Douluo: Martial Soul Seven Kill Sword, The Sword Opens Heaven's Gates

The captain of the guards stepped forward, his expression stern. "We are soldiers; we wouldn't stoop to such petty acts."

"Hongyang City is under martial law. Without proper travel documents, no one is allowed to enter or leave the city. Remember, no exceptions—no matter who you are, even if you're the son of a duke!"

With Ning Tianchen present, everyone wasn't particularly worried about this situation.

Before Ning Tianchen could say anything, Chen Huayu and Oscar volunteered. "Boss (Tianchen), we know what to do. Leave it to us."

With that, the two hopped off the carriage.

No further explanation was needed—Ning Tianchen could already guess what they were planning to do. He shook his head helplessly with a sigh.

These two were bound to learn a lesson for their recklessness.

Ning Rongrong blinked curiously and couldn't help but ask, "Big Brother Tianchen, did you give them the travel documents?"

Ning Tianchen shook his head.

Unable to hold back her laughter, Yu Die snickered, "Then what do they think they're doing? Going down there to get beaten up?"

"Maybe they have another method," Zhu Zhuqing, who was usually quiet, added with a faint smile.

Outside the carriage, the two approached the guard captain with smiles on their faces.

Unaware of their group's background, the guard captain instinctively took a step back as they drew near.

At the same time, the vigilant city guards tightened their spears and closed in, narrowing the encirclement.

Oscar and Chen Huayu quickly raised their hands, still smiling. "Oh, please don't misunderstand. We mean no harm."

Seeing that they didn't make any further moves, Oscar continued, "We've come from Tiandou City. This trip is to conduct some business in the southern part of the empire. It's getting late, so we'd like to rest in Hongyang City for the night—that's all."

As he spoke, Oscar exchanged a glance with Chen Huayu, who understood immediately. Smiling, he retrieved a pouch of gold soul coins from his soul-guiding device.

"Brothers, this is a small token of appreciation for your drinks. Please let us pass—we're just travelers with no ill intentions."

The guard captain's eyes narrowed sharply as he swung his spear and shouted sternly, "Spies from the enemy nation! Seize them!"

The two were momentarily stunned, baffled by the captain's strange logic.

After all, guards in other cities would eagerly collect hefty entrance fees to line their pockets. How could the guards of Hongyang City be so incorruptible?

Even so, how could offering a bribe equate to being spies from an enemy nation?

What they didn't know was that the current guards of Hongyang City had been replaced by battle-hardened veterans who had fought on the front lines for years. Moreover, a supervisory squad was stationed nearby, keeping a close eye on them. How could the guard captain dare to accept their bribe?

Furthermore, during wartime, bribing soldiers with money, regardless of the amount, was considered espionage. If the bribe was accepted, both parties would be treated as accomplices—who would dare take the risk!

On the carriage, Ning Tianchen wasn't surprised by this turn of events.

"Tianchen, do you have the travel documents?" Feng Xiaotian couldn't help but ask. "If not, we'll inevitably have to clash with these soldiers."

Outside the carriage, Oscar quickly explained, "You've misunderstood. We're from Tiandou City, not spies from the enemy nation."

The guard captain's gaze turned murderous, ignoring Oscar's words entirely!

Just as the soldiers' spears were about to press against their necks, Ning Tianchen lifted the carriage curtain and tossed the travel document to the guard captain.

Upon seeing the words on the document, the guard captain immediately shouted, "Stand down! Let them through!"

The soldiers obeyed without hesitation, swiftly retracting their spears and standing at attention.

The guard captain glanced at the carriage and then instructed one of the soldiers to return the document to Ning Tianchen.

Without further ado, under his command, the city gates slowly opened, allowing Ning Tianchen and his group to pass through.

"Finally, we're saved," Oscar sighed in relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

He couldn't understand why Ning Tianchen's bribes always worked wonders, but when he tried it, it fell flat.

"Get back in the carriage," Ning Rongrong urged.

The carriage entered the city, and the gates behind them closed once more.

Inside the carriage, Chen Huayu asked awkwardly, "Boss, was our bribe too small earlier? Why didn't it work?"

"Do you think everyone's a worthless drunkard?" Yu Die sneered. "The guards here are battle-hardened veterans, not ordinary city guards."

