Chapter 455 - Breaking Through the Barrier

Chapter 455: Chapter 209: Breaking Through the BarrierCarrying Auli on his back, Lu Hong took a long detour before returning to the starting point of the first trial in the Power Divine Path. The divine trial didn’t limit the number of participants, but the difficulty increased exponentially when cooperation was involved.

"Girl, I’ll help you break through the first trial, and then between the first and second, I’ll find a place for you to cultivate." As they stepped into the first trial, the wind and clouds around them suddenly changed.

The two found themselves in the empty belly of a desert, desolate all around with nothing in sight. At the same time, the sand under their feet was soft and thick, sinking down just from standing on it.

This terrain was specifically designed to test the trialists, and upon entering, one’s professional rank would plummet drastically. Lu Hong’s blood and qi became extremely constricted, causing him severe discomfort.

We must pass through here quickly!

Auli was obediently silent. As a newly transitioned Level 1 Seeker, she was essentially no different from an ordinary fourteen-year-old girl, a mere deadweight in the trials of the divine path.

As Lu Hong finished speaking, a rumbling sound came from the sky, and a small mound thirty paces wide smashed down fiercely.

Lu Hong clenched his fist, using his waist to exert force, and met the mound with his punch.

Next to Auli, the explosion roared as the small mound shattered on impact.

"Brother, you’re amazing!"

Lu Hong remained calm, shaking his ring, "Holy King, find a way to protect Auli."

"Where the hell are you, and why is even my power being suppressed?!" The Holy King sensed the anomaly around him and, after complaining, extended a strand of Holy Light to cover the small girl, adding a protective membrane around her.

As the mound shattered, an even bigger hill materialized out of thin air and fell down. With no foothold, Lu Hong was forced to cushion it with his blood and qi, swinging his fist to smash it. This time, the hill didn’t explode but split in two and disappeared without a trace.

The first trial of the Power Divine Path sounded simple; if tackled solo, it would typically end at the level of the mound that Lu Hong had just shattered. But in pairs, it was just the beginning. Larger mountains continuously condensed within the Array, seemingly intending to crush Lu Hong.

Without giving Lu Hong a moment’s rest, a chain of peaks even larger than the mounds smashed down one after another.

Without time to build up his strength, Lu Hong broke through the first and second hills relatively easily. However, by the fourth and fifth, he began to struggle, feeling as if his subsequent force couldn’t quite keep up.

"Boss, you need to see the true nature of this trial." It was the Holy King, wise and experienced, "These mountains are definitely not meant to be overcome by brute force. Find a way to concentrate power and break the surface with a point!"

The Holy King’s words woke Lu Hong. How had he not thought of it himself!

The essence of the divine trial was not to stump the trialists but to allow them to continually comprehend and master the control of their own power. However, most of the time, trialists were focused on passing just to gain fame and spectacle, which went against the true purpose of the trials.

From the beginning, Lu Hong was also trapped in this misunderstanding, rooted in subjective prejudices toward the understanding of the thirteen temples. The temples were powerful but neutral, indifferent to the human race’s crisis, which irked Lu Hong greatly. However, couldn’t it also be said that they, despite their strength, did no harm to the Star Sea or disrupt empires and that this was a good thing after all?

"Since it’s a trial, then I’ll properly temper myself." Enlightened, Lu Hong punched again, causing the falling mountain to crumble. He then tried to adjust the angle of his exertion,

"Girl," Lu Hong began, "does the Trial City begin from the second challenge?"

Auli nodded. "Yes, though the initial few challenges are relatively simple, so there aren’t many trialists who go missing. Consequently, the cities they establish tend to be smaller."

Lu Hong nodded and led Auli through the jungle, racing towards the distant Trial City.

The little girl was right—the second challenge wasn’t particularly difficult. Few trialists were stopped in their tracks, and only a small town had sprung up beside the second challenge, with very few people walking around.

Inside the town, there were only two types of shops—potion shops and taverns. Besides those, there were just some dilapidated houses that anyone could occupy if they wished to stay, as no one else wanted them.

Lu Hong did not enter any of those vacant cottages; instead, he entered a tavern named Black Pupil.

