Somewhere on Earth...
Nine oil lamps were floating in the air. Inside each oil lamp, a small flame could be seen burning bright and gently. Suddenly, the light shook, and one oil lamp went on and off.
"Yet another one?"
Beside the lamp, a man stood with his hands behind him, watching quietly like a wise man. However, at this time, if someone is to look behind him, he will definitely be scared that his soul left his body.
Blood.
Endless blood.
With your eyes, any spot that you can see is all dyed in blood.
Corpses were everywhere!
If there is any esper present, one could easily recognize this man. Among the countless dead people here, the number of world espers wasn't small, and quite a number of them were well-known legends.
All these people met their end here.
A cold breeze blew by.
That man's fingers were shaking as if he was impatient. On his side was an old skull. Even after death, that skull's eyes were full of monstrous killing intent and unwillingness. That face that will never show any change again was an even more familiar face to the Federation, the Tian family's old ancestor!
"Glory Rule..." That man murmured to himself, "This is really something that gave me a headache. Hehe, if not because of this rule left by that guy, with the human's nature of loving to fight among themselves, they would have long self-destructed. However, it's fine. Once the Nine Great Despairs appears, that day will be coming soon."
"I'm really looking forward to it."
"Humanity..."
"Those will be your last days, cherish them well."
Boom!
Lightning struck down the sky as if it was growling at the man's disrespectful words.
That man raised his head, looking at the clear sky. All he did was reveal a mocking smile. On his face, countless patterns appeared, spreading along his skin, which added a more mysterious aura to him. If a world esper is to witness this scene, one would be horrified.
This was because those patterns represented a terrifying meaning.
Peak Emperor-ranked.
****
Taihu Territory.
Finally, there was no one new coming. At this moment, there were a total of 50 people participating on this trip to Taihu Territory. There were 28 world realm powerhouses, and 22 of them had brought a single disciple. As for the remaining 6 people, they were those new world espers who came here for themselves.
"This exceeds my expectations."
"Last time, there were only forty people. It seems that the outbreak of origin energy has brought quite a lot of effects in recent years."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Since the eruption of origin energy, the overall speed of cultivation accelerated. Whether they are geniuses or mediocre, their cultivation speed has begun to increase. This can be seen from the strength of the college entrance exam year by year. In the future, humanity would only grow stronger!
"I suddenly feel thankful that Taihu Territory opened in advance." One man said, causing the crowd to laugh.
But wasn't it the truth? If not for this accident that caused many to be unready, there might be over a hundred people entering Taihu Territory when it opens next year! By then, one can imagine how fierce the competition would be, and the rewards shared among the disciples would be even lesser.
"Hmmphh." A man grumphed, "Whether it's opened in advance or not, the glory of Taihu Territory belongs to my disciple."
"Being ignorant is terrifying." King of Fire suddenly said with emotion, "Being too proud isn't a good thing."
When the crowd looked over, one could see how arrogant that man was.
Obviously this was coming from an absolute self-confidence in himself. He believed that his own disciple is a peerless genius that being first ranked is needless to be said. Everyone subconsciously placed their gaze on Wan Cheng. The strengths of the other disciples were unclear, but this guy named Wan Cheng was truly strong.
Wan Cheng smiled indifferently and stayed silent as always.
"This is definitely a formidable opponent."
Those geniuses were at a loss.
He was unobtrusive and introverted by nature. Under everyone's eyes, he was as calm as ever. Many people regarded Wan Cheng as their sole goal. Perhaps, in their prideful eyes, only such people are qualified to be their opponents.
As for Su Hao...
He just watched this scene with a smile.
Although his strength wasn't bad, in this Taihu Territory with so much uncertainty, to expose his actual strength is a true way to court death. Before obtaining his benefits, all he had to do is keep a low profile. As he raised his head, his eyes happened to meet Chen Ge's smile.
This pair of old and young foxes looked at each other with a smile.
"It's almost time." King of Fire looked toward the lake, "It's time to go in. If everyone here has already made ample preparation, how about allowing me to start first?"
Everyone agreed.
King of Fire gently flicked at an empty place, and countless crackling sounds rang. On the lake surface of Taihu Territory, ten huge flames suddenly emerged.
Puff~ Puff ~ Puff~
Space shook again.
"It's now!"
Buzz~
Countless world espers made their move at this second. With countless auras appearing, all of them headed toward the lake. Dozens of Rule Force were entangled with each other like a black hole. Also, one powerful boundary spirit after another went straight to the flames.
Ten flames, the light produced was so bright.
"Combine!" King of Fire merged the flames together.
Boom!
Then the flames burst.
