Decision

I do not know how much time passed, but Ju Hua stopped reading the Star Scroll, finally snapping out of his immersive state of enlightenment.

Whoosh!

The Yellow-Haired Great Bear suddenly appeared before Ju Hua.

"Senior, is there still plenty of time?" Ju Hua stood up and asked with a bow.

"Only a little over two days have passed!" The Yellow-Haired Great Bear replied, then asked, "Have you recalled the memories of your past life?"

"I have not!" Ju Hua shook his head straightforwardly.

"Are you not lying to me?" The Yellow-Haired Great Bear asked, sounding somewhat skeptical.

"Senior, I, Ju Hua, have lost both my parents since I was young and have relied solely on my younger sister. Aside from her, you are the only family I have. If I had truly awakened my memories, why would I hide it from you?" Ju Hua said earnestly.

"..."

The Yellow-Haired Great Bear said nothing, merely nodding slowly.

"Ever since I failed my tribulation, I have indeed noticed that my talent has changed, but I am just as confused as anyone about the reason!" Although Ju Hua was holding back some information, most of what he said was the truth. While he had noticed his soul absorbing some strange substance, he could not be certain if it was related to the shift in his talent; everything was merely speculation.

"You are likely a reincarnated True God or Dao Ancestor. The fact that you haven't awakened your memories is probably because the time is not yet ripe!" the Yellow-Haired Great Bear said.

"This..."

Ju Hua wanted to deny it, but seeing the certainty in the Yellow-Haired Great Bear's expression, he didn't know what else to say. In the end, Ju Hua fell silent. Let him misunderstand; being a reincarnation was far easier to accept than the truth.

The Yellow-Haired Great Bear did not bring up the reincarnation topic again. He said, "I previously said you only had a fifty-percent chance of clearing the War God Hall, but that was based on your strength from over half a year ago. Now that you have improved significantly, you have at least a ninety-percent chance of clearing the seventh level. Do you intend to challenge it?"

"Senior, I want to challenge the eighth level!" Ju Hua said.

"Very well, follow me!" The Yellow-Haired Great Bear nodded, but then he paused slightly.

"What did you just say?" the Yellow-Haired Great Bear asked.

"Senior, I want to challenge the eighth level!" Ju Hua repeated.

"The rewards for the eighth level are great, but it is not something you can clear!" the Yellow-Haired Great Bear shook his head.

"Senior, I had some insights while in the Star Hall, so I would like to try!" Ju Hua said with great seriousness.

"Insights?" The Yellow-Haired Great Bear recalled the sword domain that had appeared around Ju Hua at the end, which even he had found difficult to fathom.

"As a Yuanshen Daoist, this is my only chance to challenge the hall. If I am to challenge it, I must naturally go for the hardest! I didn't have the confidence before, but now I want to try!" Ju Hua laughed.

"Are you certain?" the Yellow-Haired Great Bear asked.

"Certain!" Ju Hua nodded firmly.

In truth, the reason Ju Hua made this choice, beyond his unexpected breakthrough in strength, was another crucial factor.

The book Desolate Era mentioned that when the protagonist Ji Ning challenged the eighth level of the War God Hall, his opponent was a genuine Void-Refining Fiendgod.

A true Void-Refining Fiendgod possesses strength comparable to an ordinary Celestial Immortal, much like a Loose Immortal who has survived for a million years.

If everything described in Desolate Era was true, then Ju Hua estimated that no matter what enemy he encountered on the eighth level, their strength would fall within that range.

Originally, Ju Hua had never intended to challenge the eighth level. Although he had made significant progress over the past half-year, there was still a gap between him and a million-year Loose Immortal.

According to Ju Hua's previous estimates, mastering the sixth form of the Great Sorrow Sword Art would grant him the strength of a million-year Loose Immortal. While he had long since mastered the fifth form, he was still a considerable distance away from the sixth.

Under these circumstances, Ju Hua naturally would not have chosen to challenge the eighth level at the start.

However, his meditation in the Star Hall had yielded unexpected gains!

Beyond deepening his understanding of the Great Dao of the Sword and the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, he had accidentally fused a small portion of the two together.

This was not merely using the two Daos in tandem, but a genuine, inseparable fusion! This fusion might not look like much, but Ju Hua clearly understood that his strength had surged significantly.

After mastering the fifth form of the Great Sorrow Sword Art, Ju Hua's strength had already reached the pinnacle of top-tier Loose Immortals, just one step away from a million-year Loose Immortal. Now, with this accidental breakthrough, Ju Hua estimated that his strength was no longer inferior to one!

Having learned the nature of the eighth level through Desolate Era and having achieved a major breakthrough, Ju Hua decided to challenge it.

If he succeeded, he would naturally be overjoyed; if he failed, it was no great loss!

Previously, the only reason Ju Hua wanted to use his remaining chance as a Yuanshen Daoist to challenge the War God Hall was because he was about to head to the battlefield and wanted to select a powerful Immortal-ranked magic treasure from the Treasure Hall to boost his strength.

But things were different now. Ju Hua's own strength had improved, and the scale of this war likely wouldn't be massive; otherwise, a mere Loose Immortal like him wouldn't be the commander of the Zhuanshui Clan's army.

As long as he was careful, surviving would be quite easy!

Therefore, whether or not he cleared the eighth level was not something Ju Hua was overly concerned about.

Of course, given his current situation, his best choice would be to wait, not challenging the hall until he had further improved and possessed absolute certainty, ensuring he could obtain a top-grade Immortal treasure.

For an average Loose Immortal, making significant progress is as difficult as ascending to heaven, but the experiences of the past half-year told Ju Hua that, as things stood, there was still considerable room for his strength to grow.

Even so, Ju Hua ultimately decided to challenge the War God Hall now.

Although many things mentioned in Desolate Era had already come to pass around him, Ju Hua still could not fully verify the authenticity of the book's contents. Thus, by challenging the eighth level, he was also harboring a desire to test the veracity of Desolate Era.

If the enemy he encountered on the eighth level was indeed at the level of a Void-Refining Fiendgod, it would at least prove that the records in Desolate Era were accurate regarding the range between Earth Immortals/Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals.

If it were not, he would naturally need to prepare himself accordingly!

PS: The level of the War God Hall is chosen by the challenger. In the original work, when Ji Ning first challenged the hall, the Great Bear told him that he could choose the tenth level, but a single ripple of energy would be enough to turn him into dust!