1291-1300

Chapter 1291: Torch and Frontier

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The biggest information broker in the Golden City black market was known as Mute Pavillion.

It was called that to show just how well they kept their secret information. It did not matter what information their clients tried to buy or sell; it would never be leaked.

However, Lin Huang had his doubts about Mute Pavillion's secrecy. As an information broker who would sell anything, it was not impossible for them to sell their own clients' confidential information, as long as the price was right.

Since Mute Pavillion was larger than life in both their physical premises and their reputation, Lin Huang found the store without too much trouble.

As soon as he walked through the door, a tall woman in what looked like a qipao greeted him. Lin Huang noticed that the other employees in the store wore something like a "qipao" too, but the colors and designs were different. Each outfit was clearly designed for the wearer, showing off the women's bodies perfectly.

Every employee was young and beautiful, with seductive bodies and natural-born auras. If you placed any one of them on Earth, there would probably be a top-rated entertainment company throwing money at them to try and make them into their signature star.

Lin Huang gave them a glance before pulling his gaze back.

"Good day, sir. May I know if you're here to provide or gather information?"

"Gather," Lin Huang said honestly.

"Please come with me." The woman nodded with a smile and led Lin Huang up to the second floor.

Lin Huang followed behind her, and when he saw the way her body swayed in front of him, he could not help but sigh inwardly.

"This Mute Pavillion sure is wealthy, and it shows. It probably costs a bomb just to train employees like these."

Soon enough, the woman led Lin Huang to the door of a room.

"Room 203 was just vacated. Please go in, sir."

With those words, the woman slowly pulled the door open and lowered her head slightly, waiting for Lin Huang to go inside.

After Lin Huang walked in, the woman slowly closed the door and turned to leave.

Once inside the room, Lin Huang realized that it was bigger than he first expected, and the decor was not mysterious in the slightest either. It just looked like the lobby of a fancy hotel.

The counter was something like a bar counter, and another beautiful woman sat behind it, wearing a short white shirt. As for her lower half, it was obscured by the counter.

"Good day, sir. How may I help you today?"

"Firstly, I want a star map, covering as much land as possible, and the more the detailed, the better. Secondly, I want information on all the main factions and races, as detailed as possible. Thirdly, I want information about the secret zones and ruins. Fourthly, I want personal info on Sword11…"

After spending a considerable amount of Divine Stones, Lin Huang received almost all the information he wanted. The only things he did not ask about was the Great Heaven inheritance and treasure, because he could not be sure what asking about that would get him.

Still, his purchase of information told Lin Huang one thing. Perhaps because the resources were more scarce here, the purchasing power of Divine Stones was higher than in the great worlds. It was about ten times higher here than in the God Territory.

The cheapest god rule relic in the great world cost at least a million Divine Stones, but here in the Great Heaven Territory, prices started at a hundred thousand or so. Even really high-quality expert-grade god rule relics cost no more than three or four million Divine Stones.

As for Divine Crystals, they were so rare that they were not even used as currency here.

After he walked out of Mute Pavillion's main entrance, Lin Huang could immediately sense someone spying on him from the shadows.

His Telekinesis was as strong as a Nine Rotation Virtual God's, and after he merged it with the seventh level, Seamless, it was as strong as a first-rank True God now. Even his soul's sensing ability was much stronger now.

Even so, he could only sense that he was being watched. He could not tell where the gaze was coming from.

Without knowing his observer's motives, Lin Huang calmly left Mute Pavillion. However, he did not immediately leave the black market. Instead, he began to browse the shops.

After he went to a few more shops, he could be a hundred percent sure that those eyes were on him specifically.

After all, the feeling of being watched never once stopped.

That left Lin Huang rather confused. "Ever since I entered the Great Heaven Territory, I don't think I ever offended anyone. No one could possibly know that I scared off the Bug Tribe Heavenly God either. So why on earth are they watching me now?

He did not know their motive nor where they were hiding. Once he was sure that they were targeting him, Lin Huang entered another store and immediately used Thousand Face to put on a disguise before striding out of the shop.

As expected, the feeling of being watched vanished without a trace this time.

A minute later, a tiny lizard crawled into the shop Lin Huang had entered earlier via the walls. Its large green eyes looked around the place before it crawled out of the store again.

On the third floor of a cafe on the black market street, a ponytailed woman's hand froze in mid-air, still holding her teacup. She frowned slightly. "He's gone?!"

After Lin Huang put on a disguise and left the shop, he never felt that gaze on him again.

After all, Thousand Face was the best god sequence relic for disguises. Aside from the strongest Heavenly Gods, no one could see through his disguise at all.

Upon leaving the black market, he took a detour of several hundred kilometers and used Thousand Face to swap between five different identities, all so he could avoid any other unknown eyes on him, even the ones he may not have noticed. Finally, he found a shady hotel that did not require documentation and checked in there.

There were several tens of thousands of shady hotels like that, even more than there were legal hotels. Since there were so many of them, the competition was fierce, and the shady hotels ended up with facilities and services that were no worse than most legal hotels.

After he checked in and entered his room, Lin Huang read through the information he had bought off the black market.

The star map he bought off the black market was much more detailed than the one Bloody had obtained earlier.

This star map encompassed almost all the star zones around humanity. Not only did it contain detailed information about each star zone, it even described many planets in detail.

The star zones depicted in this one star map were larger in area than the places the Protoss had discovered over several hundred thousand years.

When he read the second set of information, Lin Huang raised an eyebrow just a few lines into the document.

"There are four human Heavenly Gods?!"

He continued reading and found out that the humans in the Great Heaven Territory were divided into two factions, led by two Heavenly Gods each.

There were no so-called governments, only the two ultra-powerful human factions.

One was called Torch, and the other Frontier.

Torch believed that humans should preserve the purity of their bloodline, and members of this faction were forbidden from marrying those of other races. Their final aim was to pass down the torch of human civilization down the generations.

Frontier's principles were completely different. They believed that there was no point in maintaining the purity of one's bloodline, and they prioritized survival instead. They encouraged anything that could make them stronger, including starting wars to rob other races of resources, performing genetic surgery, and breeding with powerful bloodlines… In many ways, they explored the frontier of the unknown.

The two factions were extremely ideologically opposed, yet their territories neighbored each other, so there were always conflicts between the two sides.

This area Lin Huang was currently in belonged to Torch.

During Torch's great war with the Bug Tribe this time around, Frontier had been watching coldly from the sidelines. In fact, they should be praised for not stabbing Frontier in the back.

When Lin Huang read the explanation in the file, he was a little exasperated too.

"To think they can end up in a faction war under these circumstances… As I expected of humanity."

Aside from the information on humanity, this file included intel on the other twenty-odd races nearby.

Lin Huang read each of them, one at a time.

The third set told him about the secret zones and ruins.

To Lin Huang's surprise, there were quite a few secret zones and ruins in the Great Heaven Territory. This file alone listed fifty to sixty of them, most of them left behind by peak-level True Gods and some Heavenly Gods after their demise. However, there was no mention of the Great Heaven inheritance or Great Heaven treasure.

Lin Huang even looked at the timings and saw that there were no secret zones or ruins that would open up soon.

After he put down the third file, Lin Huang looked toward the fourth set of info — Sword11's personal information.

Chapter 1292: Eating Kidney To Help

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Sword11: real name Liu Ren, humanity's number one Sword Dao genius.

Combat level: ninth-rank god order-level (updated after the Bug Tribe War).

He had been training with the sword since his youth. Although he was not talented and did not have a good teacher to guide him, he worked extremely hard.

He only achieved the Sword Dao at 183 years old and broke understood the Sword Dao true meaning at 1561 years old.

Earlier, he had been cultivating the Sword Dao behind closed doors, staying inside for ten years.

Ten years later, he changed his name to Sword11 and began to truly shine. He challenged several of the Top 100 True God sword cultivators in a row and won every battle.

Upon seeing his sword techniques, even the True God sword cultivator Nie Feng praised him for his unbelievable Sword Dao which Nie Feng claimed surpassed his own.

That same year, all the Sword Dao powerhouses recognized him as humanity's number one Sword Dao genius.

…

After he read Sword11's profile, Lin Huang was even more certain that this man had something to do with the Great Heaven inheritance now. In fact, there was a high chance that he had obtained a part of that inheritance.

The description in the profile said that Sword11 was not very talented at the Sword Dao at all. He only understood the Sword Dao at 183 years old, and it took him almost another 1,400 years to forcefully sharpen that, with nothing more than sheer effort, into the Sword Dao true meaning.

To be honest, Lin Huang respected that man's determination and will. However, he really did not think a man without much talent or potential in the Sword Dao would be able to become such an overpowered sword cultivator just by working hard for a mere ten years.

Lin Huang definitely did not believe that nothing happened in the ten years Sword11 was missing.

"There's definitely something off about that guy. Something must have happened in the ten years he was gone, something others don't know. The name change is pretty strange too…"

Although he was now certain that Sword11 most likely had something to do with the Great Heaven inheritance, Lin Huang still did not have any idea how he should approach Sword11.

