Chapter 532 - 342: Clues to the Legendary Soul Beast, Part 2

Chapter 532: Chapter 342: Clues to the Legendary Soul Beast, Part 2

Han Ning had experienced this firsthand in the Cosmic Light Tower of Night Nether City.

As Lin Ke spoke, she extended her fair wrist, reaching the hand wearing the Escape Bubble into the gate.

BEEP~

The aqua blue bracelet glowed, and the Water Flow Gate spun slightly faster, seemingly verifying her identity.

Less than a second later, a force enveloped Lin Ke and teleported her inside.

Seeing this, the two behind her followed suit and entered the Sea God Palace.

His vision shifted.

Before him appeared a sprawling complex of palaces.

The architectural style was completely different from any Deep Sea Race or Land Race construction Han Ning had ever seen. Instead, it was more like the legendary Sky Islands.

Dozens of vast, dark-blue palaces floated in mid-air.

Each palace was protected by a giant water bubble that emitted a brilliant light.

The palaces were connected to one another by a ribbon-like current of water that flowed from the first to the last.

Seeing this, Han Ning’s jaw dropped slightly as he unconsciously muttered, "The... The Zodiac? The Golden Saints?!!"

"What?" Irena, standing beside him, thought Han Ning had discovered something unusual.

"No, it’s nothing. It just reminds me of something." Han Ning’s expression was odd. The chain of palaces arching above them looked remarkably like a scene from before he transmigrated: the five Bronze Saints storming the twelve houses of the Zodiac to save Athena.

"Chirp?!"

Egg Pancake, who was hiding in the Soul Beast Space, had also seen *Saint Seiya*. The clever creature obviously found the scene familiar too. It sat up excitedly, signaling that it wanted to come out and have a look!

’Does this mean... one day, Bun Master can also become an Undying Xiaoqiang Xingzhi!’

Just thinking about it filled Egg Pancake with motivation!

SHIMMER~

The Escape Bubble on his wrist flashed and projected a light screen, similar to a 3D hologram.

On the blue light screen, rows of names cascaded down from the top like a waterfall.

Current First Place: Red Manta, Hodessas — 39th Palace

Second Place: Dread Whale, Jing Man — 38th Palace.

Third Place: Barbaric Beast, Shi Zhou — 38th Palace.

Fourth Place: Tide-Calling Jellyfish, Anohok Palace — 38th Palace.

Fifth Place: Deep Sea Coral, Reza — 38th Palace.

Sixth Place: Blood Shark, Shark Sea — 38th Palace.

...

These rows of names were clearly the current rankings for progress within the Sea God Palace Complex.

Han Ning scanned from top to bottom, not seeing Ruiyue’s name until 16th place.

’That can’t be right... That woman Ruiyue is definitely strong enough for the top 10. Could it be because I wrecked her Destruction Apostle, and it still hasn’t been repaired?’ Han Ning thought to himself.

Below the leaderboard was a long block of descriptive text.

There are a total of 50 palaces in the Sea God Palace Complex.

Inside each palace resides one or more illustrious figures from the history of the Ten Deep Sea Clans.

Of course, these figures and their Soul Beasts are merely projections of flesh, Energy, and spirit, created by the Wangchao Family using their profound knowledge of Spiritual Arrays.

Trialists must defeat the Guardians protecting the palaces to advance to the next one.

After successfully clearing a palace, one can obtain corresponding rewards.

However, the rewards from the Sea God Palace were not as game-breaking as those from the Heaven-Reaching Tower. The prizes consisted of valuable Soul Beast Crystal Stones, materials, rare Soul Beast Eggs, and supplies to help Beast Masters recover from their exertion.

Unlike the Heaven-Reaching Tower, it wouldn’t rapidly boost the power of a Beast Master and their Soul Beasts in a short time; strength could only be honed slowly through battle.

As soon as the first palace is cleared, the Escape Bubble will automatically record the information, upload the data, and add the Trialist to the leaderboard.

The palace-clearing trial is not without its limits. It begins in the second year after Han Ning and the others entered the Secret Realm and lasts for about three and a half years. The final six months are designated for the challenge trials.

