The first round eliminated nine-tenths of the participants at the Demigod Ninth Stage.
Three- Demigod either died because they didn't pay the fees and therefore weren't rescued, or they perished before rescue could arrive.
In short, three- Demigod Ninth Stage perished in this struggle.
Only one-tenth succeeded in passing through the Evil God's Land and reaching the second trial that the Milky Way Beast Taming Academy had set up long ago.
The second challenge is even more special, called the Mind-Bewildering Trial.
This challenge requires them to pass through a vast, Mind-Bewildering Forest, entirely composed of a Mind-Bewildering Divine Tree.
The Mind-Bewildering Divine Tree possesses innate illusionary abilities; although it is a plant, it is a powerful life form at the Demigod level.
To protect themselves, they can secrete a special, Mind-Bewildering Divine Incense.
This kind of Mind-Bewildering Divine Incense and divine Divine Power is impossible for those with weak bodies and souls to defend against. They can only be pulled into a mental illusion, which is similar to a demonic illusion related to the things that Demigod fear most.
A single Mind-Bewildering Divine Tree can bewitch a being at the first to third level of Demigod realm.
When the two Mind-Bewildering Divine Tree appear and connect with each other, the Mind-Bewildering Divine Incense will combine to produce an even more powerful Mind-Bewildering Divine Incense.
Their function is somewhat similar to the effect of formation bonuses.
What was prepared for these people was a forest of Mind-Bewildering Divine Tree. The Mind-Bewildering Divine Incense here was so potent that even those with strong willpower and special equipment could not defend against it; they could only be pulled into a demonic illusion.
No genius is an exception!
The test they face is whether they can persevere and maintain their will when confronted with their own inner demons and illusions.
Whether you see through the illusion of your inner demons, or break through it with your wits and strategies, as long as your willpower doesn't collapse, you will eventually pass the test if you persevere for a while longer.
However, those whose mental fortitude and willpower are insufficient and who collapse during the process will be directly thrown out by the strong members of the Milky Way Beast Taming Academy.
Those whose will and spirit have collapsed will also develop even greater inner demons.
They will suffer psychological trauma for the rest of their lives.
They will also completely lose the possibility of breaking through to the Planetary-Rank God. Even if a strong person does break through, the possibility of perishing in this process will be more than a hundred times higher than before.
Fortunately, the Milky Way Beast Taming Academy will inform them of the consequences before they enter the Mind-Bewildering Forest.
Why is this stage set up? Because for beings whose combat strength is sufficient but whose mentality and willpower are insufficient, the probability of failure when using this opportunity to break through is still over 90%.
Even if such a person seizes an opportunity, it's a waste.
Therefore, those eliminated in this stage are those who are destined to fail in the process of seizing opportunities.
The Milky Way Beast Taming Academy was unwilling to let the opportunities on its territory be wasted.
This stage was completely uninteresting for the audience.
All they saw were the exaggerated behaviors of these "powerful" geniuses at the Demigod Ninth Stage after they fell into the illusion of inner demons.
Some people appear humble and refined, but once they fall into a dream world, their true nature is immediately revealed, like a terrifying demon.
Some people appear kind on the surface, but become like murderers once they fall into a hallucination.
Everyone reveals their truest, most unwilling side in the illusion.
It was this contrast that made them find it interesting.
The academy did this intentionally, to make these students understand that the personality traits that some Wisdom beings outwardly display are not their true nature; their true nature may be far more terrifying than what you see.
The academy aims to make its students understand the deceit and horror of human nature, to let them know what it means to be wicked and hypocritical.
Jiang Ziliu had long been accustomed to these things, and his understanding of human nature was far more profound than it was now.
He understood the terrifying aspects of human nature in his past life!
His current focus is on how Xue Qiuye, this beautiful Asura woman with an unknown connection to the Asura Holy Maiden, will behave.
To his surprise, Xue Qiuye remained remarkably calm in the face of the inner demon illusion, only displaying an endless, terrifying killing intent.
This is very much in line with the characteristics of the Asura Race.
This also made Jiang Ziliu realize that Xue Qiuye's behavior, which seemed like that of a witch or elf, a social expert, and someone who appeared weak and in need of protection, was not as simple as it seemed.
But in essence, she is a true Asura!
Her true, hidden nature lies in her extreme bloodlust.
Faced with this super illusionary world constructed by the Mind-Bewildering Forest, she had only one option: to destroy it!
Slay all the inner demons within the illusion and break free from it.
For some reason, Jiang Ziliu always felt that part of the murderous aura was directed at him, as if he had done something to wrong her in this terrifying illusion.
The thought that this matter might be related to the Asura Holy Maiden, and that she seemed to be trapped in a demonic illusion, sent a chill down Jiang Ziliu's spine.
What he's most worried about right now is that Xue Qiuye is a close sister or something similar to Ashura Saintess, a family member, and someone with a very good relationship.
If Xue Qiuye fails to fully emerge from the illusion of inner demons and subsequently becomes Planetary-Rank God, threatening to kill him, then things will be difficult for him.
If I fight, I'll feel awkward doing it; if I don't fight, the other party might attack me.
Jiang Ziliu didn't need to think too much to understand that his role in the inner demon illusion was likely similar to that of a scumbag, or even worse, that he had done something even more terrible in the inner demon illusion, which was why Xue Qiuye's killing intent was so strong and directly targeted him.
With his powerful spirit, he couldn't sense any error; a portion of that killing intent was directed at him, not at anyone else.
He sighed and decided to find some treasures to calm her inner demons so that Xue Qiuye could truly regain her senses should she ever go mad.
Therefore, before Jiang Ziliu had even fully emerged from the illusion, he rushed to the academy's exchange office and used his points to exchange for a low-level Divine Art that could soothe inner demons, and a special spirit jade that could also pacify inner demons.
He chose a low-level Divine Art because it is easy to learn and can be mastered quickly, before Xue Qiuling ends this battle for opportunity.
He was certain that, barring any major unforeseen circumstances, Xue Qiuye would definitely seize this opportunity and had a very high probability of advancing to Planetary-Rank God.
He sensed something was wrong. Although it was an unexpected variable, his cautious nature led him to take precautions in advance.
By the time Jiang Ziliu returned after completing all of this, the second trial had already ended completely.
The Illusionary Realm of Inner Demons is not easy to conquer; among those who pass the first level, a full seven out of ten are eliminated.
Only three out of ten of the prodigies at the Demigod Ninth Stage passed the trial and entered the final stage to seize the opportunity.