"One slash — heavenly thunder, manifest!!"
With those words, the Ancient Hero Sword in Chu Feng's hand descended in a fierce swing.
All of the lightning wreathing his body surged into the Hero Sword and was released along with the slashing blade.
Crack-crack-crack— The thunder was violent and blindingly fast. Despite the eighteen golden-armored figures' desperate attempts to resist, they were utterly powerless against it.
As the thunder roared, the eighteen figures were obliterated into ash in the blink of an eye.
After all, this was Chu Feng's strongest technique — the first slash of the Nine Slashes of Heavenly Thunder.
Yet even this very first slash carried combat power that could reverse-battle a rank above his own!
Even against another rank nine Martial Emperor, this move could easily kill them. It was no longer merely a matter of combat suppression — it truly surpassed a full rank in fighting strength.
"Is it over?" Eggy asked in a solemn voice, laced with an unmistakable note of worry.
"Not sure yet."
Eggy wasn't the only one on edge — Chu Feng himself was tensely scanning his surroundings.
The Nine Slashes of Heavenly Thunder was already his most powerful trump card. If something even stronger were to appear next, he had no idea how he'd cope.
Hummmm— But soon, the space around him shifted, and Chu Feng found himself back inside the cave.
"You actually mastered the Nine Slashes of Heavenly Thunder. You're an interesting one, kid."
"No wonder — no wonder a trial that others find impossible was so easy for you."
"With merely the cultivation of a rank six Martial Emperor, reaching this level... I'm beginning to think differently of you."
The mysterious voice spoke once more.
Chu Feng let out a long breath of relief. He was now certain — he had passed that round of the trial.
The trial had indeed looked easy for him on the surface, since he hadn't even sustained a wound. But Chu Feng himself knew just how close a call it had been.
In that world, the figures challenging him had escalated from one to eighteen. He had no way of knowing whether a nineteenth or twentieth figure would have appeared next.
If that cycle had continued indefinitely, no matter how capable he was, he would never have passed.
Fortunately, it had finally stopped.
"Senior, you recognize the Nine Slashes of Heavenly Thunder?" Chu Feng couldn't help but ask after passing.
He had comprehended the Nine Slashes of Heavenly Thunder while climbing the Heavenly Thunder Platform back at the Chu Heavenly Clan. Apart from himself, very few people knew of its existence.
Whenever Chu Feng used this technique, regardless of success or failure, everyone who witnessed it was left stunned — and none of them truly understood it.
Yet this mysterious being knew exactly what it was.
That told Chu Feng something important: this mysterious presence was a genuinely living entity, not a pre-programmed consciousness within a formation. Otherwise, it would not possess such clear and independent judgment.
"Now then — the final round of the trial."
"If you can pass this one, you will be the very first disciple since the founding of the Wolong Martial Sect to clear this Wolong Selection Formation!!!"
However, the mysterious voice paid no attention to Chu Feng's question.
Once the voice faded, everything around Chu Feng changed once more, and he was transported into an entirely new world.
The sixth round of the trial — the trial of barrier arts — had officially begun.
Although Chu Feng had just used the Nine Slashes of Heavenly Thunder, the world of the previous trial had been illusory. Any injuries sustained within it were immediately healed.