Innate Secret Art "Soul Devour"

Woo...

The rapidly rotating deep azure wind pillar emitted a series of wild howls, sounding like the roar of some demon god, as if it intended to shake every soul into annihilation.

This was a transformation within the Inner World of Wu Sheng after refining the Wind Chime Fruit; it was a sublimation of the soul.

Having just finished the refinement, Wu Sheng opened his blood-red eyes, a trace of satisfaction lingering in his gaze.

"The soul energy contained within the Wind Chime Fruit is quite suitable for me. If I can refine all of these Wind Chime Fruits, my soul should be able to withstand the backlash from the 'Soul-Devouring' technique much more easily."

"Hmm, I cannot neglect my cultivation either. Over this year, I must dedicate half of my time to researching these secret techniques. The remaining time will be primarily for refining the Wind Chime Fruits, but I must also set aside twenty percent to improve my cultivation level."

"Although a year is short, it is highly possible to achieve my initial goals. Let's see—will I, Wu Sheng, be killed the moment I enter, or will I manage to hold on until the middle, or even successfully walk out of the Trial Ground? This year can be considered the most important turning point!"

Wu Sheng's blood-red eyes revealed a sense of hope; it was a yearning for survival and an expectation of becoming powerful.

That's right, he was currently just a small shrimp, not even worthy of being noticed by the Primordial Universe.

Yet, for the sake of survival and strength, he still had to struggle and fight; this had nothing to do with the Primordial Universe.

From the moment he chose the "Soul-Devouring Demon Tank," it proved that he possessed a heart determined to grow stronger.

He wanted to prove to those predecessors of the Soul-Devouring Demon Tank that if he were to do it, he would become the ultimate demon tank that shocked all races in the universe, and this was the very first step beneath his feet.

Time flowed slowly; the monotonous life of cultivation was enough to drive one mad with boredom, but under the reminder of the countdown of life, all those participating in the trial were forcing themselves to improve their strength.

This was a game of life and death; between life and death, every living being possessed infinite motivation.

Ding!

"There is less than one minute remaining until the one-year deadline. Trial Takers, please note: when the countdown ends, a door will open in your trial room, leading to the Trial Ground."

"Your simple light computers will now receive a map of your respective Trial Ground, as well as a list of winners from all Trial Grounds in the Blood Sun Tribe over the last 1,000 trials."

"I hope you can learn from them and become one of those who walk out of the Trial Ground."

Wu Sheng closed his eyes, listening quietly.

He now needed to reclaim the version of himself from eighteen years ago—the assassin who killed incessantly just to survive.

"Countdown: 30, 29... 3, 2, 1."

"Begin!"

Whoosh!

The massive screen shattered with a boom, revealing a black opening three meters wide. At the end of the opening, a sliver of white light pierced through.

"Interesting. Is this asking us to slaughter each other in a wilderness? They even placed some fierce beasts inside, tsk tsk!"

Wu Sheng walked slowly toward the opening, though his eyes remained fixed on the screen on his arm, which recorded the general map of the CKHX-3819 Blood Trial Ground.

The entire Trial Ground spanned nearly 3 million square kilometers, roughly the size of the India of his past life, though it was mostly covered by forests, followed by some low-lying mountain ranges.

In the perilous lands of the Prison Clan, with their Planet Grade strength, even with Telekinetic Weapons, they were destined not to fly very far. While such a small space was a bit crowded for 1 million Planet Grade Prison Clan members, it was enough for slaughter.

"Hmm, there are 100 Blood Trials in the Blood Sun Tribe each time; theoretically, 10,000 people should survive. Yet, in these 1,000 trials, fewer than 5 million have walked out. That's insane!"

Wu Sheng looked at the list of names again and discovered some discrepancies compared to the propaganda from the outside world, feeling secretly shocked!

"Haha, it's finally over! Quickly, check how much the total stakes are across all betting pools!"

In a luxurious yet exceptionally vast hall, a black giant with wings on his back lay leisurely on a stone chair over six hundred meters long, surrounded by hundreds of servants massaging him.

However, upon hearing that the Trial Ground had opened, he sat up abruptly, revealing a two-hundred-meter-tall upper body, sending nearly half of the surrounding servants flying.

He paid them no mind, instead roaring at a screen in the hall that was also several hundred meters wide.

"Reporting to the Young Master, the total stakes this time are around 1.2 quadrillion Cosmic Crystals. Pool No. 1 alone has over 700 trillion Cosmic Crystals, while Pools No. 2 and 3 each have over 200 trillion. The funds in all other betting pools combined do not exceed 40 trillion Cosmic Crystals."

A graceful white-robed woman with wings on her back replied respectfully beside the black giant. However, she was less than two meters tall, not even half the size of the black giant's head, appearing quite miniature.

