After Yasenia waited for the general to set up things, she saw seven people stepping forward. These seven people didn't look much different from the others. They wore full-body armor, hiding everything within a layer of metal.
The general then looked down at Yasenia and spoke. "Fight them."
"Huh?" Yasenia was confused. "I just killed several billion of them. Are you sure that seven of them are even enough?"
The general nodded faintly. "You can obviously kill them. However, give it a try. You will be surprised."
The dragoness was skeptical, but she did as the man said. Of course, to check their strength properly, Yasenia didn't bother using any buffs or intents.
She charged forward, her body carrying incredible momentum. Then, as she was approaching, she saw the seven move as if they were a single entity.
Power surged around them, while their combined strength fused and was enhanced. After their aura transformed, their speed increased, keeping up with the dragoness.
Yasenia's eyes shone with interest and flashed with her bodily strength. If they couldn't even resist one of her full-strength sword slashes without any buffs on her, the Battle Formation would be quite lacking in Yasenia's opinion.
Unlike what she expected, the first of the seven blocked the sword head on. Moreover, as her sword clashed with his and pushed him back, the other six jumped into action.
Two of them released their energy, increasing the strength of the individual clashing with her. The other four surrounded her, slashing at her simultaneously from four angles.
All of this happened in less than an instant, surprising Yasenia. "Not bad."
Pushing the person clashing with her back by following through with her slash, Yasenia quickly retaliated towards those four. Two attackers clashed with her head-on, Draheart easily blocking them. In the meantime, the other two approaching from behind suffered Yasenia's swift and agile tail strikes.
Simultaneous tail hits to the leg, waist, and hand immobilized those two and disarmed them. Then, using this opportunity, Yasenia grabbed the ankle of one of those two with her tail and pulled him towards her.
Tyrannical strength forced the soldier ahead, placing him at a perfect distance for a back kick.
The dragoness didn't lose the opening. After a very swift backstep to gather extra momentum, Yasenia's long leg shot upward like a spear, clashing against the man's helmet.
BOOM!!
The man's head exploded, unable to resist the terrifying bodily strength the dragoness possessed. With one dead, the Battle Formation's effectiveness was reduced, and Yasenia did quick work of the other six.
After she finished the battle, Yasenia pondered and frowned. "It's… mediocre. They were just more coordinated and gained a bit more strength. I admit, their strength was similar to a recently upgraded Transcendence Realm cultivator. Nevertheless, the second I picked off one of them, everything collapsed."
The general nodded, agreeing with Yasenia's views. Then, he smiled faintly. "These seven only used the passive buffs of the Battle Formation."
"Oh?" Yasenia blinked. "There is more?"
"Of course. Something as simple as this wouldn't be called [Immortal Big Dipper Battle Formation]."
Interest shone in Yasenia's eyes again. "Okay. Let's go at your rhythm then. Come!"
Seven people rushed toward Yasenia again. This time around, though, they didn't rush forward like before. The one at the front gathered energy, a very faint image of the Big Dipper constellation shining under their foot. Then, he waved his sword at her from a distance.
The general spoke the technique's name. "[Big Dipper Onslaught]."
Yasenia slashed with Draheart, using [Celestial Sunder].
BOOM!!
Both attacks collided, [Celestial Sunder] breaking the other side's attack and rushing forward. Even then, it was very weakened. These people then, moving as if they had one mind, placed their swords horizontally in front of them.
"[Big Dipper Cradle]."
A white wall appeared in front of them, blocking Yasenia's [Celestial Sunder] for the most part before it pierced through and blasted the seven people flying with light injuries.
Even then, Yasenia's eyes were wide open. "That was incredible."
You must remember that these were mortal cultivators. Even when their strength was at the peak of the mortal realms, Yasena's raw [Celestial Sunder] was enough to kill 10,000 of them. Now, just seven managed to block such an attack with light injuries.
What would happen if Yasenia used this formation together with another six immortals of her level? The result would be appalling, to say the least.
Yasenia nodded, her interest successfully piqued. "That was great. I wouldn't say that it was extraordinary, but I can understand its strength."
The general's smile didn't disappear as he commented with a laugh. "This is what you can do with just one of the seven parts of the Battle Formation."
This time, Yasenia's eyes involuntarily widened as he turned to look at the over-two-meter-tall man. "You are joking. This is the power it can produce with just one section?"
"Yes. Moreover, this is a Battle Formation. You didn't really expect that only seven people could participate in it, right?"
Yasenia then saw the army in the distance moving. Seven people joined together, and then those seven joined with other seven groups in the same formation. These groups once again joined together, and soon, 823,543 cultivators had managed to create a giant seven-layered Immortal Big Dipper Battle Formation!
