The Final Trial: The Truly Strong (Part Two)

A terrifying aura erupted from the Sword Peak. Its sheer power Sun and Moon Lose Their Luster; its silent presence made one feel as if they were carrying Mount Tai on their backs—how could they possibly stand up?

As Zhuge Xiang also succumbed to the overwhelming pressure and knelt down, the more than one hundred Cultivator participating in the Third Trial had all knelt down in just a dozen breaths, let alone the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Waaaaah...

Looking at Purgatory Elder, Zhuge Xiang seemed to hear the roars of Heavenly Demon echoing in his mind. The terrifying aura was almost tangible, and Purgatory Elder's figure could no longer be seen. In the distance, a colossal Heavenly Demon statue, Hundred Zhang of feet tall, hung in the air. Looking up at it, one felt incredibly small.

Kneel down! Kneel down! Kneel down...

In his mind, it seemed as if a sacred and majestic voice was constantly lashing at Zhuge Xiang's soul, forcing him to give up resistance and kneel on the ground in worship, unable to muster any will to resist from the bottom of his heart.

"Waaah... I... I give up..." How could one easily resist the aura of Void Realm Great Expert? Forced to the ground by this terrifying aura, many wept bitterly, begging for mercy. Where was the trace of pride one would expect from Dragon Among Men?

Silently, a colossal Heavenly Demon statue, Hundred Zhang tall, stood in the air. It seemed that the entire Heaven and Earth was under the demonic majesty of this Heavenly Demon statue. The Heaven and Earth changed color, and all things lost their luster. All the Cultivator were pressed to the ground by this aura, unable to struggle up no matter what.

Defeated? Just like that, the opportunity is lost?

Kneeling on the ground, the numerous Cultivators were all deathly pale. On one hand, they were under the oppressive aura of the Purgatory Elder. On the other hand, kneeling meant that they had failed the Third Trial. They had come to participate in the Dragon Phoenix Ranking with high aspirations, hoping to gain both fame and fortune, but they never expected that they would not even be able to Three Trials.

"How dare I kneel? Stand up!" Zhang Kuang, wielding the Blood Python Spear. His Demonic Asura Body was unleashed, and surging Demonic Qi supported him as he struggled to stand, but the terrifying aura prevented him from rising no matter how hard he tried.

"No! I have to stand up! I must stand up..."

Under the terrifying aura, most Cultivator broke down in tears, their Will Collapse under the Void Realm Great Expert. But some Cultivator gritted their teeth, refusing to give up, struggling desperately to stand up.

Their courage is commendable, but the facts cannot be denied simply by courage. No matter how these Cultivator resisted or persisted, they could not stand up from their knees.

Under the oppressive aura, some people broke down in tears, some begged for mercy, while others shouted loudly to encourage themselves. Some even stabbed their own thighs with daggers, hoping that the excruciating pain would temporarily make them forget the fear of the Hundred Zhang Demon Image.

In the previous battle with Su Huayu in the Asura Purgatory Diagram, Zhuge Xiang had used all his trump cards. His Indestructible Vajra Body and Ice Barrier were still active, so he couldn't rely on this invincible state to buy himself a chance to catch his breath.

"Devourer's Treasure!" Faced with the terrifying aura of the Purgatory Elder, Zhuge Xiang struggled for a long time but failed to stand up. Then, without hesitation, he summoned Xiao Yue and used the Devourer's Treasure Skill to temporarily advance his strength to the Divine Ability Stage in order to reduce the pressure brought by the Purgatory Elder.

However, despite entering the Deity Transformation stage, the Purgatory Elder's aura did not seem to have diminished in the slightest.

Is there any difference between crushing an ant with a mountain and crushing a mouse? Even if one's own strength increases, the pressure of a mountain is still overwhelming.

Time passed second by second, and the incense stick stuck in the ground slowly burned out, but every second of that incense stick's time seemed incredibly long.

Some, overwhelmed by the intimidating aura of the Purgatory Elder, readily surrendered and gave up. Others persevered for a moment, then realized they could not rise again, and so they too gave up...

More than a hundred Elite, these are the younger generation of Yanling Commandery, the true elite Cultivator. These people are more or less famous in Yanling Commandery. But now, they are all kneeling on the ground like dead dogs, or even lying on the ground. The Void Realm Great Expert alone made them lose the courage to resist.

"Stand up!" Zhuge Xiang shouted in his heart as well. The scene of the old Beggar being bitten to death by a mad dog flashed through his mind. Zhuge Xiang's belief was unwavering.

To gain true power, one must not be a puppet of others, nor a plaything in their hands; one must take control of one's own life...

"Stand up!" Zhuge Xiang's body and soul shouted. At this moment, Zhuge Xiang trembled slightly, enduring the pain of his fractured leg bone, and slowly stood up, trying his best to straighten his hunched back.

Zhuge Xiang slowly stood up. While everyone else was kneeling or lying down, his feet were firmly planted on the ground, and he straightened his back, making him at least a head taller than the others. Therefore, at this moment, Zhuge Xiang attracted everyone's attention.

