"Heh heh, these little guys are studying very seriously!"
In the control room, the burly four-horned man grinned, the black demonic markings on his face twisting into a tangled mess.
Seeing how seriously they were studying reminded the four-horned man of his younger self. He, too, had refused to submit to fate, wanted to become strong, and dreamed of gaining supreme status and immense wealth.
But...
"The Prison Clan trials are just too cruel. Even strength alone isn't necessarily enough to make it through, and these little guys don't even have any strength to speak of." The four-horned man shook his head with a sigh, then turned to a black-robed woman beside him, who had three fluffy tails. "How are the wagers looking this time?"
"So far, the total wagers on all the Blood Trials in the Blood Sun Tribe have exceeded five hundred trillion Cosmic Coins."
"The three largest betting pools are on MX31-003, CKHX-3819, and EBD2-5724, with approximately 420 trillion, 20 trillion, and 15 trillion Cosmic Coins, respectively."
"It's estimated that the total wagers this time will exceed one quadrillion Cosmic Coins, and the funds in those three pools will balloon as well."
The black-robed woman thought for a moment, then answered directly.
"How could there be so much? For those Domain Lords and Realm Lords, even the combined wagers on the usual Earth Grade trials only add up to about one hundred trillion Cosmic Coins, and that's already an incredible amount."
The four-horned man was astonished. The Blood Sun Tribe now had two Immortal Gods stationed there: Blood Sun and Lord Thunder Star. Each Immortal had dozens of Realm Lords under them, and there were also the Three Great Organizations, each with dozens of Realm Lords of its own, along with several major clans that had Realm Lords.
Yet even so, whenever the trials began, it was already impressive if everyone's wagers added up to around one hundred trillion Cosmic Coins.
Why had they increased tenfold this time?
Unless...
"It's because the two Immortals are directly participating in this wager. The Nine Spirits Society, one of the Three Great Organizations, managed to obtain a living second-tier Star Beast called Cang through outside channels. The news leaked, and the Imperial Clans of those two Immortals found the Nine Spirits Society almost simultaneously, each demanding that it sell them the Star Beast."
"To avoid offending either Imperial Clan, the Nine Spirits Society took enough profit and then put the Star Beast up as the prize in this Blood Trial. The two Immortal Imperial Clans have had a long-standing grudge and both want to make the other suffer a heavy loss through this wager, so the betting pools keep growing."
The black-robed woman answered honestly.
Sure enough, the four-horned man looked enlightened.
The Prison Clan's higher-ups would never allow a single faction to have the final say in the Blood Sun Tribe. Blood Sun was powerful and belonged to the local faction, but he was still wary of Lord Thunder Star, who had been appointed by the Prison Clan's higher-ups.
It was said that Lord Thunder Star's true form was a Thunder Wing Giant. Leaving everything else aside, his divine body alone stood over a hundred kilometers tall, making him incomparable to Blood Sun, whose divine body was less than ten meters tall.
Under the arrangements of the Prison Clan's higher-ups, the two Immortals were locked in an open and covert struggle, always trying to outdo one another.
It was no surprise, then, that the wager had grown so large.
"Star Beasts, huh? Even the weakest Star Beasts grow to dozens of kilometers as adults. The next tier up reaches hundreds of kilometers, while the strongest grow to more than a thousand. Their Life Genes are ten times those of ordinary life-forms. Just standing near such a powerful being can make you feel utterly hopeless."
The four-horned man sighed. Star Beasts with peak bloodlines had such absurdly powerful innate gifts that they surpassed ninety-nine percent of the reproducible life-forms in the Primordial Universe.
Even a lower-tier Star Beast was an excellent choice, whether for Soul Slavery or Body Possession.
"What are the prizes in the other two betting pools?" the four-horned man asked curiously.
"The second-place prize is a human woman. She was an additional item in one of our transactions with the Bug Clan. After changing hands several times, she eventually ended up in the Blood Sun Tribe. She's only at the third level of Sky Grade, yet she already has a Domain and has begun to sense the Laws. She's a rare human genius. It's just that humans have weak bodies. That doesn't matter much before they become Immortals, but once she breaks through, that little bit of divine power won't amount to much."
