Chapter Ninety-Two: The Trial

How are we supposed to become one of those rare beings? Ma Yi asked in haste.

“We do not know that either,” the butcher said helplessly.

“Then isn’t that the same as saying nothing at all?” Ma Yi said, somewhat bewildered.

“Not quite. The purpose of our coming here was to select the strongest among you to take part in an ancient trial. If you can break into the top ten, you will have a chance to receive a reward, personally bestowed by the clan leader. At that point, you can ask the clan leader how to become one of those rare beings. After all, such methods are usually kept in the clan leader’s hands. We are only here to pass the message along.” The butcher smiled, and a scheming, seasoned look flashed across his face.

Ma Yi was utterly stunned. So in the end, all this was just to lure him into some trial and make him fight his way into the top ten. No wonder they had been so kind earlier.

Perhaps seeing that Ma Yi was reluctant, the butcher smiled again and said, “Anyone who takes part in the trial will receive a Heavenly Origin Pill from the clan.”

“What Heavenly Origin Pill? Not interested!” Ma Yi curled his lip.

“It can grant the human body the ability to control the elements, and it can also improve one’s strength,” the butcher said slowly. He knew Ma Yi would surely agree. Before coming, they had observed Ma Yi for a long time. Even if Ma Yi did not need it himself, his beloved woman certainly would.

“The elements? What elements?” Ma Yi had already lost much of his interest, but hearing that word, he suddenly thought of the little girl with the shell and her brother, and that water-controlling ability of theirs. It was somewhat like a supernatural power, and looked very impressive.

“The kind that lets you command earth, water, wind, and fire. Just like now, you may already possess lightning element, but you do not know how to use it, so you cannot bring out even a ten-thousandth of its power. If you go to the trial, you can ask others for guidance. And the Heavenly Origin Pill you receive can be brought back for your beloved to use, granting her the ability to control an element as well.” The butcher was like a wicked old man luring a young boy astray. With every word he spoke, Ma Yi’s eyes grew brighter.

“Then... can I take part?” The giant dragon, ignored for a long while, finally spoke up slowly, his voice ingratiating.

“You? By rights, after being tainted by the corpse qi of my human race, you have become a corpse dragon and are now counted among us. But there are still many capable people in my human race; there is no need for a dragon like you to take part,” the butcher said after a brief pause.

“Ah! Then I’ll be going now!” Hearing this, the corpse dragon king looked rather crestfallen. He had thought himself already a peak existence, only to realize now that he was nothing but a joke, a mere beginner. If he wanted to join them, they did not even seem very willing.

“However, if you join under him, perhaps there will still be a chance to improve in the future. Otherwise, you may be stopped forever before you ever reach the realm beyond the ordinary,” the butcher said lightly, glancing at Ma Yi as a glint flashed through his eyes.

“Join him? I don’t want to. This fellow is not stronger than me by much,” the giant dragon said, deeply unconvinced.

“You do not understand, do you? I can tell he did not even use his full strength when fighting you. Besides, once he returns from the trial and can fully command the power of the thunder within him, do you think you will still be his match?”

“That...” The giant dragon hesitated. In battle, one could actually feel the strength of one’s opponent. When he had not yet used his other abilities, no matter how furiously he erupted, this fellow had always kept pace with him. He had not thought much of it at the time, but now it seemed the man had still held something back.

“Furthermore, my human race is one of the great clans. Your dragon forebears departed from this place with your ancestor countless ages ago. Those left behind are only some uncivilized lesser dragons. By relying on the corpse qi of my human race, you have gained wisdom; that is a debt of gratitude you owe us. If you truly do not wish to submit to my human race, I have nothing more to say. But I will reclaim the corpse qi in your body and return you to your original form.” The butcher spoke while his expression grew cold.

The giant dragon king was startled. He had not yet enjoyed these good days enough—how could he possibly return to what he had been before?

“Good. Here, this is a blood pact. Sign it,” the butcher said, sweeping out his right hand. A mysterious pattern appeared in the air.

“Damn, this really is divine means.” Ma Yi looked at the pattern suspended in midair and marveled inwardly.

“Each of you must drip one drop of blood onto this design. You go first,” the butcher said, glancing at the giant dragon.

“All right.” The giant dragon had no choice but to swallow his pride. He pricked one claw against the other hand, and a bead of blood welled up. As soon as it appeared, it flew toward the pattern in the air.

“Your turn,” the butcher said, looking at Ma Yi again.

“All right.” Ma Yi had unexpectedly gained a powerful subordinate, yet he still did not look pleased.

It was not that Ma Yi disliked gaining a strong underling. Rather, his own blood already had the power to control other creatures, so making a blood pact was simply unnecessary.

When Ma Yi’s silver blood appeared, a force of suction drew the bead of blood up and sent it toward the blood pact pattern in the air.

