If Zhong Ming knew what they were thinking, he would have just shrugged and told them he had no time to waste playing their games.

The fluctuations in his speed through the trials were all related to his cultivation.

When he advanced to Foundation Establishment, Zhong Ming’s extraordinary physique, which broke all norms, underwent another evolution—his body’s Lifebound Talent, Demon Lord Tai Sui, gave rise to a new Divine Technique: Calamity Evolution.

This Divine Technique allowed his body to rapidly develop resistances when facing calamities, disasters, and enduring harm, and even grow stronger through the tempering process.

Zhong Ming then discovered that this ability was a perfect match for the Qi Family’s Path of Purgatory.

’The crushing pressure of the Path of Purgatory is a form of tempering, a calamity. And my Calamity Evolution is exactly what needs that tempering to increase my body’s resistances...’

At this point, the reason he had moved so slowly at the beginning was easy to guess.

He hadn’t used his Magical Power or any other abilities to counteract the pressure of the Path of Purgatory. In fact, not only did he not resist, he even opened up his body and mind, allowing the immense gravity to crush down upon him.

VMMMM—!

The mountain-like pressure made every step a struggle, but his body was already generating the corresponding resistance. Zhong Ming’s physical strength was even rapidly increasing under the crushing weight.

’This is my personal treasure trove.’

And he didn’t just mean that in passing, nor was he merely acknowledging how the Path of Purgatory benefited his physique.

Halfway through, Zhong Ming discovered something that brought him boundless joy.

To forge this Path of Purgatory, the Qi Family had spent three hundred years, consumed countless Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, integrated numerous exquisite principles of the Array Dao, and even used several treasures containing wondrous Dao Rhyme as array cores to maintain the Array’s operation.

A myriad of profound mysteries were interwoven, infusing the Path of Purgatory itself with an endless Dao Rhyme.

Then, Zhong Ming discovered he could use Heart as a Mirror to reflect all the exquisite principles of the Array Dao and the natural Dao Rhyme of the Path of Purgatory into his own dreamscape!

’So, if I complete one trip through the Path of Purgatory, I can create a replica of it in my dreamscape?’

’No, it’s not just about creating an imitation, and it won’t just be effective in the dreamscape...’

His eyes flashing with excitement, Zhong Ming thought of a plan for his future abilities.

’I can absorb the profound principles of the Path of Purgatory and fuse them with my Dao Foundation, the Dragon of the Year Rings of the Morning Star.’

’And once I raise the Longxi Sword Dao: Mirror Heart Demon Slayer to the Sixth Realm, I’ll be able to manifest my Heart Image—my Dream Projection—externally. At that point, the Path of Purgatory will become my own domain, a weapon to use against my enemies.’

It could strengthen his body and generate resistances, allow him to comprehend Dao Rhyme and fuse it into his Dao Foundation, and even become a domain to suppress his enemies in the future. These heaven-sent benefits made Zhong Ming’s gaze toward the members of the Qi Family soften considerably as he sighed with heartfelt emotion, ’What a bunch of good people!’

While he was filled with emotion, the mood among the Qi Family’s cultivators was anything but pleasant.

Seeing Zhong Ming moving with effortless speed through the latter half of the first trial, they instantly understood that their plan to stop him there had completely fallen apart.

But soon, the members of the Qi Family rallied.

"Phew... It’s fine. The first trial is just an appetizer. The power of the Path of Purgatory is cumulative."

"The second trial is the Fire Jail. On top of that, the crushing pressure from the first trial won’t disappear—it will double. There’s no way Zhong Ming can..."

The words had barely left his mouth when Zhong Ming stepped into the second trial.

It was a path of crimson, scorched earth. Between the great cracks in the ground, red-hot magma churned and boiled. A fiery poison, thick with the aura of a drought demon, filled the sky, burning the very air until it distorted into ripples.

For any Cultivator who entered, their Magical Power would be instantly ignited. The moisture in their bodies would evaporate at a rate visible to the naked eye, their skin would scorch and crack, and their Divine Soul would sear with pain. The extreme heat and Flame plunged them into a true Purgatory of unbearable agony.

Many Cultivators were burned until their lips were parched and their tongues dry after just a few steps, nearly turning into desiccated husks. Fortunately, the Path of Purgatory was protected by a Guardian Dao Array that would teleport out anyone who couldn’t endure. Otherwise, this place would have long ago become a mountain of corpses.

Seeing this, the Qi Family felt a little more at ease, their confidence rekindling slightly.

But soon, something happened that frustrated them so much their faces turned livid—inside the Fire Jail, Zhong Ming walked with even greater ease than he had in the first trial.