Since the black market intel told him that Sword11 was in Golden City now too, Lin Huang spent most of the next two days in his hotel room cultivating Seamless. At the same time, he had the black market keep an eye on Sword11's actions.

…

Inside the castellan's residence in Golden City, Sword11 finally began to stir slowly.

A bunch of people immediately crowded the room.

"Are you alright, Old Sword?" Old Lightning was the first to rush up and ask him.

"I think I should be fine now. How's Tough City? Did everyone get out alright?" Sword11 asked as soon as he opened his eyes.

"It's alright now, everyone made it out safely." Nangong Wei nodded and then gave him a simple description about how the Titan Bugs were consecutively killed and how the Bug Tribe army had immediately retreated.

Upon hearing that, Sword11 finally relaxed.

They chatted for a while, and then Nangong Wei and the others left, leaving behind only a girl with a ponytail.

"Teacher, I lost the guy you told me to follow." The ponytailed girl bit her lip and reluctantly admitted her failure.

Sword11 had expressly given his disciple this trailing mission before he used that Sun Slash.

"Is he still in Golden City?" Sword11 asked.

"I don't know. Everyone came here using the same dimensional portal two days ago. I saw that he went to the black market, so I followed him, but then I lost him. I think he noticed I was watching him, but I don't know if he just teleported away or used a disguise to slip away," said the ponytailed girl somewhat angrily.

"It's fine. If he's still in Golden City, it won't be hard to find him." Sword11 closed his eyes for a bit, and when he opened them again, the corners of his lips curved a little. "I'll change my clothes and go out for a walk."

"I'll tell the kitchen to make you some breakfast," said the ponytailed girl hurriedly.

"No need. I'll just grab something to eat while I'm out there." Sword11 waved her off.

"Then I'll come with you."

Sword11 laughed and shook his head. "Stay here and practice with your sword, girl. Later I'll check if you've been slacking off these past few days."

"Wha?!" The ponytailed girl clearly did not expect Sword11 to suddenly pull a spot check on her.

Still, she could guess what her teacher meant by going out for a walk. She immediately changed the topic, asking, "Teacher, is there something special about that guy?"

"I don't know, either, so let's find him first."

…

Over the past few days he had spent in Golden City, Lin Huang did not find out much about Sword11's whereabouts, but he did find a great noodle house close to his hotel.

The noodle house had a very special name too. It was called A Noodle House.

The handmade noodles here were very springy, and there were only eighteen varieties of noodle soups. All of them started broiling at three in the morning, and the shop opened every morning at exactly 6 am. A line would start before seven.

In order to avoid the queue, Lin Huang had been waking up earlier these past two days, and he would be at the stall by around 6.30.

Just as he did the two days before, he was here early today as well.

"Hi, gimme a bowl of beef noodles, semi-spicy, and add a sunny-side-up.

As soon as he said that, someone sat down at the table opposite Lin Huang.

"Eating something spicy so early in the morning? Aren't you afraid you'll upset your stomach?"

Lin Huang raised his head, and his pupils dilated abruptly.

His visitor was not very tall, with average looks, flaming red hair, and black eyes.

It was Sword11!

"Is it a coincidence, or did he find me?!"

Lin Huang could not figure out how Sword11 found him. Since he had been watched earlier, he now looked nothing like his earlier identity, Lin Xie.

However, Sword11 did not attack him immediately, and he did not sense any hostility either, so Lin Huang felt a little relieved.

He pretended not to know who the other man was, smiling as he replied, "I have heavier tastes, and I especially like spicy foods."

"You don't mind if I share your table, do you?" Sword11 asked with a smile.

Lin Huang glanced around and saw that there were two other empty tables, but he did not refuse. "If you like."

"The noodles here really are quite good. I haven't been here for a year now." Sword11 seemed to chat idly as he looked down at the menu. He then shouted at the owner, "Hey, I'll have a bowl of kidney noodles with two portions of kidney and a braised egg."

"You have pretty heavy tastes too," Lin Huang teased with a laugh.

"My waist has been a little sore lately, so I thought some kidney might help." Sword11 chuckled.

After the owner served the noodles, both of them buried their faces into their bowls. The table instantly fell quiet.

The silence was only broken ten minutes later, after Lin Huang finished his noodles and called for the bill.

"It was fate that we met here, so this one's on me."

Sword11 laughed and did not decline. "Alright then, thanks."

Just as Lin Huang paid the bill, Sword11 slurped his last noodle.

He drank two more mouthfuls of soup happily before finally putting down his bowl and looking at Lin Huang with a grin.

"You're wondering how I found you, right?"

Those words told Lin Huang that his cover was blown, so he raised a brow and said,

"Yeah, I was pretty surprised."

"I have a special ability that allows me to sense the Sword Dao in every sword cultivator's body." Sword11 revealed the answer right away. "No matter how you try to disguise yourself, the Sword Dao inside your body won't change."

Now that he knew how he had been found, Lin Huang was not too surprised at it either, and he did not bother harping on that question.

"Actually, I'm more curious to know why you came looking for me."

Chapter 1293: Swordfiend Abyss

At a Golden City lake garden not too far away from the noodle house.

Two figures strolled around the lake as they chatted.

"This garden hasn't changed too much over all these years. It's probably the least commercialized place in the entire Golden City now. It's been a few years since I was last here," Sword11 introduced the place casually.

"It's pretty good for morning exercises." Lin Huang saw some older men and women beginning their morning exercises here, but there was one more thing he did not say aloud— that this place was even better for plaza dancing.

"You're not a hundred years old yet, are you?" Sword11 asked suddenly.

"Nope." Lin Huang gave a minimal reply without telling Sword11 that he was actually only nineteen.

"To think your Sword Dao is already approaching the true meaning, and you're not even a hundred yet. That's some talent and potential you have there," Sword11 praised him.

"I've been training my sword skills since childhood, but I'm not at all talented. I only understood the level-1 Sword Dao when I was 183, and I was more than 1,500 years old when I got to the level you are now. In terms of actual combat power, though, ten of the me's back then would be no match for you as you are now…"

Lin Huang listened to Sword11's rant quietly without interrupting.

"Then, when I was 1,561 years old, I accidentally stumbled onto some ruins that changed me completely from inside out. After that, my Sword Dao improved tremendously…"

Lin Huang's pupils dilated slightly at that. It was highly likely that Sword11 was talking about the Great Heaven inheritance, he guessed. Finally, he could not hold back anymore, asking,

"You received the inheritance from those ruins?"

"No. I wasn't talented enough." Sword11 just shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Even after my transformation, I was still nowhere near talented enough for that lord."

After Sword11 said that, Lin Huang could now be certain that he was talking about the Great Heaven inheritance.

Sword11's current talent at the Sword Dao was the strongest Lin Huang had seen, aside from his own (and that was because he had a cheat code). Even among the Protoss, this class-4 supreme god-level genius was one in a million.

Lin Huang even suspected that Sword11 might not be weaker than Buried Heaven should their combat levels be equal.

However, even a genius like that said that he was not talented enough to obtain the inheritance.

It was likely that only Great Heaven, a man who conquered an era, could be that picky about his heir.

"Are you telling me this because it has something to do with the reason you came to me, sir?" Lin Huang did not quite understand why Sword11 would tell him all these secrets of his own accord.

"Although I didn't earn his inheritance, I promised that lord I would find him a suitable heir," Sword11 explained at his own pace. "After I left the ruins, I've actually been secretly approaching all sorts of sword cultivating geniuses over all these years, sending them into the ruins to participate in the trials."

"Did anyone succeed?" Lin Huang hurriedly asked.

"No." Sword11 shook his head helplessly. 'Over the past millennia, I've identified thirty-five talented sword cultivators, and not one of them passed the first round."

"No one even passed the first round?!" Lin Huang was quite surprised.

"No one even passed the first round." Sword11 nodded.

"How many rounds are there in total?"

"I don't know that either. At least three or four, I guess." Sword11 shook his head with a laugh.

"Can I ask one more thing? How high is the trial's survival rate?" Lin Huang asked again.

"The death rate is higher than 90%. Out of the thirty-five, only three got out alive," replied Sword11 honestly.

"It's just the first round, but the death rate is already so high?!" That death rate scared even Lin Huang.

"That's right, it's very difficult. The later rounds could be even more challenging."

After a moment's silence, Lin Huang suddenly asked again, "If that inheritance finds an heir, will you get any benefits, sir?"

Lin Huang was actually asking about Sword11's motives. All Sword11 said was that he was helping Great Heaven find an heir because of a request, but of course Lin Huang did not believe that.

Sword11 stopped walking and turned around to look at the pond.

"On one hand, yes, I benefited from that lord. I went from a sword cultivator with barely any talent to a decently talented one after a single transformation. He helped me, so I want to return the favor.

"On the other hand, that lord promised me that he would increase my Sword Dao talent again if I made it work." With that, Sword11 turned around to look at Lin Huang.

Lin Huang nodded slightly. "When do those ruins open?"

"They're always open. You can go in whenever." Sword11's reply took Lin Huang by surprise. "Actually, many people know about that place, but no one really dares to go there because it's extremely dangerous."

"Where is it?!"

