In a hidden mountain cave, Wu Sheng sat cross-legged in his green robes. A blood-red light radiated from his body, flickering on and off.
Half a day later, the red glow around him gradually weakened, then vanished completely.
At the same time, he opened his red eyes. In each blood-red pupil, eight miniature planets slowly revolved.
"Not bad. With the pure soul energy I gained from Soul Devour, along with the Cosmic Crystals and other treasures in those Space Rings, my Spiritual Force has advanced to Planet Grade Eight ahead of schedule. My will has also successfully broken through to Star Grade. That means even if I run into those Prison Clan Members at Planetary Level Nine, I'll be able to put up a fight."
A faint smile appeared on Wu Sheng's lips. After dozens of battles and more than a hundred days, he had finally achieved the first step of his plan.
The weapons provided by the Trial Ground were too rigid. Even though he had perfect force application and perfect psychic control, the strongest form of his Third-Grade Mid-Rank weapon could only reach eighty times its normal power. That had effectively weakened him.
That was why Wu Sheng had chosen to follow the path of the soul.
"Breaking through in will greatly enhances soul arts. My will has only just entered Star Grade, but with my Spiritual Force and Psychic Amplification, even those elite Spirit Readers at Planetary Level Nine might not be able to escape the effects of my Mind Confusion."
"As long as I don't run into those Special Elites or Trial Takers who've advanced to Star Grade, I should be able to protect myself."
Despite his delight, Wu Sheng's eyes held a trace of solemnity.
According to the list of the Blood Sun Tribe's last thousand Blood Trials, the Prison Clan Members who had successfully made it out were all exceptionally powerful.
They were either elite Trial Takers who had successfully advanced to Star Grade,
or Special Elites who had already developed a Domain, with some even having touched the edges of the Laws. Such super-geniuses were practically invincible even at Planet Grade, so naturally they could leave the Trial Ground with ease.
The most terrifying were the Special Elites who had advanced to Star Grade. If one of them appeared in a Trial Ground, he could easily kill everyone else and be the only one left standing, claiming every reward for himself.
In the Blood Sun Tribe's thousand Blood Trials—spanning a hundred thousand years—this had happened eleven times.
Once every ten thousand years, on average!
The Blood Trial was cruel, but for super-geniuses like them, it was merely a stage on which to prove themselves.
"I hope no monster like that shows up in our Trial Ground!"
Wu Sheng shook his head with a sigh.
If he ran into someone like that, even he, a Special Lifeform, would meet his end. After all, he was the weakest kind of Special Lifeform.
"I can't put this off any longer. I need to find two suitable targets and turn them into my servants. There are non-soul-based species among the Prison Clan. If my Soul Arts don't work on them, I'll still be at risk of dying."
With that thought, Wu Sheng slowly left the hidden cave he had painstakingly built.
"Third, are you sure you saw that scrawny fellow go in there?"
A four-legged creature resembling a rhinoceros, nearly three meters tall, with three sharp horns on its head and a massive frill behind it, questioned his companion. The other was an eagle-like bird lifeform, only a meter tall and entirely white.
"Absolutely, Boss Man Gu. I saw a green figure from high above just now. He disappeared into that low mountain."
The white bird lifeform was certain. He kept gesturing in the air with his wings.
"Hmph! It's been a month since our Seventh Squad pledged itself to our master, and we've collected barely over a hundred Battle Suits. That's pathetic! At this rate, none of the five of us will make it out of the Trial Ground."
The four-legged bull-like lifeform was clearly irritable. Their master was powerful and willing to take them in, but he had only done so because they had some strength of their own.
Now they couldn't even complete the easiest objectives. It was only a matter of time before they were cast aside.
"Found it! The entrance is here, cleverly blocked by a boulder. Heh, if I hadn't swept the depths of the cave with my Spiritual Force, I would've nearly missed it."
A Woodborn Clan member farther away called out to his two companions.
"Good! Let's hide nearby and wait for him to come out."
The four-legged bull-like lifeform snorted, spraying two streams of blue vapor. He was quite pleased.
"Should we call over some more squad members? What if the five of us can't beat him?" The white bird lifeform was clearly uneasy and wanted to bring in more help.
"Are you stupid? There's only one of him, and the Battle Suits he has wouldn't even be enough to split five ways. Why call anyone else? If you're scared, you can leave now. We'll pretend we never knew each other. The next time we meet, we'll be enemies."
The four-legged bull-like lifeform left without hesitation, looking down on his birdlike companion even more than before. If the other hadn't been able to fly, making him useful for scouting, he would've kicked him out of the squad long ago.
When the white bird lifeform heard that his companion would abandon him, he suddenly came to his senses and hurried after him, shouting.
As long as he stayed with his companions, he wouldn't die so quickly, and he might even get a share of the spoils now and then. If he were on his own, he'd meet a gruesome end for sure.
"Something's not right!"
As soon as Wu Sheng left the cave, he noticed something amiss. Most of the surroundings had been restored, but a few isolated areas had changed.
He knew the entrance to his cave had probably been exposed.
"Just as I thought. It's been nearly a hundred days, and these people have searched nearly every place where someone could hide. It'll be much harder to find a secluded spot from now on!"
Wu Sheng sighed. He could only rely on himself. The place he was in was one of the Prison Clan's Perilous Lands, and he had none of the high-tech equipment available to the Human Race or the Machine Clan.
He could only use the most primitive methods to evade detection. The trouble was that everyone in this Trial Ground was his enemy.
"Attack!"
A thunderous roar rang out. A three-meter-tall black monster appeared first. He lowered his head, bared his three sharp horns, and charged straight at Wu Sheng.
"Holy crap, is that a triceratops?"
Wu Sheng was startled. The more he looked at the creature, the more familiar it seemed, especially its massive frill and three sharp horns. It looked just like the triceratops he had heard about in his previous life.
"Kill!"
"Roar!"
There were five of them in all. Three were in front and one behind, all Planet Grade Seven or Eight warriors. Above them was a birdlike Alien Race member at Planet Grade Eight. He seemed to be a Spirit Reader, remotely controlling a large net that came swooping down over Wu Sheng.
"Hmph. You're asking for death!" Wu Sheng's eyes turned cold. These nobodies would've been tricky to deal with before, but now he could test the power of his Mind Confusion.