This was inevitable. In the days since completing his Foundation Establishment, he hadn’t just been sitting idly by.

Although he hadn’t trained for it specifically, Zhong Ming absorbed Solar Power every day, and his body had been tempered by the Flame of the Sun countless times as a result.

This, combined with his Calamity Evolution, gave Zhong Ming an extremely high resistance to Flame.

The Fire Jail on the Path of Purgatory was incredibly powerful, but even when Zhong Ming deliberately let his guard down, the immense Flame couldn’t harm him in the slightest.

’...This trial is useless for training me, but the aura of drought and summer is a good match. I can absorb this Dao Rhyme.’

Since he didn’t need to slowly build up resistance, Zhong Ming paused only briefly in the Fire Jail. After comprehending its Dao Rhyme, he strode forward and crossed the trial in an instant, stepping into the Third Jail: the Bone Rotting Poison Abyss.

The moment he entered, a foul, stinking poison mist washed over him. This was an abyss of myriad poisons, a place where countless toxins intertwined and permeated everything. The poison of the Withered Bone Flower drifted like smoke; inhaling it would constrict the throat and make the bones brittle, and without resistance, one’s skeleton would turn to ash. The Red-tailed Scorpion Poison clung to the wind; if it touched the skin, one’s blood would feel like it was boiling, and it would burn the meridians to cinders within two hours. The Ghost-faced Thousand Spider Silk hid within the mist; upon contact, black patterns would sprout on the skin, and the body would grow as rigid as wood, unable to move an inch.

Beyond these, Zhong Ming also sensed the Cyan Patterned Heart Rot Grass Poison, the Ink-Beard Centipede Poison, the Vein-Eroding Purple Core Poison, the Profound Ice Toad Poison... Myriad deadly toxins intertwined, and a noxious miasma filled the air, making every step for those who entered a dance on the razor’s edge between life and death.

Because this jail was so treacherous, even the Cultivators from the Silver Moon Royal Mansion and the direct descendants of the three great families—Qi, Xia, and Chu—were struggling to make their way forward.

"Hm? He actually caught up!"

As they struggled onward, their first reaction upon seeing Zhong Ming catch up from behind was surprise.

But soon, that surprise turned to mockery. After only a few moments in the Bone Rotting Poison Abyss, Zhong Ming’s body was already stained with mottled, colorful patterns. A trickle of black blood oozed from the corner of his lips; he looked as if he were being assailed by a thousand poisons, on the verge of death.

Qi Yue, Xia Hai, and the other Cultivators who had designs on Ji Qingyue and Ji Qinglian all began to sneer.

"He’s courting death!"

"He just reached Foundation Establishment and is already forcing his way into the Third Jail. He’s digging his own grave..."

Qi Yue, Xia Hai, and the others all thought Zhong Ming had overestimated himself.

However, completely focused as they were on the Path of Purgatory, they failed to notice that the expressions of the Patriarchs of the three great families, Shen Wanshang of the Celestial Sea King’s Mansion, Ji Hao of the Silver Moon Royal Mansion, and even Prince Qinglin had already transformed as they watched Zhong Ming.

After staring at Zhong Ming for a long time, Shen Wanshang spoke to her Guardian, her voice hesitant and filled with shock. "If I’m not mistaken... since the moment he entered the Path of Purgatory, Zhong Ming hasn’t used any Magical Power. He’s been enduring all these calamities with nothing but his physical body, right?"

Ji Hao, the Patriarchs of Immortal Martial City’s three great families, and Prince Qinglin had noticed this as well.

This fact alone was enough to send a shock through them.

And soon, they discovered something that made them tremble. "Zhong Ming’s body is incredibly strange. When he first encounters an attack, he gets injured and has a hard time enduring it. But as long as he holds on for a little while, his body... adapts. Yes, it adapts to it."

"The crushing pressure from before eventually had little effect on him. This poison mist... he isn’t going to adapt and become immune to it, is he?!"

Those who could reach high positions in the Cultivation Realm were no fools. They had begun to perceive the nature of Zhong Ming’s anomaly.

As a result, the way they looked at Zhong Ming was completely different. Not a trace of their earlier disdain remained, replaced only by a heavy sense of gravity and dread that could not be dispelled.

At the same time, an unbelievable thought surfaced uncontrollably in their minds:

’With an ability like that, could Zhong Ming actually make it to the very end and take first place?!’

!!!

The moment this thought appeared, they were all deeply shaken, a sense of numbness creeping over them.

This was partly from being aghast at Zhong Ming’s terrifying potential, but it was also because of one simple fact: if Zhong Ming really did make it to the end, the standing of Prince Qinghe’s Mansion within the New Army would be forever changed.