The outside world was wild with enthusiasm, but inside the life and death corridor within the Boat of Mausoleum, silence prevailed.
Deer Bug Master, Luo Feng, Shadow Dust Master, and Sorcerer Sprite Master were carefully flying along the corridor at a reduced speed. By the time Luo Feng received news from his race, Deer Bug Master, Shadow Dust Master, and Sorcerer Sprite Master had already learned of it much earlier… This went to show the great importance the races and clans attached to this event.
Purple Moon Ancestor had shown up to have a face-to-face conversation with Deer Bug Master’s body personally! How honorable was that? At that moment, Deer Bug Master had the highest probability of becoming the greatest hero of Purple Moon Holy Land Universe.
The seven true masters had earnestly implored Shadow Dust Master and Sorcerer Sprite Master to do their utmost best, with the promise that Second True Master and Seventh True Master would lead a big team of universe masters to render support.
“All out! We shall go all out for the slightest chance for survival!” Shadow Witch Couple went berserk.
Deer Bug Master was also going crazy from the glory he was basking in. “Purple Moon Ancestor has made a personal appearance. This might be the most glorious moment of my life. I must do my very best.”
Luo Feng, meanwhile, was feeling a magnanimous amount of passion. “The human race is weaker; the number of great beings is limited. I cannot compare with any of them in terms of headcount… So I shall depend on myself, Luo Feng, and my own capability.”
The four great beings flew together. Occasionally, their gazes would meet, and their eyes were filled with enmity.
******
As they flew ahead, the corridor started to widen, and the surroundings started to get brighter. Gradually, stone pillars started to appear on either side of the corridor. On every stone pillar, there were virtual shadows of different forms; there could be square shadows, or pyramidal shadows, or polygonal shadows. In short, every stone pillar would have one virtual shadow. Those on the left side of the corridor had shadows that were compacted together, and within these shadows, there were 1,000 different kinds of ripples. The stone pillars on the right side of the corridor had shadows that were loosely scattered and, thus, were just barely able to form a skeletal frame.
On the left, there was a total of 123 stone pillars. On the right, there was a total of 10,080 stone pillars.
“What…?”
While flying, Luo Feng, Deer Bug Master, Shadow Dust Master, and Sorcerer Sprite Master wore expressions filled with doubts. They flew slowly, and along the way, they also carefully observed the three-dimensional virtual shadows on the stone pillars. These three-dimensional virtual shadows were all immensely huge, and within them, there were innumerable ripples.
The three-dimensional virtual shadows on 123 stone pillars on the left side corresponded nicely to the three-dimensional virtual shadows on the first 123 stone pillars on the right. On the left, the three-dimensional virtual shadows were compact and complete; they were well-structured, like the Great Wall of China.
The three-dimensional virtual shadows on the right, however, only had a skeletal frame, as though many bricks of the Great Wall had been being taken out, causing the entire structure to become so shaky that it seemed as though it would fall apart.
Every three-dimensional virtual shadow had a variety of colors, emitting thousands of light rays. At that moment, the inside of the entire corridor was so dazzlingly beautiful that it looked like paradise.
The foursome, including Luo Feng, advanced together and soon arrived at the end—the area in front of the 10,080th stone pillar on the right. All the light had gathered to give form to a figure, and that figure was Duan Dong River.
Shadow Dust Master and Sorcerer Sprite Master were the first to bow and pay their respects. “My Lord.”
This prompted Deer Bug Master and Luo Feng to also bow in respect. Yet Duan Dong River did not pay attention to the surroundings. His gaze fell upon the various three-dimensional virtual shadows that were held down by the numerous stone pillars. Then, with a sigh, he asked, “Do you all see it?”
Shadow Dust Master was the first to reply. “My lord, there is a total of 123 three-dimensional virtual shadows on the left, and a total of 10,080 three-dimensional virtual shadows on the right. Between both sides, the stone pillars on the left are perfect without flaws… It seems like they contain certain mysteries about secret techniques within them. However, those on the right are all imperfect.”
Deer Bug Master added, “The first 123 virtual shadows on the right happen to correspond with the 123 virtual shadows on the left.”