The sudden explosion coming from those ten flames produced a bright brilliance. The dazzling red light made countless people unable to open their eyes. That terrifying merged flame literally covered the entire lake.
Swish!
The flame vanished.
Above Taihu Territory, a huge warship appeared. It was covered with blazing flames akin to a ghost warship that came from an endless void.
"This... this is..." A disciple was shocked by this scene.
A flame warship.
How could there be flames above Taihu Territory? Such a gigantic warship, is this the entry point to enter Taihu Territory?
"Indeed worthy of the title King of Fire." A world esper looked at King of Fire in a meaningful way, "I was even worried that it would fail with you taking the initiative."
"Let's go." King of Fire seemed to have ignored those words. Instead, he welcomed everyone on board. Just like that, the crowd boarded this flame warship. It was simply an empty warship, but when they stepped on it, they could feel a hard floor. The thick flame didn't seem to be harming them. Everyone looked around strangely.
"Set off!" King of Fire coldly commanded.
Boom!
The flame warship set out.
That calm lake surface of Taihu Territory suddenly became disturbed. As the flame warship burst with strong force, it caused huge waves to form.
Boom!
It braved the wind and billows.
The flame warship didn't stop, heading toward the center of Taihu Territory.
"What a powerful force."
The crowd couldn't help but be amazed, especially those disciples who were still in the domain realm. For the first time ever, they witnessed such a move. Creating a warship out of thin air! Is this the power of a world esper? King of Fire, a second level world esper actually had such a heaven-defying method?
This isn't right.
Su Hao's eyes narrowed. Recalling the scene when everyone made a joint move, he suddenly had an idea.
"Ten boundary spirits." Su Hao realized, "Is this the basic element to create a world?"
"You're indeed smart." Chen Ge explained indifferently, "Ordinary boundary spirits are not qualified to travel through Taihu Territory. This boundary spirit can only be completed after creating a structure of a world out of ten boundary spirits."
"This method, King of Fire might not be capable of completing it himself. What he did was to create a framework. As for the ones supporting the ten boundary spirits, they were probably every world espers' boundary spirits."
Su Hao instantly understood, "Although this flame warship is controlled by King of Fire, the core of this ship was the work of every world esper here!"
"You're right, haha." Chen Ge laughed, "This is also why you all are safe."
Su Hao pondered, "Each support point here exists thanks to the world esper's boundary spirit. Similarly, if something happens..."
"The flame warship will collapse."
"Then, doesn't that mean Taihu Territory is considered quite a safe place?" Su Hao looked at Chen Ge.
"Nope, instead it's even more dangerous." Chen Ge smiled coldly, "Because of this, if there is an accident in Taihu Territory, an entire team will be wiped out. Despair isn't just a title given for fun."
Su Hao was shocked.
The flame warship was still moving, riding the wind and wave. Its speed wasn't slow at all, but this huge lake was so big that one still couldn't see the other side. After leaving the entrance a moment ago, they were longer able to see the entrance.
Four weeks and the horizon was still endless.
This gigantic flame warship looked so small at this time.
It was so quiet that it was terrifying.
The atmosphere inside the warship was so horrible, causing the disciples to become tenser.
"Master, how long are we still going to travel?" A disciple couldn't help but ask.
One can't blame him. The atmosphere here was very scary. Everyone was silent. Plus, it seemed like they would never reach the end of the lake. Such feelings almost made his mind go mad. It was completely different from his previous trials.
Hearing him speak, a hint of disappointment flashed within his master's eyes.
Oh my temperament...
As for other masters' faces, a faint smile could be seen. During the start, they had subconsciously wanted to compare and test each other disciples' mental states. Being able to tolerate loneliness is the way to go further. Whoever speaks first loses...
These masters...
Su Hao smiled in his heart.
"It will soon begin. Prepare yourself well." That world esper coldly said with a hint of being uncomfortable in his tone.
"Oh, okay." That disciple nodded again and again without noticing the change of his master's tone.
As for other disciples, they looked at each other as if they understood something. They immediately straightened their bodies and stopped talking. The atmosphere in the warship once again turned quiet.
However, Su Hao suddenly voiced out, "Then what's the first trial?"
"Huh?" Chen Ge froze for a second. He would have never thought that Su Hao would be the second one to speak. His temperament can't be this weak, right? The other world espers looked at this scene with a smile. With two men now losing, even if their disciples are to voice out now, they won't be that shameful.
"It can't be something like a meteor shower, right?" Su Hao continued.
"Of course not. Why?"
Everyone froze for a moment.
Su Hao pointed to the sky. When they looked up at the sky, everyone was horrified. In the sky, countless black lines passed across them like a meteor shower.
There were so many of them that they covered the entire sky!