It took almost twice the effort to kill the two remaining tigers. Their strength seemed to have increased many times over and they ignored injuries like they had gone into a berserker rage. Wu Jian had sliced off an arm and a leg from each one respectively, but they still attacked him without relent, their vicious roars instilling a deep fear within him.

Despite this, Wu Jian fought on, his left eye gone, blood running down numerous cuts on his body. They had injured him several times when he hadn’t been fast enough to activate Nihility. There were five gouges on his chest, blood ran down his left arm, and four stab wounds leaked crimson from his right leg. These tigers gave as good as they got.

Wu Jian eventually learned how to fight two enemies at once. The best way to fight them was not to take them on at the same time, but to force them into one on one fights. This required constantly knowing the position of both enemies and maneuvering around the battlefield so one enemy was always in front of the other.

A method like this wouldn’t work when there were more than two opponents, but it worked just fine here.

At long last, Wu Jian managed to trip up one of the tigers. He beheaded it with a single swing of his sword. The other tiger roared as though enraged and attacked with a vicious assault, but Wu Jian used spatial severing to remove its claws, hands, arms, and then he stabbed it through the chest.

The tigers disappeared.

“Excellently done. Those tigers you fought were some of my elite warriors back when I was still on this planet. This was before they reached the Deva Realm, mind you. However, the fact that a young man who has only just stepped into the Asura Realm can defeat Human Limit Realm opponents is auspicious.”

The tiger seemed very pleased with his performance, but Wu Jian was too exhausted to really care. His body ached, one eye was missing, and he was losing blood. He could barely stay awake, much less focus on what this tiger said.

“Hold on one moment while I heal your injuries.”

“What?”

Wu Jian blinked several times. His vision had widened again, and it took him a moment to realize that his missing eye had been restored. The other wounds that littered his body had likewise healed.

“Do you think I would let you face your next trial injured? Come now. Tigers are honorable warriors. Even if this is a test, it would dishonor my men to have you fight them with injuries like that. I also admit that I increased the difficulty of your last test.”

Wu Jian furrowed his brow. “Why would you do that?”

“Curiosity, I suppose. You are the first human I have met on this planet who has already comprehended the Dao of Space, and yet you are only at the Asura Realm. The Dao of Space is an esoteric and mysterious power. Even in the Nine Heavens, very few people know how to wield it with such efficiency, and all of them are entities who have undergone deification and reached the Divine Nascent Realm.”

This tiger was talking about things Wu Jian had never heard of before? Nine Heavens? Divine Nascent Realm? What were those? And why did his entire soul tremble at the mention of these terms? He felt like a frog in a well, listening to someone beyond the well talk about things he had never heard of, never seen. What mysteries lay beyond the well? He wanted to know.

“Well…” the tiger continued. “These are topics I should not discuss with you. You are still too young, too green. Learning of such things before you reach a certain point can hinder your cultivation, so let us not discuss this anymore. I will give you one day to recuperate. I suggest you take it this time.”

Wu Jian nodded. Not only was he tired, but he had exhausted all of his chi.

“What about my friends? I don’t want them waiting several days for me to leave this place?”

The first two battles must have lasted at least half a day if not a full day. He could imagine Hou Jingshu and Huǒ Shuchang getting worried about him.

“You needn’t worry. This space you are in has been separated from the real world. Time in here passes far more quickly than time out there. A day inside of this space is naught but the blink of an eye to those on the outside.”

“Oh. Well, okay then.”

Wu Jian was pretty sure he just heard something shocking again, but he decided not to say anything this time. He didn’t want to lose his mind over this.

He sat down, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes. Bringing up his hands, he formed a seal with them and began to cultivate.

“Change that hand seal into a tiger seal. I shall lend you some assistance.”

Or he would have, had the tiger not interrupted him. Well, if it wanted to help, far be it for Wu Jian to deny the assistance. He changed his dragon hand seal into a tiger hand seal. Then he began cultivating.

