Li Xiang stopped in his tracks and realized that he was just standing on an ordinary and quiet river. The cool water flowed past his ankles, bringing with it a slight chill. The gurgling sound of the water kept echoing in his ears, pleasant to the ear and light.
He raised his head. There was no longer the familiar crimson moon. In the ever-changing starry sky, there was only a bright full moon. Stars dotted the sky, and the air was filled with a sense of tranquility.
A gentle breeze blew.
The leaves rustled.
Li Xiang looked around. The uninhabited islands and the Scarlet Star Sea that was filled with Calamities and Mutants were all gone. On both sides of the road was a very ordinary stone path, and outside the path was a forest with rustling leaves.
It was so quiet.
His heart seemed to have calmed down because of this.
Li Xiang raised his hand in shock. The Paradise of Annihilation and the Eternal Purgatory behind him were gone. His five senses returned to normal. He could not sense any magic particles inside or outside his body.
At this moment, he had completely become an ordinary person, just like himself in his previous life.
The river continued to extend forward, but he was very tired. He wanted to leave the river and sit on the shore. He wanted to rest in the forest. He wanted to lie down and sleep under the moonlight.
He did not want to think about anything.
Li Xiang bit his lip, dispelled these irrational urges, and continued to walk forward.
Then the river became hot. It was as if he had suddenly entered a hot and dry desert. Hot air billowed, but both sides were covered in ice and snow. He was in a world of ice and fire, suffering all kinds of torment. He desperately wanted to go ashore to relieve the pain.
Scorching heat, extreme cold, lightning, swamps, poisonous miasma, gales, flying snow, deserts … In an instant, Li Xiang felt as if he had been through countless areas. His body, which was no longer as strong as before, had been tempered countless times. If not for the fact that his willpower had become incomparably strong over the years, he might not have been able to make it through.
This was a test of his soul. It had nothing to do with his body. The soul was the weakest part of the strong.
Very few people would train their soul. That was why he was so shocked when he saw Bai Lili, whose soul alone could make a Level-8 player tremble and a Level-9 player feel like they were facing a great enemy.
Bai Lili's soul had forced the A-class Calamity Fei Yujing to retreat, as well as the Monarch Hydra and the Thousand-toothed Phantom. This showed how strong her soul was.
Could it be that to become a higher level existence, one needed to train their soul?
Li Xiang thought. His vision blurred, and the scene changed again.
He suddenly saw countless lights and shadows in the Eternal River. There were the lives and memories of many creatures. They surged into his mind crazily, almost making him lose himself.
This was all thanks to his two lives. Otherwise, at that moment, he would have forgotten his own identity due to the excessive amount of memories he had.
Those long memories and lives were slowly digested, becoming part of his experience. Among them, there were some high-level creatures with their cultivation history, fallen battles, and so on. These could provide Li Xiang with a lot of cultivation experience.
After the tempering of his soul and spiritual memories, he entered a new test.
At this time, Li Xiang had a rough idea of the Eternal River's test mode. It first stripped him from his original state and tested him layer by layer. As long as one of the requirements was not met, he would fall into a state of eternal damnation.
Everything he was proud of did not work here. Even the dark golden origin aura, which was equivalent to the Eternal aura, was gone. He could only passively accept its endless tests.
This showed that the Eternal River's level was higher than the Eternal existence!
Was the Eternal not supreme?
He thought so. A new round of tests had arrived.
This time, Li Xiang was tortured by the Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Virtues.
Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Jealousy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust.
Seven Virtues: Justice, Frugality, Tenacity, Diligence, Generosity, Temperance, and Loyalty.
It was as if they wanted to wipe him clean from the inside out.
Li Xiang was somewhat glad that he had asked the old night watcher about emotional control and adjustment in order to control the six magic circuits when he was very weak, in order to stabilize his personality.
Needless to say, those who could become high-level players and had not fallen basically had several similar virtues, except for Justice, which was a little difficult.
But this happened to be the one that Li Xiang was best at.
When he took the torch from the Polar night Mage, there was probably no one in the entire seven continents with a greater sense of justice and protectiveness than him. Although this narrow sense of justice was torn to pieces by his own hands in the end, that feeling became a precious memory that stayed in his heart for a long time.
