The more the old man spoke, the more Dyon's heart shook with shock. This old man saw through him so easily…
That said, Dyon's mind was running at inconceivable speeds. At first, when he heard that he wouldn't be able to achieve the Emperor Presence level because his birth place was far too insignificant, he had felt a fire light inside him that filled him with even more will to be great. But, when the old man then mentioned the sovereign path, he suddenly remembered the cultivation technique the Dragon King had mentioned to him: [Will of Heart].
It was quite a masochistic technique that truly tested one's martial heart, but now that the old man had said this, Dyon was determined to use it.
Without a word, Dyon disappeared from the third trial. Clearly, he had decided to give up, not bothering with the old man any longer.
Seeing this, the old man only shook his head, sighing to himself, "Ah, the younger generation. So rude." But, he didn't seem angry. In fact, he even smiled, seemingly wondering about something before he faded from existence.
...
Dyon appeared in an odd world, filled with black fog. But, interestingly enough, the few hundred meters around him was completely clear of this fog, remaining at the outside edges of an arena that was seemingly crafted with black obsidian tiles.
What truly surprised Dyon was that this black material was strikingly familiar. After thinking about it for a moment, a flash of realization hit him as he remembered back to Elvin Kingdom Sentries, the two 20 meter tall puppets he had stolen from them. He had always wondered just what kind of material was worthy of forming dao formation level puppets, and it seemed he had run into this material once again.
Dyon snapped out of his thought when he noticed that the massive sword from the third trial was still in his hands. After seeing this, the obvious conclusion was that the third and fourth trials were connected in some way.
The massive sword pulsed, its red veins still eating away at its gold exterior.
What Dyon didn't know was that the process currently occurring in his chosen Life Stealing weapon wasn't one that had happened in a long time.
The weapons have five initial stages. The first was its rusted form, then came its charcoal form, then its bronze, silver and gold forms.
By passing the first 100 waves, only would complete the first half of the third trial, and thus earn a bronze-silver to silver weapon. However, progressing to peak of gold became very difficult after that. In fact, it wasn't until around the 140th wave that Dyon finally accumulated enough wins to jump to that level.
That aside, what was occurring now was a special transformation. Instead of being a mere slab of metal, the weapon was starting to return to its original form.
Truth be told, Dyon didn't care much for what was happening. If he wanted to use a broad sword in the future, couldn't he just have the Dragon King morph into one? Although there was something to be said about not overusing the Dragon King so as not to attract attention, wasn't a Life Stealing weapon just as greed inducing?
However, that was when Dyon thought of something else. If he could take this weapon out of the trials, didn't that also mean that others who took these trials could as well? Maybe, in that case, these Life Stealing weapons were actually a sign of status that weren't as rare as one might assume. If that was the case, maybe there was some merit in using this weapon as opposed to the Dragon King.
Thinking to this point, Dyon made a decision. If he really could take this weapon out, he would make it his primary weapon and leave the Dragon King as his trump card.
Although he thought this, there was another reason for this decision as well. Yes, it was true that the Dragon King could morph into all sorts of weapons and armors, however, its effectiveness dropped when it was used for both offense and defense. Dyon remembered clearly that when he was struggling to kill Elder Daiyu, he had to retract his Dragon King armor in order to focus on offense, only then did he manage to chop Elder Daiyu's head off.
Dyon knew that this problem would disappear after he reached a high enough cultivation level to withstand higher unsealed levels of the Dragon King, but for now, it was still a problem. In that case, he could reserve the Broad Sword for offense, while keeping the Dragon King as an armor. With this method, he would multiply his effectiveness in battle.
"I could have killed you on at least seven separate occasions by now." An arrogant, but oddly familiar voice sounded in Dyon's mind. It was only now he remembered that he was still within the trials, and his attention snapped away from the still slowly changing sword in his hand.
When Dyon saw who was standing across from him, only about twenty or so meters away, he couldn't help but be surprised. But, he didn't show much of it. That was because when one thought about the direction these trials were going, it only made sense for such a method to be used to test him.
Standing there, holding a sword just as massive as his, with a look as lofty as the heavens in his eyes, stood an exact copy of Dyon. Everything from his brownish, red-gold hair, to his hazel-green eyes and caramel skin, to even his demeanor… Nothing was different at all.
"Oh? You're not going to speak? Throwing a tantrum, I see. For a man that's turning 30 soon, you remind me more of a toddler."
It was only after his clone said it that Dyon realized that he truly was turning 30 soon. It took him a bit over a year and a half to complete the first two trials, while he spent about 10 in the third. Although he knew that these trials would take him away from his friends and family for a long time, it still hurt to see just how true it was.
For the first time in years, Dyon had thoughts not completely filled with endless rage, but rather, steeped in worry. He had sent his ten-year-old brother, and his little sister, off to a world of beasts, despite promising to let them grow up worry free. He had left his wives to fend for themselves in a world of lustful, selfish and greedy people. He had abandoned his friends and loyal followers, all for the sake of seeking power…
Was it worth it?