Feng Xiaotian added, "Military discipline is strict—they generally won't accept bribes. Even if they do, it's done collectively. You gave them a few dozen gold soul coins. If the captain had accepted it, after sharing with his superiors and dividing it among the soldiers, he'd end up with barely a single coin."

"So, you should understand—he wouldn't break military discipline for such a paltry sum."

Of course, if the amount had been large enough, that might have been a different story.

Many commoners joined the army not only to earn military merit by killing enemies on the battlefield but also to plunder wealth from enemy lands after victory.

The constant conflicts between the Tiandou and Star Luo Empires weren't just at the national level—even civilians living in border regions clashed almost every day.

Ultimately, it all boiled down to the fact that both armies would loot the enemy's territory after winning battles. Unless this practice changed, the borders would never see peace.

After a pause, Ning Tianchen scolded them, "You need to know who you're bribing—not everyone can be bought. You two only learned the superficial tricks. Study more carefully in the future."

The two chuckled awkwardly, retreating to a corner of the carriage and remaining silent.

Not long after, the carriage stopped in front of a building within the city.

From the outside, it looked more like the headquarters of a merchant guild. Upon closer inspection, however, its doors were tightly shut.

After disembarking, Ning Tianchen scanned the street.

This building was located at the intersection of two blocks. From the windows upstairs, one could overlook the conditions of both streets.

Such a location was undoubtedly ideal for gathering intelligence.

Ning Tianchen confirmed in his mind—this was the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's base in Hongyang City.

Retrieving a key from his soul-guiding device, he unlocked the heavy chains, removed them, and the group entered.

"The musty smell is overwhelming," Ning Rongrong complained, covering her nose with a handkerchief, clearly disliking the odor.

Ning Tianchen patted her shoulder gently. "This is the southern part of the empire, where rainy days are common. Besides, no one has lived here for a while."

After a pause, he instructed, "Everyone, let's clean this place up first. We'll likely be staying here for a while."

Chen Huayu frowned in confusion. "Boss, aren't we heading directly to that secret realm?"

Yu Die glared at him. "The intelligence we have is from several years ago. There were reports of evil soul masters lurking near that secret realm. After all this time, whether those evil soul masters are still there is unknown."

"Now that we have a stable base, we can gather intelligence tomorrow."

Ning Tianchen took over the conversation. "There's a practical issue now—Hongyang City is under martial law. Even though we have travel documents, we can't enter and exit the city multiple times."

After all, they didn't know any high-ranking officers in the army stationed here, nor did they have connections. The likelihood of being allowed to act freely was slim.

Moreover, intelligence-gathering activities were inherently suspicious. If they were mistaken for spies from the Star Luo Empire, it would bring significant trouble.

Ning Rongrong sneezed and then suggested, "Let's stay here tonight and leave the city early tomorrow. We'll find a safe spot outside the city to use as a temporary base and then investigate the secret realm."

"Sounds good," everyone agreed with her proposal.

---

As night fell, after tidying up the rooms, Ning Tianchen arranged for everyone to retire to their respective quarters.

Inside his room, Ning Tianchen sat cross-legged on the bed.

He wasn't resting but meditating.

Lately, with so many affairs to handle, he had spent less time cultivating, causing his soul power to barely break through to level seventy-six. He still had a long way to go before reaching the rank of Title Douluo.

Late at night, he suddenly ended his cultivation state, opened his eyes, and the blood-red Asura mark on his forehead began to glow with a crimson light.

The light spread across every corner of the room, as if immersing it in a sea of blood.

After a moment, a majestic voice echoed in his mind.

"The second trial of the Asura: penetrate through layers of obstacles and enter the Abyssal Cavern. Inside the cavern lies immense danger—you must survive and solve the puzzles left within. Time limit: six months. Upon completion, your reward will be an increase of ten thousand years to all your soul rings and a ten percent boost to your Asura affinity."

"Failure in the trial results in death!"

As the voice in his mind faded, Ning Tianchen immediately rushed out of his room.

At the same time, Ning Rongrong, who had received her second trial from the Light God, also burst out of her room.

Their eyes met briefly, and in that instant, they understood each other's situation.

After a pause, Ning Tianchen led Ning Rongrong into the room to analyze the content of the trial.

Ning Tianchen spoke first, expressing his thoughts. "This trial is divided into three parts."