"Swordfiend Abyss!"

That name made Lin Huang instinctively narrow his eyes.

He was not unfamiliar with this name. Two days ago, he had read it in the information from the black market. It was a dangerous place at the border between human and Abyssal Tribe territories.

According to the information from the black market, almost no one who entered the Swordfiend Abyss ever made it out alive. There had even been a True God powerhouse who went in to explore and eventually went missing. According to the records, only one person in the entire Great Heaven Territory ever made it out of Heavenly God Abyss alive, and that was a heavenly god-level sword cultivator from a hundred thousand years ago. History books said that after that sword cultivator returned from Heavenly God Abyss, he turned into a world-ending Swordfiend. Eventually, the human Heavenly Gods joined forces with those of other races to kill him.

This contradicted Sword11's words completely.

Sword11 said that aside from him, three others emerged from the Swordfiend Abyss trials alive.

Sword11 seemed to read the suspicion on Lin Huang's expression, so he continued,

"The reason so many powerhouses can't leave Swordfiend Abyss alive is because only sword cultivators can survive in Swordfiend Abyss, and only Sword Dao skills work there. If they're not a sword cultivator, any powerhouse who enters there without the Sword Dao in their bodies would immediately meet extermination at the hands of the entire Swordfiend Abyss.

"That lord's ruins would never be sullied by any powerhouse who doesn't cultivate the sword."

Lin Huang did not say anything more after that.

The two of them walked along the lake, chatting idly like old friends.

Although he could not verify the truth in Sword11's words, at least Lin Huang now had a rough understanding of Swordfiend Abyss.

"If you're interested in these ruins, I can send you more detailed information about Swordfiend Abyss and the trials. However, I only know about the first trial. I don't know a thing about the ones after that," said Sword11 extremely helpfully when they parted.

"Sir, do you know who the powerhouse who left behind that inheritance was?" Lin Huang finally asked that crucial question.

"That powerhouse calls him Great Heaven, but I'm not sure if it's his real name or a title." With Sword11's reply, Lin Huang was absolutely certain now that he was referring to the Great Heaven inheritance.

"Give me some time to think about it. If I really decide to go, I'll contact you, sir." In the end, Lin Huang did not give him any confirmation.

Chapter 1294: The Dangerous Swordfiend Abyss

After he parted ways with Sword11, Lin Huang immediately made a beeline for the black market.

Lin Huang did not believe everything Sword11 told him.

Sword11 had given two reasons to justify his helping Great Heaven find an heir.

One was to return the favor, and the second was to gain another increase in his potential. Although it sounded logical, Lin Huang still felt like he was hiding something.

There was also the fact that his description of Swordfiend Abyss was completely different from what the black market's intel said. Naturally, the black market information could not be false, so Lin Huang could not tell how much of what Sword11 said was true.

The thing that bothered Lin Huang the most was how Sword11 had not mentioned a thing about how he had changed his name and the ten years of closed-door cultivation. He did not even mention it in passing. If Lin Huang had not read his detailed file from the black market, he might not know that Sword11 was hiding anything at all.

Lin Huang did not want to pry into Sword11's personal matters. He just thought that since they already talked about something as confidential as undergoing a transformation to increase one's talent, there was no need to hide the closed-door cultivation and name change.

Even though there were so many doubts, Lin Huang was nevertheless quite certain that Swordfiend Abyss was indeed the first test to earn the Great Heaven inheritance.

Actually, when Lin Huang first saw the information about Swordfiend Abyss on the star map two days ago, he was already wondering if this place had something to do with Great Heaven.

After all, it stated that even a heavenly god-level powerhouse had gone missing here before. That meant that the person who left this trap there had to be a heavenly god-level powerhouse, at the very least.

Once he added his conversation with Sword11 to that, he grew even more certain of this possibility.

He spent more than ten days walking to the black market, and then Lin Huang entered Mute Pavilion once more.

"I want all the info you have on Swordfiend Abyss."

As soon as he entered the room, Lin Huang went right up to the counter and made his request.

"We only have legends about Swordfiend Abyss, none of it verified. Are you sure you want to purchase that, sir?" reminded the woman in the short-sleeved shirt behind the counter.

If the information was unverified, the employees at Mute Pavillion would warn customers in advance, and the price was much lower as well.

"That's fine, just tell me the price." Lin Huang nodded.

"Since we are unable to verify the truth of the intel regarding Swordfiend Abyss, and since the information isn't confidential, this file will only require ten thousand Divine Stones."

"Done!" Lin Huang paid without hesitation.

"Do you need anything else, sir?"

"Do you have any info about that world-ending Swordfiend who emerged from Swordfiend Abyss alive ten thousand years ago?"

"Yes, but nothing too detailed. After all, too much time has passed since." The woman in the short-sleeved shirt raised her head and looked at Lin Huang before stating the price. "That information costs eight thousand Divine Stones."

"I'll take one." Lin Huang nodded without hesitation.

It was not that he did not want to haggle. He just knew that Mute Pavillion did not entertain that.

After he left Mute Pavillion, Lin Huang did not continue looking around the other stores in the black market. Instead, he bought some food and drinking water at a mart close to his hotel before returning to his room and looking through the information he had just obtained.

The file on Swordfiend Abyss did not have any substantial information regarding Swordfiend Abyss.

However, Lin Huang took out a list of the people who had gone missing in Swordfiend Abyss, as well as a list of people who had appeared to go in and reappear alive.

The latter list had Sword11's name right there, as well as more than ten other names.

As for the list of missing persons, Lin Huang saw that six of them were listed as Heavenly Gods.

A hundred and eighty thousand years ago, a second-rank Heavenly God called Yan Qing became the first Heavenly God in recorded history to enter Swordfiend Abyss. He entered Swordfiend Abyss even before that world-ending Swordfiend did, and he was also the first Heavenly God to go missing in Swordfiend Abyss.

Ten thousand years ago, the next Heavenly God to go missing was Yue Yi, a third-rank Heavenly God. He went into Swordfiend Abyss with a friend of his, Qi Peng, also a Heavenly God. However, Yue Yi went missing, and his companion Qi Peng became something of a household name. He was none other than the Heavenly God who returned from Swordfiend Abyss and became the world-ending Swordfiend, causing a ton of bloodshed and turmoil.

Ninety thousand years ago, a Heavenly God named Shang Tian was the third to go missing in Swordfiend Abyss. He was quite the character as well; in his time, he was one of the top five strongest fighters in the entire Great Heaven Territory. Not only was he a sixth-rank Heavenly God, he was also an uber-powerful sword cultivator.

Eighty thousand years ago, the fourth, fifth, and sixth missing persons came from a trio of Heavenly Gods. All three of them were fifth- or sixth-rank heavenly god-level powerhouses, but such a magnificently-built team was still wiped out upon entering Swordfiend Abyss, and no one heard of them again.

After that, no Heavenly God in the entire Great Heaven Territory dared to approach Swordfiend Abyss again.

"Even sixth-rank heavenly god-level powerhouses die in there. That sure is a dangerous place…" Lin Huang could not stay calm after reading that file.

He had assumed that all the Heavenly Gods who went missing in Swordfiend Abyss were low-rank Heavenly Gods who ventured in on their own. Instead, he found out that not only were there mid- and high-rank Heavenly Gods in their ranks, there were even those who went in groups, only to get wiped out.

After reading all this information, however, Lin Huang was starting to believe some of the things Sword11 said now.

The Great Heaven inheritance was not something anyone who did not use a sword could touch!

Lin Huang spent more than an hour reading all the information, and tens of thousands of thoughts ran through his mind. Soon, though, he collected himself and looked at the intel on that world-ending Swordfiend.

His original name was Qi Peng, and he was a third-rank Heavenly God.

Ten thousand years ago, he was the only human Heavenly God sword cultivator.

Ten thousand years ago, he entered Swordfiend Abyss with his good friend Yue Yi, only to return alone one year later. Upon returning from Swordfiend Abyss, he seemed to go insane, killing swathes for no apparent reason. His combat level also shot up from third-rank to seventh-rank within a few short days, and finally, the humans worked together with the Heavenly Gods from some nearby tribes to kill him…

"He went from third-rank to seventh-rank within a few short days!" That news made Lin Huang's eyes widen.

Bear in mind that Qi Peng was a heavenly god-level powerhouse, which meant that the resources he had to use to increase his rank by one step amounted to astronomical numbers. Theoretically, it took him more than ten times longer to increase his rank than True Gods did!

Besides, if it could make the third-rank Heavenly God Qi Peng lose his mind and turn into a Swordfiend, that must mean that Swordfiend Abyss was not especially kind to sword cultivators either.

After Lin Huang read through Qi Peng's file, he fell into deep thought.

He was wondering if he should take this risk.

On one hand, he was now certain that Swordfiend Abyss was the first step to achieving the Great Heaven inheritance.

On the other hand, the danger posed by Swordfiend Abyss was making him hesitate about joining this test.

Although Lin Huang was usually quite confident in himself, this information made him completely unsure if he could successfully pass the test.

He thought it over for a long time, but eventually he made his decision and contacted Sword11 with a communicator he had bought from the black market.

