The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

“How pitiful…” Shati lowered her eyes, “This disciple’s cultivation is insufficient, and I am unable to convert Benefactor Ye Wang.”

Ignoring everyone else, Ye Wang squatted down and said to Abbagio, "Abbagio, are you willing to offer your soul to me as well?"

Abachio paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously, "Abacho is willing to do anything for the sake of the great man."

Ye Wang smiled and said, "Then let's stop with the nonsense."

Before he finished speaking, the remaining magical power within his body fluctuated, and the incomplete version of the super spirit body, Black Chick, once again materialized on his body—after the conversation just now, he had gradually adapted to the pain in his soul, and at this moment he was able to condense a super spirit body and had the ability to continue fighting.

"careful!"

Upon sensing the fluctuations in magical power, everyone's expression changed.

boom!!

Clusters of flames exploded around them, causing chaos, while the black chick's claws reached for Asakura Yoh in front of it. Yoh's current magical power was only one-tenth or one-twelfth of its former strength; he had no chance of winning against Su Qi unless he could devour Asakura Yoh's soul, which shared the same origin as his own. Only then would he have a chance to turn the tide, but…

"It does not exist."

The immense gravity struck first, forcibly halting his movements. Immediately afterward, a shockwave exploded, and in a flash, Su Qi appeared before him, piercing through his super-spirit body and body with a single strike, directly into his heart.

"There's no way you'd be caught off guard at the last moment and given a chance to retaliate." Su Qi gripped the hilt of his sword and plunged it into Ye Wang's arms, feeling the hot blood slowly seeping into his palm. He asked softly, "But your feigned compliance just now might have sparked a chaotic battle, perhaps even offering a sliver of an opportunity. Why didn't you do it?"

Despite the dissipation of his super spirit body, blood spilling from his mouth, and his soul further wounded, Ye Wang coldly stared at Su Qi. "There's no chance. You've been watching me the whole time, without the slightest lapse, and you won't let me buy you much time. At this close range, with your speed, I, unable to use the Super Witchcraft Armor right now, have no chance to dodge or resist, and no one else can stop you. In that case, why would I do something so disgusting?"

"Then why fight at all?"

"It's strange to fight with all your might when you know you can't survive."

"That's true, not surprising at all. So, are you ready?"

"Hmph, no need for further words. Kill me and spare Abachio; he has never killed anyone before."

"As you wish."

Su Qi drew his long sword, watching Ye Wang collapse to the ground, blood gushing from his chest, his life rapidly fading. He waited for Ye Wang's physical body to die, his spirit to leave his body, before slaying his soul. If he didn't do this, for Ye Wang, who had successfully completed the Taishan Fujun ritual, it would merely be another reincarnation.

ended……

Ye Wang lay on the ground, his right hand, stained with dust and blood, tightly clutching the pendant at his chest. In the somewhat dazzling morning light, he looked up at the clear blue sky, his heart filled with regret and resentment as he sighed: I'm sorry, Mother, the world I wanted to take you to is no longer reachable...

With a sigh, he channeled his magical power into the pendant, finally breaking the seal. However, the soul within had slumbered for far too long, and even with the seal broken, it was too late to awaken. Thus, the two were destined never to see each other one last time.

"Good man!! No...no...good man, don't die...Abachio doesn't want good man to die..."

Abagio, who was standing next to him, finally came to his senses from the sudden change. He knelt down beside him, crying, and used his hands, which were unable to touch solid objects, to cover the wound on Abagio's chest.

"Ye Wang..." Asakura Yoh, who had finally calmed down, walked over at this moment, looked down at Ye Wang, his expression indescribable, opened his mouth as if to speak, but did not utter a single word.

"Yo Asakura..." Yoh turned his head slightly to look at Yo Asakura, his tone still icy, "Your naiveté will make you regret it one day."

Having said that, he no longer waited for his body to gradually die, but instead actively withdrew his magical power, severing the connection between his body and soul.

