“Follow me.” The Venerable Commander instantly soared into the sky, followed by the eight black-armored soldiers and three golden-armored captains.
Dongbo Xueying, however, kicked off the ground with such force that the earth trembled beneath him.
Whoosh!
Propelled by his legs, he shot into the air like a streak of light. Yet, mid-flight, Dongbo Xueying felt a pang of awkwardness. In the past, he had relied on either his divine power or the Taihao Force enveloping his body to achieve incredible speeds—sometimes even manipulating the mysteries of the universe through his consciousness. But now? Now, his divine power and Taihao Force were sealed, and even his consciousness couldn’t extend outward.
He could only rely on his physical strength!
“Hahaha, your flight speed is pitifully slow, isn’t it?” A black-armored ape, who had been flying beside him, deliberately slowed down and sneered. “You can only use your body now. Get used to it. The warriors of the Destruction Legion specialize in the body! Our supreme techniques are all body-focused, which is why each of us possesses unparalleled defense. If you can’t even master your own body, you might as well forget about joining the Destruction Legion.”
Dongbo Xueying suddenly understood—this was about the body.
Sealing his divine heart was a test to force him to rely solely on his physical strength.
Whoosh!
As Dongbo Xueying flew, the subtle vibrations of his muscles and bones resonated with the laws of the world. The mysteries of the World Heart allowed him to move without resistance, as if the heavens themselves aided his flight. Meanwhile, the Extreme Point Heart granted him astonishing speed.
Bzzz—
Space rippled around him as he streaked through the air, though his speed was still drastically reduced—barely reaching 200,000 miles per second.
“Your body is pathetically weak,” the ape remarked, shaking its head as it flew alongside him. “You can’t even reach the universal speed limit of 600,000 miles per second. What a joke. Even the weakest soldier in our Destruction Legion could obliterate your body with a flick of their finger.”
“My techniques were never focused on body cultivation,” Dongbo Xueying replied.
Among his techniques, only the Myriad Tribulations Indestructible Body specialized in physical enhancement—and even that was primarily for survival, not strength or speed. Moreover, it was merely a World God-level technique, and Dongbo Xueying was only a Third Heaven World God. His mastery of it was far from sufficient to compare with the soldiers of the Destruction Legion.
“Focus on training your body. It’s the easiest to improve,” the ape advised. “Divine power and other energies are just that—energy. But the body is matter. When it comes to explosive force and indestructible defense, matter has the advantage.”
Dongbo Xueying nodded in agreement.
The Material Heart, a first-grade divine heart, granted immense strength and supreme defense upon mastery. However, its cultivation was extraordinarily difficult. Most Fourth Heaven World Gods only began to grasp it after extensive enlightenment. Among weaker World Gods, the Material Heart was exceedingly rare—on par with the Infinite Heart. Dongbo Xueying had only witnessed the latter once, during the Myriad Flower Banquet, when Jiushe demonstrated it.
Whoosh!
The commander ahead flew at a deliberately slow pace, seemingly guiding Dongbo Xueying, before descending. The rest of the group, including Dongbo Xueying, followed suit, diving downward.
Below them stretched a vast mountain range, lush and verdant, with deep, shadowy valleys. Scattered among the peaks were numerous cave dwellings. Their destination was a flattened mountaintop, upon which stood a massive combat platform.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The commander and his subordinates landed beside the platform, with Dongbo Xueying touching down shortly after.
“Step onto the platform,” the commander ordered.
Without hesitation, Dongbo Xueying strode forward.
“Soon, you’ll face endless waves of enemies. The battle will continue until they voluntarily retreat—that’s when you’ll pass the second trial. If you’re defeated or killed before then, you fail. Remember, being knocked off the platform also counts as failure,” the commander explained.
“An unknown duration?” Dongbo Xueying pressed. “What about the number of enemies?”
“They’ll keep coming. The total number is also unknown,” the commander replied with a faint smile. “Your only task is to endure.”
Dongbo Xueying was speechless.
A clear endpoint would have given him something to strive for.
But with no certainty, the psychological toll was inevitable. Still, Dongbo Xueying was no ordinary man. He quickly steadied his mind.
“It seems this second trial truly tests my mastery of physical strength,” he mused. With a flip of his hand, he summoned the crimson spear, Redcloud Spear, and took his position at the center of the platform, vigilant of his surroundings.
Standing in the middle minimized the risk of being knocked off.
“Begin!” the commander announced.
Hummm—
Black divine runes instantly lit up across the platform’s surface, forming intricate patterns. A hazy barrier shimmered into existence around the edges, also inscribed with countless runes.
From the barrier’s runes, energy coalesced into a humanoid figure cloaked in black light, its face obscured by a mask. Bare-handed, it lunged at Dongbo Xueying with terrifying speed.
Thud!
Dongbo Xueying’s spear shot out, piercing the black figure’s throat in a single, fluid motion. The figure collapsed, its energy dissipating back into the runes on the ground.
Dongbo Xueying blinked in surprise. That was it? Too easy.
But then, another black figure materialized from the barrier’s runes—this one wielding a longsword. It charged with far greater ferocity than its predecessor.
Clang!
Dongbo Xueying’s expression tightened as he deflected the blade with his spear, then countered with a swift upward thrust.
His movements, though seemingly casual, were derived from the secret technique “Life” within his three supreme skills—each strike harmonizing with the natural order, unpredictable yet precise.
Yet, this black figure managed to block three consecutive strikes before finally being impaled through the chest, pinned to the ground before dissolving.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dongbo Xueying’s face darkened as two more black figures emerged—one wielding a staff, the other a shield and scimitar—attacking from opposite directions.
Boom!
The shield-wielding figure was especially brutal. Its shield expanded mid-charge, nearly covering half the platform. With his reduced speed, Dongbo Xueying had no choice but to meet it head-on.
Twisting his spear, he bent the shaft, creating layers of spatial gaps to absorb the impact before striking back.
Thud!
Despite his efforts, the collision sent him staggering back three steps. “Such force! A direct clash would’ve flung me right off the platform.”
The enemies were growing stronger at an alarming rate, and their numbers were increasing.
“Kid Dongbo, learn to harness your body’s strength!” the ape shouted from the sidelines. The other black-armored soldiers, golden-armored captains, and even the commander watched leisurely. To them, Dongbo Xueying’s utilization of physical power was embarrassingly crude.
Not that it was entirely his fault. After reaching the Transcendent realm and beyond, he had relied on cosmic laws, special techniques, or the Taihao Force. Even when brute force was used, it was merely to overpower weaker foes. As a World God, he hadn’t truly explored his body’s potential in ages.
After all, the Taihao Force far surpassed mere physical strength. But the Destruction Legion was the pinnacle of body cultivation. These ancient, deathless beings had honed their physical prowess for eons. To them, Dongbo Xueying’s efforts were laughably amateurish.
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