Unmatched Warrior – Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Limitless Trial

Tianyuan City, the gateway city to Tian Yuan Sect, only allows sect disciples to reside within its walls. Therefore, the city was built in front of the mountain gate to accommodate the disciples’ families. As more and more disciples joined, along with merchants and martial artists from various places seeking opportunities, the city continued to expand, eventually becoming the largest city within the sphere of influence of Tian Yuan Sect, housing a population of over a million.

The travel-worn Lin Tianyi stood not far from the city gate, watching the long queue waiting to enter the city, stretching to the end of the city wall as far as the eye could see. His eyes were full of shock: “Wow, this largest city is indeed different; even the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy is much denser.”

Due to cultivating both Body Tempering and Bone Shrinking techniques, Lin Tianyi’s True Power reserves far exceeded those of his peers. However, during cultivation, the Body Tempering Art would compete for most of the Spiritual Energy, and the True Power required for his advancement was more than others, making his realm advancement even more difficult.

Therefore, after four years of secluded cultivation at Elder Fang’s home, having mastered the basic stage of the Bone Shrinking Technique, and with his Body Tempering Art and True Power realm both reaching the Third Rank, Lin Tianyi bid farewell to Elder Fang and traveled south to seek high-level cultivation methods.

After completing some procedures, Lin Tianyi entered Tianyuan City with the city map he received.

Since its construction, Tianyuan City has undergone seven expansions, using the old city walls to divide the city into different areas. Each district is assigned a different function, including a heavily guarded core residential area, a mixed and chaotic civilian residential area, a bustling crafting area, and a prosperous commercial district.

Finding a carriage for transportation to the commercial district, Lin Tianyi sat side by side with the driver.

“Boss, does Tianyuan City have this many people entering the city every day?” Lin Tianyi asked. These people travel through the streets and alleys and have the most up-to-date information. If you want to understand a city, asking them is definitely the right choice.

“Hey, it’s usually busy, but not this exaggerated. These people are all here to participate in the Limitless Trial.” The boss seemed very enthusiastic.

“Limitless Trial? Tell me about it.” Lin Tianyi took out a few silver coins and handed them over.

“Thank you, young man. This Limitless Trial is an adventure trial held in a place called the Limitless Sacred Ground within Tian Yuan Sect, and only those with Third Rank or lower strength can enter.”

Smiling, the boss accepted the silver coins, and his mouth became even more eloquent.

“It is said that the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy in the Limitless Sacred Ground is extremely dense, and a monster called Void Spirit has mutated. Killing it and obtaining its Spirit Core can increase a large amount of True Power without any side effects, which can help martial artists quickly advance.”

“Oh? If it’s such a good thing, why doesn’t Tian Yuan Sect keep it to themselves and open it up to others?” Lin Tianyi asked curiously.

“This is not a secret; the older generation all know about it.” The boss chuckled and explained the reason in detail.

“A long time ago, Haoyue Continent only had one hegemonic force, Taiji Sect, which overpowered all other sects and forces, dominating for a time. Later, for some unknown reason, the core area of the Taiji Sect’s headquarters and everyone in it disappeared without a trace, and the reason remains unsolved. With the headquarters gone and no leader, the remaining seven branch headquarters refused to submit to each other and each claimed supremacy, resulting in the current seven major forces: Three Sects, Two Teachings, One Valley, and One Pavilion.”

“Wait, boss, what do you mean by the headquarters suddenly disappearing?”

“It just disappeared. Several mountains were gone, as if they had been dug away by a giant shovel, and all the people were gone too, leaving behind a giant sinkhole spectacle that attracted countless people to investigate.”

“Oh, oh, continue.” Lin Tianyi found it unbelievable, but he didn’t say anything, signaling the boss to continue.

“After the headquarters disappeared, the large and medium-sized forces that originally depended on Taiji Sect formed an alliance to resist the seven major forces. Because their geographical location was in the center of the continent and bordered all the forces, no one could swallow them alone, so they simply regarded that area as a buffer zone between several forces, hence it is called the Alliance Territory.

