Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1861: The Three Stages

”I just remember the Primordial Heaven Sword Sect has been annihilating countless weaker lineages that focused on Weapon Dao. No, the confrontation began because many Sword Sects were destroyed across the universe. And if I remember correctly, there were rumors that the Myriad Weapon Alliance was about to confront the Primordial Heaven Sword Sect directly,” the Erudite Duchess thought.

With today’s revelation, the Erudite Duchess had to recontextualize everything. She had known about the current struggle between Sword Dao and other weapons. As such, she assumed the Primordial Heaven Sword Sect was participating because it was one of the most powerful Sword Sects in the universe. But she never expected they were the source of this upcoming calamity. Well, maybe not the source, but at the center of it all.

”I must say, the Primordial Heaven Sword Saint is bold. He dared leave his sect at such a crucial moment. Isn’t he afraid of something happening?” the Duchess thought. Their sect had a second Tribunal Lord, but he had only recently entered that realm, making his strength relatively weak. Meanwhile, the Myriad Weapon Alliance had 3 top Tribunal Lords. Without the Primordial Heaven Sword Saint’s overwhelming strength, the alliance will easily annihilate them.

”Well, maybe this is the perfect time for such a bold move. Everybody is waiting for the Transcendent Age, so most factions — even if they are at war — try to suppress the scale, waiting for the new age to begin. Meanwhile, by participating in this expedition, the Primordial Heaven Sword Saint knew Grand Dao would provide some luck protection to his faction. More importantly, the expedition was the perfect opportunity for Ye Weimin to improve his strength.”

The calamity awaiting the Sword Dao is inevitable. After so many years of hanging above everybody’s head, it’s time for them to get down from their pedestal. And as the person with a direct link to the [Sword–Saber Source Dao], the Primordial Heaven Sword Saint will be at the center of this calamity. With such a bleak future awaiting him, it makes sense that he would risk everything for this expedition, all for the small chance or opportunity he might glimpse a higher realm.

”If he can become a Third Step Powerhouse, then Sword and Saber Dao will once again usher in another age of prosperity. Sadly, too many people don’t want that to happen,” the Erudite Duchess thought to herself.

The Primordial Heaven Sword Saint exhaled deeply, his eyes turning calm and indifferent. ”I can’t summon the [Sword–Saber Source Dao]. It’s beyond my power.”

”I know that,” Trinity Venerable replied. ”That’s why I say we need to scare them. So, you just need to summon a projection and make it look like we’re using it to eliminate them. In the meantime, the rest of us will retrieve the expeditioners and stop the court if necessary.”

The Primordial Heaven Sword Saint frowned, ”I will need some time.”

”Do it as fast as you can, and don’t hesitate to ask for our help.” Time was of the essence, and with each second wasted, another Saint might die. Turning his head to the duchess, Trinity Venerable said:

”I know you have a good relationship with Wang Wei, but control what information you reveal to him.”

”Since when is it your turn to tell me what to do?” the Duchess asked back.

”I’m just reminding you that he is dangerous.”

”Dangerous? Can he be more dangerous than you?”

”What does that mean?”

”Tell me,” the Erudite Duchess continued. ”Now that your plan to rely on the court is useless. What now? How are we supposed to survive this ordeal? What’s your brilliant plan to get us out of this mess?”

”With the protection of the Black Tortoise Array, we have plenty of time to figure out things when the time is right,” Trinity Venerable calmly stated. ”Our focus should now be on rescuing the expeditioners.”

”We wouldn’t need to be rescuing them if you had listened to Wang Wei in the first place.”

”Plans fail all the time. That doesn’t mean he’s always right.”

”Alright, now is not the time to be arguing,” Karma Root Monarch cut in. ”Let’s rescue the people first. Then, we can plan our next step.”

The Erudite Duchess squinted her eyes, glancing at everybody in the room, including the quiet Cardinals. She realized that, besides Commander Dan, who was forced into this position, almost everybody else had their own selfish motive and was planning something. Trinity Venerable’s sudden gain of power in this group was not just because of the latter’s charisma and the trust established from his previous work during the Ultimate Taboo.