Upon pushing open the door, he saw two or three old men sitting inside. The tavern owner didn’t even glance at Lu Hong as he said, "Serve yourself whatever drink you want, just check the price and leave the money on the counter."

"I don’t want a drink."

"You don’t want a drink?" The owner was taken aback and finally looked up, asking, "Then what are you doing in my establishment? Looking for information? Simple, one Gold Coin per question, but I don’t guarantee answers."

Lu Hong gave a slight smile and leaned in closer to the owner. "Take another look at me." With that, he slapped the Blood Holy Sword onto the table.

The owner jumped, hurriedly saying, "I won’t look at you, I won’t look at you. You’re just after money, right? Can’t I just give it to you?"

"No, that’s not it," Lu Hong replied listlessly. Did he look like he needed money?

"I am Baron Yitian!" Out of options, Lu Hong whispered his identity into the owner’s ear.

"Baron..." the owner suddenly remembered something, quickly covered his mouth, and looked at Lu Hong with widened eyes, whispering, "Are you really Baron Yitian?"

"Nonsense, why else would I come to you!" Lu Hong replied. "Is there a place we can talk?" he added, turning to look at the middle-aged men at a nearby table who were bragging loudly.

"Don’t worry about that; they’re all our own people," the owner chuckled. "Everyone, stop pretending and come meet the famous Baron Yitian!"

Hearing the title of Baron, the four middle-aged men sprang forward in an instant: "The Baron? He’s Lord Baron?"

"Hello," Lu Hong greeted them with a smile.

The owner spoke up, "We received orders from our superiors long ago. They said that Lord Baron would enter the Star Sea and demanded that we cooperate with you wholly at any moment."

The order from Black Pupil wasn’t surprising. In fact, Lu Hong had made contact with Black Pupil back in Dragon Pool. However, Black Pupil had not revealed themselves actively, instead carrying a more important mission and following West, remaining hidden within the Star Sea.

When Lu Hong reached the Ophiuchus realm, Black Pupil’s people still sought him out. Knowing that Lu Hong intended to train in the Star Sea, they were willing to offer their assistance proactively.

This was also why Lu Hong dared to bring along the little girl, Auli, into the Star Sea. Not because he was confident enough to protect Auli himself but because he had help.

"This girl by my side possesses the bloodline of the Hall Master of the Golden Temple. I believe you understand her importance," Lu Hong explained.

The five members of Black Pupil locked their gaze on Auli upon Lu Hong’s introduction, exclaiming in unison, "Bloodline of the Holy Light?!"

Auli, startled by the sudden attention, quickly hid behind Lu Hong. Then, feeling a bit uneasy, she peeked out and whispered, "Hello, uncles."

Lu Hong was pleased with their reaction and continued, "I’m here to ask you to look after her for a while until I come back for her."

"No problem, leave it to us," the tavern owner boasted confidently. "Lord Baron, rest assured, if there’s food for me, there will be food for her. Even if there’s none for me, there will still be for her."

"It’s not that I’m worried about," Lu Hong shook his head, speaking seriously. "A Heavenly God appeared during her class change. The Temple is bound to have noticed that and will surely send someone to investigate, so you must be extremely cautious."

"No big deal," the owner reassured, dropping the frivolous demeanor. "Black Pupil has been operating in the Star Sea for over fifty years, nearly since its inception. Although none of my brothers have the strength to break through and join the Temple, when it comes to knowledge of the Star Sea, we’re second to none."

"Yes," another member of Black Pupil chimed in. "There are no more than twenty thousand disciples of the Temple of Strength. Even if you scattered them throughout the Star Sea and had them search non-stop for two weeks, they wouldn’t be able to cover the entire Star Sea, especially given the brute-force nature of the Temple of Strength."

"Your words put me at ease. Her profession is quite unique, so it’s best to keep her well-hidden. Strange occurrences might happen during training." Satisfied, Lu Hong nodded at them and then turned to Auli, "Little girl, it’s not that I don’t want to take you with me, but what I’m about to face is very bloody, and I can’t guarantee your safety one hundred percent. I hope you understand. They’re all my friends, you can trust them, and if you need anything, just tell them."

"Okay!" Auli obediently nodded. "I will listen to the uncles and wait for you to come back for me, big brother."

Lu Hong smiled, patting her head, "Don’t worry; it won’t be long."