Chapter 496 - 248: Holy Land Illusion Realm, Mother of Nightmare Serpents

Chapter 496: Chapter 248: Holy Land Illusion Realm, Mother of Nightmare Serpents

The Councillors present all realized this, and their brows furrowed.

"This is going to be tricky."

"A positional battle would have been better."

"Yeah, at least with a positional battle, there’s room to maneuver."

Xi Nan said calmly, "Everyone, just do your best. There’s no need to feel too much pressure."

"That’s right." Mo Weng nodded slightly. "Even if we fail this time, we can just wait for the next one."

The group was stunned for a moment, but when they saw Mo Weng glance at Pei Ze, they quickly understood and had a collective realization.

That’s right, the Holy Land Qualification Battle was held once a century. Even if this one didn’t work out, they could just wait another hundred years.

And a hundred years from now, with Pei Ze’s talent and aptitude, his strength would have likely long since reached the pinnacle of a Sixth-level Wizard.

By then, Chenxi City’s chances of winning the Holy Land Qualification Battle would be much greater.

That being said, the thought of a group of old-timers who had lived for a thousand years relying on a junior, a young Wizard, left them with complicated feelings.

Pei Ze didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’A hundred years? I only need ten or twenty.’

’The problem is, I don’t want to wait that long.’

Xi Nan coughed lightly, interrupting everyone’s thoughts. He said in a deep voice, "It’s getting late. Everyone, get ready."

Everyone’s expressions turned serious. They said no more, reining in their thoughts and finding places to sit.

Pei Ze’s spot was right next to Mo Weng.

As soon as he sat down, Mo Weng’s voice reached his ears.

"In this type of trial, the longer you last, the greater the rewards. In the beginning, you must focus on preserving your strength. Don’t consume too much of it."

A glint flashed in Pei Ze’s eyes, and he nodded to show he understood.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Xi Nan extended his index finger and tapped it on the stone.

In the next instant, an invisible wave spread out, enveloping the entire living room.

Pei Ze’s vision blurred in a flash. When it cleared again, he found himself on a vast, boundless wasteland.

Everything in sight was charred black.

The ground was pockmarked with craters, with hardly a flat patch to be found, like a wilderness pummeled by meteorites. As far as the eye could see, the land stretched for over ten thousand kilometers, utterly desolate, without a single plant in sight—only dense piles of withered bones.

Pei Ze seemed to sense something and looked up at the sky.

Above the layered clouds, hundreds of enormous, white serpent heads formed from mist were looking down.

It stood above the clouds, the thick, layered mist like a carpet at its feet. The colossal beast resembled a white mountain range, its massive body occupying half the sky.

Even someone like Pei Ze couldn’t help but feel an irresistible sense of insignificance welling up from the depths of his soul. For a moment, even breathing became difficult.

"Don’t stare at it for too long."

Mo Weng’s voice rang in his ear, snapping Pei Ze back to his senses.

Pei Ze turned to look at Mo Weng, his eyes filled with astonishment.

"Master, what is that?"

A look of awe flashed across Mo Weng’s face as he whispered, "The Mother of Nightmare Serpents, the sole ruler of the Nightmare Serpent Civilization back in the day."

Pei Ze immediately drew in a sharp breath.

’That giant serpent in the sky is the legendary Mother of Nightmare Serpents?’

’One of the very few Level 9 beings in the recorded history of the Multiverse?’

’No wonder just a single glance gave me heart palpitations.’

"That is only a projection of the Mother of Nightmare Serpents in the Holy Land Illusion Realm. Its power is less than one-tenth of the real Mother of Nightmare Serpents."

Mo Weng followed up by dropping another bombshell.

Pei Ze’s mouth twitched, his gaze complicated.

’Just one-tenth of its power has this much might. If it were the real Mother of Nightmare Serpents, a single glance could probably annihilate my soul.’

’Is this the power of a Level 9 being?’

’How on earth did the Wizards of the past manage to kill a being of this level?’

After advancing to the sixth level, Pei Ze had thought he was considered a high-tier combatant in the Multiverse.

But now, it seemed he was still a long way from the true apex predators.

The road to becoming stronger was still long.

Taking a deep breath, the trace of smugness in Pei Ze’s heart from his promotion vanished completely, and his expression became resolute once more.

’With the Eye of Omniscience, I’ll be able to reach the level of the Mother of Nightmare Serpents sooner or later.’