In the next instant, a dazzling blade of light streaked across the sky like a shooting star. The moment Ye Wang's soul appeared above his body, it was wiped away by the blade of light like a bubble and vanished without a trace. Without the protection of a physical body, even though his soul was far more resilient than that of an ordinary person, it could not withstand a blade like Ni Lin that could target the soul.

Su Qi had two choices with this strike: one was to devour Ye Wang's soul and use it as nourishment for his reverse scale; the other was to use the Soul Burial skill inherent in the blade to imprison and enslave Ye Wang's soul within the blade. He chose the former.

Thus, Su Qi's journey in this world finally came to an end, and the notification sound indicating that settlement could be completed at any time rang in his mind.

He rejected the idea of ​​leaving immediately and chose to stay for three days. He turned around and saw that everyone had gathered around. When they saw Ye Wang's corpse, their expressions varied.

Dao Lian Dao He is simply an easy way to defeat a great enemy.

Some of the X-LAWS members were elated, some were silent, some were wistful, some were happy and shed tears for their comrades who had died at Ye Wang's hands, some had a hint of confusion in their eyes, while Marco looked up at the sky, his expression a mixture of relief and dazedness, and he shed tears without saying a word.

Anna frowned slightly, her face grim as if displeased; Joan of Arc remained calm, her hands clasped in prayer; Satie lowered her eyes in compassion, her palms raised in prayer; Asakura Yoh looked bewildered and troubled, as if filled with questions, staring at Yoh's face in silence for a long time; Abaci was heartbroken and wept uncontrollably; and Su Qi himself…

Calm, relieved, another hurdle has been overcome, another trial has been completed, another boss has been defeated... There is not much sense of accomplishment, nor can it be called depression, it is just like spending a long time in the past to complete a single-player game that is neither good nor bad, just a little empty.

The troubles in this world aren't over yet...

He immediately erased that insignificant emptiness and rekindled his enthusiasm.

Afterwards, amidst Abacho's sobs, the group briefly discussed the matter and agreed to Yoh Asakura's request, entrusting him with the disposal of Yoh's body, his spirit possession, the pendant he left behind, and Abacho.

Then, Su Qi raised his hand and spoke under everyone's gaze: "Everyone, since most of the world's strongest shamans are here, how about we decide on this year's Shaman King? Let me make it clear beforehand that I personally believe the position of Shaman King belongs to someone as outstanding as myself. Now that I've said my piece, who agrees and who disagrees?"

Chapter 51 2B (Fog)

Shortly afterward, regarding Su's proposal to nominate himself as the Shaman King, the opinions of the attendees, after being compiled and refined, were roughly as follows:

Daohe: "I will resolutely uphold all decisions made by the patriarch; I will unswervingly follow all instructions given by the patriarch. The patriarch is awesome! Anyone who dares to oppose the patriarch, I will smash their dog head in!"

Dao Lian: "In the world of spiritual communication, the strong are supreme. If you wish to become king, defeat me first, then we can talk."

Yoh Asakura: "I, Yoh Asakura, just want a peaceful life, and now I want to be quiet even more."

Anna Kyoyama: "Our Ye said he's determined to get the Shaman King position. If you feel the same way, then let's have a fair and square showdown!"

Satie: "We don't get involved in the conflict. Anyone who wants to be the Shaman King can do it, it doesn't matter."

Gandara and the others: "Lord Shati is right."

Joan of Arc: "I want to punish evil and promote good, and I want world peace, so I want to become the Shaman King."

X-LAWS members: "Jeanne d'Arc is the best!"

Opinions of other psychics who were not present: (omitted)

The absent Pachi people asked, "Who are we? Where are we? What are we here for?"

The opinion of a great soul: "..."

……

After the meeting, those who wanted to compete for the throne of Shaman King fought on the spot at Su Qi's request, and the final winner was undoubtedly Su Qi himself.

The reason why everyone was able to fight against Ye Wang before was because Su Qi, who acted as both a tank and a DPS, kept them at bay. Otherwise, they would have been overwhelmed. Now that the opponent has changed to Su Qi, whose combat power is only slightly inferior to Ye Wang's, and everyone is no longer able to unite to fight against the enemy, it is only natural that they will be defeated in one-sided way.

