Chapter 584 – Opening the Cage
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“Ridiculous? Hahaha!” Maha laughed. “Letting you practice for so long in Skysplit Tower is already letting you take advantage of us. Now we are even letting you leave with your life intact, but you still have such much nonsense to babble on about. Do you still not understand anything? Here, strength is everything! You’d better be smart enough to know what to do, or else, if you want to do things the hard way… hehe…” Maha’s words ended here with a sneer. The meaning behind this threat was very obvious. Of course, he didn’t dare to speak this out publicly and instead used a true essence sound transmission.
“So you’re saying that someone’s going to come and deal with me? I wonder who you’re going to send. The Heavenly Demon Seven Stars? A High Lord?” Lin Ming aggressively responded, simply unafraid of Maha.
If Lin Ming was really assassinated then that would truly be a troublesome matter. Lin Ming was simply too strong; killing him would make a giant mess of things. If a High Lord personally acted then that would be blatantly violating Skysplit Tower’s rules. If that time came, then the rumor of ‘all the strong people who go to Skysplit Tower will be killed’ would spread like wildfire. If this happened, then who else would still dare come to Skysplit Tower?
Maha grimaced. “It seems that you’re going to resist until the end. Fine, I will take one step back. If you leave Skysplit Tower then I’ll give you a tael of low-grade Demon God Bone. This is my final offer.”
“Demon God Bone?”
Lin Ming’s mind stirred.
“Humph, you probably don’t know how valuable something like that is. I can tell you without exaggeration that a Demon God Bone is enough to cause a Demon King level martial artist to go crazy! Using it to just temper the body is a waste. If one integrates it into their life source and nourishes the fires of their life, then it can even be of great help to someone trying to break through to be a Demon Emperor!”
The Demon God Bone was naturally promised by the High Lords. Maha hadn’t wanted to give this to Lin Ming, but after seeing Lin Ming so stubborn and defiant, he could only reluctantly put out this condition.
“Integrate it into one’s life source to nourish the fire of life. It can help a Demon King powerhouse break through the Demon Emperor bottleneck. It can be used to temper the body, but that is a waste… I see…”
Lin Ming learned a great deal from Maha’s words. It was obvious that Maha didn’t know Lin Ming had already obtained a Demon God Bone.
According to Lin Ming’s knowledge from the own Demon God Bone he had, a tael worth of low-grade Demon God Bone was only the size of a cherry seed.
As for the one Lin Ming had, it was the size of a pigeon egg. This was the Demon God Bone that was granted to Xing Tian.
A mere Xing Tian with his status as the king of the second floor could obtain a Demon God Bone the size of a pigeon egg.
But his own Titled Asura level King’s Cage qualifications which hadn’t been seen in 3000 years could only qualify for a cherry seed-sized Demon God Bone. This was just too cheap!
“I’m sorry, but I am not interested!”
“You!!” Maha was now burning with anger. “Lin Ming, let me give you some advice. People shouldn’t be too greedy, because the greedy always die. In Skysplit Tower, haven’t you obtained Blood Demon Crystals, practice resources, pills, treasures, jade slips, and all sorts of other things? Now you are even allowed to leave in peace without spitting out everything you’ve taken!”
A cold light flashed in Lin Ming’s eyes. He no longer used a true essence sound transmission and said clearly and loudly, “Skysplit Tower is a land that anyone can enter. You said that I obtained a massive amount of Blood Demon Crystals, practice resources, pills, treasure, jade slips, and what else? Well, that is not wrong! However, this is not granted to me by Skysplit Tower, but it is what I have earned through my life and death battles! What does any of this have to do with you?
“This Skysplit Tower was not constructed by you Giant Demons, nor the Imps, nor the Fey! It has stood tall here for 100,000 years. Several tens of thousands of years ago, this land was once the common resource of all the martial artists of the Holy Demon Continent. But some people relied on their powerful strength and united all the different powers, making all of the budding talents their minions. They called themselves High Lords even as they amassed wealth and stole away control of Skysplit Tower’s great resources. They created all sorts of rules making it so that other martial artists have to slaughter each other to reach them, all in order to obtain the tiniest chances, and why is it that they are allowed to do that?”
Lin Ming’s questions were shouted out, stunning all of the martial artists around him.
Lin Ming’s words naturally made sense. It was just that these people had long accepted the High Lords’ rules. It wasn’t that they wanted to accept them, but that they had no choice but to.
These people present were not the High Lords’ subordinates nor had they signed soul contracts. As they heard Lin Ming say all this, their hearts were in uproar.
Maha’s complexion turned ugly. “Good! Very good! Since that’s the case then there’s nothing more to say! Don’t regret your words in the future!”
“When I decide something, I never regret it!”
“Remember your words!” Maha coldly snorted and stomped off.
According to the rules of Skysplit Tower, Lin Ming truly did have the authority to enter the King’s Cage. No one could stop him.
Skysplit Tower’s High Lords were truly afraid of this. The current Lin Ming wasn’t already impossible to control. If he entered the King’s Cage, then he would undoubtedly grow.
The growth of a new human Divine Sea Supreme Elder was not something that any of the other races wished to see.
After Maha left, the surrounding martial artists were still confused. The conversation that Lin Ming had with Maha was mostly carried out in true essence sound transmissions. Since just a portion of that conversation was heard, none of them were sure what happened.