"I've decided. Send the information over!"

Chapter 1295: Eat It While It's Hot

Before he received the information about Swordfiend Abyss, Lin Huang had many ideas about what it could entail. After he read the information Sword11 sent over, though, he realized that the contents of the test were far simpler than he had expected. He also understood why sixth-rank Heavenly Gods died there as well, but it somehow made him a tad more confident that he could pass it.

Since he knew that he did not really need to prepare anything before entering Swordfiend Abyss, Lin Huang teleported away from Golden City the very afternoon after he obtained the information.

Swordfiend Abyss was at the border between human and Abyssal Tribe land.

It was actually a battlefield as well, but this was not wartime, so there were not many people on the battlefield. There were only the occasional human and Abyssal Tribe powerhouses hunting each other down.

However, perhaps because Swordfiend Abyss was simply too infamous, it seemed only Virtual Gods ever appeared on this battlefield. True or Heavenly Gods barely ever showed up here at all.

Lin Huang spent a day and a half going through more than twenty dimensional portals before he finally arrived at this battlefield.

As he sprinted down the land, he bumped into a few human Virtual Gods as well, all high-level ones.

Usually, when one encountered a fellow human, most people would choose to invite them into their group and hunt together as a team. However, Lin Huang disguised his battle power to look like he was only a grade-3 Virtual God, so the ones who saw him decided to just ignore him. After all, his combat level was too low, so he would not be able to help them. In fact, they were more worried he would slow them down.

Lin Huang did not know all that. His aim was Swordfiend Abyss, and he was quite glad that no one tried to disturb him. It made his journey smoother.

However, after he sprinted for more than two hours and entered the depths of the battlefield, he finally bumped into a hunter from the Abyssal Tribe.

It was a grade-8 Virtual God abyssal monster that looked like a giant pure-black jellyfish. However, it had several dozen emerald eyeballs.

When it first noticed Lin Huang, the jellyfish monster was ecstatic. It had barely raised its several dozen tentacles, however, before it saw a dark red flash of bloody light slice through the sky.

The next instant, it abruptly froze before its body slumped helplessly. Before its body could even hit the ground, an invisible string tugged at it, and it vanished.

Lin Huang did not even pause, not slowing down for even a fraction as he went right over where the jellyfish monster had just been.

At the same time, a dark red bloody gleam twinkled in the sky, darting into Lin Huang's sleeve.

That was right. Lin Huang had killed this grade-8 virtual god-level abyssal monster with one hit.

He did not even draw his sword, using only a telekinetic flying dagger.

By now, his Telekinesis was as strong as that of a first-rank True God, and he also had the god rule relic-level telekinetic weapon the Club gave him not too long ago. His attack power was strong enough to threaten a first-rank true god-level powerhouse, so what was a mere grade-8 virtual god-level abyssal monster to him?

Perhaps it was because he had entered the depths of the battlefield, but after the jellyfish monster, Lin Huang bumped into five other abyssal hunters over the next three hours. All of them were high-level virtual god-level powerhouses, and there was even one grade-9 virtual god-level.

Nevertheless, Lin Huang killed them all with one hit, with no exceptions.

The combination of his true god-level Telekinesis and the god rule relic-level telekinetic weapon, as well as Lin Huang's decisive attacking style, meant that none of these abyssal monsters could exchange even one blow with him.

Although he did bump into six abyssal monsters in total along the way, Lin Huang never slowed down for even a second throughout the entire time. He still arrived at the entrance to Swordfiend Abyss before sundown.

When he saw the sky over the battlefield turning dark, Lin Huang decided to set up his tent next to the Swordfiend Abyss entrance.

That was right. He wanted to rest.

Although two days of traveling would not affect him too badly, he would still prefer to enter Swordfiend Abyss in his best shape.

That was why he boldly decided to sleep at the Swordfiend Abyss entrance. Before that, he had even planned a nice meal to enjoy. After all, he might not have the time to eat once the trial started.

The compressed tent from the gravel world automatically constructed itself within seconds. Lin Huang spread out a large picnic rug not far from the tent, taking out the food and fire crystal reheater he had prepared beforehand.

At the same time, he summoned Bai.

The moment a black-robed Bai was summoned, he noticed that there were no enemies around, so he looked at Lin Huang in slight confusion.

He was always a man of few words, so he did not ask anything. Nevertheless, his gaze was clearly inquisitive.

Lin Huang took his time putting two hamburgers into the reheater, and he set the timer before sitting down on the picnic rug. Patting the cushion he was sitting on, he smiled at Bai and said, "Have a seat."

Bai did not say anything, sitting down quietly while his eyes explored his surroundings.

When he noticed the bottomless abyss nearby and found that he could not explore Swordfiend Abyss with his telekinesis, he instinctively frowned a little. Although he could not read anything from Swordfiend Abyss, his instincts told him that this was a very dangerous place.

After a moment's silence, he realized that Lin Huang had no intention of explaining, so he finally broke his silence and asked,

"What is this place?"

"That's Swordfiend Abyss down there. I guess you could call it an inheritance land." Lin Huang had been staring at the reheater, but now he finally turned around to smile at Bai. "As for the place we're standing on right now, it's a battlefield for humans and Abyssal Tribes. It's ceasefire for now, though."

"Do you want me to go to the inheritance land with you?" Bai asked.

"No need for that. This is an inheritance land purely for sword cultivators." Lin Huang shook his head. "Stand watch through the night for me. I need to be properly rested.

"Okay." Bai finally understood his job, but after a second, he asked somewhat worriedly, "Why don't you call Killer and those Bug Tribe sword cultivators to go with you?"

"They'll die in there." Lin Huang shook his head.

Bai wanted to ask in detail, but then he heard a "ding" from the heater. Lin Huang hurriedly stood up and took out two sets of hamburgers.

He gave Bai one set before taking another two cups of juice from his space storage and giving one cup to Bai.

This world had burgers and fries but no coke, so he had to replace it with juice.

"Eat it while it's hot. It won't taste good once it's cold." Lin Huang ate the burger he was holding as he took out two sets of fries and put them into the reheater.

It was not Bai's first time eating a burger, but this time his heart was heavy as he ate.

By the time Lin Huang finished everything, Bai was only halfway through his burger.

"This burger doesn't taste as good as the gravel world's, but it's not that bad, is it?" Lin Huang asked with some surprise.

"It's not the burger." Bai shook his head and pointed at the Swordfiend Abyss nearby. "My instincts tell me it's very dangerous down there."

"If it won't work, I'll retreat in time," Lin Huang comforted him with a laugh.

Once Bai was done with his meal, the sky was already completely dark.

Li Huang put away the reheater and looked through the news and forums for a bit. Before nine at night, he stood up and patted Bai on the shoulder, heading toward the tent.

"I'll go to sleep now. I'll be counting on you tonight."

Bai nodded slightly and sat cross-legged on the picnic mat, closing his eyes.

Colorless and formless multipurpose particles rapidly emanated from his body, covering everything within a hundred kilometers of the tent in an instant.

As for Lin Huang, after he closed the tent's entrance, he activated the tent's silent mode and finally lay down, his heart at ease.

Chapter 1296: The Trial Begins

Lin Huang slept especially well that night, mostly because Bai was watching over the house.

Bai was a grade-8 virtual god-level fighter, but with his current pseudo-mythical-level power, he was practically unrivaled by anyone weaker than a True God.

If a True God did show up, he would sense it within his territory as well, so he did not have to worry.

Nevertheless, he was not disturbed at all that night.

When he woke up the next morning, it was already almost seven o'clock.

Upon emerging from the tent, Lin Huang saw several dozen abyssal monster corpses piled up nearby.

Clearly Bai was careful enough to chase away the humans who approached as opposed to killing them.

"So many Abyssal Tribes approached us?" Lin Huang was quite surprised.

"It just so happens that abyssal monsters show up quite often here," Bai explained. He did not add that it was partly because his territory was too large.

Every Abyssal Tribe that came within a hundred kilometers of the tent was stabbed right through the heart by the blades made of multipurpose particles.

Most of the monsters that accidentally wandered over here died before they even knew what was happening.

Lin Huang took his own sweet time to pack up his tent and keep the beast corpses into his space storage before he took out breakfast for reheating.

After breakfast was reheated, Lin Huang gave Bai a portion this time as well.

"I slept pretty well last night. Thanks for that!"

Bai accepted breakfast and nodded slightly.

The two chatted idly as they ate breakfast.

It was mostly Lin Huang talking and Bai listening, though.

After breakfast, Lin Huang cleaned the place up for a bit before turning Bai back into a card.

Slowly, Lin Huang walked to the edge of the Swordfiend Abyss entrance and looked downward. He could only see twenty to thirty meters below him, and everything beyond that was covered by a layer of clouds. Not only could he not see through it, even his Telekinesis could not penetrate it. There was no way he could tell how deep this Swordfiend Abyss went.

He mused it over for a while before contacting Xiao Hei with his consciousness.

"Theoretically, I'm only an imperial palace-level. If I use a Substitute Card, a grade-2 card should be good enough, right?"

