Chapter 107: Chapter 92: My Cover Is Blown, What Should I Do? Waiting Online, Urgent

The Celestial Human from the Demon Race had already ascended the Ninefold Divine Ladder, making him a Great Celestial Human and one of the strongest present.

“Excuse me, Your Excellency…” At that moment, an old Celestial Human stepped forward, cupping his hands cautiously. “How will the combatants be decided?”

The Ancient Creature glanced at him and asked coolly,

“Is every Celestial Human required to participate?”

The crowd exchanged glances and all nodded. No one chose to withdraw; after all, they had nothing to lose, but a victory meant a chance to enter that gate—a chance to seize a heaven-sent opportunity!

With such a terrifying Ancient Creature guarding the gate, what could be behind it? What would it be?

A smile touched Lu Xuan’s lips, but hidden by the Bronze Mask, it went unnoticed. He then expanded his chest, his voice rumbling forth:

“In that case, I shall be the one to assign your opponents. And one more thing…”

His indifferent voice took on a taunting edge.

“This battle will be to the death. The victor lives and may enter this gate. The loser dies and passes on.”

The Celestial Humans’ expressions changed drastically, while the prodigies who had already withdrawn all felt a wave of relief. This Ancient Creature was… a bit treacherous…

He never mentioned it beforehand, waiting until every Celestial Human had committed before revealing it was a battle to the death!

Chong Shanhu patted his chest, his heart still pounding. He said,

“Good thing I didn’t choose to continue the trial. I feel like… it’s as if he’s fishing. Let a few people pass, then wait for more to join the trial, and then… kill them…”

A few of the prodigies exchanged glances. It seemed he was right.

This group of prodigies was fine; having already abandoned the trial, they were all in the mood to watch a good show. The Celestial Humans beside them, on the other hand, were growing restless.

A hot-tempered Celestial Human stepped forward.

“Your Excellency, you didn’t make that clear before! Can I withdraw?”

“You may.”

The Celestial Human breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to withdraw, Lu Xuan added ominously,

“Having already decided to participate in the trial, any who withdraw… will die.”

The crowd stiffened.

Clad in the Golden Long Robe and Bronze Mask, Lu Xuan already possessed an immense majesty. Everyone had already assumed he was the guardian of this grand ruin, a creature who had survived from Ancient Times. Add to that the fact he had just casually palm-struck a Celestial Human to death…

They didn’t doubt that the Ancient Creature before them had the power to execute anyone who withdrew. No one dared to speak of withdrawing again.

After a long moment, the Celestial Human from the Demon Race gave a faint smile.

“Then we shall follow Your Excellency’s arrangements.”

He seemed utterly confident, his expression placid.

Lu Xuan glanced at him, nodded calmly, and then began to assign them, as if at random.

“You and he… and over here, you two…”

Based on their previous behavior, Lu Xuan could basically distinguish between the forty-eight remaining Celestial Humans on the field. Thirty-one of them belonged to the “Traitor Faction” that was close to the Demon Race.

Furthermore, with the aid of his perceptive insight, he could mostly discern how many levels of the Divine Ladder each Celestial Human had ascended.

And so, under Lu Xuan’s direction,

the neutral Celestial Humans were matched against “Traitor Faction” Celestial Humans who were weaker than or roughly equal to them.

For example, the Qingxin Temple Master, who had ascended the fourth level of the Divine Ladder, was pitted against a “Traitor Faction” Celestial Human who was at the third. And even though there were many neutral Celestial Humans on only the First Level Divine Ladder, Lu Xuan did his best to assign them opponents who appeared even weaker.

As for the remaining members of the Traitor Faction, he assigned them randomly. Half of them were going to die anyway. He even gave the Demon Race Celestial Human ’special consideration,’ pitting him against an old Celestial Human who was also on the Ninth Level Divine Ladder. In a battle between those two, even if a victor emerged, the survivor would likely be heavily wounded.

’Mm, perfect!’

“Now… begin.” Under Lu Xuan’s mocking gaze, the twenty-four pairs of Celestial Humans—forty-eight in total—clashed violently.

Knowing only one of them could survive, they held nothing back, whether they were acquaintances or strangers, unleashing every single killing technique they possessed!!

Terrifying shockwaves of energy billowed out, and the entire vast space trembled slightly from the intensity of the Celestial Humans’ battle.

As for the prodigies—be it Wang Zhiyao’s group who had passed the “trial” or Wu Shangpin’s group who had withdrawn—all were watching the chaotic battle of the Celestial Humans above with rapt attention.

