Against The Heavens

"Alright, you can just sleep. I am going to cultivate a bit, condense the runes a bit more. I"ll wake you up when it is time to leave."

Li Yang sat down in a position where both his thighs were pressed against each other, Jinwu landing on his thighs and laying down as it went to sleep. Jinwu was different from Li Yang, who enjoyed cultivation, Jinwu was more lazy, preferring to relax and enjoy himself. After Jinwu went to sleep, Li Yang closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, focusing his mind and sinking it into his dantian.

Four types of shimmering runes floated in front of him, one in the shape of a roaring flame, one in the shape of a furious bolt of lightning, one in the shape of a mountain of ice, and one in the shape of a pitch black hole. While waiting for Jing Yimu, he was planning on condensing his runes further. Condensing the runes was different from creating new ones, as one only had to use large amounts of Qi to slowly compress the runes to condense them. This would allow them to become tougher and purer, making it easier to draw out more strength and making it harder for others to shatter them.

Li Yang continued to take deep breaths, his chest bulging with every breath he took. He slowly started to draw upon the Qi from the protective wall around him, using the strong Qi to surround his runes and compress them. Jing Yimu had not only set up the wall to protect Li Yang but also so that he could use the abundant Qi within the wall to cultivate. He was confident that even if Li Yang spent five years absorbing the Qi within the wall, he would still not be able to weaken the wall enough for him to slip out of it.

And he was correct. Even if Li Yang had all the memories from his past life, even if he used the element of destruction, there was no way he could make up for the strength disparity between the two of them. The element of destruction could destroy everything, but it still needed to be supplied enough Qi to do so. And the current Li Yang had no way of supplying enough Qi to fuel the element of destruction enough to destroy this protective wall.

Under the constant pressure that they were subjected to, his runes started to slowly shrink. But even though they shrunk, the light glowing from them grew a little brighter each time they shrunk. Because Li Yang was completely focused on his cultivation, he had no real way of keeping track of how much time pa.s.sed. And since he was a cultivator, the amount of food he needed and waste he produced was far lower than other people, allowing him to easily go for months without eating.

But his cultivation could not continue without pause, it could only continue for as long as Jing Yimu was taking on the trial. So after he had spent a little over a month quietly cultivating, a loud explosion suddenly sounded out, the earth trembling fiercely as a wave of heat washed over the entire area. Had it not been for the protective wall around him, Li Yang probably would have ended up somewhat wounded because of the heat.

As the sound of the explosion started to die down, Li Yang opened his eyes for the first time in a little over a month, glancing towards the volcanoes. Jinwu also woke up because of the sound, flying up and perching on Li Yang"s left shoulder, slightly shaking his body. When Li Yang glanced at the volcanoes, he saw that there was a large plume of smoke coming from the remains of the middle volcano. A slight smile appeared on his lips as he pat Jinwu on the head.

"Seems like there is no longer a need for us to wait."

A few moments after Li Yang spoke, someone shot out from the plume of smoke, heading directly towards Li Yang at high speed. The person landed in front of Li Yang, revealing himself to be a slightly sorry looking Jing Yimu. His robe was scorched black and torn in a few places, his hair disheveled and his face pale. Looking at the state of him, it looked like he had engaged Chen Huo in a slight confrontation either before he entered the trial, or right now as he left the trial. Li Yang put on a happy smile, standing up and speaking out in a cheerful voice.

"Master Yimu, you are back! Did you manage to complete the trial?"

Li Yang could easily guess that Jing Yimu had failed the trial, but as Jing Yimu"s "disciple" it was a question that he had to ask. Jing Yimu gawked slightly after hearing Li Yang"s question, a faintly forced mysterious smile appearing on his face as he responded.

"What do you think, Little Yang? Do you think I was unable to complete it?"

Jing Yimu straightened up his back as he spoke, almost causing Li Yang to burst out laughing. He had clearly failed to complete the trial, so what was the point in acting mysterious like this? But Li Yang managed to keep a straight face, a light glimmering in his eyes as he clapped his hands.

"How could I believe that? You have already completed the previous trial, so I am certain that you have managed to complete this one. Congratulations, Master Yimu, now you only need to complete the last two. You will surely manage that quickly!"

Jing Yimu"s smile twitched slightly after he heard Li Yang"s complements, had it not been for the fact that he had countless years of experience, he would probably have ended up blushing slightly. He cleared his throat and then waved his hand, removing the wall of Qi that he had set up around Li Yang.

"A tiny amount of the Qi in the wall has been drained, it seems like you realized what I thought when I set it up, good."

With the wall disappearing, Li Yang gave his body a few stretches. After sitting still for a little over a month, his joints released slight popping sounds as he stretched them. Jing Yimu seemed to have suddenly realized something, swiping his interspatial ring and taking out a spear that was orange in color, the spear-head made out of a transparent crystal. He tossed the spear to Li Yang, a smile on his face.

"I forgot to give this to you after I completed the previous trial, so you"ll have to forgive me. Happy birthday, Little Yang."

Li Yang grabbed the spear, which was even longer than he was tall, almost three meters long. There was a faint heat coursing through the spear, flames engraved along the shaft, so it was clearly meant for a person who cultivated the laws of fire. It was also only upon hearing Jing Yimu congratulate him that Li Yang had turned 13 around two months ago, while Jing Yimu was taking on the previous trial. Li Yang quickly put on an excited expression, giving Jing Yimu a deep bow.

"Thank you, Master Yimu! I will make sure to treasure it."

The spear seemed like it was of excellent quality, but Li Yang was a swordsman, so it was not very useful to him. But he was lacking a proper weapon for the moment, so it was better than nothing. Jing Yimu reached out with his hand, patting Li Yang on the shoulder and helping him straighten his back.

"No need for such formality, it is only right that I give you something, I am your master after all. Now come, we have another trial to head to!"

Li Yang"s lips curled into an almost invisible smile after hearing Jing Yimu"s words. He was so close now, so close to acquiring the last emblem, so close to killing Jing Yimu. The thought alone almost made him break out into a wide grin.