The question was like an infectious virus that bore into Wei Wuyin’s mind, consuming his mental energies with ravenous speed. It spawned more and more questions.
Just how did these Holy Candidates come to be? Why was the old ghost so certain if he oversaw the trials thus far, which have been held over a hundred of times since the inception of this trial?
He had the urge to ask the young woman, feeling like there was a grand mystery to this discovery, even faintly feeling as if there was a trick to it. But as he observed their bodies, he deduced that they had genuine Elemental Origin Intent, without a hint of falseness within. There was no ambiguity in its might or function, and the aura was something he was extremely familiar with.
"..." While Wei Wuyin silently contemplated this conundrum, the Grand Priestess Si De finished her chanting, her strange handseals, and funneling of mental energies into the sky above. A thunderous rumble erupted, causing the darkened skies to grow fearsome and the world to tremble. It startled a few, but most amongst the True Desolate audience wore excited expressions colored with anticipatory stares.
Wei Wuyin lifted his head, the sky started to part. A thick line of scintillating multicolored light erupted from the sky. It gave off a warmth that felt holy and majestic. The inhabitants of True Desolate prayed, clasping their hands and chanting.
From the split sky, a square platform engulfed in that warm light fell, descended until it was directly above True Desolate. This platform was extremely large, covering half of True Desolate! Only the bottom could be seen, but Wei Wuyin knew this was a battle platform. While the formations embedded in the platform were astonishing, beyond Mortal Limits, their design matched battle platforms he’d seen numerous times before.
"The Divine Martial Stage has descended! Our Divine Lord Desi shall observe the brave challenges of our Holy Candidates, hoping to prove their worth!" Grand Priestess Si De announced with fervent passion.
A light shone down from the platform’s bottom, forming a cylindrical structure that crushed down towards the handsome young man. He didn’t move as it encapsulated him. An undulation of vibrational waves erupted from the platform, as if waiting for something.
"Holy Candidate, you have been chosen as the first! Shall you take the challenge to prove your worth, or will you concede?" Grand Priestess Si De asked with a soft yet loud voice, giving a sense of unprecedented seriousness. The pressure seemed to mount on the shoulders of this Holy Candidate. Clearly, this was the last opportunity he’d have to back out of this test.
It was a battle to the absolute death; only one of them will leave this battle. As for the other ’them’, it was one of the hooded figures that were three levels higher than his own cultivation base. If it was a Realmlord, he wouldn’t have any confidence, but if it was a Gravity Emission Phase expert, he was somewhat confident!
If he succeeded, he would become the new Holy Son, gaining infinite prestige and power! With a resolved glint in his eye, he announced: "I accept the Divine Lord’s test!"
When those words were uttered, the crowd went solemn yet simultaneously cheered for him. It was a strange and contradicting sight that was extremely hard to describe.
Another burst of light later and a hooded figure was encapsulated in a similar fashion as the handsome young man. Wei Wuyin inspected this person who seemed to be chanting a string of thankful prayers.
The two abruptly vanished. The platform above started to flicker as numerous projection screens were displayed all around True Desolate, revealing multiple angles for them to observe the fight. The positioning was such that he didn’t need to strain his head upwards to watch, merely looking into the horizon and there were several screens with many angles.
The two were projected and the hooded figure removed their hood. A female was revealed. She was middle-aged, pretty, with short dark hair and brown eyes. Furthermore, she was an elf!
When her sharp ears were revealed, the Grand Kings started to spiritually transmit messages. Despite that, there was little they could do. This person was chosen by the Divine Lord, it was a trial that they couldn’t interfere with or claim bias!
The middle-aged woman didn’t hesitate to retrieve a saber, sharp and nearly two meters in length. Its curved edge and glinting tip exuded a faint Saber Intent. Wei Wuyin was immediately intrigued. This was the first person he’d come across in the Desolate Lands that had given birth to Saber Intent.
The young man prepared himself as well, retrieving a Bo Staff with various white carvings that emitted Elemental Origin Energies. With a firm grasp, he got into a low stance with her astral energies flaring at the ready.
Wei Wuyin noted that this staff was a high-level Astral Armament, feeling extremely intrigued by its quality. He was faintly curious as a countdown formed above the two, starting at 60 seconds.
Wei Wuyin was curious, directing a few questions to the Grand Priestess: "What happens if he overcomes this test? Will we get a chance?" The other hooded figures turned to Wei Wuyin, with the Grand Priestess frowning slightly.
But even the young woman was curious about this detail. What if multiple Holy Sons or Daughters were to show up? She perked her ears and listened.
The Grand Priestess softly answered, "The Divine Lord will choose who is more worthy based on the other two tests. Only one Holy Child can reach ascension."
