Holding this sharp blade, Desri experimentally waved it a few times, causing saber energy to crisscross.
“The blade’s a good one. Only, my arm strength isn’t good enough.” Desri sighed.
Without any battle-qi, if one was physically strong enough, like the Four Supreme Warriors, one could still reach astonishing levels of power just by wielding weapons with physical strength. Actually, the Abyssal Blade Demon had relied on pure power alone in wielding the blade.
“What’s the rush?” Fain laughed. “Desri, after you become a Deity and your divine body forms, the strength of your body will be divine power. You’ll be able to put this weapon to good use then, right?”
“Haha, right.” Desri laughed as well.
Actually, everyone still knew that there was still an obstacle before becoming a Deity.
The eleventh floor!
The difficulty level from the first to the fifth floor hadn’t been too high, but the sixth floor had the Flame Tyrant, with the danger level rising exponentially. Every five floors represented a difficulty level…clearly, this eleventh floor’s danger level would be far greater than that of the sixth through tenth floors. The Flame Tyrant, the Queen Mother, and the other creatures had already been so terrifying. What would appear on the eleventh floor?
Everyone felt somber when considering this, but at the same time, they all knew that this eleventh floor had corpses of Deities, and had divine sparks!
“The eleventh floor…” Linley looked towards that distant, ancient pillar, with the staircase beneath it so noticeably covered in that black aura. “According to what Lord Beirut said, the guardians of the eleventh floor should still be Saints.”
Clearly, the Sovereign who controlled the Necropolis of the Gods still allowed for a chance of success.
Linley understood, however, that from the twelfth floor onwards, only Deities would be able to proceed.
“I expect that from the twelfth floor onwards, the guardians will all be Deity-level creatures.” Linley didn’t even dare to think about proceeding to the twelfth floor. His power was not bad, true, but in front of a Deity, he couldn’t fight back at all.
Possessing a divine spark and gaining a divine body was a fundamental transformation in one’s level of existence.
“Everyone understands,” Desri said in a sonorous voice, staring at the assembled experts, “That of the eighty plus experts who originally came in, only eleven of us have made it to the tenth floor.”
Everyone nodded.
The other seventy plus experts had either died or retreated.
Only they had come to the tenth floor.
“This is also the first time in my life I’ve been so close to a divine spark. I know that the eleventh floor up above has divine sparks.” Desri felt his emotions stirring. He had striven for so many years, after all. “But everyone must also understand that the eleventh floor will definitely be extremely dangerous. Compared to the Flame Tyrant, the Queen Mother, the Beholder King, and the Thorium Devil, it will be even more dangerous!”
All of the experts felt their hearts tremble as though having heard a thunderclap.
“Perhaps some of us will die on the eleventh floor.” Desri’s voice became low. “However, I myself am not afraid of death. I’ve already lived for thousands of years, and experienced everything I need to experience. If I die on the road to ascending to godhood, I won’t regret my death.”
The eyes of all the experts were blazing with light.
Desri, Rosarie, Fain, Tulily, the three Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions, the Blackscale Scorpion…they had all struggled to become Deities for thousands of years. Life, death…they had long ago stopped worrying about these things.
Of the Five Prime Saints, Rutherford had died.
Nobody felt too saddened by Rutherford’s death. Because everyone understood…perhaps soon afterwards, they themselves would also die on the path to godhood.
In this group of eleven experts, Linley, Bebe, and Olivier were all very young, comparatively. None of them had even passed their first century. Compared to Desri and the other experts, there were many differences between them. Thus, mentally, their understanding of life and death was perhaps different from that of Desri and the other experts.
“Everyone, let’s make our preparations. This time, we will rest on the tenth floor for a year and a half. A year and a half later, we will enter the eleventh floor.” Desri said.
All the experts felt a surge of excitement, and they silently nodded.
They had entered the Necropolis of the Gods eight years ago now. After training for another year and a half, they would only be a few months away from the ten year time limit. On the eleventh floor, the question of whether or not they would be able to obtain a divine spark would be resolved in perhaps just a single day.
Everyone separated, finding a place to quietly train and meditate.
“Boss.” Bebe looked at Linley.
Linley looked at Bebe as well. They each understood what the other was thinking.
“Train well.”
To Linley, Bebe, and Olivier, it was still possible to make new breakthroughs in a year and a half, and have their strength rise further. As to the other eight experts…unless some lucky accident happened, it would be truly difficult for them to make any more breakthroughs.
………….
On the boundless prairie, within a grassy area, a gentle wind blew across Linley’s long hair.
Linley’s eyes were closed, and he was quietly seated in the meditative position.
“The Profound Truths of the Earth…the further along this path I go, the greater the level of difficulty. I already have reached the level of ’64 Fused Layers’ of the Throbbing Pulse of the World. If I want to be able to reach the level of ’32 Fused Layers’, it would probably take more time than it did last time. Last time it took me eight years to make a breakthrough…I only have a scant year and a half.” Linley had made his decision. “I had better analyze the ‘Profound Truths of the Wind’ instead.”
Right now, the most important thing was to raise his strength and make a breakthrough as soon as possible, so as to have a greater chance on the eleventh floor.
“Attuning my soul to nature will naturally cause my spiritual energy to rise. That way, I’ll be able to train both my spiritual energy and the ‘Profound Truths of the Wind’ at the same time.” Linley found a balance.
And then, Linley stilled his mind.
He ‘forgot’ his identity and sense of self.