CHAPTER 502: CHAPTER 502. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

"Very well. Moving on. Huang Er received two slots for Spirit Stage participants," Huang San said. "She occupies the slot for the Peak Spirit Stage. The other slot is given to Hua Ling, her Intermediate Spirit Stage follower. Huang Zhan has the same slots as Huang Er. One peak Spirit Stage slot for Da Niu and himself for the Intermediate Spirit Stage slot. The rest of the participants are Mystic Stage cultivators. They are divided roughly equally between the Peak, Intermediate, and Beginning stages."

"Tamed beasts cannot be brought in, can they?" Amon asked.

Huang San shook his head. "You can, but it will consume a participant slot. It is better to bring another cultivator instead of a tamed beast."

Amon contemplated the information. After a while, "If I can get more aer stones for a sixth slot in our team and use all our Mystic Slots for only the intermediate Mystic Stage cultivators, can that push our Spirit Stage slot into the Intermediate Stage instead of the Beginning Stage?"

Huang San made some internal calculations using his fingers. He said, "It should be possible, but where will you get another ten million aer stones? You got more stashed away somewhere?"

"I will figure something out," Amon replied.

"In a month? The preparation is almost complete. The trial will take place next month," Huang San informed.

"I will figure something out," Amon repeated.

"You are truly intent on getting your people into the trial, eh? Other people will prefer to bring along Peak Mystic Stage cultivators."

"As I said when I chose people for Fuxiang City’s infiltration, I prefer people I can control. Also, from what I learned about the trial, it is mostly about solving a variation of puzzles. Cultivation level is not the most deciding factor."

"It’s not the most, but it still is. Some puzzles will be easier for ones with higher cultivation levels. Furthermore, it is not guaranteed we will not meet the other teams during the trial. When that happens, the other teams are not forbidden to engage us in combat. We are severely at a disadvantage if that happens."

"That means luck plays a huge role," Amon remarked.

"Are you feeling lucky about our chance?" Huang San asked.

"I don’t rely on luck," Amon replied. "I will make plans for incidences of both good and bad luck."

"Hm, I don’t know how we can squirrel away if we are hit by bad luck when we are already at such an unfair disadvantage," Huang San said. "Well, I will leave that to you."

Huang San rose from his chair, but Amon had another question for him. "One more thing. If I don’t remember wrongly, we can’t bring our space rings inside?"

"Yes. The enchantment of the pocket world prevented anything with spatial ability to enter. In the past, before the pocket world was modified into our ascension trial space, my ancestors had to carry out each treasure they found inside by hand. I don’t know why the creator of the pocket world applied such a troublesome rule, but it was truly taxing for my ancestors. They spent centuries picking the place clean."

"Are you sure it is clean?" Amon asked.

"Well, even if it isn’t, anything you find belongs to the kingdom. People will see what you bring out if you survive the trial. You can’t bring space rings inside, remember?"

Amon glanced at his black space ring upon hearing that.

After Huang San left, Amon called Lin Li out.

"I will entrust my black space ring to you again when I’m in the trial," Amon told her.

The black space ring was different from a normal space ring. There was a chance the enchantment preventing space rings from entering might not block the black space ring. Even so, Amon did not want to take the gamble. All this time, he presented his black ring as a normal trinket. If he encountered a problem because of it during the trial entry, it would be exposed as something that possessed a spatial ability. The kingdom might end up seizing the ring to study it. He preferred that didn’t happen.

Lin Li was sad hearing Amon’s request. She asked, "Do you know how long the trial will last?"

"From past records, it can range from a few days to a few months. It is not certain," Amon answered.

Lin Li sighed. Having to keep the ring meant she could not enter it. She had to live in the real world. She had grown accustomed to living inside the black space ring. She felt peaceful and safe inside. There were also many resources inside for her nourishment.

Still, she wouldn’t say no to Amon’s request. She could enjoy the world inside the black space ring because Amon let her. It was her duty to protect the ring when Amon could not carry it with him, like recently when he intentionally let himself be captured by the rebels.

"Okay, brother. You can trust me. I will keep it safe until your return," Lin Li said.

"I know you will."

After Lin Li returned inside the black space ring, Amon looked at his tattooed left arm. Bo Wu’s words sounded inside his mind.

"Are you worried I might cause a problem when you enter the trial? Hehe. Don’t worry. Our fusion is deeper than a simple link between you and a tamed beast. A paltry enchantment of this surface world won’t be able to tell us apart. It will consider us as a single entity."

’I guess we will just have to see,’ Amon said in his mind.

*

The next day, Amon left for Golden Stone City. He received news from Gao Lan that Gao Dingbu, the clan master of the Gao Clan, had agreed to meet.

When he stepped outside the fort, he saw someone was waiting for him.

"Colonel Amon. Finally, I found you," Huang Zhan said. He rode atop a giant armored lion. The lion had a red mane and thick, unusually long, red brows. The red brows extended the length of its body. It swayed with each movement the lion made.

The lion growled when it saw Amon.

"You are not with your army today?" Amon asked.

"Haha, so you heard about that incident. I was in a bad mood at that time. Think nothing of it," Huang Zhan uttered. He jumped down from his pet lion and walked toward Amon.

"Think nothing of it? I return to a pile of corpses in that courtyard."

"Really? I don’t know how that happened. It was not me," Huang Zhan said with a laugh. "Anyway, I heard the horse you bet on has successfully crossed the finish line. Congratulations! Now, you are in the race with the big boys. Are you ready for it?"

"I wouldn’t have applied for the race if I am not," Amon replied.

"Hahaha! I always wondered why I like you. Now, I know. You are always so sure about yourself. It’s like nothing can trouble you. Still, everyone has their limits, and one should know their limits."

"Is that so?" Amon asked.

"Hehe. I’m going to extend you my invitation one last time, Colonel. Are you willing to join me, the winning team, or do you insist on wasting your potential on a loser like my younger brother?"

"Will you appoint me as your number two like your younger brother does?" Amon asked in return.

"Sure, if you are willing to join me."

"Prove it then. Slay Da Niu for me," Amon said.

"Hehe," Huang Zhan chuckled. His eyes didn’t appear amused, though. "I guess it is not possible to build a bridge between us, then."

"I’m afraid so," Amon replied.

"Hehe," Huang Zhan continued to chuckle, but his fist suddenly shot forward.

Amon reacted by blocking the punch with his left arm. The power from the impact sent Amon flying back into the fort. The soldiers and battle puppets guarding the wall immediately jumped down and formed a barricade in front of the gate.

"Colonel, are you okay?" The soldier asked.

Blood leaked from Amon’s mouth. His left arm successfully blocked the punch thanks to his instinct, but the force generated by an Intermediate Spirit Stage was still too damaging for an Intermediate Mystic Stage cultivator like him, even with his enhanced physique.

"You never cease to surprise me. I didn’t expect you to still be fine after receiving my sudden hit," Huang Zhan said.

"Even for a prince like you, you won’t get off if you kill a colonel in broad daylight with so many witnesses. You will lose the right to the trial," Amon said.

"Haha! Why do you have to make everything sound so bad? I never meant to kill you. I just wanted to scare you," Huang Zhan said. "Take that as a punishment deposit for what you did to my regiment. The rest of your punishment, I will redeem it during the trial."

Finished with his speech, he jumped back onto his armored lion. The lion let out a thundering roar that caused every soldier in the fort to cover their ears before it turned around and leaped away.

Amon wiped the blood from his mouth and clenched his fist. He said in his mind, ’Okay, prince. Challenge accepted. We will see who will dispense the last punishment."