Chapter 1689 – Flying Towards the Immortal Palace
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Suya naturally couldn’t show such open emotions like Xiao Moxian. With Lin Ming’s safe return, she tried to remain as calm and serene on the outside as she could.
“Sir Lin, thank the heavens and earth you managed to come out safely.”
Mo Brightmoon also came forwards. She asked with concern, “Lin Ming, are you wounded?”
Looking at Lin Ming’s appearance, it was hard to imagine what sort of brutal battle he had just undergone. That sort of scene must have been shocking.
Behind Mo Brightmoon, Fanny Fafa and Thousand Slaughter also rushed up to congratulate Lin Ming.
Thousand Slaughter heavily patted Lin Ming’s shoulder, not saying anything. Although they had only met some time ago, he and Lin Ming had fought side-by-side and there was some camaraderie between them.
Lin Ming’s teammates and friends, all of them celebrated his arrival. As for the other martial artists, they were still stewing in their shock, unable to regain their composure.
The storm in the Asura level gate just now was unusually fierce and wild, leaving all of them panic-stricken. They never imagined the real reason for this storm was that Lin Ming had completed the Asura level Gate of Laws trial.
Asura level difficulty. It had already been unknown billions of years since anyone had chosen this path. No one knew just what sort of scene would occur after passing it.
“How can this be… he’s clearly a divine runic master, and learning the divine runic arts requires a massive amount of time. In particular, to reach Lin Ming’s level in the divine runic arts required an incredibly long time. I heard he has a skeletal age of a hundred years and his divine runic arts have reached unbelievable heights, so how can his individual strength be so abnormal? Can he really be some old monster in disguise?”
“Old monster? There’s no need to lie to us! There’s no meaning in doing so anyways. Don’t forget, the higher your skeletal age in this trial, the more difficult the trials will be that you face. If you think Lin Ming is really an old master, could he pass the Asura level trial?”
It was unknown who said this, but the hearts of everyone suddenly went cold!
That’s right! If there was a martial artist over 10,000 years of age that stepped upon the ancient continent and faced the manifestations of Laws here, the opponents they would face might be at the Empyrean level!
To fight Empyrean after Empyrean, just who could withstand that?
The Gate of Laws smelting trial was the same as confirming Lin Ming’s age. So, everyone that suspected Lin Ming’s talent wasn’t able to say a single thing to him.
“This brat!” Duke Fullmoon’s lips twitched, his heart burning with anger. “He just barely managed to pass that trial in such a miserable condition. He injured himself in order to crawl into the limelight and show off, and yet to do so he gave up his chance of perfectly passing! What’s there to be proud of!?”
Duke Fullmoon’s jealousy towards Lin Ming had already reached the pinnacle. He was well aware that no matter what Lin Ming’s completion percentage was, his talent had surpassed his own by a great amount.
Duke Fullmoon’s words were not approved by anyone else. In the world of martial artists, those with strength had status, those with strength had respect!
Some people sighed beside Duke Fullmoon. “Even if his completion percentage is zero, that is also too freaking amazing. I fear even the Divine Void Third Crown Prince or Bigflame wouldn’t have the courage to say they could enter the Asura level difficulty and come out alive, even with zero completion percentage. Moreover, Lin Ming is a divine runic master, so combat is for him something he only does on the side…”
Many people repeatedly mentioned Lin Ming’s attainments as a divine runic master. But they couldn’t help but do this; his skills in the divine runic arts were too well known.
As these words fell into Duke Fullmoon’s ears, he felt them extremely grating to hear. However, there were some people that agreed with Duke Fullmoon; for instance, the Divine Void Third Crown Prince and Bigflame.
They were originally the leading heroes of this final trial. And because they had perfectly completed the earth-step Gate of Laws, there were many people that gathered around them to flatter them. They had been in high spirits this entire time, but now Lin Ming’s appearance had snatched away their limelight and also struck them in the face.
Now it seemed that their self-satisfied accomplishments, everything that they were so excited and ecstatic over, was the same as the plays of a clown.
They could lose to Soul Empress Sheng Mei; that was the natural state of affairs. But they would not allow themselves to lose to a junior like Lin Ming.
“If you can’t obtain any completion percentage, it’s useless anyways! The rewards of the final trial are decided by the completion percentage you have at the end. If your completion percentage is low, what meaning is there in even attempting it?” The Third Crown Prince coldly snorted.
Bigflame also lowered his voice as he said, “I also want to know just how many completion percentage points this grandstanding fellow has.”
There were no eternal friends or enemies, only eternal benefits.
Bigflame and the Third Crown Prince originally hated the sight of each other, but that was because they were both struggling to take the spotlight in this final trial and become the top person here. That would be the greatest honor for them and also the greatest honor for their sect. Their struggles here were the same as their struggles for their own future.
But now, their limelight had been stolen by Lin Ming, so what use was it to continue struggling against each other?
As such, Lin Ming had now become their common unifying enemy. The two of them immediately banded together to present a unified front.
At this time, Lin Ming was talking with Suya, Mo Brightmoon, and the others. He just learned from Suya what the reward for the Gate of Laws was. As he looked up, he could see the countless immortal palaces that filled the skies!
These immortal palaces filled the heavens like stars. There were large ones and small ones, all of them in varied styles and sizes.
“Lin Ming, if you wish to enter the immortal palaces you will need a sufficient completion percentage.”