The Limitless Sacred Ground was originally opened up by Taiji Sect as a Dimensional Space specifically for disciples with Third Rank and lower strength to undergo trials. It is opened once every five years, and the headquarters and the remaining seven branch headquarters all have entrances.

If you don’t let them in, everyone can still enter through the Alliance Territory. The seven major forces simply reached an agreement with the Alliance Territory to allow rogue cultivators to enter, but disciples from other large and medium-sized sects cannot participate, after all, rogue cultivators and those with sect backgrounds are not the same.”

“Boss, do you know where the entrance to the Sacred Ground is? How can I participate in the trial?” Lin Tianyi nodded, understanding. How could he miss such an opportunity? It would be good to slightly make up for the cultivation progress slowed down by the Body Tempering Art.

“The entrance is naturally within Tian Yuan Sect. Three days later, the barracks near the major city gates will open Teleportation Arrays that lead directly to the entrance of the Sacred Ground. Three hundred gold is required for entry, and the Teleportation Array will be open for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.” The boss chuckled and took out a booklet: “Young man, are you interested in participating? I have a map and relevant information about the Void Spirits here. Since we get along so well, I’ll give it to you for ten silver, a bargain!”

“Alright!” Lin Tianyi didn’t haggle and directly took out the silver coins.

“Seeing how generous you are, young man, I’ll say one more thing. When the trial starts, just experience it on the side; don’t go too deep. You’re so young; there’s no need to risk your life.” The boss hesitated and kindly reminded him.

“What do you mean?”

“The Limitless Sacred Ground is not a place for sightseeing; it’s a trial ground. It’s said that those Void Spirits are very powerful. Over the years, the casualties among those who enter the trial each time are huge, with less than one in ten surviving! It’s a place for those who have exhausted their potential and have no hope of breaking through to make one last gamble.”

“Wait, boss, I’m a little confused. If the casualty rate is so high, how can they let their disciples in? Aren’t these disciples treasures in their eyes, geniuses?”

“Young man, what I said about less than one in ten surviving mainly refers to rogue cultivators. How can those disciples from major sects suffer any casualties?” The boss was speechless.

“Uh, I understand.” After gathering the information he needed, Lin Tianyi turned the topic to learning about the famous places in Tianyuan City. The two chatted and laughed as they arrived at the commercial district.

After randomly finding an inn and booking a room, Lin Tianyi came out for a stroll and happened to see a large building in the distance with the sign “Red Flame Merchant Alliance” hanging on it, so he walked over.

As a top merchant alliance with stores all over the continent, the Red Flame Merchant Alliance has a complete range of goods to meet most of its customers’ purchasing needs. Therefore, the stores are very large in scale, and the Tianyuan City branch is even more so. Not only does it occupy a vast area, but it also has five floors, like a behemoth compared to the shops next to it.

“As expected of a big city, there are so many high-level cultivation methods for sale.” Guided by a shop assistant to the classics section on the third floor, Lin Tianyi was dazzled by the various cultivation methods in front of him.

Just as he was struggling to decide which one to buy, a familiar figure came into view.

“Old Peng?” Lin Tianyi was stunned and greeted him.

“You are… Tianyi?” Old Peng, who was about to go upstairs, heard the voice and looked over. After carefully identifying him for a while, he asked uncertainly.

“It’s me, Old Peng, it’s been a long time.” Lin Tianyi replied.

“Haha, it’s really Tianyi. I haven’t seen you in a few years, and you’ve grown into a big lad. I almost didn’t recognize you.” Old Peng walked over, laughing heartily, grabbed Lin Tianyi’s arms, and looked him up and down like an elder, throwing out a barrage of questions: “Not bad, not bad, you look thin but you’re very strong. Why, didn’t you say you were going to Ironclad City? Why are you here? Where’s your dad?”

“Uh, you asked so many questions at once, which one should I answer first?” Facing Old Peng’s questions, Lin Tianyi replied with a wry smile.

