Spirit Cultivation

Landing in front of the temple, Xuefeng's group could not avoid getting discovered by the crowd but they were already used to it. The only difference this time was the change in the person people looked at. The crowd didn't admire the beauties but instead at Xuefeng who was the only one famous from the group. 

"Look! It's Golden-winged Xuefeng! The Liu Clan Young Master!" 

Someone in the crowd shouted, gathering even more attention onto them. No one recognized the women he was with but after his performance at the Main Plaza, everyone knew him. 

"Golden-winged Xuefeng, should we call you like that now?" Nuwa teased as they walked towards the temple entrance but Xuefeng didn't mind it, actually finding it cool. 

He smiled and embraced Nuwa by the waist and agreed softly, "You can call me anything you want my love."

"Tsk," Nuwa snickered. "You're no fun." 

"I thought you had a lot of fun in the morning," Xuefeng countered right after but only received a cute tongue as a response, making him laugh. 

They entered through the entrance and found themselves in a spacious room with a single grey portal in the middle. Four members of the Royal Guard were protecting it while the fifth one was standing by the table at the front. A single sign stood on the table.

'Ten High-Tier Spirit Stones per entry.' 

The man by the table just counted how many people entered without looking at their faces and called out before they even reached him, "Eight people is eighty Spirit Stones. Paid upfront." 

Xuefeng thought it was normal and was about to pull out the amount when Xiao Wen shouted angrily, "Shameless! Since when does Royal Family control the Inheritance Trials?!" 

Hearing her shout, the five members eyes' widened and their back's strengthened. 

"N-new Law established by the Ruler of the Realm…" the guard by the table stuttered, feeling the pressure of a Sage leaking from Xiao Wen. 

Based on their expressions, it seems they recognized them. Xiao Wen was after all a notable figure even before she met Xuefeng, being the daughter of Xiao Feng. Xuefeng was the new tyrant who was against the Royal Family which was even worse. 

"Bullshit! The Inheritance Trials doesn't belong to any family!" Xiao Wen cursed and pulled out her golden sword, ready to slay. 

The guards immediately backed off, drawing their weapons as well. There was only one entrance so they were stuck, unable to leave.

Xuefeng extended his hand to stop Xiao Wen and asked, "So they are basically cheating people of their money now?" 

"Yes. The Inheritance Trials have always been free to public. All three top families agreed to it so we wouldn't argue over it. We wanted to avoid bloody war but now Royal Family claimed it as theirs. I guess they wish for war," Xiao Wen explained without taking her glare off the Royal Guards. 

"I don't recall ever hearing about this. I represent Liu Clan and we don't agree," Xuefeng decided with a frown. "If your bullshit Ruler wishes for war, I will pay him a visit by tomorrow with all my three hundred plus Spirit Monarchs to settle it once and for all." 

"Xiao Family will attack with full force as well," Xiao Wen added, making the five guards shiver. 

They immediately kneeled on the ground while dropping their weapons and begged for mercy, "Please, spare us! We were just carrying out orders!" 

"I can guess this is an attempt to recover from the losses after a sudden beast attack," Xuefeng commented, imagining the damage Drakos left behind. 

He wasn't fond of killing pawns so he didn't mind letting them off under one condition. 

"Tell us where else does the Royal Family collect their sudden taxes and we will let you off." 

——— 

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

Five bodies flew out of the temple and crushed into the ground, surprising everyone in the area. Only after they saw Xuefeng walking out right after did they understand they were witnessing another clash of titans. 

Top tier Families. 

"The bullying of Royal Family ends now! Entry to Inheritance Trials is free and always will be!" Xuefeng cried out, glaring at the five Royal Guards. "Go tell your Ruler that from now on, Liu Clan and Xiao Family will show no mercy. We will kill anyone who bully and oppress the citizens of the Capital. This is the last warning we give."

"Y-yes, Young Master!" The Royal Guards nodded hurriedly and flew away without looking back. 

Xuefeng didn't look at them either and after casual glance at the crowd, he returned to the temple. He could hear the cheers behind him which made him smile. The plan worked well. 

"To think they only claimed the Inheritance Trials. We can't really stop them if they increase taxes and prices in their businesses," Xuefeng commented to the girls and asked Wuying, "Can you please—"

She didn't let him finish as she reported, "I already notified your father." 

"Oh, nice. You read my mind," Xuefeng praised and glanced at Xiao Wen who was already in process of messaging her father as well. 

"Dad, send people to Inheritance Trials. Royal Family is taxing people at the entrance. I cleared Metal Inheritance Trial with Xuefeng."

She spoke out the message into a green transmission crystal and kept it, not waiting for the response. 

"Shall we go?" 

——— 

When Xuefeng followed the girls through the portal, he wanted to meet them on the other side but as he expected, all of them vanished. He appeared in a blank space filled with white light, quite similar to the Heaven Realm passage. The only difference was the absence of exits. 

Just as he wondered what would happen next, a robotic voice greeted him in his mind. 

'Welcome to the Metal Inheritance Trial.' 

A translucent panel appeared in front of him and the voice spoke once again. 

'I'm the Spirit responsible to guide you inside the trial. Please state your name. Note that same name will be used on the Leaderboard. The name can't be changed later.' 

Xuefeng smiled and said confidently, "Liu Clan Liu Xuefeng"

'Please confirm the name on the screen.' 

His name appeared on the panel in front of him, making him feel as if he was in a video game. 

"It's correct," Xuefeng confirmed and the panel disappeared right after. 

'Please hold on. Preparing the stage.' 

He waited for a few seconds after the announcement before he finally noticed his surrounding changing. The white light turned into milky mist before dispersing, vanishing right after. 

He appeared in a big, one hundred meter arena with a flat, sandy ground. Xuefeng felt no restrictions to his body and he still had contact with Ling or Ming so every move was allowed. 

'Would you like to listen to the rules or proceed to the trial?' the Spirit asked emotionlessly. 

"I would like to listen to the rules," Xuefeng chose without hesitation. Even though he had Xiao Wen's explanation, he didn't want to miss anything.

The robotic voice didn't dilly dally and listed all the rules one by one. 

'The Trial consists of ten rounds. 

After one completes all rounds, the trial will end. 

Participant will receive a reward by the end of the trial. 

The value of the reward will be determined based on the results of the trial. 

All rounds consist of battles between Fighters. 

Participant can only control one fighter provided by the trial. 

Participant can't touch the fighters with his body.

Once the fighter is defeated, participant will be ejected from the trial.

Would you like to choose your fighter?'

Everything the Spirit said was clear so Xuefeng immediately nodded. 

"Yes."