Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 741 - Gravitational Force

In a life-and-death crisis, adaptability was more crucial than martial techniques, such as finding a way to escape as quickly as possible.

Liu Wuxie's performance of how he emerged unscathed from the onslaught of rolling logs repeatedly finally made everyone understand the true meaning of this trial.

For the longest time, they had only considered it a trial to practice their movement technique, but little did they realize one could only find a glimmer of life when being pushed to the edge of death.

Everyone had grown numb to Liu Wuxie's performance, and many felt bitter. They couldn't help feeling a stinging pain on their cheek no matter what they said. After all, Liu Wuxie had ignored their mockery and used his performance to slap their faces, leaving them speechless.

The mockery in the surroundings began to decrease, overshadowed by murmurs of awe. When the last log passed, Liu Wuxie landed firmly on the marked region as though he had yet to attempt the trial and had never moved from his starting position.

Applause echoed through the surroundings, and the cheers were more unified than the earlier power stone challenge. They had all been conquered by the display of Liu Wuxie's strength. After all, not a single instructor had achieved a perfect score on the third difficulty level of the rolling log's challenge.

Liu Po loosened his clenched fists with a bitter smile.

When Liu Wuxie came down from the slope and returned to the ground, Liu Xing and Liu Yue hurried over to meet him.

"Big Brother Wuxie, you've set another record! No one has ever succeeded in challenging the third difficulty level!" Liu Xing said emotionally.

The challenge continued, and the next was the gravity trial. When Liu Wuxie walked over, the crowd stepped aside to make way for him instinctively, unable to withstand the oppressive aura he was emanating. Even those in the low levels of the Nascent Transformation Realm didn't dare to look him in the eyes.

They couldn't fathom what kind of eyes they were. They gleamed like two radiant gemstones, mesmerizing anyone who looked at them.

Liu Wuxie wasn't unfamiliar with the gravity platform as he had encountered similar platforms in the Imperial Academy, though the intensity couldn't compete with the one in the Liu Clan.

The gravity platform back in the Imperial Academy was akin to a heavy stone crushing down on the shoulder, but the Liu Clan's gravity platform was different.

The gravity platform in the Liu Clan gradually increased the pressure, progressing from the body to the blood, bones, and even the soul. The trial was all-encompassing for the challenger. Even the soul sea experienced gravity, thus significantly increasing the difficulty compared to the one in the Imperial Academy.

Just having a strong body wasn't enough. If the soul sea weren't strong enough, one would still be forced to leave the platform by the pressure.

"Instructor Liu Po, shall we take this trial together?" Liu Wuxie asked with a faint mocking smile. The gravity platform gradually increased its pressure without a fixed limit; participants could step on it together. The one who lasted the longest on the platform would naturally emerge victorious.

Liu Po responded with a snort in a sour mood. He could sense the disdainful glances from the surroundings, and this drew a hint of murderous intent in the depth of his eyes. He resolved to ensure that Liu Wuxie wouldn't leave this place alive regardless of the outcome.

Likewise, Liu Wuxie wouldn’t hesitate to seize an opportunity to take Liu Po’s arm if the moment presented itself.

With a snort, Liu Po went up to the platform first, followed by Liu Wuxie moments later, who moved like a shooting star to claim a spot. The two stood close to the platform's heart. This ensured they would experience the same gravitational force.

"Let's begin!" Liu Po said impatiently. He didn't want to wait any longer and was eager to defeat Liu Wuxie. His confidence had already started to waver, which wasn't a good sign. Once there was a crack in the dao heart, it would be tough for anyone to progress in their cultivation.

The elder overseeing the gravity platform activated the device, and an invisible pressure descended upon Liu Wuxie and Liu Po. Initially, the gravitational force was mild, starting at just one time normal gravity—a mere warm-up for the two competitors.

But this was only the beginning. The gravitational force gradually increased, slowly reaching the contenders' limit until they had no choice but to give up.

"How much gravitational force do you think they can withstand?" many disciples whispered among themselves.

"Instructor Liu Po's best record is five hundred times the gravitational force, and he's unlikely to stray too far from that today," a disciple remarked confidently. They were well-acquainted with Liu Po's abilities, as most disciples kept track of the instructors' limits.

"Not necessarily," another disciple countered. "Instructor Liu Po has the strongest physique among all the instructors. He only defeated a challenger with five hundred times the gravitational force last time, but that doesn’t mean it was his true limit." The reference was to a challenger who had failed against Liu Po in a match a few months ago.

During that challenge, Liu Po had bested his opponent at five hundred times the gravitational force. However, it was clear to those observing closely that he still had energy left in reserve. His calm demeanor and steady movements afterward suggested he could have endured much more.

"Even so, we roughly have an estimation of Instructor Liu Po's limit. The real question is how much gravitational force that brat can withstand," someone pointed out, turning the conversation toward Liu Wuxie.

Over a hundred disciples from Liu Xiaotian's faction were present. They had gathered to view Liu Wuxie with hostility. The neutral disciples stayed silent to observe the situation.

Logically, they supported Liu Wuxie, as the patriarch's faction had more supporters. However, Liu Wuxie had recently joined the Liu Clan, and most people still didn't understand him well enough. In addition to the seven-colored radiance he obtained, this gave birth to a wisp of resentment in their hearts for him.

