"Cross-Eyed Dog Head is fascinating. His Fate Grid isn’t the best, his Fate Skill isn’t the strongest, and his Qi Fortune isn’t the greatest, yet somehow, he always manages to choose the right path."
But Guo Xiang said, "It’s no coincidence. His mind is clear, and his inferences are correct. The Three Difficulties in an ordinary Life Play are mostly a contest of Fate Skills, but this time, Flower-Seeking Master Liuu’s trials are testing long-term and big-picture thinking. Whether a difficulty or a joy, everything is interlinked. The others, though more powerful than him, got stuck on the narrow-minded idea that ’a Fate Master’s trials only test Fate Skills.’ They tried to brute-force their way through with their skills, which only backfired."
"So, this trial is a bit more than we anticipated. We originally thought it was just testing the Fate Skills of Lower-Grade Fate Masters, but we never expected it to involve the Great Trend Formations used by Middle-Grade Fate Masters."
"That’s Flower-Seeking Master Liuu for you, always so... stimulating. He really knows how to scratch an itch," Liu Laohu said with a slight cough.
「Inside the Fate Box.」
Everyone looked at the Second Joy. Having learned from the first round, they all made their choices quickly.
This time, Li Qingxian chose to get acquainted with an Alchemist. He traded the Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng he had acquired for a variety of Lower-Grade Treasure Medicines and struck a deal: after the Alchemist used the ginseng for refining Ten Deaths Life-Extending Pills, he would receive one of the pills.
With these various Treasure Medicines, the Destiny Gentleman began to strengthen his physique, his power increasing steadily.
Seven days later, the Alchemist successfully refined four Ten Deaths Life-Extending Pills—two more than anticipated—and so he gave two to the Destiny Gentleman.
With this success, a new line of text quietly appeared in the life record on the light screen behind the Destiny Gentleman: *He cultivates diligently, using medicine to compensate for his weaknesses, and has now entered the ranks of third-rate masters of his grade.*
The other four injured participants had no choice but to each use one All-Purpose Jade Pendant to move to a later tile, where they obtained Top-Grade Healing Medicine to recover their strength.
Of the six people present, only Li Qingxian and Panda Head still had four All-Purpose Jade Pendants hanging from their waists. The other four each had only a single one remaining.
The other four now looked at Cross-Eyed Dog Head and Panda Head with a new, complex expression.
"The Third Difficulty begins," the Stone Giant Leader announced.
Li Qingxian looked at the ten tiles in front of him.
They were: Deceit in the Village, Demon Race Besieges the City, An Imperial Envoy’s Power Grab, A Gathering of Great Bandits, Falsely Accused, Demon Race Pillage, Arrival of the Demon Sect, Evil Sect Passes Through, Yin Soldiers March, and War Between Two Nations.
Li Qingxian hadn’t expected the Third Difficulty to be so intense.
This time, Li Qingxian looked at the others and saw that their options were mostly the same. However, Panda Head’s tiles shockingly included two extra options: "Treason and Exile" and "Family Destroyed, Home in Ruins."
Li Qingxian smiled uncharitably. ’A classic case of being targeted for having too much good luck.’
’Those last four options are incredibly difficult, but they clearly hold great opportunities. They could be very useful in the third stage. But, as always, can my Destiny Gentleman handle it? And is it worth using an All-Purpose Jade Pendant?’
Li Qingxian thought for a long time before ultimately deciding against using an All-Purpose Jade Pendant.
The Destiny Gentleman leaped, landing on the "Demon Race Besieges the City" tile.
The six participants kept watching one another. Apparently, all of them could see through each other’s Life Mist to view their chosen tiles.
Panda Head, Black Lion Head, and White Deer Head, like Li Qingxian, decided to face the challenge head-on and also chose "Demon Race Besieges the City."
But the other two Fate Masters chickened out, choosing the simplest option: "Demon Race Pillage."
"The Third Difficulty... activate," declared the Stone Giant Leader.
Before the Destiny Gentlemen of Li Qingxian and the other three had even made a move, the tiles in front of the two who had chickened out transformed into intersecting paths.
An identical scene appeared above both of their heads: the two joined forces to venture out, only to be surrounded by a massive horde from the Demon Race and die violent deaths on the spot.
The four remaining Fate Masters glanced at one another.
Then, the tiles before the four Destiny Gentlemen also transformed into paths, intersecting in pairs.
The path of Li Qingxian’s Destiny Gentleman merged with that of Black Lion Head’s, while White Deer Head’s met with Panda Head’s.
Panda Head was taken aback. He shot a surprised glance at Li Qingxian before staring blankly at the new scene unfolding.
Li Qingxian turned his attention to his own Destiny Gentleman.