"The third-place prize is an adult Monster Clan member at the seventh stage of Nirvana. It's neither Imperial Clan nor Royal Clan, but it has a huge physical advantage, standing over ten kilometers tall. Its physical strength alone puts it near the top of all the Monster Clan's races, no worse than those of the Royal Clans or Imperial Clans."
The four-horned man nodded in agreement at the black-robed woman's words.
In the Primordial Universe, life-forms with souls were generally stronger than those without, and this had indirectly given rise to many cruel methods, including Soul Slavery and Body Possession.
Humans and the Monster Clan were the two most popular targets.
Humans had the Virtual Universe, which covered the entire Primordial Universe. Even the most ordinary human risked being captured and subjected to Soul Slavery, often to serve as a spy or a means of communication between Alien Races.
And that was nothing compared to human geniuses!
As for the Monster Clan, their enormous bodies were perfectly suited for Body Possession by smaller life-forms. However, the more physically powerful a Monster Clan member was, the lower its birth rate. On top of that, as a peak race, the Monster Clan protected its weaker members very well, making it difficult for outsiders to carry out Body Possession or Soul Slavery.
"Unfortunately, the CKHX-3819 trial site we're heading to has already been confirmed as the battleground for that human woman. There are too many unpredictable factors there."
"If Lord Beiming wants to join the wager, he should avoid that one, along with the other two. After all, the reason you've made it this far in one piece is your exceptional ability to avoid offending either side."
The four-horned man said nothing, only nodding steadily once more.
Money wasn't always better the more you made. Sometimes, making too much meant offending people.
Though he was a Nirvana powerhouse under Blood Sun, it was clear that Realm Lords and even Immortals were involved in these three trials. He certainly wasn't going to risk raising his bets.
"Consciousness can be divided into willpower and soul force. My soul force currently depends on my Psychic Amplification and the level of my Spiritual Force. Of the three Soul Arts I chose, Soul Confusion is the most suitable for me. And if I combine it with my Innate Secret Art..."
In the same hall, more than ten meters across, Wu Sheng spent his free time thinking over his strengths and weaknesses.
Time passed little by little as each of them considered how to become stronger.
Those with strong Genetic Primal Force studied how to improve their Force Amplitude and decided to follow the warrior path.
Those with strong Spiritual Force studied how to improve it and decided to follow paths such as Controller or illusionist.
Some thought they couldn't afford to have any weaknesses, so they did their best to make up for their shortcomings.
Others believed they could still break through another minor level, so they worked hard at their cultivation.
Everyone was preparing for the bloody trial that was about to begin... They all wanted to be among the survivors.
"Move it! Anyone who hasn't signed up for the Blood Trial, come over here and draw lots. Quit dawdling. Our equipment can handle up to ten thousand people drawing lots at once. Once the Blood Trial reaches its required number, we'll start drawing lots for the Cyan Trials again."
"Exactly. Anyone who dares to waste time will be assigned to the Blood Trial!"
"Haha, Kake, that's way too harsh. Look how scared you've got the little guys!"
As soon as he stepped off the round spacecraft, Wu Sheng saw many Star Grade Prison Clan Members maintaining order, along with even more Planet Grade Prison Clan Members.
This trial site, known as CKHX-3819, would host one Blood Trial, ten Cyan Trials, and at least a hundred Purple Trials at the same time.
According to the required number of participants for each trial, there would be at least three million Planet Grade Prison Clan Members here, taking part in a brutal, bloody elimination.
There were a hundred such trial sites in the Blood Sun Tribe.
In other words, every hundred years, the Prison Clan eliminated three hundred million Planet Grade Prison Clan Members through trials in just one tribe ruled by an Immortal God.
And that didn't even include the Prison Clan Members eliminated in the wars between races!
When he also considered the later elimination trials for Star Grade and Cosmic Level members, even Wu Sheng, who called himself a cold-blooded killer, couldn't help feeling a chill run down his spine.
Yet faced with this situation, even the weaker branches had to desperately replenish their populations. If they gave up and failed to bring in fresh blood, they would risk being wiped out.