Who was protecting whom? Thanks?

Eternal Source Ring, Restoration Area.

Lin Yi Main Body cross-legged in the center of the rest area and slowly opened his eyes.

His main consciousness had been focused on his clones, but now that the beast tide at the Frontline had receded, he was withdrawing his consciousness back.

"Fortunately, although the intensity on the Black Mist Sea Frontline has indeed increased again, my own strength is growing even faster."

He silently considered it for a moment.

His current Main Body is at the sixth level of the Eternal Source Realm, with six divine-grade seals and three divine-grade virtual seals. The third trial, a solo challenge, is no longer a question for him.

On the Black Mist Sea side, although the clone's realm was only at the third level of the Eternal Source Realm Origin, it had thirty Void Contracts of Light of Eternal Silence to back it up, and the Dark Nether Armored Dragon as a meat shield, so it could remain stable in the short term.

What really bothered him was the rate at which the intensity increased.

This wave is significantly larger than the previous ones, with the number of Second-Order Black Silence Beast almost doubling. If this trend continues, it's hard to imagine what will happen next.

Moreover, there was an even more alarming chain reaction.

As the Imperial Army conscripts large numbers of city guards and the core forces of various families from major cities, the defensive capabilities within these cities are inevitably weakening.

This move drained a significant portion of the high-end combat power from the major cities, and those shady characters, along with the various pirate forces that had been driven out of the Black Mist Sea, began to stir again...

As a member of the Constant Guard, Lin Yi was more aware of the changing situation than anyone else.

We need to hurry up and improve our strength...

He muttered something to himself, then took a deep breath, suppressing all his chaotic thoughts.

With backup on the Frontline, there's not much to worry about for now.

His main battlefield spans these ten thousand Epoch.

Lin Yi took stock of what he had gained during this period.

In fact, he has also tasted the benefits of mastering the Law Inscriptions during this period.

However, Lin Yi was also well aware that his current level of Law Inscriptions was only at the "literacy" stage.

If we compare the Law Inscriptions to a language, then he basically understands all the characters, but can only speak plainly.

He is still far from mastering those truly ingenious inscription structures, those ancient inscription schools that can contain the most powerful energy within the simplest framework, and those inscription formation techniques that can seamlessly nest dozens or even hundreds of inscriptions to form a complete formation system.

This is like the difference between someone who knows all the words and can write fluent sentences, and someone who can write poems that will be passed down through the ages.

The former is called literacy, the latter is called mastery.

Lin Yi felt that he was now the one who could read.

Those classic texts taught how to write poetry.

He used the Constant Guard badge to send instructions to the clone stationed in Mist Sea City.

"Exchange for <Advanced Mastery of Law Inscriptions> and <General Compendium of Inscription Arrays>."

2

He had already set his sights on these two classic texts on the Constant Guard's exchange list.

The "Advanced Mastery of Law Inscriptions" is available for exchange at 3300 contribution points. It covers all advanced knowledge of Law Inscriptions from the Early Order of the Eternal Source Realm to the perfect stage of the Eternal Source Realm.

The "General Compendium of Inscription Arrays" (exchangeable for 4100 contribution points) is a classic text that explains how to combine multiple Law Inscriptions into a complete formation.

Inscription arrays are one of the most advanced applications of the Law Inscriptions system. The power of a single Law Inscriptions, no matter how strong, is limited. However, if dozens of inscriptions with different functions can be combined through an ingenious array structure to form a self-consistent energy cycle system, then the power is not simply additive.

That's multiplication, or even exponentiation.

Of course, both of these classic texts are among the most difficult to cultivate.

But Lin Yi didn't care.

The higher the difficulty, the better.

After making the arrangements, Lin Yi sank his consciousness into the depths of his soul.

The Spiritual Enlightenment Qi is ignited.

Purple flames silently rose from the depths of his soul.

That familiar, ingrained sense of clarity enveloped his consciousness once again.

The combined amplification from the six layers of soul enlightenment made the patterns of laws he sensed while burning his Spiritual Enlightenment Qi much clearer.

However, this time, Lin Yi clearly sensed something was different.

Comprehension of the Chaos Law has become more difficult.

If we compare comprehending the laws to groping forward in a fog, then although the fog was thick, at least the path under our feet was relatively smooth.

