Qin Rui's words were met with silence. But this silence was good. Everyone approached this trial with a genuine earnest mindset. While they had likely poured over the rules ceaselessly for the past few months since its official announcement, they wouldn't mind receiving a refresher course.
Their determination and readied expressions were met with a satisfying smile of Qin Rui that was as gorgeous as the moonlit sky. Unfortunately, only Wei Wuyin was capable of witnessing this scene. While this scene went unseen by the majority, Qin Rui explained:
"In the Grand Spirit Trials, there is only one winner. This winner will be determined by the one with the most amount of Spirit Points earned at the end of all three trials. In each trial, you'll be given the opportunity to earn Spirit Points. Furthermore, you'll even be allowed to steal Spirit Points from others. Of course, you'll have to bet your life." Qin Rui's words were sharp, filled with a momentum that stepped on the hearts of everyone present. While her words were simply explaining the basic rules, it caused many of them to quiver slightly.
Wei Wuyin felt her spiritual strength pervading her words. It seemed she wanted to ensure that her every word was etched into the minds and spirits of everyone present. He glanced to his left and noticed that some of these elites were trembling.
As she went on, she explained all the details of the event. Firstly, at the beginning of the trials, everyone started from zero and no one had an advantage. Furthermore, numerous rules made the event incredibly fair for those for all cultivation bases. This was likely the most intricate and delicate detail about the trials, balancing the disproportionate cultivation bases of everyone.
These rules of balance didn't factor in age gaps, only cultivation levels.
In the first trial, Trial of Beasts, the objective was to capture star beasts. Even the weakest star beast was capable of exhibiting strengths or abilities that can rival World Sea Phase experts, but the star beasts weren't limited to simply that.
Each star beast was marked with stars of four colors: Grey, White, Silver, and Gold. From lowest to highest, each star beast had varying levels of strength. Grey Starred Beasts were the lowest, equivalent to the World Sea Phase in an attribute or abilities.
White is equivalent to Sky Ruler Phase cultivators; Silver is equivalent to Soul Idol cultivators; Gold is equivalent to Spatial Resonance cultivators. This was determined by the Star Beasts' attributes, such as agility, strength, defense, or innate abilities.
For the sake of fairness, if one was a Sky Ruler, then they could not capture Grey Starred Beasts. They can only capture white and higher. This was true as one's cultivation base increased. And the Star Points earned varied as well. Those with a higher cultivation base had it more difficult than those of lower cultivation, but they were generally several times stronger.
If we take a World Sea participant, they earn:
Grey Starred Beasts: 1 Star Point.
White Starred Beasts: 5 Star Points.
Silver Starred Beasts: 50 Star Points.
Gold Starred Beasts: 1,000 Star Points.
Sky Ruler Participant:
White Starred Beasts: 1 Point.
Silver Beasts: 10 Points.
Gold Starred Beasts: 500 Points.
Soul Idol Participant:
Silver Starred Beasts: 5 Points.
Gold Starred Beasts: 250 Points.
Spatial Resonance Participant:
Gold Starred Beasts: 25 Points.
To add, killing any Star Beasts caused an equivalent amount of points to be deducted from one's score. Adding insult to injury, captured beasts had to be held until the end of the trial to count, and must be within your immediate vicinity while subdued. This increased the difficulty to insane levels, and it barely evened out the difference in cultivation levels.
For example, a Sky Ruler might find keeping hold of two Soul Idol-level Star Beasts far more difficult than a Soul Idol doing the same. Only those with exceptional talent were capable of doing so, which highlighted their potential and means. As for how one went about this subduing and capturing, this was fully left up to them to decide.
Just this trial alone allowed everyone to realize how difficult it would be. The trial would last for five months, and fighting others were disallowed, but disturbing the capture attempts or sabotaging wasn't beneath anyone. As for those at the Spatial Resonance Phase, no one thought that those at this level would be at a disadvantage. In fact, they would be the greatest threat despite the no-fighting rule. Spatial Arts were formless, mysterious, and strange.
