Chapter 963: Chapter 519: Epic Skills Unleashed, Extra Stages, Trial Evaluation (4K)

Mu Yuan stood at the entrance of the valley, waiting quietly for two and a half hours until he was sure that no new rules emerged as time passed. Only then did he step out.

“Notice: You have passed the Advanced Trial, First Stage.”

The storm had ceased, and the valley behind him faded like a watercolor painting, losing its color and disappearing swiftly.

In its place came the scorching heat.

He was standing on rocks that were heated to a sizzle.

In front of him, or rather all around, was an endless sea of scalding magma. Sparse rocks dotted the magma lake, providing merely a few footholds.

“Flying? No, that’s not right.”

Pillars of fire erupted and, in mid-air, spelled out a line of text.

“Savor fire, resist fire, and step out of the Magma Lake.”

“It’s similar to the rules of the previous stage.”

“However, this time…”

Energy surged within Mu Yuan, gushing from him and colliding with the fire element particles congregating from the heavens and earth to form a crimson energy shield around his body.

Yet even such a fiery shield was distorted under the extreme temperatures.

“This isn’t ordinary magma; it comes from the nine-layered earth core, magma that could easily burn through the energies protecting those in the Legendary Realm.”

“And this world is filled with a ‘Forbidden Space’ Conceptual Power.”

He himself wielded Conceptual Power.

Thanks to his Talents of Devouring and Reaping What You Sow, along with his frequent practice with the Division Generals’ Templates, the limits to his Conceptual Power might not be very high, but the types were exceedingly rich.

He knew a little about everything.

Merely using a flying-type concept would be enough to briefly contend against the Forbidden Space.

However, if another Lord came here, they could only honestly tread across this extremely hot magma, taking steps towards the outside.

Even if there were some rocks to rest on halfway through, he didn’t think many Lords could manage it.

Even a powerhouse in the Law Realm, without grasping a concept similar to flying, wouldn’t be able to take flight here.

“Only Fire Element power pervades this world. To freeze the Magma Lake with sheer force is impossible.”

That would consume too much energy.

The Magma Lake was vast and boundless. Even if a Trialist wielded an ice-like Conceptual Power, they could only freeze the magma for a very short time.

Mu Yuan thought it over and, instead of hastening to start his journey, he slowly crouched down and tentatively reached his hand into the sizzling magma, bubbling red with heat.

Hissss–

In just three seconds, the energy covering his palm was burnt through, and the viscous liquid, like molten iron, began to steep and sizzle over it.

At that moment, Mu Yuan was using the “Duo Lai Template.”

With this template, he not only had Duo Lai’s four Epic Abilities but also possessed the formidable Fire Resistance that it evolved after devouring a massive amount of fire-related materials.

“This mere magma… hiss!!”

His palm turned bright red as the skin on the surface began to curl and peel away.

Mu Yuan could not help but retract his hand, looking at his already healed skin, he sucked in a breath of cool air.

“To think that even Duo Lai’s 80% resistance cannot withstand this test; the magma pool is terrifyingly formidable.”

The Lord’s Power could load up to three templates simultaneously, but whether he used the power of one General or three, the combined strength he could wield remained 80%.

He thought for a moment and rearranged the power of the templates he had loaded.

He loaded two templates.

The Duo Lai Template and the Xi Liu Template.

He activated Duo Lai’s Devouring enhancement and Xi Liu’s Dragon Princess body.

The next moment,

“Crack~ Crack~”

Mu Yuan’s body abruptly grew larger, his eyes turning into golden vertical pupils as numerous tiny Dragon Scales sprouted all over his body.

His dragon-transformed feet stomped on the scorching hot magma – fizz, fizz, fizz – steam rose, and the air was faintly filled with a certain fragrance.

But,

he wasn’t burnt through.

“The water feels a bit hot, but it’s bearable.”

Mu Yuan began to take steps outward.

The magma lake was viscous. The endless Fire Element power surged upward, allowing him to avoid sinking.

“So this is resisting fire, but what about savoring fire?”

“Come to think of it, the previous stage had a similar hint.”

Mu Yuan pondered.

In the blink of an eye, he had covered most of the distance, and the end of the Magma Lake was already in sight.

He didn’t need to keep expending energy continuously, and he didn’t need to climb onto special rocks to rest, which naturally made his journey much faster.

But he always felt that something was missing.

Mu Yuan figured it out and, after hesitating for a while, he steeled himself and bit the bullet, “Here goes nothing!”

The power from the Xi Liu Template began to decrease drastically.

His dragon transformation began to recede. Without the protection of the Upper-Epic Red Dragon’s power, the intense heat of the Magma Lake fully erupted. Even after the external energy had been reduced layer by layer, his skin was being scorched to the point of continuously curling and peeling off in blackened layers.

“Hiss–!”

At this time, he still used some of Duo Lai’s Power.

His energy was vast, his physique not weak. Accustomed to tempering, his body was thousands of times harder than gold or stone; even if he truly fell into the magma pool, it was highly likely he wouldn’t die.

At most, he’d lose a layer of skin, but it would quickly heal.

Strictly speaking, it didn’t even count as an injury.

But it would be painful.

“Damn, that really hurts… Huh?”

Along with the scorching heat and fiery intensity, he also felt a mysterious power of fire being transmitted to him.

His skin was continuously burnt and healed; his resistance to flame seemed to be rising bit by bit.

“Notice: Your Fire Resistance has increased.”

“Notice: Your Fire Resistance has increased.”

The successive alert sounds confirmed his own guess.

“Is this what it means to savor fire?”

“Is the correct way to pass this stage to counteract the magma, gradually enhancing one’s flame resistance until reaching the end of the road?”