Things are different now.

He felt like he was climbing a mountain, and the slope was getting steeper and steeper.

"However, we have to go through with it no matter how difficult it is..."

Lin Yi silently muttered a sentence to himself, then took a deep breath and focused all his attention on the increasingly steep mountain path.

Time slips away quietly amidst deep reflection.

In the blink of an eye, ten thousand Epoch have passed.

Lin Yi's understanding of the laws steadily increased from 50% to 53.8%.

This was much slower than he had expected, but he wasn't impatient.

This was expected.

Another 15,000 Epoch passed, and his comprehension of the laws reached 55.3%.

43,000 Epoch later, 57.8%.

58,000 Epoch later, 59.99%.

Lin Yi sat cross-legged in the center of the rest area. The vast network of his spiritual understanding of the laws had covered nearly 60% of the Core Zone of his soul. The law patterns at the very core had become so dense that they were close to a critical point. One more step and he would be on another level.

Another ten thousand Epoch passed.

Lin Yi silently stood up and let out a long sigh.

"The threshold for the advanced stage of the Eternal Source Realm is indeed quite high."

The Ten Thousandth Epoch.

For a full ten thousand Epoch, he remained stuck at 59.99%, completely unmoved.

His Spiritual Enlightenment Qi was still burning, and his soul comprehension remained strong under the blessing of the six divine-grade seals, but he just couldn't cross that threshold.

Lin Yi hadn't experienced this feeling in a long time.

However, although they were stuck here, the two clones made good progress in learning the Law Inscriptions. They had finished studying both books and entered the stage of in-depth study and practice.

However, during this period, the intensity of the Black Fog Frontline increased again.

"We need to hurry and keep going. I refuse to believe that the Spiritual Enlightenment Qi can't overcome this level with enough time..."

"Lin Yi muttered to himself, then closed his eyes again."

Within the Purple Mist Space, the Spiritual Enlightenment Qi reignited.

He continued his assault on that invisible wall.

Five thousand two hundred Epoch later.

Lin Yi felt that deep within his consciousness, the thin membrane that shrouded the world of laws suddenly trembled slightly.

The tremor was so subtle that he might not have noticed it at all if he hadn't been paying close attention to every tiny change.

But then, a second tremor came.

Then came the third time.

The tremors became more frequent and intense.

Lin Yi knew that the opportunity had arrived.

He burned his Spiritual Enlightenment Qi to an unprecedented intensity, pushed his soul perception to its limit, and then suddenly charged at the membrane that had been trembling countless times.

Boom!

A muffled thud came from the depths of my consciousness.

The invisible barrier that had held him back for nearly 16,000 Epoch was suddenly pierced through by this surge.

Understanding of the laws: 60%.

High Order of the Eternal Source Realm!

The instant that membrane shattered, Lin Yi sensed that the framework of laws within his Chaos Source Sea was undergoing a violent reconstruction.

After breaking through in his understanding of the laws, the Chaos Source Sea automatically began a new round of expansion.

The pale golden light membrane above the restorative area suddenly accelerated its flickering rhythm, and an even denser chaotic energy was drawn in from outside the light membrane, forming an almost liquefied energy mist within the restorative area.

Lin Yi sat cross-legged in the very center of that energy mist, feeling the newly expanded void within his Chaos Source Sea absorbing the surrounding chaotic energy at an alarming rate, compressing and purifying it bit by bit, and then weaving it into a brand new law framework that was embedded into the Source Sea barrier.

He was very familiar with this process.

But this time, he clearly sensed something was different.

The connections between those law nodes are now tighter, the energy flow channels are wider, and the overall operational efficiency of the Source Sea framework has increased by a whole level compared to before the breakthrough.

"He's indeed become much stronger... No wonder the advanced stage of the Eternal Source Realm is considered a major hurdle to the Eternal Source Realm."

Lin Yi slowly opened his eyes, feeling the Chaos Power within his body, which was several times stronger than before his breakthrough, along with the Soul Power that had increased simultaneously. A satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

Then, without a moment's delay, he directly took out the deep purple crystal box from his Divine Kingdom and extracted the drop of blood essence from the fifth-ranked Calamity Abyss Soul-Devouring Python from the box.

