"Battles between races, between the most outstanding of each race—this is not just a clash of geniuses, but a collision of futures. A contest between those who will become the pillars of their kind."
"The Death Maze… to the eyes of the Nine Heavens Supremes, it is nothing more than a game. All the prodigies are just pawns on their board, to be manipulated at will. Rewards? They are mere scraps tossed out for their own amusement."
Yi Tianxing's heart felt cold.Their lives were worthless here. Even though he was the ruler of the Great Yi Dynasty, he was still treated no better than an ant. If they wanted him dead, he wouldn't even have a chance to resist. The sensation of being reduced to a mere chess piece birthed a chilling sense of powerlessness and unwillingness deep in his soul—but he forcefully suppressed it.
"Ten races will be selected at random. One of them is undoubtedly the Human Race. The other nine? Unknown. Their identities, the number of prodigies each has brought—everything is a mystery until encountered."
Despite his resentment and rage toward the Nine Heavens Supremes, Yi Tianxing still felt a strange surge of anticipation. His blood began to boil.
The Human Race and the alien races had old grudges to settle. Against the Eternal Night World, they had a united front. But internally, enemies remained enemies. Every race desired to rise, to stand above all others and become the supreme, unrivaled race.
"It seems the first trial is already set."
Yi Tianxing scanned his surroundings as his mind raced.
The room he was in was completely sealed. Escaping this chamber was clearly the first test. If one couldn't even leave the starting room, they had no qualifications to participate in the game. That would be truly humiliating.
Dong dong!
He walked to each of the four walls and knocked, pressing his ear against them.
"There's an echo—empty behind all sides. That means all four walls could be broken through. In other words, there are four paths, four choices. But the key is: can the walls be broken?"
The walls appeared to be made of stone. But according to Yi Tianxing's estimation, they were far from ordinary.
"Let's test just how tough they are."
His eyes narrowed. He clenched his fist, and immense blood essence surged throughout his body, pouring into his arm.
Boom!!
His fist slammed into the wall like a meteor. A mystical yellow light shimmered across the stone surface, absorbing much of the impact. What should have been a terrifying blow of several million catties was mostly neutralized—only two to three tenths of the force actually landed.
Mysterious runes appeared, interwoven in strange patterns.
"As expected—this wall is no ordinary stone. It absorbs physical force. Only those with true power could break through. Even most at the Dharmic Image Realm would struggle. Only prodigies might succeed."
He had merely been testing. For Yi Tianxing, breaking it wasn't a problem. The real question was: which of the four directions should he choose?
"No need to overthink. I'll move forward with my own strength."
"Starshatter Hammer—break!!"
Without hesitation, Yi Tianxing summoned the Starshatter Hammer in a flash of starlight and hurled it toward the eastern wall.
Boom!!
With a thunderous crash, an overwhelming power of shattering spread outward. Cracks spread rapidly across the wall like a spiderweb until the entire wall collapsed into shards.
A straight passage lay ahead.
"So this is the maze."
Yi Tianxing's eyes narrowed.
The passage was wide—easily large enough to accommodate dozens of vehicles driving side by side. But this was no ordinary corridor. A thick darkness enshrouded it.
However, under the gaze of his Innate Yin-Yang Eyes, the darkness parted like daylight, revealing everything.
On either side of the corridor stood terrifying statues: Asuras, ghosts, demons, vicious beasts—each carved with life-like detail, exuding an aura of horror. Just one glance could make someone's soul tremble. The faint-hearted could die from fear alone.
Pa-dah!
Yi Tianxing was not one to hesitate. Despite the oppressive, eerie atmosphere, he stepped forward without pause. His footstep echoed crisply throughout the corridor.
Teng!!
A strange sound followed.
Suddenly, on both sides of the passage, ghostly green flames burst to life in braziers. They flickered erratically, casting eerie shadows. The entire space looked like a descent into the underworld.
"Ghostfire…"
Yi Tianxing recognized it instantly. He could hear faint cries from the flames—ghostly wails. The scene would chill anyone's heart.
"Soldiers come, I strike; water floods, I block."
He inhaled deeply. With a flash of light, a battle spear appeared in his hand. His aura shifted dramatically—he now radiated the presence of a peerless general, ready to face any foe on the battlefield. Unstoppable. Unyielding.
Pa-dah! Pa-dah!
His footsteps echoed with grim determination. As he advanced, he kept an eye on the statues. He knew from many legends that such sculptures were often puppets or traps.
But even after walking over a hundred meters, none of them moved. They truly seemed to be just statues.
"Let's test it."
Without warning, Yi Tianxing spun and thrust his spear at one of the beast statues. The spear struck with lightning speed, piercing it completely. With a twist of his wrist, destructive power exploded from within—
Boom!
The massive statue shattered into fragments, flying in all directions.
"Just stone. Not puppets."
Yi Tianxing frowned slightly. The pieces showed no sign of mechanisms or spiritual cores. They seemed like nothing more than sculptures.
It was odd.
Sha sha sha…
Just then, a strange rustling began to echo in the corridor.
From the shattered statue—and others nearby—blood-red beetles began to crawl out, without warning.
They were about the size of a thumb, yet ferocious, with sharp claws and fangs. Their eyes glowed red with vicious light. They came in hordes, overwhelming in number.
They crawled on the floor, buzzed in the air, completely surrounding the path both ahead and behind.
"Blood-Spirit Sacred Beetles!!"
The Wordless Heavenly Tome instantly provided information.
These weren't normal insects, but mutated parasitic killers, capable of entering living beings to devour flesh and rapidly spawn new beetles.
An adult human could host tens of thousands of these parasites. Once attached, they would bore into the body silently, without any warning.
A terrifying species—true calamity beasts.
In the hands of a Gu Master, these were supreme treasures, nightmare weapons.
Now they poured from the statues—countless, suffocating in number. Anyone with trypophobia would die on the spot.
One of the beetles flew straight at Yi Tianxing like a bullet, aiming for his chest.
A streak of blood-colored light flashed.
But before it could reach him, it collided with his battle spear.
Bang!!
It exploded on impact. The force was shocking—enough to threaten even a cultivator at the Dharmic Image Realm.
And as it burst, a wisp of blood-colored energy coiled around the spear…