Hidden genius: Black belly snake

Tang Yue dusted her back and stood up, walking out of the rubbles surrounding her.

She touched the walls of the long tunnel which emitted a cool feeling in her hand.

"I am finally here huh…" She hissed and she slowly walked into the tunnel, headed deeper and deeper inside.

She could feel a profound and mysterious aura surge out from within the long tunnel.

"Such a thick mana density…" 

Her long forked tongue flickered in and out, and she felt as if she could almost taste the mana in the air.

Tang Yue inhaled and exhaled deeply, letting the thick mana circulate freely in her newly regenerated body.

It was a long and winding tunnel and she patiently walked to the end of the tunnel, keeping a vague sense of where she was headed to.

After a few minutes, she finally saw the tunnel end in a wall, with a staircase leading up to the palace. 

However, this staircase was broken and so she slithered up cautiously, paying attention to see if there were any traps, and then blasted the door blocking the exit.

Bang!

The door fell down with a thud and the boom reverberated through the entire palace that was empty except for Tang Yue, who slithered up to finally stand on the marble floor of the enormous palace.

She didn't wait and quickly summoned little Plum, also taking out her soul sword.

She was supposed to enter through the gates but now she had no idea where she was in the huge palace, so she decided to err on the side of caution.

"Old man." Tang Yue called out and asked. "Are there any traps in the palace?" 

"Do I need to watch out for something or you can't tell me anything about this as well?"

She was not upset with the old man for not helping her out when she needed him the most.

Maybe he had a reason for doing so or maybe he did not. 

There was no point in thinking about that when he had informed her beforehand that he wouldn't be able to help her.

Tang Yue patiently waited for an answer when the space around her distorted to form a white mist.

Surprisingly, the mist began to shape up in the form of a human being, albeit an extremely old man. 

He had a pointed face, a long nose but a pair of kind eyes that looked back at her with genuine affection.

Tang Yue was stunned for a second, but the next second her lips curled upwards to form a subtle smile. 

Among all the races, she didn't actually expect him to be a human being.

"Greetings, Master." She muttered, with a small smirk.

"Good to see you, little snake." The old man smiled and nodded his ghost soul head.

"Ahem… about that… I couldn't help you earlier because I am unable to reveal my presence on the island."

"If I do so… then… " Tang Yue raised her hand to stop the old man from explaining. "Let's not talk about that."

"No, little snake. I don't want there to be any misunderstandings. I am helping you because I am indebted to the Great Empress."

"This is me paying my debt to her. If I had revealed my presence, those old monsters would have instantly sniffed me out, especially on this island."

"And if they did, I will cease to exist. I won't be able to help any of the other future successors in case you fail."

"In case I fail huh?" Tang Yue chuckled. 

"Don't worry about it old man. I am not planning on failing. Not here and not ever again." She muttered under her breath and walked forward exploring the palace.

The tunnel that she had come through led to one of the dining halls of the palace.

The huge palace looked lavish and luxurious with not a single spec of dust even after being uninhabited for centuries.

Gold and gems glittered in every corner and the walls were adorned with exquisite engravings.

There were even portraits that were periodically hung on the wall and Tang Yue paused to look at the various ancestors of her race.

"It was a different time, little snake. A different time and a different era." The old man floated next to her and sighed, as he reminisced the old days.

Tang Yue looked around and as she slowly approached the center of the palace, she stood frozen.

An enormous portrait hung on the huge adorned wall that was bereft of any other engravings and more importantly… the woman on the portrait looked like a spitting image of herself…

Tang Yue turned around and looked at the old man in shock and waited for an explanation, but the ghost simply shrugged and chuckled. "It's just a coincidence… I think?"

"Little snake, who did you think that I was? I don't have answers to everything. I am just one of her majesty's many Generals."

"I really do not have all the answers that you seek."

Tang Yue massaged her temples feeling her head hurting. How could she look just like Medusa? Was this a weird coincidence or was there something more to this?

"Ahhh! Damn it all!" She shouted.

"Listen, old man, I don't have too much time right now to stick around and explore this palace from top to bottom."

"I need to become stronger and I need to do that as soon as possible." Tang Yue clenched her fist with a grave look on her face.

She could still sense Little Blue's connection with her and she could tell that the dragon hadn't gotten to the snake spirit beast's lair just yet.

But was there a real possibility for her to rescue whoever was alive after killing the dragon?

She clenched her fist and looked at the old man waiting for an answer. He looked at her with concern visible in his eyes and sighed. 

"Come. I will take you there. Remember it won't be easy." 

"Though her highness did not plan on letting all those ferocious beasts roam around on her territory, she did set up trials for her successor."

"Any snake spirit beast can enter the palace, but not anyone can claim her legacy."

"She arranged everything herself. I have no idea what's there inside. Once again, I am unable to help you."

Tang Yue nodded and followed behind him. 

The two walked through the gigantic courtroom and headed inside to one of the five quarters of the palace.

Tang Yue followed him closely, steadying her mind. She had failed in surviving on the island outside, but this was her second chance.

She just can't afford to fail anymore. The lives of the people that depended on her relied on her becoming stronger.

"Don't worry too much little snake. These trials are different. Nothing will happen to you."

"Unlike the others who wish to harm you, this is our Empress. She definitely wouldn't have designed anything to harm you."

"I can assure you that much. You will either succeed or not succeed in claiming her inheritance. But you should be able to return alive from the trial grounds nevertheless."

Tang Yue nodded and the both of them stepped inside a huge courtyard in the middle of the palace.

There was an archaic rune formation at the center which looked used and worn out. "Here. We are here." The ghost muttered.

"This used to be a very lively place back then. All the youngsters and geniuses of our Empire used to periodically come here and contest for claiming her inheritance."

"And now its a barren land…" He sadly said.

Tang Yue walked over to the center and looked at him, but before she could say anything a blinding flash of light enveloped her and she disappeared.

When Tang Yue's vision cleared up again, she found herself standing in a vast expansive desert with sand and only sand everywhere.

At this moment, with a loud whooshing sound, the sandy ground in front of her twisted, and a large roiling river appeared in the midst of the desert.

From this river, five pillars rose up, which began emitting intense pressure and aura.

Tang Yue's knees buckled from the sudden change and she was forced to kneel on the ground.

This pressure and the violent oppressive aura were far more stronger and powerful even when compared to the dragon's pressure.

It was even difficult for her to look up and gaze at the pillars to see what was going on.

When Tang Yue was wondering just what the hell she was supposed to do now, a loud voice boomed around her, and surprisingly that voice was very similar to her own voice.

"Withstand the pressure to prove your determination." The message was short and simple.

"What the hell?" She grit her teeth, irritated by these coincidences. Why was her voice similar to this voice?

She clutched her head which felt like it was going to burst from the sheer force of this insane pressure.

And just like that… the trial started!