Dyon’s names shot up again, reaching the 152nd wave in an instant. By now, the scalps of those watching were feeling numb, thinking about how they could possibly break this news to the young masters that sent them here.
With bated breath, they watched as Dyon cleared the 155th.
At the moment, Dyon’s name had firmly taken a place at the 11th spot. The above 10 were reserved for the five geniuses the lower King level Presences, and the five dragons and qilins with half-step King Dragon Souls.
Among the ten of them, 7 had managed to clear the 156th challenger, while only three managed to clear the 157th…
Whether consciously, or unconsciously, despite Dyon’s performances on the first and second trials, they had still not placed him on the same level as these ten geniuses. That was because while the rankings for the first and second trails varied among those geniuses, without fail, only those ten names would be found in the top ten for the third, fourth and fifth trials…
Because of this reality, many began to believe that maybe the first and second trials weren’t true tests of ability, because it seemed that only the last three trials accurately predicted the top ten existences among the younger generation.
It wasn’t that those ten geniuses didn’t do well on the first two trials, because many of them could be found in the top 100, although not all of them – namely the dragons. However, often times, the first two rankings allowed other, lesser known geniuses to shine, while the last three were completely dominated by those ten figures.
This was the very first time anyone had threatened the rankings of these ten in the final three rankings…
However, the ending was completely anti-climactic. In the blink of an eye, Dyon had cleared the 158th and people could only stare blankly at his name occupying the top spot…
Within the third trial world, Dyon was completely oblivious of the commotion he had caused. Instead, he had finally run into some real competition.
By now, his weapon was a blistering gold that even rivaled the shine of his wings, but it seemed to still be evolving.
Right now, it seemed like nothing more than a slab of cut metal, but when Dyon cut down the 156th challenger, he sensed it evolving into a true weapon. When he cut down the 157th, veins of red pulsed through the weapon, slowly crawling along it as he cut down the 158th.
When the 159th challenger appeared, Dyon finally began to feel resistance. Although these challengers didn’t have counters for Presence, once the gap between Presences closed, it was possible to resist to some extent. If this wasn’t the case, this trial would be absolutely impossible for those who didn’t have Dyon’s luck.
However, this opponent fell just the same despite her mid level Queen Presence.
By the 162nd challenger, the Presences had evolved to the high level King Presence.
They fought valiantly, but they fell to Dyon in the end.
And then, came the 165th challenger. Now, Dyon had truly met his equal, a challenger with a Peak King Presence.
Seeing his enemy’s long flowing blond hair and sharp blue eyes, Dyon finally felt his blood boil. He felt his entire existence was being questioned, and it made the rage within him erupt to new heights.
After a brief moment of surprise from seeing a trial taker make it so far, a valiant battle began.
By now, almost all of Dyon’s cultivation had come back, but he was still restricted to the saint level. That said, it was because he hadn’t had time to absorb all of the motes of light he earned because he finished off his previous opponents too quickly.
The battle between the two Peak Kings lasted days, but in the end, Dyon was victorious and his already overwhelming beat down of the supposed top ten geniuses, grew once again.
But, the honey moon period was now over…
A pressure that seemed capable of crushing Dyon’s knee caps to dust suddenly overwhelmed him the moment the 165th challenger disappeared into motes of light.
Dyon struggled to raise his head, stabbing his massive sword into the ground to keep himself from collapsing to the ground.
In that moment, the first member of the older generation Dyon had seen in this trial appeared. He was an old man, garbed in robes of white, pristine and without blemish. His hair seemed to blend into his robes, it being a holy white as well.
The old man slowly scanned over Dyon, inwardly surprised that he somehow managed to remain expressionless, and even more surprising was the fact that he hadn’t given up yet despite seeing the disparity in their power.
Intrigued, the man began to speak, “You’re quite impressive, but you should understand that you have no chance of beating me. Do you understand why all of your opponents before me were of the younger generation, yet I am not?”
Dyon’s eyes shone with an imperceptible light, showing that he acknowledged the old man’s words. He noticed this immediately, and he was curious about it as well.
“Becoming an Emperor isn’t as simple as becoming a King. Even if, by some unholy miracle, you manage to beat me and advance, you still wouldn’t gain the right to become an Emperor. Although these trials allow you to cultivate a King Presence by beating Kings, the same isn’t allowed of the higher tiers.
“Well, I shouldn’t say that. More accurately, you specifically, cannot. In fact, the fact you’ve managed to become a King is already surprising enough. I’m not sure what tricks you pulled, but from what I can see, it’s impossible for you to do it again.”
Dyon remained silent, thinking silently to himself that this old man spoke too much. Just get to the point.
The old man smiled, seemingly hearing Dyon’s thoughts. “To become a King, you need a certain amount of destiny, and this destiny is reliant on the amount of faith you’ve accrued. Do you understand now?
“Only Legatees of Emperor God Clans, or Kings of King God Clans, can cultivate King level Presences. And the requirements for becoming an Emperor are even more stringent. Although you don’t have to become an Emperor of an Emperor God Clan, you do have to be a top level existence within one.
“The only way to break these rules is with sufficient cultivation while following the sovereign path, or being the embodiment of the sovereign path – meaning a Dragon or a Qilin.
“However, your cultivation is far too shallow. In addition, although your wills are sealed by some odd method, I can tell that your highest level will it at the mere one with mind level. Although it does follow the sovereign path and is surprisingly a supreme law, it is still not nearly enough.”
The more the old man spoke, the more Dyon’s heart shook with shock. This old man saw through him so easily…
That said, Dyon’s mind was running at inconceivable speeds. At first, when he heard that he wouldn’t be able to achieve the Emperor Presence level because his birth place was far too insignificant, he had felt a fire light inside him that filled him with even more will to be great. But, when the old man then mentioned the sovereign path, he suddenly remembered the cultivation technique the Dragon King had mentioned to him: [Will of Heart].
It was quite a masochistic technique that truly tested one’s martial heart, but now that the old man had said this, Dyon was determined to use it.
Without a word, Dyon disappeared from the third trial. Clearly, he had decided to give up, not bothering with the old man any longer.
Seeing this, the old man only shook his head, sighing to himself, “Ah, the younger generation. So rude.” But, he didn’t seem angry. In fact, he even smiled, seemingly wondering about something before he faded from existence.