After breaking through all the doors, they had finally entered the room. The room wasn't spacious at all, barely able to fit all four people inside. The killing intent previously felt in the doorway had all disappeared, and it felt extremely safe and secure. In this seemingly ordinary room, one mysterious button had caught Shen Long's attention.
It was glowing, emitting golden beams of light. Since the room was surrounded by four opaque, black walls, it was fairly dark, and the button was the only light source here. Examining carefully, there were actually two, separate stairs behind the button. Suddenly, Daoist Fireblade spoke as he broke the deafening silence.
"Before I leave, I will give you some information regarding this place. This is the legendary "Hundred Beasts Trials" that I've created hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Every personal disciple of mine has gone through this trial. As the name suggests, there are one hundred beasts here, and your mission is to kill every single one of them."
"Of course, it's easier said than done. Since you have zero knowledge on this, I will provide you with more information. The beasts get stronger, in terms of combat prowess, as well as their innate ability. Be ruthless and kill them, otherwise, you will be stuck here forever. The weakest one here is about Peak-Saint Level, so the first few levels should be a walk in the park for you."
"Once you press that golden button, you will be automatically teleported to the trials place. Since the purpose of this is to improve your strength, you can return here every day for two hours, to cultivate your Qi. Once the two-hour period is over, you will be sent back to the trails' place. Normally, one would have infinite time for this trial, but don't forget about your duel in one and a half month."
"If you cannot complete the entire trial, there's no point for you to fight that Zuo-guy neither. He's now in Peak-Demigod Realm, and he can almost rival an entry-level Celestial Immortal. If you can complete the 100th level, you will be able to easily beat him, if not - don't stress it. You stand no chance." Daoist Fireblade said harshly as he turned himself, preparing to head back.
Shen Long grew extremely anxious after hearing Daoist Fireblade's explanation about this trial. Never had he thought that the "pleasant surprise" was actually a bloody trail, nor did he expect that Zuo Qifeng had actually improved in terms of his combat prowess as well.
Even though Zuo Qifeng wasn't as talented as Shen Long, he was still a Challenger within the palace. His comprehension speed towards cultivation was still fairly high, and it was natural for him to breakthrough. However, Shen Long, at this moment, didn't really care about the duel. This trial sounded extremely difficult and dangerous. Fighting a beast that was in early Celestial Immortal? Shen Long would definitely die within a few exchanges.
"Mas-Master!! Don't leave yet!! What if I die here!? And how do I leave this place!? I-I-I have st-stuff to do!! I-I-I don't want to die..." Shen Long agitatedly exclaimed, begging to leave this place.
"Shen Long, you won't die. This is for your own benefits, alright? I know that you are still sixteen, and you probably don't understand the importance of training - but I guarantee you, after coming out, you will be super grateful that you did this trial. The path of cultivation is never easy. If you want to rise to the top, then you have to put the effort in, alright? As your Master, I will always support your decision. If you really don't want to do it, fine. Leave with me right now, and pretend nothing ever happened today!" Daoist Fireblade said in his warm tone, changing his attitude completely.
Shen Long pondered for a while and ultimately decided to stay here and train. Real-life combat experience was always the best method to improve as he would probably be in life-and-death situations all the time. However, he was still worried about the potential danger, so he couldn't help but ask. "I'll stay here and train... but what if those beasts accidentally kill me?"
"Kiddo, you think Master will allow that to happen? All his disciples had gone through this before, and no one had ever died from this. Master's "Hundred Beast Trial" was, by far, the safest way to temper oneself. This trial is like a treasure, and thousands of cultivators would beg to have an opportunity to go through this set of trials. Do you know how fortunate you are, to have a chance to train here!?" One of Daoist Fireblade's followers snorted coldly.
"Don't be too harsh on him. He's my disciple after all. Shen Long, you don't need to worry about the danger here. Every level is only slightly more difficult than the preceding one, so there won't be an exponential increase in power between levels. If you can manage to beat the beast on the level before, you will definitely be able to manage to stay alive in the next."
"Since you are still quite young, I'll make an exception for you. Generally, disciples are not allowed to leave until completing the entire trials, but I guess you can be the only exception. Every time you complete a level, you can go out for one hour, alright? You can save up your rewards, and use them all at once." Daoist Fireblade said as he formulated a method in order to make that achievable.
Since the doors with seals prevented anything from escaping the room, spiritual communication was impossible. Daoist Fireblade decided to construct a small formation, allowing Shen Long and Daoist Fireblade to communicate. However, to make Shen Long more independent, that machine could only be activated once per week, so Shen Long wouldn't abuse this machine, to relieve his boredom.
Shen Long nodded in approval, slightly relieved after understanding the "rules" a bit more. Shen Long understood the importance of self-discipline. Despite this trial sounded extremely difficult, Shen Long knew that it was beneficial to him. Although he could relax and have fun temporarily if he didn't choose to go, he knew that his future self would definitely regret his decision.
Shen Long was determined to improve, and hopefully to complete the trials in 1.5 months' time. By fighting against real enemies, Shen Long hoped that his sword art would advance, and he would receive more insight on his sword art - to merge the First and Second Stance together.
Daoist Fireblade started to leave after his briefing with Shen Long. Shen Long, however, suddenly thought of something again just before they left the room.
"Master! Can you help me inform a few, em..., few friends of mine about this training? Just say I'm in close-door cultivation or something. Tell... em... Chen Mei that I won't be able to run in the morning. Thank you!! I'm going to go inside now! See you in a month's time!" Shen Long embarrassingly said as he pressed the button immediately.
He didn't want Chen Mei to think that Shen Long deliberately missed their jogging sessions, but he was too embarrassed to tell his Master about that as well. So he decided to quickly start his trials upon telling his Master.
"Tsk. This kid. Being young really is great..." Daoist Fireblade said, in a tone of nostalgia.