A vast, barren expanse stretched endlessly, filled with jagged rocks and towering cliffs. The land was harsh and unforgiving, with not a single tree in sight, its desolation accentuated by the lifeless gray and brown tones that dominated the landscape.
To one side, an endless desert stretched into the horizon, its golden dunes shimmering under the scorching sun. On the other side, a dense, lush forest loomed, its vibrant greenery contrasting sharply against the starkness of the barren land, which sat isolated in the middle.
Amidst this wasteland, a lone figure trudged forward, his silhouette barely distinguishable against the rough terrain. This solitary traveler was none other than Li Yun.
'Just a little more distance.'
Li Yun eyed the large boulder not far from him as he walked toward it. That was his destination.
Some time later, he arrived at the boulder, climbed on top, and sat down with his legs crossed.
"Hehe, should I begin my plan now?" he chuckled with a sinister expression. If he wasn't wrong, there were about ten more hours before the combat assessment would end.
'Let's wait a bit. If I start my plan now with ten hours left, it might backfire.'
Li Yun thought to himself as he took out the top-grade earth-rank martial technique he had obtained in the Combat Pagoda.
"Seven Tribulations of Earth Calamity—what a domineering name!"
He muttered as he opened the first page and began reading. After ten full minutes, he paused, a look of astonishment clouding his face.
"It's a fist-based martial technique, and it requires a strong body to execute. It seems in the world of cultivation, a powerful body is a must."
Li Yun pondered the technique.
Seven Tribulations of Earth Calamity, as the name suggested, had seven moves in total, each in the form of a tribulation. Li Yun was shocked to find that if one mastered the technique up to the seventh tribulation, they could actually bring calamity to the world.
The sheer magnitude of this revelation left him stunned. While it was only a description for now, the notion of wielding such catastrophic power wasn't far-fetched, especially for a top-grade earth-rank martial technique. The strength it implied was unimaginable, making him realize just how terrifying this martial art could truly become in the hands of a master.
"But earth-rank techniques are very hard to master," Li Yun frowned, understanding the difficulty.
Human-rank techniques, whether for cultivation or martial arts, consisted of a manageable six layers. In contrast, profound-rank techniques jumped to twenty layers, making them more complex and time-consuming to master.
The challenge, however, grew exponentially with higher-ranking techniques.
Earth-rank techniques possessed fifty layers, a significant leap from profound-rank, while heaven-rank techniques doubled that to an astounding one hundred layers. Mastering these techniques wasn't just a matter of talent; it required immense dedication and comprehension.
The difficulty spike between ranks was staggering, making earth-rank techniques much harder to fully grasp, and heaven-rank techniques demanded even more, pushing the limits of human potential.
This was why even legendary figures like saints and emperors would retreat into seclusion for centuries, hoping to break through the layers of their techniques.
When compared to these advanced techniques, human-rank techniques barely held any weight, almost trivial in their simplicity and power.
Additionally, the process of mastering a layer of a human-rank technique differed significantly from that of an earth or heaven-rank technique. Each layer represented a set of synchronized movements with the essence diagram within the cultivator's dantian. In human-rank techniques, the essence diagrams were relatively simple, making synchronization and mastery of each layer much more straightforward.
In contrast, higher-level techniques like earth and heaven-rank involved far more complex essence diagrams, with intricate patterns that required precise alignment and control. The movements were not only more numerous but also far more difficult to coordinate.
This complexity made the process of mastering even a single layer in an earth-rank technique immensely more challenging than a human-rank one. With heaven-rank techniques, the difficulty increased further, demanding not just talent but deep comprehension, patience, and exceptional control of one's energy.
As a result, while human-rank techniques could be grasped in a matter of months or years, earth and heaven-rank techniques might take decades, if not centuries, to fully master.
Li Yun sighed, contemplating the difficulty of earth-rank techniques.
'I need to complete my missions quickly and increase my comprehension multiplier to a hundredfold or higher if I want to master earth-rank techniques easily,' he resolved.
He then continued reading the Seven Tribulations of Earth Calamity for five hours, trying to comprehend as much as possible before finally closing the book.
"It has seven moves in total, and I need to comprehend the first seven layers to use the first move—Trembling Earth." Li Yun smiled wryly. For five hours, he had been trying to understand the technique, and he had only reached the third layer, even with his fivefold comprehension multiplier and his Purple Divine Eye.
"I'll comprehend the rest later. It's time to start my act."
Li Yun put away the Seven Tribulations of Earth Calamity martial book and took out a jade bottle containing the mutated Three Petal Lotus Pill he had concocted earlier.
Li Yun jumped down from the boulder, landed in front of it, and opened the jade bottle, dropping the pill onto the ground.
He waited for five minutes before taking the pill back into the bottle and retreating to the top of the boulder.
"Hehehe, now I just have to wait for the show to begin." Li Yun laughed with an evil expression as he sat cross-legged atop the boulder.
Taking out some dry food like bread and other items, he began to eat while waiting for the main character of the combat assessment to arrive.
***
In the lush green forests of the combat assessment, in the middle of the forest, lay a grassy plain. Various beasts roamed the area—Flaming Lions, Spiketail Lizards, Frostbite Foxes, Shadowfang Wolves, and many others moved peacefully around the plain.
At the center of the grassy plain rested a giant figure, larger than any of the other beasts around it.
It had the body of a hippopotamus but was as large as an elephant. A sharp horn jutted from its forehead, and red lightning bolts periodically crackled across its body, generated from two lightning-bolt symbols on either side.
The beast slept peacefully, its eyes closed, unconcerned with the world around it.
Not far from the giant beast, a figure sat atop a tree, cautiously observing the massive creature from a safe distance.
That figure belonged to Lie Hua.