The void twisted, and Long Chen found himself in a desolate land alongside the Earth Cauldron.

When Long Chen set foot onto this desolate land, his heart tightened. A profound sense of sorrow welled up within him.

The entire area bathed in blood hues, including the walls, ground, and rocks—all tinted in shades of crimson. As soon as Long Chen arrived here, the smell of blood struck him, causing his own blood to boil.

Rage erupted, coursing through his veins like a torrential flood. His fists clenched with fury, and an overwhelming urge to kill surged through him uncontrollably.

“Fresh blood dyed this world red. Even after countless years, even after so much wind and rain, the color has not faded at all. Do you feel it? They are your kin, disciples of the nine star line. Against an endless tide of enemies, they held their ground here for three millennia, without reinforcements. Not a single one of the hundred thousand nine star disciples surrendered. They fought to the bitter end, dragging down countless enemies with them. Once, the corpses piled so high they reached the heavens. Though time has turned those remains to dust, the blood of the nine star disciples still stains this land, an enduring testament to their valor. They are the most honorable warriors this world has ever known,” declared the Earth Cauldron, its voice resonating with solemnity and weight, as if it could transport Long Chen back to the ancient era.

“Who killed them?!” demanded Long Chen furiously. He wanted revenge.

Although Long Chen had never met these nine star disciples, he could feel their blood calling to him. It was just like watching the Dragonblood warriors sacrificing themselves.

“Many were responsible for their deaths—the devil race, demon race, Netherworld race, Blood race, Feather race, Shadow race, Titan race, Wild Slaughter race, desolate beast race, goblin race…”

The Earth Cauldron listed off hundreds of races, and the majority of them were ones that Long Chen had never heard of.

“Of course, there was also the human race,” added the Earth Cauldron at the very end.

“Those damn bastards, I’ll make them pay this blood debt,” vowed Long Chen through clenched teeth.

“These are all things of the past. Come, we have important work to do here. Follow me,” instructed the Earth Cauldron.

Long Chen followed the Earth Cauldron’s direction. Walking into this blood-colored world, he saw that someone had destroyed everything here, as if they wanted to erase everything here.

Everything here was in ruins. The Earth Cauldron directed Long Chen to clear a path through the wreckage, revealing a remarkably preserved underground passage.

Originally, there were murals carved on the two sides. However, they had been destroyed by someone.

However, Long Chen then saw a complete mural depicting a devil expert with two wings. It tore at the void, and within the void, a figure was torn apart.

Long Chen couldn’t see the figure’s face, but he could tell that it was a nine star disciple based on the starry manifestation behind them.

“Courting death!”

Long Chen couldn’t help roaring furiously. He then punched the mural and destroyed the devil expert’s image.

“The winged devil race dares to humiliate my nine star line. Don’t let me encounter them, or I’ll kill every single one of them that I see,” swore Long Chen.

It went without saying that the winged devil race was amongst those that had attacked the nine star line. Furthermore, they intentionally left behind this mural to humiliate the nine star line and show off their accomplishments.

After destroying it, Long Chen continued forward and didn’t see complete murals anymore. Clearly, many people had charged into this place to destroy their enemies; not everyone was as bored as the winged devil race and added graffiti.

These people had entered this passageway and destroyed the murals. Though Long Chen didn’t know their content, he suspected they contained the secrets of the nine star line.

Six hours of walking and passing through eight gates later, Long Chen arrived at the end of the passage. While the previous gates had been destroyed, the final gate remained intact, albeit damaged with numerous holes from heavy attacks. However, it appeared the assailants had failed to destroy it.

“This is the trial land for the nine star disciples. Haven’t you always wanted to know how strong you are amongst nine star line’s disciples? Now, you have your chance,” informed the Earth Cauldron.

“Are you saying…?” Long Chen was shocked. He couldn’t believe his own ears.

“This place is the highest level trial for the nine star line’s disciples. The first eight gates could be opened and closed by others, but this final ninth gate cannot be. Once you enter the trial, you can’t come back. Either you succeed in your challenge, or you die and the laws inside absorb all your power. Having absorbed the energy of so many nine star disciples, the gate couldn’t be destroyed by the invaders, so they could only leave it as is. That’s why everything else here was destroyed, but this place remains intact,” explained the Earth Cauldron.

“Are you telling me to enter the strongest trial?” asked Long Chen.

“Yes. Inside is a World King realm nine star heir. His realm is the same as yours, and he will also activate the Seven Star Battle Armor. What sets him apart is that he’s not a real person. He is a heavenly genius whose ranking was ninety-seventh back in the nine star line’s most glorious era. Back then, the nine star line chose to copy his power and use him as a test standard,” replied the Earth Cauldron.

“Only rank ninety-seven?”

Long Chen had originally thought that the expert would rank higher, perhaps even number one.

“Only rank ninety-seven?” The Earth Cauldron practically scoffed at him. “Did you know that when the nine star line was at its peak, it practically unified this world? It was a supreme faction throughout the world. At that time, the nine star line had trillions of experts. You dare to say ‘only rank ninety-seven.’ Whatever… I can’t be bothered to explain it more. You can open the gate and find out just how strong rank ninety-seven is.”

After Long Chen heard this warning, his guard instantly went up. This rank ninety-seven fellow was definitely a monster.

“How do I open the gate?” asked Long Chen.

“Place your hands on it. Do you see the two crevices on the gate that are like handprints?” replied the Earth Cauldron.

Looking carefully, Long Chen really did find those two crevices on the scarred gate. There was so much damage on it that if he didn’t look closely, he wouldn’t have noticed.

Long Chen placed his hands on the gate, and he suddenly shook intensely. His divine ring appeared, as well as his Seven Star Battle Armor. Following that, countless stars lit up on the gate, transforming the gate into a portal to a starry world.

In a flash, the gate vanished, leaving Long Chen standing on an ancient martial stage.

Across from him stood an apathetic, long-haired man in traditional white robes with a jade belt around his waist. He seemed like a statue with his closed eyes and lack of aura. Yet, as Long Chen looked at him, a sense of dread washed over him, signaling the man's formidable presence.

Suddenly, the white-robed man's eyes snapped open, revealing seven stars flowing within them. Long Chen’s senses screamed at him that this was a terrifying existence, and he felt like a desolate beast had locked its gaze on him.