Chapter 448: Chapter 273: Will of Heaven Knife, Erasure_i

Having passed through the door of the Secret Realm, Jiang Ming arrived at a place shrouded in mist, its vagueness enwrapping everything, making it impossible to see the surroundings clearly.

He released his power, but it failed to shake the slightest bit, which startled him.

In front of him, the fog twisted, revealing two portals, one inscribed with the words “Will of Heaven Knife,” and the other marked with a single blood-red character: “Kill!”

Amid the obscurity, pieces of information were being conveyed to him, and Jiang Ming suddenly understood.

This was the first elimination round of the trial, with two modes to choose from.

The “Will of Heaven Knife” portal primarily tested one’s will, while the other was a bloody battle; only by passing through would one be able to enter the true Battlefield of Geniuses.

If one couldn’t pass, then elimination!

“Elimination!”

A chill ran down Jiang Ming’s spine.

As for the specific content, he had no idea.

Just as Taixuan had said before, the content of each Genius War was different, and past experiences held little value as reference.

This was also why he had remained silent up until now.

“Will of Heaven Knife!”

Without any hesitation, Jiang Ming chose the “Will of Heaven Knife” portal, pushed open the door, and stepped in, but his faint sigh lingered in that place: to think that at my current realm, I would still face elimination, huh, heh…

Astral Travelling, time and space flowed.

He arrived in a new space, vast and empty, as if nestled in the starry sky, yet utterly silent.

Below him was a platform, not large, just a hundred meters in radius.

Directly ahead was a white jade staircase, extending into mid-air, with a jade door at its end.

A torrent of information also descended from the heavens: Step onto the hundredth stair within ten years to pass the test, push open the jade door, and enter the Battlefield of Geniuses; fail to reach the hundredth stair within ten years, and be eliminated.

Elimination again!

Jiang Ming took a deep breath, suppressed the surging waves in his heart, carefully analyzed the information, but found himself puzzled, wondering why ten years were given?

“Is it to stimulate our potential and enhance our strength during the test? Or is it to wait for geniuses of the Eighth and Ninth Realms to eventually enter the same battlefield?”

His mind raced, but he couldn’t find a specific answer.

“The Genius War ten years from now will probably be incredibly fierce!”

Jiang Ming had a bad feeling.

The better the conditions now, the more brutal it would become in the future.

He sensed his surroundings again and found the energy of Heaven and Earth here to be even denser than outside, and not a single rule of Heaven and Earth was missing.

It was as if this was a genuine world.

This was very good, extremely good indeed.

Suppressing many thoughts, he started climbing the stairs.

Boom…

Upon setting foot on the first stair, a blade of light slashed from the depths of the cosmos, its glow immeasurable, causing Jiang Ming to squint his eyes. He wanted to dodge, but found there was nowhere to hide, no escape.

Its speed was so fast it seemed to surpass time.

In an instant, it struck between his brows, reaching into the depths of his soul, within his will.

“Will of Heaven Knife!”

With a slight flicker of his eyelids, Jiang Ming realized what it was.

This strike targeted the will, and it reached a strength that would be at the beginning of the Peak of the Eleventh Realm. To him, however, it was hardly anything.

“Ordinary Eleventh Realm…”

He looked up at the remaining ninety-nine stairs, his expression turning bizarre.

“It seems ten years is not very long after all!”

Jiang Ming continued his ascent.

Sometimes it was a blade of light, or sword light, or even a finger that pierced through the cosmos, and at times various illusionary territories reached deep within his heart and so on.

Each stair increased in intensity.

Yet Jiang Ming remained unmoved.

Thirty-three stairs.

“Here, the will of an ordinary Eleventh Realm would undoubtedly meet its end!”

Jiang Ming paused briefly, then continued forward.

“At sixty-six stairs, it reached the attack power of the will at the Peak of the Eleventh Realm, and besides defending or resisting with willpower, all other methods are completely useless!”

“This test, it is designed to kill one!”

Even Jiang Ming was somewhat shocked.

He also thought of the other choice, which probably wasn’t much easier, if not more brutal.

“The cruelty here is literal life or death, while the bloody battle over there probably involves constant struggle!”

His feet didn’t stop, his every step firm and resolved.

“The ninety-first stair corresponds to an attack of willpower almost at the level of the Twelfth Realm!”