“Oh…”

Wu Jian almost lost concentration as a well-spring of chi rushed through his meridians. He felt rejuvenated within seconds. His once dried up reserves filled to the brim, then overflowed. It took all of his concentration to keep the excess chi contained. Sweat formed on his brow as he pushed the chi into his dantian. Within his Sea of Consciousness, the ocean that represented his chi grew larger, much larger.

“I broke through a subrealm.”

“Congratulations. But I recommend you keep cultivating. You still have twenty hours left.”

“Okay.”

Wu Jian continued to cultivate. Time passed and he was able to break through another subrealm, reaching the Fourth Subrealm of the Asura Realm. He smiled. He had now caught up to Hou Jingshu.

“You have incredible talent. This world’s chi is lacking in both quantity and quality. Cultivating should be difficult, and yet you are able to grow more quickly than any I have ever seen. Consider me impressed. Now, then, are you ready for the last phase for the Trial of Strength?”

Wu Jian stood to his feet and nodded. “I am.”

“Very well. Your trial begins now.”

The world shifted once again. Ash and stone as far as the eye could see spread out before him. A crimson sky like blood smearing the heavens appeared above his head. He looked down. The ash came up to his knees.

A strange scent filled the air, that of burnt flesh and rot. The stench made him wrinkle his nose. He had neither the time to disdain the smell nor the sight, for something massive loomed over him.

“This… looks dangerous.”

The thing standing above him was a massive humanoid tiger. It must have been at least ten chih tall, for Wu Jian did not even reach its waist. Broad shoulders and thick arms foretold of its strength. Those arms were as big as his torso!

Unlike the humanoid tigers he fought previously, this one was decked in golden armor and carried a sword that was even bigger than the one in Wu Jian’s hand. A single swing from that thing could split the heavens and earth. Wu Jian felt a shiver crawl down his spine.

The helmeted head turned. Wu Jian found ice blue eyes glaring down at him. Then the creature roared, and Wu Jian needed to cover his ears, lest the sound shatter both his eardrums and soul.

The earth shook as the massive tiger lumbered forward, swinging his greatsword long before he reached Wu Jian.

Wu Jian went into a series of back handsprings. The earth where he’d been standing was gouged. A several chih wide and the gods knew how deep line rent the ground. Had he not moved out of the way, it could have very well been him who got sliced apart.

Is this thing even at the Human Limit Realm? There’s no way, right?

He couldn’t tell how powerful this magical beast was, but its attacks were far beyond the six he fought previously. That massive body wasn’t just for show it seemed.

Wu Jian decided to test the waters. He manipulated space and struck the tiger’s leg from a distance. His attack did nothing. He narrowed his eyes and attacked again. Still nothing. He observed as his weapon clanged against the golden armor and bounced back. Not even his spatial blade could cut through it.

Which means that armor is a type of profound armor, but what grade is it? It’s got to be at least Low-Spirit Profound Grade in order to withstand my attacks, but I’m guessing it’s even better. Maybe High-Spirit Profound Grade.

Wu Jian’s spatial blade was an attack that cut through space itself, and he had a lot of chi to spare, so any Earth Profound Grade armor would be sliced apart.

The tiger attacked again. It swung down its sword. The attack was straightforward, without a hint of deception, but it didn’t need any. Wu Jian leapt away from the sword, but he was still struck by the fierce winds it created. He felt the wind slam into him. He skidded across the ground, somehow managing not to stumble by bending his knees.

A shadow appeared above him.

He looked up.

A massive paw covered in armor was coming right down!

Wu Jian activated Nihility. He leapt up, toward the paw, even though every one of his instincts was screaming that he was going to be crushed. His body phased through the paw, which stamped into the ground. The shockwave unleashed caused cracks to form along the barren wasteland and blew ash into the air.

Still in the air, Wu Jian reversed his grip on the greatsword and plummeted down, deactivating Nihility and creating a spatial blade that was as fine and sharp as he could. He landed on the paw and stabbed his weapon into it. A roar exploded from the beast as blood spurt from its unprotected foot. The armor did not cover the paw itself. Just the ankles.

