The Prison Clan had no Virtual Universe like humanity did, so it could only resort to the most primitive method: gathering large numbers of weak clan members and making them fight each other to the death.
This was what was known as the Prison Clan's trials!
It was just like raising poison insects!
The trials varied in scale, death rate, and brutality.
The trial where only ten out of ten thousand survived was called the Purple Trial.
The trial where only a hundred out of a hundred thousand survived was called the Cyan Trial.
The most terrifying was the one where only a hundred out of a million survived: the Blood Trial.
But it had to be said that this method did indeed help the Prison Clan select batch after batch of fresh blood.
On top of that, the Prison Clan's other clans were constantly at war with one another. Countless lives perished in every battle, but new powerhouses continued to emerge as well.
These measures suited the upper ranks well. They could gather batch after batch of elite prospects to nurture.
But for those at the bottom, it was far too cruel and bloody.
There were even many times when they couldn't gather enough clan members to hold a trial. When that happened, powerhouses would visit the lower ranks of the various clans and forcibly seize large numbers of their members to participate.
The three sons of the adoptive father standing before Wu Sheng had been forcibly taken away when they were at Planet Grade. That powerhouse had simply left behind a single Cosmic Coin before departing.
In Human Territory, one Cosmic Coin would be enough to buy a Planet Grade slave.
Now, Wu Sheng had brought up the Blood Trial again, naturally reopening the wounds of this father who had lost all three of his sons.
"Are you really going?"
The Black-Armored Ape's eyes were red. He was grieving both over his three sons' horrific fates and worrying about the adopted son he had taken in.
He hadn't expected Wu Sheng to be so bold as to volunteer for the most terrifying of all the trials: the Blood Trial.
"I'm going!"
Wu Sheng's gaze remained resolute.
There was no time!
The Planet Grade Blood Trial was held once every hundred years. He had already been at Planet Grade for more than ten years. At this rate, even if he went without food or sleep, by the time the next Planet Grade Blood Trial began, he would have already reached Star Grade.
But the Star Grade Blood Trial was held only once every thousand years, and the next one wouldn't take place for another six hundred years.
In other words, if he missed the Planet Grade Blood Trial three months from now, he would have to wait six hundred years before he could take part in the Star Grade Blood Trial.
He couldn't afford to wait that long!
It might seem like he was only losing six hundred years, but that meant his strength would fall six hundred years behind before he could start improving rapidly. Falling behind at this stage would almost certainly mean staying behind for the rest of his life.
Especially since he urgently needed to unlock the Time-Space Shop. The longer he delayed, the heavier the burden on him would become.
There was another factor, too: his identity as a Special Lifeform.
Although he was the weakest Special Lifeform, he hadn't started out as strong as other Special Lifeforms—or even the Golden-Horned Giant Beast at the same level. But his advantage now was his perfect Force Amplitude and perfect Psychic Amplification.
Among most species capable of reproduction, very few were born with perfect force and psychic amplitudes.
Especially at Planet Grade, where most had a Force Amplitude of around twenty times, while his was a hundred times. That was one of his greatest assets in challenging opponents above his level.
If he waited until Star Grade to enter the Blood Trial, there might be many powerhouses with a Force Amplitude of thirty or even forty times. His advantage would be greatly reduced.
This was the only advantage he had at this early stage.
If he used it well, he could grow quickly in the Planet Grade Blood Trial and ultimately stand out.
As for everything else—Domains, laws, and the other secret techniques in his inherited memories—he had none of it.
That was why Wu Sheng complained that his Special Lifeform, Soul-Devouring Demon Tank, was a rip-off.
If he could start over, he definitely wouldn't choose this Special Lifeform that had made him false promises. He'd simply pick the Golden-Horned Giant Beast for his starting point. It had a Clone, and its inherited memories contained plenty of secret techniques to learn.
"How about this? Come back with me first, and we'll discuss it properly. If you're really set on this, then all I can do is support you."
The Black-Armored Ape sighed, but he still hadn't given up. He hoped that if he had more time to persuade Wu Sheng, he might change his mind.
Wu Sheng followed the Black-Armored Ape back to his home, a Stone Courtyard only a few dozen meters across, with just a handful of stone houses.
It was one of tens of millions of weak branches of the Wu Gang Clan. Even the strongest Wu Gang Clan member there, its chief, was only at Ninth Order of Star Grade.
It was said that the Wu Gang Clan had five main branches, thirteen secondary branches, and several thousand middle-ranking branches. The strongest member of the Wu Gang Clan was a great Immortal God, Lord Wu Ci.
In this perilous land of the Prison Clan, only a small part had been designated as a place for cultivation. Most of it was used for bloody battles, serving as a means of training.
Even though the Wu Gang Clan had a great Immortal God overseeing it, he still didn't dare defy the upper ranks' decisions.
The entire Wu Gang Clan had once been scattered into hundreds of millions of branches. After so many years of destruction and replenishment, it had finally stabilized at tens of millions of weak branches.
The Bone Snail Clan, now at war with their branch of the Wu Gang Clan, was in no better shape. Although the Bone Snail Clan's main force was said to be larger, the Wu Gang Clan had the advantage in this weak branch.
Wu Sheng lay on his little bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
He hadn't expected that in his previous life, after being a killer everyone feared, he'd have to return to his old line of work here.
Killing might be rare for other people, but for him... it was necessary for survival.
To survive, he had to kill! As a killer, he either killed his enemies or was killed by them.
Knock, knock, knock!
A sudden knock sounded at the door.
Wu Sheng hurried to open it, only to find that his adoptive father had taken off his black armor and changed into a simple robe.
Many members of this branch had no proper names. Just as Wu Sheng himself was called Black Boy, his adoptive father was called Xuan Gang.
"What, you didn't expect me to come?"
Xuan Gang smiled kindly.
"That's right. I thought you'd let me think it over for a while." Wu Sheng nodded honestly.
"Though I wanted to do that, I was afraid you might not have enough time. I know what you're like. Once you've made up your mind, there's no stopping you. But I still wanted to ask: have you really decided?"
Xuan Gang looked seriously at Wu Sheng, trying to find a trace of hesitation in those blood-red eyes.
But he failed, because Wu Sheng simply nodded calmly.
"If that's the case, I won't try to talk you out of it any further! During the Blood Trial, weapons and armor will be issued automatically to ensure you have some chance of survival. That much I'm not worried about."
"What I can't stop worrying about is your strength. I'm not strong enough, and your adoptive mother died early. I struggled to raise three children, only for them to be forcibly taken away. Now, this is the only thing I have that can make you stronger quickly. Take it!"
After finishing, Xuan Gang took out a cyan jade box and placed it on the table, then slowly opened it.
Wu Sheng turned to look. Inside lay a dark blue crystal about ten centimeters across, with several white specks of light floating within it, like a beautiful blue starry sky.
But Wu Sheng's eyes widened, because he recognized what it was... It was a Cosmic Crystal.