468 - 478

Chapter 468 Final Warning

Landing in front of the temple, Xuefeng's group could not avoid getting discovered by the crowd but they were already used to it. The only difference this time was the change in the person people looked at. The crowd didn't admire the beauties but instead at Xuefeng who was the only one famous from the group.

"Look! It's Golden-winged Xuefeng! The Liu Clan Young Master!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, gathering even more attention onto them. No one recognized the women he was with but after his performance at the Main Plaza, everyone knew him.

"Golden-winged Xuefeng, should we call you like that now?" Nuwa teased as they walked towards the temple entrance but Xuefeng didn't mind it, actually finding it cool.

He smiled and embraced Nuwa by the waist and agreed softly, "You can call me anything you want my love."

"Tsk," Nuwa snickered. "You're no fun."

"I thought you had a lot of fun in the morning," Xuefeng countered right after but only received a cute tongue as a response, making him laugh.

They entered through the entrance and found themselves in a spacious room with a single grey portal in the middle. Four members of the Royal Guard were protecting it while the fifth one was standing by the table at the front. A single sign stood on the table.

'Ten High-Tier Spirit Stones per entry.'

The man by the table just counted how many people entered without looking at their faces and called out before they even reached him, "Eight people is eighty Spirit Stones. Paid upfront."

Xuefeng thought it was normal and was about to pull out the amount when Xiao Wen shouted angrily, "Shameless! Since when does Royal Family control the Inheritance Trials?!"

Hearing her shout, the five members eyes' widened and their back's strengthened.

"N-new Law established by the Ruler of the Realm…" the guard by the table stuttered, feeling the pressure of a Sage leaking from Xiao Wen.

Based on their expressions, it seems they recognized them. Xiao Wen was after all a notable figure even before she met Xuefeng, being the daughter of Xiao Feng. Xuefeng was the new tyrant who was against the Royal Family which was even worse.

"Bullshit! The Inheritance Trials doesn't belong to any family!" Xiao Wen cursed and pulled out her golden sword, ready to slay.

The guards immediately backed off, drawing their weapons as well. There was only one entrance so they were stuck, unable to leave.

Xuefeng extended his hand to stop Xiao Wen and asked, "So they are basically cheating people of their money now?"

"Yes. The Inheritance Trials have always been free to public. All three top families agreed to it so we wouldn't argue over it. We wanted to avoid bloody war but now Royal Family claimed it as theirs. I guess they wish for war," Xiao Wen explained without taking her glare off the Royal Guards.

"I don't recall ever hearing about this. I represent Liu Clan and we don't

agree," Xuefeng decided with a frown. "If your bullshit Ruler wishes for war, I will pay him a visit by tomorrow with all my three hundred plus Spirit Monarchs to settle it once and for all."

"Xiao Family will attack with full force as well," Xiao Wen added, making the five guards shiver.

They immediately kneeled on the ground while dropping their weapons and begged for mercy, "Please, spare us! We were just carrying out orders!"

"I can guess this is an attempt to recover from the losses after a sudden beast attack," Xuefeng commented, imagining the damage Drakos left behind.

He wasn't fond of killing pawns so he didn't mind letting them off under one condition.

"Tell us where else does the Royal Family collect their sudden taxes and we will let you off."

———

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

Five bodies flew out of the temple and crushed into the ground, surprising everyone in the area. Only after they saw Xuefeng walking out right after did they understand they were witnessing another clash of titans.

Top tier Families.

"The bullying of Royal Family ends now! Entry to Inheritance Trials is free and always will be!" Xuefeng cried out, glaring at the five Royal Guards. "Go tell your Ruler that from now on, Liu Clan and Xiao Family will show no mercy. We will kill anyone who bully and oppress the citizens of the Capital. This is the last warning we give."

"Y-yes, Young Master!" The Royal Guards nodded hurriedly and flew away without looking back.

Xuefeng didn't look at them either and after casual glance at the crowd, he returned to the temple. He could hear the cheers behind him which made him smile. The plan worked well.

"To think they only claimed the Inheritance Trials. We can't really stop them if they increase taxes and prices in their businesses," Xuefeng commented to the girls and asked Wuying, "Can you please—"

She didn't let him finish as she reported, "I already notified your father."

"Oh, nice. You read my mind," Xuefeng praised and glanced at Xiao Wen who was already in process of messaging her father as well.

"Dad, send people to Inheritance Trials. Royal Family is taxing people at the entrance. I cleared Metal Inheritance Trial with Xuefeng."

She spoke out the message into a green transmission crystal and kept it, not waiting for the response.

"Shall we go?"

———

When Xuefeng followed the girls through the portal, he wanted to meet them on the other side but as he expected, all of them vanished. He appeared in a blank space filled with white light, quite similar to the Heaven Realm passage. The only difference was the absence of exits.

Just as he wondered what would happen next, a robotic voice greeted him in his mind.

'Welcome to the Metal Inheritance Trial.'

A translucent panel appeared in front of him and the voice spoke once again.

'I'm the Spirit responsible to guide you inside the trial. Please state your name. Note that same name will be used on the Leaderboard. The name can't be changed later.'

Xuefeng smiled and said confidently, "Liu Clan Liu Xuefeng"

'Please confirm the name on the screen.'

His name appeared on the panel in front of him, making him feel as if he was in a video game.

"It's correct," Xuefeng confirmed and the panel disappeared right after.

'Please hold on. Preparing the stage.'

He waited for a few seconds after the announcement before he finally noticed his surrounding changing. The white light turned into milky mist before dispersing, vanishing right after.

He appeared in a big, one hundred meter arena with a flat, sandy ground. Xuefeng felt no restrictions to his body and he still had contact with Ling or Ming so every move was allowed.

'Would you like to listen to the rules or proceed to the trial?' the Spirit asked emotionlessly.

"I would like to listen to the rules," Xuefeng chose without hesitation. Even though he had Xiao Wen's explanation, he didn't want to miss anything.

The robotic voice didn't dilly dally and listed all the rules one by one.

'The Trial consists of ten rounds.

After one completes all rounds, the trial will end.

Participant will receive a reward by the end of the trial.

The value of the reward will be determined based on the results of the trial.

All rounds consist of battles between Fighters.

Participant can only control one fighter provided by the trial.

Participant can't touch the fighters with his body.

Once the fighter is defeated, participant will be ejected from the trial.

Would you like to choose your fighter?'

Everything the Spirit said was clear so Xuefeng immediately nodded.

"Yes."

Chapter 469 Forbidden Arts

Just as Xuefeng replied, three black dots appeared in the sky. All of them enlarged at the same time and each produced a metallic figure which dropped to the ground.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three metal golems created holes in the arena as they smashed to the ground. They moved flexibly as if they were not made from metal and straightened up, staring at Xuefeng with their red eyes.

"Cool!" Xuefeng exclaimed, getting even more excited. He felt as if he was about to play one of the fighter games from his past.

'Please pick your fighter.'

The robotic voice called out to him and the three golems stood still, waiting for his decision.

"Can I receive some information about the fighters?" Xuefeng asked, seeing that each golem was different.

Each had a different size so he didn't want to choose blindly. Thankfully, the Spirit didn't disappointed him

'Sure. The size of the fighter determines their dexterity, strength and durability. The biggest one will have better strength and durability while lower dexterity. The same concept applies to the smallest fighter. By sacrificing the other two traits, he gains on speed and flexibility. The middle one has everything in balance.'

"How about the hole in their chests?" Xuefeng questioned, noticing another detail. Despite being different, all fighters had a similar-sized socket in their chests.

The Trial Spirit paused for a moment before finally replying.

'One is supposed to choose it afterward but since you already asked, I can explain it now.'

As he spoke, nine pillars grew from the ground. Each had a colored crystal on top.

'Each crystal represent a different element. You can only choose one element and later fill the crystal with your Qi which you need to control the golem. To pass the trial, you have to win all rounds without using up all your Qi. Naturally, if your crystal breaks during battle, you will lose as well.'

The Trial Spirit explained and added, 'Please take note, the bigger the fighter, the more Qi is required to control it. I suggest on paying attention to the amount of Qi left. You can not refill the crystal until the last round.'

"Oh, thanks for the advice," Xuefeng bowed in gratitude and asked curiously, "I wonder, isn't it Metal Inheritance Trial? Why can I use other elements?"

The Trial Spirit didn't shy from the answer as he explained.

'All elements have the same origin. Only mastering all of them together will give you real strength. We don't think of elements as separate as thousands of years ago, there was only one element. Unfortunately, it was too hard to master so a decision was made to split it into nine. This way, one could master each smaller pieces to one day connect them all into one true element—'

"Fate," Xuefeng finished for him.

'Indeed. Fate. Anyway, one need to know how to control Qi well to master Metal Element. This is what the trial is testing.'

Xuefeng finally understood why one could pass the trial without Metal Qi at all. It was

all about the control. Even if one had Metal Qi, they still needed to control it well to succeed.

