Chapter 2249.

The power of Xiahou Yuan's Dao was everywhere in the venue. Lin Moyu could deeply sense that Xiahou Yuan's Dao had a profound connection to the soul; it was almost certainly the Soul Dao.

Lin Moyu thought of the Soul Heavenly Venerable in the Great World. The Soul Heavenly Venerable also walked the path of the Soul Dao, but it was the Soul Dao of the Great World.

The Soul Dao in the Great World evolved from the Soul Dao on the Origin Continent. Logically speaking, Xiahou Yuan's abilities should far exceed those of the Soul Heavenly Venerable in the Great World.

In the event that he could not find the Soul Heavenly Venerable, perhaps seeking out Xiahou Yuan was a viable alternative.

Lin Moyu naturally would not forget about Lillian. He had promised Lillian that he would allow her kin to reappear in the world.

"Perhaps this is an opportunity."

"However, for Senior Xiahou to be willing to help me, I must at least demonstrate sufficient ability." He had indeed noticed that Xiahou Yuan viewed him differently than others, so he needed to increase his bargaining chips.

Lin Moyu had a rough idea of what those high and mighty powerhouses truly pursued; power and influence were of little use to them anymore.

What they truly sought were higher realms, stronger power, and ultimately, eternal life.

To attain eternal life, one had to transcend the Dao Venerate and become an existence of a different level.

Lin Moyu began to ponder what he could do for them and how he could be of assistance.

After much thought, he felt he had no bargaining chips worth presenting, save for himself; perhaps he was of some use.

"When it comes down to it, it is still about Fortune."

"The Three Ancestors befriending me likely involves an element of Fortune as well."

"After learning that I am the Son of Taiyin, the Three Ancestors' attitude changed slightly. Although these changes were not significant, they certainly existed."

"To obtain Fortune, one does not necessarily have to resort to killing; building good relations is also a good method."

At this moment, Lin Moyu thought a great deal, and his thoughts were quite complex.

If the Three Ancestors knew Lin Moyu had such thoughts, they would likely call him a fox! "Bastard!"

Screams rose one after another. More and more people woke up from their inner demons, but most of them had failed to overcome them and became losers.

A few people barely managed to overcome their inner demons, breaking only one water orb. As of now, the only ones who could truly overcome their inner demons while keeping their water orbs intact were those ranked in the top ten.

Those geniuses who barely passed the first round soon faced the second round of trials. Lin Moyu knew very well that it would be difficult for them to pass the second round.

Bang! A water orb shattered, followed by a long sigh. Saintess Xianlian woke up from the second round of inner demons; the water orb in her left hand had shattered, while the one in her right hand remained intact.

Saintess Xianlian felt a hint of relief; she still had one orb left and had not been eliminated. A faint killing intent still radiated from her; clearly, she had not yet recovered from the recent inner demons. Her eyes held a sense of vigilance, as if she were preparing for a third round of inner demons.

However, after waiting for a moment, no third round of inner demons came. Lin Moyu was stunned. "Why didn't she have a third round?"

He had clearly experienced three rounds of inner demons, while Saintess Xianlian had only experienced two. Lin Moyu mocked himself, "Could this also be special treatment for me?"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Water orbs shattered in succession. Lu Fengyao, Dongfang Wuwen, and others woke up one after another.

Their results were the same as Saintess Xianlian's; they had only broken one water orb, while the other remained intact. They also did not have a third round of trials; this part of the trial seemed to end here.

Several of them couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, looking at each other in congratulations. Saintess Xianlian looked toward Lin Moyu, and her delicate brows furrowed.

Lin Moyu was currently remaining in a clear-headed state, and both of his water orbs remained intact, unlike theirs. Moreover, judging by Lin Moyu's appearance, it seemed he had been waiting for quite a while.

She did not know what had happened to Lin Moyu and felt it was very strange. Lu Fengyao also looked over with a questioning expression; Lin Moyu could only shrug slightly, unable to make large movements for fear of breaking his own water orbs.

As the water orbs shattered one by one, the geniuses were continuously eliminated. The second ring was clearly more difficult than the first. In the end, except for the top ten ranked geniuses and Lin Moyu, who was an outlier, the rest failed to survive the second round and were thrown directly into the lake.

Xiahou Yuan's voice rang out, "Everyone will now proceed to the third round of trials. In the third round, everyone will face the same illusion, and the winners will be determined by the time it takes to break through the illusion."

Chapter 2773. How did this guy guess it?

Lin Moyu heard this and muttered to himself, "I am on my fourth round!"

He had already experienced three rounds; this time was the fourth. But there was no help for it; the rules were set by others, and he had no choice but to follow them.

Lin Moyu took a deep breath, "Since that's the case, let's have a good competition. Let's see how I, a Heavenly Venerate, slap you geniuses in the face." "I wonder what the illusion is like."

He had already decided to use himself as a bargaining chip; only then would he have the qualifications to speak with Xiahou Yuan. Since that was the case, he had to perform well in the assembly.

Xiahou Yuan tapped his finger lightly, and his Dao descended with a roar. Everyone saw a brand-new world. The illusion descended, and the scene before his eyes changed instantly. Lin Moyu found himself standing on a city wall, and the two water orbs in his hands had shattered.

The illusion seemed to act directly on the soul. The entire world was incomparably real, making it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood from the real world. A powerful Dao Venerate cultivating the Soul Dao—how real must an illusion created by them be?

