CHAPTER 142: TEST OF HUMILITY (2)

"Nobody’s around..." Jehanne commented as she looked around.

"They must’ve been sent into another instance of this floor," Yifa mentioned from the side. "It’s common in MMO games when multiple parties raid the same place at the same time."

Xu Tao nodded, sharing the same thought as Yifa. "They’re probably doing their own trial in a separate pocket dimension. Let’s not worry about them and focus on the trial at hand instead."

Although he said that, he wasn’t sure what kind of trial awaited them.

Unlike the first floor, there was no monolith to provide riddles—just an empty space with no visible obstacles.

Do we just head onwards...? Xu Tao thought, puzzled. What about the trial?

This was a trial zone, after all. Coming here and doing nothing didn’t make any sense.

Just as he was growing worried, a change occurred.

BAM!

The sound of doors slamming open echoed. In the next moment, hurried footsteps and screams of fear followed.

"H-Help! I’m innocent!"

"No, I don’t want to die!!!"

"Run! Run!"

Xu Tao and the rest raised their eyes toward the top of the stairs. From all five stairways, a flood of what looked like civilians—serfs in ragged clothing—appeared. They ran with no regard for others’ safety, pushing aside anyone too slow or blocking the way.

A fall from such a height—about ten meters up—definitely wouldn’t end well.

"Oh no!"

Jehanne, seeing a child pushed aside and falling off the edge of the stairs, reacted instinctively.

She dashed forward, fully utilizing her STR and DEX. With a series of explosive leaps, she reached the falling boy’s side in an instant, catching him mid-air and landing with a slide.

However, he wasn’t the only one.

With how panicked the serfs were, several others fell from all five stairways every few seconds. Jehanne watched, then moved, trying to save them. But she only had one body. It was impossible to rescue five people falling at five different locations all at once!

She gritted her teeth, feeling useless as she caught another falling child—before—

"Don’t worry, I’ve got them already."

—she saw the others being safely caught mid-air by Xu Tao’s numerous flying swords, gently lowering them to the ground by the nape like kittens.

"Sir Tao...!" Jehanne’s face brightened, realizing she wasn’t alone.

Without pause, she continued saving those she could, placing them safely on the ground before leaping to help others. But the rescued civilians didn’t stop crying. Without even offering thanks, they rushed toward the "exit" behind Xu Tao’s group.

THUMP!

Suddenly, loud thumps of metal boots echoed. Curious, some looked up again—at the top of the stairs, a second wave of figures appeared.

But unlike the first group, who looked like desperate serfs, this new group wore matching full-body plate armor. They gleamed in silver, wielding either swords or maces, and charged down the stairs—chasing the serfs.

"Eliminate the pagans!"

"By God’s will!"

"Don’t let them escape! Kill everyone!"

Their bone-chilling chants drew grimaces and frowns. Even without anyone explaining, it became clear: this situation was the second floor’s trial.

However, with no clear instructions, they were left uncertain.

Should they help the serfs—innocents running for their lives? Or the knights—who, by appearance and discipline, seemed more trustworthy?

Most stood frozen, unsure of what to do. But one figure moved without hesitation.

"So this time’s test is to kill all these commoners? Easy!"

Achilles, a man of war, grinned as he pulled his spear—ready to begin a massacre. He stepped forward confidently, about to "clear" the trial when—

"Shouldn’t demigods be wiser than most?" Xu Tao’s quiet voice cut in. "And here you are, proving me wrong." He shook his head.

"What’d you say?!" Achilles turned angrily—only to realize... he couldn’t move.

"I think you heard me just fine," Xu Tao said as he passed by him with a shrug. "If you went ahead with that plan, it would’ve failed us all for sure."

He strode forward—and vanished the next instant—reappearing in the center of the middle staircase, standing between the serfs and the knights.

His eyes, calm and gentle, turned toward the armored pursuers.

"Killing pagans?" he whispered, appalled. "And who decided who the ’right’ god is?"

"Saying others are pagans just because they worship differently, and killing them? That’s not divine will—it’s human greed... just arrogance clothed in faith."

STOMP!

Xu Tao slammed one foot down—and a shockwave burst forth.

Its effect was instant. All the serfs still descending were blasted straight to the ground floor. Although a little roughed up, they landed safely.

As for the knights on all five stairways—they faltered and fell on their butts, visibly intimidated. Not only those in front of Xu Tao, but even the ones on the other four staircases.

"You...!"

The nearest knight—wearing the flashiest armor—growled.

"You’re helping the pagans escape divine punishment? You must be one too! God shall bestow death equally upon you!"

Xu Tao raised a brow at that.

"Weren’t you listening to anything I just said? Or are you pretending not to hear?" he sighed. "In our world, there are three thousand gods, and seven equally powerful Supreme Gods. Who decides which ones are ’true’?"

"Hah!" the knight scoffed, as if hearing the dumbest excuse of all time. "All gods but our God are false!"

"..."

Xu Tao shook his head. The man before him wasn’t someone who would listen. His mind had been poisoned by indoctrination.

"Let me make it clear."

Xu Tao spoke one last time—his voice now layered with Qi, enough to shake the minds of everyone listening.

"It wasn’t your God, but the humans serving him who decided to exterminate ’pagans.’ To raise their own status and let their god monopolize faith."

Faith Energy—the divine fuel gods need to grow stronger.

Xu Tao, even before entering his last closed-door cultivation at the Earth Immortal Stage, had already been considered a "god" by the Heavenly Dao. Thus, he too benefitted from Faith Energy gathered from those who believed in him.

He understood that the "pagan" narrative was nothing more than a pretext.

An excuse for one god’s followers to destroy the others—weakening their divinity and improving their own chance to triumph... to erase rivals from history.

"What you’re doing isn’t faith," he said. "It’s not a heaven-sanctioned crusade—it’s a massacre, driven by greed."

Xu Tao drew his sword—its blade humming with silent judgment—and slowly raised it.

"And I, Xu Tao... will never let such acts by greedy humans come to fruition!"