'What do you think? Which should I choose? I'm think the middle one would be best,' Xuefeng asked in his mind, getting advice from the experts. 'You said you will teach me skills. Which Element shall we pick?'

'Pick Earth Element and the biggest golem,' Ming decided without much hesitation.

'Are you sure? We will be really slow,' Xuefeng questioned but Ming assured him, 'Don't worry, we don't need speed. We need power. I will teach you some Forbidden Arts which will balance things out.'

Xuefeng wanted to ask her more details but the Trial Spirit hurried him.

'Please, pick your fighter.'

"I pick the biggest one and the Earth Element crystal," Xuefeng chose, trusting Ming's decision.

Without waiting, two holes appeared beneath the two unwanted golems and they fell into nothingness together with other eight pillars. Only the big guy and a green crystal were left behind.

'Please prepare yourself for the battle. One minute till round one starts.'

He was about to be thankful to the trial Spirit for being so kind to explain everything to him yet he never heard anything about one minute countdown.

"Damn," Xuefeng cursed and quickly grabbed the green crystal into his hand. 'Ling, put as much Earth Qi inside as you can!'

'On it!' Ling reported and he felt as if a whirlpool appeared inside his stomach.

All his Earth Qi got momentarily sucked away from his Dantain and transferred into the crystal. Having extra time, Ling began creating new Earth Qi just to give Xuefeng an additional advantage. The crystal could hold much more Qi than a normal human could produce so it was perfect for him.

Taking this opportunity as Ling was still busy, Xuefeng questioned, 'What do you mean by Forbidden Arts?'

'I meant arts that are forbidden from usage because they are too overpowered and deadly. If you use them in the Upper Realms, you might be targeted by everyone,' Ming replied simply, having no worries in her voice.

'...' Xuefeng didn't know how to comment on that. She literally give him the exact reason why they shouldn't use those arts as if that would convince him.

She seemed to guess his worries as she quickly reminded him, 'Did you forget that you have the Elemental Bracelet? All Gods will try to find and kill you the moment they feel the bracelet existence. You can't run away from them so it's best to have something to fight them.'

'I'm done! The crystal is full,' Ling called out, cutting in their conversation and sided with her mom. 'Xuefeng, remember that the arts are just the tool. How and where you use them is up to you. Those arts were forbidden because people misuse them, doing bad deeds. You are much better than them.'

They were right.

He thought of the women he loved and didn't hesitate anymore. He needed something to protect them and right now, he was weak.

'Alright, you are right. Let's do this,' Xuefeng finally agreed.

'Fifteen seconds left.'

The Trial Spirit announced and Xuefeng walked up to his golem, ready to insert the crystal into its chest. It was more than three meters tall so he jumped and smacked the crystal into the socket.

Boom!

The golem flinched as if he was struck by the lightning and Xuefeng spread the Earth Qi throughout the golems body, trying to fill all the empty space. Xuefeng already had experience with his clones so it wasn't that big of a challenge.

Thud. Thud.

Xuefeng tested the golem, making two steps forward and smiled. He could move the metal golem without much problems as if it was his own body. Although it was slow as he expected, he could feel the power he would have in the giant fists of his.

'Round one will start in three… two…. one…'

The Trial Spirit counted down and they heard a big dong throughout the arena, announcing that round one started.

He thought he would fight many opponents from the start but only one hole appeared in the sky on the other side of the arena, spawning a similar looking golem, having a red crystal inside of his chest.

'I'm creating the art for you now. Give me a second. I never did it in the past. You can keep the golem busy for a moment.' Ming called out just when the enemy golem launched itself at them, running at full speed like a bull.

'Damn, I thought you have it already,' Xuefeng cursed again, not expecting the change of plans and quickly sat down cross legged. He closed his eyes and at the same time, the golem's eyes opened, shining with bright green light.

"GO!"

Chapter 470 Judgement Vine

Even though his eyes were closed, his Spirit Awareness filled the whole Arena, allowing Xuefeng to see everything happening. Just as he shouted the order, his golem moved as well. Both golems had a similar size with only their Elements being different.

Just as Xuefeng thought, his enemy had a Fire Element as its metal surface lit up with fire halfway through the arena, turning him into a running torch.

'I guess I will have to battle in my old style,' Xuefeng thought, feeling like it would take Ming a while. Recalling how much time Ling needed to create the art for him, it wasn't that surprising in the end.

Knowing he was on his own, he released his Earth Qi and surrounded his golem with hard armor, adding an additional protection to his chest area. Once his crystal breaks, his run would be over.

He couldn't lose.

Bang!

The two golems finally clashed against each other, fist into the fist, creating a loud metallic gong and a cloud of thick dust that surrounded the two golems. Xuefeng jumped back right after the face-off and checked his fist.

It was fully intact with only bits of earth falling off his knuckles.

'Huh? Wasn't out strength the same?'

Xuefeng got flabbergasted, getting the feeling as if he didn't feel any resistance in his strike.

Swoosh!

A fireball flew out of the dust cloud. He instinctively raised his arm for a block but the golem was too slow.

Bang!

The golem's face ate the fireball, making him stumble back.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Another two fireballs followed right after, giving him no time to recover his balance.

Thud!

The dull sound of a pile of metal falling to the ground created a shock wave that even reached Xuefeng's body which was by the edge of the arena.

The enemy golem left the dust cloud, his body still burning but one of his hands was crushed, bent sideways. He carried a round ball of fire in the other hand and slowly walked towards Xuefeng's golem.

"Fine, you want to play with fire then let's play," Xuefeng muttered, getting serious.

Both golems had similar strength and durability so his only advantage were skills. He believed the enemy golems were equipped with similar amount of Qi as he and the Spirit controlling them had a lot of battle experience. The only difference was that he had to fight ten rounds while his opponents were changing.

Xuefeng's golem finally stood up and slapped the lingering fire from his chest. His armour was a little burned but it was nothing for him. A cheeky smile cursed on Xuefeng's face as he already knew what he wanted to do.

'Let's see how you deal with this.'

Without wasting any time, his golem charged at the living torch, acting as if its fireballs were just tickles for him.

Swoosh!

Another fireball got thrown in the arena but Xuefeng was already prepared, his hand covered in Earth Qi. A sudden shield appeared in his hand and he bashed at the fireball with confidence.

Boom!

The flames splattered around the shield but didn't slow down the charge, Xuefeng's golem rushing forward.

Seeing that only fireballs were thrown by the enemy, he already guessed it was its only attack. The first round couldn't be harder than that else not many would pass the Trial.

The golem built momentum, bouncing off one spell after another until the two finally met again.

Bang!

Xuefeng slammed against the enemy golem with his shield, sending him flying.

It was over.

His golem pounced at the fallen opponent and whacked its head with the edge of the shield. He pounded it without break until it fell off and only then switched to its limbs.

Only its torso was left after a minute of constant pummeling. Although the golem was immobilized, the round still didn't end. According to the rules, he had to break its crystal to win.

'I wonder, can I take its crystal away and later use it?' Xuefeng asked curiously, looking down at the shining crystal with the eyes of the golem. If he could reuse the crystals, he wouldn't have to limit himself to the element.

'You should try. With the way you use up your Earth Qi, you won't last till the end of the Trial,' Ling suggested. 'Ming should be done soon but her ability will definitely use up a lot of your resources.'

Xuefeng didn't immediately pull out the crystal but instead asked Ming, 'How long will it take you? Should I continue with the second round?'

Ming didn't reply to him but instead sent him the information directly, filling his mind with complex data. 'I'm done,' Ming reported.

Xuefeng quickly scanned through the data and his mouth opened in surprise, 'Ming… Is this real?'

'Of course. Is there a problem?' Ming asked back confused. 'Go try it. I will lead you.'

Xuefeng didn't want to believe in the description of the art and wished to test it. The art he received from Ming, called Judgement Vine, claimed that its vines were basically indestructible. Their only flaws were the amount of Qi required to create them and its immobility. If one were to overcome those issues, he would be impossible to kill.

'You should be able to create one Judgement Vine with the amount of Qi you have now. It's not really a fitting art for Earth Realm as no one under God Stage would have enough Qi to even create one. Thankfully, we have nearly unlimited source of Qi from Ling,' Ming explained.

'Alright, let's try it,' Xuefeng couldn't wait anymore and pulled out the red crystal from the motionless torse. It was still intact in his hands and he sensed it had a lot of Fire Qi left inside of it.

He stared at it when the Trial Spirit informed him.

'A gentle reminder, you cannot take out your Earth Element crystal else it will be counted as a loss.'

"Oh, I didn't plan to do that," Xuefeng replied and created a hole in the golem's chest before sticking the red crystal inside of it. The hole acted like another socket allowing him to feel the Qi inside of it.

Unfortunately, he couldn't use it as the Qi wasn't ownerless. It belong to the Trial Spirit.

'Don't worry, it will still be useful for us,' Ming assured. 'Focus on creating the vine now.'

The Trial Spirit didn't comment on his move and gave him no time to rest as the battles continued immediately.

'Congratulations on the win. Round two will start in three… two… one…'

Ding!

