Cerberus

In front of the bar.

The Clown lightly put the glass of liquor down, put his hand on his chest, and lightly pulled.

A Card was pulled out from his body. His attire and makeup pealed and absorbed into it, returning to Liu Ping's original appearance.

He looked down at the Card in his hand.

— — this was a colorful card depicting a giggling clown.

"… How interesting" Liu Ping muttered.

Suddenly, a clapping sound came from a corner of the bar.

Liu Ping turned around to see a black figure sitting on a booth in the corner of the bar.

It was a man wearing a dark grey cloak.

His body and face were completely hidden under the large cloak, making it impossible to see them clearly.

"Thank you, Clown"

"Over far too long, I have seen many terrifying battles, but a battle as enjoyable as yours has been sporadic to witness" he said in a hoarse and low voice, and there was no lack of praise in his tone.

"Who are you?" Liu Ping asked.

"You can call me Cerberus, I've been waiting here for a while" the figure under the cloak replied.

When Liu Ping was about to say something, two lines of text appeared above the figure's head:

[Spirit of the Boundless Prison Pillars]

[Guide of Card users, it will help you complete the final step]

— — -such creature.

Liu Ping smiled and replied: "it has been my honor to have brought you some joy"

"Very good, very good, you're not the kind of idiot who only knows how to use violence without knowing anything about the beauty of violence" Saying so, Cerberus slowly walked in front of Liu Ping.

He tapped the bar counter with his hand.

All of a sudden, the cards were neatly arranged on the counter.

They all maintained their inverted appearance, making it impossible for anyone to tell what they were.

The Clown Card in Liu Ping's hand also flew out and landed on the bar counter, forming a neat row with the other Cards.

"Let us first take a look at the Cards you've used in battle — —" Cerberus made a gesture.

The Cards flipped over one by one and appeared in front of Liu Ping.

Card: White Slate.

Card: Hen.

Card: Three of Hearts.

Card: Clown.

Card: Flowers.

Card: Walking Stick.

And … three completely blank cards.

"The number of cards a card user can draw is determined by the strength of their soul. You're on the path of cultivation, and you're currently in the Golden Core realm, so the number of cards you can draw is —"

"Six."

"— After this number, you can only draw blank cards." Cerberus pointed at the three blank cards.

Cerberus picked out the [Card: Walking Stick] and placed it together with the other three blank cards.

There were a total of four cards.

They were the four cards that the Clown had drawn in the bar.

"These are the ones" Cerberus said in an appreciative tone.

"Mr. Clown, when you walked to the bar and talked to the bartender, you only activated 'Joy' once. This means that you've realized your limit."

Cerberus continued, "The truly dangerous part of this trial is that you only had one card left to use. After that, you would have only drawn blank cards."

"That's why you didn't immediately attack the bartender. Instead, you placed each card on the table — — - you began to talk to the bartender, trying to entice him to give up on the battle. Furthermore, as you continued to draw cards and place them on the table, the pressure he faced would only increase."

Cerberus smiled and continued, "In fact, of the four cards you drew, three of them were blank, only one of them was usable."

"After you entered the bar, you didn't activate 'Joy' again. Because of that, there were actually three cards that couldn't be turned into the Clown's weapons right away. But the bartender didn't notice that at all. He was completely focused on what you said — — - he originally had a high chance of winning against you, but you managed to convince him and even convinced him to join you in the end. "Cerberus pointed at the card with the picture of the Walking stick.

"The final card won this gamble."

"— — -What an exciting battle." Cerberus clapped.

Liu Ping replied, "I'm honored to receive your praise, but I'm guessing that you didn't come here just to tell me this."

"Of course." Cerberus chanted a cryptic incantation.

On the counter, all the cards were placed back together, with their backs facing up.

Immediately after, an epiphany appeared in Liu Ping's heart, allowing him to immediately know what he should do.

— — -completing the trial was the same as passing the rules set by the Gods.

He could choose one card from the ones he used in the battle just now and use it for himself.

Was there even a need to choose?

Liu Ping reached his hand out and picked up the Clown's card.

Hoh — - in an instant, all the other cards disappeared.