Lin Yi's self-glow lingered on this drop of blood essence for quite some time.

He had already decided which innate secret technique to extract from this essence blood.

The reason why the Calamity Abyss Soul-Devouring Python ranks fifth on the list of exotic beasts is mainly due to its two iconic primordial secret techniques, and these two secret techniques are strictly speaking used in combination.

The first path is called "Calamity Abyss".

This is an extremely rare arcane technique involving soul attacks.

Unlike ordinary attacks, the Calamity Abyss directly targets the target's Soul Origin. This damage is extremely insidious. If the target's Soul Power is not strong enough to withstand the erosion of the Calamity Abyss, their Soul Origin may be obliterated, resulting in immediate death.

They didn't even have a chance to be resurrected.

Upon reaching the Eternal Source Realm, because the Soul Origin is eternal, even if one dies, there is a possibility of being resurrected no matter how long has passed. Therefore, in order to completely kill their opponents and eliminate any worries, the powerful beings above the Eternal Source Realm have developed some secret techniques that can destroy and obliterate the Soul Origin.

However, these secret techniques that can obliterate the Soul Origin are far more difficult to use than ordinary Soul Power, and the requirements for their use are extremely demanding, requiring at least several times the Soul Power the target.

Taking the Eternal Source Realm as an example, it takes at least the Soul Power of the High Order of the Eternal Source Realm to obliterate the Soul Origin of the Early Order of the Eternal Source Realm cultivator.

In addition, most geniuses in the Eternal Source Realm also learn a secret technique for Soul Power defense. Therefore, this technique is basically not used in battles between people of the same level. Everyone learns it just in case.

In Lin Yi's view, his Soul Power was not particularly outstanding among his various abilities, and if a powerful person were to attack him with Soul Power, he did not have a particularly good way to deal with it.

There are two ways to enhance Soul Power defense: one is to learn secret techniques, and the other is to increase the strength of Soul Power.

Lin Yi plans to use a two-pronged approach.

Therefore, he set his sights on another of the original secret techniques of the Calamity Abyss Soul-Devouring Python.

"Soul Devouring".

The function of this secret technique is quite simple: it devours Soul Power and converts it into one's own, which can permanently increase the original Soul Power by up to three times. At the same time, it can also temporarily control the devoured Soul Power, and this temporarily controlled Soul Power can reach up to eighteen times!

Because of the existence of Soul Devouring, the Soul Calamity Abyss Soul-Devouring Python has a much stronger Soul Power than others of the same level, which is the fundamental reason why the Calamity Abyss Secret Technique is so powerful.

In Lin Yi's view, the Calamity Abyss was merely a means to an end; Soul Devouring was the real solution.

With a stronger Soul Power, both soul attack and soul defense techniques will become much more powerful.

This is a very simple principle.

Moreover, Soul Devouring can also blend into the combined flames of Light of Eternal Silence and Nine Nether Fire.

Lin Yi had envisioned his Nine Nether Fire enveloping the Light of Eternal Silence as he blasted it at his opponent.

The opponent will certainly resist, but both attack and defense require Soul Power to maintain, and the Nine Nether Fire itself has the characteristic of devouring energy, now it has an additional Soul Devouring -devouring effect.

In this way, the Soul Power that maintains the defense is constantly devoured by the Soul Devouring, causing the opponent's control over the moves to decrease continuously. At the same time, the Nine Nether Fire can devour even more Chaos Power.

Then, Awakening Radiance found a weakness and struck hard.

Perfect.

Thinking of this, Lin Yi took a deep breath, adjusted his mind to its best state, and then, his Spiritual Enlightenment Qi suddenly ignited.

The prototype of the Eternal Bond was formed, the Soul Devouring Secret Technique imprint was removed, and the bond was established and solidified.

These steps are already second nature to a cultivator who has successfully condensed six divine-grade seals.

More than six thousand Epoch later.

When the last strand of dark purple soul thread was peeled off and embedded into the prototype of the Eternal Contract, the condensation of the seventh Chaos Source Seal Pact officially began.

Lin Yi sat cross-legged in the center of the rest area, his body enveloped in a faint dark purple aura.

