''Welcome!''
The golden-haired young man said, as he slowly stood up from the throne.
Although this man was dressed in plain white robes that were in sharp contrast with the rest of the luxurious hall around him, his plain robes didn't make him feel out of place. Instead, they seemed to have accentuated his presence even more, giving off the feeling of a king who didn't care about material wealth.
Shun Long was stunned after seeing the golden-haired man's face.
His face was the same as the statue in front of the King's palace.
All of a sudden, the sleeping little Black opened his eyes inside the 'Stone of Time', as he said in a warning tone
''Master, be careful! This is a soul incantation!''
''A soul incantation?''
Shun Long had never heard of this term before, as little Black started explaining
''A soul incantation is created, when an expert at the late-stages of the Nascent soul or above, splits a small part of their soul and injects it into another body.
However, the body that houses the split soul, has to be specially created from a formation master who has reached at least the gold grade, while every single detail of it, must be identical to the original body's.''
Staring at the white-robed young man in front of Shun Long, little Black then continued
''Master, after seeing this soul incantation, one thing is now clear.
If the person in front of master is actually the Dao King who created this realm, then he certainly hasn't reached the end of his lifespan yet... otherwise, his incantation would have also died along with his original soul.
He is either still alive somewhere, or his original body was killed, but his soul incantation remains intact in here.''
The golden-haired young man's eyes were staring at Shun Long with an impassive look, as he then said in a resounding voice
''Welcome, to the third, and final trial of my palace.
I, Cui Guoliang, officially welcome you to my world!''
The golden-haired man's voice resonated throughout the entire hall, making Shun Long's ears buzz in the process.
Waving his sleeve, Cui Guoliang immediately unleashed his aura at the pinnacle of rank 3 in Heaven grade, as he continued
''The test for the last trial is simple.
I will limit my strength to the peak of rank 3 in Heaven grade.
All you have to do... is simply defeat me.
Of course, weapons above the silver grade or special talismans are not allowed.
Prepare yourself!''
As soon as he finished speaking, the white-robed Cui Guoliang spread open his left palm, as a small ball of water appeared in his hand.
The water ball quickly enlarged, while its shape also started to change.
Half a breath later, a 2m(6.6ft) long crystal-blue, lifelike water python, had appeared around the golden-haired young man.
Waving his hand, Cui Guoliang immediately sent the water python flying towards Shun Long's head.
Shun Long's golden eyes flashed with a faint blue light, as he immediately activated his 'Monarch's Domain'.
The python however, was barely slowed down after entering the 'Monarch's Domain', as it quickly arrived in front of Shun Long.
Opening its giant mouth, the python showed his lifelike water teeth, that were aiming to devour Shun Long's head.
Shun Long had no time to dodge the python's attack, as he gathered his strength in his right hand, before it collided with the python's face.
BOOM
The impact of the collision had surprisingly sent Shun Long flying backwards, until he crashed on the wall behind him.
The python was actually much stronger than Shun Long had estimated.
Although its power wasn't enough to match a middle rank 3 magic beast, it was still strong enough to dominate most early rank 3 beasts.
Although Shun Long was sent flying from the impact, the python seemed to be barely affected from it, as its slightly deformed face quickly returned back to its original shape.
Staring at Shun Long with emotionless eyes, Cui Guoliang immediately ordered the python to attack him again, before he conjured another ball of water on his left palm.
The second ball of water quickly enlarged itself, and half a breath of time later, another water python had coiled itself around the golden-haired man.
This python however, didn't attack Shun Long, as it continued to hover in the air around Cui Guoliang instead.
Fighting against the first water python, Shun Long seemed to have already found himself in a tough spot.
Although he knew exactly when and where the python was going to attack him from, the difference in their speed was too great.
Even when Shun Long managed to dodge the first attack, he was unable to dodge the one that followed right after, as he was sent crashing on the walls of the hall again and again.
Although his 'Monarch's Eternal body' was sturdy, numerous wounds had already appeared on his body.
Looking at the white-robed Cui Guoliang who was leisurely looking at him from the distance, Shun Long felt extremely frustrated.
''The power of the Dao is much stronger than I had originally estimated. Although Fu Peizhi had already comprehended a fragment of the Dao of Wind, in front of this man's Dao of Water he would have died from a single attack.''
''Master, this is only natural. Although this is probably just a fragment of the Dao of Water that this man has comprehended, in the end, you are still fighting against a Dao King who has suppressed his power.''
Seeing that Shun Long was still hanging on against the first python, Cui Guoliang turned his head to look at the newly created python that was hovering in the air around him.
The second python immediately followed the first, as they relentlessly attacked Shun Long.
Half an incense stick of time later, the 2 water pythons dispersed themselves, as Shun Long's badly damaged body appeared on the ground.
Cui Guoliang was about to return to his throne, when his eyes twitched, as he saw Shun Long's half-destroyed body slowly standing up.