Chapter 414: Hell Difficulty

Under the celestial resonance, the seven starlight paths before Xu Jin surged with ominous tides.

This outcome left Xu Jin utterly stunned.

Had the Celestial Resonance star technique failed?

Or were all seven starlight paths utterly dire?

Above, the countdown was rapidly dwindling; some had already stepped onto the starlight paths.

"We all step onto the third starlight path," Master Dong Zhao's voice echoed in Xu Jin's mind; Xu Jin gave a slight nod.

It was a last-resort measure.

Now, it depended on whether the three of them could regroup.

In the next instant, Xu Jin, Dong Zhao, and Liu Qingzhu simultaneously stepped into the third starlight path before them.

Amidst flickering starlight, Xu Jin felt his body grow light and found himself in another realm.

This realm was vast beyond measure.

He could not see its limits, yet the combat zone's boundaries remained unknown.

The instant Xu Jin landed, he casually shot out four streaks of starlight in all directions—but all four vanished one meter from his body.

Xu Jin tried to move, but found an invisible barrier blocking him one meter ahead.

He could not leave.

This left Xu Jin somewhat helpless.

His original plan had been to immediately plant two or three markers of the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes upon entry, for emergency use.

But he hadn't expected to be immobilized.

He could only wait for the third trial's Arena of All Beings to begin.

In the sky, a countdown had appeared—100 breaths remaining.

Around him, starlight continuously rained down.

Though Xu Jin could not move, his Mingji Star Pattern could extend far to sense the aura of those landing.

So far, the highest cultivation base among the landed elites was Sixth Stage peak.

They posed little threat to Xu Jin.

Although Sixth Stage peak human elites were far stronger than most alien Sixth Stage peaks,

with his current strength, even if he could not kill a human Sixth Stage peak, escaping alive was no issue.

Xu Jin had this much confidence.

Over a dozen Jin Zhu aliens had landed.

Suddenly, Xu Jin's heart jolted—a Seventh Stage aura descended.

The moment it landed, Xu Jin inwardly sighed: the danger of the Celestial Resonance likely stemmed from Seventh Stage.

How fitting—it was truly fate bringing enemies together.

Zhang Lin, the supreme prodigy of the Sun Star Temple, Seventh Stage Fourth Layer.

When Zhang Lin saw Xu Jin, he sneered coldly.

Within this Seven Kill Arena, a Seventh Stage mid-tier like him could eliminate anyone he chose.

Eliminating several disciples of the Chen Guo Dao Academy was inevitable.

Especially after news spread that Emperor Qian'an of Chen Guo had been assassinated by the Sun Star Temple, relations between the Sun Star Temple and Chen Guo had rapidly deteriorated.

The murder of a monarch was blood vengeance!

It was national shame!

In the future, no matter when, Chen Guo would inevitably face a bloody war with either the Sun Star Temple or Da Hong.

Either Chen Guo would defeat Da Hong and the Sun Star Temple, avenging this national disgrace,

or the Sun Star Temple and Da Hong would cripple Chen Guo once more and subdue it.

Either way, war was certain.

This could not be changed.

Thus, since the news broke, hostility and conflict between Chen Guo and the Sun Star Temple had multiplied exponentially.

Since war was inevitable, now was the time to constantly weaken the enemy's strength.

Why not seize such an easy opportunity?

Unfortunately, all who entered the third trial had at least mastered the first layer of the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes—meaning every entrant gained one chance to resurrect and return within the Seven Kill Secret Realm.

According to the rules, this meant that even if killed, an opponent could resurrect at least once.

They could choose to withdraw or re-enter the battle.

That depended on personal choice.

To Zhang Lin, this was regrettable.

Even if he killed Chen Guo Dao Academy elites, he could only eliminate them—not truly kill them.

Of course, if any foolhardy soul chose to return after resurrecting, he'd be delighted to deliver another fatal blow.

The complete weakening of Chen Guo's elite forces had become a consensus among the Sun Star Temple's high ranks.

Watching Zhang Lin's murderous gaze, Xu Jin frowned slightly—then silently activated the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes, planting a stake beneath his feet.

That was the first marker.

After battle began, he could flee swiftly; if danger arose, he could return here.

After planting the stake, Xu Jin activated his sensing to locate his own Dragon Stakes.

He wanted to see if destruction was possible.

After several breaths, Xu Jin realized that ordinary soul-sensing power, no matter how strong, could not detect the spatial markers of the Dragon Stakes.

But with slight activation of the Mingji Star Pattern, he could sense their presence.

A burst of star power could destroy them.