“That’s right,” Duan Dong River said, looking at those dazzling three-dimensional virtual shadows that were radiating millions of light rays. Tears welled in his eyes, blurring his vision as he whispered, “This is my hometown, and this was the most popular form of entertainment during the time of my civilization. It is also a method for cultivating and training comprehension. Any major group or power, unique inheritance, and several others would frequently utilize it when they needed to test the comprehension capability of their candidates for various purposes. This was called—Rhinoceros Emperor Game!”
“Rhinoceros Emperor Game?”
Luo Feng, Deer Bug Master, Shadow Dust Master, and Sorcerer Sprite Master all listened intently.
“Rhinoceros Emperor Game was created by an ancient, strong being, ‘Rhinoceros Emperor,’ before he was annihilated. He had put his best effort into creating it. Rhinoceros Emperor’s entire lifetime can be said to be sorrowful. He was a true hero, but in the end… Nevertheless, Rhinoceros Emperor Game was remembered by all the great beings of my civilization. Of course, his powers were much stronger than mine. After he was annihilated, this Rhinoceros Emperor Game was spread to the masses. In the early stage, countless great beings merely took it as a form of entertainment. Later, they discovered that it was extremely demanding on comprehension level! And often, studying the Rhinoceros Emperor Game was beneficial in increasing one’s comprehension level! In our civilization, be it someone as young as a child just born, or someone as high up as a supreme existence, all enjoyed this game.”
“For Emperor Rhinoceros Game,” continued Duan Dong River, “there is a total of 10,081 types of basic endgames. The right side has a total of 10,080 endgames, as for the so-called 10,081st endgame… it is the scoreless game! And on the left side will be the perfectly decoded games! Once you have supplemented the first 123 endgames and have brought them to completion, you will found the solution to the game.”
All four of them, including Luo Feng, nodded their heads to indicate understanding.
“Study the first 123 decoding methods,” Duan Dong River said. “You should be able to find out its basic secret rules. If you can’t even comprehend the basic secret rules, then your comprehension level is much too low… Once you have completed comprehension of the basic rules, you can proceed to decoding. Solve the first 124 endgames on the left. When you reach the 125th endgame… you will be able to find the solution! I will give you all a longer time. Just do your best in decoding for a solution. Once the time limit is up, if you cannot even meet my most basic requirements… you will be eliminated. Of course, in this round of elimination… you will certainly face annihilation.”
Luo Feng and the other three were taken aback. Annihilation?
“Of course, you all have yet to truly come in contact with the inheritance,” Duan Dong River said. “Only after you have decoded the game up to a level that meets my minimum requirement and arrive at the next big hall—that is when you can start to get in contact with the inheritance. If you have yet to come into contact with the inheritance, then of course, there is no need for total elimination of the soul. Even if you are to be annihilated, it will just be your current godly bodies that will be destroyed; if you all have other bodies, you still survive.”
Duan Dong River informed them of all this in a straightforward manner.
“However,” he added, “the moment you all start to get into contact with the inheritance, as there can only be one possible heir, the rest of you will be facing complete annihilation of the soul. Look ahead.” Duan Dong Riber pointed afar, then commanded, “Rise!”
Hong! Hong! Hong! Hong!
The ground in the middle of the corridor started to vibrate; the ground started to crack apart. At that moment, four light pillars radiating colorful light emerged.
“These four pillars belong to four of you.” Duan Dong River looked toward Luo Feng, Deer Bug Master, and the other two great beings. “Once you all have comprehended the secret rules, you can start decoding the game up till the 124th stage. When you have completed the game, use your godly power to draw an outline and transmit it within this crystal pillar. If the decoding is successful, the crystal pillar will prompt you. If the decoding is not successful, the crystal pillar will not show any reaction.”
“Go now. You may have a long time, but it is limited. Within the limited time, whoever can decode up to 6,000 stone pillars will receive the inheritance from one pulse of my Duan Dong River! Of course, to be able to decode 6,000 of them… this person is bound to have a bright future, and the success achievable may be even greater than mine. But I guess that none of you here will be able to achieve that yet; just try to meet the basic requirement within the limited time for now. The one who can decode the most at the end will gain the upper hand when it comes to the inheritance.”
