Vast plains stretched out as far as the eye could see. Green grass littered the field and a bright blue sky was overhead. There were few clouds in the sky which made it a sunny paradise for anyone.

With a whoosh, Akata appeared in the middle of this field. He looked out as far as he could se but all that remained was the grassy plains. There was nothing else in sight. Suddenly a voice rang into Akata’s head.

“Defeat as many as you can.”

All of a sudden a figure dressed in black robes appeared in the distance. It carried a sword in its hand and made its way over to where Akata was.

“So it’s that kind of trial for starters. Hehe. I get to test myself out earlier than expected.” Akata smiled as he pulled his arm back and threw out a punch.

The black robed figure was also at the 7th Grade along with Akata but as soon as it came into contact with the blast from the punch it was thrown back and destroyed. It didn’t even have the chance to strike towards Akata before it was destroyed.

Before Akata could pull back his arm however, two more black robed figures appeared off in the distance. Each one was carrying a sword in their hands and were advancing toward Akata. They too were at the 7th Grade along with Akata.

These figures came too fast and didn’t even give time for Akata to rest. He drew back his arm again and punched out two more times in the direction of the figures. They too were blasted back and destroyed before they came close to Akata.

Almost as soon as they were destroyed 3 more figures showed up to take their place. Akata readied himself as he began to punch wildly. As soon as all the figures were down five more came. Then there were 8, then 13, then 21.

The number of figures kept on increasing as soon as all the rest were down. After 21 came 34 figures. They weren’t particularly strong but their increasing numbers made it difficult to handle all of them.

Akata looked at all of the approaching figures and took in a deep breath. ‘No need to hold back.’ He thought to himself. His battle intent bursted out becoming a wild wind. He slowly released his breath and as he did the pressure in the area increased. His hair whipped about and he started to glow with a crimson light.

A grin appeared on his face as he took a step forward. With that step his Bludhaven Scythe appeared within his grass hand. He lifted it in the air with both hands. Then he stopped and looked out at the rapidly advancing enemies.

“This… feels much better.” He lightly said. “World Omen of Lord Dullahan. First stance. Guillotine Slice.” A black light sprang up around the Bludhaven Scythe. It mixed in with the crimson light and made for an eerie appearance. He swept out with his scythe and an arc of red-black scythe-light shot toward a group of clustered up figures.

They didn’t stand a chance as they were instantly chopped in half. It was as if their bodies weren’t even an obstacle for the scythe as it passed right through.

A black robed figure appeared behind Akata and sliced toward him with its sword. Akata didn’t retreat as he quickly turned around and sliced off the head of the figure before the sword had the chance to touch him. He then jumped on the body of the now headless figure into the air.

“Second stance. Silent Meteor Kill.” Even more black light covered over the scythe and even started to expand upon Akata’s body. Starting in the air, Akata shot down toward another group of black robed figures and instantly bisected them all. His movements were extremely quiet as he destroyed the whole group. The scythe in his hand flowed smoothly without any resistance.

“So this is how it is supposed to be.” Instantly, Akata’s whole body was emerged in black light that covered over his face. “The scythe can be used in this way as well.” Akata took in a deep breath and calmed his mind. “Third stance. Clear Passage.” He held the scythe in the air with both hands and then slashed downward.

The motion was the same as Guillotine Slice but the intent behind it was completely different. The Guillotine Slice could be seen as a fast attack meant to cut through everything with ease. But this attack was a straightforward slice meant to create a path for oneself.

Black light shot out of the scythe into a straightforward motion. Every obstacle it passed by became no more as a simple path was created for Akata. Anything that tried to move onto that path would be slowly cut down into nothingness if they stayed long enough.

This was the third stance of the World Omen of Lord Dullahan. Akata hadn’t been able to comprehend the technique fully because he wasn’t able to unleash the true power of the scythe with one hand. However, he had been contemplating it for a while now. So now that he was able to use his scythe skills fully, all of his comprehension exploded out and made for rapid improvement in his skills.

Akata quickly made his way across the battlefield. Sometimes he would strike with utter speed, other times he would be completely silent, and once in awhile he would create a path for himself. Soon all of the 34 figures were killed. Then Akata moved on to 55 figures.

This trial tested ones tenacity and strength. Without these one wouldn’t be able to move far in this trial. It wasn’t said how many figures one would have to face or if they had to last a certain amount of time. This alone broke many disciples wills. But Akata wouldn’t give up just because he didn’t know the end. In fact, he wasn’t even concerned over the end. To him, he was just beginning.

Akata kept on attacking with all that he had. Sometimes he would use his scythe and other times he would switch to his fist and feet. He gave it everything he had and he was quickly becoming tired. But even as he fought his smile never faded.

“Mirror Reflection.” A purple rune appeared and out of it came a finger the size of Akata’s body. It flashed across the now barren field coming in contact with figure after figure. Each figure it touched it would crush into the ground.

“Astral Obliteration.” An illusory rock appeared and created massive pressure in the area. Akata threw it out and it began to grow in size until it became like a small boulder. It easily crushed the rest of the black robed figures.

Akata stood there and looked out at the battle ridden field. He breathed in and out. “Huh? There’s no more?” But as soon as the words left his mouth 89 figures appeared. They all wore red robes and had different weapons. There were swords, sabers, spears, staffs, axes, hammers, and much more. That wasn’t it however, as all of the figures had a cultivation level at the 8th Grade!

Akata took in a deep breath as he rotated his cultivation bases. His face became serious and his smile vanished. Things were really about to get tricky. “Red Cloud Formation.”

Akata’s body began to expand and grow rapidly. At the Core level of the Red Cloud Formation one didn’t need to turn their body into a cloud in order to manipulate it. Akata grew to a size of 10 meters and he stepped forward to take on the enemy.

He slammed his hands down and the ground cracked and fractured. The 89 red robed figures were shaken but they quickly floated into the air to stabilize themselves. Once one reached the 6th Grade they were capable of floating a few feet off of the ground for a short amount of time.

The group advanced once more and started to attack Akata. Their weapons flashed by and their spears were thrown. Some of them even used divine abilities to attack. It looked like a flood of ants attacking a single grasshopper.

Akata took in a deep breath and his eyes flashed with red and gold light. He floated in the air and held out his hand. Instantly the pressure increased exponentially. It weighed down on the figures below and caused their movements to slow down. The pressure kept on increasing until a small rock appeared within Akata’s hand. The pressure then suddenly spiked up.

The rock grew and grew as it gathered the energy in the area becoming stronger by the second. Gold and red light shone out of it and illuminated everything below it. Akata looked like a celestial god the way he hovered there and had light shine out of him.

“Astral Obliteration.” He said calmly. He turned his palm as he let the rock fall from his hand down to the ground. His face was pale but still hovered there. The rock grew and fell faster as it approached the ground. By the time it was about to hit, it was the size of an actual boulder. The pressure from it pushed the figures to the ground and they were unable to move out of the way.

Boom!