"Can he really stand up?" Watching Zhuge Xiang tremble slightly, as if a gust of wind could blow him over, many people secretly cheered him on. The incense stick was almost burned out; could he really succeed?

"Kneel down! Kneel down..."

The majestic voice still echoed in his mind, but Zhuge Xiang ignored it. He had only one belief: to stand up.

Kerala...

A crisp sound rang in Zhuge Xiang's ears, and the intense pain caused Zhuge Xiang forehead to be covered in fine sweat. The crack in his leg bone, which already had a fissure, grew longer and deeper.

The incense stick was burning less and less, and it could go out at any moment. Zhuge Xiang, who had been hunched over, slowly straightened up little by little, almost imperceptibly, unless one looked closely.

"Ah!" Zhuge Xiang finally shouted, his back straightening instantly.

Kara.

However, the shout turned into a scream of pain, and at the same time, Zhuge Xiang's body slumped. Under the terrifying pressure, Zhuge Xiang's leg bone was actually crushed.

The incense burned out at this moment, and the boundless momentum slowly faded. One by one, the Cultivator who participated in the Third Trial were panting heavily. The time it took for an incense stick to burn made them feel as if they had fought for three days and three nights.

"Very good." Purgatory Elder looked at Zhuge Xiang with admiration in his eyes, his appreciation even more evident. With a gentle wave of his hand, warm spiritual rain fell, healing everyone's injuries. At the same time, Purgatory Elder's voice rang out.

"Three Trials, the final test is complete. When the incense stick has burned out, all those still persevering will have successfully passed all three trials and earned the qualification for the final battle of the Dragon Phoenix Ranking."

After scanning the crowd of over a hundred Cultivator, only forty-five were deemed qualified. The Purgatory Elder's gaze lingered briefly on Zhuge Xiang before he said, "You all, go back and prepare. Seven days from now, still on this Sword Peak, the final battle for the top Top 32 of the Final Dragon Phoenix Ranking will begin."

"Thank you, Purgatory Elder..." Nourished by the spiritual rain and with the help of the Void Realm Great Expert, the injuries of these Cultivators have been almost completely healed. The Cultivator who have passed the three trials are overjoyed and thank Purgatory Elder one by one.

"Elder! I'm not convinced! Didn't you say that those who could stand for the duration of an incense stick's burning would pass? We all knelt down, so why did they pass but I can't?" Those who successfully passed the three trials were naturally overjoyed, but those who failed were unconvinced and shouted loudly.

So what if Void Realm Great Expert? Having lost this last chance and failed to even make it into the final battle, these Cultivator no longer care about anything else.

This unwilling cry drew a slight glance from the Purgatory Elder, who spoke calmly without answering his question. Instead, he asked, "Can you tell me what a true strongman is?"

On the Sword Peak, hundreds of Cultivator looked at each other, clearly not understanding why the Purgatory Elder would suddenly ask this question.

Without waiting for their answers, Purgatory Elder continued, asking and answering himself, as if speaking to everyone, yet also to himself, saying, "Some say that the truly strong are those with unparalleled strength, those who possess unparalleled wisdom and manipulate all things in the Heaven and Earth; others say that the strong are those with extraordinary talent and monstrous cultivation speed, but..."

At this point, Purgatory Elder changed the subject, continuing, "In my opinion, none of these people are strong. Talent? Strength? Intelligence? What a joke. In my eight hundred years of cultivation, I've seen far too many so-called geniuses, even a galaxy wouldn't be enough to describe them. The most monstrous geniuses have even gone through the process of going from an ordinary person to the Void Returning Stage in a single day..."

One day!? From Human Dao the Void Returning Stage!? Everyone gasped, staring incredulously at Purgatory Elder. Clearly, such a monstrous talent had deeply frightened them.

"However, in my opinion, none of these people are strong. Do you know how those prodigies who crossed the threshold of Refining Essence to Qi Refining Qi to Spirit died? They committed suicide. How can people who are irresponsible with their own lives be worthy of being called strong?"

"True strength doesn't require a powerful background, extraordinary talent, or astonishing wisdom..."

In my opinion, the truly strong are those who have endured all the hardships and tribulations of life, suffered countless failures, yet still maintain their beliefs and stand tall.

"True strength isn't about monstrous talent, powerful background, or astounding wisdom. What's truly essential is the heart of a strong person—a heart that remains unmoved through countless hardships. Those who survive the final Three Trials may not be the strongest, but in my view, it's because they didn't give up that they deserve to be called Dragon Among Men, worthy of being listed on the Dragon Phoenix Ranking..." (To be continued...)

P. S.: I originally planned to finish writing around 2,000 words tonight and then go to sleep, but as I wrote, I felt good and decided to continue. Hehe, I'm so tired, going to sleep now. Tomorrow I'll wrap things up; it's the last day. After that, I'll just rest and wait for the New Year. Haha, please subscribe, please give me monthly tickets, please send me red envelopes, please give me lucky money~~...