644 Elemental Convergence. Trial of Fire
My senses were slightly disoriented as I was diving through this awkward tunnel that had way too much spatial laws mixed in it. Unlike a stable spatial tunnel this one felt like it was forcefully torn and made like a hole dug in the middle of a quicksand pit.
But without control over my own body right now, I couldn"t help but watch as I was dragged through s.p.a.ce itself to G.o.d only knows where.
Soon however, my speed began slowing down and I could feel the spatial tension lessen. The exit is near.
Suddenly I found myself standing in a pentagonal platform in the middle of an ever so extending open plane.
The platform I was on was the only thing that was different from where I was, as the blistering heat from all over this place could easily cook an emperor stage cultivator. I honestly think that if I were to come in here with my Emperor Stage cultivation that I"d have an extremely hard time surviving this heat.
After all, the entire area felt like I was walking on the surface of a burning star.
Flame pillars rose all around me, infinitely exploding from the earth below. Stone and boulder turned to lava, and was then spat back out by the pillars only to melt once again. Adding to an endless series of explosive flames that seemed to have been burning for all eternity.
Soon, the bracelet on my arm began s.h.i.+ning and projected an image in front of me.
"WELCOME CHALLENGERS!"
The sound of an announcer echoed through the bracelet. Even though the infinite explosions around me were loud his sound was crisp and clear.
"We have convened you here for an opportunity at greatness. Gathered under the sun"s radiant gaze, it is your chance to demonstrate to the world the respect you rightfully deserve. Efforts, valor, power, and valiance alone are not the sole keys to ascending to the heavens. Shrewdness and wisdom, too, are virtues to be honored. Let your actions, not mere words, proclaim to the world that none but you are worthy of this t.i.tle! THE STRONGEST UNDER THE SUN!"
You could hear the sound of the hollering crowd through the bracelet as the commentator finished his words.
"Now, to explain what is going on. This year we have had a great deal of newcomers and partic.i.p.ants. Not to deny anyone the right to be here and reach the final stage, the Lords of the Beyond itself The Eight Suns had come up with the challenges that you will all have to face in order to have the needed resolve and worthiness to be in their presence! To have the Eight Suns watch your matches you must prove yourself capable of at least doing these trials!"
The crowd once again chimed in at the mention of the eight suns.
"Now, last tournament the man t.i.tled the Moonlight Swordsman had gone against odds and fate itself to claim first rank and earn himself the t.i.tle of strongest under the heavens. But since they are not here, that t.i.tle remains unclaimed! And you all have a shot at it! Your task is rather simple for start! We need to thin down the numbers, and a full-on battle royal is rather boring. So, you will be facing the challenge of Elemental Convergence! Your goal is simple, every challenger has been summoned to a different location in the Blistering Lands. One of the high level danger zones of the beyond, although it isn"t a forbidden Danger Zone, it is not any less dangerous. You must reach the highest peak of this region before the timer on your bracelet ends."
"Sounds simple enough."
"However, that sounds a little bit boring, right?!"
The crowd felt the same as they were nodding and agreeing.
"Indeed, reaching the highest peak alone is not enough to secure victory," the announcer declared, their voice echoing through the eager crowd. "In addition to scaling the treacherous terrain of the Blistering Lands and retrieving the sacred artifact, each partic.i.p.ant will be a.s.signed a specific target among their fellow challengers. Your task is twofold: eliminate your designated target or retrieve their bracelet from their possession, and then proceed to claim the artifact atop the summit."
A murmur of excitement rippled through the gathered cultivators as they absorbed the new condition.
"But," the announcer continued, a sly grin playing across their lips, "here"s the twist: if your a.s.signed target perishes before you reach them, whether by the flames of the mountain or by the hand of another, you will be issued a new target. This ensures that the compet.i.tion remains fierce and unpredictable until the very end. Remember, only the cunning and resourceful will emerge victorious in the race for glory and power!"
"... that"s a nasty condition, not only do I need to make sure I reach the target in time, I also need to retrieve their bracelet. If they die before I reach them I might have to find another target that could be thousands of miles away…"
The announcer coughed and added, "BUT THAT IS NOT ALL!"
"f.u.c.k, there is more?!"
"This will happen FIVE TIMES! Reaching the summit and presenting the correct bracelet will send you to the second region, and then you will have to hunt another person there!"
"I guess this is the only way to thin the numbers down…"
"SO TELL ME! ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!"
The crowd shouted in unison as they seemed to be rejoicing in the contents of this tournament.
"Now! I hope you"re all ready! Your target will show up under your bracelet the moment you make it to a tenth of the way to the mountain, good luck!" he said.
14:14
"Now! I hope you"re all ready! Your target will show up under your bracelet the moment you make it to a tenth of the way to the mountain, good luck!" he said.
The holographic image disappeared and a timer of a hundred hours appeared on the bracelet on my arm and it began ticking down.
I guess I"ll need to move up…
I approached the exterior of the platform and touched the ground. The heat coming out of it was nasty hot, but it wasn"t to the level that it could affect my boat.
Yes, seems like I"ll be using it right now.
After all, this is a simple race that I"ve done many of before. The only difference is the type. This is a clear test for one"s endurance. Most cultivators will be racing through this area using their Qi to protect them from the outer elements.
And with the explosions occurring all around us, they"ll have to use more Qi as divine sense to keep themselves safe. Not to mention that they"ll need to preserve some Qi for battle to secure the bracelets.
However, I don"t really care much about that, there are no rules that state you can"t use tools.
So, I summoned the hover-s.h.i.+p and rode inside it then blasted its engines. Flying through the area with a relatively rapid pace.
Time flew by and the mountain in the distance didn"t seem to be growing any bit. The distance was absurdly far as it seems. Although I was flying at a constant pace, similar to my former flying speed as an Emperor cultivator, I still felt that I wasn"t covering much distance.
Several pillars of molten flames exploded in front of me, but I just flew through them, boring through the magmatic exertion and flying forward. A testament to the metals used in the making of this boat, not a single dent appeared on my hover-s.h.i.+p as it flew through molten rocks.
The protective formations and the already superior metal making it felt as if I was riding a tank through gra.s.s. Very comfortable.
Several puppets were manning the guns and were keeping an eye out through the windows of the s.h.i.+p.
"Looks like this ride will be pretty smooth", but I shouldn"t be saying that, now should I? Because the moment I said that something emerged from the ma.s.sive lava pool up ahead of me.
A hundred-meter-tall lava golem.