"Hmph, that old fellow Blood Sun dares to fight against our Thunder Wing Giant Clan? He thinks that by cultivating a body of 'Cang,' he can nurture an Immortal helper with immense divine power? How delusional. Not to mention whether he can succeed, our Thunder Wing Giant Clan would never allow this first step to happen."

"But those are things for the ancestors to consider. We just need to follow along, drink some soup, and earn a little money. Tsk tsk, 1.2 quadrillion Cosmic Crystals... even if split in half, the Blood Sun side has bet nearly 600 trillion. If our Thunder Wing Clan wins all this money, I imagine that old fellow's face will look quite interesting!"

The black giant rubbed his massive forehead and grinned. The purple wings on his back couldn't help but flap gently, creating two massive gusts of wind that blew the surrounding servants, including the white-robed woman with wings, into a disarray.

Inside a giant tower, a group of Prison Clan members wearing red battle suits gathered together. They varied in appearance, but judging by their attire, they were clearly from the same faction.

"Hmph, according to the statistics, there are 83 Special Elites in the MX31-003 Trial Ground this time, and the number of Elite Trial Takers is as high as over 10,000. Very good, very good indeed!" An aged voice echoed within the tower.

"Those factions must have brought out the family assets they've been hoarding for hundreds of years. Tsk tsk, counting the Special Elites in other Trial Grounds, there must be nearly a hundred of them."

"It's insane. Ordinary elites can be piled up with massive resources, but those Special Elites who possess a Domain are not easy to find."

"It seems the God Lord's plan has already succeeded by nearly half. This time, not only must we capture this Star Beast and win the betting money inside, but we must also wipe out this batch of Earth Grade geniuses that Lei Xing has painstakingly cultivated. Let him know that the Blood Sun Tribe is ultimately decided by Blood Sun!"

"Haha, exactly!"

These Prison Clan members acted as if they had accomplished a flawless feat, and in the end, they all burst into laughter.

"What about the other two locations?" a voice suddenly asked, seemingly harboring some concern.

"It depends on luck. If we can take them, great; if not, so be it."

"Correct, the priority remains the grand objective. As for the other two locations, perhaps those Three Great Organizations and those Realm Lord Clans have some ulterior motives of their own!"

"Indeed, but Lord Blood Sun's move in this game of chess is truly brilliant! The Nine Spirits Society has already pledged allegiance to us in advance, yet Lord Blood Sun has kept it under wraps, refusing to reveal it. Now, he has managed to run Lei Xing and his lot in circles using nothing but a secondary Star Beast. Ingenious, truly ingenious!"

"That goes without saying. This is only the beginning. Lei Xing is nothing but an outsider; how could he ever hope to compare to Lord Blood Sun?"

"Exactly. Let this fellow bleed a little first. The real main event will be the Sky Grade and even Nirvana Level Blood Trials that follow."

Whoosh!

A flash of cyan light flickered, and Wu Sheng revealed his figure, brandishing a cyan longsword. Behind him, a Prison Clan member clad in green battle armor collapsed to the ground, his face twisted in frustration.

The green battle armor peeled away from his body, transforming into a green orb of light the size of a palm. The true appearance of the Prison Clan member was finally revealed; he was a peculiar, humanoid lifeform, though his upper body was covered in thick, long hair, and his shoulders were hunched high, with a green orb protruding from the peak of each shoulder.

"A Woodborn Clan member. Your innate talent is decent enough, but your strength is lacking—only Planet Grade, stage seven."

Wu Sheng sighed, then his eyes suddenly flared, casting two beams of Blood Red Light onto the corpse of the Woodborn Clan member.

A green speck of light, barely an inch tall, was forcibly dragged out from the corpse by the Blood Red Light, and only when it flew before Wu Sheng did the crimson glow instantly recede.

He stared at the remaining green speck, which clearly encased a humanoid silhouette that looked exactly like the Woodborn Clan member.

Wu Sheng gritted his teeth and exhaled a stream of cyan light, sweeping the green speck into his mouth just as one would refine a Wind Chime Fruit.

He then swiftly gathered the Woodborn Clan member's weapon, battle armor, and Space Ring into a bundle formed by his own shifting battle suit before departing immediately.

Less than ten minutes later, he returned to a hidden tree hollow he had prepared in advance and immediately sat down in a cross-legged position.

Innate Secret Art... Soul Devour.

With a thought, his entire body began to shimmer with a blood-red radiance. Inside his Inner World, the deep cyan tornado formed by his Primal Force core instantly turned blood-red. Above the eye of the storm, the green speck Wu Sheng had swallowed began to slowly merge with his seven miniature planets.