''Congratulations for passing the second of the King's trials!
You are the 14th person in this century's batch, who has successfully managed to pass through the King's garden.''
As this voice sounded in his ears, Shun Long's surroundings brightened, before he found himself inside a jade-white room.
This room was completely empty, without any decorations, except for what seemed to be a red meditative pillow that was placed on the floor, right in the center of the room.
A black door seemed to have materialized in front of Shun Long, seemingly out of thin air, as a black-haired, middle-aged man then appeared in front of him.
Although this man seemed to be smiling, the look in his eyes gave off a dangerous feeling, akin to that of a viper that was staring at a helpless lamb.
After sizing Shun Long up, the man had that same smile on his face as he said
''Very good, kid. I didn't expect you to actually have the guts, to scheme against the 'Demonic Spider'. That was really impressive.
Congratulations.
The reward for passing the second trial however, is not something tangible, but rather an opportunity that the King himself had personally set.
You can choose whether you want to stay in the Desolate east, or go to the Silver sword city of the Night star continent.
There are still 2 months of time until the King's realm closes, so you have until then before you give me your answer.
You can also decide whether or not you want to challenge the last of the King's trials, but... I suggest that you don't.
Although you are not weak... for an earth grade cultivator at least, I can guarantee you that you have zero percent chance of passing the last trial.''
The middle-aged man listed everything in one go, before he turned to look at Shun Long as he waited for his answer.
Shun Long in turn, had been thinking about the Night star continent ever since he had heard about it from Liu Mei.
''If the strongest sect in the Desolate east is only a branch from the actual 'Golden Buddha temple', then going to the Night star continent might really be the best choice for me to advance faster. I still need to expand my field of vision and learn more about the outside world after all.''
With these thoughts in mind, Shun Long looked at the middle-aged man in front of him before he asked
''Senior, can you tell me anything else about the Night star continent?''
The middle-aged man looked at Shun Long in amusement, as he shook his head and replied
''In the world of cultivation, knowledge is never given away for free. The King has decreed, that only the person who passes through the final trial, can ask the overseers any questions. All I can tell you is, the Night star continent is a heaven-sent opportunity if your aim is to become stronger and leave the Desolate east.''
Shun Long nodded his head as he clearly understood this fact. Knowledge was indeed priceless in the cultivation world, and one such example, was precisely the knowledge that he had received from the golden book.
Looking at the middle-aged man in front of him, Shun Long then asked
''In that case senior, can you tell me how do I enter the third trial?''
The middle-aged man smiled when he heard this, before his hand pointed at a golden door on the right side of the room as he said
''If you wish to challenge the final trial, all you have to do is step through that door and you will understand.''
Shun Long turned his head to look at the golden door that had just appeared at the side of the wall, and noticed a white-colored 'SEAL' character on top of it.
The black-haired man's eyes were also staring at the seal character as he said
''It seems that someone is already challenging the final trial, so you will have to wait for your turn. Remember, you can only challenge the third trial only once every day.
...As for whether you live or die, that will be up to you.''
Without another word, the black-haired man waved his hand, as he then entered inside the black door behind him and disappeared from the room.
After the middle-aged man disappeared, Shun Long turned his head to look at the golden door with the white 'seal' character on it, before he sat on the red cushion at the center of the room.
After sending his spiritual strength inside the 'Stone of Time' and noticing that little Black was sleeping, he started feeding the spirit stones to the 'Heaven swallowing vine', before starting another cultivation session.
After breaking through to the 'early rank 7' in earth grade, Shun Long noticed that his refining speed had increased dramatically.
Looking at the 55 balls of qi above him inside the 'Monarch's Hourglass', Shun Long began absorbing the qi from the 'Heaven swallowing vine', as he started condensing the 56th ball of qi.
A day later, there were already 58 balls of qi hovering above his head, as he had now reached the middle rank 7 in earth grade.
Opening his eyes, Shun Long then noticed that the 'seal' character had disappeared from the golden door.
Standing up from the red cushion, he first stretched his body a few times before he walked towards the golden door.
After taking a deep breath and activating his golden eyes, Shun Long pushed the door open with his right hand as he entered inside.
Surprisingly, after entering the golden door, Shun Long found himself inside a majestic hall.
Rows of golden knight armor seemed to be greeting the guests that were entering the hall for the first time, while luxurious chandeliers made from silver and emerald jade decorated the ceiling.
Shun Long's eyes traveled at the end of the hall, where he saw a golden throne, adorned with countless rare jades.
A handsome, golden-haired young man in his late twenties, could be seen sitting on the throne, and while his deep green eyes were staring at Shun Long, a single word came from his mouth
''Welcome!''