"Human Sovereign Trial, do you choose to begin?"
An indifferent, emotionless voice emanated from the Human Sovereign Pagoda mark on his chest, yet Ye Chen only smiled.
Ever since awakening to his past life in this lifetime, over a dozen years had passed without hearing this voice.
He never expected it to sound again now.
It felt so familiar, so nostalgic.
Ye Chen did not answer immediately, allowing the Cang Dragon to swiftly carry him to its lair. It was located deep within a valley of layered, undulating mountains, perpetually shrouded in dense mist and clouds. Inside lay a vast, immense lake, its waters deep and dark.
The Cang Dragon resided within this lake.
Moreover, deep within the lake, there were actually several spirit veins, continuously releasing copious amounts of spiritual energy that merged with the lake water. Cultivating here was faster than anywhere else.
No wonder the Cang Dragon chose this place to dwell; it was indeed a blessed land of caves and heavens.
Ye Chen proceeded directly to the deepest part of the lake. Not forgetting, he retrieved the five Saint weapons obtained from the Domain War battlefield and personally laid down array patterns and Dao marks. Reinforced by the five Saint weapons, he even suppressed the ancestral weapon of the Battle Saint lineage, the Primordial Battle Body, at the core of the formation.
This was because he had a premonition that this Human Sovereign Trial would last a continuous period, possibly even several months or more, so he prepared all defenses.
Immediately after, he instructed the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor and also tasked the Cang Dragon with guarding the area, ensuring no mistakes occurred.
Upon learning that Ye Chen was about to undertake the Human Sovereign Trial, the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor was greatly astonished. It naturally hadn't expected the Human Sovereign Pagoda to contain such a heaven-defying trial, one specifically created to achieve the status of Human Sovereign.
Legend had it that this trial was left behind by an invincible Human Sovereign from the Primordial Times. Once all trials were passed, the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor even suspected one might directly attain the position of Human Sovereign.
Naturally, it also believed that since it was a Human Sovereign Trial, it must be incomparably difficult.
Ye Chen sat cross-legged at the very bottom of the lake. Before him, the Human Sovereign Pagoda appeared, thirty-three stories high. From each layer, wisps of primordial Chaos Qi descended, suspending above his head, in a way also protecting his own body.
"Human Sovereign Trial, do you choose to begin?"
From within the Human Sovereign Pagoda, the indifferent, emotionless voice sounded again, very mechanical.
"Begin!"
The next moment, a Black Hole appeared beneath the Human Sovereign Pagoda, unfathomably deep and mysterious, its interior impossible to probe.
Ye Chen's Primordial Spirit emerged from the Mud Pill Palace between his brows and directly entered the Human Sovereign Pagoda.
Soon, Ye Chen found himself in a familiar yet strange, boundless, and mysterious space. The surroundings were a gray haze; as far as the eye could see, there was spiritual mist condensed from heaven and earth spiritual energy. Only the area within a ten-zhang radius before him was clear.
Undoubtedly, this was the space inside the pagoda, where the heaven and earth spiritual energy was astonishingly dense, capable of condensing into spiritual mist.
Following his memories from back then, Ye Chen stepped forward, light and swift. A distance that had taken half an hour previously was now covered in just two or three steps. He arrived at another open, empty area where an ancient stone gate stood before him.
"Welcome to the Human Sovereign Pagoda, True King Seat possessor Qian Yue, identity confirmed!"
"Push open the stone gate, and the first level of the Human Sovereign Trial will begin! Complete the first trial to receive a reward!"
The voice devoid of emotional fluctuation sounded once more after a long absence, so unfamiliar, yet so familiar.
The ancient gate was plain and unadorned, with a mysterious Dao Rhyme flowing around it.
Beside it, a stone stele was embedded in the ground, upon which a line of ancient characters clearly appeared: First Gate, eighteen thousand jin!
Ye Chen smiled faintly. Back then, he had just awakened not long ago, his strength pitifully weak. He couldn't even open the first stone gate and was advised to cultivate the Tyrant Heaven Refining Saint Art.
The thirty-six cultivation diagrams of the Tyrant Heaven Refining Saint Art from back then had naturally been thoroughly mastered by Ye Chen at this point. They held little effect for him now, as they were only targeted at those below the Divine Transformation Realm.
Moreover, in all the world, any body-refining technique could not compare to the Battle Saint Art.
Simply because its founder, the Battle Saint Holy Emperor, was a supreme mythical Emperor and Sovereign, an existence comparable to the most ancient Heavenly Emperor.
As for the first trial's stone gate, let alone a mere eighteen thousand jin, even one million eight hundred thousand jin would not trouble him.
Placing both hands on the ancient gate, he gave a gentle push. The ancient gate slowly opened, everything flowing as smoothly as clouds and water.
Within sight was an empty space containing nothing but this martial arts arena, one hundred zhang in both length and width, paved with bluestone slabs bearing numerous marks.
Confident in his skills and bold, Ye Chen entered.
The indifferent voice sounded again: "Human Sovereign Trial-taker Qian Yue, first trial begins!"
Whoosh—
A figure appeared on the martial arts arena—a tall, slender young man, appearing valiant and heroic, clad in black martial attire. However, his expression was utterly indifferent and emotionless, as if devoid of a soul.
"Xiantian?"
Ye Chen was slightly taken aback because he could clearly sense this trial guardian's aura—it was merely Xiantian, specifically the third level of Xiantian.
Such cultivation was strong for mortals, but for the current Ye Chen, a single breath could kill who knows how many of them.
The guardian of the first level of the prestigious Human Sovereign Trial was actually a Xiantian third-level martial artist.
But the next moment, a mysterious and irresistible force of rules descended, transforming into a heavenly blade that slashed through the air, instantly striking Ye Chen. It nearly severed all his power, leaving only a small portion of his cultivation.
Xiantian third level!
Indeed, the Human Sovereign Trial had strict restriction limits. To pass, one could only challenge opponents of the same rank; higher-rank suppression was not allowed.
Therefore, the current Ye Chen actually possessed the same cultivation level as the guardian.
However, even at only Xiantian third level, Ye Chen possessed the rich combat experience of two lifetimes, fully capable of killing enemies beyond his level.
Swish—
The black-clad guardian's expression remained indifferent, but he charged forward in an instant, his speed reaching an unbelievable level. In a flash, he crossed several dozen zhang, appearing directly before Ye Chen.
Simultaneously, the black-clad guardian threw out a Tiger Bite Fist. Xiantian True Yuan materialized into a fearsome, multicolored fierce tiger, opening its bloody maw to bite down.
Fast, accurate, ruthless!
Even with Ye Chen's rich combat experience, he couldn't help but be greatly surprised, as the opponent's speed was too fast, arriving instantly.
But after all, he was a generation's Battle Saint King. Ye Chen's combat awareness was astonishingly sharp. Almost the moment the opponent charged forward, his body instinctively reacted. Both claws struck out, resembling a lion opening its mouth to roar. Surging Xiantian True Yuan also materialized into a majestic lion king, faintly visible, its mane bristling with anger as it roared and attacked.
Boom—
The two collided directly, each quickly retreating. But the moment they stabilized their stances, they charged forward again, circulating True Yuan and engaging in fierce physical combat.