“The ninety-seventh stair, willpower of non-Twelfth Realm beings cannot withstand it. This blade has even shaken me.”

Jiang Ming finally stopped and closed his eyes, carefully savoring the experience.

Willpower attack, not of the soul, not of the mind, is extremely special, turning the most ethereal force into substance.

“Willpower originates from the soul, from the mind, from one’s personal experiences…”

Jiang Ming carefully contemplated, wanting to harness this power for his own use and form divine skills, but ultimately gained nothing from it. However, his soul and mind fused even more perfectly.

“Continue!”

He didn’t linger for long.

The attacks of the stairs that followed became stronger and stronger, especially the Illusion Territory, which almost made him indulge in it.

In the end, he stood on the hundredth step.

“For others, ten years is indeed too short, much too short.”

“If I had not comprehended more than two hundred rules, received the continuous baptism of the Tao rhythm of heaven and earth, and had the enhancement of the World Tree, making my will as firm as ancient unyielding stone, otherwise, it would have been much harder for me!”

Thinking this, Jiang Ming looked towards the jade door.

He knew that by pushing it open, he would be able to head to the Battlefield of Geniuses.

“Is it like the World of the Secret Realm? Although in different small spaces, once the real destination is reached, everything will unite as if arriving all at once.”

This is the method of manipulating time.

“Behind this…”

Jiang Ming looked up, his Divine Thought sweeping in all directions, finding nothing, then he sat down cross-legged.

Completing the trial so quickly, his goal was simple: to use the time to comprehend the Way of Rules.

“Other competitors may refine their will through the Heavenly Ladder or hone their divine skills on the Blood-Kill Battlefield, but for me, this is the best place for closed-door training!”

Jiang Ming closed his eyes, his thoughts merging into the void, learning from heaven and earth, referencing the vast cosmos to begin comprehending the power of rules.

His mind was strong, his soul peerless, his comprehension heaven-defying. Plus, being able to merge his mind with the World Tree and immerse into the void, comprehending rules truly wasn’t hard for him.

It was only slightly more difficult than drinking water.

Time flowed slowly. Various new rules emerged around him, and with each new rule, his aura deepened, and the space within his Pocket World grew stronger.

His own will, even his physical body, his soul, and more, all were refined.

“The more I comprehend, the harder it becomes!”

The more he understood, the more Jiang Ming felt the terrifying repulsion between the rules, even with his hundredfold comprehension, it was immensely difficult.

“If I could not merge with the World Tree and enter the boundless void for comprehension, I’m afraid I would not be able to fully understand the three hundred and sixty-five types of rules in ten years, no, it would definitely be impossible.”

When the number of rules he comprehended reached three hundred, the difficulty of comprehending new rules was like contending against a Sixth Tier being every moment.

Utterly terrifying.

As time passed, Jiang Ming understood more and more, but the power that burst forth from him also became increasingly frightening.

The three hundred and forty-ninth kind.

Hum…

The collision of rules and Reverse Tao Rhythm made his flesh unable to bear it, cracking inch by inch, as if to turn into a pile of mud.

Even his soul was torn apart.

It was too terrifying.

“If this continues, I absolutely will not be able to comprehend the three hundred and sixty-five types!”

Coldness crept into Jiang Ming’s heart.

He looked up at the depths of the sky, feeling the oppression from the great Dao, the malice from the laws of heaven.

“Comprehending the Way of Rules, all sorts of divine skills, numerous wonderful methods, they’re all useless, one can only resist the backlash with brute force, and now…”

There was only one way left.

“World Tree, suppress my body!”

Jiang Ming gritted his teeth, and the branches and roots of the World Tree immediately merged into his body: organs, bones, muscles, skin, blood marrow, even his Sea of Consciousness and the depths of his mind, everything merged together.

At this moment, he resembled a big tree clad in human skin.

The World Tree also released the Light of Creation to constantly strengthen him.

Jiang Ming once again immersed himself in cultivation.

Hum…

The moment the ‘Oath’ rule was comprehended, the power that erupted allowed him to completely block the backlash from the cosmos and heaven and earth.

He was not shaken.

“That’s better!”

Jiang Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

But he became even more cautious.

Time went on flowing, and in the blink of an eye, the fifth year of his stay had arrived.