Chapter 963 – Silver Perfection

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“So that’s how it is. This stone tablet isn’t just testing my perception but also my martial arts will.”

This will was obviously left behind by the person who had carved this totem stone tablet. If such an extreme character were to leave behind their will, it could last for several hundred thousands of years up to even millions of years.

“If I can withstand this baptism of will, it’ll greatly benefit the growth of my battle spirit. This is a good opportunity!”

Lin Ming was thrilled. When he travelled down the Road of the Emperor, the strongest baptism of will he had withstood was the will of the Demon Emperor. Compared to a Patriarch of the ancient Phoenix Clan, the Demon Emperor was far from being equal.

If he could withstand the suppression of a powerhouse’s will, that would help him further exploring the potential of his battle spirit.

For those that cultivated martial arts, the potential of a battle spirit was determined by a variety of factors. Once it was formed, it would be difficult to increase it. There were very few heavenly materials that existed with the ability to enhance a battle spirit, and they could only be found through a stroke of destiny. For instance, the Twinlife Thunder Crystal.

The Twinlife Thunder Crystal was a divine stone that was bred along with a Thunder Source. However, a Thunder Source required hundreds of millions, sometimes even billions of years to be born. This made a Twinlife Thunder Crystal rare to the point that it was maddening. Only a great Holy Land of the Divine Realms would be able to obtain something so precious.

It was extremely difficult to enhance a battle spirit’s potential. When a battle spirit’s potential was already set, wanting to dig out every last bit of its potential wasn’t easy either. But using the will pressure of a top martial artist’s will was an outstanding method to temper and explore the potential of a battle spirit.

Hu!

The totem stone tablet’s martial arts will swept up like a storm, violently rushing towards Lin Ming’s spiritual sea. Within Lin Ming’s spiritual sea, the spear-shaped battle spirit floating in the air was forced to directly bear a baptism of this pressure.

Lin Ming’s entire body was covered in this pressure. He felt as if he was taking a pleasant swim in a sea of energy, comfortable and relaxing.

The artifact spirit’s eyes brightened. It looked at Lin Ming with some surprise, “From this boy’s last attacks, I felt that his will and battle spirit were extremely formidable. For the third test, I made him withstand a will that far surpassed his current skeletal age. I didn’t think he would be able to withstand it so easily…”

“That gray battle spirit is indeed special. Because of that layer of misty gray light, I didn’t notice the grade of the battle spirit from the beginning. I thought that it just reached silver, but now it seems to be at the peak of silver large success, just a step away from reaching silver perfection!”

“A fifth stage Life Destruction boy has a battle spirit at the peak of silver large success, that is incredible! Although the geniuses of the Divine Realm are like crouching tigers and hidden dragons, this is still the first time that I’ve heard someone managing to have their battle spirit reach the peak of silver large success at the fifth stage of Life Destruction! His battle spirit also has a special attribute to it, making its might far exceed an ordinary perfect silver battle spirit. If he can reach a gold level battle spirit in the future, allowing his battle spirit to directly influence reality, his combat strength will greatly increase.”

Many thoughts began rapidly cutting through the artifact spirit’s mind. It looked forward to Lin Ming’s growth more and more.

“Hey, this brat seems to be enjoying himself a bit too much. How can I let you relax in a test of my Saint Artifact Pavilion and easily pass? If I do that, I won’t have any face left at all.”

The Saint Artifact Pavilion artifact spirit was itself equal to a Divine Lord realm master. Moreover, it had been in charge of Saint Artifact Pavilion for so many years and was an ancient existence of Phoenix Cry Palace, it was naturally proud and arrogant in its own right. But this arrogance was also awoken by Lin Ming’s actions.

“I want to see just how long you can manage to support yourself!”

The artifact spirit maliciously smiled. The will pressure on Lin Ming rapidly increased.

From using the level of a 35 year skeletal age at the start, it rapidly increased to 50 years, 70 years, and then 80 years!

The will pressure rapidly increased. Moreover, the totem stone tablet left behind by the Ancient Phoenix Clan Patriach contained not only his will but also the aura of the Great Dao’s Fire Laws together with the comprehension of Fire Laws belonging to an ancient Supreme Elder.

“So strong!”

The hazy mist around the spear-shaped battle spirit was forced down by the pressure; it was pushed down and squeezed together, less than an inch left between it and the battle spirit.

Lin Ming could feel the pressure, an incomparably daunting pressure. Even he was finding it difficult to withstand.

A black energy surged into Lin Ming’s spiritual sea as if it would tear everything apart!

“Is the third test round absurdly difficult, or is it purposely aimed at me to squeeze out my potential?”

Lin Ming had 120% confidence in his own martial arts will. While his other aspects might not be considered at the peak, he believed that in terms of will, it was difficult to find another genius in the Divine Realm that could stand side-by-side with him. But now, he actually felt pressured to his limits. If even he was being pressured this much, were there really any other disciples of the Ancient Phoenix Clan that could pass such a ridiculous test?

Within Lin Ming’s spiritual sea, the mist that usually floated around the spear-shaped battle spirit was actually forced onto that spear by the immense pressure.

“Let’s see just how long you can last!” The artifact spirit’s arrogant heart was roused by Lin Ming. In truth, it had long since determined that Lin Ming had successfully passed the test. It only wished to test Lin Ming’s limit and have him reach the breaking point.

“100 year skeletal age!”

