"To lead an army, one must first master one's heart. When Mount Tai collapses before you, your expression must not change; when a moose springs up beside you, your eyes must not blink. Only then can you control the balance of advantage and danger, and face the enemy."
Four years into seclusion, Wu Sheng opened his eyes again and sighed softly.
The ancients often said, "Cultivate yourself, manage your family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world."
To make something of yourself, the first thing you had to do was cultivate your heart!
If your heart was unclear, how could you know which path to take?
And what was willpower?
Willpower was an intangible thing, a combined expression of a lifeform's understanding of and feelings about its own experiences.
The richer a person's experiences, the clearer their understanding of the world and the better their ability to analyze things.
As for emotions, willpower also had its own unique effects.
Some people had unwavering willpower, so their attitude toward certain things was clear. No matter how others threatened them, it was difficult to change what they truly believed.
Others, by contrast, had weak willpower. They were sensitive about certain things, and even a few words could sway them and make them doubt themselves, leaving them unable to accomplish anything until they met a miserable end.
"After experiencing the many hardships of others in my dreams, what should my heart be like?"
"That's right. In my previous life, I was an assassin and had no choice but to obey the organization. In this life, I was fortunate enough to become a Special Lifeform, but the price was that I had to remain subject to the Primordial Universe."
"Even if, in the eyes of the Primordial Universe, I'm currently of no use to it and merely a pawn it placed on the board at random, my life and death are still in the hands of others. That's the price I have to pay."
"So... survival is the first step in cultivating my heart. It's a problem I've had to face in both my past and present lives, and it's the most basic desire of all lifeforms."
Wu Sheng's eyes grew brighter, and his gaze grew more resolute.
Cultivating the heart was about uncovering the truest emotions within. Willpower was inherently elusive, but with the support of one's mindset, it became real.
"Whew, my willpower has finally reached the Cosmic Level. My strength should be no worse than that of Special Elites like Kadi and Cang Ge, right?"
"Unfortunately, I'm still no match for Li Long or Leo!"
Wu Sheng shook his head with a wry smile.
Even among Special Elites, there were disparities. Li Long was already at Stellar Level Three, and his Domain had even broken through to the third level during his great battle with Leo.
He was practically a god descended from heaven!
Leo was also formidable, but his strength lay in his innate talent.
With an Innate Life Core, a Life Gene four times as strong, and three Innate Secret Arts, on top of his terrifying height, a powerful lifeform like him could be said to have a great advantage in both the early and later stages.
"Unless I can develop a Domain of my own, at most I can currently contend with an ordinary Domain user like Cang Ge!"
Wu Sheng analyzed things carefully. His willpower had broken through to the Cosmic Level, and each time it advanced by a major realm, his soul gained several times, or even tenfold, its previous strength. (In the original work, when Luo Feng was a Realm Lord, his powerful willpower let him easily command General Souls with the support of the 32-fold Soul Amplitude from the Demon Sound Divine General Inheritance, even though General Souls required a hundredfold World Lord Power to activate.)
A Domain user, on the other hand, could instantly increase their own strength tenfold, even with a first-level Domain.
On top of that, Cang Ge and the others had already reached Stellar Level One and were using Third-Grade High-Quality Weapons. Compared with Wu Sheng, who was only at Planetary Level Nine, they had a considerable advantage.
All things considered, Wu Sheng's combat strength was about on par with Special Elites like Cang Ge.
Of course, that was based on how strong Cang Ge and the others had been four years ago. Now that four years had passed, their strength might have improved as well!
"Hmm, why has Li Long come here?" Wu Sheng furrowed his brows, then immediately used the Mind Control mark to contact Li Hu, who was elsewhere.
Inside Li Hu's luxurious cave, Li Long stood silently at the entrance, his brows furrowed as he looked at the opulent scene within.
"B-Brother, what brings you here?"
Controlling Li Hu, Wu Sheng made him ask.
"You haven't stepped outside once in the past four years, and your cultivation hasn't advanced. Was all that just so you could indulge yourself?" Li Long demanded sternly.
"N-No, it's not as bad as you think!" Li Hu gave an awkward smile.
At the other end, Wu Sheng wore an awkward expression too. But in truth, Li Hu wasn't being wrongly accused at all.
Before entering the Blood Trial, he had brought along a Space Ring hundreds of meters across. More than half of it was filled with Cosmic Crystals, but, bizarrely, in another space inside it, alongside the treasures meant for cultivation, there was also a luxurious, oversized bed and all kinds of... intimate accessories.
He really knew how to enjoy himself!
"Enough. You need to be careful in all things. I came to tell you that we've finished preparing over the past four years. Anji and the others have all successfully advanced to Sky Grade, and I've stabilized my own realm. It's time to launch a full-scale counterattack against Thunder Star Mountain."