After the palace-clearing trial ends, the person who remains in first place will be named the "King of the Sea."

The second and third places will be named the "Prince of the Sea" and the "Duke of the Sea," respectively.

The King, Prince, and Duke must defend their respective palaces against challenges from those ranked below them. The challenges proceed in order of rank and are limited to the top 25 Trialists.

Challengers cannot skip ranks; they must climb their way up one by one, from lowest to highest.

The challenged party must accept three challenges per day. After the third, they are free to accept or refuse any further challenges at will.

When the King, Prince, and Duke have successfully defeated all challengers and defended their "thrones," the top three of this trial will be decided.

...

’How intense. We’re still in the palace-clearing stage. Once that time is up, the Secret Realm Manipulator will forcibly teleport everyone to different palaces according to their rank.’

Han Ning scanned the rest of the description and glanced at the last name on the leaderboard.

The number was 74.

This basically meant that only 74 of the Beast Masters who had entered the Sea God Palace remained.

Three years ago, there were about 150 people in total from the Ten Races and the invited Beast Masters. Now, less than half were left.

’The ones who are left must be the elite of the elite.’

Beside him, Irena and Lin Ke finished reading one after the other.

"There’s about a year left before the palace-clearing phase ends. How about we split up for now, tackle the palaces on our own, and then regroup near the end to discuss a plan for the challenges?" Han Ning suggested.

"There are some stages during the clearing process that require a team. Let’s stay in contact. If we run into trouble, we can help each other out," Lin Ke, who was more familiar with this place, reminded them.

"Alright!"

Han Ning and Irena had no objections; they were already eager to get started.

After settling on a plan, the three of them flew toward the first palace together.

It was a blue palace, about 30 meters high, built in a style reminiscent of the Alatake Clan, with a dome covered in sharp corners.

After the three pushed the doors open, a complex spatial array teleported them into three separate Mirror Spaces to begin the trial simultaneously.

CLOMP... CLOMP... CLOMP...

Heavy footsteps echoed through the vast, empty hall, which was lined with tall stone statues.

As the footsteps grew closer, uncanny, indigo flames lit up one by one along both sides of the dark hall.

The hall gradually brightened, and from the far end of the shadows on the white stone floor, a colossal giant emerged. It stood a full five meters tall, clad in milky-white bone armor, with a thick mane of hair on its head.

Its entire body was covered in greenish-black scales, its fangs were sharp, its nose was sunken, and its pupils were murky. The moment it appeared, a ferocious aura washed over the room.

Looking at the giant before him, the name of a clan instantly surfaced in Han Ning’s mind: Profound Python.

Having later learned about the various clans of the Deep Sea, Han Ning realized that the fleeing Deep Sea Race Beast Master he had encountered on Pagji Island back then was from the Sea Race and possessed Profound Python blood.

The defining characteristics of the Profound Python Clan were their scaly skin and the heavy, fishy stench that emanated from their bodies—an aesthetic that did not appeal to the Land Race.

"I am the 102nd Grand Commander of the Profound Python Clan—Mang Sha!"

Mang Sha looked down on Han Ning, exhaling a puff of rank, fishy air before speaking.

"Defeat me utterly with your physical body and Spiritual Power, without relying on your Soul Beasts, and you may proceed to the next stage."

"Oh?" Han Ning’s expression flickered, and a strange smile played on his lips. "Are you sure?"

"Attack me!"

Mang Sha seemed enraged by Han Ning’s expression. With a sudden, crazed roar, he raised a massive fist and charged forward.

’You’re asking to die.’

A cold glint flashed in Han Ning’s eyes.

He leaped back, flicking both hands forward simultaneously.

A solidified, pale flame drifted out and attached itself to Mang Sha’s body.

In the blink of an eye, "AHHH!!"

Mang Sha, now engulfed in the flame, let out an agonized howl. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his face, before dissolving into illusory motes of light.

At that very moment, a light screen appeared from the Escape Bubble on the wrist of every Beast Master currently attempting the trial:

"New record for the fastest clear time of the first hall has been set!"