Armipotent

Chapter 1969: The Trial Already Started

Tang Shaoyang made sure to catch everyone’s expression in the room when he mentioned the Nine Heavenly Gates. It was a troublesome thing, but he did it. Their expressions changed, and although it was subtle, he caught it. None of them perceived his technique negatively, meaning his technique might not be part of their enemy’s technique.

The reaction was a mix; half of them were surprised and half of them were thinking, trying to recall the name. Except for the ten Grandmasters that floated above everyone else, their expression remained flat and dignified, showing no emotion.

Grandmaster Xu had his finger on his chin, thinking about the name. The silence ensued for a few minutes until everyone raised their heads, looking at Tang Shaoyang.

"I have never heard of this technique before, but I don’t know about my fellow Grandmasters."

Xu Guanyu turned toward the others, hoping for an answer, including from one of the ten Grandmasters.

"I see... It might be a new developed technique that we don’t know of, and I would say the name is quite bold. Can we see it, Tang Shaoyang?"

Again, Tang Shaoyang did not like where the scenario developed. They asked his name, and he told them, and then they asked him to demonstrate the technique. If it were someone else, he might not mind doing it, but these people were different.

These old fogies were masters of the martial arts, and they might be able to dissect his technique. The worst part was that he did not even know whether he could get into a trial or not.

"First, you don’t need to be worried about having us spread your technique’s weakness because we are just a bunch of consciousness bound to Thousand Halls. We can’t go anywhere, let alone spread your technique."

"Second, it’s to confirm whether the technique belongs to our enemy or not. We can tell whether your technique belongs to our enemy or not based on your usage of your internal energy and also the type of your internal energy."

Grandmaster Xu seemed to be able to read what was in Tang Shaoyang’s mind.

Tang Shaoyang thought about it, but again, he was unsure whether they were just a bunch of consciousness bound to the building, or maybe they were not. There was no way for him to confirm.

"I can demonstrate one of the techniques..."

"Try it on me!" Grandmaster Liao came down again, landing next to Grandmaster Xu. It was the same person who started this interview. If not for Grandmaster Liao, he would not need to go through this stupid interview.

Tang Shaoyang glanced at Grandmaster Xu, and the latter shrugged, "You can try it on Grandmaster Liao."

He frowned because he was afraid of killing the man accidentally and failing the trial. "We need to clarify something first before I try my technique on him. Can you die in this place?"

Grandmaster Xu told him that he could not die because it was just his consciousness here, and his body was outside, still alive. However, these people admitted that they were just consciousness without a living body. If he killed them here, they might die for real.

"You don’t need to worry about killing him," Grandmaster Xu smiled.

Tang Shaoyang did not hesitate to use his Bloodline Transformation again. At the same time, he took out the Azure Dragon Blade. At the same time, the white room changed. In the following second, he was standing on a plain with Grandmaster Liao standing twenty meters away from him.

Grandmaster Xu retreated to a distance along with the nine hundred and ninety-nine Grandmasters. They did not intend to intervene in the test.

Tang Shaoyang activated the ninth gate, Heavenly Azure Dragon. The mirage of an azure dragon appeared behind him as his Heavenly Energy soared. The golden Heavenly Energy was tinted black by the Chaos Eyes, showing a sign of merging instead of resistance. The two energies started to coexist.

He then bent his body forward slightly, his right hand was on his sword’s hilt, and his left hand was on his sheath. Then he looked at Grandmaster Liao, and the latter was in his stance as well, holding a spear in his hand. Just like Tang Shaoyang, Grandmaster Liao no longer concealed his energy as it soared as well. His energy was brown-red with no form.

"Come at me, child! I will prove to them that a monster like you doesn’t deserve to inherit our martial arts!"

Tang Shaoyang did not understand what Grandmaster Liao tried to say. This was just a test to see whether he had learned the Thousand Vows Pavilion’s enemies’ technique. What did this have to do with the actual trial? He threw the thoughts and focused on his opponent.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The moment he opened his eyes, he pulled his sword.

Heavenly Sword - Heavenly Revoke

The Azure Dragon roared, and the sword radiated the tinted Heavenly Energy as Tang Shaoyang’s figure went into a blur.

Grandmaster Xu and the other Grandmasters closed their eyes for a moment. It looked like a flash that blinded them. They could sense how powerful the strike was; the young man did it with the intention to kill Grandmaster Liao.

They could not see what happened as Tang Shaoyang’s figure disappeared. Tang Shaoyang was standing ten meters behind Grandmaster Liao, sheathing his sword as the Azure Dragon mirage dispersed. They could not see Tang Shaoyang’s movement.

