The Trial Begins
Ruolan Star Calendar Chongming City time, it is 9:00 AM on March 1st.
The towering bell tower outside the Dragon Palace rang nine times, the distant sound spreading with the sea to every corner of the city.
At this moment, there are still 3 hours before the trial officially begins.
The carriages that departed from the Dragon King Hall arrived at the residences of the three princes on time.
The three princes each rode in a carved wooden carriage adorned with a single dragon.
Unlike the princes' own carriages, these uniformly dispatched carriages all had identical reliefs on them.
The lifelike dragon patterns reveal the true identity of the master of the Dragon Palace.
The oppressive aura emanating from these dragon patterns directly suppressed the foolish attempts of some onlookers to interfere with the trial.
More glass palace lanterns than ever before appeared, surrounding the three princes and the Dragon King Hall.
Furthermore, the recorded images were projected onto a large projection emitted by some of the streetlights outside.
So that the public could see the three princes' every move.
However, upon careful comparison of the two sides, a slight delay of about half a minute can still be observed in the projected image.
Moreover, this delay is slowly increasing, making viewers feel like they are watching a live broadcast.
Shisui lurked in the darkness outside Chongming City.
He remotely sensed and watched the live broadcast transmitted from Yuan Yuan's soul through [Survival in Desperate Situations].
Holding the [Fire Thief] in one hand, they maintained the energy connection between the two.
He had to ensure that if the truth came out, he could escape quickly and take with him Survival in Desperate Situations.
However, [Survival in Desperate Situations] cannot detach itself from the host's soul once it has penetrated it before the host's soul dies.
This is his advantage in being able to remain undetected within the host.
At the same time, it also makes him vulnerable to being affected by the host's soul dying too quickly.
Therefore, the energy connection must not be broken.
Shisui must use the [Fire Thief] to remove the [Survival in Desperate Situations] when the Second Prince's life is in danger.
Then open the Space Wormhole and retrieve it.
As for whether it can be transferred into the brains of other princes, we'll have to see if it can control the second prince and make the others inhale enough Feather Powder.
Time passed slowly, and the three hours of preparation time flew by.
"Clang, clang, clang,... clang!"
The Chongming Clock Tower struck twelve times, and the glazed palace lanterns Dragon King Hall began to broadcast images.
The trial has officially begun!
"Your Highness, please."
The moment the twelve bells tolled, Yuanli inside the carriage, opened his eyes.
The servant before him spoke respectfully, bowing and extending his hand towards the main hall, gesturing for him to enter.
Yuanli paid no attention to the servants, got out of the carriage, and walked straight towards the main hall.
Only after Yuanli did the servant finish bowing.
"Knock knock knock."
As he stood up to tidy his appearance, he secretly tapped something on the hem of his clothes three times with his knuckles.
Only then did he leisurely direct the carriages to leave the vicinity of the main hall.
In the distance, Yan Fei, located in the Reed Pavilion, closed his eyes and felt the threads spread out by his talent [Silken Threads ].
Suddenly, three slight vibrations were heard.
He quickly opened his eyes and immediately informed Lu Qianyu, "Send a message to the front lines: Yuanli has entered the main hall."
At the same moment, while all the Sea Race were focused on the trial.
As the main battlefield for the clashes between land and sea forces, a fierce armed conflict suddenly broke out near Mao City.
"Bang! Bang!!"
The Human Race's Psychic Energy Cannons fired in succession at the Sea Race's garrison base.
The shockwave from the explosion caused the military camp to collapse.
Many Sea Race soldiers were buried alive inside.
The instant the Human Race artillery fire landed, an Undying Legion of the Demon Race charged into the battlefield.
They were like a sharp, long knife, piercing directly into the encroaching coastline.
Where the blade passed, blood splattered everywhere.
"Report! Urgent report from the front lines! An undead Demon Race Undying Legion has appeared in Mao City, with an estimated number of over three thousand. Requesting reinforcements!"
Guan Xiangming had already arrived at the front line and was now the commander-in-chief, had a sharp gaze and immediately directed the various units of the legion to stabilize the battle situation.
"Commander Guan, should we inform Yuanli?"
A liaison officer asked in a low voice.
Guan Xiangming did not answer immediately, but gave his instructions first before replying.
"At this time, His Highness the Third Prince should have already gone inside."
As if he had thought of something else, he gave instructions to the liaison officer.
"Let's just send a message, but we don't need to wait for a reply."
"Yes."
Guan Xiangming relayed this information because he anticipated that Yuanli might inquire about the battles that had taken place during this period.
He was one of the guys who came into contact with the Third Prince Faction later on, so naturally he wanted to seize the opportunity to show his loyalty.
Pulling back from his wandering thoughts, he brought his mind back to the battle.
He had a premonition that this battle was launched to draw the Sea Race's attention.
Therefore, it will never stop easily.
Their Sea Race need to adjust their condition immediately and prepare for a protracted war.
As Guan Xiangming had guessed, this was indeed a war launched to divert the Sea Race' attention.
On the other side, Chongming City.
A large submarine force had silently arrived ten kilometers outside the Profound Grand Canyon.
Thanks to the efforts of spies and undercover agents from various races, the attention given to the trial has skyrocketed.
Currently, the Sea Race's high command is busy with trial-related work, and the upcoming major battle on the front lines will completely keep them occupied.
If this submarine waits for the right moment and emptys its large number of shells in one fell swoop, it will have a chance to bomb the Chongming City.
It could even completely detonate the underwater active volcanoes beneath Chongming City.
Inside the Dragon King Hall at this moment.
The moment the three princes entered, a wave of scorching heat hit them.
Due to the scorching temperature, fine dragon scales instinctively appeared on the skin of the three people, protecting them.
Immediately afterward, before they could even catch their breath, a terrifying pressure descended from above.
"Bang!"
The feeling of death exploded in my mind.
The eldest prince Yuan Rong, lost his balance and knelt down on one knee on the only remaining open space outside the lava pool.
The Second Prince Yuan Yuan and the Third Yuanli managed to stand firmly, though their trembling legs indicated that they were not in a good position.
The Dragon King observed their behavior without showing any emotion.
The three princes had no energy left to pay attention to the Dragon King's attitude.
As they braced themselves against the oppressive force, a voice clearly reached their ears.
Only then did they notice that Yuan Shun was standing beside the lava pool, holding the imperial edict that was about to be read aloud.
"Now, the conditions for passing this trial and the precautions will be announced."
"Those participating in this round of trials only need to swim through the shallow area of the lava pool, reach the outer edge of the deeper layer, and retrieve a one-pound Volcanic Crystal Rock."
"This trial allows for no restrictions on any means; there are no taboos."
"That concludes the trial!"
The moment the imperial edict was read, Yuan Shun vanished, the oppressive aura within the Dragon King Hall dissipated, and the three princes instantly regained their mobility.
"Swish!" "Swish!" "Swish!"
With a cracking sound, the three figures swayed and plunged into the scalding lava one after another.