“Hm?” Ma Yi saw that during the flight of his blood, it suddenly seemed to split by one tenth. But upon closer inspection, that drop of silver blood appeared unchanged. It felt as if it had been his imagination. He looked up at the three ancient human beings. Their strength was greater than his, yet none of them seemed to notice anything unusual. Perhaps it had merely been an illusion.

“It is done. From now on, it is your subordinate,” the butcher said with a smile.

“Thank you. By the way, how do I take part in the trial, and how many people are needed?” Ma Yi suddenly felt another sensation in his mind, much like the feeling he had once had when feeding his blood to Erha and the others. He could now control the giant dragon’s life, though compared with the power of his own blood, this control was much weaker and far less overbearing.

“Yes, I nearly forgot. This token is the teleportation talisman for the trial. When the time comes, you will naturally be sent there, because the place of the trial is not here,” the butcher said indifferently, then tossed a wooden token to Ma Yi.

When Ma Yi took it in hand, it did not feel like wood at all. It had the texture of metal, yet was remarkably light. More importantly, it was extremely sturdy. No matter how hard he squeezed it, he could not damage it in the slightest.

“All right. Am I the only one who will be teleported there?” Ma Yi asked again.

“Yes,” the butcher nodded.

“How long does the trial last?” Ma Yi asked once more.

“That is hard to say. The duration is not fixed. If it goes quickly, perhaps a month; if slowly, it could be several months.”

“You mean the trial’s strength is limited to those of beginner level,” Ma Yi said lightly, having given up on finding anything unusual about the wooden token.

“Looks like you are not stupid after all. Not only are the ranks of strength restricted, but the number of participants is also limited. There are quite a few beginner-level people in my human race, but sending lower-level ones into the trial would be courting death. The best candidates are those at beginner rank nine or ten, but there are not enough rank nine and ten people to spare, so we have had to come to you,” the butcher admitted without concealment.

“You people? There are many who have reached beginner rank nine?” Ma Yi caught a subtle implication.

“At present, you are the fourth we have contacted. There are still two more we need to find. That is enough for now; when the time comes, you will naturally know.” The butcher smiled in a bewitching way. With a wave of his hand, the three of them spared Ma Yi another glance and turned to leave, their speed astonishingly fast.

“They came all this way bragging, and now they are leaving just like that?” Ma Yi thought it over. It seemed that apart from showing off the glory of the human race, they had not said much that benefited him. At most, they had let him know that there were several others as strong as he was, and that he was not the strongest after all, let alone those beginner rank nine and ten beings among the ancient humans.

As for the three strangely dressed humans who had suddenly appeared in the middle of the battlefield, not only Tie Zhu and Erha were worried. They were currently relying on the defenses they had built to hold back the experts of the same level. If those three men were to do anything that affected the battle, all their efforts would be for naught. Those three were far too strong; any one of them possessed the power to turn the tide. Fortunately, after stopping to say a few words, they left.

Those most worried about Ma Yi were naturally Liu Wen and Ruo Hua. Though they stood far away, Ruo Hua kept recounting the events on the battlefield to Liu Wen, especially the appearance of those three mysterious men. The moment they showed up, they sent Ma Yi flying. At that time, Ruo Hua had wanted to charge over at once, but she still remembered Ma Yi’s words: no matter how the situation changed, they must ensure the safety of Liu Wen and everyone in the villa. If anything truly looked wrong, they were to leave at once, and flee as far as possible.

Ma Yi returned to the villa. The battlefield, which had been fiercely contested not long ago, seemed to have stopped as well. Dense ranks of zombie soldiers surrounded the outer edge of the moat, waiting quietly for their leader’s orders, but the only command they received was to hold position and wait for news.

“Are you all right?” As soon as Ma Yi came back, Ruo Hua reached him before Liu Wen did.

Ma Yi looked at Ruo Hua, then at Liu Wen, who had arrived just after her, and smiled. “What could happen to me? Still, I did run into some troublesome matters.”

Standing before the others, Ma Yi recounted everything the butcher and the others had said, word for word.

“What? Such a thing exists? Why is there no record of it in history?” Liu Wen was not like Ruo Hua. As a modern young woman with a proper worldview, how could she immediately accept that the inheritance of humanity had actually continued through six generations across more than a million years? And that the gods and heroes from history and mythology were still alive and well? It completely overturned everything she had believed.

“I do not want to accept it either, but they are real,” Ma Yi said, gently patting Liu Wen’s head and waiting quietly for her to digest the news.

“So what do we do now? Keep fighting?” Ruo Hua cared more about the current situation. Although the enemy was powerful and numerous, they had the moat as a natural barrier. The outcome had not yet been decided.

“What is there left to fight?” Ma Yi looked down the slope. Wherever he could see, there were zombie soldiers. Taking in so many zombie soldiers would itself become a problem.