CHAPTER 56: TRIALS OF THE FIVE CHIEFTAINS

Fury surged through Wind Dragon as he charged at Flame Demon once more. "What did you just say?"

Flame Demon lifted his head and glanced toward the peak where Blindman Lu stood, letting out a low chuckle.[1]

After nodding subtly at Blindman Lu, Flame Demon sneered and flung Wind Dragon into the stone circle with a powerful swing.

After going through a series of hand seals, he flung out a Dragon-Binding Talisman. As the talisman struck the formation, it locked Wind Dragon firmly in place.

"Hmph, you have overestimated yourself. These rules were set long ago. Anyone wishing to become the next Beast King must pass our trial. We're simply choosing to carry it out all at once now. Surely you haven't forgotten?"

Wind Dragon struggled within the formation, but no matter how hard he thrashed, he couldn't break free. "You... of course I remember."

The four chieftains exchanged glances and nodded slightly before flying to the east, south, west, and north corners of the formation. Once in position, they simultaneously formed hand seals.

Beams of red, yellow, blue, and black light rose from their bodies and linked with the stone circle.

Wind Dragon looked up at the light converging in the sky. "It's starting already?"

He pushed Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er away from him and began forming seals rapidly.

"Little Lu, protect Wan'er. The trial is starting. From here on out, I can't give you any more hints. Doing so would break the rules."

As he spoke, a wave of green light rose from his body and merged into the stone circle.

The five-colored lights began to intertwine above Lu Chen's head. One illusory barrier after another took shape, gradually encasing the entire formation.

As the light flickered, the world around him changed completely.

***

Lu Chen opened his eyes and looked around. "Wind Dragon? Where are you? What is this place?"

Dense, black mist filled the area. Through the haze, he could vaguely make out the shape of a square chamber. At its center, three teleportation formations glowed faintly, one red, one blue, and one yellow.

Nantian Wan'er glanced around in confusion. "Lu-gege, is this the trial? Why does it look so small?"

Lu Chen extended both hands, coating the Hunyuan Greatsword with fire-attribute spirit qi. The fiery glow lit up the entire chamber. "This should just be the trial's entrance. But why is there no text or instructions?"

He carefully scanned the room, but still found nothing of note.

Nantian Wan'er followed close behind, clutching tightly to the hem of Lu Chen's robe. "Lu-gege, be careful. It's so cramped in here."

"I know. Stay close."

Lu Chen opened a portal to his small world in mid-air and tossed Eggy inside.

He then turned his attention to the teleportation formation at the center of the room. Its rhythmic flicker pulsed like a silent summons directed at him.

Lu Chen frowned and turned to Nantian Wan'er. "Wan'er, go wait inside the small world. If anything dangerous happens, at least it won't hurt you."

Nantian Wan'er stared at the path ahead. "But Lu-gege, it's too dangerous for you alone. I might be able to help."

The Hunyuan Greatsword trembled violently, warning Lu Chen that danger was near.

He immediately raised the greatsword horizontally in front of him and braced himself in a defensive stance. "Get in now! Someone's coming. If we wait too long, the pressure here might suppress even the small world."

Seeing the tension on Lu Chen's face, Nantian Wan'er turned to enter the small world.

Just then, a small Flame Demon appeared before the teleportation formation. "That's not allowed. If you send her inside, it'll violate the rules, and you'll automatically fail the trial."

Lu Chen quickly turned around. "So you're the trial?"

As he spoke, he circulated his spirit qi and infused it into the Hunyuan Greatsword.

"No, I'm not. This is only the entrance. You have to choose one of the red, yellow, or blue trials to begin."

He seemed to sense Lu Chen's wariness and attempted a more friendly expression. But with his naturally twisted features, the effort only made him look even more grotesque.

Flame Demon forced a smile. "Hehe... You're Lu Chen, right? Relax. I won't harm you. But if you fail the trial, you won't earn our recognition."

Despite Flame Demon's words, Lu Chen didn't let his guard down, his eyes fixed on the creature. Once again, he gestured for Wan'er to enter the small world.

Seeing him ignore the rules, Flame Demon pulled out a talisman from behind his back and crushed it. "Spirit-Sealing Talisman."

A ripple of spatial laws spread through the air, and in the next instant, the entrance to the small world was forcibly sealed shut. "I already told you. The trial must be carried out by both of you together. Otherwise, it'll be considered a failure."

He added, "Also, anything beyond your own strength is forbidden. You'll be disqualified if you use any external help."

Lu Chen cursed under his breath, "What a waste..."

He raised the Hunyuan Greatsword into a ready stance and narrowed his eyes at Flame Demon. "I don't recall ever agreeing to take your trial. I want out."

Nantian Wan'er saw what Lu Chen was about to do and quickly sent him a voice transmission to stop him. "Lu-gege, don't provoke him. We're still in the middle of a trial.

"

Lu Chen remained calm. "It's fine. Since they said this is just a trial and that they won't hurt us, they will stick to their words. They're high-level demonic beasts at the Human Core Realm, after all."