The gong signalled the start of second round and this time two holes appeared in the sky, spawning two golems with white crystals.

Xuefeng didn't bother with them for now but instead carefully followed the instruction recorded in his mind. Ming copied Ling's method and integrated the new art with his mind, allowing him to quickly learn the art.

Just as two golems landed on the ground, a green vine started growing from the ground. It grew higher and thicker with each second but his Qi levels plummeted even faster. It quickly gained the size of the tall tree but Xuefeng didn't get to admire it too long.

The two new golems began their attacks sending Air Bombs at him.

'Let's test how strong you really are,' Xuefeng commented, taking control over the vine.

Swoosh!

The long vine snapped like a whip in the direction of incoming Air Bullets and they exploded like bubbles. The vine suffered no damage and returned to its previous position as if nothing happened.

'Not bad for a pseudo-art,' Ming noted.

'Pseudo-art?' Xuefeng repeated, thinking this was already really overpowered.

'I lied. This is not the true Judgement Vine. It only has one-tenth power of the real thing. If I didn't lower its requirements, you wouldn't be able to create one,' Ming explained casually. 'I will go convert other forbidden skills. You have fun.'

'If that's a pseudo-art… I wonder how much power does the real deal has…'

Chapter 471 New Leader

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Tens of Air Bullets continued to bombard the vine but there was still no visible damage on its surface. Instead, it only continued to grow, getting longer with each successful defence.

'Just a bit more and I should be ready to sweep through all the rounds,' Xuefeng commented, already having his own plan in mind.

When he read about the vine's absorption abilities, he didn't expect it would be able to consume the attacks so effortlessly, using them to grow stronger.

His current vine wasn't exactly indestructible. It had only one-tenth of its true power but that was more than enough against the weak golems.

Just as Xuefeng thought of using the two golems in his plan, the Trial Spirit called out to him, 'Continue doing nothing. I will wait. The longer the battle spread, the lower score you will get.' The golems stopped attacking when he finished speaking and simply waited by the edge of arena.

'It seems the Spirit noticed something,' Xuefeng grinned despite getting exposed. 'He is trying to provoke me into battling.'

Despite being powerful, the vine was stuck in a single place so as long as one stayed outside of its reach, they were safe. Too bad, the arena was only this large.

His golem reached out towards the red crystal stuck into his chest and smashed it against the vine, crushing it into dust. The Fire Qi burst out but it was momentarily sucked in by the vine, giving an immediate boost to its growth.

"Sure, let's fight then," Xuefeng called out loud and finally switched the roles, attacking instead. His vine couldn't get any stronger than this if the Trial Spirit didn't want to fight.

The vine which was curled up like a viper suddenly launched itself forward. It was even faster than Wuying's Shackles of Doom, rushing to the golems like a snake which smelled its prey.

Thick Air Qi surrounded the two golems, looking like an area of effect shield but it broke like a bubble once the vine reached them. Two sounds of metal crushing into the ground resounded throughout the arena which was followed by another ten loud smacks as the vine unleashed its fury.

'Congratulations on the win. Round three will start in three… two… one…'

The Trial Spirit announced his win and the smashed golems dropped into nothingness, done feeding the vine with it's Qi. It grew to the point it could reach every corner of the arena but that wasn't the final goal of Xuefeng's plan.

He wanted to go up!

Ding!

The gong signalled the start of the third round and four black holes appeared in the sky.

This was exactly what Xuefeng was waiting for.

'Let's finish this trial early.'

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

Just as four new golems spawned, the

vine smacked them before they even reached the ground, breaking their crystals with ease.

'Congratulations on the win. Round four will start in three… two… one…'

The Trial Spirit had no other choice but to announce his victory, beginning another round but the results were similar. Changing both the number of opponents and spawn position didn't help at all.

'Congratulations on the win. Round five will start in three… two… one…'

'Congratulations on the win. Round six will start in three… two… one…'

'Congratulations on the win. Round seven—'

———

Even though Xuefeng found the cheat with the Forbidden Art, his wives were not worse than him. With the trial where the cultivation didn't really matter but instead it was control and arts that were valued, they could finally shine.

In Princess Shan's trial, her golem wore ice armor and cut through its enemies with a long ice sword.

Wuying's golem had two bloody daggers and she picked the smallest fighter, putting faith into speed instead. It turned out to be a good bet as none of the enemy golems could catch her.

Xiao Wen chose Fire Qi, passing through each round with brute force of flaming fists and Yi chose metal which she mastered thanks to Xiao Feng. She created a sword for herself and implemented her sword arts with it.

Despite being weak at fighting, Yiren found her own way to victory.

"Whoa, you are all so cute!" Yiren called out excitedly, holding onto a group of cute white bunnies. In just a moment, she created hundreds of Air Qi bunnies, wanting to squeeze them all.

Thud.

When the enemy golem dropped to the ground, she gathered them all together and called out, "Alright cuties, make mommy proud! Attack!"

As if an organized army, the bunnies rushed towards the golem and jumped on it, biting the metal until there was nothing left.

The only one who struggled was Tianshi who didn't have deep fighting skills. With great difficulty, she was able to reach round three but it was the limit of her abilities.

'You were unfortunately unable to pass the Trial. You will be sent back shortly.'

The Trial Spirit informed her right after her golem's crystal broke, sending it's fragments around. In the next moment, she found herself back in the temple.

"Sigh… I knew it," Tianshi muttered to herself, already expecting such a result.

Being the weakest from the group definitely wasn't the most pleasant but Tianshi didn't blame herself much. She knew she had the least amount of experience so it was normal she was the worst.

'Don't worry, you are already doing fine,' her Spirit cheered her up and added, 'Your fate is closely tight with your husband. You are not meant to be a hero. You are there to support him, walking by his side. Your future is already decided. I have never seen a clearer future than yours.'

'Mhmm, I know. That's why I don't mind it. I'm happy to stay by his side. Forever and ever,' Tianshi nodded, smile returning onto her face and walked out of the temple, leaving though the losers exit.

To her surprise, there was a big commotion outside. No one noticed her at all as they were conversing loudly. Tianshi didn't eavesdrop and instead looked around in search for anyone else. Thankfully, she wasn't the first to end her trial.

Nuwa was sitting in front of the temple on the white cloud she made for herself. Their gazes met and Nuwa beckoned at her.

'You were quick. Congrats,' Tianshi congratulated in her mind, recreating the connection between the two of them. She didn't have a doubt that Nuwa won the trial.

'Thank. Don't worry, you will slowly improve,' Nuwa comforted her friendly. 'This trial was indeed hard.'

'Hah, not hard for you,' Tianshi chuckled and asked, looking at the crowd, 'Why is everyone looking at us strangely?'

She thought that something happened in the capital and everyone started chatting about it but being next to Nuwa, she noticed a lot of gazes were aimed at them.

Nuwa shrugged, replying casually, 'Not sure. Maybe it's because someone became the new leader on the leaderboard.'

'Leaderboard?' Tianshi questioned and looked at the board next to the temple. When she saw the name at the top, her eyes widened. She finally realized why Nuwa was acting cool. The top name definitely belonged to her.

'Liu Xuefeng's Number One Wife.'

Chapter 472 Metal Trial Leaderboard

'Congratulations, you have passed the trial. Please, claim your reward.'

The Trial Spirit announced, seeing his last round boss drop dead. The giant golem had nine sockets in his chest with different colored crystals inside, giving him the power of nine elements.

Unfortunately, it was still not enough to beat the Xuefeng's Judgement Vine. The golem was laying on the ground with the vine wrapped around its torso and body crushed under its pressure. It didn't stand a chance.

'Thank you Ming. You too Ling. Without you two, it wouldn't be possible,' Xuefeng said in gratitude, standing up with his own body. Ming provided him with an art while Ling made it possible by providing Qi.

'This is just the beginning. I have a few more forbidden arts prepared for you. I made some tweaks so you can use them. There are eight other Inheritance Trials so you have time to test them,' Ming responded casually. 'Although you are my son-in-law, I'm now stuck with you forever so I might as well be useful to you.'

'Mom—' Ling began softly but Ming cut her off, 'Don't worry, I'm fine. As long as I can be together with my little girl, I will be happy. I stopped having a husband the moment he tried to kill you so I have no man to go back either. If I'm too lonely, I will just ask Xuefeng to satisfy me.'

Cough, cough!

Xuefeng cleared his throat loudly. He already had Nuwa who was endlessly horny. He could already imagine Ming wouldn't be different.

'How did this conversation come to this?' Xuefeng questioned. 'I thought were were talking about arts just now.'

'Haha, am I too old for you?' Ming asked back in laughter. 'Even though I don't even know how old I am, my body is still fresh and juicy, ready for the picking. If you want, there is still my little sister if you like younger bodies.'

'Mom! He won't be coming to visit me anymore if you tease him like that…' Ling called out to stop her mom but Xuefeng assured her, 'Don't worry, I'm already used to it. You are my wife. Nothing will stop me from visiting you.'

'Xuefeng…' Ling called his name lovingly and was about to follow up when Ming cut her off again.