"That's right. As long as you don't gather your Godhead, your combat level will remain transcendent."

"Then I'll take ten grade-2 Substitute Cards." Lin Huang was unexpectedly careful. "Give me two Position Swap Cards too."

He looked at the twelve new cards in his hands and took out a Cloning Card he had exchanged earlier. Shattering it, he summoned a clone of himself.

"Before I return, wait outside Swordfiend Abyss. Try to keep a low profile and not cause trouble. If I encounter a threat I can't escape, I'll swap positions with you."

The clone nodded and sat down cross-legged at the entrance to Swordfiend Abyss.

Lin Huang arranged it this way because he knew that grade-2 and grade-3 Escape Cards may not be able to escape the restrictive laws of the Great Heaven ruins. He could only escape if he had a grade-5 card.

A Position Swap Card would be a different matter, however. It had nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with the user's combat level. After all, its rule allowed the user to swap positions with his clone.

Even if Lin Huang was trapped in a Lord's cage, the currently imperial palace-level Lin Huang still only needed a grade-2 Position Swap Card to get him out of there. He had nothing to worry about in a mere Heavenly God's ruins.

Besides, the biggest advantage of using the Position Swap Card was the fact that it was instantaneous. The moment he used the card, the swap would immediately be completed.

It was only after Lin Huang planned his escape route that he looked back down at Swordfiend Abyss.

"If Sword11 wasn't lying about Swordfiend Abyss, I should be able to pass the first test with relative ease." Having muttered that to himself, Lin Huang leaped off the cliff and into Swordfiend Abyss.

At almost the exact time. It felt like Lin Huang's flight abilities had been completely sealed away. He was falling freely to the bottom of the abyss.

Lin Huang was not too panicky about it, though. Sword11 once mentioned that even Heavenly Gods couldn't fly here once they jumped in.

His body pierced through the clouds and continued to fall rapidly. Lin Huang felt as though he was actually getting faster and faster.

Unlike when parachuting, his fall met no air resistance whatsoever.

Nevertheless, the entire fall did not last that long. Within two to three minutes, Lin Huang could see the ground.

The second before he landed, his body could finally move again.

With a somersault, he planted his feet steadily on the ground. He did not even leave any footsteps on the floor.

Once he steadied his footing at the bottom of Swordfiend Abyss, Lin Huang immediately looked around him.

That was right. He did not just reach his Telekinesis out to scout around.

Sword11 had specially warned him about that.

Lin Huang swept his gaze around him, but all he could see was a valley. There were cliffs that reached into the clouds on either side, but he could not see the peak.

Soon, Lin Huang's gaze was attracted by several dozen corpses lying around not too far away.

All of the bodies looked perfectly intact, and even their expressions were extremely realistic. Some were shocked, others despairing, and some even looked completely normal, as though they had not noticed a thing.

Some of the corpses even emanated an aura that made Lin Huang wary. They had probably been heavenly god-level powerhouses when they were alive.

Sword11 had emphasized that trying to touch these corpses before passing the trial was nothing short of suicide.

Lin Huang quickly looked away from the corpses and turned his gaze to the cliffs instead.

This phase of the trial could be found on those cliff walls.

Just as Sword11 said, the walls were covered with all sorts of slash marks.

Some were casual and half-hearted, leaving scratches as thin as a hair. Some were several meters deep and very clearly carved. Others had engraved poetry there, elegant and graceful, while yet others used the wall as a canvas for their paintings…

These messy-looking scratches and slashes were actually the scariest part of the entire Swordfiend Abyss.

That was because every mark retained the Sword Dao of a sword cultivator.

Those who left those marks ranged from transcendent to ninth-rank Heavenly Gods. The Sword Daos left here also ranged from the lowest nuance level to the highest Sword Dao true meaning. There was even one as strong as the Sword Dao heavenly rule, equivalent to the god rule rank.

If any powerhouses who were not sword cultivators came here, they would instantly trigger all the Sword Daos on the wall. Remember, there were several ultimate ninth-rank heavenly god-level sword cultivators among those who left their marks here. Even if they were not as powerful as Great Heaven back when they were alive, they were not that far away either.

Even if a full-powered Great Heaven himself came here as a sword cultivator, it was quite likely that he would be injured here too. The other powerhouses in the Great Heaven Territory who did not use swords did not stand a chance.

According to the black market information, the strongest Heavenly God to enter Swordfiend Abyss was just the sixth-rank heavenly god-level sword cultivator, Shang Tian.

Lin Huang could practically imagine that powerhouse being instantly killed by countless Sword Daos as soon as he entered Swordfiend Abyss.

In truth, these Sword Daos were also the reason why the bodies in Swordfiend Abyss must not be touched.

Swordfiend Abyss was actually very kind to sword cultivators.

The Sword Dao latent in the marks would only be activated if they actively triggered them with Divine Telekinesis.

Aside from that, Swordfiend Abyss even gave sword cultivators a series of lessons.

Right now, for example, Lin Huang's Divine Telekinesis was not even active yet, but he could already sense which one of the sword marks was emanating the first level of Sword Dao— Nuance…

Chapter 1297: The First Stage, Nuance

He briefly cast his senses about, and Lin Huang could already feel that there were quite a few Nuance-level Sword Daos. There had to be more than a thousand of them in total.

Lin Huang did not underestimate them in the slightest, though. He knew that any sword marks the ridiculous genius Great Heaven approved of and left as part of his inheritance trial would surely be the product of no ordinary sword cultivator.

According to what Sword11 said earlier, if anyone touched these marks with their Telekinesis, their consciousness would be dragged in by the marks. After that, they would be forced into the sword mark space, where they had to participate in a battle of minds against the Sword Daos in the marks.

If the sword marks contained Sword Dao of the first level, Nuance, you would also only be allowed to use Nuance-level Sword Dao in the sword mark space.

It was only after you defeated all the Nuance-level Sword Daos in the sword marks that he would be able to sense the level-2 Consonance Sword Daos. Similarly, only by defeating all the consonance-level Sword Daos in the sword marks would you be able to sense the third, Illumination-level Sword Daos, and so on.

Of course, you could also choose to follow the trial rules and ignore the hints that you sensed, sending your Telekinesis to any one of the other unemphasized sword marks. If you accidentally triggered a mark with Sword Dao true meaning or heavenly rule, though, an instant death was not impossible.

Since Sword11 had told him the general gist of it, Lin Huang naturally played the game according to the rules.

He swept his eyes across the sword marks he could sense, and soon Lin Huang decided on his target for this first test.

It was a barely-legible sword mark, as thin as a hair.

"This one looks quite weak, so let's try it out and see how tough it is."

Although Lin Huang's Sword Dao was now at the level-6, Deity, he had no intention of underestimating this level-1 Sword Dao test. After all, he was stuck at level-1 for the test too, and he did not know anything about the type of Sword Dao in the mark either.

After he chose his target for the first test, Lin Huang quickly reached his Telekinesis out and touched that hairline sword mark.

The next instant, Lin Huang felt his consciousness sway. When he recovered, he already found himself in a thick forest.

He hurriedly checked the strength of his consciousness projection. Not only was his Sword Dao forced back to level-1 Nuance, even his combat level had been forced back to the first stage of the holy fire-level— white flame-level. Not only that, he could not sense all of the techniques, secret skills, divine abilities, and divine techniques that were unrelated to Sword Dao anymore either.

At the same time, Lin Huang noticed that he was now holding a silver-colored narrow blade, a long sword that was merely a grade-3 relic.

Once he was certain about his current condition, he suddenly received a message in his mind, telling him about the trial's general rules.

He immediately understood. His Sword Dao and combat level had been forced down to match his opponent's standards, and the long sword relic was also automatically created according to his opponent's weapon level and commonly-used weapon. Even the backdrop of the trial was suitable for the owner of the Sword Dao in the mark.

There was only one way to pass this trial, and that was to kill the opponent who manifested in this space.

If the participant was killed by their opponent in this space, their consciousness would crumble and die. There would be a new corpse in Swordfiend Abyss.

If the participant felt like they really could not win, though, they could choose to admit defeat and give up on the test. Of course, that was if they managed to shout, "I admit defeat" first. Once they gave up, the participant would lose the right to proceed with the remaining tests, and they would be teleported out of Swordfiend Abyss.

That was probably how Sword11 managed to survive.

Lin Huang spent a few seconds digesting the rules, and then a figure finally formed slowly about ten meters away from him.

Lin Huang stared at it. It was a petite woman in black with short black hair that reached her ears. Her weapon was a graceful narrow shortsword that did not look even 30cm long.

With just a glance, Lin Huang could tell that this was a speed- or agility-type sword cultivator.

While Lin Huang was observing his opponent, the girl in black was looking at him as well.

Neither of them moved because there was a 5-second protection period before the match began.

5, 4, 3… 1.

As soon as the five-second countdown ended, Lin Huang held his sword up, but before he could even dash forward, the girl in black had already turned and ran, vanishing into the trees with a few leaps.

"Huh?" Lin Huang was confused. "Shouldn't she attack me head-on? This goes too?"

Still, he immediately understood that his opponent's approach was within the rules.

