The Peerless Emperor

Third Level Trial?

Upon hearing this voice, many within the Trial Land were startled.

They looked up into the sky. Evidently, the situation had developed in such a way that the Sea Spiral Holy Institute had decided to start the Third Level of the trial because the Second Level had reached a certain point.

The change in the situation likely meant that all the cities susceptible to occupation had been completely taken, and there were no remaining cities left unclaimed.

"All cities have been conquered, and all rewards and resources have been divided, thereby initiating the Third Level Trial." It seemed aimed at confirming their suspicions, and indeed, this statement resounded in the air, enlightening the crowd.

They had realized that the real trial was probably about to begin, and what followed would be fierce battles for a spot within the Sea Spiral Holy Institute.

Regardless of how generous the Soul Energy bonuses were when they started occupying cities, ultimately, their participation in the trial was aimed at entering the Sea Spiral Holy Institute for cultivation—this was the ultimate goal of the trial.

And they were about to start the real combat in the remaining two years.

Immediately afterward, the voice of someone from the Sea Spiral Holy Institute resonated through the air once more.

"The following trial rules will continue as before, with no changes."

"Soul Beasts and Soul Soldiers will continually appear in the Trial Land, and eliminating them may provide a chance to obtain a mark."

"Cities will only possess a mark when they retain a soul essence."

"Once a city is conquered, the defending party's marks will be deducted double!"

"Every seven days a city is defended, those who left a mark on the Soul Pillar within the city will receive one mark, which will not disappear even if the city is breached."

Trialists within the entire Trial Land listened intently to the detailed rules, and after grasping the definite contents, many showed varied expressions.

From the supplemental rules laid out, whether defending or occupying cities, both actions would provide ample benefits.

If a city was well-defended, every seven days it would yield a mark. The longer a city was held and defended, the more marks that could be continuously obtained.

Similarly, after breaching a city, the defending party would lose double the marks. A regular city would lead to a one-time deduction of two marks, while a large city would mean a deduction of ten marks.

From one perspective, continuously breaking into others' cities to make them lose marks—thus gaining ground—was also a method to improve one's own ranking.

Although the explicit rules seemed to greatly favor the defending side, this was not necessarily the case.

Each trialist was allowed a maximum of three thousand followers, yet there were many cities.

It was impossible to defend all these cities simultaneously, and even relying on talismans for Soul Soldiers was definitely not feasible.

Since other trialists could already breach cities guarded by talisman-protected Soul Soldiers, breaching your talisman-guarded city would not be difficult.

If one was too greedy, defending too many cities at the same time could lead to dispersed strength. This might not only prevent you from gaining more marks from successful defenses but could also result in significant losses of marks if the cities were breached, leading to a counterproductive outcome.

However, merely guarding one or two cities might yield too few marks, making it less appealing.

Choosing your strategy was also an art form.

And, according to the rules, obtaining marks was not limited to attacking and defending cities; Soul Beasts and Soul Soldiers would keep appearing in the Trial Land. Eliminating these entities would also allow one to gain marks.

Defeating other trialists was also a way to obtain marks.

In the entire Trial Land, there were many ways to obtain marks, leading to extreme chaos.

Defend the city or attack it? Slaughter Soul Soldiers and Soul Beasts or defeat other trialists.

With so many people in the Trial Land, once chaos erupts, how could anyone withstand it?

After setting up the Huaxia World Array, Ye Xin turned her head to her husband Lin Qian, fell silent, and seeing him lost in thought, she did not interrupt.

Clearly, her husband was deeply considering what to do next.

After all, Ye Xin knew that entering the Sea Spiral Holy Institute was not only her husband's goal, he was determined to enter it in the most esteemed manner.

It was a pride stemming from his heart, he aimed to achieve the best.

No matter when or where, he was to approach everything with the demeanor of ruling over the world.

Including the trial of the Sea Spiral Holy Institute, Lin Qian was to enter in the strongest form, to tell everyone here...

"I am here!"

"Why bother choosing a direction, if the rank of being first is just based on the marks? As long as I get the most marks, isn't that enough?"

"I will conquer the cities, I will also defend them, whether Soul Beasts or Soul Soldiers, I shall slaughter them, and any other trialists who dare attack must be utterly defeated!"

With that, Lin Qian's eyes shone with a dazzling light, "To achieve this, is to conquer lands, just treat the cities I conquer as the territory of my empire."

"Starting from the edge of the Trial Land, keep conquering cities, like expanding the territory of an empire, only needing to defend the border cities."

"Inside the territory, all trialists should be defeated, Soul Soldiers should be used to slaughter other Soul Soldiers and Soul Beasts and gather their marks."

"No need to say more, once I conquer the entire Trial Land and make it my territory, wouldn't that be sufficient?"

"As for the ranking of others, when the time comes, we can have a contest within the Overlord Alliance, wouldn't that be satisfying?"

At this thought, Lin Qian's eyes sparked with strong ambition.

Since this Overlord Alliance controls ranks in the top ten and twenty, then he, Lin Qian, must control the ranking of the top hundred thousand in the Sea Spiral Holy Institute's trial.

To do it, he wanted to go big, to be the best and the greatest!

This was Lin Qian's will and thought!

However, before this, Lin Qian still needed the help of Zhuge Ming from the Heavenly Art Department and looked at his wife, Ye Xin, "My lady, I fear in the coming period, I will need your hard efforts."

Seeing the firm gaze in Lin Qian's eyes, Ye Xin knew her husband had made up his mind, she came to his side with a light laugh, "What hardship? I am your queen, and I shall accompany you as you reign supreme."

"This path is not easy, fraught with hardships, but Xinxin has been prepared all along."

Lin Qian gently stroked his wife's head and gazed intently ahead, "Next, let us begin conquering this Trial Land."