'Awww, you two are so cute.'

Xuefeng smiled, liking the sudden warm atmosphere between them and walked up to the new platform in the middle of the arena. It appeared right after Trial Spirit announcement about his win.

"What's that?" Xuefeng asked out loud as he picked the three objects on the platform.

A translucent vial with a thick grey liquid inside of it and two manuals.

'It's a Metal Essence in its liquid form. Very good for beginners while mastering Metal Element. By getting high score, you received a much bigger vial than others,' The Trial Spirit explained. 'In addition

to that, the rewards contains a manual describing Metal Cultivation and a random Metal Art.'

"Sweet. What was my score?" Xuefeng asked curiously, quite satisfied with his run. "Did I get the first place?"

Before starting the trial, he already planned to fill the leaderboard with Liu Clan members while taking the lead, representing his clan. If they could replace all top spots with his group, it would bring them even more fame and respect.

Unfortunately, his dream got quickly crushed with Trial Spirit next words.

'I'm sorry. You placed second with the score of eighty thousand, three hundred and four.'

This answer baffled him as he quickly recalled the top one spot.

'Didn't the top one have around thirty thousand? How come—" Xuefeng was sure he would be first when he stopped himself, realizing he wasn't alone. 'Wait, did someone new score higher than me? Like just now?'

'Yes. Someone finished the Trial before you with the perfect score of one hundred thousand score. That name will be forever on the top spot as no one can surpass it anymore.'

The Trial Spirit added right after, 'You were slow in the first two rounds which lost you nearly twenty thousand points.'

"It's okay, I'm don't mind," Xuefeng replied with a grin, keeping the rewards into his ring and asked curiously, "I wonder, who was it that overtook me?"

He already had his guess but he still asked to be sure.

The Trial Spirit didn't mind sharing and responded before kicking Xuefeng out.

'The person chose an unusual name but I made an exception, accepting it. She named herself Liu Xuefeng's Number One Wife.'

Before Xuefeng could respond in any way, he found himself back in the temple.

Xuefeng still gave out a solid eye roll, already knowing who would be so shameless to put such a name on the leaderboard.

"Nuwa."

He walked out of the temple and sure enough, the leaderboard had two new names on top.

1. Liu Xuefeng's Number One Wife

2. Liu Clan Liu Xuefeng

The crowd exploded when they noticed the change, everyone looking at Xuefeng who just came out of the trial. Naturally, he wasn't interested in them but in the two girls that sat down on a white cloud in the middle of the plaza.

He immediately approached them and to his surprise, when Nuwa saw his expression, she hid behind Tianshi. She already expected Xuefeng would have such a reaction.

"Why are you hiding? Aren't you my number one wife? Come to your husband and give him a hug," Xuefeng called out sarcastically, already imagining the spanking she would receive at home.

"No, thank you, I'm good. You already satisfied me tonight," Nuwa shook her head, already decided on avoiding him. "We are in public, you can't."

Xuefeng smiled hearing that and approached her, walking around the cloud but Nuwa rotated it using Tianshi's shoulders.

"Of course, I would never do anything to my number one wife," Xuefeng confirmed, emphasizing the last three words. He didn't stop chasing after her though and finally reached out, grabbing onto her wrist.

Nuwa didn't run away anymore and instead looked at him pitifully, "Hey... It was a joke. You don't need to be so mad…"

Unfortunately, she didn't avoid punishment as Xuefeng pinched her cheek and said smiling, "Oh, I like jokes. Let's laugh together."

She didn't resist, taking the punishment but still complained cutely, "Au… You are a bad daddy…"

Xuefeng wanted to make her understand he didn't have favorites or number one wives when Tianshi hugged him from behind, running to Nuwa for help.

"Xuefeng, you can let her off. She made this name for us all. We are all number one wives," Tianshi pleaded for Nuwa. "She didn't put her name on the title after all."

"Yesh… Thatsh true…" Nuwa confirmed with a nod, her speech altered as he didn't stop squeezing her cheek.

Only then did Xuefeng let go of her and hugged them both. "I love all of you equally. I hope you don't fight with each other for such superficial titles," Xuefeng confessed.

"Mhmm, we understand," Tianshi replied for them both.

"I'm glad," Xuefeng said and stopped their public display of affection. He hoped such talks would never happen again but just as he thought about it, rankings started to change, causing an even greater rumors across the crowd.

He glanced at the leaderboard and his hands lost strength.

Metal Trial Leaderboard:

1. Liu Xuefeng's Number One Wife

2. Liu Clan Liu Xuefeng

3. Liu Xuefeng's Cutest Wife

6. Liu Xuefeng's Strongest Wife

9. Liu Xuefeng's Loyal Wife

10. Liu Xuefeng's Sexiest Wife

Chapter 473 Miracle

Seeing the other girls walk out of the temple, the middle-aged man in the sky couldn't help but smack his lips in dissatisfaction. He looked at his partner and noticed he also looked as if someone added too much salt into his meal.

"This is unbelievable," the Middle-aged man grunted.

"This time I agree with you. I can't stand it," the Old man nodded, wrapping his arms in distaste.

"I know, right? How could Nuwa even think she is the first wife? It's obviously Wuying who was the first to claim his heart. She should be the first wife, one hundred percent!" the Middle-aged man called out proudly but was quickly debunked by the Old man.

"What? Wuying? You must be joking! It's obviously Tianshi who should be the first wife!"

This wasn't the first time they argued, playing the favorites game for a while already. There was nothing for them to do every day as they watched over Xuefeng so they unconsciously picked their favorite girls and started cheering for them. It became their daily entertainment.

"Pfft!" the Middle-aged man snorted with laughter. "This weakling?! She can't even pass the trial. How do you expect her to be the main wife?"

"Strength doesn't matter. She knows Xuefeng the longest so she should be the first wife. Without her, he wouldn't even meet the rest," the Old man argued. "She is kind, gentle and loves him wholeheartedly. There is no one else suited to take that role. Nuwa is too shameless to lead them."

"No one else, huh? What are you talking about?" the Middle-aged man looked at him as if he didn't know him. "It's obvious that Wuying should take the lead! She is the most loyal of them all and she would do anything for him."

He looked at Wuying and added proudly, "Her battle abilities are amazing as well and she handles everything for Xuefeng, from the guards to all other operations. He doesn't even know how much work she puts behind the scenes to hold everything together. Look how humble she is."

"Wuying is only strong because you gave her Heaven Realm Arts. Without them, she would be lagging behind," the Old man countered with a frown. "If I were to give Tianshi any arts, she would leave everyone behind!"

The Middle-aged man knew his partner was only bluffing so he dared him, "Ha! No one is stopping you! For now, Wuying is stronger. She wins."

"Fine!" the Old man snapped. "It seems you won't believe if you don't see. I will show you who is the best wife for Xuefeng."

Hearing the Old man this serious with his fists tightened, the Middle-aged man's confidence disappeared quickly. "You don't really plan

to give her arts?" he questioned cautiously.

The Old man smiled and asked with a smirk, "What? Do you think I don't dare? This time I will shut you for real. You will see."

"Aren't you scared that father will punish you?" the Middle-aged man questioned worriedly. He didn't want to lose his advantage.

"We have already screwed big time anyway so I have nothing to lose. Mother of Fate is staying with Xuefeng and providing him with forbidden arts. Our deeds are not even close to that," the Old man assured with a shrug.

"Yeah… We are not really needed anymore but let's hide it from father. I don't want to go back to Middle Heaven. I like it here," the Middle-aged man muttered.

"Yeah… Let's do it."

Reaching the quick compromise, they looked back to the scene, continuing their game. They finished arguing right when Yi left the trial.

———

Seeing everyone already waiting for her, Yi sighed, guessing she was last. She worked hard in this trial to prove her strength to Xuefeng but it wasn't enough.

'I need double my training…' Yi thought determined and skipped towards the rest. On the way, she noticed something was wrong. It didn't seem like Xuefeng was satisfied, scolding the girls.

Didn't they finish better than her? This only meant she would also receive a scolding.

Just as she felt bad for being so weak, Xuefeng noticed her and beckoned her to come over. To her surprise, he was smiling at her.

Yi didn't know what was going on but still approached them and called out apologetically, "Xuefeng… I'm sorry. I will work harder to get a better score next time…"

She expected a soft reprimanding but instead, Xuefeng reached out and hugged her. Instead of scolding, she received praise, "What are you talking about? You did great!"

He patted her on the head and asked the girls, "Couldn't you all be good girls like Yi? Why is there a need to compare each other?"

"Huh… Compare? But didn't I finish last? I'm sure the rest got a high score," Yi replied confused and turned around, looking at the leaderboard.

27. Liu Clan Yi

She quickly found herself on the list and looked up, searching for the rest. When she reached top ten, she finally found them.

She pointed at the leaderboard and called out, treating it as proof, "See? They are all in top ten. Much better than my score."

"Look at their names," Xuefeng explained but Yi still didn't get it.