He could not use his Telekinesis, but Lin Huang still had his Sword Territory. That had something to do with Sword Dao, so it was not prohibited.

Nevertheless, the Territory's reach and power were drastically reduced, and now it only had a radius of 1,000 meters.

That was still more than enough for this battle.

Since his opponent was nowhere to be seen, Lin Huang had no choice but to keep his Sword Dao Territory open. He did not have the time to waste on a game of hide-and-seek.

As soon as his Sword Dao Territory was activated, he quickly sensed where that woman was hiding.

She did not go too far. Right now, she was hiding behind the trunk of a large tree in the direction she had earlier run to. She was only fifty or sixty meters away, and was currently watching Lin Huang's every move.

Lin Huang's lips curved slightly and he did not approach her without thinking. Instead, he leaped up and stood on the branch she had been standing on earlier, pretending to be looking for her.

Once he set foot on that branch, however, he felt a sudden sense of danger.

A colorless blade appeared out of nowhere, without any warning whatsoever, slicing right toward Lin Huang's face like a string.

Lin Huang abruptly swung his sword, and the dark red sword gleam instantly tore that blade to shreds.

The opponent's attack was not too strong, but it was very stealthy, and it nearly caught Lin Huang unawares.

Behind the tree, the woman looked a little disappointed that her first attack did not land. At the same time, she did not seem too surprised either. She remained on the same spot and did not move, as though waiting patiently for something.

"A string?" Lin Huang narrowed his eyes slightly. "No, this trial doesn't allow anything but swords… That was a sword gleam!

"Was that string the delayed activation of a sword gleam? That's some impressive sword technique. In other words, she set up several sword gleams I can't see in this distance spanning tens of meters. If I'm not mistaken, she should have a Sword Territory too. If I get within the attacking range of a sword gleam, her Sword Territory would instantly activate the sword gleams to attack me.

"Before she activates them, the sword gleams she sets up are colorless and formless, so I can't destroy them in advance either…" Lin Huang quickly thought of ways to handle this. "Still, for sword skills like this, the sword gleams won't be activated without a certain condition. There has to be an energy point or something that she used to store the energy for these sword gleams. She has to activate that energy point in order to achieve that instantaneous trigger.

"I can't use my Telekinesis to scout around right now, so I can't see the energy point she set up…" Lin Huang soon came up with a solution. "But I don't have to see it. Since it's an easily-triggered energy point, it must be very unstable. I just have to detonate the energy point she set up in advance, and her trick will be all but foiled.

"It doesn't matter how subtly and randomly she hid her energy point. I can destroy it with just one slash!"

A ruthless light shone in Lin Huang's eyes, and his Sword Dao erupted throughout his entire body.

The long silver blade he held began to glow with a blinding red light as he activated his Life Power.

Within seconds, the long sword in his hand seemed to turn into a red sun.

"Is that guy going big from the very beginning?!" The woman in black began to rapidly retreat without hesitation, running desperately away from Lin Huang. She knew that it would be all over for her if she was struck by this move.

When he sensed the woman in black's movements, the corners of Lin Huang's lips curved slightly, and his right hand suddenly swung his sword in the direction the woman was fleeing toward.

With that single swing, a red impact wave poured forth from the blade, drowning his opponent like a tsunami. It cleaved a deep fire-red trench through the forest.

"The participant has passed the first stage, Nuance!"

When he saw that pop-up before his eyes, Lin Huang knew that he had successfully killed his opponent.

One or two seconds after the pop-up, Lin Huang's consciousness returned to his body.

Chapter 1298

: Level-6 Sword Dao

He had just undergone an intense battle in the sword mark space, but it was actually only a clash of minds. The actual passage of time was completely unlike what he seemed to experience; less than a second had passed in the actual world.

After completing the first match, Lin Huang was in no hurry to choose his second target. Instead, he summarized his experience from the first match.

"As I expected, be it in terms of their Sword Dao or sword skills, my opponents in the sword marks are all the best of their peers. At the very least, they're as strong as four-star geniuses, and they're as talented as the average Protoss.

"The depth of the sword mark should have nothing to do with the opponent's power. It might only be due to the nature of their Sword Dao and their personalities.

"Still, I could clear the first round by bulldozing through my opponent's skills. That means that these trials don't have any battle completion requirements. It doesn't matter what I do as long as I win. I don't have to tailor my solution to my opponent's individual styles.

"Nevertheless, it'll be harder to bulldoze through my opponents as I go on. After all, my Sword Dao and combat level have been forcefully suppressed to match theirs, so we're competing in terms of our Sword Dao mastery, combat experience, and combat mindsets.

"In the battles to follow, it would be best if I could find a solution to every one of my opponents' skills. That's also a way to accumulate combat experience and train my combat thought processes. After all, it's a battle in the consciousness, so even if it takes me a fortnight to win, only an instant would've passed in the world outside. I won't waste any time."

After he sorted everything out, Lin Huang raised his eyes to look at the marks on the wall.

The hairline mark he had passed earlier no longer emanated any hints of a Sword Dao.

He quickly settled on his second target.

It was an extremely deep mark, as though someone had stabbed their sword tip right into the wall. It was at least twenty to thirty centimeters deep.

After he touched it with his Telekinesis, Lin Huang's consciousness was once more pulled into the sword mark space.

This time, Lin Huang's opponent was a man with an extremely sharp aura, as though he was himself an unsheathed sword.

This man attacked with his sword extremely quickly, and he was very good at stabbing too.

This battle lasted for more than half an hour in the sword mark space before Lin Huang managed to kill him.

It was not that the opponent was strong enough to match Lin Huang for half an hour. Lin Huang simply figured that he had quite a few stabbing sword moves too, so he spent most of the battle secretly learning his opponent's Sword Dao techniques.

At the end of the battle, Lin Huang did indeed learn quite a lot. After all, the opponent specialized in this.

That was Lin Huang did in every subsequent match with a Sword Dao that intrigued him. He let his opponent use their sword skills and Sword Dao to the extreme, picking up the bits that suited him.

Thankfully, every time Lin Huang's consciousness returned to his body after every battle, the weariness he felt in his mind would instantly vanish.

This was probably also a special effect that Swordfiend Abyss provided for the participants.

After every match, Lin Huang did not really need to rest for too long, but he still closed his eyes to recover for a while, digesting everything he had learned from the earlier battle before jumping into the next one.

That was why he spent almost four hours to complete the thousand-odd Nuance-level matches.

When he completed the last Nuance trial, Lin Huang vaguely felt as though his Sword Dao had increased just a sliver after a long plateau.

Although the change was extremely minute, it had to be noted that his Sword Dao was at level-6 now. Even an increase that small did not come easy.

He spent another half an hour to close his eyes and digest all he had learned over those thousand-odd fights. Finally, Lin Huang opened his eyes and looked at the level-2 Consonance sword marks.

He swept his gaze across the walls. There were slightly fewer Consonance sword marks than there had been Nuance ones, numbering up to slightly over eight hundred.

Lin Huang randomly chose one and reached his Telekinesis toward it.

The next instant, his consciousness was pulled into the sword mark space once more.

Unlike previously, Lin Huang could feel that suppressed Sword Dao had been unsealed somewhat, but only to the extent of a complete-stage level-2 Consonance cultivator.

Some of the sword skills he could not use during the Nuance level had also been unlocked after his Sword Dao level increased.

Lin Huang could even clearly feel that his sword skills' potency had increased accordingly as well.

With the experience from more than a thousand Nuance-level battles earlier, Lin Huang felt even more comfortable now with the new round of matches.

Just as before, he chose the same slow and steady approach. Whenever he encountered a sword skill that piqued his interest, he would allow his opponent to flaunt all their skills before killing them.

The eight hundred matches there took Lin Huang another three and a half hours.

Actually, the battles did not take him too much time. He spent more time trying to digest the battles afterward.

Nevertheless, the time he spent was worth it.

Upon completing the Consonance trials, Lin Huang could clearly feel his Sword Dao improving again.

For the next stage, level-3 Illumination, there were only slightly over six hundred marks.

For level-4 Oblivion, there were only slightly over four hundred marks.

For level-5 Void Breaker, there were only two hundred and eighty marks.

As the levels increased, it was clear that Great Heaven's criteria grew stricter.

By the time he reached level-5, every one of Lin Huang's battles took over three hours. Some even took more than six hours. On one hand, his opponents grew stronger, but on the other hand, they showed more skills as well, so the battles became even more beneficial to Lin Huang.

Thankfully, it did not matter how long he spent in the sword mark spaces. That had no effect on the passage of time outside.

However, Lin Huang spent more time digesting his post-battle thoughts as well.

The level-5 fights had taken him two days and two nights to digest it all.

After the two days' digestion, Lin Huang could clearly feel his level-6 Sword Dao approaching the final complete stage.

"I'm so close to being a complete-stage Deity!" Lin Huang looked at the remaining sword marks on the wall, his eyes shining. There were a hundred and twenty-one marks there emanating the level-6 aura. "Mu Sword Dao will probably reach the complete stage before I complete the level-6 trials."

