Chapter 87: Cangsheng Palace
[Soul Prison Trial, Session 216]
[Soul Prison Trial, Third Level: The Dark Ages]
“Gasp… gasp~~~”
In the foul-smelling, gloomy cell, the chained, blue-haired girl gasped for breath, her back drenched in sweat.
Her furious, domineering eyes gradually returned to their normal, cold, and indifferent, sea-blue hue.
The more extreme the transformation, the more energy it consumed. This principle of ocular mechanics was universally understood, requiring no further explanation.
After the pig-beast fled in terror, the other girls in the cell stared at the blue-haired, teardrop-eyed girl in disbelief, their expressions frozen.
The oppressive aura she had just radiated was as terrifying as a ferocious beast, sending chills down their spines.
They knew how frail and delicate a young Spirit Master’s body was. That power… couldn’t have possibly come from a human…
“Um, what should we do now? That pig-person will probably be back with more of its kind soon, right?”
As they were still reeling from the display of power, a small girl with curly hair asked anxiously.
Her words brought a chilling silence to the cell.
Pig-type species were known for their rapid reproduction. A single tribe could easily number in the hundreds. Even a small group could devour them all.
Staying here was a death sentence. They had to escape!
Gong Lianyue frowned, tugging at her chains, but they didn’t budge.
If only she had learned an offensive spirit technique… Were they just supposed to sit here and wait to be eaten…?
Clang!
Suddenly, the chains binding a silver-haired girl shattered, falling to the ground.
A shimmering, green blade emerged from the back of her hand, radiating a sharp aura, effortlessly slicing through the metal shackles.
It looked like a spirit technique used to enhance a spirit beast’s cutting ability.
“Well done!”
“Help us too!!!”
Seeing this, the other girls’ eyes lit up with hope, as if she were their savior.
However, the silver-haired girl simply glanced at them with disdain and walked out of the cell.
“…”
“…”
How selfish!
Abandoning her teammates at the start… Did she really think she could survive this trial alone?
The silver-haired girl, her long, white legs swaying, quickly disappeared from sight, eliciting angry curses.
But Gong Lianyue’s eyes narrowed. She had noticed a black tally mark on the inside of the girl’s thigh as she walked.
That mark was… the Cangsheng Palace!?
She hadn’t expected to encounter a Spirit Master from such a geographically close faction in the Soul Prison Trial. She remembered Shui Qinghou mentioning that the Cangsheng Palace would also be sending envoys to the Storm Realm for the Overlord’s birthday celebration!
The Cangsheng Palace was a super-realm power on par with the Sun-Seizing Divine Metropolis. Unlike the Sea Region Alliance and the Storm Realm, which were composed of numerous smaller factions, they were a single, unified force, their name synonymous with their world.
Compared to the formidable Cangsheng Palace, the Sea Concubine Palace was like a speck of dust, an insignificant Sorrowful Saintess not even worth their attention.
Unless she possessed a Saint-rank spirit beast on par with the Water Moon Lantern Flower Sword Heart Crane of the Penetrating You Pool, she wouldn’t even be noticed outside her own realm.
Therefore, even if the members of the Cangsheng Palace saw the teardrop marks on her face, they wouldn’t recognize her.
“How can someone be so selfish?! I’m so angry!!!”
“Don’t let me find out which faction she’s from! I’ll definitely get revenge!!!”
“I’m going to… violate her!!!!!”
“She seems to be from the Cangsheng Palace.”
As the girls raged, Gong Lianyue spoke softly.
She had simply wanted to calm them down and focus on the immediate danger, but the atmosphere suddenly turned strange.
Wait, they weren’t actually planning to seek revenge against the Cangsheng Palace, were they? Surely not!
“Ahem, let’s focus on the current situation. We can settle our grudges back in reality.”
“Alright, does anyone else have offensive spirit techniques?”
“I do, but I haven’t fully mastered it yet. I’m afraid I might hurt you.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Thank you, Big Sister.”