"First, we need to break through the defenses of the evil soul masters and enter the Abyssal Cavern."

"Second, we must survive in the Abyssal Cavern for a period of time. I believe this Abyssal Cavern is likely the secret realm we are supposed to visit on this trip."

"The third part is what puzzles me the most—I'm not sure what kind of puzzle we need to solve."

Ning Rongrong agreed with his analysis.

Completing these three parts within six months was tight, especially the puzzle-solving portion, which they had no clue about.

"Perhaps once we enter, we'll discover what kind of puzzle we need to solve," Ning Tianchen added.

He felt uneasy as well.

The god trial was too time-sensitive, and the consequences of failure were dire.

After a moment of silence, Ning Rongrong slowly spoke. "Big Brother Tianchen, if that secret realm is called the Abyssal Cavern, it should be some kind of cave-like terrain, right? But when I asked Father, the disciple who escaped from there said it was a canyon, not a cavern."

Ning Tianchen thought for a moment and replied, "There are two possibilities. First, the disciple may have encountered some terrifying entity inside, causing him mental trauma and even making him forget his original experience."

"Second, the place he entered might not be the relic itself but rather the entrance to the Abyssal Cavern."

"Either way, this journey will be extremely dangerous for us. We know far too little about the Abyssal Cavern, and all the risks involved are unpredictable."

Ning Rongrong's mouth dropped open, her expression turning serious.

After a long while, she finally spoke. "Big Brother Tianchen, this journey is too dangerous. Maybe we should let everyone return. This is our trial—it shouldn't put others in harm's way."

Ning Tianchen shook his head. "This time, we must be selfish! For the third part, the more people we have, the greater the chance of solving the puzzle. With just the two of us, six months probably won't be enough."

"Of course, for everyone else, this could also be an opportunity. A place chosen by a god for a trial is inherently special—perhaps others might also receive a god trial."

Ning Rongrong's gaze flickered uncertainly.

For the others, this was indeed an excellent opportunity for training, and they might even gain a god trial. However, due to the confidentiality and uniqueness of the god trials, the two of them couldn't possibly reveal the situation to the others.

Allowing everyone to enter such a perilous place without their knowledge made Ning Rongrong feel deeply uneasy.

Ning Tianchen pulled her into his arms and softly reassured her. "When we entered the depths of the Great Northern Ice Plains before, the dangers were also uncontrollable. But didn't we persevere then?"

"I think even if everyone knew how dangerous it would be, they'd still choose to come with us. Perhaps for them, this is their only chance to encounter a god trial—and we need to help them seize that opportunity."

After much persuasion, Ning Rongrong's mindset gradually shifted.

She leaned against Ning Tianchen, feeling the warmth she had missed for so long.

---

Early the next morning

As Ning Tianchen and Ning Rongrong walked out of their rooms together, they happened to run into Chen Huayu!

"Oh~ Boss, did you guys do that?" Chen Huayu teased, deliberately dragging out his tone.

Instantly, the attention of the others turned toward them.

Ning Rongrong's face flushed red, and she hid behind Ning Tianchen, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

Ning Tianchen cleared his throat. "Ahem, what are you thinking? We were discussing cultivation matters!"

"What kind of cultivation?" Oscar wiggled his eyebrows mischievously and pressed further.

Yu Die covered her face and giggled softly. "We're all adults here. If there's nothing to hide, why not just admit it openly?"

Ning Tianchen didn't know how to respond.

As for what actually happened last night, perhaps only the two involved would ever know.

Feng Xiaotian chuckled lightly and changed the subject. "Let's hurry up and get ready—we still have a mission ahead. Also, when we leave the city, we can ask around for information. It's better than going in blind."

Ning Tianchen's eyes lit up.

The Abyssal Cavern must have existed for a long time. The locals, living here generation after generation, would likely have legends or stories about it.

---

There were few pedestrians on the streets. Due to the war, many patrols of guards roamed the city.

Ning Tianchen's group were outsiders, and the locals were wary of them. Finding someone to ask for information wasn't easy.

"How about we split up?" Oscar suggested.

"No."

Ning Tianchen and Feng Xiaotian responded simultaneously.

"There are many guard patrols watching us. If we split up and wander aimlessly, we'll cause trouble for ourselves."

The two empires were at war, and they didn't want to add unnecessary burdens to the soldiers guarding the city.

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