His Destiny Gentleman was defending the city and fighting bravely. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
The attacking Demon Race forces were ordinary this time; there was no "Arrival of the Three Kings" event.
He then looked at Black Lion Head’s Destiny Gentleman.
Black Lion Head’s Destiny Gentleman seemed destined for conflict. In the beginning, his aggressive style had offended many people.
But his martial arts were so superb that no one could do anything to him.
However, after being injured in the First Difficulty and then again in the Second, his body, though healed, was left with a lingering ailment that slowed his progress.
The people he had offended in the past began to retaliate using both overt and covert means.
Eventually, his enemies succeeded in framing him. He was branded a criminal and exiled to Beisha City.
Filled with resentment, he escaped during his journey into exile, returned to the city, and killed the man who had framed him. Little did he know, the man was the nephew of a Sixth-Grade official in the Ministry of War. The Imperial Court subsequently issued a nationwide arrest warrant for him.
Knowing he was doomed, he fled north, only to be captured by the Demon Race. Forced to ingest a Celestial Worm Pill, he was now under their command, tasked with infiltrating Beisha City to coordinate an attack from within.
One day, during a lull in the defense of the city, Li Qingxian’s Destiny Gentleman was having a meal with two friends—one skilled in Martial Arts, the other in the Alchemy Dao. When Black Lion Head’s Destiny Gentleman happened to pass by, the alchemist friend sensed something was wrong, as the man’s presence caused one of his Treasure Pills to react.
The martial artist friend, who had years of experience fighting the Demon Race, also became suspicious. The three of them decided to secretly tail him.
Black Lion Head sensed he was being followed and tried to flee in a panic, but the three cornered him.
Together, the three of them subdued him.
Black Lion Head’s Destiny Gentleman, thinking back on his past with immense regret, confessed everything. In the end, the Celestial Worm Pill’s backlash activated, and he died, bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
Watching his Destiny Gentleman die a miserable death in a ruined house, the Fate Master behind Black Lion Head sighed. He cupped his hands in a salute to Li Qingxian and said, "Congratulations."
"You honor me," Li Qingxian replied graciously.
Black Lion Head was taken away by a flash of light.
The Third Difficulty continued. As the scene showed the three dealing with Black Lion Head’s body, Li Qingxian took a moment to check on the other pair.
White Deer Head’s and Panda Head’s Destiny Gentlemen were defending a city together. But unlike Beisha City, this one was completely encircled by a Demon Race army ten times as numerous.
The two were forced to fight on the city walls.
One a Literature Cultivator and the other a Daoist Cultivator, they both took positions at the rear, which were relatively safe at first.
As night fell, demon bats and other flying beasts emerged, putting the two in constant peril.
Although White Deer Head’s Destiny Gentleman had a past marked by excessive violence, he had been tempered by many trials and moved with ease on the battlefield.
Panda Head’s Destiny Gentleman, who had scraped through the previous difficulties purely on sheer luck, now faced the Great Trend Formation of a national war, where the effects of luck were drastically diminished.
Panda Head was forced to use his All-Purpose Jade Pendants one after another. Once they were all gone, his Destiny Gentleman lost its protection. He was wounded repeatedly and was finally killed in a sneak attack by a demon.
Meanwhile, White Deer Head’s Destiny Gentleman, constantly honed by the struggle, was still holding firm on the city wall.
Panda Head stared blankly ahead before being taken away by a white light.
Li Qingxian looked back at the scene playing out above his own Destiny Gentleman.
The Alchemist took out the Celestial Worm Pill and used a Daoist Skill to preserve it for another day.
The three returned to the main camp. After making some brief preparations with the County Magistrate and the Beisha General, they had Li Qingxian’s Destiny Gentleman take a fake Celestial Worm Pill and disguise himself as Black Lion Head.
That night, the Destiny Gentleman sent a signal for the Demon Race to provide support.
At the appointed time, chaos erupted in Beisha City’s barbican. The main gate swung open, and the well-prepared forces of the Demon Race charged in.
Beisha City’s ambush was sprung. All manner of Talismans and Battle Poems and Writings Treasures were unleashed. It was a classic "lure them into the urn" followed by "shut the gate and beat the dog" strategy. The human forces slaughtered the Demon Race elites, sending their own morale soaring.
After this battle, the Demon Race’s offensive weakened considerably. Beisha City had new supplies and continued to hold its ground.
Several days later, a new Demon Race army arrived and launched an even more ferocious assault.
Three days later, the barbican fell.
Five days later, the Outer City was breached.
In the streets, Li Qingxian’s Destiny Gentleman, already covered in wounds, was suddenly ambushed by a Seventh-Grade master and gravely injured.