The platforms beneath the Princes began to slowly change as the middle platform rose into the air. Soon, what was once a narrow path before them changed into a set of stairs. Before each of the Princes, a total of ten steps formed.
Although Ryu had yet to firmly step into the Spiritual Entrance realm, his Mental Realm could be considered far stronger than it had been months ago. His senses increased to the point where vague shadows of what happened around him were projected into his mind. If those of the Immortal Plane knew this, they'd be shocked. Such an ability was the first sign of opening one's Spiritual Sea, something that shouldn't occur until one began breaking into the Soul Birth realm.
This aside, the reason this was so important was because Ryu no longer needed to open his eyes to 'see' formations like he was forced to in the Opes Kingdom's Kings' Garden. He could clearly feel each one of the ten steps before him containing a small-scale teleportation array connected to a Small Realm.
'They truly went all out for these games…' Ryu thought seriously. For a mere Higher Mortal Plane, the cost of building and activating a teleportation formation was difficult to bear. From what Ryu could tell, each array would be able to sustain ten roundtrips for the price of one Inferior Mortal Qi Stone. After some quick math, if every array here was used, it would cost a minimum eight qi stones.
Considering Ryu only managed to find a thousand such stones in the entire Natural Order Sect, a cost of eight for a single event was astronomical.
Headmaster Leopold smiled lightly, seeing the confused expression of many of the Princes.
"This trial has the same goal as the first, to reach the center platform using the various means available to you. But, as you might expect from the results of the first trial, the means are just as important as the ends.
"Your accumulations are too small to understand what is happening, so allow this old man to explain. Each step before you is equipped with a small-scale teleportation array. This array is connected, at random, to the Small Realms of the Heavenly Body, Whispering Willow and Nature's Emblem Sects."
The eyes of the Princes sharpened at these words. Formation Masters were incredibly rare on their Mortal Plane, and those that could lay teleportation formations were even rarer. In fact, even the Small Realms of their Plane were the product of accumulations left from ancient times. No one on the Mortal Plane had the strength to create them.
Small Realms were lands rife with potential fortuitous encounters. Usually, a Sect would only be willing to open theirs once every few decades or whenever they had a particularly good batch of geniuses specifically because of the qi stone costs. So, it was obvious why the Princes were shocked.
"The moment you take a step forward, you will immediately be teleported into the territory of a beast. Your task will be to slay this beast. Only by slaying this beast will you be allowed to claim the step.
"Of course, as I've said, being a King isn't all about being the one with the largest fist. As a result, you'll be allowed to use the various factions you've spent your life building for this trial. You can send up to ten individuals at once, not including yourself. However… You can only use the same individual up to a total of three times. The only person with unlimited entries will be yourselves as Princes." A clever light lit the Headmaster's old features.
"Listen very carefully because the rules are complex.
"Every Prince will get a turn to climb their stairs based on the order of positions from the first trial. After all Princes have gone, it will be considered as one round.
"During their turn, a Prince is allowed three actions. These actions are denoted by an attempt to conquer a step. Meaning, on a single turn, a Prince can climb as much as three steps at once.
"However, actions aren't limited to this alone. A Prince can also decide to conquer the step of another Prince. If this route is chosen, there are two possibilities. The Prince who has had their step conquered can either choose to face a stronger beast and thus ignore the conquering – this will not count as one of their actions – or willingly retreat by a single step.
"Each Prince is allowed to be attacked only twice per round. But, any given Prince can attack multiple individuals to fulfill their three allowed actions. However, a single Prince is not allowed to attack the same individual more than once during the same round. In addition, after attacking a Prince, one must wait for an entire round before being able to attack the same Prince again. Meaning, the same Prince can only attack a particular Prince every other round.
"Also, note that the central platform cannot be attacked. Meaning, the highest step an opposing Prince can conquer is the ninth step.
"Finally, there's the matter of the beasts. As you have probably guessed, each step increases with difficulty. The first three steps are First Order beasts, the second three steps are Second Order beasts, and the final three steps are Third Order beasts. In the end, to conquer the central platform, you must defeat a Half-Step Fourth Order beast."
The crowds chatter erupted. Although they weren't part of the martial world, they all understood the danger of beast hoards as they had lived through many in their lives. To think the Princes have to face such powerful beasts! Luckily, they were allowed to ask for aid from their factions.
"There is only one more thing to note." The Headmaster's voice turned serious. "Your lives are more important than fighting for glory. When you have a step conquered, think very carefully before you decide to challenge a stronger beast to ignore it.
"Whenever a step is 'attacked', the only method to ignore the attack is by defeating a beast higher by a single tier. Meaning, if your step is guarded by a Lower Third Order beast, you will have to defeat a Middle Third Order beast to ignore the attack levied at you and not retreat a step."
When the Headmasters voice fell, various attendants hurried forward, handing each Prince a jade pendant.
"These pendants are too precious to hand to every one of your subordinates, so remember that a King must be benevolent. Although these pendants can save your lives, do not be selfish. This old man will be watching, and your actions will be graded appropriately.
"Fourth Prince Tor, you may take the first action. Remember that you can call upon up to ten individuals to help you. Crush the jade pendant if your life is in danger and you will be teleported out. However, keep in mind that doing so will count as one lost action."