No meals allowed.
Those four light, airy words carried more destructive power than any Divine Ability or spell.
For mortals, this might have been torture.
But for the tens of thousands of cultivators present, it was simply the utmost humiliation.
They had long since abstained from food, living on wind and dew. Immortal fruits and spiritual springs were their everyday fare.
Eating was more a matter of indulging the appetite, a matter of pride.
Yet now, this most basic need had become the punishment for failing to complete a task.
The crowd erupted into unrest again.
Some of the pampered Inner Sect Disciples could no longer keep their expressions in check.
"What... what does this mean? How can cultivators like us suffer such humiliation?"
"Exactly! I would rather meditate before the wall at Repentance Cliff than—"
Before the disciple could finish, the person beside him clamped a hand firmly over his mouth.
Everyone's gaze converged on the raised platform.
Chen Changsheng still wore that calm, indifferent expression, as though he had not heard the discussions below.
But Zhao Gongming beside him stepped forward, his tiger-like eyes widening.
"Anyone unwilling can step forward now."
"I, Zhao Gongming, will personally send him into the Cycle Mirror. Once he has accumulated a thousand 'deaths,' then we can discuss the matter of eating."
His voice was not loud, yet it carried Killing Intent forged amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
The scene fell silent once more.
A thousand times.
Everyone glanced at True Lord Huoyun, who was still twitching on the ground and foaming at the mouth.
The image was far too beautiful for anyone to imagine.
"Since no one objects, then we shall begin."
Chen Changsheng announced calmly.
"Disciples on the eastern side of the Martial Arts Arena, first batch, Enter the Mirror."
A roster appeared in Zhao Gongming's hand, and he began calling out names.
"Li Xuantong!"
"Zhang Yuanshan!"
"Fairy Biyun!"
One after another, well-known Inner Sect Disciples were called out.
Their faces darkened, but they dared not disobey. They could only steel themselves, form a line, and walk toward the Cycle Mirror, which resembled the maw of a colossal beast.
Li Xuantong, the first to be called, was a sword cultivator renowned for the swiftness of his sword light.
He drew a deep breath, cupped his hands toward the crowd, and forcibly squeezed a trace of pride onto his face.
"Junior brothers, watch how I break this illusion!"
With that, he transformed into a streak of sword light and plunged into the mirror of his own accord.
The scene of the Ten Ultimate Arrays reappeared on the mirror's surface.
Li Xuantong appeared before the array. Without the slightest hesitation, he became one with his sword, transforming into a heaven-piercing rainbow that shot straight into the sky, attempting to leap over the great array from above.
Yet he had only risen a hundred zhang.
Within the Heavenly Severance Array, black banners swayed.
A bolt of Chaos Divine Thunder, more than ten times faster than his sword light, crashed down upon him.
"No!"
A brief scream rang out.
That heaven-piercing rainbow was instantly annihilated.
The words [Dead] appeared coldly upon the mirror.
A collective gasp swept across the Martial Arts Arena.
The second disciple, Zhang Yuanshan, was proficient in earth-escape techniques.
After entering the mirror, he did not waste a word and dove straight underground, intending to travel beneath the earth.
He had only burrowed less than three chi down.
The Earth Blazing Array activated. Red Sand swept across the ground, and the earth became an invisible millstone.
Dark-red streaks of blood seeped from the ground within the mirror.
[Dead].
The third, Fairy Biyun, brought out a Cloud Scarf treasure with astonishing defensive power. It transformed into layers upon layers of mist that protected her as she cautiously edged forward.
She chose to avoid every great array and pass through the gaps between them.
She had taken fewer than ten steps.
Between the Golden Light Array and the Cold Ice Array, space twisted. A stream of red water appeared from nowhere and swept across her just once.
The Cloud Scarf's immortal light dimmed. Fairy Biyun and her treasure were turned into a pool of bloody water.
[Dead].
One after another.
A hundred Inner Sect elites experienced the "thrill" of instantaneous death in a hundred different ways in less than the time it took an incense stick to burn.
The words [Dead] flashed repeatedly across the mirror like the beat of a death drum.
With every flash, the disciples below turned a shade paler.
They finally understood.
This was no test at all.
It was a one-sided slaughter, utterly devoid of reason.
Within this simulation of a Killing Tribulation personally laid down by a Sage, the Divine Abilities, treasures, and schemes they took pride in were as fragile as a joke.
"Second batch!"
Zhao Gongming's cold voice rang out again.
The crowd began to panic and stir.
No one wanted to experience the pain of having their primordial spirits torn apart.
"Stand still, all of you!"
Daoist Duobao snorted coldly. The pressure of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal burst forth, pinning every disciple firmly in place.
"Whoever dares take one step back will have his punishment doubled!"
With the two Senior Disciple Brothers personally overseeing the scene, every last shred of luck in their hearts was thoroughly extinguished.
Batch after batch of disciples walked into the Cycle Mirror with ashen faces.
Then, grotesque feasts of death began playing out across the mirror's surface.
Some were blown into chunks of flesh by the Gale Wind of the Wind Roar Array.
Some were dissolved into white bones by the poisonous water of the Red Water Array.
Others refused to accept it and insisted on challenging the Blood Transformation Divine Blade, only to have their skulls split open by a single strike. Their primordial spirits were tainted by black sand, and they wailed as they dissipated.