All feline magical beasts preferred being barefoot. A feline’s paw worked to provide shock absorption, balance, cushioning, insulation, and tactile information about surfaces and prey. Take that away and you deprive a feline much of the information they needed for movement. Their toe beans also helped provide traction for when they jump, skid to a stop, or move downhill.

While Wu Jian’s attack may have pierced the creature’s foot, it did not lop off one of the toes, which had been his original intent. The giant tiger also kicked its foot into the air. The sudden upward momentum shook the sword loose and launched Wu Jian into the air. Once airborne, he found himself helpless as the tiger swung his sword at him. All he could do was raise his own greatsword to defend.

“Ngggggggggggg!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

The sword crashing into him felt like a mountain crushing him. He was launched backward so fast he could barely comprehend what happened. Darkness engulfed him, though he came back quickly. The pain had prevented him from losing consciousness. Yet he almost wished he had, for all that awaited him was the massive form of a now enraged tigerkin glaring down at him.

A single stomp on the ground caused the earth around Wu Jian to swell. It attempted to crush him! He escaped by using Nihility, but then several earthen spikes jutted from the ground, and though Nihility protected him, he was distracted when the tiger roared.

“Hsssss!”

Nihility deactivated. He hissed as a spike grazed his torso. Blood gushed from the wound like a fountain, but he had no time to stymie its flow, for his enemy was swinging his sword. Wu Jian rolled forward. The attack passed overhead. He used Nihility to avoid the resulting shockwave, skipping to his feet and racing toward the tiger.

His long-range attacks lacked the power to cut through that armor, so all he could do was close the distance between them.

The tiger knew this too. It stomped on the ground to make him stumble, then launched a kick that contained an intense wind pressure. He couldn’t afford to use up too much chi, so he dodged to the side, somehow evading the attack. Wu Jian kept running. He reached the tiger and tried to attack its foot, but the creature lifted its foot and stomped on the ground beside him.

Wu Jian was blown back.

“Haaah… hurk… haaaaah…”

Wu Jian hacked out a wad of blood. He was now back at square one. The tiger was too far for him to attack, and what attacks he had that could reach it weren’t strong enough to cut through that armor. He could try to aim for its unprotected sections, but that was a crapshoot. There was no guarantee it wouldn’t maneuver itself to take the attacks on its armor. Wu Jian would be wasting chi.

What can I do? How can I win?

He studied the tiger. Its armor covered most of its body. The only parts that were exposed were its feet, its elbow and knee joints, its face, and its neck. None of those would be easy to attack from here. This tiger had proven itself capable of using advanced tactics and had incredible instincts. It kept it at a distance and used its longer reach and earth manipulation to attack. Even now it was raising its sword for another one of those powerful swings.

Okay. I think I have an idea, but I’m only going to get one shot at this.

Wu Jian spread his feet apart and bent his knees. He brought the sword down to his side. With narrowed eyes, he watched as the greatsword descended toward him.

He waited until the last second to use Nihility.

The greatsword struck the ground. An earth-shattering rumble like thunder echoed around the barren wasteland, but Wu Jian was not underneath the attack. He had leapt at the very last second, phased through the sword, and deactivated Nihility as he landed on it. Pushing off the blade’s surface, he dashed forward at his top speed.

The tiger noticed him and tried to shake him off, but Wu Jian had already cleared the sword and was now running up its arm. It swung its arm to try and dislodge him, but he impaled his blade into its elbow joint. This not only caused pain but kept him from being jostled free.

Since it could not shake him loose, it tried to grab him, but Wu Jian used Nihility to pass through it. He soon reached the monster’s shoulder. His goal was in sight. Victory was assured if he could just impale the tiger through its larynx.

Yet just as he was getting ready to swing at its unprotected neck, the tiger turned its head, opened its mouth, and roared. Wu Jian had barely a second to respond. He put all of his strength into his arm, folded space around his greatsword, and threw it with all his might.

He was then struck by soundwaves. Blood burst from his ears, his knees collapsed underneath him, and his vision went dark.