Monarch of Time

With the fourth step he took on the earthen stairway, Shun Long could feel the entire mountain tremble once more, before a thick mist began to spread out from its peak, quickly enveloping the rest of the mountain.

Shun Long couldn't tell if the nebulous mist was poisonous or not since his 'Monarch's Eternal body' could already resist the majority of poisons out there, but one thing was for certain. It could still suppress his soul sense to a large extent, not allowing him to expand it more than a couple of meters outwards!

And yet, despite having his soul sense and vision both suppressed, Shun Long looked largely unaffected as he took another step forward and continued to ascend the earthen stairway.

With the fifth step, the mountain seemed to have suddenly come alive, as gigantic pieces of rock began to hurl down its peak. A large landslide that could level a small town roared down the mountainside, aiming to crush the bold azure-robed youth attempting to climb it!

Still, Shun Long didn't choose to use his 'Dao of Space' or his 'Dao of Time' as he faced the landslide. Instead, a large black sword appeared in his hands, before flashing more than a dozen times in a single second, painting a breathtaking scene.

Strands upon strands of radiant white sword qi materialized around the black sword's edge, before moving towards the incoming landslide!

The large pieces of rock hurling down the mountain were all cut in half the moment they touched the powerful sword qi, before losing their momentum and disappearing further into the island, completely missing their target in the process.

During those past 6 years he had spent in the 'Endless Desert', aside from refining pills and increasing his cultivation, Shun Long had constantly practiced his sword skills in his sparring sessions with Jiang Chen and Bai Longtian, further improving his mastery of the sword in the process.

Although he had already reached the realm of 'sword aura' after comprehending the insights left behind in the 'Stone Mural', Shun Long didn't have the chance to truly test how far along his sword skills had come at this point. After all, spars were just spars at the end of the day, and neither he, nor Jiang Chen or Bai Longtian would truly go all-out against each other...

With the sixth step, Shun Long had to deal with 3 earth golems that descended from the mountain peak, each of them strong enough to dispose of a peak-stage Dao King by themselves, while with the seventh, the endless sea around the deserted island churned and roared, before raging waves besieged Shun Long from every direction.

With the eighth step, hundreds of lightning bolts bombarded the foot of the mountain, obliterating everything in their path, while with the ninth, illusionary golden swords began to materialize in the sky, before they turned their sharp tips towards the azure-robed challenger climbing the mountain!

Although Shun Long wasn't injured at this point, with every successive step he took the attacks he had to face became tougher and tougher to deal with. At the same time, the heavy atmosphere and the sparse qi in the air became even more oppressive, making the climb itself feel progressively harder as time went on.

More and more attacks continued to bombard Shun Long on his way to the top, until finally, the peak of the mountain appeared in his sights. Although the nebulous mist had yet to disperse, Shun Long could still tell that he was only a couple of steps away from reaching the peak at this point!

Taking another step forward, the black blade in his hands flashed once more, disposing of the last illusionary magic beast that was blocking his way, before finally, the scene at the top of the mountain revealed itself.

Unlike the first two trials however, there weren't heaps upon heaps of treasures waiting for Shun Long to choose from. There were no tens of thousands of top-grade spirit stones either, nor countless star-rank materials to craft weapons with. Instead, there were only 2 items placed at the top of the mountain; a single bronze token and a small orange fruit.

The token appeared as ordinary as it could be; with the words 'Imperial Mandate' carved on its front and the words 'outer court' on the back. However, after fiddling with it for a few moments, Shun Long uninterestedly placed it inside the 'Stone of Time' before he turned his gaze towards the small orange fruit. Finally, his eyes lit up before a bright smile made its way to his lips.

As he looked at the peculiar fruit with spiral-like patterns on its skin, Shun Long couldn't help but take a deep breath, before his voice echoed throughout the deserted peak

''So the reward for this trial is an 'Immortal Meridian fruit'? Is this Imperial Mandate sect crazy, or are they just this daring?''

Inside the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time', Little Black stared at the small fruit in his master's hands with curiosity in his bright blue eyes, before the black dragon eventually asked f

''Master, what's so special about this fruit? Isn't it just a rank 8 spiritual herb? Although rank 8 herbs are indeed rare in this mortal world, it isn't that surprising that an immortal sect would put one as a reward!''

However, Shun Long simply shook his head and stared at the fruit in his hands for a few moments before he answered calmly

''There is a reason this fruit is named the 'Immortal Meridian fruit'. Although it's just a rank 8 spiritual herb, even among other rank 8 herbs, it's a rather special entity. Forget about Dao Kings, anyone between the Nascent Soul stage and the Sovereign realm can consume it and it will have the same effects! After all, it can essentially improve a person's potential, allowing them to reach the Earth Immortal realm with near certainty in their lifetime. However, despite its benefit, this fruit also carries one major drawback!''

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