Ashes Of Heaven Book 1 : Solar Calamity

Han Xuhan felt great, to be honest. This expedition outside the sect was slowly turning from a life-and-death struggle into a relaxed stroll. He had two bodyguards now, Mu Ran and Yuen Zhou, both of whom were super overpowered in their own way. Qian Yun could still be trusted with most issues. Zhanxian still didn't know that he had 'painted' his home.

They had both living and undead meat shields around them. Shen Kai would get screwed massively in the future unless he changed his name.

All was well.

On their way to the center of the fog, they had met other opponents, most of them cunning and powerful. But their sheer advantage in numbers was enough to beat everybody into submission. Han Xuhan had had great fun along the way. Each time they captured their next 'allies', he would shout something along the lines of "WE ARE FROM THE XYZ SECT! SURRENDER OR DIE!"

Then they'd force those guys to sign contracts of secrecy and submission. Borrowing Shen Kai's name, Han Xuhan did his best to make all of their 'servants and maids' hate him passionately. It was fun seeing them squirm in discomfort and revulsion while muttering Shen Kai's name in low voices. Bound by the contract, none of them could harm him. So Han Xuhan had no qualms about attracting so much hatred.

So refreshing!

They had even met and defeated brother Feng Jun and his small team who had reached deeper than anyone else within the foggy area. His group had been furiously battling a horde of monstrous zombies. Han Xuhan and Mu Ran had gladly 'rushed to help them'. Of course, due to their disguises, none among the other party had recognized them. While the name Shen Kai was familiar to them, they simply assumed it was just a coincidence due to the sheer difference between that weak fellow they had met outside the portal and their hateful, devilish captor.

By now, their initial small team had grown into an army of cultivators and undead. There were numerous weird zombies in the deeper region of the foggy area. Thankfully, Yuen Zhou's undead suppressing technique was powerful enough to make them as obedient as a pet. If the guy who had created the testing ground ever saw the state his ingenious tests have been reduced to, he'd probably pull out his own hair in frustration. What was supposed to be full of intense battles had become a long march.

A dim light from unknown sources lit their way ahead. The fog was no longer as dense as before. One could vaguely see tens of meters ahead of them easily.

It took them more than a couple of hours to reach the end of the area full of emerald orbs due to all the obstacles. From what they could see through the fog ahead, the violet-coloured orbs were slowly starting to become more distinct and frequent ahead of them. What made them more sure of the fact that they had passed through the second stage was a pretty obvious clue on the ground.

The normal ground consisting of loose soil had ended a few meters away from where they stood. From there, obsidian slabs seemingly made of steel covered the ground like bricks. Each slab covered tens of meters and contained hundreds of tiny, carved texts that resembled mosaics. They resembled platforms for duels.

The mosaic-style texts glowed very faintly, each slab sporting a different and distinct color.

None of them had any idea how to proceed further from their position.

"And this, my slaves, is where you start making yourselves useful. Why don't you all step ahead, and tell us what you can glean from the laws on those slabs, " Han Xuhan's voice rang out loudly. He made his voice sound as nasal and annoying as possible.

Gritting their teeth, the dozens of cultivators bound by Qian Yun's contract acted like cannon fodders and stepped forward. Han Xuhan, Mu Ran, Yuen Zhou, Qian Yun, Zhanxian, and their undead legion stayed behind them and observed the outcome attentively.

Feng Jun had been the first cultivator to move as soon as Han Xuhan had ordered them to, followed by his three companions.

He was thus the first to reach the slabs. As someone who had passed through the circle of laws faster than most cultivators, his proficiency at deciphering the texts on the surface of the steel platforms was top-notch.

After about ten seconds, he spoke loudly to his captors hiding behind everybody.

"These platforms are all full of texts that I can't properly decipher. But all of them have one thing in common.

Each platform in front of me has a paragraph of different types of texts, and an eye-catching title on top of the paragraphs. While I don't understand the paragraphs, their titles are fairly easy to decipher.

There are five different platforms here. And the five titles on them can be translated as Elemental, Force, Natural Laws, Sentient Contracts, Cause and Effect. "

Barely had Feng Jun's shout faded when a change took place in front of them, on the other side of the platforms.

A violet orb blinked into existence, making all of them yelp in surprise and take a step back.

The orb revolved in the air slowly and a deep, intimidating voice came from within, seemingly being transmitted through the orb from a faraway place.

"Welcome, new disciples of the Holy land of Laws. You have managed to pass the primary tests. Now this stage, in a way, is both a test and an important pivot point on your path of cultivation as a disciple of the Holy Land of Laws.

The five platforms in front of you have been a part of our legacy since the birth of the Holy Land. It's a treasure that even celestials would covet.

At their core, the laws you have seen so far can be divided into five categories. Each category has its own advantages and style.

Right now, all of you should have already become familiar with using law fragments. It is time for you to choose which path you wish to pursue.

The Elemental, as its name suggests, specializes in influencing the five elements through laws. No matter which part of the world you're in, you'll always be surrounded by elements. Which means, in this path of cultivation, you'll never be lacking in resources to utilize your techniques on.

The Force, on the other hand, relies on the manipulation of all types of forces around us. Gravitational, magnetic, the hidden forces of the world, heavenly suppression... all of these can be manipulated to your liking if you choose this path. Among the five types of laws, it is the most overbearing style.

The Natural Laws are also easily understandable from its title. Everything around us is controlled by natural laws. You're in urgent need of qi? You can rely on the natural laws of qi to gather all the amount you need. You need divine herbs? Use natural laws to speed up the maturing process of normal herbs with potential. Do I need to speak more of its merits?

The Sentient Contracts are a bit more difficult to comprehend. This relies on mutual contracts between multiple parties. While this type of techniques doesn't sound particularly powerful, it's actually the scariest one among the five from certain perspectives. If someone is contract-bound to you, you can easily make them do your bidding or risk death. You don't even need to make them sign voluntarily. Force them to obey you once and you can continue to exploit them again and again using a chain of contracts. You can even steal the contract-bound cultivators' qi, cultivation, strength, and enlightenments."

At this point of the speech, everyone was grimly staring at Qian Yun, who had shrunk back behind Yuen Zhou with an awkward posture. Seeing the heavy gazes on him, he cleared his throat.

"Wow! That sounds oddly familiar! I wonder where I've heard that before..."

The cultivators bound to him by the contract spat on the ground and gnashed their teeth in fury. Han Xuhan wanted to say something and farm more hatred on behalf of Shen Kai, but he felt that it might make the angry mob flip the table and go all out to kill him recklessly.

Meanwhile, the voice from the orb was still speaking. So nobody raised a fuss for now and listened to its explanation.

"The Cause and Effect type is the most difficult to master and use. But it is also the most useful when it comes to the practical usage of laws. It relies on certain conditions and the way an action affects one's surroundings in order to trigger law fragments. In a complete circle of laws, at least 50 percent of law fragments would belong to this category.

"Now, just because you like a certain type doesn't mean you get to choose it freely. This platform is a sentient treasure that can judge your mental alignment, potential, and the type of techniques that would suit you the best after certain procedures.

Step up ahead and stand on any one of the platforms and try using the power sources you’ve collected in the second stage to activate the high-level law fragments on it. Then enter your own qi into the law fragments.

The platform will present you with a test as soon as the law fragments are activated.

The third stage of the inheritance test, begins now! "

With a solemn shout, the voice coming from the violet orb fell silent, following which the orb vanished in the same way it had appeared on the spot.