“Oh, right, my bad, my bad. It’s just that I’m too happy to see you. Come, follow me upstairs. It’s been many years since we last met, we need to have a good chat.” Old Peng was stunned and patted his head, saying.

Old Peng genuinely liked Lin Tianyi, who was sensible and had a strong character. During his time in Qing Shi Town, he truly treated Lin Tianyi as his own grandson and gave him a lot of care, so Lin Tianyi also respected this elder very much.

Sitting down in an elegant room on the top floor, Lin Tianyi answered Old Peng’s questions one by one. Regarding his experiences over the past few years, he didn’t describe too much, simply saying that he had studied in Ironclad City and was now out adventuring and training.

“These years must have been hard on you, child.” Thinking that Lin Tianyi had traveled thousands of miles alone at the age of eight, Old Peng couldn’t help but sigh.

“Stop talking about me; how about you, Old Peng? Why are you here? Did you get promoted?” Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit low, Lin Tianyi joked.

“You brat, you’ve grown up and your mouth is getting slicker. I am the general manager of the Red Flame Merchant Alliance in the Tianyuan Sect territory. Touring the stores is my duty. Back then, there were confidential matters in Qing Shi Town that required me to be stationed there, so I stayed there for a longer time.”

Interrupted by Lin Tianyi, Old Peng also took the opportunity to change the topic, laughing and scolding as he answered.

“Wow, I didn’t expect you to be such a hidden big shot, Old Peng. That’s great; I have something I want to consult you about.” Lin Tianyi was overjoyed. With Old Peng’s background, his insight would naturally be different.

“What is it?” Old Peng said.

“I’m planning to get a set of high-level cultivation methods. I saw quite a few in the store, but I don’t know which one to buy. I wonder if Old Peng has any recommendations?”

After hearing this, Old Fang waved his hand directly and said, “The high-level cultivation methods sold in shops are all inferior goods. If you want to buy good ones, you have to try your luck at the auction house or acquire them at a high price.”

“…If I hadn’t met you, I might have just bought one.” Lin Tianyi was a little speechless: “As for the auction… I’ve never even been to an auction house, and I don’t know how much they cost.”

“It depends on the situation; it could be anywhere from a few hundred to tens of millions.” Seeing Lin Tianyi’s stunned expression, Old Peng directly gave another option: “Another way is to join a force and exchange for them with merit.” At this point, Old Peng took a deep look at Lin Tianyi, the meaning self-evident.

“I’m not considering joining a force for the time being; it’s too restrictive. I’ll still go to the auction house when I have time to get a sense of the market.”

Lin Tianyi scratched his head a little embarrassedly. With the Body Tempering Art, he didn’t dare to join any force.

“Alright, if it really doesn’t work, come find me again, and we’ll think of another way.” Seeing this, Old Peng didn’t mention joining again. Some things, when you hit a wall, you will naturally turn back.

…………

Three days later, Lin Tianyi came to the garrison barracks at the West City Gate.

At this time, the Teleportation Array had not yet been activated, but it was already crowded with people, and many people were shouting to form teams.

“Limitless Sacred Ground, a team of six at the Third Rank Completion, now lacking a ranged attacker. Those who meet the requirements, come quickly.”

“The Trial Old Man Team is recruiting, requiring at least one trial experience.”

“The Second Rank newbie team is recruiting. We don’t seek to kill Void Spirits and seize their cores; we only seek to protect ourselves and absorb some Spiritual Energy in the marginal areas. Those interested, come.”

“Spend three hundred gold to absorb Spiritual Energy?” Lin Tianyi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed that the information that the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy in the Limitless Sacred Ground was denser than the outside world was true.

Lin Tianyi had no interest in forming a team. They didn’t know each other, and they had to guard against their backs during battle. It was better to fight alone, which was safer, more stable, and allowed him to come and go freely.

Randomly finding an open space to sit down, Lin Tianyi closed his eyes to rest and waited for the Teleportation Array to open.