Infinite Slaughter System: I Kill, Therefore I Ascend!-Chapter 185: The Preliminaries! 2

His actions were being closely monitored by everyone in the sect, because to all disciples and elders, he represented not only the face of the sect, but its highest authority.

One word from him could make or break a cultivator, so it was far from surprising that people observed him in such a way.

So when the previously unmoved fellow, who maintained a mild smile of interest at the entire thing while keeping his focus entirely on Li Ling, gasped like this, it instantly allowed those with sharp minds to understand the gravity of what Li Ling was doing.

If comprehending a Daoist art from a lost ruin in merely a few seconds was shocking, and if causing literal spiritual phenomena with physical manifestations during that same comprehension was also shocking, then the Sect Master, a being at the eighth realm at the very least, showing clear surprise as if seeing the impossible was truly heaven-shaking.

In a demonic sect—and indeed, often in the wider world—people were not stupid, nor necessarily allowed to be stupid; otherwise, they would fail at every turn and encounter fatal disaster.

People only seemed stupid for two reasons: they were ignorant of the greater facts surrounding a situation, or they did not understand the relative consequences of their actions, with the former being the greater culprit between the two.

Before coming here, many powers, clans, and individuals had decided on various ways in which to treat or approach Li Ling, solely based on the information they had, which was limited.

So it was not surprising that some factions, despite hearing of Li Ling’s feats before the tournament, still opted to take high-handed or arrogant approaches because of what they felt they knew.

But this current event, especially the reaction from the Sect Master, caused them to completely rush back to the drawing board and reevaluate their earlier choices.

Meanwhile, the manifestation of the two Impermanence Death Envoys became clearer and clearer, their focus locked onto Li Ling as they hovered behind him, the White Impermanence over his right shoulder while the Black Impermanence was over his left shoulder.

Both young girls gripped their scythes tightly, looking like they were either intent on killing Li Ling for daring to try to control them but were unable to, or that they were his protectors and were seriously ready to react to any threat that approached him.

Why did it feel like a bit of both?

The other competitors were naturally stunned by this, as more than half hadn’t even yet gotten the chance to squeeze in and commit the Daoist art’s details to memory and even begin comprehending it, but this fellow was already causing spiritual phenomena that were solidifying into the physical.

Li Ling opened his eyes exactly an hour later, his pupils split between white in the right eye and black in the left, looking like a yin-yang god as the two young girls solidified into flesh the next moment, becoming real entities.

WHOOSH!

An aura radiated from the two Death Envoys that caused the expressions of everyone present to change to horror. Even within the Upper Sect, the various True Inheritors displayed serious expressions of dread, while Ming Yue’s furrowed brows deepened as he gripped his armrest tightly.

This was because everyone who was not Li Ling could feel an aura of certain death from those two young girls, a feeling they knew to be true, as their senses as cultivators were extremely sharp. However, even though this feeling existed, it was distant and restricted, which was why they hadn’t reacted too heavily, only showing pensive fear.

Yet for those of the Lower Sect, many became as pale as parchment, their blood running cold and sweat pouring down their bodies as if they were taking a shower. This was simply because the feeling of death was not restricted for them, and they could feel that should Li Ling give the order, their souls would be harvested by these two esoteric young girls.

Meanwhile, the flashing lights in Li Ling’s eyes receded as his normal dark blue pupils came back into the fore, filled with the usual cruel malevolence and playful amusement. However, there was also some surprise in his eyes, especially toward this newly acquired Daoist art that he hadn’t thought much of.

From what he could tell, this Daoist art allowed him to communicate with a separate realm from Firmament Heaven called the Underworld, where souls of the dead went for judgment. This art fast-tracked the process and allowed him to communicate with the two Death Envoys, who were almost akin to the equivalent of the western Grim Reaper, harvesting the souls of the living and taking them to the Underworld for judgment.

Usually, this was a passive process, but with this art, Li Ling could designate a target at the same level of cultivation as himself or below and have their soul harvested, but he had to pay with lifespan. The exact price was not fixed and was determined by the two young ladies, so it was imperative for this art’s holder to nurture a good relationship with them.

Thinking this, he glanced at the two young ladies who were also staring at him with expressionless faces. However, Li Ling could sense the curiosity and interest in their hearts, because he was an anomaly to them.

A mortal-tier cultivator was able to summon them so perfectly? Not only that, this mortal cultivator was in the third realm but possessed three rules, a semi-immortal physique related to space, as well as such pure power in both body and qi that it was as if he had cultivated in a perfect world.

Usually, they would have extracted a hefty price right away, but the young ladies were simply too curious to find out more, to the point that they forgot. Unfortunately, before they could ask, they faded away rapidly as Li Ling deactivated the art, not planning to utilize them because he wasn’t sure if using this Daoist art would cause the Slaughter Points he was supposed to gain to decrease.

If the two Death Envoys heard his thoughts, they would be speechless. Usually, those who could barely struggle to comprehend this art and summon them couldn’t wait to abuse their power and kill all their foes, regardless of lifespan cost. Yet this one had arguably summoned them in the highest quality ever since this Daoist art was created, yet he didn’t even plan to chat with them once or ever again.

Preposterous!

Now done, Li Ling became bored once more and sat with his knuckles supporting his right cheek, his eyes closing slowly as he felt drowsy after all this comprehension over the last few months. Indeed, even though his spirit and mind were strong, constant bombardment of high-tier information for so long had worn them out.

Seeing that a competitor actually dared to sleep at this time, the Divine Deva Overseer didn’t know how to feel. It was clear that Li Ling, with this test, hadn’t just comprehended a certain amount of the technique, but had literally understood it past what was required of him and even obtained enlightenment toward it, spawning spiritual phenomena.

In the end, the fellow decided to pretend as if he hadn’t seen anything and allowed the remaining two-hour period for the test to elapse while watching the other competitors and monitoring their progress for the sake of the overall competition.

"All right, cease your comprehension! The second test has come to an end! Input your understanding into your sect token using your spirit sense, and your accuracy will be judged and points will be awarded!" the Divine Deva Overseer announced, unleashing his fourth-realm aura to interrupt all those who pretended not to hear in order to get that extra minute of comprehension time.

Helpless, all the competitors complied with the orders and input their answers. Soon, the rankings were updated as their new point scores were granted, and the positions of those at the top fluctuated because combat talent did not equate to comprehension talent.

All levels of the rankings saw active shifts, causing excitement in those who rose and dismay in those who fell, while the crowd was most excited by this because it meant the competition was fierce.

However, everyone ignored the first-place position, which had widened the gap by another factor of ten, making it impossible for the others to catch up. Even if the remaining three tests featured Li Ling sitting them out, they still wouldn’t be able to catch up to his kind of lead.

Meanwhile, Li Ling opened his eyes with a slightly drowsy expression, looking mildly annoyed that his nap had been interrupted. However, this two-hour period was indeed enough to clear a large majority of the aftereffects of his seclusion, so he stretched his body exaggeratedly, his joints making popping sounds like popcorn kernels being heated up.

The Divine Deva Overseer waved a hand once more, and a strange change came upon the tournament stage.

Immediately, the area became like a testing ground, with a central pedestal that held a strange-looking orb glowing with multicolored light.

"The third test, the Test of the Soul, shall begin!"