Soul Emperor Awakening

Lin Xuan had agreed to take on the Path of the King with him, yet this was the condescending tone he used in response. Hei Zhenxuan was unbelievably arrogant. He spoke as if it were some immense honor for Lin Xuan to simply accompany him.

Lin Xuan offered no rebuttal. There was no need. What was the point? What good would winning a war of words do? ’Whatever Hei Zhenxuan is thinking, I’m thinking the same. We’ll settle this on the Path of the King. Shutting him up with my fists is the best solution.’

Hei Feng and the others exchanged glances. They were extremely displeased with Lin Xuan, but their leader had spoken. How could they dare to object? It was, frankly, a source of shame. In all their years here, not a single Demon Cultivator had ever passed the King’s Purgatory.

Or rather, some had participated, but they never returned, which was no different from not participating at all. The Black Dragon Race wasn’t particularly numerous, so after a few attempts that wasted several of their elites, they gave up. Unless they were absolutely certain of success, they wouldn’t let anyone enter.

The position of City Lord was important, but the lives of their clansmen were important too. However, judging from Hei Zhenxuan’s tone, he looked down on even his own people. An attitude like that was truly befitting of a King of the Dragon Race—utterly disdainful of his Black Dragon Race brethren with impure bloodlines.

Still, Hei Feng and the others obediently followed Hei Zhenxuan’s words. Not only was he their leader, but he was also far stronger than them. This was how it worked when strength reigned supreme.

Following Hei Zhenxuan, they arrived at the Task Hall. It was still sparsely populated, with almost no one around. The entire population of the Ninth Layer didn’t exceed thirty people, but this small number represented the cream of the crop among all races.

Everyone here was the elite of the elite. Not only was their Cultivation powerful, but their talent was also astonishing. Without these qualities, it would be impossible to stay here. At the same time, the Black Dragon Race made up the vast majority. It was undeniable that there had been some interference; the Black Dragon Race was just that domineering.

As for the other Floor Masters of the Seventh and Eighth Layers, Hei Feng was actually the Floor Master of the Eighth Layer, and the Floor Master of the Seventh Layer was the other companion with him. Despite being dignified Floor Masters, they couldn’t even hold their heads up in front of Hei Zhenxuan.

The position of Floor Master wasn’t particularly prominent to begin with. Hei Zhenxuan could give the title to whomever he pleased, so they had no choice but to act with extreme caution.

One could say that the Floor Masters of the top three layers were standing right in front of Lin Xuan. However, Lin Xuan only wanted to fight Hei Zhenxuan. The other two held little interest for him.

’So the Path of the King can be accepted by multiple people at once.’ Lin Xuan saw that after Hei Zhenxuan accepted the Path of the King task, the Task Token reappeared, ready to be taken again.

Without hesitation, Lin Xuan reached out and took the Token. It immediately transformed into a ray of light and shot into his arm, signifying that he now had the right to enter.

"Let’s go!" Hei Zhenxuan’s eyes were filled with excitement. After waiting for so long, someone had finally passed the King’s Purgatory and come up. How could he not be excited?

Over the years, plenty of Demon Cultivators had passed the King’s Purgatory, but that didn’t mean they could ascend to the Ninth Layer. Some left immediately after passing. The Ninth Layer was the domain of the Black Dragon Race; going up there was suicide. Why would they go just to throw their lives away?

Led by Hei Zhenxuan, they arrived before the Cultivation Chamber for the Path of the King. Hei Zhenxuan opened the Stone Gate and led the way inside. Lin Xuan followed him in. Having the qualification allowed him to enter; the others who were not qualified were blocked outside.

Hei Feng and his companion exchanged glances. They desperately wanted to see what was happening inside, but they didn’t have the right. They could only wait outside for the final result. Besides them, other members of the Black Dragon Race had also gathered, discussing the impending situation.

The result was a foregone conclusion: Hei Zhenxuan would definitely win. For the sake of the City Lord position, he had deliberately suppressed his Cultivation for several years. Facing him was equivalent to fighting someone at the Spirit Pill Stage Level. How could there be any chance of victory?

Upon entering, they immediately saw a flight of stairs leading to the top floor. Each step was as white as jade, carved entirely from a single massive block of Jade. A chilly air radiated from the steps, filling the entire room, but the cold did not affect them in the slightest.

’This is the Path of the King. Just as I thought, it’s related to the Yulan Sacred Fire!’

Lin Xuan could feel that the steps were suffused with the aura of the Yulan Sacred Fire, as if they were condensed from it. It was exactly the same as the phantom image he had seen before, without the slightest difference.

"The Path of the King opens. Those who ascend the Path of the King shall live. Those who fail to ascend shall die!" The ethereal, indistinct voice sounded once more, but this time it was deep and low, tinged with a heartless quality.

The moment the voice faded, Hei Zhenxuan had already stepped onto the stairs, sprinting upward. He tossed a sentence over his shoulder, "Hurry up and get up here. If you die, you’ll have made me come here for nothing!"

Then, Lin Xuan felt a frigid chill surge up from the ground. He clearly recognized it as the aura of the Yulan Sacred Fire. If he didn’t get onto the steps, he would truly be engulfed by the Yulan Sacred Fire welling up from below. Although he possessed the Yulan Pearl, it didn’t make him completely invincible; he could still be frozen to death.

It was like a Phoenix, which could still be burned to death by fire—it just required a much higher temperature.

Lin Xuan’s eyes flickered, and he quickly followed. The moment his foot landed on the step, he immediately felt a gravitational force pressing down on him. It added a little more weight to the 1.9 million jin he was already bearing, but overall, it wasn’t much. The main point was the frigid chill that surged up from the soles of his feet and frantically poured into his body, trying to freeze him solid.

’There’s definitely a trick to these stairs. The Path of the King is not so easily walked.’ Lin Xuan quickly charged up after him. As he ran upward, the gravity steadily increased, and the chill surging from the soles of his feet intensified.

It was practically forcing them to run forward as fast as they could. If they couldn’t keep running, all that awaited them was death. ’It really is a Reincarnation Level task. If I hadn’t replaced my bones with the Golden Dragon Bone, I really wouldn’t be able to climb this.’ As they ascended, the gravity grew heavier, eventually stacking up to two million jin!

’As expected of the Black Dragon Race’s peerless genius. His speed and Physique are both very powerful!’ Lin Xuan thought with some admiration as he watched Hei Zhenxuan sprinting ahead of him. ’He really is strong.’

In no time at all, both of them had climbed to the top. By now, both of their legs were covered in frost, which effectively added to their weight and impeded their movement.

Lin Xuan looked down below the stairs and saw a sea of Yulan Sacred Fire surging up from the bottom, its chilling aura overwhelming. If anyone were to rashly attempt this Path of the King, they would be doomed. They wouldn’t even be able to climb the stairs and would surely die below.

These tasks truly demanded one’s life as payment. The slightest misstep meant death. With such a cruel system of elimination, it was no wonder no one dared to choose these tasks.