He turned around, took Nantian Wan'er's hand, then raised his voice deliberately, partly speaking to her, and partly as a reminder to Flame Demon. "Isn't that right, Flame Demon?"

As he spoke, Lu Chen unleashed his aura. He raised the Hunyuan Greatsword and pointed it straight at the Flame Demon. "As the Beast King, I command you to release us."

A burning Fire Phoenix Mark appeared on Lu Chen's forehead, and its overwhelming pressure surged forward, bearing down on Flame Demon.

"The Phoenix Ancestor Mark?" Flame Demon sneered. "Heh, that's useless against my elemental body."

With a swing of his massive hand, the Flame Demon summoned a teleportation portal in front of Lu Chen. "Alright then, go ahead and leave."

Realizing that the Phoenix Ancestor bloodline had little effect, Lu Chen quickly withdrew the mark. He took Nantian Wan'er's hand and began to turn away.

Just as they were about to step through the portal, Lu Chen suddenly looked back and smirked. "We're leaving. When you realize the benefits you've missed out on, maybe I'll come back for the trial."

At the same time, Flame Demon quietly circulated his spirit qi behind Lu Chen's back and deliberately let a golden longsword slip from his hand.

Nantian Wan'er's eyes widened when she saw the sword. "That's Grandpa's sword! Why do you have his life-bound weapon?"

Flame Demon quickly picked up the golden longsword and said mockingly, "Oh dear, how could that have fallen out? How clumsy of me."

His tone was dripping with sarcasm.

Lu Chen's smirk vanished instantly. He pulled Nantian Wan'er along and stepped right up to Flame Demon, placing his hand on the golden longsword. "What did you do to Grandpa Xiu?"

Seeing Lu Chen's reaction, Flame Demon knew he had achieved his goal. Without the slightest hesitation, he handed the golden longsword over to Lu Chen.

"When the old man entered the heart of the Fire Region, he took a wrong teleportation formation and just happened to arrive near me. Bit of a mishap, don't you agree, Little Lu?"

"You..." Rage choked Lu Chen's words. His gaze turned cold. "What do you want? What will it take for you to release Grandpa Xiu?"

Flame Demon said with a sly grin, "Relax. The old man's fine. But if you want to see him, you'll have to take part in the trial. Weren't you two just leaving? Well then, go ahead. I won't stop you."

With that, he turned around and began tearing open a spatial rift.

Nantian Wan'er quickly stepped forward to stop him. "Wait, no! Lord Flame Demon, we were just joking. We're not going anywhere!"

Flame Demon glanced back at her and smiled. He then looked to Lu Chen and asked, "What about you? Are you ready to take the trial now? Remember, future Beast King, I never stopped you, nor did I force you."

Lu Chen stared at the longsword in his hands, then gripped the Hunyuan Greatsword tightly. "What's that supposed to mean? Threats?"

"No, no. It's not a threat. The old man agreed, and he even asked me to do this. He thought you needed to know what comes next."

Flame Demon spread his arms, and a command token dropped from his hand.

Lu Chen's eyes locked onto the command token. "That command token... how do you have it?"

He quickly pulled out an identical token from his pouch and was stunned into silence.

Flame Demon caught the command token and casually explained, "Before you arrived, a human cultivator tried to bother me. I caught him, and just as I was about to kill him, the old man saw the command token and said this person was related to you."

Lu Chen stared at the command token, his eyes turning red.

"Seems like it's true. There's a connection. In that case, I'll give it to you."

Flame Demon tossed the command token at Lu Chen. "This shouldn't count as a threat, right? We're quite reasonable. If you pass the trial, I'll hand that person over."

Lu Chen caught the command token and said coldly, "Cut the crap. Let's begin."

"Heh, now that's more like it."

Flame Demon stepped back as Lu Chen walked toward the teleportation formations.

The Flame Demon explained, "There are three in total. Each one represents a trial. Pick whichever you want to start with."

Nantian Wan'er stared at the red, blue, and yellow teleportation formations and asked, "Is there any difference between them, Lord Flame Demon?"

Flame Demon grinned as he introduced each formation, "Of course. The red one is a trial of strength, the yellow tests your willpower, and the blue... well, that one is a bonus."

Then he looked at Lu Chen. "So, future Beast King, which will it be?"

Lu Chen studied the three formations and slowly walked toward the blue one in the center. "Let's start. Since it offers a bonus, I'll take the blue trial first."

Flame Demon frowned slightly and muttered, "Blue? Tsk, not the best choice. I don't like that one."

He smirked. "But it's not up to you anymore."

"What do you mean?"

Nantian Wan'er shouted in alarm, "Lu-gege, watch out!"

Lu Chen turned his head in confusion, just in time to see one of Flame Demon's fists flying toward him.

Flame Demon shouted, "Off you go!"

With a single punch, he sent Lu Chen flying straight into the red teleportation formation.

Lu Chen's voice echoed from within the formation. "What the hell! Was that a mistake? Hey! Did you hear me? I said I chose blue!"

1. We will refer to the beast chieftains using the pronouns “he” or “she” because they act like humans and take on human forms. ☜