Chapter 619 – Lin Ming’s Choice
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Road of Emperor, world of will –
Blood rained from the skies. Lin Ming’s spear pierced through a tiger type vicious beast, but his body was also slashed by that tiger’s claw, the entire right half of his body completely breaking apart as crushed bits of meat flew everywhere.
This sort of battle could be called utterly tragic. Luckily, this battle was held within the world of will. If this were the real world, then even Lin Ming would need several months to recover from such a heavy wound.
Ho –
Lin Ming was drawn out of the will world, thick drips of cold sweat dripping down his face and back. Half the reason was because he had consumed a great deal of energy, and the other half was because of the excruciating pain he had suffered.
In a fight within the world of will, the feelings of being ripped and torn apart were still there. As soon as the soul was broken apart, a bone-aching pain would follow. Even though Lin Ming’s will was extremely firm, it was still difficult to bear this pain for days on end.
“Mm?”
As Lin Ming left the world of will, he was shocked as he saw the Road of Emperor in front of him.
The original single planked Road of Emperor that led towards an infinite jet-black darkness had actually divided in two!
In front of Lin Ming, there were two Road of Emperors!
The first Road of Emperor was the same as before with lights that hovered at both sides. But on the other Road of Emperor, it was instead surrounded by stone tablets!
“What is this? A test? An illusion?”
“It is neither a test nor an illusion. For you, it is a chance, a choice that you can make.” Demonshine said from within Lin Ming’s spiritual sea, “You have already been defeated in front of Gu Xiao’s will lights many times now. Gu Xiao is an Emperor level powerhouse who hadn’t yet been able to create her own battle spirit; she can be considered amongst the worst of Emperor level powerhouses. Behind her will lights are Emperor level powerhouses that have condensed their own battle spirit, including even two-star and three-star Demon Emperors. Not only have they formed their own battle spirit, but the Laws they have perceived have reached a very high limit, the peak that these so-called Emperor level powerhouses can reach. You have already been stranded here for 10 days. The Road of Emperor probably recognizes that it’s impossible for you to go any further, thus it has created another path for you. This is a choice that you may choose so that you won’t leave without having accomplished anything.”
Demonshine had once followed the Demon Emperor into the Road of Emperor. The current situation was only his guess, but it should be more or less right.
“In other words… I can reduce the difficulty?”
Lin Ming was inexplicably filled with a disheartened feeling. Up until this point, he had encountered powerful martial artists everywhere and there hadn’t yet been any martial artists whose talents had exceeded his own. But now, as he was crossing the Road of Emperor, he was actually pushed back to this degree.
Only 10 days here and he was given the chance of reducing the difficulty.
He was obviously disappointed.
“Hehe, boy, you shouldn’t be so sad. After passing through the entire Road of Emperor, you can become an Emperor level powerhouse. What sort of cultivation do you have? And you still want to cross the Road of Emperor? Dream on! If that actually happened then wouldn’t the Chief High Lord Limitless Demon or South Sea Demon Region Sovereign just be crushed under your feet? Boy, although your willpower is formidable, your cultivation is far too low. Compared to the will of an Emperor level powerhouse, the difference is simply far too great. Still, this Saint is pleasantly surprised that you were able to kill the python, scorpion, and tiger that Gu Xiao created!”
At that time when Gu Xiao had formed a python, Demonshine had urged Lin Ming to quickly leave the world of will. He believed that Lin Ming would be defeated without question, but he never imagined that he would actually win. Relative to Lin Ming’s cultivation, this was absolutely only possible because he was a freakishly monstrous genius.
“The difference is indeed too great.” Lin Ming shook his head. For more than 10 days he had been fighting Gu Xiao’s remnant will.
However, he had never seen the true form of Gu Xiao’s will. Everyone time he fought with Gu Xiao’s will, Gu Xiao would first send out three vicious beasts to deal with him; these were a python, scorpion, and tiger. After these three fights, Lin Ming had basically consumed every ounce of his willpower.
“Lin Ming, there are many top-grade Blood Demon Crystals in your spatial ring and even two Demon God Bones right? Your foundation is very solid. If you use these top-grade Blood Demon Crystals and Demon God Bones, then with the tempering of the Road of Emperor, it will be very easy for you to break through to Revolving Core in a short period of time. When that happens, you can start forming your battle spirit and it will be much easier than it is now. At least, you should be able to defeat the will of an ordinary Emperor level powerhouse.”
Cultivation had an effect on willpower. The deep one’s will was, the easier it was to form a battle spirit. Lin Ming’s will was tenacious and resilient, but his cultivation wasn’t deep and his background was insufficient. Willpower was easy to exhaust, but forming a battle spirit was another story altogether.
Lin Ming shook his head and said, “If I fully concentrate on breaking through to Revolving Core, then it will still take a great deal of time if I want my foundation to remain solid. Moreover… the eruption of the Eternal Demon Abyss will end in half a year to a year – I don’t have the time to wait. After I leave the Road of Emperor, I don’t know what will happen between me and High Lord Limitless Demon. I have to seize this chance and try to form my own battle spirit as early as possible. My advantages in the future will also be greater too.
Lin Ming wanted to form his own battle spirit while he was still at the extreme Xiantian realm. Compared to condensing his battle spirit at Revolving Core or Life Destruction, there would be more room for growth.
“Well, there are many people who understand that but very few people who can actually follow through. Who doesn’t want to form their own battle spirit as soon as possible? You make it sound as if it’s as easy as folding paper. The will is not the same as the physical body. Once the will is injured, it is very difficult to heal. If you can’t withstand this suffering, then not only will you not be able to form your own battle spirit but you’ll only end up causing permanent damage to your will instead.”