Conclusion: the Dragon Stakes were not undetectable—they could be destroyed, but required time.

Only someone conducting a systematic search or possessing a Mingji Star Pattern as powerful as Xu Jin's could destroy them.

Under these conditions, the Dragon Stakes' life-saving ability was extremely practical.

Especially since Xu Jin had mastered the fourth layer of the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes—he could now plant five stakes simultaneously!

The third layer allowed three, the second layer two, and the first layer only one.

If he planted all five, it would still be extremely useful.

As Xu Jin pondered, another Seventh Stage mid-tier aura descended.

Xu Jin looked and grinned.

A massive golden horn atop its head—another Seventh Stage mid-tier Jin Zhu alien had entered this Seven Kill Arena.

Excellent!

This was a great boon for Xu Jin.

The likelihood of two Seventh Stages clashing was high.

Xu Jin's chances of survival increased.

Zhang Lin's expression also shifted slightly, yet he remained confident.

He was the Sun Star Temple's peerless prodigy; though his cultivation was only Seventh Stage mid-tier, his combat power far exceeded that of a normal Seventh Stage.

Just another alien Seventh Stage.

But in the next instant, as a vast and terrifying aura descended, both Xu Jin and Zhang Lin's faces turned grim.

The human elites in this Seven Kill Arena all wore expressions of terror!

Eighth Stage!

Ju Xuan, the Eighth Stage Jin Zhu warrior.

The moment he landed, Ju Xuan scanned the surroundings; his gaze swept past Zhang Lin, Seventh Stage, then landed on Xu Jin—and he chuckled.

"Qi Tian Sheng, what a coincidence!"

"Indeed, quite a coincidence!"

Xu Jin wanted to curse—how had he stepped on such a massive landmine? —but his face remained smiling.

He could not lose face.

Hearing this, Ju Xuan pointed at the countdown above, "While there's still time, answer my three questions honestly, and I'll spare your life later—how about that?"

Xu Jin paused.

That counterattack was swift.

Here it came!

But as always—don't lose face!

First, with so many witnesses, Xu Jin couldn't possibly comply; Ju Xuan's questions would be critical or sensitive. Second, even if he did comply, Ju Xuan could simply kill him on the spot—where would Xu Jin appeal then?

The dead have no right to argue!

So, don't lose face.

"Ju Xuan, I'll say the same: while there's still time, if you answer my three questions honestly, I'll spare your life later—how about that?" Xu Jin retorted firmly.

Ju Xuan frowned—he was truly enraged.

There truly were humans this arrogant!

But in the next instant, Ju Xuan laughed as he looked at Xu Jin, "Fine. You've got guts.

I wonder if your skull is as hard as your mouth."

The battle begins soon!

I won't kill anyone else—I'll kill you first!

I'll test for myself whether you're tough-tongued or tough-boned!

After saying this, Ju Xuan expected Xu Jin to fear, to tremble—but instead, Xu Jin merely laughed once and spoke four words.

"Come try!"

"Hahaha, good, good, excellent! I absolutely must try!"

Ju Xuan threw back his head and laughed loudly; at once, his terrifying aura locked onto Xu Jin.

Seeing this, not only the disciples of the Chen Guo Dao Academy, but even the elites of the Tianyang Star Palace, Cangming Star Palace, and Zhen'e Star Palace all raised their thumbs toward Xu Jin!

So gutsy!

Even seventh-rank Zhang Lin felt a hint of admiration for Xu Jin.

Yet, alongside that admiration, he began strategizing.

If the eighth-rank Ju Xuan truly chased this Chen Guo Dao Academy's Qitian Sheng, he'd likely have one to three breaths.

This would be the longest the fifth-rank Qitian Sheng could possibly hold out against an eighth-rank Ju Xuan.

Within that one-to-three-breath window, he must kill as many other elites as possible.

The rule for this third trial: the thirty survivors advance.

That means reducing the number of combatants in this killing ground to thirty.

That is the primary objective.

Achieve this, and he enters the next stage—then perhaps he can face the eighth-rank Ju Xuan and test his mettle.

At the same moment, Xu Jin's mind was racing.

This wasn't just stepping on a mine.

This was walking straight into a nest of them.

The eighth-rank Ju Xuan clearly intended to target him from the start; thus, the moment battle began, the situation would turn dire.

If Ju Xuan kept targeting him, kept hunting him, even five or ten chances at resurrection wouldn't be enough.

But passing the third trial was mandatory for Xu Jin.

Strategy and tactics had become critically important!

Looking all around, usable terrain factors were extremely scarce.

At this point, the only exploitable factor was the other combatants present.