The giant serpent heads made of clouds swayed in the sky, paying no mind to the Wizards below.

Pei Ze didn’t dare stare for too long either, retracting his gaze to survey his surroundings.

In the distance, groups of figures could be faintly seen, standing on the wasteland more than ten kilometers apart from each other.

Those were the Sixth-level Wizards from the various Wizard Cities participating in the Holy Land Qualification Battle.

The smaller groups had only five or six people.

The larger ones had more than ten.

With nine Sixth-level Wizards, Chenxi City’s numbers were only considered upper-middle tier here.

"It’s the people from Red Lotus City and Blue Bay City," Ji Zhang said suddenly.

The others followed his gaze and sure enough, saw two groups of people standing together. Although they were clearly distinct, they weren’t separated by a great distance like the other Wizard Cities, standing only four or five meters apart.

"They’ve formed an alliance."

Mo Weng’s brow twitched, but it quickly relaxed.

If this Holy Land Qualification Battle had been a confrontational or positional battle format, an alliance would have been useful.

But in a points-based format, an alliance wasn’t of much use.

Yi Nan and the others understood this as well. They quickly lost interest and turned their attention to the other Wizard Cities.

Gathering intelligence before the battle was also very important.

"Ice Flow City gained a Sixth-level Wizard this year."

"Yunjing City is down two people. I heard they were killed in a planar war."

"The biggest threats are still Silver Stream City, Mingying City, and Green Forest City, as expected."

Everyone nodded in deep agreement.

Silver Stream City, Mingying City, and Green Forest City all had Peak Level 6 Wizards participating in the Holy Land Qualification Battle.

—A so-called Peak Level 6 Wizard referred to a Sixth-level Wizard who was on the verge of breaking through and could use a limited amount of the Power of Rules.

Moreover, a place like Silver Stream City had more than one.

The qualification battle hadn’t even started, yet Silver Stream City had all but locked down a spot to enter the Holy Land.

Barring any surprises, Mingying City and Green Forest City would also likely take a spot each.

This left only two spots for the other Wizard Cities to compete for.

With over two hundred Wizard Cities competing for two spots, one could imagine how fierce the coming struggle would be.

Xi Nan glanced at Pei Ze.

Strictly speaking, Pei Ze was considered half of a Peak Sixth-level Combat Power.

His only shortcoming was that he had just advanced not long ago.

Otherwise, if Pei Ze were also on the verge of breaking through and became a true Peak Level 6 Wizard, Chenxi City’s chances of securing a Holy Land spot would be much higher.

But then Xi Nan remembered that Pei Ze intended to comprehend the Rule of Space, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Comprehending the Rule of Space was easier said than done. Using it as his foundation for advancement, there was no telling when Pei Ze would even reach the brink of his next breakthrough.

While the members of Chenxi City were whispering amongst themselves, the people from Red Lotus City and Blue Bay City were also talking in low voices.

"Is that him? Pei Ze, Chenxi City’s newly advanced Sixth-level Wizard?"

Ding Ji squinted at Pei Ze in the distance, a strange light flashing in his eyes before disappearing.

Yin Jin nodded slightly. "I heard he grasped the Power of Rules when he was still a Level 5 Wizard."

A hint of surprise showed in Ding Ji’s eyes.

’A Level 5 Wizard who has mastered the Power of Rules?’

’It’s simply unheard of.’

He had originally thought that no matter how much of a genius Pei Ze was, he was ultimately just a Sixth-level Wizard who had advanced not long ago and wouldn’t be of much help to Chenxi City.

But now it seemed he had underestimated Pei Ze.

Being able to wield the Power of Rules meant that even if Pei Ze couldn’t compare to a Peak Level 6 Wizard, he was still stronger than most of the other Sixth-level Wizards present.

Thinking of this, Ding Ji couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

’Why couldn’t Red Lotus City produce its own ’Pei Ze’?’

Seemingly sensing Ding Ji’s thoughts, Yin Jin said in a low voice, "There have only been a handful of geniuses like Pei Ze in the entire history of the Star Realm Alliance. Don’t dwell on it."

"Instead of wasting time on that, you’d be better off thinking about how to secure a Holy Land qualification."

Ding Ji nodded slightly, reined in his thoughts, and looked into the distance.

Just then, the mist emanating from the Mother of Nightmare Serpents in the sky suddenly began to spread, gradually blanketing the entire wasteland.

Seeing this, the expressions of all the Wizards present turned sharp. They knew the trial was about to begin.