The world before him: when you believe it is real, it is real. Lin Moyu examined this world, sensing the power of the Dao within it, and felt the power where illusion and reality coexisted.

Lin Moyu, who had dealt with illusions countless times, felt something was a bit strange. The world he was in—if one were to call it an illusion, it was truly too real.

If one were to say it was the real world, it was different from the real world. At the very least, this was no longer the Origin Continent, and many Daos could not be sensed. Yet, strangely, the power of the Sun Origin still existed.

Lin Moyu sensed his own Rule World; everything was as usual, no different from being on the Origin Continent. However, his connection with the three Daos seemed to have weakened slightly.

"It doesn't quite look like an illusion. This world is not between truth and falsehood; it looks like an illusion, yet it is not." Lin Moyu suddenly had a flash of insight. "This world… is Senior Xiahou's Rule World!" Lin Moyu suddenly understood; this was not an illusion at all, but Xiahou Yuan's Rule World. The so-called illusion was just a facade, a trick.

Lin Moyu murmured to himself, "Since it is a Rule World, then breaking through the so-called illusion must also involve corresponding rules. I wonder, what are the rules here?"

"I am on a city wall, surrounded by a large number of soldiers. These soldiers have dull and sluggish expressions, clearly evolved by Senior Xiahou using his own power. With soldiers standing in battle formation and large quantities of weapons supplied, a war must be about to begin!"

Lin Moyu's muttering was not quiet; he was actually saying it on purpose, intentionally for Xiahou Yuan to hear. If this truly was Xiahou Yuan's Rule World, Lin Moyu knew that Xiahou Yuan would certainly be able to hear him.

If he had truly guessed correctly and could see through the reality of the illusion, it could also increase his bargaining chips with Xiahou Yuan. Lin Moyu either did not do something, or if he did, he would do it to the extreme.

Just as Lin Moyu had thought, when he spoke those words, the corners of Xiahou Yuan's mouth twitched twice. "He actually figured it out. How did he see it? When everyone else thought it was an illusion, how did this kid see that it was actually a Rule World?"

"He is very vigilant and will not easily believe what others say, but will make judgments based on his own thoughts. He has his own opinions, is very intelligent, has good comprehension, a strong Dao Heart, and has seen things that even I have never seen."

"Where on earth did this guy come from? He is simply a freak among freaks." An old fox like Xiahou Yuan, who had lived for countless years, could also analyze various pieces of information about Lin Moyu through his words.

After analyzing everything, Xiahou Yuan smiled, "Then let's see. Let's see if you can break through my Rule World."

In each "illusion," everyone was located in an identical scene, with the same city and the exact same number of soldiers. The only difference was the realm.

The realm of the soldiers on the city wall was the same as the geniuses. If the participant was in the Dao Venerable 1st Realm, the soldiers were also in the Dao Venerable 1st Realm. Saintess Xianlian was in the Dao Venerate Second Realm, and the soldiers with her were also in the Dao Venerate Second Realm. Lin Moyu was a Mid-stage Heavenly Venerate, so the soldiers beside him were also Mid-stage Heavenly Venerates.

Xiahou Yuan's voice rang out again, "The rules for breaking through the illusion: use every means to annihilate the enemy, regardless of casualties, regardless of cost. The use of any magical treasures, pills, and other external items is prohibited."

The rules were also very simple: just eliminate the enemy, no matter what method you use. If you have the strength, you can go out alone and slaughter to your heart's content. If you lack the strength, you can defend the city, wait for the enemy to attack, and then counter-kill them.

The soldiers on the city wall are your helpers. However, magical treasures and pills are prohibited; you can only rely on techniques to kill the enemy. In this way, one's own strength becomes even more important.

After hearing the rules, Lin Moyu's mouth curled slightly. "This is going to be a good show." These rules were too favorable to him.

In his own Small World, many Dungeons had similar rules; Lin Moyu couldn't be more familiar with them. Moreover, the demon armies of the Small World he had killed in the past seemed to be of a similar nature.

If the opponent was not strong enough, the battle would end in an instant. Lin Moyu's slight expression was seen by Xiahou Yuan, and Xiahou Yuan's brows furrowed slightly. "This kid is a bit off." But he couldn't say what was off; in any case, something was not right.

In the "illusion," the enemy finally appeared. A thousand miles away, the enemy formed a large army, pressing over like dark clouds. Lin Moyu's eyes narrowed slightly, and his gaze swept over, having already grasped the situation of the enemy.

There were not too many or too few enemies—exactly ten thousand. Among them, nine thousand were at a realm slightly lower than his own, at the Low-stage Heavenly Venerate level. Of the remaining one thousand, nine hundred were at the same realm as himself.

Of the remaining one hundred enemies, ninety-nine were one realm higher than himself, reaching the High-level Heavenly Venerable realm. The last one reached the Peak Heavenly Venerable realm and was the strongest.

On his side, the number of soldiers defending the city was exactly one thousand, ten times fewer than the enemy. However, their realms were higher than most of the enemies, so logically, they should be able to hold the line.

As long as the participant was not too bad, counter-killing would not be a problem. After all, the participants were all geniuses; as geniuses, possessing a certain ability to fight across realms was expected. As far as Lin Moyu knew, if Lu Fengyao's strength were fully unleashed, she could completely compare to a powerhouse in the Dao Venerate Second Realm.