According to the sect, a majority of the beasts deployed on the field have spiritual formations placed on them. Unless antagonized they would remain docile and their hostile nature suppressed. But if they are provoked or attacked, they will flare up like raging monsters of slaughter that killed everything in their sights. If you're in their path, you must pray your life is hardy enough to see another day.
That was just the majority. There were a few beasts that acted against any and everything, even other beasts that have been captured. This meant these roaming beasts might cause your captured beast to die or escape. These frustrating circumstances forced one to be prepared for anything.
Qin Rui didn't just explain the first trial, but the second one as well. The Trial of Light was different from the first, allowing battles between cultivators of equal level, challenges from cultivators of a lower level, and tested one's strength, intelligence, and skills.
At this stage, Junia will be littered with ten thousand locations. These locations will be obscure and hard to find, the entire world will be encompassed by a Spiritual Sense suppression formation as well, and each location contains Spirit Points. This ranged from 1 to 1,000 Spirit Points, with the difficulties scaling based on the amount.
Each location contained a trial, and these trials were usually in the form of a sealing formation, combat array, or mystifying tests. There were two types of locations, fixed locations, and varied locations. Varied Locations had Spirit Points that scaled or decreased based on cultivation level. Overcoming the location's trial with a lower cultivation base gave greater Spirit Points.
Fixed Locations gave a fixed amount of Spirit Points regardless of who completed them. Of course, with the number of locations being tremendously low when compared to participants, this trial also enabled the act of challenge. A cultivator can challenge another to a battle, the winner would claim all the other's points. Furthermore, there was no protection in this trial, meaning one must concede or die.
This challenge isn't a two-sided agreement. A participant can simply attack another directly without any prior notice, and if they kill or force the other to concede, then they claim the points they earned. Wei Wuyin felt this was where the true contest was, because it was an open-field challenge, so others could run or perform guerrilla tactics.
There weren't any rules against teaming up against others or interfering in a fight. The only rule was that higher leveled cultivators can not deliberately act against those of a lower cultivation base. This didn't go both ways, so sneak attacks were incredibly likely against the careless. But if the lower leveled cultivator acted first, then the higher leveled cultivator could kill freely.
Understanding the limits of one's own strength and their opponent was of the utmost importance.
As for the last trial, Qin Rui simply said: "Survive the first two, then you'll naturally learn more about the last trial."
At the end of this explanation, the time for preparation had ended. Wei Wuyin looked at the talisman in his hand. It was a jade tablet the size of his palm that contained a unique formation with spatial energies. According to them, this was their token for participation and their only means of protection. If they were in lethal danger, near-death, or cornered, they could send their astral force within and it'll activate.
In a split second, they'll be sent away to safety. Furthermore, a Spirit Light would be left in the location they departed. It would contain all their Spirit Points which can be claimed by anyone who found it. However, it only worked in the first two trials.
He couldn't help but feel that this trial took too much time to complete. The first two trials were four months each, which felt far too long in his heart. 'I'll just find a decent location and concoct some products and cultivate until the first trial is nearly done.' His thoughts and plan were fairly simplistic: Steal.
Wasn't that what Inheritors of Sin were destined to do?
Shoom!
A spatial light soon engulfed each participant holding a jade tablet. It seemed the trial was about to begin.
Wei Wuyin hadn't noticed, but in the corner was Long Chen. His eyes were sharp and fierce, containing a baleful light in its depths as it reflected Wei Wuyin's figure.
Long Chen hadn't expected Wei Wuyin to participate given his status and importance, but his heart was pounding with excitement and anticipation. This was his chance. He recalled a particular moment on the Myriad Yore Continent. It was the time he challenged Wei Wuyin. While it has been five years and not three, the Grand Spirit Trials was the perfect platform to settle this.
'I'll defeat you here.'
While Long Chen's thoughts were on Wei Wuyin, numerous young male elites sought to eliminate him for various reasons, especially the most elite genius from the Huangfu Clan. To them, whether it was envy, jealousy, grudge, or simply an innate dislike towards him, they would attack without hesitation.