In just two days after the battle, Su Qi not only mobilized the Taoists, the Asakura family, and the official forces he had allied with, but also took matters into his own hands without any BOSS demeanor, driving out almost all the psychics in Tokyo, making it impossible for the Patch tribe to find anyone to take their tests.

Of these, only a brother and sister who appeared in the original work could give him a little trouble. They piloted a robot called "Golem," which was created by combining mysticism with modern science based on Jewish Kabbalah theory.

The robot possessed 550,000 magical power points, but its attacks were monotonous, and its operator struggled to fully utilize its power, making it no match for Su Qi. After that, he fought the Patch tribe and defeated them all.

Thus, the battle of the psychics collapsed completely as soon as it began. They wanted to fight but couldn't win. Helpless, the Patch tribe could only consult the Great Soul and finally received a divine oracle, which forced them to acknowledge Su Qi's qualifications as the Psychic King.

On the last day of their three-day stay, Su Qi was carried into the deep sea by a super-spirit submarine jointly built by the Patch tribe, arriving at the sunken ruins of the Mu continent.

The final twelve-person duel of the Shaman Wars was originally scheduled to begin here. The loser could then take advantage of the Shaman King candidate's fusion with the Great Soul to choose to attack the defense line formed by the ten priests of the Patch Tribe in order to prevent the candidate from becoming the Shaman King.

However, Su Qi had already taken care of all the other psychics in advance. He was the only psychic to participate in the psychic battle on Mu Continent, so he didn't need to worry about being assassinated by others while merging with the great soul.

Thus, accompanied by the Patch tribe, Su Qi ventured deep into the Mu Continent and arrived at the King's Shrine, where the throne of the Spirit King was located.

The King's Shrine has a spacious interior, including a tropical rainforest. In the center of the rainforest stands a Mayan-style step pyramid, with the throne of the Spirit King placed at the top of the magnificent pyramid.

Although it is called a throne, it is actually just a simple, unadorned throne made entirely of stone, without even armrests.

"Lord Shaman King, the fusion ritual will last approximately ten to twenty hours, with the exact time varying from person to person. During this period, your body will enter a state of suspended animation. Once the fusion is complete, you will completely detach from your physical body and exist as a soul within the Great Soul..."

Completely detached from the physical body... The system determines my death when my body and soul are completely separated. In other words, when I am completely merged with the Great Soul, I will leave this world and return to the system space. Therefore... I may not become the Shaman King...

Su Qi's mind raced, but having read the original novel, he was already prepared for this situation and didn't care.

Even if he can't become the complete Shaman King, the mere act of merging with a great soul could bring him immense benefits. Moreover, when he separates, time in this world will be frozen, and if he has the chance to return in the future, he will still be in the same time and place... Just because he can't become the complete Shaman King now doesn't mean he can't in the future, so even without the benefits of merging with a great soul, he will still strive for the position of Shaman King.

“Lord Shaman King…” Seeing Su Qi’s thoughtful expression, the Patch tribe chief Goldba waited a moment before respectfully saying, “The details of the ceremony have been explained. Is there anything else you wish to instruct us to do?”

"That's enough, you can leave now."

"Yes."

After the Patch tribe left and completely sealed off the King's Shrine, Su Qi walked to the throne, took the skull of the previous Shaman King from the seat, and placed it on the ground beside him.

"All you have to do is sit on the throne and meditate. This ritual is really simple."

As he spoke, he turned around and sat down on the stone seat without any hesitation, ignoring the hard and rough feeling under his buttocks. In the blink of an eye, he calmed down and entered a meditative state.

Soon after, he seemed to hear a sound coming from the deepest part of the earth. The sound was like the sound of ocean waves, the sound of wind, the sound of human voices, the sound of birdsong, the sound of beasts roaring, the sound of rain hitting banana leaves, the sound of flowers blooming, the sound of thunder striking the earth, the sound of a volcanic eruption... All the sounds of heaven and earth, billions of sounds entered his ears at the same time, as if a grand and boundless symphony was playing in his mind.

