Chapter 1766: Chapter 1766: The Encirclement of the Xuanyuan Clan, The Second Trial (5/5)

The ruins where the Netherworld King resides, Shanshui Hall.

Seven sword cultivators of the Xuanyuan Clan, led by Xuanyuan Che, along with more than ten cultivators from various other factions or rogue cultivators, had gathered here.

Xuanyuan Che glanced at the Netherworld King with a complicated expression, but quickly withdrew his gaze.

They now stood on opposing sides.

Otherwise, those of the same path might have become friends, sparring partners helping each other to improve.

The remaining seven sword cultivators of the Xuanyuan Clan glared fiercely at the Netherworld King upon seeing him.

“It seems his days of ease are over. The elders instructed us to kill him here and seize the Sword Bone. Now is the perfect opportunity.”

“There’s no time to waste. Kill him here and now to avoid unnecessary complications later.”

No chances were to be given.

Such were the orders from the elders before entering this place.

All seven Xuanyuan Clan sword cultivators stepped forward, forming a fan-shaped formation to surround the Netherworld King.

The Netherworld King, seeing this, chuckled and said, “Can’t hold back, can you?”

With that, the Yuncang Sword slid into his hand.

The seven from the Xuanyuan Clan stared at the sword in the Netherworld King’s hand with envious gazes.

“So this is one of the swords wielded by the Green Cloud Sword Master in his prime?”

“It’s said that to inherit all the Green Cloud Sword Master’s legacies, one must gather the four inheritances he left behind.”

“Sword Bone, Yuncang Sword… this man already possesses two of them.”

“Why not hand over the Yuncang Sword willingly and extract the Sword Bone from your body yourself? Perhaps it won’t be as painful that way.”

Hearing their arrogant chatter, the Netherworld King couldn’t help but let out a faint laugh. He shrugged and turned to Xuanyuan Che as he approached, saying, “Are all the direct descendants of the Xuanyuan Clan always this confident? Looks like the rumors about the Xuanyuan Clan’s decline weren’t without merit.”

Xuanyuan Che felt a bitter smile within. He too had to admit it.

The Xuanyuan Clan, long regarded as a top aristocratic family, had bred direct descendants who were arrogant, looked down on others, and were overly self-assured.

A sword cultivator with such an attitude would never go far.

If it weren’t for the foundation of the Xuanyuan Clan to rely on, they might not even have achieved their current success.

Yet they were utterly oblivious to this fact.

Instead, hearing the Netherworld King’s words made them flush with anger and shout, “The decline of the Xuanyuan Clan? Such audacity!”

“You’re just a barbarian rat from the Mortal Realm! How dare you pass judgment on the Xuanyuan Clan?”

The Netherworld King, holding the Yuncang Sword, responded calmly, “Whether I’m fit or not, you’ll know after a fight.”

“A sword is meant to kill enemies, not for idle chatter. If you want to fight, let’s get on with it.”

At the Netherworld King’s current cultivation realm, even Xuanyuan Che might not be his match.

As for the seven direct descendants of the Xuanyuan Clan, how could they possibly be his opponents?

Xuanyuan Che naturally understood this and intervened, saying, “This is not a suitable place to fight. We should strategize first.”

One of the direct descendants said, “Brother Che, who knows what trials lie ahead? If he finds a chance to escape then, things will get complicated.”

“Exactly, better to act now.”

“With his strength, if the seven of us strike together and you join in, he won’t stand a chance!”

The disciples and rogue cultivators from the other factions were content to watch such a scene unfold.

For them, the fewer competitors, the better.

Ideally, the sword cultivator from the Mortal Realm might even cause some losses to the Xuanyuan Clan.

Though admittedly… to them, that seemed somewhat unlikely.

As the tension between both sides reached its peak.

When the final person entered Shanshui Hall.

The surrounding space twisted once again!

The scenery around them began to shift!

Everyone present felt as though an invisible force was pulling them, forcing them to move uncontrollably.

The Netherworld King and Xuanyuan Che were no exceptions.

The palace vanished.

It was replaced by a blood-colored land from moments before.

Only… the skeletal remains and fragments of broken swords and shields scattered across the terrain had now disappeared.

Instead, countless living, armored soldiers stood atop the blood-colored ground, forming an oppressive mass, their faces brimming with killing intent!

The Netherworld King, Xuanyuan Che, and the other cultivators were forcibly moved onto city walls by an invisible force!

Each segment of the wall and the land outside, along with the soldiers, seemed to form independent spaces.

The area was divided into dozens of segments.

Every cultivator stood atop a section of the wall, able to see the events in other spaces but unable to interfere with them.

It seemed the trial had begun.

Seven direct descendants of the Xuanyuan Clan stood atop their respective isolated sections of the walls, frowning as they looked toward the Netherworld King.

“Truly lucky.”

“But it doesn’t matter. If you pass the trial, you’ll inevitably fall into our hands afterward.”

The Netherworld King paid them no heed.

Instead, his gaze fell on the sudden appearance of a scroll before him.

Unfolding the scroll.

Its contents read: Defend the city for seven days, or force the enemy to retreat; either will be considered as passing the trial.

The magic treasure obtained earlier can also be used, but only three times. After three uses, the treasure will be reclaimed, so exercise caution.

The instructions were simple.

Yet the difficulty of the trial was glaringly apparent.

The Netherworld King looked toward the enemy forces outside the city–tens of thousands strong.

Each soldier’s cultivation realm strength had reached the Demigod Realm, with over ten Monarch God Realm experts among them.

Meanwhile, within the city’s forces, those who remained were either injured or dead.

The disparity in combat strength was stark.

The enemy forces were at least ten times stronger.

Defending the city for seven days under such circumstances–imaginable difficulty!

As for forcing the enemy to retreat?

This was undeniably wishful thinking!

The other cultivators had also seen the trial’s content. Many furrowed their brows, while others displayed expressions of despair.

At that moment.

A Monarch God Realm expert leading the enemy forces outside the city shouted, “Those of you behind the city walls, hear me! This is your final ultimatum–we offer you two choices!”

“Either we crush and kill you all.”

“Or hand over the Divine Weapon and surrender all commander-level personnel within the city, and we shall withdraw! We promise not to harm the innocent within the city!”

The Divine Weapon?

The Netherworld King was slightly taken aback and glanced at the armored man beside him.

The man furrowed his brows and explained, “City Lord, under no circumstances can we hand over the Divine Weapon. If we do, the power of the opposing kingdom will become unstoppable! At that point, we’ll truly have no chance; tens of millions of people in the kingdom will face unthinkable suffering!”

“Then do you still have the strength to fight?”

The armored man hesitated, then knelt on one knee, cupping his fists and proclaiming loudly, “I vow to burn my life to protect the city to the death!”

Which meant there wasn’t any assurance.

Now the Netherworld King understood.

If the Divine Weapon wasn’t surrendered, the hope of defending the city for seven days was exceedingly slim.

If the Divine Weapon was surrendered, the enemy forces would withdraw–but according to the armored man, the aftermath would lead to the suffering of millions.

Yet, the trial’s content stipulated that forcing the enemy to retreat was sufficient to pass.

Why… when this was clearly a trial illusion.

Why did the armored man mention the aftermath?

The Netherworld King couldn’t shake the feeling that the armored man’s words were tied to the trial in some way.

At the same time… the division in areas during the first phase of the human nature trial, and the differing challenges–could these also be interconnected with the first trial’s theme?