Then everyone focused on Grandmaster Liao, who did not move a single inch from his spot. The Grandmasters gasped in surprise when Grandmaster Liao’s body slid down, getting cut into two along with his spear. Grandmaster Liao was dead, killed in one strike.

Tang Shaoyang turned around and saw the body falling off. He was surprised that he managed to kill one of the Grandmasters with Heavenly Revoke. The technique was good to catch the enemy guard, but it rarely worked against someone on the same level.

’Does that mean Grandmaster Liao is weaker than me?’

Tang Shaoyang shook his head and waited. He waited for Grandmaster Liao’s body to be reconstructed. He wanted to hear what the old man had to say after the provocation. He waited for a few minutes, and he witnessed Grandmaster Liao’s body dispersed into light and head up.

He followed where the light went, and he thought Grandmaster Liao would be revived again. However, he found a giant outline above him. From the outline, he could tell it was an outline of an open book, and the light gathered into the outline.

Tang Shaoyang still expected Grandmaster Liao to materialize back and appeared in shock to be defeated in one hit. But it never happened; Grandmaster Liao never came back after that. He was shocked to learn that Grandmaster Liao was dead.

"There’s no need to feel guilty, Tang Shaoyang. That is supposed to happen if you wish to take the trial."

Tang Shaoyang snapped toward Grandmaster Xu. The latter still had the same gentle smile, standing with his two hands behind him.

"And I am happy to tell you that you passed the test, and you can take the trial. In fact, the trial had already started the moment you killed Grandmaster Liao."

"What do you mean the trial already started?"

"I will explain it later," Grandmaster Xu turned around to see the other Grandmasters. "What do you think, my fellow Grandmasters? You can see he is quite powerful, and I think he is the best bet since the last trial. Of course, you are unconvinced; you can test him again."

Tang Shaoyang was in the cold and did not understand what had happened here. After the Grandmaster said that, he saw that one by one, the Grandmaster turned into the brilliance of light and went to the book outline. He got even more confused about what happened, and more than four hundred Grandmasters disappeared into light, including the six from the top ten Grandmasters.

"This never happened before. You have obtained 472 Grandmaster’s approval from a single demonstration," Grandmaster Xu turned around to Tang Shaoyang.

"Now I will explain the trial, so listen carefully. You must earn one thousand Grandmasters’ approval to inherit our teachings," Grandmaster Xu pointed at the book outline that started to materialize. "You have earned their approval, but you still earn the remaining Grandmasters’ approval."

"How do you earn their approval? You must beat or kill them in a battle, a simple trial, no? However, you must agree to your conditions to start the trial!"

A scroll materialized from Grandmaster Xu’s hand, and he then threw the scroll toward Tang Shaoyang. He caught the scroll, and it opened automatically. There was only one condition inside the scroll. If he agreed to the trial, it meant he agreed to rebuild the Thousand Vows Pavilion."

"The scroll in your hand is different from the System Contract. We call it the Divine Contract, and the System Contract is a phony copy of a Divine Contract. There’s a real consequence if you violate the Divine Contract. Do you wish to proceed with the trial?"

The contract said what would happen if he violated the agreement. He would lose all the techniques he had learned and mastered.

Tang Shaoyang massaged the space between his eyes. At this point, he realized that the God of Martial that cost 100 million Credits was a scam. It was a hundred million worth, yet it was not guaranteed that he would get the class. He must pass a trial, and then there was another downside, a burden of rebuilding a faction.

"What’s wrong?" Grandmaster Xu sounded surprised.

"I feel like I am being ripped off here," Tang Shaoyang answered honestly, and he could tell that a lot of Grandmasters were offended by his choice of words.

"Care to explain?"

Tang Shaoyang told them what happened. He told them the truth since they could detect lies.

"I understand your feeling, but we can’t change the agreement. If you wish to learn our techniques, you have to be our successor. If you become the successor of Thousand Vows Pavilion, you must bear the duty of the successor to rebuild the Thousand Vows Pavilion. This is the reason why Thousand Halls exist; we can’t change the condition."

Tang Shaoyang sighed, but he proceeded to explain his situation. He had enemies to fight, and there was a chance that he might die in this battle. Some of the Grandmasters seemed to recognize the name of The Celestial that was part of the Nirvana Alliance, as well as the God Order.

"I understand your situation, but what we need is your commitment!" Grandmaster Xu replied with a stern tone.

"I can help you rebuild the Thousand Vows Pavilion, but this is what I will do. I will not become the faction leader of Thousand Vows Pavilion, but I will entrust the duty to someone known and fit for the job. I will teach him your technique and also support the Thousand Vows Pavilion secretly, but I can’t be the leader because I am the Emperor of the Tang Empire. I have my own duty, and I would rather give the task to someone who could focus on the job instead of splitting my focus between my empire and Thousand Vows Pavilion. What do you think?"