Only the Clown's card remained.

Lines of burning text appeared in the void of space:

[You've passed the trial and officially obtained the qualifications to become a card user]

[The next step is the final step]

[You must receive the guidance of Cerberus and have it bestow upon you a card specifically used to enslave all living beings and all things]

A strange fluctuation appeared around him.

The entire world was shrouded in grey, as if it had lost all color.

[Go to the wilderness, I'll wait for you there] After saying that, the Cerberus suddenly disappeared.

Liu Ping sensed something and put the Clown Card away, stood up and left the bar.

He stood on the street outside and looked at the wilderness outside the town.

"Is it there?" in the middle of the vast wilderness, a majestic black Spire appeared.

The entire world was left with a grayish-white color. Only the Spire emitted a heart-palpitating crimson light.

Liu Ping lightly tapped the ground and flew towards the spire.

A few moments later.

He arrived at the bottom of the black spire.

He saw that the entire spire was made of an unknown metal. It was tightly sealed, and there were no windows or doors.

Outside the steeple, there were countless black shackles.

None of the shackles were empty.

Various entities were bound by these shackles, their bodies tightly pressed against the outer wall of the spire, unable to move.

Liu Ping walked up to one of the shackled humans and carefully observed him.

The person originally had no signs of life, as if he was already dead.

As Liu Ping approached, the person abruptly looked up and opened his eyes.

"A living person … no, a card user!"

He desperately twisted his scrawny body and begged: "Save me! Let me be your slave, I'm willing to do anything for you, I beg you! "

Liu Ping looked at him and asked:" Why are you trapped here? "

The person hurriedly replied: "Hurry, there's no time, I'm a powerful entity from the past, I beg you, let me become your card! I can kill anyone who dares to offend you! "

Liu Ping said:" If you're so powerful, who tied you up here? "

That person opened his mouth to speak.

All of a sudden — — - the countless entities on the spire began to howl in pain, their cries shaking the entire area.

The man's words were drowned out by the endless sound waves. His face showed an urgent and pleading expression as if he wanted to continue speaking, but he suddenly let out an uncontrollable howl of pain.

The entire spire began to turn from dark to crimson.

A scorching aura emanated from its surface, causing the surrounding ground to gradually turn into molten lava.

Liu Ping could not help but take a few steps back.

The entities trapped on top of the spire began to howl in pain one after another.

The skin and flesh on their bodies were gradually burned away, leaving only their skeletons, but they still couldn't stop their mouths from opening wide, as if they were still venting silently.

After a while.

The spire gradually returned to its dark color.

Those wailing existences were all turned into charred skeletons, shackled to the outer wall of the spire, unable to make any noise for now.

Dead silence.

Suddenly, a voice resounded: "That's not normal flames and molten lava, but the legendary Hellfire, it can bring unimaginable pain and torment to both the soul and the body".Cerberus was standing not too far away, silently observing Liu Ping.

Liu Ping asked: "Those entities that were shackled to the spire, what happened to them?"

"You don't need to pity them, because they were once the culprits who destroyed the world, that's why they were trapped here, enduring eternal torment" Cerberus replied.

"Destroyed the world? I've always thought … that it was the Divinities who brought our world into Eternal Night "Liu Ping admitted.

"The Divinities that you know of, they don't bear the responsibility of destroying the world"

"Then it should be the entities on top of the spire?"

"Indeed, only these ignorant and arrogant living beings are sinners — — - they destroyed the world, killed their own kind, slaughtered living beings — — - their unscrupulous actions even leave the Divinities speechless" Cerberus replied.

"Then what about the Divinities? Didn't the Divinities do anything? "Liu Ping asked.

"The Divinities only guide the world and living beings into Eternal Night after they die — — - as a card user, you should have already seen the world falling from the sky, as well as the dark play of the Divinities" Cerberus replied.

Liu Ping sighed and spoke: "That's why when we're alive, the Divinities only watch from the sidelines, only when we're dead do they come to reap everything from us"

The Tower Spirit's low voice resounded in the dark night: "Everything has a cause and an effect. Mortals, when you're alive is an eternal night, and this Eternal Night is the feast of the Divinities"