“Even the lowest level one, the immortal palaces the size of a thatched hut, require at least a 30% completion. But the imperial palace sized immortal palaces, they require 35%!”
“As for the mountain-sized immortal palaces that Sheng Mei entered, they require a 40% completion!”
As Suya spoke, she looked at Lin Ming with some worry in her eyes. She was afraid Lin Ming wouldn’t have enough completion percentage to enter the imperial palace sized immortal palaces. If this were true, Lin Ming would truly have suffered a loss; otherwise, if he were to enter the heaven-step difficulty with his strength, he might have been able to compare with Sheng Mei!
“Oh? So there were such rules…”
Lin Ming also found it strange. When he passed through the Gate of Laws, the Black Asura had said that as long as he could receive three moves, he would be given a reward, and that this reward would be one of the most precious rewards in the Asura Road’s final trial!
But after passing the trial, he had yet to see anything. Right now, he learned that these rewards were all held within the immortal palaces!
As Lin Ming recalled how the Black Asura had described the reward as ‘one of the most precious’, Lin Ming felt his blood rush to his head. He impatiently wanted to know just what the reward was.
His eyes soon locked onto the largest immortal palace in the sky, the one the size of a planet. That immortal palace had the most terrifying aura. It was also expected that the precious reward the Black Asura described would be in that immortal palace!
When Suya saw Lin Ming was looking at the planet-sized immortal palace, she sighed and said, “That planet sized immortal palace is the only one of its kind within the entire third level. Even if you pass through the heaven-step difficulty you still wouldn’t have enough completion percentage to enter. I fear only through perfectly passing the Asura level trial would one be allowed to enter. My estimation is that in the last several billion years, there has never been anyone that has entered. As for what rewards are inside, no one knows.”
In Suya’s heart, that immortal palace was no different from a bedtime story. It was only meant to be looked at, not obtained.
“No one has gone in for billions of years?”
Lin Ming’s eyebrows arched up. This wasn’t too surprising. All he had to do was recall how abnormally difficult the Gate of Laws had been for him to realize this. He already had an extremely high level of talent and also understood the Asura Heavenly Dao, which gave him a massive advantage. But even so, he had nearly lost his life in order to pass.
“That’s right. These immortal places are not just the area to take your reward, but also the entrance to the fourth level. If your completion percentage isn’t enough, you can’t even enter the fourth floor.”
Suya gave a detailed explanation. At this time, Lin Ming grasped Xiao Moxian’s hand and said, Come, let’s go take our rewards, and then go to the fourth level!”
As Lin Ming spoke, he turned to Mo Brightmoon and the others and said, “Everyone, let’s go together.”
“Great!”
Mo Brightmoon, Thousand Slaughter, Fanny Fafa, and Suya all nodded and flew upwards.
Lin Ming flew in the front. His speed wasn’t quick but his movements seemed weightless. Soon, he flew up thousands of feet. The immortal palaces were coming closer and closer.
At this time, Lin Ming discovered something strange.
Besides his group of people, no one else had moved.
The rewards were in the air but no one went to take them. Rather, they sat beside ancient trees, laid down on the ground, floated in air, or were doing nothing at all. They weren’t even recuperating or discussing potential tactics for the fourth level.
Rather, they were all looking at Lin Ming.
On the faces of these people were a multitude of emotions. There was curiosity, playfulness, admiration, ridicule, and more. But without a doubt, every single one of them was waiting for Lin Ming to make his choice!
Lin Ming immediately understood what was happening. They all wanted to see just what his completion percentage was.
And they couldn’t be blamed for wanting to know. Lin Ming was the only one in the last billions of years to have chosen the Asura level difficulty, and the only one they had ever heard of surviving. They all wanted to know just what his completion percentage was.
The Divine Void Third Crown Price traced his chin, a happy and thoughtful expression on his face.
The Asura level difficulty was something even Soul Empress Sheng Mei could only complete a portion of. And if one completed only a portion, they could only choose the second rate mountain sized immortal palaces or the third rate imperial palace sized immortal palaces.
If Lin Ming barely managed to pass and his completion percentage was too low, perhaps he might only be able to choose the hut sized immortal palace.
If Lin Ming rumbled out from the Asura level gate, passing through endless slaughter and facing epic fights that shook the heavens to do so, and even nearly losing his life in the process, if he were to choose the hut-sized immortal palace in the end then that would be far too great a joke!
As long as he could mock Lin Ming, he could naturally restore the shame he felt.
At that time, he would enter his imperial palace sized immortal palace and slap Lin Ming across the face!
Bigflame was also thinking the same thing as the Third Crown Prince. As for Duke Fullmoon, there was no need to mention him. No one wanted more than him to see Lin Ming smash his head into a barrier.
Lin Ming’s movements slowed. He frowned. He hadn’t expected such a scene to occur. If he didn’t choose his immortal palace, everyone would just be waiting for him.
Lin Ming originally didn’t want his choice to be seen by others, but now it seemed unavoidable. Moreover, it seemed many martial artists remaining in the third level were considerable weaker. For instance, the first batch of martial artists that passed through the Gate of Laws had chosen their rewards before entering the fourth level. But because they couldn’t withstand the dangers of the fourth level, they were forced back to the third level where they had to wait until the final trial ended and were teleported out. In any event, it was impossible for Lin Ming to wait for them.