Within the semi-transparent embryonic form of the Eternal Contract deep within the soul, the secret imprint of the Soul Devouring Technique is being slowly activated.

Countless dark purple threads extended from the various cavities inside the prototype of Hengqi, intertwining and coalescing at the center of the prototype.

The threads did not coalesce into a specific form like the previous seals, but instead transformed into a swirling mass of dark purple mist.

As the last dark purple thread disappeared into the mist, the entire nascent form of Hengqi trembled violently.

The seventh Chaos Source Seal Pact, Soul Devouring, is complete!

Deep within the Soul Origin, the seven Chaos Source Seal Pact resonated simultaneously.

A hint of joy flashed in Lin Yi's eyes.

"This feeling of having a brain is so addictive, I never get tired of it..."

"

After silently sensing it for a moment, he sent a command to his clone.

"Exchange for <Soul Shatter> and <Soul Nexus>."

<Soul Shatter>, exchangeable for 3700 contribution points, specifically explains how to condense Soul Power into a substantial attack method.

The "Soul Nexus" skill, which costs 3900 contribution points to exchange, explains how to build a solid defensive barrier around the Soul Origin to resist attacks from the soul level.

One attack and one defense perfectly utilize the Soul Power amplified by the Soul-Devouring Seal Pact.

Then, Lin Yi thought to himself, "There are still a little over ten thousand Epoch left. My clones will be responsible for cultivating <Soul Shatter> and <Soul Nexus> respectively. As for myself, if I continue to cultivate and comprehend the laws, my progress won't see a qualitative leap... Perhaps I should try <Soul-Maiming Source-Slaying> again."

He had tried this secret technique for unleashing devastating power, created by the Emperor himself, twice before without success. Now, having condensed the seventh seal, his soul comprehension had improved even further.

That should be fine.

With this in mind, Lin Yi ignited his Spiritual Enlightenment Qi and immersed his mind in the secret structure of the <Soul-Maiming Source-Slaying> technique.

This test immediately thrilled him.

"It's been so difficult... I'm finally able to understand it a little bit this time..."

More than ten thousand Epoch later.

A loud voice echoed throughout the entire rest area.

"The third stage of the solo trial is about to begin. Please prepare yourself."

Lin Yi slowly opened his eyes, shook his head, and sighed.

"This <Soul-Maiming Source-Slaying> is indeed very difficult; more than ten thousand Epoch have passed, and I still haven't succeeded in cultivating it..."

2

He has grasped the second layer of the secret technique's structure, but there is still a long way to go before he can truly activate and operate it.

However, he was not discouraged.

If the secret techniques created by the Emperor himself were so easy to learn, they wouldn't have been gathering dust at the very bottom of the Constant Guard ' exchange list for so many years.

He checked the situation on the clone's side.

The cultivation progress of attack and defense techniques involving the Soul Origin is also not fast. Although the Spiritual Enlightenment Qi, it is still some distance away from truly succeeding in its cultivation.

"But there's no rush. Anyway, the trial subjects in the third trial don't have Soul Origin; even the Soul Power they use to control attack and defense is simulated, and they certainly won't actively use attacks that could obliterate Soul Origin..."

Lin Yi stood up and stretched his limbs.

Then, the beam of pure white light descended from the sky, enveloping him entirely.

Inner Island of Constant Island.

The Central Plaza was already packed with people early on.

For the trainees on the inner island, the first two observations had already been quite awe-inspiring.

Lin Yi broke the record for the fastest clear of the Eternal Source Ring in history with his overwhelming victory in the first stage, and then instantly killed an opponent of a higher level in the second stage. The images of these two battles were repeatedly replayed in these 100,000 Epoch, and they became the most popular topic of conversation among the students on the inner island.

Even several of the Constant Lord gave Lin Yi's performance extremely high praise in private conversations, saying that the only thing he lacked was a certain level of understanding.

He Mingli had arrived long ago.

This senior disciple of the He Family, Eternal Source Realm, remained in his usual lazy posture, leaning back on the dark jade-colored stone chair he had somehow acquired, toying with the jade-shaped folding fan in his right hand and resting his left hand on the edge of the betting screen.

But unlike usual, he didn't open the market today.

