What the outside world thought had nothing to do with Ye Luo; under the gaze of his Clairvoyant Eye, he had managed to exit the maze in less than half an hour.

"Congratulations, you have successfully passed the second trial. As the fastest person in the history of the Great Tang Empire to do so, you will receive a special reward from the Great Tang Imperial Family."

"Next, you will enter the third trial, the Seven Refinement Soul-Locking Tower. Please be prepared!"

Along with the prompt, the scene before Ye Luo changed once more, and now he stood in front of a tall tower.

"Please note, for the third trial, you only need to complete the first level of challenge to choose whether to exit or not. The Seven Refinement Soul-Locking Tower has a total of seven levels, with seven trials. Now, please enter the first level!"

Without any hesitation, Ye Luo began walking towards the first level of the Seven Refinement Soul-Locking Tower.

...

What Ye Luo was unaware of was that at this moment, within the Imperial Palace of the Imperial Capital of the Great Tang Empire, he was the center of attention for the Royal Family.

"Excellent, this young man has extraordinary talent!"

The speaker was a Prince of the Great Tang Empire, who had his own fief and thus was also referred to as a Prince Royal, an indication that he had given up the competition for the imperial throne.

"Hmph, ’extraordinary talent’? Fifth brother, you should open your eyes. He is merely an ordinary person, probably just lucky enough to have made it through two trials by chance!"

This time, the speaker was the Third Prince of the Great Tang Empire!

The one who secretly tampered with the Corpse King Palace!

He was also a potential formidable enemy for Ye Luo in the Martial Realm!

The Fourth Prince simply smiled slightly without saying a word, yet his gaze towards Ye Luo was still filled with admiration.

Suddenly, a somewhat aged voice rang out: "Issue an order to grant this young man a set of Secret Techniques, and also a place for further studies at the Royal Academy!"

The speaker was none other than Emperor Li Zunsheng of the Great Tang Empire!

Once the Emperor had spoken, naturally, no one else dared to interject. However, it was clear that aside from the Fourth Prince, the other Princes’ eyes showed a hint of puzzlement, even some filled with envy!

Of course, they dared not go against Emperor Li Zunsheng’s wishes and could only once again cast their gazes toward Ye Luo.

By this time, Ye Luo had already entered the first level. At first, he did not feel much pressure, but in just a brief moment, he began to sense a terrifyingly commanding presence.

"This is Divine Soul pressure!"

Ye Luo was somewhat stunned and did not dare to hesitate, immediately exerting his full strength to resist this pressure.

The Divine Soul pressure was considered a type of soul technique, however, it was not a combative method, but something innate within each and every powerful being as a form of dignity.

It could be said that Divine Soul pressure did not even need to be consciously exerted; a powerful individual simply standing there might cause an irresistible urge to submit among those nearby!

The challenge of the first level of the Seven Refinement Soul-Locking Tower was a test of one’s ability to resist pressure!

One should not underestimate this ability to resist pressure; in face of a powerful being, the capacity to withstand their force was incredibly significant.

The Martial Realm is different from Earth. On Earth, the Divine Soul pressure might not be as evident, yet in the Martial Realm it is distinct. A supreme powerhouse could, with just a thought, completely shatter the souls of scores of ordinary people using only Divine Soul pressure!

This is a blunt demonstration of the crushing disparity in strength!

More absolute, and more penetrating!

Ye Luo’s forehead was already slightly sweating, but his body remained immovable, for he understood very well that if he could not withstand the pressure, he would be defeated!

Defeated?

No, Ye Luo would not accept failure; for him, even when facing an insurmountable foe, he would not bend the knee.

Therefore, the stronger the oppressive aura became, the more it ignited Ye Luo’s fighting spirit!

"Break for me!"

With a ferocious shout from Ye Luo, he incredibly managed to withstand that intense oppression and even showed signs of rebounding!

Although he was quickly suppressed back, this surge of fighting spirit nevertheless startled many onlookers.

Perhaps it was Ye Luo’s defiance that provoked the oppressive force, or maybe the trial was designed this way to begin with. Either way, suddenly, the pressure intensified by several degrees!

The abrupt increase in pressure made Ye Luo involuntarily groan, a mouthful of fresh blood surged within him, almost vomiting it out!

"Damn it, I want to see if this mere trial can really get the better of me, Ye Luo!"

Ye Luo’s expression changed, his body tensed up, and the Seven-colored Power within him actually stimulated the Bloodline Power to strengthen his Divine Soul!

At this moment, Ye Luo’s Divine Soul was struggling vehemently, a fight invisible to the eyes, yet was it not a ferociously intense battle?

The reason why the Soul Locking Tower is the final challenge is that even within this virtual trial, it is possible for the Divine Soul to be seriously crushed, leaving behind irreparable damage.

It could be said that the arrangement of the three trials had its own rationale!

Zzzt zzzt... 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The gaming pod where Ye Luo was situated actually started emitting blue smoke due to his sudden outburst. It should be known that the gaming pod was specially made and under normal circumstances, such an incident should never happen!

This illustrated just how formidable Ye Luo’s sudden eruption was!

Boom, within the Soul Locking Tower, Ye Luo’s Divine Soul seemed to transform into a Dragon Shadow, directly crushing the Divine Soul used for testing!

At the same time, the gaming pod where Ye Luo was situated also burst open violently, and Ye Luo naturally returned to reality.

Looking around at the chaotic scene, Ye Luo was stunned. He did not yet know if he had passed the trial, after all, he had just started exerting effort and was ejected from the challenge? Wasn’t this a bit too much of a pitfall?

But what Ye Luo didn’t know was that at this moment, the Elder of the Yibao Commerce Guild in Nan Zhou City was already breaking out in a slight sweat.

What kind of impressive figure did he encounter, capable of damaging a gaming pod in a resistance test?

It’s not just about the encounter; he had never even heard of such a thing before!

What to do now?

Ye Luo had passed the first two challenges, an undeniable fact, but the result of the third challenge was still pending!

Fortunately, at this moment, a Guard from the Yibao Commerce Guild rushed over abruptly.

"Elder, the Chairman is urgently summoning you!"

Hearing it was the Chairman summoning him, the Elder didn’t dare hesitate and immediately took the message.

"Chairman, what are your orders?"

The Elder of the Yibao Commerce Guild asked somewhat confusedly.

"I don’t care by what means, but you must establish a good relationship with that Ye Luo, understand?"

"Ah, what does the Chairman mean by this?"

The Elder was dumbfounded, not understanding why the esteemed Chairman of the Yibao Commerce Guild would care about such a minor character.

"Just do as I say, and if you handle this well, there will be a reward for you. If not, hmm, I’ll take your life!"

Having said that, the communication was cut off, but it left the Elder sweating coldly!