Xie Qing sighed bitterly.


    "Master... Why did I inherit your carefree character?"


    The young man stood before a stone tablet with golden patterns, depicting a battle between the Deities and the Heavenly Emperor.


    The trial would begin as soon as he touched his Qi to the tablet. Then, he would have to show his will.


    It was dangerous, very dangerous. If his will was not strong enough, he could get lost in the illusions.


    Xie Qing pondered for a moment. This life was so fast-paced, interesting, and diverse for him.


    He had people he loved, and they loved him in return. So, his life did not belong to him alone.


    "But... I am first and foremost a cultivator... If I do not be stronger, do not develop, then what is the point of such a life?" Xie Qing thought and sighed.


    His hesitationsted less than a second. With a light wave of his hand, he sent a strand of his Qi, which was instantly sucked into the tablet.


    Shuuu...


    A gust of wind appeared, and Xie Qing closed his eyes.


    Boom!


    "Agh!"


    A powerful blow struck him in the chest. Looking around, he found himself on an ancient battlefield. And he was none other than the opponent of the Heavenly Emperor.


    ***


    Whoosh!


    The wind whistled in Xie Qing''s ears. He warily watched the Heavenly Emperor and dodged his spear strikes.


    The Heavenly Emperor looked like a middle-aged man with golden hair and bright, like the Heavens themselves, blue eyes.


    Anyone who looked at him would feel insignificant, tiny, and utterly unimportant.


    Xie Qing shared this feeling, and although there was a slight indignation, he could understand why.


    "He is like the Heavens themselves. His hands are as strong as a mountain, and with a wave of his spear, he can divide the seas and destroy the worlds... That''s who he is, the true immortal!"


    Xie Qing, with his reaction speed, could not help but darken. It was too hard to dodge these constant attacks.


    In the young man''s hand was a long, two-handed sword, and he had a huge body.


    "Damn! Who came up with the idea of preserving a huge body during the battle?" Xie Qing thought with anger: "It''s too hard. I need to figure out how to reduce my body size!"


    With arge body, it was extremely difficult for him to fight. For opponents, he was like a mountain, so no matter where they struck, they would still hit.


    ***


    A month had passed since the beginning of their battle. Xie Qing still could not figure out how to reduce his body size.


    However, after a hundred deaths, he was able to train and, at least, was good at dodging and counterattacking.


    The Heavenly Emperor in this trial possessed overwhelming and fearsome power. Xie Qing, in this illusion, was weaker than the man by two times.


    However, it was extremely interesting and fascinating to fight against the Heavenly Emperor.


    He used various techniques. Most of them were focused on Dao techniques, rather than spear techniques.


    Xie Qing also felt that when he managed to break through his defense, at some point, a strange sensation suddenly appeared, and he would freeze in ce, allowing the Heavenly Emperor to retreat to a safe distance.


    And, it seemed, there were no techniques against the Heavenly Emperor that could withstand him.


    "Strange," Xie Qing thought, not paying attention to the countless wounds on his body: "Want to kill - can''t, freeze. Want to dodge - can''t, freeze. This technique is like Expert Control, but ten times stronger."


    Resisting this was almost impossible. Xie Qing, for all this time, had not yet found a way to defeat his opponent.


    "But I still don''t understand, what does this have to do with the test of will?" Xie Qing thought, frowning: "Has the trial not started yet? Why?"


    His curiosity was satisfied a few hourster. In one of his attacks, he noticed a gap in the Heavenly Emperor''s defense and then pierced his


    stomach.


    "Now!"


    Xie Qing frowned and, feeling a stream of Qi that should restrain him, he exploded with a huge, like a vortex, stream of Qi.


    Boom!


    At the moment when the restraining aura should have shackled his movements, he exploded with a powerful, focused blow from Xie Qing.


    The Heavenly Emperor''s Dao technique was instantly destroyed under the concentrated attack of Xie Qing.


    The young man, during this time of battle with him, had discovered that in this weak stream of Qi, there was a special ce, very vulnerable.


    And if you strike it, you can easily break the attack.


    "Gha..."


    The Heavenly Emperor coughed and frowned. Golden blood seeped from his stomach.


    "Well, well..."


    Xie Qing crookedly smiled, not even trying to dodge the attack that should have beheaded him.


    Boom!


    Xie Qing, who appeared next to his headless body, indifferently nodded.


    "After death, I return again. Is this my trial - to kill the Heavenly Emperor?"


    Xie Qing licked his lips. He was indeed curious if he could behead this being.


    ***


    In the illusion, almost a year had passed. Xie Qing could, at least,st a week against the Heavenly Emperor and block his special techniques.


    There were moments when Xie Qing was close to beheading the Heavenly Emperor. However, he used a strange technique, and it was as if time had turned back.