”It seems Slaughter Ancestor and Karma Root Monarch also may have secretly agreed on something,” the Erudite Duchess thought. The Karma Root Monarch — although she appeared to be fair and upholding their previous agreement — was in fact supporting most, if not all, of the Trinity Venerable’s actions and decisions. Meanwhile, the more aggressive one in the room — Slaughter Ancestor — was too quiet. The fact that such a person is willing to put his life in the hands of someone else was suspicious to say the least.

”Call me when it’s time for the attack,” the Erudite Duchess uttered before disappearing from the room. Now is not the time to completely fall out with the group. Although her and Wang Wei’s plan has already been prepared, she still preferred to have as much time as possible. There is also the issue with the contract they previously signed. Until she has full proof that these people are endangering her life, she is still bound by it.

Heaven and Earth Origin Cycle Array, Commander Wang’s Headquarters:

”What an interesting test,” Wang Wei commented.

”Interesting, sir? You mean horrifying?” Ai added.

”No, I mean interesting.”

”It sounds like you believe you could pass, sir?”

”And it sounds like you don’t believe I can?”

”A rough calculation indicates that survival is less than 3.65%, and I’m being generous in my calculations.”

”Then, you’re underestimating me,” Wang Wei calmly replied. ”The crux of this test is willpower — at least, in the first stage. With enough willpower and planning, it’s easy to survive the process of transforming into humans. Although there will definitely be a harsh period of hunger and pain, it’s not hard to survive. The main issue with these people is that there are too many of them to take care of and feed, and more importantly, their mindset. They cannot accept losing their powers.”

No matter how potent a Saint’s Dao Heart is, it is still not eternal. And most people cannot accept dropping from the clouds onto the earth, especially without knowing for sure whether they can recuperate. If these Saints had preserved their Dao Heart, their chances of survival would have been much higher.

”The first stage? Could it be, sir, you have predicted the other stages of this test?”

”It’s not hard to do after considering the situation of the Sovereign & King World,” Wang Wei nodded. ”The second stage will involve other life forms. There will be countless creatures, from the weakest mortal beasts to the most powerful Paragon Lifeform. That’s when the mortality will be the highest. At that stage, the participants must be extra careful; they must hide themselves and use their best judgment to hunt only mortal beasts for sustenance. Well, I guess a bit of luck is also required.”

”The third stage?”

”It seems you’ve caught on?” Wang Wei smiled. ”The next stage is about recultivating from Tier 1. Of course, the Twelve Firmament Heavenly Emperor doesn’t just want the testers to regain their former strength. He wants them to recultivate their realm. The previous creature I mentioned won’t be the regular version. Instead, they will probably be divided into tiers and classes.”

The concept is similar to game bosses from Earth. In some RPGs, some bosses are regular level 20 bosses, while others are Elite Bosses. Although they have the same level, the latter can probably one-shot the other. The Twelve Firmament Heavenly Emperor’s trial operates under a similar system. If a test taker only cultivates a regular Tier 1 System, then once they meet a creature that is Tier 1 Elite, they will die.

”After someone recultivates to Tier 12 and meets all the class requirements, they can pass this trial and receive the inheritance. No, there might not even be an inheritance.”

”The process of rebuilding the foundation might indeed be the inheritance,” Ai nodded. The Twelve Firmament Heavenly Emperor might leave his Saint Cultivation Method along with other resources, but he might also not leave anything behind.

”Now, do you still think I can’t pass this trial?”

”Sir, assuming you’re correct, your success rate is still about 10.54%.”

”That seems about right,” Wang Wei nodded. No matter how smart he is, he will still be a frail mortal for a period — a period in which he will have to rely on luck to survive. Of course, as soon as Wang Wei enters the first realm of cultivation, he can manipulate luck to some extent to help him, but before that, there is really nothing he can do.