CHAPTER 194: TRIAL OF THOUSAND ARMAMENTS

Igaris, Fairy Hua, Yang Huo, Mu Chen, and four other Dao Children stood within a dimly lit chamber where the air was thick with anticipation. Ancient stone walls enclosed the space, etched with faint runes that pulsed softly. The flickering lamps hanging along the perimeter cast ghostly shadows, their flames dancing like dying embers caught in their final breath. At the center of the chamber, an ancient array formation shimmered — a spectral gate that pulsed with a quiet hum, waiting to be awakened.

But they weren’t alone.

Third Princess Lihua of the Blue Moon Empire stood in her elegant robes, her expression unreadable. Beside her, another royal youth — a prince whose name was spoken with quiet awe — kept a hand resting casually on the hilt of his saber.

The sect masters and elders lined the perimeter, their gazes sharp and focused. Tension simmered just beneath the surface. No one dared speak above a whisper.

Fang Tianyi stood silently near one of the carved pillars, his robes fluttering slightly as though responding to a pressure that couldn’t be seen. Jian Longchen, cloaked in a black hood, stood a few paces behind him. They were there not out of necessity, but out of loyalty — they believed their Lord Igaris had no need for protection.

And yet, even so, no one dared let their guard down.

All eyes turned toward the closed stone doors, waiting for the moment they would swing open.

The Emperor was on his way. He held the Key that would unlock the portal to the Secret Realm — a realm where destinies would be rewritten, and blood might be spilled for the chance at the unimaginable.

Suddenly, the ground trembled.

They looked to see a line of royal guards marched in formation, clearing the area.

Emperor Yan Jao had arrived.

Seeing him, everyone knelt, except Igaris, who stood silently, watching.

The emperor didn’t fail to notice the audacity of the young man Soaring Dragon Sect. He didn’t kneel or bowed. Something that made him displeased.

Regardless, he stepped onto the stone platform before the massive sealed gateway—a towering arch of obsidian embedded with ancient runes. Behind him, elders and court officials followed, their expressions serious.

Yan Jao raised both hands and began the ritual.

A thunderous chant echoed as ancient symbols lit up across the gate. Celestial energy surged from his body, forming rings of power that spiraled into the air. Each ring activated a different rune upon the arch.

As the final chant echoed, he reached into his robes and pulled out a shimmering, crescent-shaped key forged from divine jade.

"Let the path open," he declared.

He inserted the key into the heart of the gate. With a pulse of radiant energy, the gateway responded. Runes activated. A loud, grinding sound rumbled across the valley. The air became thick with pressure as the gate slowly parted.

Beyond it, lay swirling mists of silver and violet, the entrance to the Secret Realm of Thousand Armaments.

Yan Jao turned slightly, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he glanced over the gathered champions.

"Go forth, and find what fate has prepared for you."

But in his heart, the scheme had already begun. Only he knew the true purpose of this expedition.

And only one would return with the weapon that could shake the heavens.

Unless Igaris had anything to say about it.

"Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh..."

As the Dao Children and their entourage stepped through the portal, a sensation like falling through cold fire seized them. Time blurred. Space twisted.

Then—

Boom.

They landed.

The world that greeted them was drenched in crimson.

A blood-soaked moon loomed in the sky, far larger than it had any right to be, its light spilling across the land like liquid gore. It bathed everything in shades of red and black. Twisted mountains tore into the heavens like the claws of buried titans. Forests of skeletal trees creaked under invisible winds. Rivers flowed, not with water, but with something thicker — darker.

Screeches rang out in the distance.

Fangs. Wings. Eyes that glowed like coals in the dark.

The air itself carried the scent of ash, iron, and something ancient. Something hungry.

Igaris landed on a shattered plateau of obsidian stone. He rose without a scratch, his cloak fluttering behind him.

The Architect’s Eyes activated instinctively, scanning the warping landscape.

He was alone.

Far away from the others.

In the distance, a beast towered over the ruined skyline — a centipede with the face of a lion and scales of molten copper.

"ROAR!"

Its roar cracked boulders into dust. Dozens of smaller creatures scurried in the shadows, half-flesh and half-nightmare, all converging toward the same direction.

Igaris narrowed his gaze. That direction led to a twisted fortress hanging upside down from a floating cliff, suspended by chains of bone and gold.

Elsewhere—

Fairy Hua crashed into a crystalline glade, where flowers whispered secrets in her ear and tried to root themselves into her flesh.

Yang Huo awoke knee-deep in black marshwater, surrounded by the husks of ancient swords, each one humming with a dormant soul.

Mu Chen found himself standing atop a massive chessboard, where each move summoned ghostly opponents wearing the faces of people he had once killed.

The others were scattered too, flung across this cruel dreamscape where logic held no sway and death wore a thousand masks.

Just as Igaris’s sword began to rise, a thunderous voice echoed across the blood-drenched skies — vast, ageless, and unyielding.

It didn’t come from the fortress.

It didn’t come from the skies.

It came from everywhere.

"Participants..."

The voice carried across the land, resonating in every tree, every stone, every drop of blood hanging in the air.

"Welcome to the Trial of Thousand Armaments."

Igaris paused mid-step.

"Each step you take shall be judged. Each breath weighed. This realm offers no mercy, no fairness, and no escape."

The air thickened. The crimson moon pulsed brighter, as if absorbing the words.

"This Trial is a Game of Death. None may leave unless the Trial is cleared."

The participants froze. Only now they understood the warning behind the elders words. This Trial really shows no mercy. It wanted theur body and Soul.

Igaris, on the hand, sneered.

"Death Game, huh? Let’s see how long you can hold me.."