Ace's gaze swept across the seven pillars, each shining with dreadful majesty.

None was weaker, and none seemed merciful.

Each pulsed with a profound law power, and he knew no matter which one he chose, there didn't seem to be any 'easy' trial or 'weak' sin as he previously believed.

Still, he knew—this was what he had come for, and to steal from heaven, he had to dare.

"Let's start…" His eyes narrowed, "…with that one."

His figure blurred, and when he stopped, he stood before the ashen pillar, its glyph of clutching claws pulsing faintly.

No… that wasn't the right one. His steps carried him instead to the sapphire pillar, the one etched with a glyph of a weeping mask. But again, he hesitated.

Finally, as if drawn by instinct, he halted before the emerald pillar, the glyph of a coiling serpent etched into its side. Its glow was muted, slow, almost lazy—yet terrifyingly profound.

Finally, he reached out, and the moment Ace laid his palm upon it…

BOOM!

An enormous force struck him, not physical but spiritual. His soul trembled violently, his very existence pressed down as though he were buried beneath the weight of endless mountains.

His breath caught in his chest. His limbs became unbearably heavy, every thought dragging like rusted chains.

Right at that moment, a dark whisper slithered through the darkness…

"Why strive, when decay awaits all?

"Why move, when stillness is easier?

"Why fight, when surrender is bliss?"

The voice resounded like law itself, seeping into every corner of his mind. It was not temptation in the form of lust or greed—it was suffocating inertia—the power to make him stop, to make him do nothing forever.

Thereby, the pillar vanished!

The world around Ace went black. Then, slowly, it rebuilt itself into a strange, alien plane.

He stood in a dead wasteland. The air was stale, unmoving. The ground was gray and cracked, yet not a breath of wind stirred, nor did any sound echo.

It was a world of silence, and above him loomed colossal chains that hung from an unseen sky, their weight pressing down endlessly.

At that moment, the law of Sin again reacted, and Ace regained some clarity, and he realized at that moment, 'This is the Sin of Sloth! Which means this is the Trial of Sloth!'

After realizing the origin of this place, Ace was slightly at ease, yet he had no idea what to do next, and tried to use his thief sense, but he was shocked to find that he couldn't…and at that moment, a strange realization struck him…

"Status!" Ace called, and his status interface opened before him before he sighed in relief, but his expression became grave nonetheless, 'I thought an illusion like that one time in the Union. However, since the system can be called, it doesn't mean that this place is capable of suppressing my primordial abilities, making its origin extremely powerful…'

Ace quickly tried to sense other laws and sighed in relief because he could sense all of them. Still, then his expression turned strange, 'I can naturally feel all my laws, but I can't seem to call them as if they had been put into sleep, except my Order of Darkness…just how powerful was that Ancestor of Profane Chains?!'

Ace was apprehensive yet ecstatic because this law legacy seemed very powerful, and he wanted it even more now.

So, he knew he should focus and took a step forward.

Immediately, the gray wasteland shifted. The ground surged like tar, wrapping around his ankles, trying to glue him in place, startling Ace.

He instantly looked up and saw that the chains seemed to be releasing powerful pressure the moment he took a step, and his expression became solemn.

'Is this the trial of sloth?' Ace narrowed his eyes before he took another step, as that pressure was nothing compared to the Heavenly Punishment.

However, it was just the beginning, as he moved forward, the pressure seemed to be increasing without limit, and soon it reached the level of Heavenly Punishment.

Ace finally became serious, as this was the first time he felt such pressure, but it was still not enough to stop him, especially with his universal physique.

But again, his optimism didn't last long, as after around a thousand steps, the pressure seemed to reach the Heavenly Law Punishment grade!

As he continued, for the first time in his cultivation journey, he felt his body extremely heavy under that chain-law pressure, and it wasn't because of Heavenly Punishment!

At that moment, Ace finally realized that even if he could endure the Ascension Kings' pressure, the existence that transcended the Ascension State probably crushed him like an ant!

But Ace still didn't stop as he felt it was against his pride to give up in this law legacy of some past remnant who probably wasn't even alive. He's the Heaven's Stealer!

"Ughh!" At that moment, he growled, straining against the pressure as Ace was now really struggling with disbelief written all over his face. Every movement felt like dragging his own corpse at this point.

Right at that moment, the strange whisper returned…

"Rest. Wait. All things will fade. Struggle only hastens the inevitable…"

At that moment, Ace felt his eyelids grow heavy as his usually sharp mind fogged. For the first time in his life, he felt his unyielding will slipping away.

"No…" Ace bit his tongue, regaining his senses. Yet, he was no longer arrogant or confident since this trial seemed to be an actual trial that he couldn't overcome with his overpowered characteristics.

Furthermore, it was the first time he had encountered something like that, so he wanted to see how far he could go on his own.

How much he had grown since that day, he admonished Heaven knowingly that it was his own incompetence, and blaming Heaven for everything was just a way for mortals to hide behind their own insecurities, yet that day he gained the system, and everything changed!

Ace couldn't help but think of that day at this moment for some reason, as if all his insecurities were coming back, rushing under the pressure of those strange chains.

At that moment, he gritted his teeth and muttered, "This isn't…me!"

As if reacting to his will, the Order of Darkness flared faintly…but it could not banish the weight.

The Law of Sin protected his soul from corruption, yes—but this was not corruption. This was negation. It was the pure essence of Sloth…the power to erase drive, to halt ambition, to drown willpower in stillness!

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