Devouring Soul Emperor

"When the trial begins, the Trial Taker’s consciousness will enter the Illusion Array."

"Depending on the Trial Taker, the Illusion Array can simulate all sorts of different Illusion Realms to test their various abilities."

"The most terrifying part is that the Illusion Array can see into the deepest fears and desires in everyone’s heart, causing people to sink deeper and deeper without even realizing it."

"Inside the Illusion Realm, there will be many different paths to choose from. The difficulty you encounter will vary greatly depending on your choices."

"That’s why you can only succeed by entering multiple times, gaining enough experience and tempering, and learning to choose the right path."

Sun Daxiong tried his best to explain, but Chu Qingyun and Xia He still looked confused. They didn’t quite understand.

"Sigh, you’ll understand once you try it for yourselves."

"In short, Chu, since you only have one chance, I urge you not to rush. You absolutely must be fully prepared before you attempt the trial."

Hearing how complicated it was, Xia He couldn’t help but shake his head. "It’s just a trial. Why make it so complex? Wouldn’t it be easier to just have us fight some opponents?"

Sun Daxiong chuckled and said, "This is a tradition of our Great Xia Dragon Guard. No matter the assessment, as long as it involves ranking, it has to be a comprehensive, multi-faceted evaluation. You should have gotten a sense of that from the three stages of the entrance assessment."

"By the way, Old Sun, after all this talk, you still haven’t told us what Captain level you are. Don’t tell me you’re at the Ordinary Level."

The question suddenly occurred to Xia He, and he asked with a smile.

Sun Daxiong looked a little embarrassed. "My strength is definitely on par with those Silver Medal Captains, but I can never pass the standard-difficulty trial, so I’m just an Iron Medal Captain..."

After the three of them arrived at the Merit Assessment Office, they found their luck was pretty good—no one was currently taking the trial.

Wanting to get his turn in before Chu Qingyun, Xia He rushed in first, handed over his Token, and directly selected the Difficult Level trial.

Chu Qingyun and Sun Daxiong were a bit speechless. Xia He was two years older than Chu Qingyun, but his temperament was far less mature.

It was probably related to his upbringing.

Although neither of them knew Xia He’s specific background, it was clear he didn’t come from some small place or minor family.

"Sun, how long does one trial attempt usually take?" Chu Qingyun asked.

"It depends on your progress inside, but under normal circumstances, it takes two to three hours to finish," Sun Daxiong replied after a moment’s thought.

’Two to three hours...’ Chu Qingyun nodded.

He was considering whether he should wait for Xia He to come out and immediately start the trial himself.

Or if he should first go to the exchange office, buy the Wood-type Spiritual Medicine, cultivate the Third Layer of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern, and then challenge the Illusion Array.

With over nine thousand Military Merits, he could probably buy a dozen or so Tier Three Wood-type Spiritual Medicines, but that likely wouldn’t be enough to cultivate the Third Layer.

This was because the Third Layer was much stronger than the Second Layer.

In truth, the Second Layer of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern didn’t offer much of an enhancement for the current Chu Qingyun. In his previous battles, it had merely been Icing on the Cake.

The opponents he faced now wielded attacks that the Second Layer of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern couldn’t block, whether it was Primordial Power attacks from those at the Half-Step Martial Spirit realm and above, or Captain Level Tier Three Soul Techniques.

Logically, he should have perfected the Second Layer back in Flame City for it to have been truly effective.

But back then, he simply didn’t have the extra resources to cultivate a Secret Technique. Doing so would have hindered his Realm progression, and the cost would have outweighed the benefit.

Now that he was in the Great Xia Dragon Guard, he naturally had to use the resources here to make up for his shortcomings in Secret Techniques.

After a moment of hesitation, Chu Qingyun decided not to rush into the Illusion Realm trial just yet.

After all, he only had one chance. Sun Daxiong’s repeated warnings had also made him wary, unlike the careless Xia He.

If he failed, the loss would be far too great—he would lose his Army Guardian Level authority.

If he missed this opportunity, he would have to wait until he broke through to the Martial Spirit Realm and became an Army Guardian, and who knew how long that would take.

Therefore, Chu Qingyun would rather wait a few more days, cultivate the Third Layer of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern, and be fully prepared before attempting the trial. That would give him a much better chance of success.

"Sun, I’m going to the exchange office to trade for some things first. Are you waiting here, or coming with me?"

Sun Daxiong thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Uh, you go on your own. I’ll wait for you guys here. With my measly amount of Military Merits, I feel miserable every time I go to the exchange office."

Chu Qingyun: ...

Chu Qingyun was already familiar with the way as he entered the exchange office again.

This time, he had a clear goal. He went straight to the Spirit Medicine District within the Captain District, planning to buy Tier Three Wood-type Spiritual Medicine.

As he passed the display for Thunderlight Stone, he couldn’t help but take another look.

’Sword Qi...’

’That’s a power completely beyond Sword Momentum. With my aptitude for the Sword Dao, I’m very confident I can cultivate the third form of the Thunder Sword Manual. The only thing I’m missing is the Thunderlight Stone...’

The price of Tier Three Wood-type Spiritual Medicine was similar to that of the Fire Element ones. With his 9,875 Military Merits and the 10% captain’s discount, Chu Qingyun bought a total of thirteen.

Afterward, he was left with a paltry sum of just over five hundred Military Merits in his Token.

Including the three he had bought before, he now had a total of sixteen Tier Three Wood-type Spiritual Medicines.

Based on his experience cultivating the first two layers of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern, Chu Qingyun estimated he would need at least twenty Tier Three Wood-type Spiritual Medicines to perfect the Third Layer.

’Still a bit short... Why did Meng Chengde and his group have to be so poor...’

Chu Qingyun couldn’t help but feel a little regretful.

If he couldn’t cultivate it to perfection, the power of the Third Layer would ultimately be greatly diminished.

However, after settling his Military Merit balance, he suddenly remembered that he still had three Fiery Red Lotuses contaminated with Fire Poison that he hadn’t dealt with.

So, Chu Qingyun went to a place in the exchange office for appraising and selling Treasures and handed over the three Fiery Red Lotuses.

"Excuse me, old sir. Could you please take a look at these three Tier Three Fire Element Spiritual Medicines and see how many Military Merits they’re worth?" Chu Qingyun said politely to a very old-looking Appraiser inside.

Although he knew the Spiritual Medicines probably wouldn’t sell for many Military Merits, every little bit counted.

Tier Three elemental Spiritual Medicines should at least sell for a few hundred Military Merits, which was equivalent to a few drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid.

Supporting a Qi Sea spanning ten thousand meters, Chu Qingyun didn’t dare to waste even a little.

Perhaps it was being addressed as "old sir," because the old Appraiser inside seemed very pleased.

He picked up a Fiery Red Lotus and examined it carefully, even using some other instruments to test it thoroughly.

"Hehe, young man, if you don’t mind me asking, are you trying to sell these three items as Spiritual Medicine, or as Fire Poison?"

The old Appraiser asked with a chuckle.