"He Mingyu, are you not opening the betting?" A tall student in light gold armor approached, his tone slightly teasing. "This isn't like you."

He Mingyu his folding fan shut and rolled his eyes.

"Opening the betting market? There's no suspense involved, so what's the point of opening it? Or do you think Lin Yi won't get first place?"

The tall trainee was speechless, and several familiar trainees around him burst into laughter.

At this moment, a woman dressed in a light blue skirt armor stepped out from the crowd, her slender fingers lightly tapping the air. "But seriously, how long do you think Lin Yi will take this time?"

"Is that even a guess?"

Beside him stood a tall, slender male student from the Extreme Ice Race, his arms crossed. Faint, icy-blue sparks crackled at the ends of his short, silver-white hair, gleaming coldly in the pale purple light of the plaza. "Given Lin Yi's previous display of talent, it's impossible for him to have made no progress in the next 100,000 Epoch. Although the complex challenges are unpredictable, I estimate his completion time will only be slightly longer than the first two."

At this moment, ripples spread across the background of the light screen in the square, and then figures began to appear in the light screen.

"Alright, alright, stop worrying about this."

He Mingyu tapped the back of the chair with his folding fan. "Look over here at Lin Yi."

On the light screen, the gray-white void background is changing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The gray mist that had been permeating the void began to churn violently, as if stirred by an invisible hand.

A faint Silverblue light gradually emerged from the swirling mist. At first, the light was just scattered specks, like the finest ice dust in the night sky, but it quickly spread out at an astonishing speed, covering the entire void with a layer of biting Frost.

Ice crystals began to condense out of thin air.

The ice crystals were hexagonal prisms, each about the size of a fist, with extremely regular natural patterns on their surface. These patterns refracted rainbow colors under the Silverblue light.

The ice crystals grew more numerous and denser, colliding with each other and producing an extremely crisp and melodious tinkling sound.

After the collision, the ice crystals stuck together and began to rotate in the same direction. At first, they rotated slowly, but the speed of rotation increased, eventually forming ice crystal vortices that stretched across the sky in the void.

The entire trial space was transformed into a frigid inferno in a very short time.

"Frost Vortex." A Eternal Source Realm Perfection student uttered these four words with a solemn expression.

Everyone nodded slowly.

Everyone recognized what was in the light screen.

"It's Frost Vortex..."

Lin Yi naturally recognized him as well.

The Frost Vortex a type of Cosmic Sea Wonder, ranking ninety-seventh among known Cosmic Sea Wonder.

Its core characteristic is extremely low temperature, which can affect or even freeze the operation of Chaos Power.

Each of these ice crystal vortexes is an independent source of law interference. Their positions and rotation frequencies conform to certain laws. If the weak points between these ice crystal vortexes cannot be found, they can easily be worn down by the endless ice crystal storms.

Moreover, this challenge is not just about the Frost Vortex.

At this moment, deep within the ice crystal vortex, translucent phantoms were condensing and taking shape from the rotating ice crystals.

The first thing that appeared was an extremely large, silvery-white phantom.

It looks like a centipede, but magnified countless times, and is covered with a translucent shell like frost armor.

On each side of its head are three pairs of pale white compound eyes. When the eyeballs move, they produce an extremely subtle sound of ice crystals rubbing together. Two curved ice crystal tentacles extend from the front of its head. The surface of the tentacles is covered with sharp barbs, and the two slender tails at the ends sway slowly in the void.

Behind it, more smaller, silvery-white phantoms emerged from the ice crystal vortex, each one identical in shape to the giant centipede, only nearly half the size and with a paler shell.

Behind the group of silver-white centipedes, countless tiny phantoms surged out of the ice crystal vortexes like a tide.

"It's the Mystic Frost Ice Centipede! Ranked 137th on the Beast Ranking!"

A mid-level Eternal Source Realm student muttered, "A sixth-level Eternal Source Realm leader, five Early Order of the Eternal Source Realm elites, plus at least two hundred True Origin level minions, plus the environmental suppression of the Frost Vortex... the difficulty of this third level is indeed outrageous. I guess only Lin Yi could handle it easily?"

No one argued with her.

Because everyone's attention was drawn to the golden figure on the light screen.

At this moment, Lin Yi looked at the massive herd of beasts before him, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"This is a good opportunity to test the power of my new trick..."