As the sound grew louder and louder, gradually, when Su Qi came to his senses, he found that his soul had been completely enveloped, touched, and merged with another great soul that seemed boundless and vast like the starry sky.

Immediately afterwards, it was as if a small empty fishpond appeared in the middle of the ocean, with boundless seawater flowing down naturally, and the vast amount of information contained in the great soul also flowed into Su Qi's soul in an endless stream.

In a daze, he seemed to travel through time and space, returning to the very moment when Earth had just formed. He had accompanied this planet on its long journey of over four billion years, finally arriving at this moment…

In a daze, he seemed to transform into soil, into ore, into wind, into light, into clouds and rain, into lightning, into rivers, into mountains, into the sea, into the planet itself, and all things became his body...

In a daze, he seemed to transform into a fish, a bird, a beast, an insect, a plant, bacteria, every person, and all living things on the planet; all creatures became his senses…

In a daze, he seemed to witness countless histories and acquire boundless knowledge. Astronomy, geography, biology, mathematics, mythology, legends, religion, philosophy, art, music, medicine, literature… all the knowledge that had ever existed on this planet was recorded and absorbed into his possession…

In a trance, he felt as if he had merged with a great being. Its immense inspiration radiated in all directions, penetrating the surface of all things to reach their essence; its boundless spiritual power overwrote reality, distorting things and changing the world; its higher-dimensional perspective transcended time and space, seeing the tributaries of the past and future, and glimpsing the laws that wove the world... That was the great soul.

……

After an unknown amount of time, when Su Qi regained consciousness, he found himself standing in a silent, boundless, pure white space.

He closed his eyes, remaining motionless for a long time, savoring the profound aftertaste of his communion with the universe, until the vivid emotions that filled his mind completely subsided into silence, before slowly opening his eyes.

"We've made a fortune..."

After fully sensing the current situation, Su Qi couldn't help but sigh.

This fusion with the great soul brought him roughly four benefits. First, his basic spiritual power increased more than tenfold, which, converted to the Shaman King world's magical power value, would certainly exceed ten million. Second, the insights gained from merging with the great soul and embodying all things and phenomena. While these insights cannot directly enhance his combat power, they will become his foundation, allowing him to create his own skills and learn related martial arts, Taoist techniques, magic, and the like with ease and efficiency.

Secondly, there is knowledge. His personal knowledge did not actually increase much, because that information was imprinted in his great soul, and his current soul could not possibly contain it all; but when he was united with the great soul, the information that flowed through him also left "traces" in his soul, which would evoke impressions when he encountered related things, indirectly enhancing his understanding.

Finally, there's the supernatural power. As his soul strength increased, coupled with the stimulation of a great soul, he discovered that his "pseudo-heavenly eye" had undergone new changes. It seemed that in addition to the basic enhancement of vision and insight, he could directly "read" some information about all things and phenomena, which felt somewhat similar to the appraisal skill in a game.

"It's a pity that it couldn't be fully integrated, and once you enter the system space while in the pending settlement state, you can't go back. Otherwise, you could roll back and try to integrate it a few more times, although the effect might be weakened..."

Su Qi felt a little regretful, but quickly put the thought aside. After all, greed is never enough, and it is a waste of time to fantasize about the impossible.

"Next is the settlement."

He turned to look at the black stone base that represented Shaman King, which now had a silver trophy on it, just like before.

"The material of the trophy is likely related to the completion rating in that world, so is the rating still B this time?"

Su Qi frowned slightly, stepped forward and touched the trophy. The panel, which was basically the same as the last one, immediately popped up. After carefully checking it, he didn't find anything noteworthy, so he directly clicked "Clearance and Settlement".

"The number of times a trial participant has saved their progress is currently being tallied. If the number has not exceeded ten, it will be counted in the evaluation..."

"Trial participant completion rate evaluation in progress..."