Refining the Mountains and Rivers

While the Demon Envoy was deep in thought, thinking of where he would place Qin Yu after this, the complexion of one of the three Holy Palace Elders overseeing today's talent examination suddenly changed. He casually lowered his head, and when he saw the corner of a white stone in his sleeves, his pupils shrank and his face filled with shock.

His first thought was that he needed to say something, but as soon as he was about to move, he came to a halt. The reason he had his status today was because of the Mu Family. If he spoke up today, they would inevitably come into conflict.

These days, he was no longer alone. He had sons, daughters, family, friends, disciples…just half a month ago he welcomed the birth of a great grandson and even gave him a name. A single action and all of this would be destroyed. Beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead and he paled.

Luckily, everyone's attention was attracted to the shadow sun in the skies and no one noticed his expression. Seeing less and less of the crimson color, as if it would vanish soon, a Holy Palace Elder suddenly said, "What a pity!"

Another person nodded, his face etched with disappointment. "In the inheritance lineage of my Holy Palace, it is hard for a disciple to appear that might achieve a Saint step Demon Body, but he just missed the final step. Shadow sun, red sun, there is only the difference of a single rank between them, but if he doesn't make it, there is almost no chance for him to reach the Saint step!"

The second Holy Palace Elder sighed. "I wonder how many more years will pass before another sun step disciple appears. I fear I won't be lucky enough to live to see such a sight. Ever since we joined the Holy Palace, we have devoted ourselves to finding a disciple who can inherit the throne of the Holy Monarch. To work for our entire lives and have it all come to nothing, we have truly wasted the efforts of our teachers!"

The Holy Palace Elder who lowered his head suddenly stiffened. Images began to appear in his mind. When he was young, he had made a vow before the Holy Palace's temple throne that he would do everything in his power to restore the honor and prestige of the Holy Palace, and he would take this as his life's mission…his body began to tremble even further.

"Old Wu, what is the problem?" A friend by his side suddenly discovered something wasn't right.

That's right, this person was a friend. Even though they had been thinking about fighting over a disciple until they were both bloody and beaten, in the end a thousand years of friendship shouldn't be erased.

Wu Xianshou lifted his head and smiled. Though his face was pale, it gave off a clear and insightful feeling, as if he had just put down some great obsession in his heart.

"I'm fine, I was just thinking about some things, but now I've finally thought them through…" He paused for a moment and then said, "There is no need for you to be disappointed. Perhaps you and I will be able to witness a genuine miracle today."

He flung out his sleeves and walked forward, leaving behind the two surprised and wide-eyed old friends of his. Bowing deeply, Wu Xianshou raised the white stone in his hands and said, "Demon Envoy and fellow lords, please immediately supplement the examination with more energy lest this proud elite of my Demonic Path come to harm!"

With these words, the world fell deathly silent.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the white stone in his hands. Those Demonic Path cultivators who knew the details about this talent examination were left shaken.

This was because this white stone should have been blue. Yes, that blue color was the energy needed for the Demon Body examination.

To be more precise, rather than a Demon Body examination, it was actually an ignition, an activation.

This blue energy was used to activate the Demon Body. It was something obtained by the Demonic Path at a heavy price.

But the blue color had been exhausted…

The Demon Envoy's pupils widened and his heart began to beat like a thundering drum. Even though he said that no one knew what the final result would be, he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't disappointed. This was because a shadow sun was still just a shadow sun. If one wanted to reach the Saint level with just this, the difficulty would be so great that it would leave a person wallowing in despair.

But now, the situation had reversed. It wasn't that Yao Bin's talent was insufficient, but that there wasn't enough energy to activate his full potential.

In that brief moment, the Demon Envoy came to a decision. Since Yao Bin had already caused such a stir today, even if he only managed to reach the shadow sun level, he would still be a thorn in the eyes of many others.

Then he might as well let him shine even brighter, so that he could inform everyone that he had the qualifications and talent to succeed the throne of the Holy Monarch.

Some people would hate him even more.

But at the same time, there would also be some people willing to invest everything into him.

The Demon Envoy lifted a hand and grasped forward. Space burst apart and an endless mass of blue fog gushed out. This blue fog seemed to be covered by some invisible strength. It didn't disperse in all directions, but instead raced into the pitch black crater.

When a Mu Family expert saw this, a cold light flashed in his eyes. But even though he gnashed his teeth, he couldn't stop it.

Today, everyone was watching. He couldn't allow a disciple who had the talent to become the Holy Monarch be injured in any way, otherwise he would welcome the anger of the entire Demonic Path.