The artifact spirit lightly shouted and no longer suppressed the will and aura of the totem stone tablet, instead allowing it to wantonly surge outwards. This totem stone tablet was left behind by the 26th acting Patriarch of the Ancient Phoenix Clan, Xiao Daoji. This totem stone tablet was originally part of a set. Xiao Daoji created seven sets of seven for a total of 49 stone tablets. The only reason this stone tablet was stored within Saint Artifact Pavilion was because it acted as the eye of the great formation and stabilized the 9999 saint artifacts that composed it.

Even when the past Xiao Daoji was placed between all the Patriarchs of the Ancient Phoenix Clan, he was still a stunningly amazing character. He had wanted to refine nine sets of nine for a total of 81 stone tablets, but unfortunately only managed to create 49 before he suffered a great calamity and perished.

Each of the 49 stone tablets contained a wisp of Xiao Daoji’s will and thoughts. Although this was only a tiny insignificant amount when compared to Xiao Daoji himself, it was still not something that an ordinary disciple could hope to contend with.

The limit of entering Saint Artifact Pavilion was a 100 year skeletal age. At this step, the entirety of Xiao Daoji’s thoughts were recklessly unleashed onto Lin Ming. And within Lin Ming’s spiritual sea, the mist floating around the spear-shaped battle was compressed to such a terrifying degree that it condensed onto the spear shaft itself.

Ka ka ka!

At this moment, a small crack appeared within the spear-shaped battle spirit.

“Mm!?”

The artifact spirit was startled. Without any time to respond, an indescribable aura gushed forth, surging out from the cracks on the surface of the battle spirit. This aura was a vast, endless, vigorous, deep, and unfathomable aura that left the artifact spirit stunned.

Lin Ming’s strength was clearly nothing compared to the artifact spirit itself, but this aura actually caused the artifact spirit to feel a deep sense of dread. This awe and trepidation seemed engraved into the very essence of its being, as if it were something passed down from time immemorial.

“Grandmist energy?”

The artifact spirit was dumbstruck. In the legends, the Divine Realm had a grandmist spirit artifact, formed at the very beginning of the world. This was the Heavenly Dao Relic formed within grandmist, and its age was as ancient as the universe itself!

That was an existence surpassing a spirit artifact, and grandmist energy was also a sign of a Heavenly Dao Relic. According to rumors, a Heavenly Dao Relic could not be formed, even by an Empyrean. But without a doubt, if a normal spirit artifact was able to absorb a sliver of grandmist energy, it’d be greatly beneficial to it!

Grandmist energy was something that could cause all spirit artifacts to feel awe and a maddening sense of desire.

“This youth actually has grandmist energy!?” The Saint Artifact Pavilion artifact spirit was spooked; if true, this was a serious matter. It released a part of its divine sense to envelop Lin Ming’s body, but a moment later it shook its head. This wasn’t grandmist energy but rather contained an aura similar in nature to grandmist energy. It could just barely be called the elementary form of grandmist energy.

“It was indeed impossible for something like this to happen.” The artifact spirit sighed. Grandmist energy existed when the universe formed, but ever since it divided into yin and yang and then differentiated into the five elements, it vanished from existence. Even if some still existed in certain mystic realms throughout the universe, it still wasn’t something that Lin Ming could possibly refine. Just a wisp of grandmist energy was able to crush a star. Let alone Lin Ming, even a Divine Lord did not have the ability to do so!

“But although this youth only has an elementary form of grandmist energy, that is still very rare. I have no idea what he trains in, but in the future, if he can become a Holy Lord, World King, or even an Empyrean, there really might be a chance that he can evolve grandmist energy in his own world!”

As the artifact spirit was thinking, it suddenly saw Lin Ming’s spear-shaped battle spirit erupt with a dazzling light. In the next moment, the battle spirit was reborn. Although the main form was still silver gray as before, it clearly reflected a light trace of gold.

“Perfect silver battle spirit!”

The artifact spirit’s eyes lit up. This state was close to the level of a gold battle spirit. It never thought that by testing Lin Ming’s will, it would actually cause him to have a breakthrough in the boundary of his battle spirit!

“His battle spirit contains a grandmist aura and it has also reached silver perfection, just a step from becoming a gold battle spirit. This is truly extraordinary; this youth’s potential has no limits!”

“But compared to his will, his perception is quite ordinary. He hasn’t managed to comprehend much from the fragment of the Great Dao Laws within the totem stone tablet. This might be because I urged the energy within the stone tablet too much and it surpassed the limits of his skeletal age.”

“This is also normal. There’s no talent that excels in all aspects and can reach the limit in every field. This in itself is already beyond all expectations; he has perfectly passed this test. It is still incredible. I find it hard to believe that he is a martial artist that ascended from the lower realms. I wonder just how many lucky chances he encountered and how many adventures he experienced!”

As the artifact spirit had such thoughts run through his head, its eyes suddenly paused and the thoughts came to a screeching halt. It looked at Lin Ming, completely dumbfounded!

Just now the artifact spirit wanted to end the test. But when it tried to reclaim the aura of the stone tablet, it discovered that when it pulled back the aura, a massive part of the Great Dao Laws fragments was absorbed into Lin Ming’s body. These fragments seemed to have disappeared without a trace!

“The Great Dao Laws fragments were actually swallowed up as if they were water being drunk by a whale?” The artifact spirit was unable to figure out just what was going on. It could not see that within Lin Ming’s body, the Heretical God Sprout was shining with a crimson light. The Great Dao fragment that Xiao Daoji left behind was related to the Fire Laws; it perfectly matched the attribute of the Heretical God Sprout!