Then, he raised his right hand, his five fingers slightly spread.

All three virtual contracts are activated simultaneously.

The Light of Eternal Silence condensed into a small, fist-sized ball of Silverblue flame in his palm.

The inky black flames of the Nine Nether Fire then spread out from it.

Then comes Soul Devouring.

The dark purple mist of the soul silently seeped into every wisp of flame in that ball of fire.

Silverblue, jet-black, and dark purple intertwined and entwined in the flames, like three different colored threads being kneaded into a ball by an invisible hand.

Lin Yi looked down at the three-colored flame in his palm and thought to himself, "Since this is the first time I'm using it, I'll call it the Silent Nether Soul Fire."

Then, he clenched his fists tightly.

The three-colored flame suddenly exploded under his grasp, turning into countless fine three-colored fire threads that surged towards his body from all directions, forming a ring of flowing fire armor around him.

The ice crystal fragments that were originally attacking him wildly in the extreme cold were completely engulfed the moment they came into contact with the fire armor.

Lin Yi checked the smoothness of the fire armor's operation and nodded in satisfaction.

Then...

He raised his right hand and gently pointed forward with his index finger.

A wisp of fire suddenly separated from the armor and floated towards the group of Mystic Frost Ice Centipede that were rapidly approaching.

The leader of the Mystic Frost Ice Centipede clearly sensed the threat contained within the tricolored flame.

Its three pairs of pale white compound eyes locked onto the ball of flame that was drifting towards it. Its head was raised high, and deep within its open centipede mouthparts, a ball of extremely condensed silver-white cold breath was rapidly taking shape.

Behind it, six elite Mystic Frost Ice Centipede at the Early Order of the Eternal Source Realm also opened their mouths at the same time.

Seven clusters of silvery-white icy breath intertwined in the void, forming an overwhelming torrent of extreme cold that poured fiercely into the seemingly insignificant three-colored flame.

Wherever the frigid torrent passed, even the swirling ice crystals themselves creaked under the weight of the cold.

The hexagonal ice crystals suspended in the void cracked inch by inch under the torrent, then exploded into fine ice dust. The ice dust was then carried forward by the subsequent cold breath, layer upon layer, wave after wave.

Then, they collided with the Silent Nether Soul Fire.

Then, the pupils of everyone staring at the light screen suddenly contracted.

There was no explosion, no shockwave, and none of the fierce confrontation they had anticipated.

That tri-colored flame was like a bottomless pit; the extremely cold torrent was silently swallowed up the moment it collided with it.

The tri-colored flame, which was originally only the size of a fist, expanded violently into an all-encompassing fire after swallowing the first wave of extreme cold!

The leader of the Mystic Frost Ice Centipede let out a sharp hiss.

A near-mad, chilling light flashed simultaneously in its three pairs of pale white compound eyes. Countless dense silver runes appeared on the surface of its icy carapace, intertwining and flowing across the carapace before finally condensing into a torrent of icy breath far thicker than before in front of its head.

The six elite Mystic Frost Ice Centipede behind it also activated their respective innate secret techniques at the same time.

The seven extremely cold torrents intertwined once again, this time several times larger than the last. The chilling air emanating from the edges of the torrents even froze the surrounding True Origin level minions into ice sculptures.

Then, they collided with the Silent Nether Soul Fire once again.

Then, it was swallowed up again.

The square was completely silent.

A moment later, a voice rang out.

"What the hell is this thing...?"

The speaker was a high-ranking student from the Eternal Source Realm, dressed in a dark gray scale armor battle robe. He stared at the tri-colored flame on the light screen, which had already covered most of the space, with a look of shock on his face.

"A secret technique? What kind of secret technique could have such an incredible effect?" another voice chimed in.

"A seal? Even if it's a divine item, this is just too outrageous..."

"It should be the combined effect of several divine-grade seals; we'll have to investigate the specific principles behind it further..."

A deep voice came from the front of the crowd.

Everyone turned to look, and the speaker was a burly Eternal Source Realm Perfection student, who was none other than Ze'en, one of the top ten prodigies on the inner island and the Deputy Captain of the Tai Huan Squad.