Lin Huang was growing ever more ecstatic. He had even temporarily forgotten all about his final aim upon completing these trials, losing himself in the process of the trials themselves.

He looked around at the hundred and twenty-one sword marks, and soon Lin Huang settled on one of them.

It was a line from a poem that said, "This gold-engraved sword in a hilt of jade shall, through the curtains, the night illuminate." (TN: from a patriotic poem by Southern Song poet, Lu You.)

"Interesting. You'll be first, then."

Lin Huang grinned and reached his Telekinesis toward it.

When his body was formed inside the sword mark space, Lin Huang finally felt free of the oppression he suffered earlier.

His Sword Dao was completely unleashed now, and all his sword skills and Sword Dao methods were completely unlocked. Even his combat level was back to the grade-9 imperial-level.

Just as Lin Huang was wondering what kind of an opponent he would face, a pop-up suddenly appeared before him.

"The participant's cultivation route is unique. Despite your being only imperial-level at the moment, the Divine Power in your body is almost equal to that of a destiny-level rank-9 (rank-9 virtual god level). Hence, all the Sword Dao users will have their combat powers adjusted to destiny-level rank-9.

"Alright…" Lin Huang did not have any objections to that.

If the opponent was an imperial palace-level like he was, he would probably kill them all with one slash. It would be even easier than the level-5 fights earlier.

Before this, his power had been restricted to match his opponents', but now it was finally time for the others to stoop to his level instead.

The level-6 Sword Dao Deity was completely unlike the first five levels. There was a huge barrier between them.

Level-6 Sword Dao would only increase evidently when he mastered mythical-level sword skills. Even pseudo-mythical-level sword skills had a limited effect on his improvement.

That was why very few sword cultivators below virtual god-level could reach level-6. Those who were below virtual god-level did not have Divine Power in their bodies, so they could not cultivate mythical-level sword skills.

Of course, that did not mean that it was impossible for sword cultivators below virtual god-level to increase their Sword Dao to level-6. There were powerhouses who mastered enough sword skills below mythical level, after which they grinded a little and slowly broke past the limits of level-5 Sword Dao.

Nevertheless, this method was not possible without mastering almost ten thousand different sword skills.

That went far beyond merely learning the skills. They had to merge them completely and digest these sword skills inside out, until their mastery was so complete that there was nothing else to be done.

That was why there were very few sword cultivators below virtual god level who managed to reach level-6. Even once they reached level-6, it would be nearly impossible for them to improve even further.

Lin Huang had a cheat code on his side, so he could already use Divine Power at imperial palace level. He had also mastered more than ten mythical-level sword skills and several hundred pseudo-mythical-level sword skills.

By now, he had also experienced several thousand battles between sword cultivators in Swordfiend Abyss, and only then did he approach the complete stage of level-6 Sword Dao.

Any other imperial palace-level would not even dream of learning mythical-level sword skills. Even buying a pseudo-mythical-level sword skill that did not require Divine Power to use would probably cost them far more than they could afford.

Chapter 1299: Level-6 Opponent

When he saw his opponent's body slowly forming, Lin Huang began to observe him.

He was well built and wore a grey robe, looking somewhat like the ancient Chinese people back on Earth. The material of his clothes looked average, so he did not seem wealthy. However, the sword hanging from his waist looked quite valuable indeed.

It was a broad-bladed sword with a hilt that looked like it was made of pure gold carved into beautiful patterns. The sheath was golden-red, and it looked like it was made of high-quality wood as well. There were several dozen pieces of flawless jade stones, each as large as a thumb, dotting the hilt.

"What a fine gold-engraved sword."

The sword he was holding qualified as an expert-grade god relic.

Similarly, the sword that appeared in Lin Huang's hand was of equal quality.

The broad-bladed sword was suitable for slashing, so the opponent should be especially good at slashing. The Sword Dao he emanated had a sharpness to it that proved it. His physical stature implied that he had strength as well, so he would not be bad at close-range fighting…

With just one glance, Lin Huang had a rough idea of what his opponent was like.

While Lin Huang was considering him, the well-built man opposite him was watching him as well.

"Your sword is very strong, but strength doesn't decide the victor. We'll only know after we battle."

They were both level-6 Sword Dao fighters, so the well-built man could clearly sense that Lin Huang was almost at the complete stage.

It was true that he was not as strong in terms of purely their Sword Dao, but there was no fear at all in his expression. Instead, his will to fight seemed even stronger now.

Lin Huang highly approved of the well-built man's words.

If there was not a decisive difference in power between the two sides in this battle, it would actually be quite difficult to determine the eventual winner. It was not impossible for the weak to triumph over the strong, not at all.

Seeing the opponent's rising will to fight, Lin Huang did not underestimate him in the slightest.

He could not use anything other than Sword Dao in this sword mark space, and he was facing a Sword Dao level-6 powerhouse, just like himself. He did not have any absolute advantages here. If he was not careful, he could really lose.

After the five-second preparation phase was over, the two bodies standing ten meters away shot out like lightning at almost exactly the same time. The blood-red sword and golden blade clashed together in an instant.

The instant the gold and red Divine Powers clashed, there was a burst of light that exploded into the sky.

It looked like a golden-red sun that rose in the void.

The clash of Divine Power created an energy that rippled in all directions like waves. Wherever they went, everything the waves touched was reduced to dust.

It was a clash in mid-air, but a deep and enormous crater several dozen kilometers in diameter appeared in the ground, as though a meteor had crashed there.

The high heat generated by the energy clash even pushed the ground to its boiling point. The crater was dark red inside, and all the sand had melted into a crystal that resembled charcoal. The heat contained within could be evidently felt from miles away.

In the air, the clash between swords lasted for only an instant.

A grey figure was sent flying back, crashing into the distant ground in a streak of golden light.

Lin Huang was still stronger overall. After all, he had a terrifying body that was almost as strong as a Tyrant's. In a frontal clash, even the well-built man who was good at close-range combat did not find himself at an advantage.

After a moment, the well-built man crawled out of the crater and spat out two mouthfuls of sand. He shook his right hand, which had nearly shattered, and raised his head to give Lin Huang a smile as he said, "And I thought that I was one of the physically strongest amongst sword cultivators, so a frontal close-range attack would give me an advantage. But it turns out your body is actually monstrously strong."

Lin Huang grinned. "You're no match for me in close-range combat, so why don't you show me your strongest specialty?"

After all, back when Lin Huang obtained the Tyrant Monster Card, he had also received its Robust skill. By now, the Tyrant's Robust skill had been enhanced countless times, and Lin Huang's skill had also been enhanced more times than he could count.

If he put aside the Tyrant's physical multiplier via its other skills and divine ability, Lin Huang was actually the same level as the Tyrant.

There was also the fact that Lin Huang had the Divine Power and Seraphic Speed talents, so he was exceptionally strong and fast as well. It was only natural that he was terrifying at close-range combat.

Before the level-6 stage, the sword mark space considered the fairness of the battles and suppressed Lin Huang's combat level and physical attributes completely. All of his passive buff-type skills were forbidden, so his body, strength, and speed were actually maintained at the same level as his opponents'.

After the level-6 stage was unlocked, however, his opponents' combat level had been adjusted to rank-9 virtual god-level, so all of his own boosting abilities were activated as well. The chains that had been binding Lin Huang were finally undone.

Now, only the active skills aside from Sword Dao techniques were forbidden. Lin Huang's attributes, like his physicality, strength, and speed, were all completely unleashed now. The only things that remained unavailable to him were skills such as his Seraphic Speed space flickering and his Superhuman Strength explosion.

Putting aside his Telekinesis and summoning powers, he was almost at full strength now.

The well-built man was only testing the waters earlier, and now he knew that he did not stand a chance in close-range combat. Hence, he decisively chose to give up on close-range combat.

"In that case, I'll get serious now. My biggest specialty is slashing, so it doesn't matter how strong your body is. As long as you aren't as immovable as god rule powerhouses, there's a chance I'll cleave you in half. "

"Bring it on. I wanna see just how strong your slashes can be!"

Lin Huang gripped the long sword in his hand and grew ever more serious.

The well-built man swung his sword, and a crescent-shaped golden light sprayed out of the blade, slashing toward Lin Huang.

That sword gleam was unbelievably fast, reaching Lin Huang in almost an instant.

"That's so fast!"

Lin Huang's pupils dilated somewhat. With just one slash, his opponent proved that he could walk the talk.

However, Lin Huang was not slow to react either. He held his sword and leaped up, swinging it once as well and slashing forth a blood-colored sword gleam.

Just as the golden crescent was about to slash Lin Huang's body, the blood-red sword gleam surged forth.

The golden and red crescents crashed into each other.

After a loud crash, the two crescents fell apart at almost the same time.

Lin Huang's body was sent flying several dozen meters as well.

As soon as he moved, however, almost a hundred golden crescents came raining down toward him violently.

Some of these slashes were fast while others were slow. Some came straight at him while others curved and flew at Lin Huang from different angles, surrounding him completely.

"You're not too bad!"

Lin Huang was quite pleasantly surprised, his eyes shining even brighter when he saw what his opponent could do.

