The Peerless Emperor

If one were to look down from high above upon the entire Trial Land, they would see amongst the lush, dense forests, constant trembling motion as one castle after another rose sharply from the ground and coalesced in an instant.

Meanwhile, in the palace high above the center of the Trial Land, Array Masters from the academy were busily manipulating the changes within the Array hub.

Above the Trial Land below, the Array that enveloped it emitted a dazzling Soul Light, affecting the area above each castle, though its exact purpose was unknown.

"Conquer a castle and leave your breath's mark upon the central Soul Pillar to obtain one mark. Once a castle is taken, the mark will disappear."

"There will be various resources within the castle that can only be used within the Trial Land and cannot be taken out."

"The possession and strategic advantages of various castles will be evaluated differently and will yield additional marks."

"A large castle's Soul Pillar can give five marks."

"Each Soul Pillar can only hold up to twenty breaths."

A series of rules were clearly transmitted from a male voice in mid-air.

"The trial begins!"

At that moment, the trialists participating in the entire Trial Land boiled over with enthusiasm as an intense war was about to unfold.

The situation was clear; with limited castles, gaining more ranks required seizing more castles.

Even after a castle was captured, it could still be taken by others.

Thus, defending a castle was also an important aspect.

"What an interesting trial. Let's head over to the castle ahead and see what the situation is like," Lin Qian said, gazing at the castle in front and motioning with his hand after hearing the trial's rules.

Following that, Lv Bu, being the first on the frontline, led the Red Rabbit Army to surround Lin Qian and marched towards the castle ahead.

It didn't take long for Lin Qian and his companions to approach the castle.

The castle had formed just beside them, which could also be considered luck.

Though the castle didn't appear particularly large, it was more than sufficient to accommodate a hundred thousand from Rongan.

Yet even for such a small castle, the material from which the walls were cast was extremely sturdy and difficult to breach. The fluctuations of the Array that permeated it highlighted its strong defense capabilities.

As Lin Qian and the others closed in on the castle, a fierce Soul Energy attack suddenly came from atop the city walls.

Upon closer inspection, they realized that on top of the walls were several vague humanoid shapes, which were not actual Soul Martial Artists.

Instead, those defending the castle were transparent bodies formed of clumps of Soul Energy, utterly devoid of life.

Clearly, the previous defensive act was the work of these semi-transparent figures.

"I hadn't expected there to be defenders in this castle, clearly conjured by an Array," Kuang Zhan of the Fierce Hunting Clan said, revealing a hint of surprise as he looked at the castle and eagerly rubbed his hands together, ready to charge in.

But before he could rush out, Lin Qian grabbed him: "What are you doing?"

"Of course, we're going to attack the castle. With our numbers, we can just blast through the enemy's Array head-on and then wipe out the defenders on top," Kuang Zhan naturally replied after Lin Qian's question.

Lin Qian listened to Kuang Zhan's straightforward solution, dumbfounded, and it took him a while to respond, "Could it be that your Fierce Hunting Clan also just charged forward without thought when you took over other territories in the past? What about the arrays? Didn't you break them?"

"There's no way around it, Your Majesty. You're well aware of the flaws of our Fierce Hunting Clan. Once the battle begins and we expend too much, we don't have that many soul devices and energy to defend against enemy attacks, allowing the Array Master to break the arrays. Instead of that, a head-on clash is actually more satisfying."

Although Kuang Zhan's words made sense, charging headlong into the battle would result in heavy casualties.

In the Trial Land, besides the trialists being protected by arrays, their followers had no such protection.

Lin Qian was no Saint; he couldn't worry about the life and death of other trialists' followers. But the group around him had followed him after all. If he could let them leave alive, then why wouldn't he do so?

"Forget it, from now on, all actions must be in obedience to my command, understand?" Lin Qian helplessly patted Kuang Zhan on the shoulder and warned, "No acting on your own or making decisions without orders, or you shall be shown no mercy!"

The icy and authoritative tone of Lin Qian made Kuang Zhan shudder, and he quickly nodded in agreement, ensuring that he wouldn't act rashly.

After receiving Kuang Zhan's response, Lin Qian also nodded in approval. He feared that Kuang Zhan, with good intentions, might act impulsively and cause the death of other followers.

"All you need to do is stand here at a distance and attack the array with your soul power from afar. There's no need to get close," Lin Qian then turned around and spoke to the others.

However, Lin Qian's instructions perplexed everyone.

One of the trialists, a woman from the Fierce Hunting Clan, was particularly puzzled. "Your Majesty, from such a distance, our attacks will hardly damage the array. Isn't it just a futile effort?"

"In battle, just follow my orders without question," retorted Lin Qian to the Fierce Hunting Clan woman's comment, scolding sharply, "Given that you're unaware of the Empire's rules, this time is excused. There will be no next time."

Lin Qian's stern tone visibly frightened the woman from the Fierce Hunting Clan, who quickly nodded in assent.

This scene made everyone else take things more seriously and no longer relax.

Usually, Lin Qian was approachable and got along well with them, without much airs. But at this moment, he was extremely serious and majestic, naturally invoking fear in people.

Afterward, everyone dispersed as Lin Qian had instructed and continuously gathered soul energy to bombard the city's array.

However, at this distance, even though their soul energy attacks created ripples upon impact with the array barrier, there was no substantial damage as it seemed too far from the city walls.

Yet Lin Qian's recent demeanor and words spurred them to keep attacking the city's array, causing continuous fluctuations in the whole city's array like a lake disturbed by pebbles.

At the same time, the Red Rabbit Army also spread out, galloping rapidly to surround the city, taking their positions and constantly adjusting their placement.

Inside the palace in the sky, Lin Qian's image was still enlarged, marked as an object of interest, with his every move drawing attention.

"What's he doing? Soul energy attacks from that distance won't do anything to break the array."

"And his other followers are too far from the city. Isn't this just a joke?"

"Another with great personal strength but lacks overall abilities. Such people in the Saint Institute really aren't cut out for it."

The onlookers shook their heads inwardly upon witnessing this scene.

Only the elder turned to the middle-aged man beside him and asked, "What do you think?"

"It remains uncertain. Let's just wait and see. For some reason, I feel it's not that simple."