The Eternal River did not force him to reach the extreme of these emotions. It was more inclined to experience and be able to control this aspect.
The Seven Deadly Sins were the same. Fortunately, he was very restrained in all aspects and did not get involved too much. Li Xiang thought so.
But the test was still very torturous. It would not reduce the difficulty just because you were strong enough.
It was just relatively simple.
For example, in the Lust test, Li Xiang still saw the scene that he did not want to see the most.
He was naked and hugging many girls, enjoying the ultimate carnal pleasure. With just a glance, he saw many familiar faces.
Baimiya, Bai Ling, No. 1, Fire Phoenix … and other acquaintances. It was really awkward.
After all, he had been in contact with so many beautiful and powerful women.
After passing this level, Li Xiang's subconscious woke up again. When he came back to his senses, he saw the original scene.
He was standing in the Eternal River, with the sea of stars in the distance and the red moon in the sky.
It was as if he had just jumped into the sea and started to swim.
He took a deep breath and continued to wait, while his body moved forward on its own. But he knew that as long as he did not pass this level of test, he would not be able to reach the other side of the Eternal River.
The most likely outcome was that he would be imprisoned here forever like those lost souls.
He took a deep breath and found that his senses and strength had returned, and the two disaster weapons on his back were still there.
He did not know if the Eternal River had directly blocked his senses, or if it had pulled him into another dimension.
Now that he had returned to reality … it might not be true. It might still be an illusion.
In any case, he quickly adjusted his state of mind and welcomed the next test.
Li Xiang felt the subtle changes in his body. The memories and lives that had surged in did not disappear and could be accessed at any time. It was as if he had read the experiences of countless creatures in an instant and gained a terrifying amount of knowledge. The experience of the Seven Virtues and the Seven Deadly Sins was still there, and his soul had obviously become stronger.
The Level-8 threshold that had been loosening but could not be crossed seemed to be right in front of him.
It seemed that as long as he passed these tests, there would be benefits. This was exactly what he wanted. Fortunately, he had sent that little girl Xin Yi back. With her ability, coming here would be suicide.
In the next breath, he felt dizzy. The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting in front of a metal console.
All of his senses disappeared again, leaving only the mechanical talent that he was most familiar with.
However, the abilities that Lancelot had transferred to him were not there. Only his own mechanical ability was left.
This was the integration of his previous life and this life.
In terms of mechanics, he had already entered the master level. He had gone from being an apprentice who could only make steam pistols to a master who could easily make mechanical creatures. After so many years, his name had spread throughout the mechanical world. He had also become the third master mechanic after Xiluo and Lancelot.
Looking at the familiar devices and tools in front of him, Li Xiang let out a long breath. The steam lamp above his head swayed, emitting a faint halo. There were no hints or requirements, only tools, devices, and parts.
'What should I do …?'
From a normal point of view, this test that targeted his talent should be in hopes that he could break through himself and make the best mechanical device to date.
However, due to the limitation of his other abilities, he could not make magic items. He could only make the most pure mechanical devices.
Those things had long been overdone by all the craftsmen in the seven continents, including Lancelot and Xiluo. In their later years, they were also pursuing the combination of mystery and machinery, moving towards high-level machinery.
After all, real machinery was still an inanimate object. Inanimate objects had their limits and flaws.
'What should I do?' Li Xiang had an idea. He had an inspiration, and his hands moved nimbly.
The youngest and most famous master mechanic was working hard. Just like when he first came into contact with mechanics in this world, he was passionate and in love with it.
After an unknown amount of time, he finished the work in his hands in one go.
Li Xiang was very satisfied.
It was a garden made purely of machinery. There were three little robots in it — Li Xiang, Ming Xu, and Xin Yi.
They lived happily in this garden, living the life he wanted the most.
There was nothing else.
This was an extremely simple toy, an ornament.
However, it carried his most beautiful and original dream.
This was the kind of life he wanted.
Li Xiang suddenly felt that he had this talent. Was it not for the sake of making his own dreams with his hands in the beginning?