Knowing the girl was from the Cangsheng Palace seemed to have calmed them down.
Heh, they could always deal with her later. There was plenty of time for revenge.
Clang, clang—
A tall, mature woman, her thin prison shirt barely reaching her waist, used a spirit technique, blood-red claws extending from her hands, tearing apart the chains.
Soon, it was Gong Lianyue’s turn. With a single swipe, the blood-red claws shattered the iron shackles she had been unable to break, setting her free.
Offensive spirit techniques were so useful…
Gong Lianyue suspected there would be more spirit beast restrictions in later Soul Prison Trials. She was starting to consider learning some spirit techniques herself.
Leaving the cell, the girls stared at the dozen or so dark, intersecting passages ahead, a maze-like network.
“So, what now? Let’s split up. If we travel together, we won’t be able to escape if something happens.”
“Then let’s form groups of two or three.”
Gong Lianyue didn’t participate in the discussion, letting the girls arrange themselves.
She wouldn’t rashly try to escape the prison. This was a survival trial, not an escape trial. Escaping wouldn’t count as a victory and would only attract the pig-men.
With three sessions, they only had three hours. Forty or fifty minutes had already passed. Staying in the prison was safer.
Lost in thought, Gong Lianyue watched as several girls suddenly began playing rock-paper-scissors.
After a while, the winner walked over to Gong Lianyue and stood beside her obediently.
“…”
“…”
So they were competing for the right to be on her team?
They must have misunderstood something. Gong Lianyue sighed inwardly. Unfortunately, the Steel Moon within her soul core was depleted, and her eyes were dry and sore. She couldn’t replicate that intimidating aura again.
They would regret teaming up with her soon!
Clang, clang, clang~~~
The sound of a bell approaching from the distance made everyone tense. Judging by the sound, more than one pig-man was coming.
Having formed their groups, the girls scattered, each taking a different path.
In their haste, Gong Lianyue didn’t even get a good look at her teammate before rushing into a dark, narrow passage, the other girl close behind.
–Fifteen minutes remained in this session of the Soul Prison Trial.
Chapter 88: Saintess Palace
[Soul Prison Trial, Session 216]
[Soul Prison Trial, Third Level: The Dark Ages]
The flickering candlelight on the wall cast long, dancing shadows, foul-smelling water dripping from the ceiling. The atmosphere in the dungeon was oppressive and grim.
Gong Lianyue carefully led the way through the narrow passage. After ten minutes of uneventful walking, she couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated.
Had that woman from Cangsheng Palace really drawn all the attention?
It shouldn’t have been this long without encountering a single guard…
“There are only four or five minutes left in this session. Should we find a cell to hide in?”
Gong Lianyue turned to her teammate, then her eyes widened slightly, startled by the girl’s unusual appearance.
Seven shimmering stars were painted on the girl’s face, rivaling the teardrop marks on her own cheeks in terms of sheer… dramatic flair.
However, the perfect angles and precise arrangement of her own teardrops were unmatched.
“Ah, um… this is our faction’s mark. We paint it on ourselves,” the girl explained, noticing Gong Lianyue’s reaction.
A faction that painted stars on their faces? She had never heard of such a thing.
Gong Lianyue’s eyes narrowed, and she mentally counted down the time.
“About three minutes left…”
The danger in this trial was probably only at the beginning, or perhaps they were simply lucky and hadn’t encountered any pig-men. If they wanted any excitement, they would have to wait for the next session.
Gong Lianyue’s gaze fell upon an empty cell, and her eyes lit up. She pulled the star-faced girl towards it.
She pushed the girl down, then, ignoring the girl’s mixture of shyness and… enthusiasm, piled a large stack of straw on top of her.
She wondered about the mental state of someone who could still think about such things in this dangerous situation.
Gong Lianyue quickly burrowed into the straw, concealing herself.
The star-faced girl seemed to find it hot under the straw, her face flushed and panting, as if she were suffocating.
The blue-haired girl, however, remained calm and unperturbed, her mind as clear as the azure sea.
