820 Trial of Pain
The crowd outside the Divine Source Monastery had become like a semi-permanent city, as most of the sects, clans, and factions had set up quickly constructed tents and buildings. No one knew how long the geniuses would be in the realm for, and so most decided to make themselves comfortable.
Thanks to their awesome power, cultivators were able to build structures very quickly and efficiently. Formations experts helped speed up the process even more, as within a day, the city had already formed.
It was almost as if a true city had been formed, as there were many different types of buildings built. Many in the crowd realized that a gathering like this was rare, and was a perfect opportunity to make extra spirit crystals by selling their wares and services. There were restaurants, trade shops, pill halls and more. There were even gambling halls set up, with the primary focus being bets on the outcomes of the dozen geniuses within the divine realm.
The monks of Divine Source Monastery watched on as the city was built, but did not voice their protest. They had invited the crowd onto their lands, and as long as the millions strong crowd did not cause a great disturbance or permanently damage their land, they were fine with their actions.
The various factions and races all had different styles, resulting in a city that varied greatly throughout. A somewhat tense atmosphere filled the city as many enemy powers were in close proximity towards one another, and harsh words and insults would be thrown out whenever enemies passed by each other. However, none dared to fight in the presence of the Divine Source Monastery, as they had all seen how swift the monastery was to dole out punishments for causing a disturbance.
The sun hung high in the sky, illumination the city below, as well as the stone stele, which had remained dormant for over a day since the previous trial was updated.
Rumble!
The land started to lightly rumble again, and an excited buzz surged through the entire city. Everyone knew what the rumbling meant, and millions poured out of the buildings they were in and into the streets. With the stone stele being hundreds of yards tall, and most of the buildings in the city being one or two stories at most, almost everyone was able to see the stele as long as they stood out in the open, regardless of what part of the city they located.
“It’s changing!” excited voices exclaimed out loud as information began to form on the stele under one of the names.
The information appeared under the Faeries name, who was located in the bottom half of the list. She had placed seventh in the first trial, and had six points after trial one. A new time appeared beneath her name, listed under “Trial Two.”
-Name: Serilia Frostmoon
-Cultivation: Early World Expansion
-Age: Seventy Eight
-Dao Name: Heart Reverie
-Trial One: Fourteen Hours. Eight Minutes. Nine Seconds.
-Trial One Score: Nine
-Trial Two: Twenty-Eight Hours. Sixteen Minutes. Four Seconds.
-Trial Two Score: One
-Total Score: Ten
The crowd quickly read the updates, and boisterous discussions quickly broke out once more. The score of ‘one’ revealed the nature of the trial to them. It was a duration based trial, with those appearing first to be the first to fail.
None had been expecting Serilia to fail first, as her score in the first trial had placed her in the middle of the pack. But with none of them knowing what exactly the trials were, they could only guess based on the information given to them on the stele. In a secluded part of the city, there was
“The Faerie cultivator failed first huh? That’s unexpected.”
“True. And since she finished her trial, the others should as well very soon. I wonder what the order is going to be.”
While many discussed the new information, others flooded to the gambling buildings, updating their bets with the information they had just been given. Others retreated back to the restaurants they were in to finish their food, their discussions naturally about the recent update.
…
Sweat perspired down long blue hair that appeared like it was made of ice, framing a beautiful and ethereal face. The dazzling dress that Serilia wore clung to her body, drenched in sweat as well. At her realm, cultivators did not perspire, but the pain she had endured made her sweat for the first time for a very long time.
The trial had been excrutiating, both in body and mind. It was as if her body were being subjected to the worst forms of physical torture, while her mind and soul were tormented as well. Being a Faerie with a formidable soul, Serilia was able to resist the effects of the mental torture quite well. She would have been able to keep enduring for quite some time more, but her body had failed her instead.
Her breaths were ragged, while her one knee was anchored to the ground. A look of disappointment appeared on her face as she recovered, and she stood up after composing herself.
Faeries were a delicate race, and as such had weaker bodies than most. They made up for that weakness with their powerful souls, but that weakness cost her dearly here. She did not know how she performed compared to the others, and could only hope that her performance was not lacking. After standing up, she tried to move, but felt herself trapped into place, as if restricted by a spatial formation.
Had her strength still been in the World Expansion Realm, she might have been able to break free of her bonds. However, with her dantian restricted to the Heaven Tribulation Realm, she was at the mercy of the formation.
She felt no danger from the formation, and realized that it most likely was due to the other participants still being within their own pain trial. Realizing this, she closed her eyes and focused her mind to meditate, making the best use of her free time.
…
Rumble!
Rumble!
Rumble!
The stone stele rumbled many times over the next day, with each rumble attracting the eager eyes of all. The crowd discussed each update with excitement or disappointment as the list of those still within their trial grew thinner and thinner.
pA(nD)A no ve1 Rumble!
Another rumble caught the attention of the crowd, which eagerly read the update. Eyes widened slightly as the name entered their eyes.
-Name: Zeras Celestria
-Cultivation: Early World Expansion
-Age: Sixty
-Dao Name: Star Storm
-Trial One: Nine Hours. Twenty Minutes. Fifty-Four Seconds.
-Trial One Score: Nine
-Trial Two: Fifty Two Hours. Sixteen Minutes. Fifty Eight Seconds.
-Trial Two Score: Seven
-Total Score: Sixteen
Since two contestants were eliminated in the first trial, despite coming in the same place overall of 4th, the total points available had been reduced to ten for first place, and thus Zeras received seven for fourth. With Zeras’ trial ending, there were only three cultivators remaining. The same individuals that had placed in the top three for the first trial.
Parker, or Asuros.
Lilian.
And John.