The Mu Family couldn't withstand this!

Mu XIanglin's cold eyes fell onto Wu Xianshou's old body. If looks could kill, he would have been turned into a pool of crushed meat and blood.

Wu Xianshou lowered his head a little. Though there was a bit of guilt on his face, his eyes were serene and peaceful.

Righteousness came in different degrees. Perhaps his actions today might make the future more difficult for him, but he wouldn't regret it.

Moreover, that might not be true. Perhaps this was an investment into someone with infinite potential instead.

…

Qin Yu felt himself come alive again. He felt that the withstanding limits of the pain he felt had been refreshed.

Now that he felt the burning pain of the 'volcano' with the protection around him again, he was much more relaxed than before. This either meant that he became much more resistant to the pain, or perhaps this burning pain was about to come to an end.

As the saying went, be hit by a stick and be given a red jujube. The pain was painful enough, so shouldn't there be some compensation?

Where was the harvest?

…

The shadow sun continued to turn red. The sudden changes that went from up and down caused those with a poorer mental mindset to clutch their chests.

It still wasn't over? Was it over? Do you want to scare us to death before you are satisfied?

The great figures floating around the crater suddenly changed their complexions. Perhaps they could disregard a shadow sun, but if this disciple were to take it one step further then he would reach a level where he had the qualifications for them to invest their ch.i.p.s into him.

Of course, before they put down their ch.i.p.s, they needed to carefully observe and then come to a final decision.

But this was already a substantial change.

At least in their eyes, Qin Yu would no longer be a young and immature new Demonic Path disciple, a little ant whom they controlled the life and death of. He would have the potential to compete in the future, so he would naturally obtain a certain degree of recognition from them.

The Demon Envoy's heart relaxed. The bet he made just now had been right; he could feel the aura of some people change. He didn't need these people to be like him and try to maintain Yao Bin without any hesitation for their own safety. As long as they stood by the side, that in itself was a great harvest.

Looking at the tenth great sun in the skies, the Demon Envoy whispered beneath his breath, "Since you have surpassed my control and have exposed yourself beneath the sun, then please produce the most formidable proof and show all those watching that you are the best choice.

"But no matter what happens, this road will not be easy to walk down. Perhaps you might succeed, perhaps you might be defeated in the end, but I hope you will not turn your head and look back with regret.

"Therefore, please erupt with all your strength!"

And Qin Yu truly erupted.

The shadow sun became a red sun. The rise was steady all the way, reaching the next level without any pause.

Then, within that oppressive crimson color which seemed like an endless sea of red blood, a spot of pure white appeared.

Wu Xianglin wavered and the blood faded from his face. He shoved away the person supporting him, no longer able to conceal the cold light in his eyes!

The third boundary of the sun step - white sun.

As the saying went, the white sun appeared within the blue skies - those who reached the white sun step could control the blue skies.

The shadow sun had almost no chance of reaching the Saint step. A red sun had a 10% chance. And the white sun had a 30% chance. This was already the strongest display of potential possible for the Demon Body!

He actually reached the white sun boundary…he reached the white sun boundary…how could he…how dare he…!

At this time, all of the plans and schemes brewing in Mu Xianglin's heart vanished. This was because he knew that there would be no one willing to help the Mu Family again.

This was the deterrence of the white sun boundary!

No one wanted to provoke a proud son of heaven that was highly likely to succeed the throne of the Holy Monarch.

But at the same time, the killing intent in Mu Xianglin's heart had reached the strongest state.

Without a new Holy Monarch, the Mu Family was still considered the descendants of the Holy Monarch and they would enjoy all sorts of honors and special privileges.

Once a new Holy Monarch was born, all of that would become nothing but a dream, vanishing into thin air.

The Mu Family had stood aggressively these past years and they had countless enemies that lurked in the shadows. If they lost the corona of being the Holy Monarch's descendants, this would surely usher in the invasion of endless wolves and leopards.

There was no other path to take. Unless he wanted his family to fall and have even their roots cut down, he would need to walk down to the end of the path he chose.

Only Mu Family juniors could become the Holy Monarch. Everyone else…must die!

…

When the red sun in the skies turned white, Qin Yu finally realized what it was he obtained today. Listening to the clear cracking sound in his body, he discovered that this red jujube was far, far too large, so large that he wished he could revisit today's pain several times more…

If each strike of the stick gave him such a sweet jujube, then he really could withstand a heavier strike!