    "Over the year of battle, I have realized that this guy can ignore some fatal wounds. Several times, I tore out his heart and crushed it. However, the Heavenly Emperor received only minor injuries," Xie Qing thought and spat, dodging a spear strike from his opponent: "I havepletely memorized his spear technique. However, it is not suitable for my path.


    In addition, this guy can turn back time, which also greatlyplicates my task. So, I am puzzled and cannot figure out how to kill him."


    The young man had tried many different ways to kill him. However, everything was useless. This cunning bastard could even ignore the destruction of his own heart!


    "If, ording to ancient legend, some cultivators could live as long as their brains were not damaged orpletely destroyed," Xie Qing thought and sighed: "A bunch of abnormal monsters. How, in their opinion, should I kill someone who can turn back time?"


    Xie Qing was confident in his victory, especially after so many times. But... If the Heavenly Emperor simply turned back time, how could he kill him?


    p.


    "Another failure..." Xie Qing spat and kicked his corpse.


    The young man''srge body instantly caught up with the Heavenly Emperor. However, a secondter, it was cut into hundreds of millions of pieces.


    Xie Qing shook his head. His opponent was clearly not from the cowardly dozen.


    "Ah, damn, how annoying this is," Xie Qing thought and, with a sigh, prepared for the next round.


    ***


    "Ha-a... ha-a... Damn, I''m so tired..."


    Xie Qing sat in the lotus position in the air and wiped away the cold sweat. The sword in his hand was broken into two parts, and his face was pale, like a sheet of paper.


    However, looking at his opponent, Xie Qing smiled somewhat.


    "This is your end, Heavenly Emperor," Xie Qing said with a sigh.


    "Hm..."


    His opponent merely grunted. Then, the body of the injured Heavenly Emperor was covered with shards, and he disappeared in a bright glow.


    "Congrattions..." came an indifferent voice from the shard of the man''s mouth: "You havepleted the first part of the trial. And now..."


    "Huh? The first part..."


    Xie Qing frowned. However, when he sensed something, he was covered in goosebumps and widened his eyes, looking up at the Heavens.


    "Damn!"


    With fear in his eyes, Xie Qing saw a powerful, purple, lightning bolt descend upon him!


    The Heavens thundered, and roared, expressing their anger! It was like the end of the world. And when Xie Qing tried to dodge, he realized that he could not move from his spot...


    "Is this... I have to withstand the lightning?" Xie Qing thought, frowning: "By the way, as far as I know, this is the Heavenly Punishment... so why is it trying to kill me, a Deity who is a child of the Heavens..."


    Although he was very curious to learn more about this, time was pressing. And so, the lightning struck Xie Qing.


    "Ch-ert..."


    Xie Qing clenched his teeth. He tried not to make pitiful sounds. However, the pain was terrible! It was as if something was devouring him from the inside, while his internal organs were burning, and his skin was slowly and cruelly peeled off!


    These torments could make people die from shock. However, the trial had only just begun.


    BOOM!


    Another lightning strike, seemingly, where else? This time, the lightning was much stronger.


    "AAAAGH!"


    Xie Qing let out a long scream. He could no longer hold back his voice. The pain was terrible! Even when his head was cut off, it was not so painful!


    "Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!"


    What Xie Qing was experiencing was true torment. His eyes were filled with blood. The only thing that kept him sane was his strong will!


    "Damn! I''ve made it this far, and now I''ll lose to some pitiful lightning?!" Xie Qing raged, no longer able to hold back his emotions.


    The Heavens seemed to be angered by such arrogance. So, in the same second, they sent down a lightning bolt that lit up the sky and then brutally struck Xie Qing''s body.


    "AAAAGH!"


    The pain was unbearable. Xie Qing clenched his teeth. He could not even beat someone to relieve his pain. His vision was blurred from the blood, and his ears were ringing.


    When vital senses for a person - sight and hearing - were turned off, the sensation of pain became tens, and even hundreds, of times stronger!


    "FUCK! FUCK!"


    ***


    The King of the Deities, who looked like an illusory body, looked at this scene with indifference. A pale glow appeared in his eyes.


    "The candidate is in a critical condition... starting the search for information in the soul''s memories... Beep! Nothing was found... starting an attempt to analyze possible methods of assistance... Beep!


    Insufficient information, no possibilities found..."


    The voice of the King of the Deities was like a mechanical one as if a living being was not speaking. In fact, he was not a living being!


    "Beep! Received permission... issued permission for Soul No.1 to exit..." the King of the Deities mumbled and then shuddered. In a second, the gaze of this being became meaningful, acquiring reason: "So... eh! I did say that this trial was too difficult.


    The Heavens are too powerful..."