Demonshine shook his little doggy head, not too approving of Lin Ming’s choice. “The Road of Emperor has given you another choice. This second path is instead surrounded by Emperor tablets. It is especially aimed at increasing your cultivation and strength. If you choose this road and walk down it, then with your talent it shouldn’t be too difficult to break through to Revolving Core. Your strength and moves will all be greatly enhanced. As for the first road, that only aims at tempering your will. If you walk down that road then your strength won’t rise by too much. If you are successful, then the advantages to you will naturally be incalculable. But, if you are defeated then not only will there be no benefit to you, but you will damage your will instead. Think carefully before you make your choice.”
As Demonshine spoke, Lin Ming understood.
Two roads. One road aimed at the world of will and the other road aimed at realistic strength. To martial artists at lower realms, having a greater strength in the real world was much more valuable – this was true even for Lin Ming.
Maha, Kai Yang, and others like them, after being defeated in a trial of will, most likely diverged onto this other path in order to increase their cultivation and strength.
Lin Ming could envision that if he stepped onto this second path, his strength would sharply rise. However, if he stayed on the first path, while he wouldn’t see short-term benefits, it would have unlimited benefits for his future growth.
If Lin Ming missed this chance then it would become very difficult to form his battle spirit.
He could forget about attempting to do so during the Xiantian realm. If he couldn’t even form his battle spirit during Revolving Core, then he could only wait until he reached Life Destruction.
Within the Sky Spill Continent and Holy Demon Continent, forming a battle spirit during the Life Destruction realm was a first class achievement to be proud of. But, if this achievement were placed within the Realm of the Gods, then it wasn’t much at all.
Lin Ming’s sights were set very far. If his starting points kept falling behind those geniuses of the Realm of the Gods so much, then how could he ever manage to compete with them if he ever truly soared into the Realm of the Gods in the future?
“Can’t I choose both roads at once?” Lin Ming didn’t have much hope for this but he still asked.
“Nice try, friend. You can, if you complete the Road of Emperor. By that time, all of the mysteries of the Road of Emperor will be opened to you. You can experience the fires of will, the Emperor stone tablets, and maybe even things that I don’t know about. But… after passing through the Road of Emperor, you will become a Peerless Emperor. If you want to completely finish the Road of Emperor now, then it is absolutely, absolutely, absolutely… impossible. Honestly make your choice, because once you do, the other path will vanish. Choose as you will.” Demonshine said absolutely three times in a row, enunciating these words clearly to completely dispel all of Lin Ming’s unrealistic fantasies.
Lin Ming took a deep breath, hesitated for a moment, and then firmly said, “I choose the road of will!”
Demonshine seemed to already expect that Lin Ming would make this choice. He shook his head and lazily said, “Well, good luck to you. This Saint is going to take a nap now.”
After Demonshine’s soul was injured he had to spend 90% of the day resting in sleep.
Lin Ming didn’t bother with Demonshine anymore. He sat down and began to adjust his breathing. He took out a top-grade Blood Demon Crystal from his spatial ring and began to slowly absorb the Blood Demon Crystal’s energy.
Lin Ming didn’t know this, but as he was facing his choice in the Road of Emperor, within the Exquisite Tower’s Road of Emperor, a beautiful and slender young Fey girl was similarly making her choice.
This young Fey girl had long blue hair and her eyes were also blue. Her face was lovely, without even the slightest flaw. It was just that on the cheeks underneath her eyes, there were several small blue scales. But these scales did not ruin her beauty. Rather, they lent her an air of mystery and wonder.
She was the number one talent of the Exquisite Tower, Lan Xin. She came from a Fey sect, the Blue Silver Holy Land. She broke through to a one-star Fey King at 25 years of age and was equal to a human early Revolving Core master. In fact, she was even a bit better.
Although her cultivation was higher than Lin Ming’s, in terms of willpower, she was far inferior. When she faced a quasi-Emperor’s will world, she couldn’t pass. She had already been stranded in front of this quasi-Emperor’s will light for 12 days now.
In the Road of Emperor, there was a general time given to each challenger. This was 12 days.
If she couldn’t break through the road of will during this period, then that only meant her talent or cultivation was lacking. In short, if she couldn’t pass through the complete Road of Emperor then it was impossible for her to become an Emperor level powerhouse here.
These were one of the mysteries that Lan Xing didn’t know of. She was only curiously looking towards the stone tablets that surrounded the second Road of Emperor. As she glanced at them, she was immediately attracted to these stone tablets.
“This is…”
The stone tablets had all sorts of strange figures and diagrams engraved upon them. But, as she saw these images, she felt as if her soul was falling within, unable to release itself.
“What a strange stone tablet!”
Lan Xing hesitated for a moment and then stepped onto this second Road of Emperor. In the moment that she did, the first Road of Emperor disappeared. It was like the series of lights that she had first passed through, slowly fading away.
Lan Xing was dazed. She was faintly aware that she had unknowingly made a choice of some kind. Since she chose this Road of Emperor with the stone tablets, that meant she had given up the road with the will lights.
Having lost the road with the will lights, Lan Xin thought it was a bit regretful. But, if she were given the chance to make her choice again, she would still choose this one. After having stayed on the road of will for several days, her strength hadn’t increased by much, but the soul-tearing pain she had experienced during that time still made chills crawl up her spine.