Wei Wuyin nodded, turning towards the screen as the young man was thrumming with astral force, his aura rising to its utmost limits. But the middle-aged elven woman was silent, only holding her saber in her hand with a faint glint of sharp saber light at its edge.
The young woman frowned, feeling like if it was just her and Wei Wuyin, there was no way she would become a Holy Child, obtaining that Badge of Divinity. But it didn’t matter. She’d use this as a way to temper herself, finding another way to obtain that item.
The dark horse was originally someone she invested a year into developing in hopes of producing a proper candidate. It was because Wei Wuyin was participating that she had entered herself, lest there would be no chance to obtain the Badge of Divinity and that item. She looked towards this dark horse with anticipation, wanting to see the fruit of her resources.
Her anticipation was abundantly displayed on her face.
But Wei Wuyin saw the countdown reach thirty seconds, and he shook his head. With a soft voice, he declared, "He’s dead."
This startled the young woman, glancing at Wei Wuyin. She frowned, looking at the young man who was primed at ready, wielding a high-level astral weapon and was thoroughly refined by her resources. This person could fight two levels above his cultivation, easy. If he used that particular art she taught him, he’d have a greater chance.
The Grand Priestess was intrigued. Turning to Wei Wuyin, a strange glint in her sightless eyes. She asked, "Why do you say this?" The enigma that was Wei Wuyin was hard to ignore. His True Age of Cultivation was less than ten years while simultaneously having a 39,300 Spiritual Strength level. He was the definition of monstrous, and if it wasn’t for the venue and her own duties that she took with the utmost seriousness, she might’ve long since bombarded him with questions.
This was the case for the Grand Kings and Elven Clan Masters as well. They all looked towards Wei Wuyin, paying extreme attention to his every word and action, trying to glean some information about who this extremely handsome and monstrously talented youth was!
Wei Wuyin turned to the Grand Priestess with a faint smile, pointing up. He said four words, but the moment that last word was said, only three seconds remained in the countdown: "Didn’t manifest Soul Idol."
Those four words immediately brought everyone to realization, turning to the seemingly primed and absolutely focused young man. But yes, he hasn’t manifested his Soul Idol! Most would only use that for the most extreme fights as it consumed an outrageous amount of spiritual energies to do so, but it simultaneously elevated spiritual strength and aura to the next level, making spiritual spells and defenses extremely terrifying.
It even amplified one’s astral force!
The young woman looked on, her eyes constricting.
Down below, the old man shook his head. "Such arrogance."
As if Wei Wuyin’s words were a divine prediction, the countdown fell to 0.
A buzz resounded indicating the beginning, and the young man began by erecting a fierce defensive ward backed by a defensive art. A turtle shell formed in front of him, while his astral force surged out endlessly in preparation for a move.
The young man understood that a battle of attrition was impossible and this fight might be decided in a few exchanges, likely a move or two, so he intended to immediately execute his strongest move given to him by that mysterious figure that nurtured him! He was unleashing his trump card!
Shiiing!
The sound of a saber leaving its scabbard was followed by a howling keen of sharpness that grasped the hearts of everyone present. With a single step forward, the middle-aged woman transformed into a comet of saber force, her Saber Intent flaring wildly, but all her strength was condensed into its edge.
She swung it horizontally!
The young man braced himself, reinforcing his ward with gritted teeth. But alas, his actions were utterly futile! A ray of saber light flashed, arriving at his tortoise shell-like ward instantly. With a faint grinding sound of metal touching a hard surface, the saber light erupted in great intensity. After, like a shooting star, the middle-aged woman and saber light arrived roughly a hundred meters behind the young man.
"..."
Wei Wuyin shook his head. Saber Intent wasn’t Sword Intent. It focused its sharpness into its edge, striking in the most direct, simplest manner possible. It was designed to kill; a weapon of death that brought its enemies onwards to the road of reincarnation. While the sword had boundless variation, the saber wasn’t as complex. Even the cultivation method he practiced was just named the ’Saber’.
After a moment of silence, the young man’s eyes widened with disbelief, unwillingness, and endless grievance! He didn’t even get a chance to execute his strongest move!
A gush of blood resounded in the world, revealing a curtain of crimson that leaked from the young man’s neck. He gawked out a few incomprehensible words, the last words in his life, before his head directly slid off his neck. When it slammed into the ground, the projected screens all showed his headless corpse and dimmed eyes of his decapitated head; the crowd was silent.
As for the middle-aged woman, she kept her saber, her expression somewhat pale. She had condensed her saber force into a single strike, exhausting herself considerably in the process.
The young woman gnashed her teeth, "Idiot!"

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