"Is there something wrong with their names? Shan is the sexiest, Wuying the most loyal, Wen is the strongest and Yiren is the cutest," Yi described it for him, finding it obvious. "Are you mad about Nuwa's number one wife name? Don't worry, she probably did it for us. We are all number one in your heart, right?"

Hearing Yi, all girls smirked and looked at Xuefeng as if saying, 'See? She knows it better.'

Xuefeng rubbed his temples and gave up, "Fine, do whatever you want. I just don't want to see any internal competition. We should be acting as one. Am I clear?"

"Yes~" Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Alright. Listen now. I have an idea. We already dominated top ten but that's not enough. How about we overtake everyone on the Leaderboard and fill it completely with Liu Clan members?" Xuefeng suggested.

"You want to use my experts?" Nuwa questioned and he nodded, looking at her and Wuying. "Can you two call them over? I wish to dominate all nine trials, hah."

"Sure, give me a moment," Wuying replied, taking out the Communication Crystal. "Team one and two, report."

Taking the chance as they were busy, Yi walked up to Tianshi and hugged her, placing her head on her shoulder.

"Hmm? What's up Yi?" Tianshi asked confused.

"I hug because you are sad," Yi whispered, tightening her hug. "Your fake smile won't work on me. I know when you need a hug."

"Thank you…"

Tianshi returned the hug, not commenting on it. The two understood each other well without words.

"Don't worry, one of those days you will improve quickly and surpass us all. I believe in you," Yi cheered her up but Tianshi didn't seem to believe it, "Hah, I would need a miracle. Don't worry, I'm here to be Xuefeng's support."

Yi smiled when she heard it and suddenly pulled Tianshi towards the temple while calling out to Xuefeng.

"We are going to repeat the Trial!"

Chapter 474 Heavenly Support Arts

"Tianshi? Yi?" Xuefeng called out after them but the two already entered the temple, disappearing inside.

He knew Tianshi failed her trial so he wanted to cheer her up away from everyone else. Just as he wanted to pull her away, she ran away with Yi.

"It's okay. We have to wait anyway. They probably want to improve their ranking," Xiao Wen assured him. "Once the Nuwa's army visits the trial, they would push them out of the leaderboard if they don't improve."

"Yeah…" Xuefeng nodded but deep down he already decided to focus on Tianshi even more.

He didn't want her to be down just because she lagged behind everyone else. It wasn't her fault, to begin with.

As he wondered how he can help her, Yiren tugged on his sleeve and called out, "Look! They are coming."

A cloud of expects flying through the sky in the broad daylight was definitely something unusual. They also had a set formation which made it a sight that pleased any pair of eyes. None of the crowd members knew though that they would soon witness the biggest Trial Crackdown in this era.

"Alright. Let's start the operation."

———

As they were carrying out Xuefeng's plan, Tianshi was once again stuck, struggling at the third round of the Trial. She got convinced by both Yi and her Fate Spirit that she should try again. Yi said it would be good training for her but her Fate Spirit was different.

Just as she decided to repeat it, her future also changed and her Fate Spirit quickly alarmed her. She claimed a big fortune awaited her during the trial.

Too bad, she didn't see it.

'He is not going to last much longer… I knew it…' Tianshi thought, seeing her golem was already weak, its body full of holes.

This time she picked the biggest golem with Spirit Crystal, hoping there would be some change but it was even worse. It could no longer escape the enemy attacks thanks to her Heavenly Steps so it suffered much more damage each round. The only advantage she had was her golem's endurance which was much better compared to a middle-sized golem.

'Don't worry, I can feel it. Your blessing should be coming soon,' Her Fate Spirit repeated but Tianshi had eyes. There is no way she could escape the next barrage of attacks.

"It's over buddy. It was a nice run," Tianshi said out loud, seeing her golem was about to fall. Tens of Air Bombs bombarded it from each side, giving it no chance to resist.

'I guess I'm fated to be a support. If that's the case, I will become the best support I can be!' Tianshi announced, already accepting it as it was.

She was Liu Xuefeng's Most Supportive Wife!

Boom!

A loud explosion resounded throughout the arena followed by other tens of loud bangs. She knew it was over but there was a smile on her face.

'Huh? My golem is still standing?'

Just as she scanned the golem condition, she realized he was still fine and standing which surprised her. There was a white translucent armor surrounding the golem, seemingly protecting him from all the attacks.

At the same time, a massive headache hit her as if someone just created a hole in her mind. She searched for the cause of it only to find a massive log of new information she never remembered learning.

'Heavenly Support Arts…' Tianshi muttered the three words that stood out

the most and froze, hearing her Fate Spirit excited voice. 'It's the blessing I was talking about!'

She didn't question her and quickly scanned through the arts, getting more astonished with each second. She received a whole bundle of arts out of nowhere.

Heavenly Shield, Heavenly Barrier, Heavenly Recovery and many more.

'They come from the same branch as my Heavenly Steps!' Tianshi suddenly realized, seeing a deep familiarity with her own arts. 'How is this possible?'

'Don't question it!' her Fate Spirit called out, waking her up from the shock. 'The armor is wearing off. We will worry about where the arts came from later. Let's use them first and pass the trial!'

'Yes!' Tianshi agreed and followed the instructions saved in her mind, recreating the armor on the golem. No matter how many Air Qi Bombs landed on the golem, he wasn't even a bit affected.

She didn't wait and finally attacked on her own, using the sudden opportunity to fight back.

A minute later, four metal corpses laid on the ground, beaten up and defeated.

'Congratulations on the win. Round four will start in three… two… one…'

The Trial Spirit voice reached her, announcing another round. She couldn't believe a fortune like this would happen to her but the evidence was right in front of her. Someone granted her wish.

'Whoever helped me… Thank you…'

———

"Sigh, I guess I only improved by three places…' Yi lamented, walking out of the Temple. "I thought this time I will enter the twenties at least.

Although she tried even harder, she only ended up at twenty-fourth place. She naturally wished for more.

Yi left through the exit and looked at the Leaderboard, being proud of herself nonetheless. To her surprise, almost half of the board was filled with the names with the addition of Liu Clan.

"Good day Milady."

Someone called out to her from behind. She turned around and saw Elvish guards leaving through the winners' exit and new names popping up under her on the Leaderboard. Each time someone left the Trial, a new person got pushed down from the list.

"Good day…" Yi replied with a smile, enjoying the subtle change. Just recently she was still a maid yet now everyone treated her like a Milady.

Poof!

Her body exploded into thousands of stars which flew towards Xuefeng who was now surrounded by tens of guards in similar outfits. They filled almost one-fifth of the plaza but she easily passed through them.

"Xuefeng! I finished twenty-third!" Yi shouted as she materialized behind him and hugged him excitedly. She would be much higher if not for Nuwa's experts so she felt much better about her score.

Xuefeng turned her around to the front and she saw the uneasy expression on his face. Only then she realized there was no Tianshi with them.

"Is Tianshi still in the trial?" Yi asked confused, not expecting she would last this long.

"That's what we try to figure out as well. Are you sure she entered the Trial with you?" Xuefeng questioned, holding onto her. "You two ran off together."

"I'm sure. She entered inside first," Yi nodded firmly. "Maybe she found her own way to pass the trial?"

"Hopefully that's true…" Xuefeng replied, lost in thought.

They waited for five more minutes and saw the last Elvish guard leaving the trial while there was still no sight of Tianshi.

One of the Team Captains looking the most aged from all the guards approached Wuying and reported, "Miss! Everyone finished the trial successfully. Would Miss like me to collect the rewards we won and give it to Miss?"

"No, tell your men to keep the rewards," Wuying replied calmly, acting like a leader. "You all should study the art and master Metal Element as soon as you can."

"Yes, Miss! Thank you!" the Team Leader responded happily, acting quite satisfied with the reward.

Xuefeng looked at them and proposed, "How about you all move the group to the next closest Trial? I will wait alone for Tianshi."

"The nearest one is the Fire Inheritance Trial. Are you sure you don't want us to wait with you?" Xiao Wen asked, rubbing his shoulder.

"It's okay. We are creating a commotion with so many people gathered together. I will wait for her and join you all. Don't worry," Xuefeng confirmed, assuring them.

"Alright."

Xiao Wen explained to him the location of Fire Inheritance Trial and led everyone, leaving him alone. Yiren didn't want to go but he convinced her with a kiss.

He didn't know how long he waited but it had to be more than five minutes when a beauty he was waiting for finally appeared.

"She did it…" Xuefeng muttered amazed, seeing her leave from the winner's exit.

"Congratulations!" Xuefeng called out excitedly, walking up to her and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you," Tianshi replied softly and asked happily, "Won't you ask how I did it?"

"How you did it?" Xuefeng repeated after her, already planning to ask.

Tianshi grinned and teased, "Not telling you now~"

"Hah, it's okay. I'm still glad you are improving," Xuefeng laughed, not minding that at all and picked her up, flying to the sky. "Let's go. Everyone is waiting for us."

"Wait!" Tianshi stopped him mid-air, turning his head to the side. "Look!"