Li Long glanced at Lan Miao'er, who was hiding nearby, and said calmly, "Leo's side has three Special Elites. If we let them keep growing, I'm afraid the situation will eventually get out of hand!"
"Ah, that's great! Hahaha, I've been waiting for you to show off your might again, Big Brother!" Li Hu shouted excitedly.
He really was excited, but that was Wu Sheng.
He had just raised his strength to a new level, and now a new opportunity was coming his way. It was as if even heaven was eager to put food in his mouth.
But thinking about it, the timing made sense.
The Blood Trial lasted ten years in total. The first year was for everyone to cultivate in peace on their own; during the remaining nine years, they faced the constant threat of slaughter.
They had already gone through six of those nine years, and only two years remained before the Central Domain opened in the final year.
"This time, we'll unify the Eastern Domain and drive Leo and the others out, so they can't make trouble for us when the Central Domain opens."
"Everything's up to you, Big Brother. I'll get ready, and then we can set out." Li Hu replied with a smile, but then he thought of something and quickly asked:
"Big Brother, do you have any Cosmic Crystals or Mystic Spirit Fruits? You know, most of my subordinates have been wiped out. It may be a little late, but I still want to see if I can recruit some more people."
"Your family gave you nearly a hundred billion Cosmic Crystals. Have you spent them all?" Li Long froze. A sharp aura suddenly burst from his body, clad in Silver Battle Armor, and Li Hu couldn't help feeling a chill.
"Well, uh, I've used almost all of them. If you... if you can, could you give me a little?"
Li Hu gave an awkward smile.
"Here. There are thirty billion Cosmic Crystals and thirty Mystic Spirit Fruits inside, as well as three Ice Shadow Crystals. If you can use them to break through to Sky Grade, then you'll have made good use of these resources. Otherwise, you'd better think about how you're going to explain yourself to the clan elders."
Li Long looked at Li Hu for a long moment, then casually tossed him a Space Ring and turned to leave.
"Yes, yes, I'll make good use of these resources." Li Hu quickly replied with a smile, but once Li Long was out of sight, his smile took on a strange cast.
"Li Long, how dare you come to our territory? This is a provocation against Thunder Star Mountain. You'll regret it!"
In a vast yellow desert, Leo once again transformed into a nearly two-hundred-meter-tall azure giant. He frantically drove his Thunder Domain and exchanged blow after blow with Li Long, who was within the Ice Snow Domain.
Unfortunately, Li Long had stabilized his realm, and the strength he displayed left everyone astonished once again.
Every attack sent the azure giant stumbling back two or three steps—about a hundred meters.
If Cang Ge and Kadi hadn't been nearby to help, Leo's situation would have been even worse.
"Hahaha, exhilarating!"
Holding the Blue Spear, Li Long stood atop the snow-white dragon head formed by his Ice Snow Domain, his attacks growing fiercer by the moment.
"Kill them! Drive those Thunder Star Mountain bastards back to the Northern Domain!"
Li Hu was fighting fiercely as well. But everyone's strength had improved considerably, and another group of Elite Trial Takers had advanced to Sky Grade, so he didn't even rank among the powerful fighters on the battlefield.
And yet Li Hu had foolishly run right to the front, where the Sky Grade Trial Takers were fighting!
"Hmph, the Nine Spirits Society is nothing special. Aside from Li Long, who among you is worth mentioning? You Nine Spirits Society bastards, die!"
A Thunder Star Mountain fighter who had only recently advanced to Sky Grade swung his iron fist at Li Hu's head with all his strength.
He thought he had already warned Li Hu, and on top of that, he wasn't using his full strength. Given Li Hu's status as an Elite Trial Taker, even with only Earth Grade Ninth Order strength, he should have been able to block the punch.
After all, everyone fighting here was a Sky Grade Trial Taker. He had only struck to force Li Hu back and make him recognize the gap between their strength.
"Don't think having Li Long for an older brother means you can do whatever you want. Your own strength is what matters. Go back to the low-level battlefield and play at being a young master!"
But what happened next left the Thunder Star Mountain fighter completely stunned.
His fist struck Li Hu's head without the slightest resistance. In fact, Li Hu had apparently feared that the punch would miss, and had deliberately leaned his head into it.
Smack!
Like a watermelon smashed to pieces, Li Hu's head burst apart beneath the man's iron fist. His body suddenly stiffened, then toppled straight to the ground.
"Th-This..."
The Thunder Star Mountain Sky Grade fighter was utterly dumbfounded. But before he could do anything else, the entire world suddenly turned bitterly cold, and countless blue snowflakes began drifting down.
"Ugh!"
"Leo, your man dared to kill my little brother. Fine, very well. Then don't blame me for slaughtering without mercy!"