Chapter 1200 - Testing the Heart
Beneath the dome of heaven, purple thunderclouds churned.
That bronze palace stood proud atop the thunderclouds, emanating an air of eternity.
The dark-robed man with graying temples was still crouched before the palace.
A curtain of light flowed before him, displaying images of the six Enforcers’ attempt to surround Su Yi.
It was only after watching Su Yi disappear from view that the dark-robed man let out a long breath. He muttered to himself, “I wouldn’t have guessed he had such a powerful card up his sleeves...”
He sank into deep thought. A while later, he suddenly rose and disappeared without a trace.
......
The peak of a solitary black mountain.
Bloody mist permeated the air.
The bony old man in hemp clothes sat cross-legged by a cliffside peak. The bright-red sword case he typically carried on his back now lay across his lap.
He gazed into the distance, his aged face mottled with the marks of countless years.
His brow was tightly furrowed, as if he’d encountered a problem he simply couldn’t wrap his head around.
“You can’t figure it out, can you?” The man in dark robes appeared out of nowhere.
“I don’t need to understand.” The old man’s tightly furrowed brow gradually relaxed. He said indifferently, “A badly injured trial-taker cannot possibly overcome the path of trials. That’s enough.”
“Oh?” said the man in dark robes. “Well, you see, I am inclined to disagree. Just now, there was absolutely no need for him to fight the Enforcers. With his abilities, he could have proceeded directly to the path of trials. But... he didn’t do so. Instead, he chose to remain behind and clash with the Enforcers. Why would he do that?”
The old man’s gaze was indifferent, and he said nothing.
The dark-robed man smiled, not at all concerned. “I’m sure you’ve long since realized why. He used their battle to temper his cultivation base. His goal was surely to prepare to prove his Dao and become a World King.”
The old man said expressionlessly, “Just what are you trying to say?”
The dark-robed man pondered briefly, and his smile faded. “What I’m trying to say is, change course before it's too late. Wait and see, then adapt.”
The old man slowly looked up and gazed at the nearby man in dark robes. “Did I in any way assist Jin Chi and the other Enforcers in targeting that trial-taker?”
The dark-robed man stroked his jaw. “No, but you overlooked it. To the Enforcers, that’s equivalent to giving them your tacit consent.”
The old man disregarded this. He asked, “Did I ever violate Venerate Flooding Heaven’s rules?”
The dark-robed man furrowed his brow, his tone containing a hint of displeasure. “You and I can achieve quite a lot within the bounds of the rules. There’s no need to violate them.”
The old man looked down at the bright red sword case across his lap. “I’ll just say this. Everything I do is within the bounds of Venerate Flooding Heaven’s rules.”
The dark-robed man instantly fell silent.
After a while, he smiled. “Very well!”
With that, he turned and left.
It was only after the dark-robed man disappeared that the elder gently brushed his fingers across the red sword case and whispered, “I just hope you won’t force me to draw my sword against you.”
......
When Su Yi appeared on the path of trials, he discovered he now stood within a mysterious stretch of stars.
The starry skies were boundless, cold, and still.
A road of the light of the Grand Dao stretched out before him, stretching endlessly into the distance.
Su Yi looked around. As far as the eye could see, he saw nothing but countless distant stars, flickering in and out of view.
“An illusory hidden realm constructed out of the power of the Laws.” Su Yi determined the true nature of the path of trials at a glance.
In the peak orthodoxies of the stars, there was no shortage of similar testing grounds. Sects used them to choose the best of their disciples.
The path of trials traversing these illusory stars was obviously much the same.
However, it was even more mystical by comparison; it was obviously formed out of the power of the Dark and Gold Star Realm’s chaos source!
Su Yi took out a bottle of medicine and poured it all down his throat. Afterward, he sensed his wounds and all but depleted cultivation base. Despite himself, he frowned.
Still, that grand battle had fully excavated all of his deeply hidden latent potential. This latent potential now transformed into dense life force, and it was currently coursing through his entire body.
As the power of the medicine he’d just taken coursed through him, his wounds knit together at shocking speeds.
Boom!
Suddenly, a strange boom exploded through the stars, like the beating of a drum.
The cold, lonely void trembled, and the path of trials swayed beneath his feet. Swaths of a rain of immortal light arose, dreamlike and ethereal.
“Trial-taker, the first trial tests the heart.”
A spirit sparrow with colorful feathers floated into view. It was the very same sparrow manifested of the Laws that Su Yi had met earlier.
“If you can’t last at least seven and a half minutes, you’ll be disqualified,” said the sparrow. Just like before, its voice lacked even the slightest emotional fluctuation. “Those who last enough time to burn a stick of incense can carve their names on the Heart-Inquiring Stele.”
As it spoke, the distant rain of immortal light condensed into a simple, old-fashioned stone stele.
Name after name appeared on its surface, but they were obscured by mists of chaos, preventing Su Yi from seeing just who they belonged to.
There was no doubt about it. This was the Heart-Inquiring Stele!
“The longer you hold out, the higher your rank on the Heart-Inquiring Stele, and the greater the good fortune you’ll receive after undergoing the path of trials.
“Those who place in the top three will also receive an additional reward left here by Venerate Flooding Heavens.”
Su Yi didn’t find this at all strange. He’d seen countless tests much like this one, and he’d long since grown accustomed to them.
“What are those bonus prizes?” Su Yi asked with great interest.