"Damn, this makes me want to start practicing the Nine Source Eternal Pact Art again. Lin Yi is obviously a secret seal extracted from the blood essence of a top-ranked beast. The special effects of these Chaos Beasts' innate secret techniques are much stronger than the effects of the Pact Condensation secret techniques we cultivate ourselves..." a Early Order of the Eternal Source Realm student murmured.

His words immediately drew a burst of ridicule.

"Heh, you're making it sound like you can cultivate just because you have essence and blood. Do you think the reason not many people cultivate is because they lack essence and blood?"

"Forget about it. They practice it without making a sound. Even during the Emperor era, very few people could learn it. It is said that the difficulty of extracting the essence blood of a top-ranking exotic beast is much higher than the difficulty of learning a divine-grade seal technique."

"Don't think about that. I'm thinking about something. By the way, Ze'en, what would you do if you encountered one of these things?"

A fellow student at the same level, whom I knew well, asked.

Ze'en was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Defeat the opponent before it takes shape, otherwise, admit defeat. This thing is likely to snowball, getting stronger the more it's attacked. I guess unless it's destroyed in one fell swoop with an overwhelming attack far exceeding its tolerance limit, it will only burn brighter and brighter."

"Crushing attack? How much crushing is enough?" the high-ranking student in the dark gray scale armor asked.

Tai Huan glanced at him, then slowly said, "It's hard to say. Judging from its previous display of power, ordinary combinations of illusory seals probably can't reach the upper limit. It would probably require at least a Eternal Source Realm Completion cultivator to unleash a Divine-grade seal. One seal might not even be enough; it would probably require two or more seals with a stacking effect to suppress it in an instant."

A hush fell over the crowd.

Does the full power of a divine-grade seal require two or more stacked together?

In other words, to counter Lin Yi's move head-on, one must use the strongest trump card from the very first move, giving up one's ultimate technique and second life along with it.

And this is a conservative estimate.

What's the point of discussing this?

Just then, a sneer came from the other side of the square.

Everyone turned to look, and the one who spoke was a student from the Eternal Source Realm who was sitting by a crystal pillar at the edge of the square.

"Does Lin Yi need all this fancy stuff to beat you? It's not like you can withstand the methods he uses in the second round."

"Besides, given Lin Yi's cultivation speed, he'll probably reach the Constant Source Realm soon. Fighting someone in the Eternal Source Realm is a piece of cake, isn't it? What's there to worry about?"

The entire audience fell silent.

At this moment, Lin Yi was the only one left in the entire trial space, hovering in the center of the sea of flames.

As for those ice centipedes, they were burned to ashes long ago.

After a while, a low voice suddenly rang out from the crowd. "Logically speaking, the other trial participants should be used to protect Lin Yi in the team trial... But if things continue like this, who knows who will protect whom..."

As soon as he said that, a suppressed laugh rippled through the crowd.

While the Constant Island students were discussing who would protect whom...

The Seventh Constant Domain.

Somewhere in the nameless void.

A grand hall floated in the endless chaos.

It is made entirely of an extremely ancient dark crystal, with an eternal pale golden halo flowing along the edge of each crystal. As the halo flows, countless extremely complex Dao Patterns can be vaguely seen slowly writhing deep within the crystal.

In the very center of the main hall, a round table floats in mid-air.

A dozen or so figures sat sparsely around the round table.

Each figure was shrouded in an extremely thin yet impenetrable mist. The colors and textures of the mist varied: some were pale gold, like an eternally burning sacred flame; some were deep purple, like a time vortex frozen for countless Epoch; and some were dark blue, like an ancient ferocious beast coiled in the void.

On the west side of the round table sat an elderly man surrounded by a pale blue mist, quietly listening to the speech of another figure.

Suddenly, he tilted his head slightly, as if he had received some news, and a very subtle glint flashed in his eyes, which were hidden behind a pale blue mist.

After the speaker finished speaking, the old man slightly turned his head and looked at the golden-armored figure beside him.

"Commander Lan Chen," he said with a smile, "Thank you very much this time. That young fellow Lin Yi from your Constant Guard is quite good."

Upon hearing this, Commander Lan Chen was slightly taken aback.

"Thank you? What do you mean, thank you? And who is this Lin Yi...?"