In an instant, Xu Jin formulated his basic tactic.

And he set his target!

He didn't need to kill the eighth-rank Ju Xuan—he only needed to survive until thirty remained in this killing ground.

Xu Jin began assessing the overall situation.

The total number of elites assigned to this killing ground: 213.

Among them: one eighth-rank, two seventh-ranks, twenty-two sixth-ranks; the rest were fifth- and fourth-rank elites.

These were the only elements Xu Jin could use.

The countdown in the sky had entered single digits.

Xu Jin took a deep breath; the Yumu Jin Zhong glowed, the Seven-Star Huoxi Armor surfaced on his skin, and his back revealed the Thunder Wings.

"Hmm?"

The moment the Thunder Wings appeared, their aura caused Zhang Lin's expression to flicker slightly.

Very strong.

Just these few defenses, this Qitian Sheng already surpassed most here.

But Xu Jin paid no heed.

The first step in the coming battle was crucial.

I hope the killing ground's space isn't too small—if it is, this will be super-difficulty hell!

The next instant, the countdown vanished from the sky.

Almost simultaneously, Xu Jin, who had been activating the Mingji Star Pattern to sense his surroundings, felt the spatial barriers disappear.

BOOM!

Xu Jin moved!

With a single beat of his Thunder Wings, eight thunder shadows shot off in eight directions.

Lei Yuan, Lei Xiang, Lei Yi, Lei Dun, Xu Ying.

These five Star Patterns, refined into the Thunder Shadow Escape Star Pattern, had immense battlefield value.

The instant thunder roared, the eighth-rank Ju Xuan, surrounded by swirling starlight, momentarily hesitated.

Thunder Shadow clones.

That did disrupt him.

But only for an instant.

The next instant, Ju Xuan shot forward—and instantly split into eight, chasing each of Xu Jin's eight thunder shadows.

In barely a breath, Ju Xuan laughed, "Good kid—I found you!"

When the eight thunder shadow clones were activated, all eight moved at identical speed—but after one breath, their speeds diverged.

The clones kept their original pace, but Xu Jin's true body moved far faster.

Ju Xuan's clones caught up to seven of Xu Jin's clones and swiftly destroyed them.

Only Xu Jin's true body remained.

Yet now, the true value of Xu Jin's Thunder Shadow Escape manifested.

Though Ju Xuan had shattered the Thunder Shadow Escape, his true body had chased the wrong direction—granting Xu Jin the initiative.

At least one breath of initiative.

The next instant, as Xu Jin activated the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes once more, his Thunder Wings beat again, triggering Thunder Shadow Escape once more—eight new thunder shadows scattered in all directions.

At the same moment, Zhang Lin saw the eighth-rank Ju Xuan lured away by Xu Jin; instantly, he activated his star force and began slaughtering.

For a powerhouse like Zhang Lin, anyone below seventh-rank was no challenge.

Even a sixth-rank peak who could survive two blows deserved his praise.

Instantly, casualties in the killing ground dropped rapidly.

When fifth- and sixth-rank elite outsiders—including non-Tianyang Star Palace elites—were slain, their bodies dissolved into starlight, and a prompt appeared before their eyes.

Leave—or continue fighting?

Leave: abandon competition for the Seven Kill Secret Realm's inheritance, but survive.

Continue fighting: respawn and keep battling for the Seven Kill inheritance.

But next death? Truly final.

Many wise ones—especially elites who had only mastered the first layer of Seven Kill Dragon Stakes—wisely chose to leave.

They'd already gained the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes Star Art—good enough.

This killing ground had an eighth-rank presence—it was super-difficulty mode; no need to die!

Only with life can you have everything.

Without life, all is void.

The Divine Dao's essence belongs to the Star Lord—your life belongs to you.

Many, after their first death, chose to leave immediately.

Of course, a few greedy fools gambled on luck.

With such high attrition—if he could survive among the top thirty?

So some chose to risk re-entering.

But the instant their bodies reappeared, their protective starlight barely flared—before being swept away by the seventh-rank Jin Zhu outsider's starlight.

Flesh and blood flew!

Horrific death!

This time—it was truly, irrevocably dead!

Casualties had begun.

And the very moment the first casualty occurred, Xu Jin, having just activated Thunder Shadow Escape again, was caught by the eighth-rank Ju Xuan!

He'd caught the true body!

Xu Jin was fast—but still slower than the eighth-rank Ju Xuan.

"Boy, kneel now and call me ancestor—you still have time!" Ju Xuan laughed as a golden net of light descended over Xu Jin's head.

(End of Chapter)