There was only a Leaderboard in that direction so he scanned it and to his surprise, a new name appeared at the last spot. He didn't play favorites but he knew it was her.

100. Liu Xuefeng's Most Supportive Wife

Chapter 475 Challenge

At the Royal Palace, the situation improved after just one day but it was still dire. There has never been such catastrophe, ever. No one ever dared to fight them as they were the Rulers of this Realm.

Until now.

"Ruler! We have a problem!" An old guard ran inside the throne room without notice, crying out anxiously.

On the throne, the crownless Ruler sat down with his eyes closed but had to open them due to disturbance. They were slightly red as if he didn't catch any sleep for a long time. Just when he wanted to rest, another issue arises.

"Didn't we already settle all the problems already? We just finished the meeting," the Ruler asked while rubbing his eyes, hoping they will stay awake for a little longer.

They spent the whole night settling the mess the sudden beast caused. They fixed the palace and figured out solutions to earn back the money they lost. Thankfully, they somehow salvaged the situation.

"What is it?"

"Ruler, it's about Liu Xuefeng..." The old guard started cautiously, not revealing everything from the start.

At the sheer mention of Xuefeng, the Ruler frowned. "Him again? Why does it have to be him again?" the Ruler questioned to no one in particular, his expression annoyed. "Whenever something bad happens, it's this bastard every damn time!"

"What did he do this time? Did you find out if he is connected to the blue dragon?"

The old guard postponed his news and answer first, "Ruler, we spotted no dragon next to Liu Xuefeng since the time you ordered us yesterday. We suspect he wasn't a part of this but we will investigate further."

"Good… At least this bastard is not connected with it. If he was, I wouldn't be able to withstand it," the Ruler sighed in relief. "Anything else? I'm tired."

"Ugh… Ruler, there is one more thing about him related to the recent catastrophe," the old guard hesitated but reported right after without stalling, "He chased away our tax collecting guards from the Trials and said this is his last warning. If we don't listen, he will declare war with us."

"Damn…" The Ruler cursed, rubbing his temples to hold down his anger. "It's okay, we can do okay without the Trials. I knew either Xiao Feng or he will act anyway."

"Ruler, that's not all. He also brought all three hundred Spirit Monarchs and asked everyone to take part in the Metal Inheritance Trial. Right now, almost ninety percent of the Leaderboard is filled with Liu Clan experts," the old guard informed, looking prepared to dodge in case the Ruler decides to vent his anger at him.

Thankfully, the Ruler remained at his seat and commented instead, "What a brat… Doesn't he have anything else to do?"

"Right now he is taking his army and going to one Trial after another, claiming their Leaderboards," the old guard added. "He is currently at the Fire Inheritance Trial."

"Does he want to use it to make his pitiful Clan even more famous? Cheap moves," the Ruler remarked and quickly decided. "Go gather our best experts and bring them to the Trials. I want them to set the higher scores they could so that Xuefeng's group won't beat them. You can start in the opposite direction."

"Ruler, we

noticed that Xuefeng and his wives set a perfect score in the Metal Inheritance Trial. It's impossible to beat them anymore," the old guard pointed out but seeing his Ruler's frown, he swiftly added, "B-but I'm confident we can secure the rest of the spots in the Leaderboard…"

"Good. I want to see at least fifty spots which belong to us," the Ruler set the bar, thinking realistically. Knowing Xuefeng's strength, he didn't expect any of his men to beat him unless he stepped in himself.

"Yes! I will gather our men!"

———

Meanwhile, Xuefeng was already inside the Fire Inheritance Trial, speeding up through its floors. Before he entered with Tianshi, he pleaded her to give up just in case she can't run anymore. Xiao Wen already warned him that this particular trial, although easy, was dangerous.

One had to pass through ten floors filled with burning flames. The temperature was higher in each floor, reaching unimaginable heights. He wouldn't be afraid if not for the fact that one could only use their Spirit Qi to shield themselves from the fire. Tianshi didn't have a high cultivation base which concerned him.

Only after she promised she will be careful did he let her go inside. She was too precious for him to lose her.

"Oof, this is harder than I thought…" Xuefeng commented, stepping inside the seventh round. He thought this trial will be a simple speedrun but he could already feel an excess warmth melting his Spirit Qi shield.

If he was in such a situation, wouldn't Tianshi have it worse?

The pressure caused by the high temperature increased but he didn't stop running, planning on scoring high.

On the other hand, the person who he was worried about was already on the ninth floor, jumping through the flames as if it was summer breeze. Tianshi reached out to catch the beautiful flames and only felt a moderate warmth, feeling like it was a sunny day.

Just as she stepped into the last floor, her Fate Spirit called out to her, 'If you rush like this, you will end up first and your skills will be exposed. Do you want that?'

'Yes. I want to pleasantly surprise Xuefeng. My skills will be exposed sooner or later anyway. It's not like I want to hide it endlessly. I will only keep it a secret till I study all of them,' Tianshi explained her stance without slowing down. 'I want to see Xuefeng smile at me proudly…'

With that in mind, she ran on top of the lava surface and jumped through the exit on the last floor.

'Congratulations, you have passed the trial while achieving the perfect score. Please, claim your special reward.'

———

Just ten seconds later in another trial room.

'Congratulations, you have passed the trial. Please, claim your reward.'

Nuwa blinked twice, thinking she heard wrong.

"I didn't get the first place?" she asked confused, trying to confirm with the Trial Spirit. "Last time my score was announced."

'Because someone already has the perfect score, being ten second faster, we were forced to deduct one point from Miss' final score. Both runs deserve the perfect score,' the Trial Spirit answered apologetically. 'We will compensate Miss with a better reward instead.'

"Like I care about the reward…" Nuwa muttered unhappily and quickly decided, "I would like to change my name in that case."

There was no use of being a number one if she didn't get the highest score.

'Permission granted. What do you wish to rename yourself to?' the Trial Spirit agreed.

Nuwa smiled, not actually upset by such development and called out, "Please change it into, Liu Xuefeng's Kindest Wife."

'Name successfully renamed. Please proceed to claim the reward.'

"Haha, Xuefeng, I obviously the kindest, right?" Nuwa laughed as she walked towards the rewards platform.

———

Tianshi left the trial and waited near the portal, knowing Nuwa will soon leave as well. Just as she predicted, less than a minute later, Nuwa curvy body appeared in her vision.

Her gaze fell on Tianshi and her eyes widened.

"Tianshi? To think it would be you who beats me," Nuwa commented with a smile, approaching her. She seemed pleasantly surprised.

"Hehe, I wanted to beat you at least once," Tianshi giggled. "It would be boring without a challenge, right?"

"You are right. I prefer it this way," Nuwa agreed and questioned curiously, "Why did you hide your strength?"

"I didn't. I only recently learned some arts which happened to help me now. I still have a few to master. I will tell you guys about it when I'm done," Tianshi replied honestly, not hiding everything. "Just know those are mostly defensive arts so my fighting ability doesn't actually improve."

"Mhmm…" Nuwa nodded and suddenly proposed with a confident smile, "How about we have a challenge? Whoever has the most wins by the end of the day will become the leader of our group."

"..." Tianshi paused, staring at Nuwa in wonder. She didn't expect Nuwa would look at her as a candidate to compete with.

"Even though I agree with Xuefeng that we shouldn't compare ourselves and instead support each other, I still believe we need someone who can have the last say. We have Xuefeng but you know that in many of our matters, he won't be objective," Nuwa convinced.

"What do you think?"

Chapter 476 Shameless

Tianshi thought about Nuwa's proposal for a little while but in the end, she shook her head, creating her own counter suggestion.

"How about we have a healthy challenge without betting anything? This way we can have a competition without risking anything."

"Ah, but wouldn't it be boring?" Nuwa sighed, being the one who enjoyed betting the most.

Tianshi smiled and hugged into Nuwa's full chest. "Isn't it fine the way we are right now? Everyone can give their opinions and we can decide all together. You are already using your experience as the queen and help manage the group better but I think everyone should have a part in that."

Tightening the hug, Tianshi added softly, "Having a leader would only ruin what we have now. We are all a family."

"Mhmm, I understand," Nuwa didn't push her points, agreeing in the end. "Let's have a normal competition then."

Just as she spoke, the portal behind them trembled and another person spawned from it. Even without turning around they knew it would be either Xuefeng or Xiao Wen.

"Oh, you two beat me," Xuefeng called out, looking a bit surprised. He approached them and joined the group hug, grasping their waists. "Tianshi? How did you get here so fast?"

Although he and Tianshi came late, the girls waited for them so they can enter all together. Xuefeng still knew nothing about Tianshi new abilities but he didn't assume the worst case scenario, looking at her with hope.

Tianshi grinned and poked his nose, "What do you think?" She couldn't help but be in a good mood after securing first place. She wanted to enjoy the proud look he will give her once he learns of her proves.

Xuefeng first looked at Tianshi and then at Nuwa. "Don't tell me you finished first?" Xuefeng asked, guessing based on her mood.

