Dyon continuously aimed for the wyvern worm"s fake, knock off version of a dragon"s reverse scale. Taking complete advantage of its haughtiness and dislike of sneak attacking, Dyon didn"t worry about the worms disappearing beneath the ground. Instead, he dodged and swung in a rhythmic motion, jumping from worm to worm and reaping their lives. Earlier, Dyon had tried using his Demon Emperor"s Will to make things easier, but he immediately noticed that not only did his stamina drain faster, his strength didn"t increase at all. In fact, the world"s suppression increased along with the stages he climbed, seemingly intent on keeping him at a certain power level.
However, Dyon didn"t mind. Since that was the case, this trial clearly didn"t want you to use any special techniques or cultivation methods. That was perfectly fine by him.
Time pa.s.sed without end. While it took only a year for Dyon to decimate the first two beast waves, it wasn"t until half way through the third year that he finally managed to slay the final wyvern worm of the 60th wave.
When the 61st wave started, Dyon couldn"t help but see a pattern. It was as though the third trial was doing its best to completely counter him.
The first beast wave of metallic rhinos was a probe, but the second wave of lions seemed directly tailored toward dealing with his Presence. Although it ultimately failed, that was due to the restrictions in the power allowed for the second beast wave, and not for any other reason. The lion was the King of beasts and thus had faint dislike and struggle against Dyon"s Presence.
The third wave made it even more obvious. The beast even had a trace of dragon"s blood, albeit a very faint trace, that made Dyon using his Presence on more than a few thousand at a time impossible. By the time their numbers sky-rocketed into the tens of thousands, then the hundreds of thousands, Dyon had to spend focus a lot more on running to avoid being cornered, while focusing his Presence on small groups.
And now for the fourth wave, the restrictions of his Presence became even more apparent. Not only was the beast now of the Heaven grade, it was actually a King beast!
Within every beast species, there will always be those beasts who exceed their fellow clansmen. When this difference is great enough, they are t.i.tled as the King of their clan and thus become King beasts. This t.i.tle is ignored when it comes to beasts who have the ability to change into humans, but for Heaven beasts who can"t, this t.i.tle is still apropos.
There was another thing about King beasts that was very relevant for this particular situation, and that was the fact they always followed the sovereign path of their wills!
In a one on one situation, Dyon would hardly care about this, because he was confident that his Presence would still win out. However, as the numbers climbed, Dyon realized that in all likelihood, his Presence would only work on a few hundred at a time, and if this trend continues, with the next beast wave, it might only work on a few dozen at a time. By then, this trial would really put him at death"s door.
However, this was exactly the kind of pressure Dyon wanted. Although the previous waves were difficult and took him a long time to break through, he never truly felt like his life was on the line.
But now, as he watched the five-meter-tall Silver Wolf before him, growl lowly as though it was stalking prey, he finally felt his blood boil.
For almost three years now, he had felt nothing but endless rage. At first, he didn"t even understand what he was mad at until he realized he was angry with himself. Why else would he jump into this trial without healing his injuries, why else would he trudge on even while knowing those same injuries were only getting worse and harder to heal, why else if not to punish himself?
Dyon pointed his ma.s.sive 7 foot long sword toward the wolf in provocation, his eyes lit up with a dense battle intent. By now, the huge sword was a glistening copper-bronze color, its former charcoal black flaking off. It now weighed hundreds of jin, growing with Dyon as he just finally crossed the barrier of meridian formation. Surprisingly, at this point, Dyon felt that the restriction on energy cultivation was lifted, he knew that this was a bad premonition for himself, but he didn"t care.
And then he charged, allowing a roar to escape his lips as the first sound he had made in years.
Seeing this, Dyon"s grand teacher finally sighed in relief. Before he was worried for Dyon, but at least now, Dyon was feeling something other than rage. His anger was clearly still there, but it no longer had the fatal air it once had. Instead, he wanted to tear through everything in his path.
Dyon fought a bloodied battle. In fact, this wave was the first time he was actually injured by one of the beasts, and it wasn"t due to carelessness either. But, he fought on, taking on beasts many times his size without batting an eye. There was no one else in these lands, there were no clear goals, nor were their any milestones to leap over. Dyon only had himself and the sword in his hand. His blood couldn"t help but boil.