The entire Martial Arts Arena was completely shrouded in fear.
That massive Cycle Mirror was no longer a treasure. It had become a nightmare that constantly devoured lives.
The mirror no longer displayed the deaths of individual disciples.
In their place was a massive, icy number.
[Total Deaths: 1754]
[Total Deaths: 3281]
[Total Deaths: 5999]
Every time the number changed, it was like a heavy hammer smashing into the hearts of every survivor.
They watched familiar figures in the mirror revive again and again, only to die again in ever more miserable ways.
Their dao hearts began to crack beneath such extreme fear and helplessness.
At last, a disciple could no longer endure the mental torment.
"Ah! I can't take it anymore! I quit!"
A young disciple, looking utterly deranged, turned and tried to flee the Martial Arts Arena.
He had only taken two steps.
A flash of golden light passed by, and Daoist Duobao appeared before him expressionlessly, tapping a finger against his brow.
The disciple's body stiffened, and he fell straight backward, unconscious.
"Drag him away."
Duobao's voice held not a trace of emotion.
"Those without firm resolve are unworthy of being Interception Sect disciples. Once he wakes, cripple his cultivation and send him down from Golden Ao Island."
The entire arena fell deathly silent.
Everyone was stunned by Daoist Duobao's iron-blooded methods.
Only then did they realize that the Dao Protector and the two Senior Disciple Brothers were serious.
There was no way out of this training.
On the raised platform.
Zhao Gongming looked at the twisted faces below, distorted by terror, and could not help feeling some pity in his heart.
He walked to Chen Changsheng's side and spoke in a low voice.
"Dao Protector, if this continues... won't it be too much? I fear their dao hearts will completely collapse."
"Collapse?"
Chen Changsheng watched the endless cycle of deaths playing out in the mirror, his eyes calm.
"If they collapse, then rebuild them."
"If they do not shatter today, then one day they will suffer the destruction of both body and spirit."
His voice was soft, yet Zhao Gongming's entire body trembled.
That was right.
Today's suffering was meant to prevent tomorrow's destruction.
He looked at Chen Changsheng's profile. This newly appointed Dao Protector clearly did not possess high cultivation, yet he seemed to stand above everyone else and see farther than anyone else.
Just then.
The scene within the Cycle Mirror suddenly changed.
All the disciples vanished, leaving only one person behind.
She was a female immortal clad in a Golden Silk Feather Garment, breathtakingly beautiful and radiating an arrogant aura.
She was Fairy Yu, the chief disciple under Holy Mother Jin Ling, whose status within the Inner Sect was second only to direct disciples such as the Three Xiāo.
"It's Senior Sister Yu!"
"She's a Grand Unity Golden Immortal!"
Cries of alarm rose from the crowd.
Inside the mirror, Fairy Yu knitted her brows. Clearly, she too was surprised by this sudden change.
Before her, the Ten Ultimate Arrays slowly faded away, replaced by a boundless Sea of Blood.
Above the Sea of Blood, a lotus throne of white bones slowly rose.
A Black Robe Daoist holding the twin swords Yuantu and Abi manifested his form.
Ancestor Minghe!
"This is bad!"
Zhao Gongming's expression changed drastically.
"This is a simulation of being hunted by a great power!"
Within the mirror, Ancestor Minghe did not waste a word. He raised his hand and slashed with his sword.
A blood-colored sword aura that stretched across heaven and earth tore through space and cleaved down at Fairy Yu.
Fairy Yu's face turned deathly pale. She screamed as a golden bell emerged above her head, instantly expanding to shield her entire body.
A deafening boom rang out.
The Golden Bell treasure was split apart by a single sword strike.
Fairy Yu was shredded into a cloud of blood mist by the sword aura on the spot.
[Dead].
Revived.
Ancestor Minghe slashed again.
[Dead].
Revived.
This time, Fairy Yu had learned her lesson. She turned and fled, transforming into a streak of golden light at an incomparably fast speed.
Ancestor Minghe sneered. The Karmic Fire Red Lotus beneath his feet flashed, and he instantly appeared behind her, decapitating her with a single strike.
[Dead].
All discussion within the Martial Arts Arena vanished.
If True Lord Huoyun's hundred deaths had filled them with fear before.
Then Fairy Yu's deaths now filled them with despair.
Even a Senior Sister who was a Grand Unity Golden Immortal had no ability to fight back against one of the Primordial World's foremost great powers.
What about them?
At last, after thirty-six consecutive deaths.
With a hum.
Fairy Yu's figure was flung out by the Cycle Mirror.
Her entire body went limp. The Golden Silk Feather Garment had long been drenched in cold sweat, her hair disheveled, with none of her usual arrogance left on her face.
Her eyes were hollow as she kept repeating herself.
"Can't escape... There's no escaping at all..."
Chen Changsheng slowly walked to the edge of the platform and looked down at the tens of thousands of distraught disciples below.
His voice rang out clearly across the deathly silent Martial Arts Arena.
"Today's lesson ends here."
A wave of relieved breaths rose from the crowd.
However, Chen Changsheng's next words made them feel as though they had fallen into an icy abyss.
"All disciples who have completed the 'Hundred Deaths Achievement' may collect an Inedia Pill from the dining hall."
"Those who haven't completed it..."
He paused, revealing a gentle smile.
"Continue tomorrow."
"Until you finish."
Before you continue