Ignoring the strange markings on her face, although this girl was also petite, she lacked the… alluring aura of the Sorrowful Saintess.
Pressed close together, Gong Lianyue assessed the girl’s figure, a dismissive thought crossing her mind.
Such a plain, ordinary physique. Not at all arousing.
She preferred much, much, much bigger.
“We should learn some spirit techniques when we get back. We might need them.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“?”
Before Gong Lianyue could even process the girl’s sudden use of the honorific, the girl vanished, and the world around her began to distort.
A wave of dizziness, a sense of weightlessness, and the dark, oppressive atmosphere faded.
Like shackles breaking, she reestablished her connection with her spirit beasts.
The Soul Prison Trial ended, and she returned to the Sea Concubine Palace.
Sea Concubine Palace, Saintess Palace
Hidden in the deepest corner of the Sea Concubine Palace stood a massive, ice-covered spire, its swirling cloud patterns resembling the flowing water of a Water Element, seemingly built specifically for the current Sorrowful Saintess.
Less than a week after inheriting the title, Gong Lianyue had moved into this impressive Saintess Palace.
The magnificent tower, over two hundred meters tall, looked like a hidden area in an adventure game, perhaps concealing a beautiful, secluded saintess.
Swish
A blue-haired, teardrop-eyed girl materialized at the top of the tower.
Back in the Sea Concubine Palace, Gong Lianyue breathed a sigh of relief, her anxiety easing.
That Soul Prison Trial had been terrifying, a stark contrast to the previous, more leisurely levels.
One wrong move, and she would have been eaten. She had survived this time, but she didn’t know what dangers awaited her in the next session.
However, at this moment, Gong Lianyue faced a situation even more dire than the Soul Prison Trial.
Death in the Soul Prison Trial only meant disqualification. Death in the real world… was permanent.
The Sea Concubine Palace higher-ups had announced that the date for the Sorrowful Saintess to escort the Swallow God back to the Storm Realm would be decided within a week—
Shui Qinghou had even asked her yesterday if she was ready. Heh, how could she be ready?
She needed to at least reach the Dead Sea Stage and contract with the Frost Snow Woman to even have a chance of survival!
“Sigh~~~”
Gong Lianyue sighed, her heart heavy. They would likely depart next week at the latest.
She didn’t even have a single Saint-rank spirit beast. This trip to the Wind Realm was a suicide mission.
Even if she reached her destination safely, she would have to face the Wind Realm Overlord, a legendary-rank spirit beast. All her secrets would be laid bare.
—Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep—
As Gong Lianyue fretted, the wave-shaped calendar on the wall suddenly beeped like an alarm clock.
This calendar was a spirit artifact made from special materials, capable of real-time communication.
A few seconds later, a message appeared on the schedule for two days from now.
[The Fifth Concubine invites you to attend the monthly trial for new Sea Concubine Palace members. Attendance fee: 500 contribution points.]
The Fifth Concubine…
Gong Lianyue paused. She remembered that the Fifth Concubine was close to her teacher. They had done homework together during their apprenticeship, more than ten years ago.
She glanced at the other scheduled events.
[The Chief Concubine invites you to breakfast. Cost: 100 contribution points. Declined.]
[The Chief Concubine invites you to lunch. Cost: 100 contribution points. Declined.]
[The Chief Concubine invites you to dinner. Cost: 100 contribution points. Declined.]
[The Sea Concubine Palace invites you to participate in a high-level meeting regarding the Swallow God. Declined.]
[The Sea Concubine Palace invites you to participate in a high-level meeting regarding the Sea Halberd Behemoth breeding budget. No response.]
Come to think of it, since inheriting the title of Sorrowful Saintess, she hadn’t attended any events or meetings. That wasn’t very good…
Since the Fifth Concubine had offered to pay for her attendance, she might as well go and take a look, relax a bit before her trip to the Wind Realm.
Gong Lianyue tapped the new event on the calendar, and a large red circle appeared.
[Accepted. Please attend on time.]
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