Soul Emperor Awakening

A simple "not interested" left not only Mo Qianyun stunned, but the onlooking Demon Race as well. Judging by the way Lin Xuan had charged up here, they had all assumed he would immediately challenge the Floor Master of the Sixth Layer. But now, it seemed that wasn't the case at all. For him to completely refuse to challenge the Floor Master… it just didn't make any sense!

"Not interested?" Mo Qianyun faltered for a moment, then quickly blocked Lin Xuan's path and sneered, "You killed my brother. Did you think you could just walk away from this?!"

"So that fool was your brother. He deserved to die for daring to threaten me with those words," Lin Xuan said indifferently. "I have no desire to challenge you right now. So what if I beat you? You're just the Floor Master of the Sixth Layer, right?"

'I'd already guessed this Mo Qianyun was related to Mo Qianji somehow. So they were brothers. No wonder Mo Qianji was so fixated on the Floor Master position of the Fifth Layer. With his older brother already occupying the seat on the Sixth Layer, he obviously wouldn't have challenged him.'

But this news was meaningless to him. 'Who ever said you have to challenge the Floor Master the moment you reach the Sixth Layer?'

"You!" Mo Qianyun was furious, but he was helpless against Lin Xuan. As long as Lin Xuan refused to challenge him, there was nothing he could do.

After a moment's thought, he threatened, "Don't even think about earning a single Energy Point on this layer. No one is going to challenge you. You can forget about ever climbing to a higher layer in this lifetime!"

No system of rules is absolutely perfect, especially one based on challenges like this. Under the Floor Master's threat, many from the Demon Race would now avoid challenging Lin Xuan, fearing the man's authority. Besides, Lin Xuan was currently unstoppable; no one would dare to challenge him anyway. The result would have been much the same even without the threat.

Any member of the Demon Race who had watched his duels could tell Lin Xuan possessed the strength to storm all the way to the Ninth Layer. Who on the lower layers would dare to oppose him? It would be nothing but a suicide mission to hand over their Energy Points and serve as cannon fodder.

Furthermore, though the Demon Race was numerous, it didn't mean they all held a grudge against Lin Xuan. The only ones truly determined to challenge him were groups like the Black Dragon Race. As for the others, Lin Xuan hadn't provoked them, so why would they risk their lives trying to kill him?

Therefore, if the Black Dragon Race didn't come looking for trouble, the other lower-level members of the Demon Race truly wouldn't dare to duel with Lin Xuan. And without duels, how could he acquire Energy Points? Without Energy Points, he couldn't ascend. It was a vicious cycle.

"It seems you've been a Floor Master for so long in vain. Challenges aren't the only way to earn Energy Points, are they?" Lin Xuan said, looking calmly at Mo Qianyun. "Besides, you don't need to tell me that no one on this layer dares to challenge me. Am I wrong?"

'I had realized this after winning two consecutive matches. Once I display astonishing strength, no one will dare challenge me.' He had anticipated this. 'So what if I beat Mo Qianyun? If I become the Floor Master of the Sixth Layer, even fewer members of the Demon Race will dare to challenge me.'

"Earning Energy Points... aside from petty tasks, what other way is there to get a large number of them..." As he spoke, Mo Qianyun suddenly froze. A memory flashed through his mind, causing him to recall something. He stared in astonishment. "Are you planning to take on that most difficult task?"

"I see you're not completely stupid. If you really want me to challenge you, I can oblige you. But not right now!" Lin Xuan gave him a single glance, then walked around Mo Qianyun, leaving the other man standing there in a daze.

It wasn't just him; the onlooking members of the Demon Race were also stunned. When they came to their senses, they began to follow him. Mo Qianyun also snapped out of his stupor, his eyes turning cold as he too followed along.

The solution to having no challengers and thus no way to earn Energy Points was simple: take on tasks. From the Sixth Layer onward, various challenge-type tasks were available, with rewards that varied according to their difficulty.

Just think about the Reincarnation Level challenge—it had directly rewarded Lin Xuan with an Ice and Snow Badge, which was proof enough of how rich the rewards could be. The difficulty of these challenge-type tasks scaled from low to high, and the rewards were a very simple and direct prize: Ice and Snow Badges.

Lin Xuan headed directly for the Task Hall with a large contingent of the Demon Race trailing behind him. It was a rather bizarre sight. They were so curious they even wanted to see what kind of task he was going to accept. It couldn't be helped. Lin Xuan was simply too dazzling, and they couldn't help but watch his every move.

Upon arriving at the Task Hall, he found it was divided into several sections, with task boards rated by difficulty: Demon Level, Earth Level, Celestial Level, and Reincarnation Level. This rating system was the same as the one at the Gate of Life and Death, but the difference here was that one could choose the difficulty directly. The notice boards were covered in a dense array of Tokens, each one representing a different task.

Lin Xuan walked straight to the Reincarnation Level task board, not even sparing the others a glance. His action truly shocked the crowd. Almost no one dared to undertake Reincarnation Level tasks. Those who did were almost never seen again! Or, to be more precise, the ones who returned were few and far between.

It was a terrifying prospect. You could call them cowardly, or you could simply say they were afraid to die. Because once one of these tasks was accepted, it had to be completed. There was only success or failure.

The price for failure was steep: death! The difficulty of Reincarnation Level was simply too great, a fact made clear by the challenges at the Gate of Life and Death. Moreover, these tasks were said to be even more difficult than those.

Thus, no one dared to attempt a Reincarnation Level task, no matter how tempting the reward: one to three Ice and Snow Badges!

Reincarnation Level tasks were also divided into low, medium, and high tiers, as indicated by the rewards. The tasks that offered three Ice and Snow Badges were, without a doubt, the most difficult. Their extreme difficulty was why no one dared to accept them, to the point that the Tokens for these tasks were caked in dust.

Three Ice and Snow Badges was an alluring prize. If Lin Xuan succeeded, his badge count would skyrocket from six to nine! It would allow him to ascend directly to the Ninth Layer, completely bypassing the need to linger on the floors in between.

Lin Xuan glanced briefly at the tasks on the board. Then, without a shred of hesitation, he reached out and plucked a Token from it. The members of the Demon Race who saw this all gasped, scarcely able to believe their eyes.

Lin Xuan had actually accepted a Reincarnation Level task worth three Ice and Snow Badges—King's Purgatory!

King's Purgatory. One of the most difficult tasks, with a reward of three Ice and Snow Badges. And Lin Xuan had accepted it just like that. The moment he took it, the Token dissolved into a beam of light that fused with his arm, signifying his formal acceptance. He now had one month to complete it.

The penalty for failing to attempt it in time was the forfeiture of all Ice and Snow Badges, leaving the violator with only their single, initial badge.

A single thought surfaced in the minds of every member of the Demon Race: 'He's courting death!'

Mo Qianyun was completely dumbfounded. 'So the person I wanted to challenge isn't a monster, but a complete idiot! Is he just overconfident, or is he that stupid? To choose the most difficult task right off the bat... Don't tell me he thinks he can just soar straight to the Ninth Layer in a single go?'

'If it were that simple, someone would have already done it. Why else would that Token still be up there?'