The Array Lord's Inheritance (3)

A few days after the palace emerged, several forces assembled before the entrance. It had been revealed that this was a King-level inheritance, but because it belonged to an ancient Array Lord, less forces were here than those capable of coming in time. Not having any prodigies in the path of arrays wasn't a good enough reason to forfeit this opportunity, but if they didn't have the connections to secure an array grandmaster who could represent them, then there was no point in attending. Additionally, the conditions to enter the palace made it much harder for forces to participate without some foundation in arrays.

It was confirmed through testing that only those with cultivations below the Master Realm could enter. Since most established array grandmasters had high cultivations, only geniuses and mediocre array masters could participate, and it was obvious which group was more likely to succeed. Even so, many old array masters of tier 4 and tier 3 were here for what could be their last chance at advancing. They had to endure many looks of contempt, but if they didn't take this chance then these looks would never change.

As the sun began to awaken, the participants were eager to enter the palace, but they waited on a man who wore a gold-embellished white robe and shawl. He wasn't radiating any pressure, and yet, no one treated him lightly. This wasn't because of any legends that his strength had inspired, but because of the status he had.

This man was an emissary of the royal family, which gave him access to the same level of authority as a major-level force's leader. The royal family rarely took action, but the one true King of the Alterna Kingdom was a person that no organization could afford to offend. There might have been trouble if the royal family attempted to monopolize the inheritance, but the emissary only asked to let someone participate so there was no reason for arguments.

"Everyone, I wish that fate smiles upon your path..."

After a short speech from the emissary, the array masters walked through the door, some never to be seen again. After passing through the door, they found themselves isolated in an empty, dim room. The moment they were aware that they were inside this room, the information regarding their first test was loaded into their brains.

Test 1: Mental Strength.

At the opposite end of the room was a standard door. In order to pass this test, the potential successor only had to make it to the door. Unfortunately, such a simple objective proved ridiculously difficult to them.

"Ugh!"

"I, can't..."

"No!"

There were no traps or enemies to be wary of, but there was one gimmick to the room. The moment they took a step forward, they would be hit by a slap of lethargy, and this effect stacked with every step. No artifact or spell had any use, and even pain was lessened. Some tried to dash to the door, but that only hastened the stacked effect of the lethargy so if one was careless, they could became too lazy to keep up their life functions.

Ordinary array masters couldn't pass the tenth step, but there were some prodigies who fell in that group as well. No matter how talented one was, if they hadn't faced and learnt how to overcome hardships, then they wouldn't be able to pass. While these array masters proved their determination, Shui was on the fourth test. The first test was easy to him since mental strength was connected to soul strength, and that was one of his most confident qualities. Based on what he had experienced so far, the tests after the first test were:

Test 2: Talent.

Test 3: Critical Thinking.

Test 4: Intuition.

The second test was a series of lock and key games, but though the difficulty was comparable to what was used in the evaluation for the Array Master Minor Ranking, one only needed a general understanding of arrays to complete the games. He knew that the game had survived since the previous era, but it was a bit surprising to encounter it here.

The third test required him to achieve a designated effect by using four arrays that were provided. This test forced one to think about the effects of the individual array and how these effects would influence each other. Shui didn't have much difficulty in this test either.

The fourth test that he was currently challenging, involved escaping a maze. The paths were made of polished rocks with only the bare minimum amount of illumination. For a cultivator of his level, a normal maze wouldn't be much different from a stroll down a city street, even with the traps that were scattered about, but he had lost that advantage. Through a combination of arrays, his cultivation was fully suppressed to the Mortal Realm. This meant he was also unable to use his spiritual sense and would have to gamble his way to the end.

Fortunately, Shui wasn't normal, so the suppression had little effect on his movement. He moved through the paths of the maze at a steady pace, sometimes planting his feet on the wall to avoid traps. When he reached an intersection, he unhesitatingly chose to go right. Although this could be replicated by anyone who believed in their instincts, Shui had something else to support his decisions.

Studying the Perception Chapter had sharpened his six senses to new levels. The quiet clinks of trap mechanisms, the direction of the wind, and the echoes caused by his footsteps informed him of the structure of the maze. Although he couldn't compare to the Angel of Shadows, his senses could allow him to become a famous thief even without his cultivation.

He was worried about how Emily would handle this test, but he placed that worry at the back of his mind. Even he couldn't afford to slack off inside the maze.

As he took a sharp turn and was heading down a long passage, Shui slowed down. His five senses couldn't detect anything, but he was sure danger was here. He thought about going back, but he didn't doubt that this was the correct path. And if it was the correct path, then this was an obstacle that he had to overcome.

He slowly moved forward, wary of even the slightest vibration. However, even when something did happen, he had to rely on his instinct to react. The tingle in his right shoulder told him to roll to the left so he did so quickly. Less than a second later, something jumped out of the floor beneath where he had been, and then a second ceiling popped out from the wall on his right. If his reaction had been any slower then he would have had no choice but to hope that his body was tougher than these walls. The ceiling stopped him from standing up, but luckily he could still crawl to the end of the path.

Shui went through a few more rough spots before reaching a door that was clearly the exit. However, instead of opening the door, he sat in place and recalled his experience in the maze. He rarely had moments when he was forced to push his senses like this, so he wanted to benefit from it as much as possible.