Dual Trials

And the Lion King's plan to turn humans with pure souls into specimens and carry them into the future.

He could not accept such a way of living.

"It seems you know quite a lot, but it is still not enough!"

Li Ye froze at those words. "Is there still something I lack?"

"Death is fate. Though you have died and been reborn, your understanding of death remains insufficient;

"If you wish to save humanity's future, then first understand the death and causality represented by the Incineration of Humanity!"

I know about the Incineration of Humanity— Li Ye wanted to say that, but when he saw King Hassan's unsmiling skull mask, he abandoned the thought and followed King Hassan's lead. "King Hassan, how can I truly understand death?"

Compared to the Incineration of Humanity, Li Ye was even more at a loss when it came to the abstract concept of death.

Although the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception allowed him to see the Death of All Things, he only knew that it worked, not why.

"A temple in the desert, the king who symbolizes the realm of the dead, and another world at the heart of the desert—a domain that brat, the Sun King, could never reach. A treasury of knowledge buried beneath the yellow sands, known as—the Atlas Institute!"

"After you have undergone the two trials, if you gain some understanding of death, return here."

As soon as he finished speaking, King Hassan's burly figure quietly vanished, leaving Li Ye standing alone before the temple.

The wyvern streaked through the sky. On its back, Li Ye folded his arms and kept replaying King Hassan's words in his mind.

Two trials? Is this supposed to be my entrance examination?

Li Ye knew all too well what the desert was like now. With the Sun King entrenched there, along with Nitocris, it would be difficult for him, a knight of the Lion King, to emerge unscathed.

Unlike the Hassans, the Sun King's side could not be negotiated with by taking Refugees hostage. Their factions had been opposed from the very beginning.

"This is troublesome..." Li Ye kept biting his nails, his expression grave.

If he could only receive King Hassan's instruction after undergoing the two trials and deepening his understanding of death, then this was no ordinary challenge.

And where exactly was the Atlas Institute?

All he had said was the center of the desert. How was Li Ye supposed to know where the center of the desert was?

As he wrestled with this problem, Li Ye caught sight of a village hidden among the mountains below from the corner of his eye, and an idea came to him.

"Let's go down and take a look."

The wyvern beneath him immediately changed direction and dove straight down!

As the wyvern drew closer, the village below instantly erupted into chaos.

A tall black silhouette appeared on high ground, preparing to attack the wyvern.

"Lord of the Cursed Arm, it's me." Li Ye's voice carried over from afar, making Cursed Arm Hassan's expression tighten.

The wyvern landed steadily nearby, and Li Ye appeared before him, standing atop its head.

"So it was Lord Li Ye. To think you actually tamed a wyvern as a mount—truly remarkable." Seeing that Li Ye had followed him all the way to the village, Cursed Arm Hassan spoke in a heavier tone.

They had been apart for only a few hours, yet the pressure Li Ye gave him had risen another level!

Noticing the hostility in Cursed Arm Hassan's tone, Li Ye smiled faintly.

Looking at Cursed Arm Hassan's expression, Li Ye actually felt a sense of accomplishment, like returning home in glory.

"I met the First Hassan."

Li Ye's casual words instantly changed Cursed Arm Hassan's expression. He hurriedly cried out, "You truly met that great one?"

"Thank you for your help, Lord of the Cursed Arm. I met the First Hassan without any trouble. Of course, I can't tell you the details."

Li Ye leaped down from the wyvern's head, and the move put Cursed Arm Hassan on high alert.

"So this is your village..." Li Ye looked around. Stone huts had been built along the mountainside, and quite a few people were watching him and the wyvern in fear.

Around a few dozen people. Food supplies seem fairly sufficient?

Seeing that they were in good spirits, with even several small children among them, Li Ye inferred the village's living conditions.

"What do you mean by this, Lord Li Ye?"

Cursed Arm Hassan, having recovered his senses, followed beside Li Ye. His tall frame made Li Ye appear somewhat thin.

"You need not worry, Lord of the Cursed Arm. I won't do anything to your village. After all, we have a deal, don't we?"

Li Ye glanced at Cursed Arm Hassan. After his trip to the Temple of Azrael, Li Ye had become more proficient in controlling his own strength. Combined with his successful use of Mana Burst, he felt even more confident.

Besides, only Cursed Arm Hassan was present now. In a one-on-one fight, Li Ye was even more certain of himself.

Only after receiving Li Ye's promise did Cursed Arm Hassan relax. "Then what brings you to the village?"

"I was passing by and thought I'd come take a look in case I ran into you."

Li Ye had already fully assessed the village. There were no magical energy fluctuations nearby; it was merely a village concealed among the mountains by the advantage of its terrain.

There was no threat at all.

Among the Mountain Folk, the only people who posed a threat to Li Ye were a few Hassans. Once he passed the two trials, even that threat would cease to exist.

After some casual conversation, Li Ye, who had merely been passing through, left. Yet his visit made Cursed Arm Hassan begin considering relocating the village.

Unlike the troubled Cursed Arm Hassan, Li Ye continued on his way home, enjoying the Green Wyvern's high-speed flight!

Unlike when he had ridden a horse on the way here, riding the wyvern allowed Li Ye to ignore the treacherous mountains. Before long, he had left the range behind, and the wasteland lay close at hand.

Li Ye could not help sighing at the desolation of that wasteland.

From the sky, he could see even more clearly just how much devastation this land had suffered.

It had already lost the basic conditions needed for life to survive. Nothing remained here but ashes.

"!"

A violent surge of magical energy erupted below, accompanied by a crimson beam shooting into the sky, straight at Li Ye and the wyvern beneath him!

Watching the rushing torrent of light, Li Ye's expression changed. "A Noble Phantasm?!"

Without time to think, Li Ye grabbed the wyvern's wing with one hand and leaped down!

He faced the torrent head-on!

His jewel-like Mystic Eyes took in the death of the torrent!

I can see the Lines of Death!

Li Ye's expression tensed. The attack had come too suddenly; he had no time to evade it and could only forcefully kill the torrent!

But before Li Ye could touch the Lines of Death, an unbearable, terrifying heat reached him first!

The air twisted, and everything in sight was swallowed by scarlet. Only a single Line of Death lay deep within the torrent!

Li Ye gritted his teeth as magical energy poured forth without stop, trying to keep the horrifying heat outside his body.

In an instant, he had consumed a massive amount of magical energy!

Clang—

With a clear ring, the Line of Death was severed. The torrent dispersed inch by inch, as though it had never existed!

"Come!"

His entire body flushed red, Li Ye forcibly twisted around, reached out, and grabbed the Green Wyvern's claw, hanging in midair.

Li Ye lowered his head and swiftly swept his gaze across the wasteland below.

He instantly locked onto a red-and-white figure looking up at him!

When Li Ye met that figure's gaze, he released his grip and let his body fall freely.

Bang!

With a heavy thud, Li Ye landed steadily on the ground. With his current physical abilities, that height was still within his limits.

"Who did I think it was? So it was Lord Mordred—what a distinctive way of saying hello!"

His upper body still flushed red, Li Ye panted as his emotionless gaze fixed on the culprit in the distance—Mordred of the Knights of the Round Table. Clearly, that Mana Burst which had nearly taken his life just now had been Mordred's doing.

"You didn't die? If you died to an attack like that, what kind of knight of Father King would you be?" The red-and-white, horned knight swaggered up to Li Ye.