Thus, it was no wonder Liu Wuxie had so few supporters. The earlier applause was because everyone was mesmerized by his movement technique. Nonetheless, compared to when he first came to the martial field, Liu Wuxie had already conquered some people’s hearts.

"Two hundred times the gravitational force at best," someone speculated and gave a reasonable estimation. Two hundred times was typically the limit for someone in the Astral River Realm.

"Don't be so sure about it. Don't forget he just lifted a power stone weighing 150,000 kilograms, and he might surprise us," another disciple argued. The opinions remained divided after a heated debate, and everyone could only wait for the outcome to be revealed.

The gravitational force had already been activated, and the pressure would rise steadily with each passing moment.

Liu Wuxie could already feel the invisible pressure bearing down on his shoulders, a relentless weight that tested his endurance. Time passed unnoticed, and before anyone realized it, ten minutes had elapsed, bringing the gravitational force up to one hundred times normal gravity.

The initial increase was rapid but slowed down as the gravitational force increased. When it reached one hundred times the gravitational force, Liu Wuxie could feel a noticeable pressure, but his backbone remained straight with no signs of yielding.

Likewise, Liu Po felt no pressure under one hundred times the gravitational force. He weighed about one hundred kilograms, and one hundred times the gravitational force would increase his weight to ten thousand kilograms.

However, since Liu Po could easily lift a power stone weighing fifty thousand kilograms, one hundred times the gravitational force was as trivial as eating a meal.

The pressure continued to climb, reaching 200 times the gravitational force after five minutes. However, the two showed no signs of stress, remaining calm and steady in their breathing.

"This is impossible! It has already reached 200 times the gravitational force, but he hasn't flinched!" Many people frowned at this sight as Liu Wuxie's performance could no longer be described as ordinary.

"Don't forget the seven-colored radiance cleansed him. His physique has been significantly strengthened, and it's not surprising he can withstand 200 times the gravitational force," said a disciple in the pinnacle of the Nascent Transformation Realm. He knew this wasn't Liu Wuxie's limit.

"Even if his physique has been strengthened, his soul sea is still that of the Astral River Realm. Let's see how long he can hold out for," said another disciple skeptically. After all, the stress wasn't on the physique but the soul sea in the later phase of the trial.

If one's primordial spirit wasn't strong enough, enduring the gravitational force head-on would lead to the soul sea fracturing. But little did they know that Liu Wuxie had formed his primordial spirit, two times bigger than ordinary cultivators in the Nascent Transformation Realm. Such a large primordial spirit was rare.

Moreover, Liu Wuxie had the Heavenly Dao Book guarding his soul sea's center. Coupled with the Soul Forge Art, even cultivators in the True Profound Realm would struggle to pierce through his soul sea.

"300 times the gravitational force now!" The gravitational force continued to increase with no sign of slowing down. The pressure soon spread into the meridians and marrow.

What a weird gravity platform! Liu Wuxie murmured. He hadn't expected the Liu Clan's gravity platform to be so abnormal. Not only could it temper his physique, but it could also temper his bloodline, bones, and primordial spirit. Should he say it was as expected of the Four Great Clans?

Liu Wuxie soon tossed it to the back of his mind to absorb all the gravitational force in his body. As he activated the True Dragon Physique, he used the gravitational force to temper his body instead.

If Liu Po knew of this, he'd likely cough up blood in frustration.

"400 times the gravitational force!" another exclamation came from the surroundings. Those around the gravity platform could sense the immense pressure, and the air on the platform had been compressed to create a vacuum.

"He's holding on! This is unbelievable!" It was unbelievable for someone in the Astral River Realm to withstand 400 times the gravitational force, and Liu Wuxie had surprised everyone once again.

From this point, the pressure would slowly shift inward, affecting the internal body more than the exterior. But the moment the gravitational force entered, it was all absorbed by the desolate world.

Liu Wuxie slowly frowned, wrinkles covering his forehead, pretending to be in pain. He was acting purposefully, as keeping a low profile was best.

"500 times the gravitational force!" exclamations continued to come from the crowd.

When Liu Wuxie glanced at Liu Po, he noticed the latter was trembling, and he was likely reaching his limit. An invisible pressure also began to flow into Liu Wuxie's soul sea to attack his primordial spirit, which would crack if he failed to withstand it.

Liu Xing had already told him about the rules of this trial before he had gone up the platform, and one could choose to leave if they felt unwell. After all, one would become a cripple if their primordial soul was fractured.

When the gravitational force entered Liu Wuxie's soul sea, the Heavenly Dao Book gave off a faint radiance to absorb it, even etching new sequences onto the pages.

"This is interesting! I can use the gravitational force to temper my primordial spirit!"

Typically, the primordial spirit was elusive and delicate, and it was hard for external forces to enter. Most of the time, cultivators could only rely on some secret techniques or increase their cultivation to temper their primordial spirit.

As Liu Wuxie's primordial spirit was already powerful enough, the pressure couldn't provide much help after entering his soul sea.

A few minutes later, as the gravitational force increased, Liu Wuxie still had no idea that everyone in the surroundings had become silent.