Duan Dong River’s gaze swept across the four of them, including Luo Feng. Then he vanished into thin air.
******
Duan Dong River disappeared, and in this spacious corridor, there were 123 three-dimensional virtual shadows on the left and 10,080 three-dimensional virtual shadows on the right.
Luo Feng, Deer Bug Master, Shadow Dust Master, and Sorcerer Sprite Master all felt an intangible pressure.
“Game? Entertainment?” Shadow Dust Master whispered. “I can’t believe Duan Dong River has chosen us only to use this game from his ancient civilization to test us.”
“You fool,” Deer Bug Master said in a cold voice. “You really take this as a game? Weren’t you listening? That ancient civilization—from the younger generations, to the supreme masters—almost everyone liked this Rhinoceros Emperor Game. Besides, so long as we are able to decode the game up to the 6,000th stage, we may be destined for achievements that were greater than that of Duan Dong River Wu! That would be the same as saying that breaking through reincarnation eras will be an easy feat.”
The hearts of Shadow Dust Master, Sorcerer Sprite Master, and Luo Feng burned with passion. Breaking through a reincarnation era! Enabling one’s own clan to attain eternal existence! There was no other greater glory that one could ever ask for.
“Let my human race exist for eternity,” Luo Feng hoped silently.
Deer Bug Master shared the same fervent wish. “Purple Moon Ancestor regards this with such importance; he has long ago transcended the reincarnation eras, and his power was incomparably powerful. If he holds this inheritance in such high regard… then this inheritance is apparently extremely important. I would like to see this so-called Rhinoceros Emperor Game for myself and find out just how impressive it is. I don’t believe that I am unable to decode the game up to the 6,000th level!”
The hearts of the great beings burned with passion. Shadow Dust Master, Sorcerer Sprite Master, and Deer Bug Master were self-proclaimed universe masters; their conscious minds were able to revolve at extreme speeds, and that was extremely scary, as in a mere second, there could be countless thoughts racing through their minds. Naturally, they had what it took to gain the upper hand in the game.
Luo Feng did not lose out to them in mastering the game.
“I am extremely accomplished in the decoding diagrams of secret engravings,” Luo Feng said to himself. “This diagram of secret engravings and the Rhinoceros Emperor Game are both three-dimensional, so simply at one look… one can see the various secret engravings. These two have a common point, and even though I left the space of the black-striped stone pillars many hundreds of years ago, my consciousness has remained with the black-striped stone pillars to work on my comprehension of the laws and studying the secret engravings. With a time velocity that was faster by 3,000 times, my achievement in the studies of secret engravings is now much higher than before.”
******
Purple Moon Holy Land Universe.
“Ancestor.”
Deer Bug Master’s other body looked up at the vast sky. Respectfully, he said, “I am comprehending a method of the ancient civilization used for testing levels of comprehension—Rhinoceros Emperor Game. I will need to decode enough stages within a limited period of time, so now, what I need is a space where time velocity is extremely fast.”
Purple Moon Ancestor knew everything that happened within the holy land universe.
“Rhinoceros Emperor Game?” said a gentle voice. “I know that game. It is very difficult and profound. You must give your best. I will send this body of yours to ‘Circle of Time,’ where time velocity can be maintained at 10,000 times. Your true body will stay here in Universe Boat to observe while your consciousness can remain in the Circle of Time to continue comprehending.”
******
Sorcerer Sprite Master and Shadow Dust Master also went to plead with First True Master.
Within the miniature universe, a part of space where time velocity was extremely fast could also be set up. That was where their other bodies were planted.
******
Once he learned of the situation Luo Feng was caught in, Primal Chaos City Leader could not be bothered about anything else.
“Hurry. Your Remote Ocean body has to head for Huge Axe Creator’s miniature universe as fast as possible. Teacher Origin has been suppressed for eternity. This has prevented the primal universe from maintaining a perfect rate of acceleration. In Huge Axe’s miniature universe, a space can be set up to allow you to maintain an acceleration rate of 10,000 times.”
Primal Chaos City Leader personally retrieved Luo Feng’s new Remote Ocean body and headed for Huge Axe Creator’s universe.