This, in itself, could be considered a kind of opportunity. When would they ever get to see so many Celestial Humans fighting for their lives?

After some observation, everyone had gained a great deal. This was especially true for Lu Xuan, who now had a much clearer understanding of the power at the Celestial Human Level.

He narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself:

’Although I haven’t started Climbing the Divine Ladder, with my ultimate Physique and numerous Great Slaughter Techniques, I can crush a Celestial Human of the first layer at will. Against a second layer, it would be an even fight, the outcome uncertain. But against a third layer… I would likely be outmatched.’

’Of course, if I used the Three-Five Evil-Slaying Sword, that would be another story. Still, I estimate I could only fight up to someone at the Celestial Human Fourth Layer, at most. After all, I can’t truly activate its full power yet, and the gap between each level of the Divine Ladder is immense.’

’He hadn’t factored in the Heaven-Flipping Seal or the Fishing Drum. The former only had enough power for a single strike, and it was hard to say how potent that strike would be. He had never even used the Fishing Drum; according to his Three Masters, he would have to achieve Ascension to Immortality before he could use it.’

As Lu Xuan was lost in thought, the mid-air battle grew increasingly fierce, and Celestial Humans began to fall one after another.

After killing the “Traitor Faction” Celestial Human—who was a full layer beneath him—in a single blow, the Qingxin Temple Master retreated to the side. He watched the other battles silently, occasionally stealing a glance at the majestic figure of Lu Xuan.

The battle between the Demon Race Celestial Human and the old Celestial Human, however, had reached a stalemate. The two were evenly matched, both on the verge of the Earth Immortal realm, making it difficult to determine a victor quickly.

「As time passed,」

seventeen of the twenty-four pairs of Celestial Humans had finished their battles. This meant that seventeen Celestial Humans had fallen, their corpses smashing into the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.

Suddenly, Lu Xuan narrowed his eyes. He saw a neutral Celestial Human from the First Level Divine Ladder falling behind, already coughing up blood with cracks spreading across his body from the attacks of a Traitor Faction Celestial Human of the same level.

’Hmm…’

Lu Xuan struck without warning. His great palm flipped over as if toppling heaven and earth, causing the “Traitor Faction” Celestial Human to explode in mid-air!

A rain of blood fell. The battlefield fell silent for a moment. The expressions of the Celestial Humans and prodigies alike changed as they shot him looks of shock and suspicion.

But Lu Xuan simply said coolly,

“Violators of the rules will be slain.”

He didn’t specify what rule had been broken, and no one dared to ask. The neutral Celestial Human, however, shot him a grateful look. After all, he had been on the brink of defeat and death.

Time continued to flow. One by one, the bodies of Celestial Humans fell, until only the Demon Race Celestial Human and the old Celestial Human were left fighting.

Amidst a furious roar, the old Celestial Human’s head was shattered. His body crashed limply to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. The Demon Race Celestial Human was not in much better shape; he was coughing up great mouthfuls of blood, and half of his body was mangled!

He landed on the ground, panting heavily.

“Your Excellency… may the gate be opened now?”

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP!

The Ancient Creature clapped his hands slowly, his voice indifferent.

“Splendid, splendid… Since the victors have been decided, let the gate be opened.”

The surviving Celestial Humans, as well as the prodigies like Wang Zhiyao who had passed the test, all looked energized. Their eyes turned toward the colossal gate. Lu Xuan, too, rose gracefully from his great throne.

’To be honest, he was also curious about what lay behind the gate.’

With that thought, Lu Xuan followed the stream of information flowing from the mask. He channeled his Primordial Qi, activated the mask, and attempted to open the Heaven-Reaching Gate.

Although the stream of information was fragmented and incomplete, it didn’t pose a major issue.

As the Bronze Mask began to vibrate, watched by the crowd with gazes of anticipation and gravity,

the colossal gate began to rumble and pull apart, inch by inch!

However.

CRACK.

It was the sound of something shattering.

The Celestial Humans and prodigies instinctively looked toward the source of the sound. It came from the terrifying Ancient Creature. His hands were clasped behind his back, his posture erect, his aura still immensely majestic.

And the shattering sound was coming from the Bronze Mask on the Ancient Creature’s face.

The moment the gate swung open, the mask crumbled to pieces. The immense majesty surrounding the Ancient Creature vanished with it, revealing a somewhat immature and familiar face, marked by a large, dark mole.

“Wu… Xiaoxu?”

In the deathly silence, Wang Zhiyao spoke in a daze, her face a mask of utter bewilderment.

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