He swung his long blade again and again, and suddenly it looked like his sword had split into countless shadows, flying toward the golden slashes.

Each shadow easily destroyed one of the slashing sword gleams.

When he saw what Lin Huang was doing, the well-built man was not surprised in the slightest. He held the battle sword with both his hands, staring unblinkingly at the direction Lin Huang was in.

The moment Lin Huang destroyed the final sword gleam, his body instantly disappeared from the spot.

In the air, there was a gigantic golden sword gleam that slowly approached Lin Huang's direction like the coastal line.

Lin Huang could clearly feel that this move had locked onto him. No matter how he tried to dodge, that sword gleam would come right at him and slash him in half at the waist.

The opponent had clearly used his strongest move.

Since he could not evade it, Lin Huang could not be bothered to try.

His wrist twisted abruptly and he bent his arm, holding his sword. When the horizontal sword gleam arrived before him, he finally thrust his sword forth.

The blood-colored sword tip gathered a little red light from the sky and crashed into the golden string.

The next instant, the tidal wave of golden strings simply snapped and fell apart.

At the same time, at the exact spot Lin Huang had pierced with the tip of his sword, a grey figure was forced out and sent flying with the force of that stab.

"Your slash is very powerful. You've almost completely merged with your blade to unleash the ultimate slash, but the largest flaw of this slash is your own body. I just need to attack you, and your slash will amount to nothing."

Lin Huang watched as his opponent crashed into the ground. Instead of giving chase, he simply looked in the direction of the well-built man's fall from way up high.

"Your slash is most advantageous as a mid-close-range attack, and not for fighting at close range. Otherwise, your slash would not be worth it. Don't try to pit your weakness against my strength. You'll only lose horribly like that."

Chapter 1300: Level-6, Complete!

Thousands and millions of crescent-shaped golden sword gleams attacked from multiple angles and speeds within the void. They assailed Lin Huang menacingly like a storm blown towards him by a raging wind.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of Lin Huang's shadow copies appeared. The long sword in his hand, flashing with the glint of thousands and millions of shadow blades, attacked each crescent-shaped golden sword gleam. Not a single one was left out.

He had not used an avatar skill; the sword mark space did not allow him to use any skills other than Sword Dao. He had relied on extreme agility in speed and a swift blade to create this terrifying effect of shadow copies.

There was a bitter taste in the strong man's mouth as he watched each and every one of his numerous sword gleams being effortlessly countered by Lin Huang.

He knew he had lost.

This battle had been going on for more than ten hours. He had used almost all of his tactics; even the Ten Thousand Blades, the strongest of his techniques, had been utilized many times. He had managed to hurt Lin Huang the first time, but after that, his subsequent attacks barely brushed even the hem of his opponent's garments.

Lin Huang hardly bothered to dodge the attacks. Instead, he swung his sword over and over to eliminate all the assaults directed at him.

"It's been fun battling with you!"

The golden sword gleams disappeared and Lin Huang stood tall and proud in the void. "I'll repay the favor with the sword technique I just acquired."

Lin Huang swung his sword forcefully with his right hand as he spoke.

The next moment, thousands of sword gleams blossomed from the swing, like a sudden explosion of brightly-colored fireworks.

Each sword gleam followed a different path at different speeds, all in myriad different forms.

Some rained down like meteor showers, some were like flashes of electricity, some were magnificent arcs of light, while some were just like monstrous waves…

Every sword gleam had a different form and substance, but they were obviously a level up from the single cut of Ten Thousand Blades which the strong man had demonstrated.

The strong man's eyes gleamed with fascination as he watched.

"Can one really be at this level before attaining Sword Dao true meaning…"

The next moment, those thousands of sword gleams swept toward the strong man at varying speeds and angles, engulfing him completely.

"You've gone the wrong way on your Sword Dao journey. Slashes should be about quality, not quantity. You produced millions of sword gleams, but none of them was equal in power to my one hundred sword gleams."

Lin Huang said this slowly while watching the strong man vanish into the sword gleams. There was no knowing if his opponent had even heard them.

"The participant has passed the first Deity checkpoint!"

His consciousness returned from the sword mark space. Barely a second had passed in the Swordfiend Abyss, but Lin Huang had used around half an hour to completely absorb what he had obtained from this battle.

When he opened his eyes, Lin Huang could feel the Sword Dao in him level up, albeit very faintly.

"As expected, the upgrade from a Level-6 opponent can't compare with the previous one—just one battle and I could feel my Sword Dao level up. Based on this estimation, my Sword Dao will be able to fully attain Level-6 after twenty to thirty battles."

After absorbing all that he had gotten from the first battle, Lin Huang lifted his head once more to look at the remaining 120 sword marks. He quickly chose one of the marks and reached out to it with his Divine Telekinesis.

Lin Huang's second opponent was a strong, vicious sword cultivator proficient in melee attacks. He was also a naturally physically dominant Protoss. Even in human form, he was more than three meters tall.

Most Protoss like him would normally choose to cultivate combat skills, but this fellow had chosen to cultivate sword skills instead. Given his dominant physique, battling him would be like fighting a demon.

It took Lin Huang nearly 15 hours to finally slaughter this opponent as the Protoss' physical abilities were equal to his own.

After this battle, Lin Huang spent another half an hour to absorb what he had gained—some melee tactics that were previously unknown to him.

Practically none of his subsequent battles were easily won.

Almost every match lasted more than ten hours, with a few that went on for more than twenty hours even.

Before attaining Level-6, Lin Huang had purposely allowed his opponents to show off their skills first. Once he had attained Level-6 however, Lin Huang's opponents were powerful enough to go up against him for more than 10 hours, and it was no longer a case of him purposely buying time by allowing his opponents to flaunt their abilities. He even faced some opponents whose Sword Dao was equal to his own. If he did not strategize his fights, it would have been difficult for him to slay his enemies.

As each battle came and went, Lin Huang learned many Sword Dao techniques that were useful in combat. His Sword Dao was in a continuous state of advancement as well.

After his 23rd battle, Lin Huang's Sword Dao finally fully attained Level-6. At this point, his Sword Dao was already at its limits. If he continued to break through, he would attain Sword Dao true meaning.

When he sensed that his Sword Dao had reached its fullness, Lin Huang closed his eyes and sat where he was. He used more than three hours to connect to the Sword Dao's ultimate level before getting up to start the next battle.

Lin Huang was more at ease in his subsequent battles, although each match within the sword mark space still took him no less than ten hours.

Even though his Sword Dao had achieved fullness at all levels, he still took the time to assimilate and absorb everything obtained from his battles. He had also taken the opportunity to bring out the pseudo-mythical-level and mythical level sword techniques that he had not been able to properly cultivate or practice, and use them in combat.

He kept to his usual habit after each battle, closing his eyes to absorb whatever he obtained.

Even though he had achieved completion in his Sword Dao, Lin Huang could vaguely sense that it had not yet reached a bottleneck in advancement. It was just leveling up gradually in an undetectable manner.

Lin Huang spent about three and a half days to complete all 121 matches within Level-6.

The actual battles within the sword mark space took next to no time to complete. The three and a half days were mainly used to absorb his gains.

At the completion of the last match, a push notification finally appeared in the Swordfiend Abyss.

"The participant has passed Deity levels!"

"Congratulations, you have passed the first stage of the Great Heaven inheritance trials!"

Lin Huang was a little startled at the second notification.

Firstly, this was because the Swordfiend Abyss really had turned out to be the first stage of the Great Heaven inheritance.

Second, he had actually passed the stage without attaining enlightenment in Sword Dao true meaning.

After some careful consideration, he could roughly make a guess at the situation. The standard for passing each stage must have something do with the cultivator's battle grade. He was, after all, only imperial-level. It was almost unheard of for someone of imperial-level to actually achieve Level-6 Sword Dao. However, he had successfully passed all levels within Level-6 despite being imperial-level; small wonder that he had obtained approval from Great Heaven.

The push notification in the Swordfiend Abyss only paused for a moment before more information began scrolling past.

"You may choose to stay within the Swordfiend Abyss to advance to the next checkpoint and take part in the trials for the different levels of Sword Dao true meaning. You may also choose to directly advance to the second stage of the Great Heaven inheritance trials."

"As the participant has passed all the trials of the Swordfiend Abyss, you will gain death immunity if you choose to take part in the trials for the different levels of Sword Dao true meaning. If you are killed within the sword mark space, your consciousness will not die but will be returned to your physical body immediately. After you are killed, you will not be allowed to enter the sword mark space a second time."

"Note: From now on, the participant is only allowed to stay in the Swordfiend Abyss for a maximum of three days. Once the three days are up, you will be immediately sent to the second stage of the Great Heaven inheritance."

"Please make your choice. 1. Directly enter the second stage of the Great Heaven inheritance. 2. Stay in the Swordfiend Abyss."

"If no selection has been made within 10 seconds, the selection will default to No.1."

"10, 9, 8…"

The push notification started a countdown. Lin Huang thought quickly and made a swift decision—he would stay in the Swordfiend Abyss.

"Since I have death immunity, why not take the opportunity to find out just how powerful Sword Dao true meaning is?!"