Lin Ming, without saying anything, lifted his foot and entered the door of light leading to the King’s Cage.
In full view of everyone, Lin Ming’s figure disappeared. The door of light shook, ripples spreading out over the surface just like a fish leaping into a pool of water. Then, this quickly calmed down, vanishing without a trace.
Today was the Dustnet Month, Sunlight Day.
This date was recorded down by Deacon Bai. It would be used to calculate just how much time Lin Ming spent in the King’s Cage.
After Lin Ming disappeared, the surrounding martial artists naturally dispersed. Like this, the entire practice area was restored to its former calm…
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Lin Ming felt his body shake as if he had jumped into a pool of water. A sense of icy cold hit him, and then he saw that he had arrived in a vast white space.
Xiu!
A distorted black ray of light appeared, spinning around Lin Ming. These black lights began to appear one after another, becoming more and more intense until they ultimately formed a completely enclosed cage around Lin Ming, sealing him within.
“Mm?”
Lin Ming’s mind went cold. This was the King’s Cage.
At this moment, a voice passed into Lin Ming’s mind. To be more exact, this wasn’t a voice, but rather a form of direct communication that passed straight into the depths of his soul. Without words, without language, it allowed him to directly understand the meaning of it all.
“I’m supposed to break out of this cage. So this is what the King’s Cage practice is like! Since it’s like this, why do they say those people that stay in the King’s Cage longer will experience more growth, and why would someone weak not even last 10 days before they are kicked out of this smelting trial space?”
Lin Ming had some doubts. Logically speaking, the less time it took to break out of the King’s Cage, the stronger that person should be.
But the information he obtained was the opposite of that.
The weak could not stay in here long. But, the strong could stay as long as two months or more.
“There must be some trick to this place. I’ll practice here and then figure it out as I go.”
Lin Ming closed his eyes. A moment later, he took out the Purple Comet Spear. Above the spear shaft, azure true essence erupted.
“Break for me!”
Lin Ming gave a loud shout and stabbed out his spear at the cage’s black barrier. There was just a slight ‘kacha’ sound as the black barrier suddenly trembled, but only a shallow mark was left. It was far from breaking apart.
“That’s solid!”
Lin Ming’s heart went cold. Besides opening the Heretical God Force or using the Concepts of Thunder and Fire, that strike had contained his full strength.
That strike should have been able to shatter an earth-step treasure armor. But when it hit the King’s Cage, it only left behind a shallow mark.
“This should be normal too.” Lin Ming wasn’t surprised. If he could break through with just a single spear thrust, then there wasn’t much meaning in this.
The Heretical God Force opened. Lin Ming also simultaneously used the Concept of Thunder.
Chasing Thunder!
Man and spear became one. Lin Ming turned into a purple light that smashed into the barrier.
Kacha!
With an explosion, thick arcs of electricity danced along the cage’s walls like wriggling pythons. The King’s Cage shook violently for a moment as several thin cracks appeared.
“It’s broken?
“If it broke so easily… this King’s Cage can’t be that simple.”
Chasing Thunder!
Boom!
The black barrier that already had cracks in it could no longer withstand Lin Ming’s continued attacks. Like a pane of glass, it suddenly shattered into countless small pieces!
The King’s Cage broke!
The black barrier loudly collapsed, all of it disintegrating into powder before vanishing into the void. Lin Ming once again returned to that vast white space.
This empty white space was endless; it gave off an extremely depressing sense.
Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!
A series of sounds happened. Black arcs of light fell down on Lin Ming, wrapping around him and enveloping him once again. It quickly condensed into another black barrier, except this time it was much thicker.
Lin Ming instantly understood. That King’s Cage from a moment ago had only been an appetizer.
The King’s Cage smelting trial was divided into multiple levels!
The weak could only make it through a few layers, so they naturally stayed here for a shorter period of time. But a powerhouse could rush past many more, thus they stayed here a longer time.
“But… aren’t there martial artists that don’t break the cage and just spend months in here? Can’t they stay here for a longer period of time using that method too?”
Lin Ming couldn’t help but ask this question.
“It seems like the King’s Cage is more complex that I imagined it to be. It absolutely can’t be so simple!”
Thinking much more on this was pointless. He would slowly find out the further he got. What Lin Ming needed to do now was to break open this second prison cage.
Ho-!
The Heretical God Force opened once again!
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“He refused?”
On Skysplit Tower’s fourth floor, High Lord Shengong was looking at Maha as he calmly asked him a question.
“That ungrateful boy wants to do things the hard way.” Maha bitterly said. He had taken the matter of Lin Ming publicly refusing him to heart.
“Shengong, I already said that the boy wouldn’t be obedient. What can we do? We’ve even offered a Demon God Bone and yet he still refused! How can we possibly wait for that boy to become as strong as he wants before he leaves Skysplit Tower on his own volition? We might as well use this time when we are still stronger than him and carry out my plan!” In a corner of the hall, High Lord Heian was sitting in a chain, his fingers lightly rapping against his old wooden staff.
High Lord Shengong hesitated and slowly said, “I don’t believe the promises of a human. Heian, you want to lock Lin Ming in the King’s Cage until he dies, but how can we do that? We do not have the ability to alter Skysplit Tower’s special practice areas.”
“Rest assured, I have my methods.” High Lord Heian cunningly smiled, his dark eyes as deep as the abyss.