This was his childhood dream. It was also the end of his life that he hoped for.
This was what he wanted the most, the most perfect work.
There was a cracking sound —
It was as if a mirror had shattered.
He returned to the Eternal River again.
The water gurgled.
The mechanical talent in his body completely broke away from Lancelot's shadow at that moment. It became something that belonged to Li Xiang alone.
Now, he was a true independent master mechanic.
Production and creation were always based on passion and dreams. There was nothing else.
After a while, the world that Li Xiang perceived changed again.
This time, he returned to the time when he was a magic user.
The beginning was when he first came into contact with magic circuits.
Every magic circuit had to go through the most rigorous test.
Li Xiang was ready. Just the test of magic circuits gave him the illusion that he had experienced a long life. However, the reward was also generous. It gave him a deeper understanding of these most basic things.
He had to reach the pinnacle of every point.
After magic circuits, it was the time of magic apprentices. From the awakening of each magic circuit to the use of magic to the enlightenment of magic.
He seemed to have returned to many years ago. Everything was so fresh. He was eager to learn, use, and fight.
He still remembered the first time he faced a magic apprentice at Hangzhou Station. He almost died while carrying out a mission. Earlier, he, Fei Yujing, Lélie, and Bai Shanshan, who did not even know how to cultivate, faced the peripheral members of the tarot cards together. That kind of shocking power reverberated in his mind. It became the belief that he kept cultivating to become stronger.
After going through the training of the Polar night training camp, showing his talent in the final assessment, and then entering Lighthouse Academy, he finally moved toward the ranks of the magicians.
At that time, he had just come into contact with the beginning of power.
Li Xiang followed the test and experienced all of this again. He treated it as another cultivation. It was also a way to find out the flaws in his past cultivation life. He felt another kind of joy in the tests that many people found tedious and torturous.
Fortunately, he had a serious review of every battle. He had very few flaws, so facing these tests was slightly easier. Otherwise, he might have been driven crazy by the meticulous attitude of the Eternal River.
He finally survived the stage of magic users and returned to reality.
Li Xiang let out a long breath. He was surprised to find that there seemed to be no changes in time. Soon, he realized that the Eternal River seemed to have the ability to confine time and space. It was normal for it to be able to stop the flow of time.
However, to be able to directly interfere with the flow of time and space, this was definitely a big deal. At least level-9 was far from being able to do it.
Bai Lili, who did not know her true strength now, only relied on her omniscience to predict a corner of the future. She spied on the future and tried to change it. However, he had never heard of any examples of changing the future.
No wonder she said that going to the Gate of Eternity could save Ming Xu.
Even if Ming Xu's soul had dissipated, if she had this kind of power, it would not be a big deal to bring the dead back to life.
The ten people who had crossed the Eternal River together — the Five Kings, Bai Lili, Lancelot, the Polar night mage, the Night King, and Xiluo — were indeed the top ten supreme beings in the seven continents. They did not have as many amazing adventures as he did. They were really amazing to be able to pass the test of the Eternal River.
After all, Bai Lili had thought about it for a long time before she designed her own life.
She had arranged a brilliant life for Li Xiang and paved the way for him. That was why he had far surpassed the others.
Of course, it was possible that the Eternal River's test for each individual was different.
This was probably the main reason why they could stand out among the level-9 people.
According to the Night King, before going to the Gate of Eternity, their real combat strength was not much higher than other level-9 people. They were at least on the same level. Now, these people were only at the peak of level-9.
Li Xiang clenched his fists. He realized that the door to level-8 was loosening. He was just one step away.
At the same time, he entered a new test — a test for players.
Assassins and mages were indeed two different professions. It seemed like the Eternal River's test was designed for each individual.
He was more familiar with the players' level. After all, it had only been a few years. Naturally, it was easy for him to experience it.
From level-1 to level-7, he had fought his way through each stage steadily. He had also broken the inherent shackles of the players. They could not challenge someone two levels higher. This would not work for him.
When he came back to his senses, the test was already over. Li Xiang had successfully broken through to level-8.
Now, he was at the same level as Ji Dongchen from the Ji family. He was very close to level-9.
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