"Yup," Tianshi replied simply, pursing her lips with satisfaction. Xuefeng showed amazement and immediately hugged her tighter, kissing happily.

"Congrats!" Xuefeng called out ecstatic, "I'm so proud of you."

Hmpf…

As Xuefeng busied himself with Tianshi, the other lady in his arms reminded him of her presence. She didn't make it too obvious like hitting him but instead looked away, pouting.

Thankfully, Xuefeng noticed it in time and announced, "I'm proud of you too, Nuwa."

"Hmpf, when I get first place, I only receive scoldings but Tianshi gets kisses. You are so unfair…" Nuwa muttered unhappily, having her cute moment. "And I even changed my leaderboard name especially for you…"

"Ah, you know I cherish both of you…" Xuefeng explained, giving her a gentle kiss. "You are always on top so it is normal for you but for Tianshi it's a special day. I am just happy for her improvements..."

"Come here," He muttered as he rubbed their backs with similar care and placed their heads on his chest.

He didn't notice

how Nuwa winked at Tianshi at that very moment.

"Xuefeng, let's bet," Nuwa proposed. "If you can't get a perfect score in any of the trial and beat us, you owe us all a special date. I know a place where we can go."

"Special date?" Xuefeng repeated interested. "What if I can beat you?"

"Heh, we will talk about when you can actually beat us," Nuwa replied, smacking his butt. "What do you think?"

"Sure, but If I win, I want you to be nice and kind like Tianshi for at least a month," Xuefeng smirked, walking out of the temple with them. Xuefeng left some experts waiting for them outside just to provide them with an additional safety.

"Why is it only me having a punishment?" Nuwa complaint only to hear Tianshi reply instead of him, "Because I'm already a good girl."

"Hmm, fine. If you can win, I be good for one full month," Nuwa agreed after a moment of thought and shrugged confidently, "It's not like you will win."

"Does it matter? It's a win-win bet for me. A date with my lovely wifes? Count me in," Xuefeng replied with a grin, finally able to trick her. "Though, I would also love to join you all for the girls day tomorrow. Can I switch my rewards?"

"Nope," both Tianshi and Nuwa replied at the same time. "We won't be able to test their true behavior if you are there with me."

"What if I follow you invisible?" Xuefeng smiled and suddenly disappeared, leaving no trace behind him. "What do you think?"

They could hear him yet there was no sign of him. A second later, he appeared back again.

"I don't really mind. As long as you don't show yourself, it should be fine," Tianshi confessed honestly. "It's also a chance for you to know them better."

To Nuwa's surprise, Xuefeng ended the discussion at that, without asking her to agree, "Alright, then it's decided."

"Shameless, you didn't wait for me," Nuwa pointed out but Xuefeng had a quick response for that.

"Not as shameless as you, my dear wife. Or should I say, my kindest wife?"

"..."

Nuwa didn't have a response to that.

———

The story repeated itself with the Fire Inheritance Trial as Liu Clan took over the Leaderboard yet again. The only difference was top ten which now had one additional member in the form of Tianshi.

As they entered another trial in line, Water Inheritance Trial, Xuefeng received the message he was waiting for.

'Xuefeng, I have an art that will work perfectly for this Trial.'

Ming was working behind the scenes to develop as many Arts as she could which made Xuefeng really happy. It was exactly what he needed.

'What is it?' Xuefeng asked curiously, excited for Ming's new idea.

The Water Inheritance Trial was a strange one, testing the speed of his attacks. He was once again at the arena, much bigger than the previous one but this time he wasn't supposed to fight the enemies.

This time the goal of his enemies was to pass through him to the other side of the arena and his mission was to stop them by killing. The only rule he had to follow was standing on the two meter wide line in the middle of the arena. If he were to step out, he would be instantly eliminated.

'You mentioned your clone art would be good for it so we improved it with Ling. It's not really efficient as you have to create clones one by one so we connected a few arts and created one that speeds up the process. I'm transferring it into your mind right now,' Ming explained and a new information appeared in his mind.

Ding!

The third round started at the same time as he scanned the new art. Sixteen new water clones appeared randomly throughout the arena and rushed forward.

'Thousand Clones Art…'

The girls didn't do a great job thinking about the title but reading the contents, he knew it was not good to judge the book by it's cover.

He followed the guide and emptied his Water Qi in an instant, spreading it in line across the arena.

"Arise!" Xuefeng called out for fun and immediately after, sixteen of his clones made of water rose from the ground. Compared to the complex clones from before, those were almost empty inside, making it extremely easy to control.

Each of his clones rushed at the nearby enemy and punched, killing the water avatars with ease. The water from the avatars spilt into the ground only to transform into another sixteen clones he could control.

"This is what I'm talking about!"

Chapter 477 Reward

'Congratulations, you have passed the trial. Please, claim your reward.'

\"That was way too easy,\" Xuefeng muttered with a smile, canceling his clones. 'Thank you, girls. You two are honestly awesome.'

With his clones spread out on the line, no enemy could pass through, no matter how many of them spawned. With Ming and Ling's help, he already had two overpowered Arts yet the two didn't seem to think of resting.

'Hehe, we still have more arts coming,' Ming announced with a giggle and wondered out loud, 'Ling, do you think he will give us a reward later tonight?'

As if she was colluding with her mother, Ling replied with desire, 'Hmm, I hope so. It has been a while since Xuefeng visited. I miss his kisses in the morning...'

'I can hear you guys…' Xuefeng called out speechless and made a split-second decision, sitting cross-legged on the ground. 'Bring me inside for a moment.'

He didn't need to say it twice as Ling knew very well what he wanted.

\"Xuefeng!\"

Right when he appeared in a familiar Palace bedroom, Ling threw herself at him, hanging from his neck. There has been a lot going on recently which made him neglect this beauty in his arms. Thankfully, she was the most understanding from all of his wives.

Xuefeng smiled at that reaction, already expecting it and gave her a well-deserved hug. She wore a thin white nightgown, wearing nothing beneath it as if she wanted to seduce him and she succeeded.

\"Give me a kiss,\" he whispered into her ear as he slid down from her back and squeezed on her bottom, feeling the warmth of her skin on his palm.

\"Mhmm…\" Ling moaned and listened to his ordered right away, sucking on his lips as if her life depended on it. They didn't have much time so they made the best use of this little moment.

\"Thank you… I knew you will come,\" Ling muttered softly, hugging him after her little reward.

Only with Ling pressed to her chest did Xuefeng see Ming appear in the room, sitting on the edge of the bed. She stared at them with a cheeky smile, her body arched as she leaned back with her arms as support.

\"It should be me thanking. You help me a lot,\" Xuefeng replied honestly, brushing his fingers through Ling's long white hair.

He looked at Ming and added, \"You two Ming. Your arts are amazing.\"

Ming was wearing her usual red, asymmetrical skirt that would expose her bottom if she didn't sit with one leg on another. The sides of her slim belly with little to none unnecessary fat was exposed as a small strip of red cloth ran through the middle, connecting her skirt and bra. Compared to the first time he met her, he realized her breasts increased in size.

He didn't know what she planned but Ming bit her lips playfully and asked, \"Shouldn't I also get a reward then?\"

She swung with her blonde ponytail and switched her legs to gain his attention.

\"Mom~ Why are you teasing him?\" Ling complained but Ming put her finger up to her lips and shushed her gently, \"Shhh, you had your kiss already.\"

Ling couldn't refute that and moved

to the side, letting Xuefeng free but he didn't release her, pulling her back into his chest.

\"What do you want as a reward?\" Xuefeng asked curiously. \"Don't tell me you also want a kiss?\"

Ming finally stood up and walked up to them while replying, \"Won't that make it fair? I'm also your Fate Spirit now.\"

She stopped in front of them and waited for him to act, looking as if she dared him to try it.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as simple for Xuefeng. For him, every woman was the same, no matter the Race. He didn't differentiate, treating both Fate Spirits and humans equally. If he kissed her, it would mean she was already his woman.

\"You know that there is no other man than you in this world that I can be with, right?\" Ming questioned as she grasped onto his shirt. \"I'm already permanently—\"

She didn't get to finish as Xuefeng cut her off, already knowing where she was going with her talk. He held onto her head and leaned over, granting her wish.

To his surprise, Ming's lips trembled and her fists tightened as if she wasn't expecting it. Xuefeng didn't want to force anything so he pulled away after just one soft bite and questioned, \"Didn't you want a kiss? What is this reaction?\"

Ming released him and sighed, taking a deep breath to calm down, \"I was ready but It seems my little sister wasn't. Even if I'm in control now, she is still within me. She couldn't help but panic when you kissed me...\"

'Sir, please claim your reward.'

He was about to reply when the Trial Spirit hurried him from the outside, forcing him to excuse himself.

\"Well, I need to go now. The Trial Spirit is asking for me.\"

He patted both on the head and disappeared, leaving the two alone.

