"..."
Bibi Dong still couldn't help being curious.
Although she had blind faith in Lin Qiu, the intent behind that sword had been so profound that even she, a successor of the Rakshasa God, had felt her heart tremble.
Lin Qiu chewed on a grape and said indistinctly, "More or less. Anyway, I didn't really study it seriously."
There were plenty of cultivation arts in the system.
Things like the Dao Scripture, the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art, and the Art of Pacifying Chaos.
Any one of them could crush the entire cultivation system of Douluo Continent into dust.
"Mom, I'm going into seclusion for a few days."
Lin Qiu swallowed the grape and spoke seriously.
He had gained far too much today.
Not only had he killed Dai Weisi, he had also cowed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
The system notifications had been ringing nonstop for a while now.
[Ding! The host has completed the mission: Cow the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.] [Calculating rewards...] [Congratulations, host! You have obtained: Source of All-Things Mother Qi (one wisp).] [Congratulations, host! You have obtained: One Perfect Sea of Bitterness Realm Foundation Card.] [Congratulations, host! You have obtained: One of the Nine Secrets, the Secret of Jie.] [...]
Lin Qiu's eyes lit up.
Mother Qi of All Things!
This was the supreme treasure Ye Tiandi had used to forge the Cauldron of All-Things Mother Qi in the Shrouding Heavens World!
Even a single wisp, placed in Douluo Continent, would weigh as much as a mountain—a divine object capable of crushing the ages beneath it.
If he refined this thing into his Martial Soul...
Even if he just threw it at someone, he could probably give a God King a concussion.
And then there was the Secret of Jie.
A boost to his combat power.
In a world where the only enhancements came from Soul Skills, this was practically a dimensional strike.
"Going into seclusion?"
Bibi Dong seemed reluctant, but still nodded. "All right. I'll protect you while you cultivate."
"No one is allowed to disturb you inside the Pope Palace."
"Even if that old geezer Qian Daoliu shows up, I'll make him get lost."
"..."
Seeing how domineering his mother looked, Lin Qiu felt a warmth in his heart.
The system was a bit of a pain, but this life of being pampered...
It really was sweet.
Lin Qiu sat cross-legged and sank his mind into the system space.
That wisp of Xuanhuang Qi drifted slowly through the space like a tiny dragon.
Heavy.
Solid.
Just looking at it was enough to sense a terrifying aura, as if it could crush the heavens themselves.
"System, extract the Mother Qi of All Things."
Lin Qiu gave the command silently.
Inside the secret chamber, a thick formation barrier enveloped the golden walls.
Lin Qiu sat cross-legged on a bed carved from Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade.
He casually turned his hand over.
A wisp of Xuanhuang Qi appeared in his palm.
It was no thicker than a strand of hair. It looked utterly unremarkable, even a little murky.
Yet the moment that wisp of Qi appeared—
Crack—!
The Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade bed, so hard that even a Soul Douluo's full-force strike could barely leave a mark on it, instantly filled with a web of cracks.
The ground throughout the Pope Palace began to sink slightly.
A sensation of ancient, boundless heaviness, as if it could crush all the worlds beneath the heavens, filled the tiny secret chamber.
"The Source of All-Things Mother Qi."
Lin Qiu gazed at the wisp of Xuanhuang Qi coiling around his fingertip, his eyes burning.
In the Shrouding Heavens World, this was a sacred treasure that even Great Emperors coveted, a supreme material for forging an Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon.
A single wisp of Mother Qi weighed more than ten thousand jun.
If fully unleashed, this wisp alone could crush the entire Spirit City.
"System, refine it."
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Qiu slapped the wisp of Mother Qi into his chest.
Rumble!
A roar like a great river surging through its banks came from within him.
A golden Bitter Sea manifested in his abdomen. Though only the size of a palm, its waves surged sky-high, interwoven with lightning.
As soon as the Mother Qi of All Things entered the Bitter Sea, it acted like a Sea-Stabilizing Needle, instantly suppressing every swell and ripple.
Then it transformed into countless tiny particles, merging into Lin Qiu's limbs and bones, his five organs and six bowels.
At that moment, Lin Qiu felt his body undergoing a qualitative transformation.
His bones turned pale gold, his blood grew as heavy as mercury, and every heartbeat sounded like a war drum.
It was at that very moment.
A cold, violent force, filled with an aura of destruction, suddenly descended without warning.
It was the will of the rules governing Douluo Continent.
[Ding! The host is undergoing high-intensity bodily refinement. The "Nine Trials of Destruction" mechanism has been triggered.] [This trial is an inheritance test left behind by the God of Destruction.]
The system's notification sounded in his mind.
Lin Qiu raised an eyebrow.
The Nine Trials of Destruction?
As he recalled, the protagonist in the original story hadn't been given anything like this.
It seemed that the commotion he had caused was too great, or perhaps the power he had displayed in the plaza had been too domineering, drawing the Divine Realm's attention.
"Interesting."
Lin Qiu's lips curled upward. He wasn't worried in the slightest. "Just what I need to warm up."
Just then, the system spoke again, with a kind of "disdain" only Lin Qiu could understand.
[Ding! System assessment: The energy level of these "Nine Trials of Destruction" is low, similar to a first-stage heavenly tribulation in the Four Extremes Realm.] [Recommendation for the host: crush it directly.]
The next second.
Space twisted inside the secret chamber, and the first trial descended.
There were no flashy effects, only pure gravitational pressure.
A hundred times the normal gravity!
An ordinary Soul Saint caught in this sudden hundredfold gravity would have been crushed into a pulp in an instant.
But Lin Qiu sat there without even lifting an eyelid.
His body had now fused with the Mother Qi of All Things, and the density of every cell was astonishingly high.
The hundredfold gravity fell upon him, feeling no different from a tickle.
"That's it?"
Lin Qiu rolled his neck, the joints popping in a crackling series.
"Too weak."
He didn't even use Soul Power. Relying solely on his physical strength, he gave a sudden jolt.
Bang!
The air boomed.
The supposedly hundredfold gravity field shattered under that casual shake.
[Ding! First Trial passed.] [Second Trial begins.]
The scene shifted.
Countless black blades appeared out of thin air. Carrying an aura that corroded the soul, they rained down on Lin Qiu.
This was an attack that targeted both the mind and the body.
Each blade was powerful enough to cut through the defenses of a Soul Saint with the best possible configuration.
"Flashy nonsense."
Lin Qiu yawned, then opened his mouth and sucked in a breath.
The Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art!
He hadn't cultivated it to a profound level yet, but it was more than enough to deal with this low-level energy.
Whoosh—!
A black whirlwind swept through the secret chamber.
The blades of destruction, powerful enough to make even Titled Douluo feel their scalps tingle, all flew into Lin Qiu's mouth like swallows returning to their nest.
"A little bitter."
Lin Qiu smacked his lips. "The energy's too impure. It's not even as good as a few jin of Source Stones."
[Ding! Second Trial passed.]
Over the following stretch of time, these so-called "Nine Trials of Destruction" became little more than Lin Qiu's personal show.
The Third Trial was an illusion.
Before you continue