seven Kill True Person. Now that you have learned it, it is your fate for entering the Seven Kill Realm—but this knowledge is restricted to you alone. After the second trial, you must not transmit it to anyone.】

【I shall imprint a Soul-Sealing Constraint upon you. Those who betray my secret transmission will die instantly on the spot.】

In the next instant, over a thousand beams of starlight descended from the heavens and instantly sank into everyone's bodies.

Xu Jin merely felt a strange sensation atop his head when a beam of starlight entered his Shang Xing Palace.

Instantly, he felt new restraints within his Yuan Ling.

This left Xu Jin utterly stunned.

For the first time, he developed intense interest in the Seven Kill True Person's legacy!

The reason was simple: the Soul-Sealing Constraint technique Xu Jin had learned from the State Master, including the method used by the State Master with the Nine Sheng Bell, required the target's cooperation—relaxation and opening of the soul—to successfully apply the constraint.

If the target refused, the Soul-Sealing Constraint could not be applied.

But the Soul-Sealing Constraint of the Seven Kill True Person was far beyond that level.

Whether you wished it or not, a single beam of starlight descended and completed the Soul-Sealing Constraint—far superior by more than one level.

Even the Soul-Sealing Constraint technique was this advanced?

Then what of the other star techniques and secrets? Surely they were no less impressive.

According to the data transmitted by the State Master, the Four Star Temples' legacies were derived by splitting the transmission of the Ultimate Emperor into four parts, and the Ultimate Emperor's transmission originated from the Seven Kill True Person!

If Xu Jin could obtain the Seven Kill True Person's legacy, then he would bypass the Four Star Temples entirely and gain the Ultimate Emperor's transmission!

This was extremely important to Xu Jin!

Previously, the State Master had told Xu Jin that below seventh rank, legacy was not overly important.

Above seventh rank, legacy became increasingly vital.

The Chen Guo Dao Academy suffered precisely because of this.

Only recently, with Xu Jin's explosive breakthroughs and acquisition of multiple eighth-rank star runes, had the Chen Guo Dao Academy avoided being firmly overshadowed by the other Star Temples.

After a hundred breaths, the countdown for the second trial of the Seven Kill Realm ended.

Before the countdown ended, every disciple still inside the second trial successfully activated the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes and passed.

At the moment the countdown ended, only a handful of individuals from both the alien side and the Tianyang Star Temple were swept away by starlight and eliminated.

The number eliminated in this trial was extremely low—only about half a percent.

This was understandable.

Those who passed the star-gate into the Seven Kill Realm were all elite talents from their respective factions.

The second trial, the "Wu" trial, required only the comprehension and mastery of the first level of the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes, which was not difficult.

The difficulty lay in mastering the second or even third level.

Instantly, the disciples of the Chen Guo Dao Academy and the Tianyang Star Temple reappeared together in the same star-gate space.

The Tianyang Star Temple had lost five disciples, but the Chen Guo Dao Academy had lost none.

Zhang Lin, the seventh-rank disciple of the Tianyang Star Temple, was curiously observing the Chen Guo Dao Academy disciples.

Not a single one lost?

Are the Chen Guo Dao Academy disciples really that talented?

But after only a few glances, starlight appeared in the sky, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

【Second Trial of the Seven Kill Realm completed. Successful passers: 1,376.】

【Third Trial of the Seven Kill Realm: The First Kill—Kill All Beings!】

【The moment to test your true strength has arrived. Seven star paths. All of you, choose one within five breaths and step forward. Once entered, you will enter the Seven Kill Killing Ground.】

【Within the Seven Kill Killing Grounds, all rules are void.】

【The top thirty survivors with the longest time alive in each of the seven Seven Kill Killing Grounds will advance to the Fourth Trial!】

The rules of the third trial appeared one by one, and as the crowd began to discuss, each person suddenly saw seven starlit paths appear before them.

Everyone had them.

Almost instantly, those who understood the rules turned their gazes toward the eighth-rank alien, Qu Xuan, within the alien side's star-gate space.

In truth, they would be randomly assigned to one of the seven different Seven Kill Killing Grounds, then free to kill anyone.

The top thirty survivors with the longest time alive would advance.

The role of luck here was enormous.

If you were paired with allies—say, Xu Jin, Dong Zhao, and Liu Qingzhu—you could hold out even against seventh-rank opponents.

But if luck turned bad—separated from allies, or worse, matched against the Jin Zhu alien Qu Xuan—you were doomed.

Precisely put: whoever drew Qu Xuan was in terrible luck.

But one in seven was destined to suffer this fate.

【Within five breaths, choose one path and step forward. Those who do not enter are immediately eliminated.】

Starlight shimmered before everyone.

But Xu Jin's heart stirred—he activated the special star technique, Heavenly Sense, of his Ming Ji Star Rune once more.

He wanted to see if Heavenly Sense could give him a fortune reading!

All he needed was to avoid the eighth-rank Jin Zhu alien.

If he could enter the same killing ground as Dong Zhao and Liu Qingzhu, that would be even better!

But the instant he activated Heavenly Sense, Xu Jin froze.

(End of Chapter)