Ling didn't waste time and turned to her mom. \"Didn't you say that Little Ming is asleep? How come she is awake now?\" Ling exposed her with a smile and teased, \"To think the Mother of Spirits would be flustered by a simple kiss.\"

\"Hey, it's not my fault, okay?\" Ming fought back, not letting Ling bully her. \"I just didn't kiss for many years so I forgot what to do.\"

\"Hehehe,\" Ling giggled as she covered her mouth with her hand before disappearing, knowing Ming was about to grab her.

\"Don't think you can escape! Come to mom! I want to hug my daughter!\"

———

Xuefeng wasn't aware of the mother and daughter fight as he was leaving the trial, preparing to leave for the next one. He didn't win with Nuwa again this time but he still had seven other chances so he wasn't that worried.

As they moved to the next, Spirit Inheritance Trial, he asked Ming how she was but she assured him she was fine. He didn't want to make it awkward between them so he didn't question further, seeing she didn't mind. They could always work on their relations over the course of his life so they had a lot of time.

Spirit Inheritance Trial.

It was the most standard one from them all. He had to directly fight ten battles with Spirit Beasts which increased in power every round. The strongest, rank 7 Double-fanged Tiger, had the power comparable to a Saint but one couldn't underestimate its strength. Many sages seemed to fail in this last step.

Thankfully, it didn't apply to Xuefeng.

'I'm sending you five Sword Moves of the famous Sword God. It is not easy to grasp with each move harder than the next but it is worth to master it. You should be able to perform the first move with just our help.'

Air Inheritance Trial.

They had to fly through an obstacle course. Xuefeng thought he would be fastest this time, Nuwa's Wings being much weaker than his own but he still ended up losing to her, being short of one point.

\"You think you can beat me? Someone who has been flying since she was born?\" Nuwa giggled when he asked her how she did it and he had to give up, giving her this win.

\"Don't worry, now I will beat you,\" Xuefeng replied confidently and asked Xiao Wen on the way, \"Where are we heading now?\"

It was already dinner time but Xuefeng was determined to finish all Trials in one single day.

\"Both Ether and Earth Inheritance Trials are nearby. We can go to either one of them,\" She replied simply, having no preference.

\"Let's go to Ether one then. Both of us are still yet to master Ether Element so it would be fair,\" Xuefeng decided, giving Nuwa a glance.

She seemed to be chilling and teased, \"I don't recall mastering Metal Element yet I still won. Huehue.\"

\"We will see,\" Xuefeng smirked.

It was their sixth trial already so Xuefeng had to go all out.

Just as he thought what would be the theme of the next trial, Wuying flew up to him and called out, \"Xuefeng, I think there will be a problem.\"

Huh?

Xuefeng didn't understand her at first but then looked around and saw what she meant. Royal Family's experts were flying above their next target.

\"I guess someone decided to challenge us.\"

Chapter 478 Baby Carro

Xuefeng didn't hesitate and ordered everyone to follow him, having nothing to worry about. There were thousands Royal Family experts gathered in front of the Ether Inheritance Trial but he still had the power advantage if any fights started.

All three hundred of Nuwa's Elvish Guards were already comparable to a Spirit Monarch expert with all having at least five elements mastered. Their enemy had only a pitiful amount of them as not many experts were stupid enough to work for someone else with such high cultivation.

If they didn't aim to ascend, they could still start their own sect and be their own boss. On the other hand, being the Queen's guard was the greatest honor for the Forest Elves.

Huh?

Xuefeng glanced at the leaderboard next to the temple and grinned, realizing that Royal Family didn't stay idle.

\"The Central Region is doomed with such a useless Ruler. He never learns. Why does he keep on trying to pick a fight with us?\" Xiao Wen commented, shaking her head.

The whole leaderboard was now filled with Royal Family's scores.

\"I guess they started claiming the leaderboards from the other side of the capital. This is why we only met them now,\" Xuefeng thought out loud. \"The last three are probably already took over by them.\"

\"It doesn't matter. Their scores are so pitifully low,\" Nuwa mocked. \"I can beat those with my eyes closed.\"

\"There is no need to fight them directly. Let's just show them who is the boss by crushing all of their scores,\" Xuefeng proposed, following his original plan.

Just as he was about to order a descend, Wuying halted him, pointing out, \"Wait, let's split this time. If the Royal Family decides to attack us, we will be at a disadvantage. Half of the group can go inside first and then exchange with the rest.\"

\"Alright, let's do this.\"

———

Nuwa, Tianshi, Yiren, and Yi accompanied by one hundred and fifty guards were the first group to enter while Xuefeng waited outside with the rest. Although their numbers decreased, Royal Family experts didn't seem to think of attacking. They distanced themselves to the other side of the plaza and hovered in the sky, waiting for everyone to finish their runs.

The plaza was too small to fit them all so they each shared the space in the sky, leaving a small buffer between them.

It was basically a battle of stares.

\"The guy at the front has the nickname Big Johny,\" Xiao Wen described as they watched their enemy leader. \"He is at the peak of the Mortal Cultivation yet he doesn't ascend because he is the Ruler's most faithful dog.\"

The leading man was a tall buffed giant of a man, living up to his nickname.

There was a smirk on his face as she looked at his men with a proud expression. He couldn't be blamed as he currently stood in the first place of the Ether Inheritance Trial. It was definitely something to be proud of.

Xuefeng wasn't bothered by that, being confident that he could beat his score with Nuwa.

\"Do you know how did he give himself such a nickname? It's not because he is tall but because he claims the spear in his pants is so big no woman can resist him in bed,\" Xiao Wen gossiped happily, having nothing else to do. \"The best part is, that's a huge lie. There is a rumor that it is as small as a pinky of a woman's hand.\"

\"Haha, really?\" Xuefeng laughed, recalling a joke from Earth.

If someone calls themselves big, they use it to hide their complex of having small manhood.

\"Yeah. An old acquaintance of mine had the unpleasantness of seeing it. She confirmed the rumor but didn't dare to spread it. He seems to be shutting down everyone who spread rumors about him, using Royal Family's influence. I couldn't be bothered to expose it so eventually, the rumor died down,\" Xiao Wen explained as she hugged onto his chest. \"Our Xuefeng is equipped with the real weapon, hehe.\"

\"It is only reserved for my wives. Others don't need to know about it,\" Xuefeng embraced Xiao Wen and suddenly thought of an idea. \"We will wait here for a little while. Why don't we all have some fun?\"

\"Huh…?\" Xiao Wen, Princess Shan, and Wuying looked at him with surprise. \"You want to do it now? Here?\"

All three misunderstood him and looked around as if they were searching for a place to stay, seriously contemplating it. \"There are some inns nearby.\" Xiao Wen suggested, biting on her lip.

Princess Shan came close and hugged him from behind, placing her head on his shoulder. \"I don't mind. I have never enough of you…\"

\"What if we can't finish before others come back? What about the guards?\" Wuying asked, thinking more practically.

\"Girls… Shouldn't it be me who is dirty? How come the first thing that comes to your mind is sex?\" Xuefeng asked speechless, wishing to smack their butts as punishment but he stopped himself.

The three didn't reply immediately and instead cuddled into his body, having little to their defense. \"It's your fault for making us feel so good every night… We became addicted now,\" Xiao Wen shifted the blame to him.

He couldn't really fight with that argument so he patted their heads and explained, \"I wanted to provoke Royal Family for fun. We are stuck here anyway.\"

Knowing their time was limited, he quickly gave out and ordered, \"Count to ten and then close your eyes. Don't open them for another ten seconds.\"

He didn't explain why and simply vanished, leaving his wives confused. They glanced at Big Johny in the distance, not willing to lose on fun but they still listened to Xuefeng, beginning their count.

At the same time, Xuefeng sneaked on the enemy forces which clearly saw Xuefeng's disappearance.

\"Where did he go? Everyone, stay alert,\" Big Johny warned seriously, not underestimating Xuefeng.

Slap!

Big Johny's head got smacked from behind, sending his body forward. One could see by his expression changing that he got pissed off immediately.

\"WHO HIT ME?!\" he cried out angrily, his Spirit Awareness exploding outward.

He didn't notice any enemy near him so he shifted his gaze at the nearest subordinate of his that was distancing himself.

\"Bastard was it you?! Are you tired of living?!\" He cursed, pulling out his weapon.

\"No! It's not me! I can't move my body!\" The subordinate shouted back, horrified, making everyone realize that something was wrong.

Too bad, it was too late.

\"It was me.\"

Rip!

Just as a sudden voice resounded next to Big Johny's ear, his pants ripped and slid down, exposing his crotch to all of his subordinates. Everyone who looked in his direction froze.

Xuefeng appeared a few meters to the side and laughed, \"Haha! It's so tiny! Like a little worm!\"

Some of his subordinates almost choked, trying to hold back their laughter and managed to stop themselves, seeing how red Big Johny was.

He quickly grabbed his pants, putting them back on and cursed in Xuefeng direction, no longer bothered by Xuefeng's status, \"Bastard! I will kill you!\"

Xuefeng only grinned and suggested, \"How about you change your name? Big Johny doesn't suit you. How about Small Dicky? Or Baby Carrot John?\"

\"Pffft!\"

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