All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 86: The Jade and Stone Saints

Deep in the great hall, two ethereal figures sat on the throne. Before them was a jade table with a scroll painting placed on it. The painting showed the scene outside the hall, and the two figures watched as Zhanyue and Baizhi entered the hall. Upon closer inspection, these two ethereal figures were identical to the two stone statues outside the hall.

“Jade Sister, how many years have we waited? Finally, someone has come,” the male figure said.

“Yes, since someone has come, it means our human race hasn’t gone extinct,” the female figure replied with some excitement.

“Our true selves must have perished by now,” the man gazed upwards, as if he could see through the void, his eyes full of desolation.

“Probably. You and I have been through a lifetime of hardships, finally becoming a couple, and making a name for ourselves as the ‘Jade and Stone Twin Saints’. In the end, we were fortunate to participate in that great battle. Being able to contribute everything for the continuation of the human race makes life worthwhile. The only regret is that I never bore you a child in my lifetime,” the woman said with some regret in her voice.

Hearing this, the man comforted her tenderly, “I’ve said before, if we can safely pass through this calamity, all future human descendants will be our children. Why speak of regrets?”

The woman nodded, her gaze towards Zhanyue and Baizhi in the painting becoming more benevolent.

“It’s a pity these two children’s strength is quite ordinary. I wonder if they can pass the three trials you set up,” the woman said with some concern.

“We’ve waited so long for these two to come. No one has ever entered before. I even doubted if humanity had gone extinct. Just for this, I can lower the difficulty a bit for them. But a trial is a trial, it can’t be without a threshold. After all, it’s our inheritance. How can we give it away easily?” the man smiled.

“Our inheritance, indeed. Our divine abilities and skills, I’m afraid they won’t know what they are even until they die,” the woman’s face also showed a smile as she recalled past events.

“That’s right. Back then there was even a Knowledge Ranking Board, gathering strange news and difficult problems from all over the world. The seventh-ranked question was about what our divine abilities actually were. Haha! I’m afraid they didn’t guess it even until the end of that great battle,” the man also laughed heartily.

Zhanyue and Baizhi were unaware of this conversation, nor did they know that their every move was being observed by these two.

The first trial after entering the great hall soon arrived.

Inside the spacious hall stood two mechanical puppets. These puppets were about the size and shape of humans, each holding a sword.

“This first trial is called the Double Puppet Formation. It tests their combat synergy. These two puppets coordinate flawlessly. They must coordinate better than the puppets and demonstrate stronger abilities to defeat them,” the male figure explained to the woman beside him.

Inside the hall, Zhanyue held his breath and focused, looking at the two creaking puppets, knowing these were the enemies they needed to face.

“Wait here, I’ll test their methods first,” Zhanyue said to Baizhi beside him.

“Be careful,” Baizhi nervously reminded him from the side. This was her first time participating in such a trial.

“Oh? The man probes, while the woman waits for an opportunity?” the man said, observing Zhanyue’s behavior.

“Obviously, this little girl’s realm is higher, and I can sense her extraordinary bloodline, though it seems not yet awakened,” the woman commented.

“Hmm, is this another story of an ordinary boy falling in love with a talented young lady? Interesting, I must watch carefully,” the man smiled, thinking of his younger days when there was a vast difference in strength and status between himself and the beauty beside him.

Zhanyue entered the formation alone, engaging with the two puppets. He was quite frustrated that his Phantom Light Step and Phantom Form Sword techniques weren’t effective, as these wooden dummies didn’t rely on eyes to lock onto enemies, but used other sensing methods. However, the current Zhanyue was far from ordinary.

Kicking away one puppet, Zhanyue’s hand condensed flames, and a terrifying flame fist struck the other puppet. However, the puppet wasn’t set on fire. It spun rapidly to dissipate most of the force, and the sword in its hand began to rotate as well.

Zhanyue used his earth burrowing technique to dodge, reappearing behind the other puppet with a finger pointed at its body.

“Heaven-Burning Finger!” This ultimate skill combining two terrifying flames was used in actual combat for the first time. A terrifying flame bullet shot from Zhanyue’s fingertip, penetrating the puppet’s body and leaving a peanut-sized hole.

However, the puppet didn’t stop moving. It turned and swung its sword, which Zhanyue again dodged by burrowing into the ground.

“Brother Stone, these puppets are made of Flame Fire Wood, aren’t they? They’re not afraid of fire, and the material is extraordinary. How did this boy easily pierce through it? He’s not even using a weapon. And didn’t you say these two puppets coordinate closely? Where’s the coordination?” the woman asked the man beside her.

“I… how should I know? This boy is playing dumb to catch us off guard. He actually possesses such a powerful attack method and has earth burrowing skills. The puppets’ coordination techniques can’t even be deployed. Wait, I’ll increase the difficulty right away!” The man, having lost face, decided to give Zhanyue a tough time.

The puppets attacked with swords from front and back, coordinating closely. Zhanyue frowned. Although his Heaven-Burning Finger could break through their defense, he didn’t know where the puppets’ weak points were and couldn’t stop their actions. If they were humans or other animals, he would at least know where to attack.

Once again trying to burrow into the ground to avoid the two puppets’ attacks, Zhanyue found that an unknown formation in the hall had activated, and he could no longer burrow underground.

“Hmph!” The male figure smiled with satisfaction, having blocked Zhanyue’s earth burrowing ability. Only now could the two puppets display their true strength.

Zhanyue used the Phantom Light Step, narrowly dodging the puppets’ attacks with his agile movements.

The aura of the two puppets suddenly increased, completely unlike before. Their strength and speed were incomparable to earlier.

Zhanyue frowned, not wanting to engage in a prolonged battle. After losing the ability to burrow, he realized the puppets’ joint techniques were very clever. It would be extremely difficult for him to fight both alone. Baizhi wasn’t good at combat and could only help a little by relying on speed to maneuver. She probably didn’t even have a way to break through their defense now.

Using positioning to create distance, a silver armor covered Zhanyue’s entire body. He felt a power he had never experienced before. The improvement in his realm allowed him to unleash more of the armor’s power. Holding the ji halberd, he immediately engaged. The two puppets, comparable to sixth-grade spirit beasts, were instantly torn to pieces by Zhanyue, unable to rise again. Any intricate coordination was meaningless in the face of such overwhelming force.

“Isn’t… isn’t that Red Lotus boy’s Moon-Reflecting Armor?” The male figure’s face showed shock.

“Ji Honglian, as the vanguard team leader, fell first. His inheritance should have been arranged by his master. That old fellow isn’t easy to deal with. How could this boy with such little strength possibly pass the trial set up by that old man?” The woman was equally puzzled.

“Ah! If I had known he had such ability, I should have increased the difficulty more. Now the puppets are destroyed, and he’s passed the first trial just like that! Miscalculation!” The man felt some regret.

“Why do you seem to hope for others to fail? The stronger they perform, the happier we should be. However, in this challenge for two people, that girl seems to have stood by from start to finish. We can’t see their coordination and tacit understanding,” the woman said.

“It doesn’t matter, there are still two more trials. Those can’t be passed by brute force alone. Let’s see if their hearts are in sync,” the man adjusted his mood. “This little rascal is much more capable than I was back then. The girl obviously knows his strength and is comfortable watching from the sidelines.”

“Stop talking nonsense, quickly start the second trial,” the woman had become more interested.