BXBX NOVEL Chapter 107: Crystal Trial
"William. Council of Sect Masters? Never heard of it, just let me in."
Bernard\'s eyebrows raised, "How can you not know about the Council of Sect Masters? They\'re quite literally the most powerful group of Cultivators on the Continent other than the Yu Royal Family." he ignored the part where William asked to be let into the trial.
"Don\'t care. If you\'re not going into the trial, then I will." he started walking towards a stone staircase in the center of the room.
The other man was about to stop William but was stopped by Bernard, who whispered a few words to him. "Don\'t bother Grey, he\'s obviously an idiot to be approaching a trial without any preparation. Let\'s just follow and use him as bait."
Grey nodded. Bernard\'s idea was smart, since the two of them had been trying to figure out how to clear the trial for the last three months now. Thankfully the entrance didn\'t close behind you, otherwise the two would have already died multiple times over.
They followed behind as William walked down the stairs, who noticed their presence but didn\'t bother saying anything. Maybe they would be useful.
He spoke to the duo while walking, "Since you\'re going to follow me, at least tell me how the trial works."
Bernard smirked. "Didn\'t you want to enter by yourself? Why should we help you?"
"Because you want to use me as bait, so at least make me into a good piece of bait." he had obviously heard Bernard whispering to Grey earlier.
William\'s words made sense to Bernard, but he didn\'t plan to reveal anything just yet. He remained silent while William walked ahead of the group.
They soon arrived in a cavern that was more than three times the size of the previous two William had entered. Its layout was completely unique, with eleven spherical crystals more than two meters in diameter neatly arranged in a line and hovering just a few meters above the ground.
Each crystal was a pale white color, but the moment William fully entered the cavern, they all lit up. Three of the crystals glowed red, while two were blue, two yellow, and the last four were all green.
William looked back at the duo, who didn\'t seem surprised by these crystals. They\'ve probably entered the trial a few times.
"So...what do we do now?" he asked Bernard.
"What do you mean, we? It\'s all you my friend, I won\'t help."
"Then what\'s the point of you coming here? Fine."
He relied on his most powerful cheat instead of the useless duo. System, what do I need to do here?
The System answered for free.
-Target each crystal with an Element matching the respective color. Red for Fire, Blue for Water, Yellow for Earth, and Green for Wind.
That sounds easy enough. Alright let\'s do it!
William launched three fireballs, one each for the red crystals, then prepared two Earth Spikes for the yellow ones, he blasted two with a spray of Water, then conjured four Wind Blades and sent them at the remaining crystals.
It was all done in one smooth motion, activating all of the crystals in under five seconds. The crystals suddenly teleported away, while the pair of Cultivators behind William dropped their jaws in shock.
Bernard expected William to struggle for a while, then eventually figure out the secret. Once he learned that he needed four Elements to complete the first part of the trial, Bernard planned to scam William of some of his items in exchange for their help.
Not only was his plan ruined, but Bernard realized that William\'s various Elements were quite strong, enough to kill both of them with ease. It was obvious that William didn\'t use his full strength, so Bernard and Grey became nervous.
"I\'ve changed my mind." he quickly spoke up.
"Hmm?" William turned around to see Bernard adopting a slightly more respectful tone. "What is it?"
"We will help you with what we know about the trial, as long as you can share the reward with us."
William was uninterested in sharing, but he agreed anyway since it was free help. "Okay, so tell me what I need to know."
Bernard relaxed a bit, realizing William didn\'t hold a grudge from earlier. "There are two more levels of the crystal activation, requiring the Lightning, Ice, and Plant Elements as well. We can help you with those three. Of course, there is a small problem."
"Problem?"
"Yes. After all three crystal levels have been completed, a Golden Core Beast will spawn, but it gets stronger depending on how many people are in the trial. Since there are three of us, it will be at the Peak of the Golden Core Realm. If there were four, it would be in the Nascent Soul Realm, which is why we haven\'t defeated it up to this point."
William understood. A Nascent Soul Realm Beast was an insane difficulty spike that four Core Formation Realm experts could not possibly handle.
"Then there\'s no problem. Let\'s complete the crystal levels." he looked over to a set of fifteen crystals that were slowly forming in place of the previous set.
Bernard was confused. Didn\'t you hear what I just said? That\'s a Peak Golden Core Beast! Grey and I together couldn\'t even beat one in the middle stages!
He was about to continue berating William in his head when he noticed that William had already completed the second level, which had introduced the Lightning Element requirement as well.
This meant that William could control five Elements, which was actually very impressive for someone that didn\'t look to be much older than twenty. Maybe he can help us bridge the gap...
It was worth a shot; they had already wasted several months trying to clear this trial.
The third crystal level formed, consisting of twenty crystals this time. William allowed the duo to use the Ice and Plant Element to clear a few crystals, while he focused on the rest. There was no point in being too high-profile.
Showing 5 or 6 Elements should probably be William\'s self-imposed limit, since that\'s how many he used in Blue Moon City and during the Ranking Board Challenges. Any more than that and he might be hunted down the moment he exits the Gravitas Ruins.
The crystals teleported away, replaced by a massive crystal over twenty meters in diameter. Inside, one could faintly make out the outline of a Magical Beast emitting an aura at the Peak of the Golden Core Realm.
It seems they weren\'t lying. This one looks much stronger than the Sandicores I fought.
William gathered some Mana to his fingertips on both hands, preparing a massive fireball for the exact moment the Magical Beast exited the crystal. The walls of the cavern illuminated slightly, Bernard and Grey backing up to avoid taking collateral damage.