The sparrow said expressionlessly, “You’ll naturally know after you place amongst the top three.”
Su Yi rubbed his nose. “Let’s begin, then.”
The sparrow gently beat its wings.
Bang!!
That sound like the beating of a drum rang out once more, like the ancient, wondrous sound of the Grand Dao reverberating throughout the void.
Su Yi felt as if raging tidal waves were assailing him from all sides, slamming ruthlessly against his mental state.
This was a manifestation of the power of the Laws, and it was targeting his heart. It was extremely terrifying, and it could easily have shaken just about anyone’s Dao Heart, invading their mind and soul!
But to Su Yi, this “shock” amounted to little more than a breeze brushing against his cheek.
He cast aside his scattered thoughts and emptied his mind. Having done this, the trial could no longer influence him in the slightest.
He was like a boulder planted on the shore. No matter how the wind and waves assailed him, they couldn’t shake him!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The beating of the drum continued relentlessly.
The formless power of the Laws sometimes transformed into raging thunder and lightning. Other times, it was an explosive sea of flame. Other times, it was a towering, all-encompassing windstorm.
No matter its form, it continuously struck Su Yi’s heart. Each attack was stronger and more terrifying than the one before.
Su Yi stood there in silence, but he found this awfully dull.
When it came to mental fortitude, well, he had three lifetimes worth of experience, and he could gaze down upon everyone in the Wilds with pride. Even the World Kings of the stars beyond would have been ashamed of their own inferiority!
A test like this might have shaken other experts’ hearts, minds, and souls, but to Su Yi, it wasn’t even worth looking at.
Never mind shaking his Dao Heart; this couldn’t even disrupt it. The attacks amounted to no more than floating lights and shadows, as ethereal as flowers reflected in glass or the moon reflected on the surface of the water.
He was even bored enough to actively take in and examine the power assailing his mind...
Time slipped by, and before long, seven and a half minutes were up.
“That’s all?” Su Yi couldn’t help but ask.
The spirit sparrow was briefly stunned. Only then did it understand what Su Yi meant.
“Seven and a half minutes, that’s all,” it said coldly. “Do you really think the trial of the heart is so easy?”
“Oh,” said Su Yi. He went right ahead and sat cross-legged, then started treating his wounds.
“???” The sparrow was dumbstruck. Is this guy... seriously this arrogant?
A moment later, its eyes shone with dense mockery, and it prepared to watch the show.
Over the years, the trial-takers included no shortage of shockingly talented, prideful geniuses and unparalleled hegemons of their eras...
But no matter who they were, none of them dared get complacent during the trial of the heart!
Even so, less than one in a hundred lasted long enough to burn a stick of incense.
Those in the top three all relied on their unsurpassed willpower and staunch Dao Hearts to endure this torment.
Yet now, a young Imperial Apex cultivator made no effort to shore up his Dao Heart. He even expressed disdain for the trial of the heart, and now, he was dividing his attention by tending to his wounds...
This was far too arrogant!
The sparrow was already downright eager to watch this arrogant youngster fall flat on his face.
Time slipped by.
When enough time to burn a stick of incense passed, the sparrow was dumbstruck.
Su Yi was continuously tending to his wounds, his expression tranquil. From time to time, he took out bottles of medicine. The rest of his time he spent seated quietly, even leisurely, as if he were undergoing seclusion in his own immortal cave. He couldn’t have been any more composed.
From beginning to end, it seemed he wasn’t affected in the slightest!
“How is this possible!?” The spirit sparrow obviously couldn’t accept this. It was startled and bewildered.
Two hours later.
Su Yi’s wounds were more than half recovered, and his cultivation base was nearing its peak condition.
The sound of the Dao rang out in rapid succession, like the beating of a drum. It shook the starry skies, swaying the entire path of trials.
It was easy to imagine how terrifying a shock this was to the Dao Heart.
Yet Su Yi seemed entirely unperturbed. He silently opened his eyes and said, “There’s something I’d like to ask you about.”
The sparrow’s eyes bulged, and it jumped. “You... You can still speak? You’re not... affected at all?”
My heavens! How much time has it been? A full two hours!?
But this guy doesn’t seem shaken at all!? How firm must his Dao Heart be to remain this composed?
Su Yi could tell how surprised the sparrow was, and he couldn’t help but smile. In an uncharacteristic display of modesty, he said, “This isn’t much.”
“You’re seriously saying this isn’t much!?” The sparrow covered its forehead with its wings, looking at a complete loss for words.
He’d held out for two hours. That placed him solidly in the top ten on the Heart-Inquiring Stele!
And he was competing against others who’d taken this trial; less than one in a thousand trial takers made it here!
Yet now, this young man was saying it didn’t amount to much...
Su Yi couldn’t help but arch his brow. The spirit sparrow is obviously just a manifestation of the Laws, but it’s acting like a true living creature full of spirituality.
But it’s far too jumpy. It’s freaking out over every little thing. It’s unseemly.
A moment later, Su Yi understood. The sparrow is most likely imitating the emotions of true living creatures; these aren’t its real emotions.
After all, Laws can’t form spirits...
As Su Yi pondered, he took out a jug of wine and drank with relish.
“You... you can actually still drink wine!?” The sparrow exclaimed.
Su Yi couldn’t help but find this funny, and he really couldn't be bothered to feign modesty any further. “Let’s put it like this. Even if Venerate Flooding Heavens was here, he could forget about shaking my heart.”
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