"Attack."
The general ordered, and Yasenia felt a sense of threat. She still didn't choose to use her buffs, but even then, her face was serious.
[Big Dipper Onslaught] gathered before the group of almost one million people, and then, a gargantuan crescent made out of pure Star Elemental energy sliced across the world.
Its width was over 10 kilometers, and the strength behind it was enough to rival a full-powered attack of a Transcendence Realm cultivator.
Yasenia raised her hand. "[Celestial Aegis]."
A layered giant shield manifested in front of Yasenia. The Celestial Energy shield's sturdiness went without saying. Even then, the second the Big Dipper Onslaught struck, the dragoness' expression changed as her body was blown back for over a kilometer.
While she was mostly unharmed, Yasenia's heart was full of rising waves. "That was equal to a full-strength attack for a peak, first-level Transcendence Cultivator with an Intent Domain…"
The general landed by her side and asked, his voice laced with a hint of amusement. "What do you think? Is this good enough?"
Yasenia snorted at him. "You already know the answer. Are you somewhat hurt that I didn't trust it at first, and now you want to rub it in my face?"
"Yes. I want you to say that you were wrong." The tall general smirked and shrugged.
Yasenia sighed. "Alright. My bad. I underestimated it." Looking at the giant battle formation in the distance, Yasenia asked curiously. "How many layers can it have? I see seven layers right now."
The general commented. "From what I know, seven should be the limit."
"Even when you gather it entirely?"
The general emphasized. "Especially when you gather all seven parts. After all, the Battle Formation is an intricate mix of many elements that need perfect coordination. That's why each node of the formation that you lose is equivalent to losing 60% of its current power."
Yasenia hummed. "It's still good enough. If these were one million Level One Transcendents instead of peak-level mortals, the effects might be enough to rival a first-level Seventh Realm cultivator, right?"
"Of course not." The general quickly denied it. "With level ones, you would be able to fight against a Level 8 or 9 Transcendence Realm cultivator. You are underestimating the power of a Law Creator. You'd need a complete inheritance, seven layers, and Transcendents at least in the fourth level or above to fight a Seventh Realm cultivator."
Yasenia hummed. "Well, it's powerful enough. I've seen similar battle formations in the past, and this one doesn't lose out. However, those formations needed fewer individuals. Filling all seven layers for this one is too difficult."
The general agreed. "Even then, do not forget that the Battle Formation gives you the ability to share damage as long as it doesn't exceed a threshold. Your kick killed that mortal when you fought because your strength is ridiculous. Otherwise, the damage would've spread among all seven of them."
"Killing them all?" Yasenia teased with a smirk.
The general snorted. "Either way, what do you think? Are you more motivated now?"
"I was motivated even before this." Yasenia added. "Is there a test later that will allow me to kill them?"
"Why? Do you have a grudge against them?"
Yasenia hummed. "More than a grudge… I just don't want the outside world to know I have part of this Battle Formation. Moreover, killing them would do a favor to the world."
The general chuckled. "I can't tell you much about the trials. It is against the rules."
Yasenia's eyes flashed, and she asked. "Then, answer this question. Would your answer involve the trial if I ask in which trial I would have the chance to kill another participant?"
The man looked at Yasenia, unable to answer. Yasenia chuckled. "This confirms that there is indeed a trial where I can kill others."
If he answered "no," it meant that the question had nothing to do with the trial. Therefore, there would be no sections where she could kill others. Nevertheless, if he couldn't answer, that meant that the answer was "yes," therefore involving the trials.
Of course, there was the option that the man was just keeping silent, but according to his personality, Yasenia could tell that he would've answered if he could.
"Either way." The general spoke. "The reward for defeating me is this key."
Yasenia picked the golden key in his hand with curiosity. "Hm… What is this for?"
"That's for you to discover," the general answered with a smirk. "Aren't you very intelligent? Deduce it then."
The dragoness deadpanned. If she could deduce without any information, that was not deduction, that was precognition!
"Now. Go fight."
"Eh?"
Yasenia then saw all the soldiers start forming Seven-Layered Immortal Big Dipper Formations all around the place. The dragoness's face changed as she cursed at the trial. "It has gone from army decimation to facing several Transcendence Level armies at the same time… Isn't this a bit too perverted?"
The dragoness unleashed her auras and then rushed forward to fight.
What the general didn't tell her was that there was a hidden difficulty setting. Each layer belonged to one layer of difficulty. Therefore, Yasenia fighting the army of Seven Layered Battle Formations was a hidden benefit.
In the meantime, the others were fighting against two and three-layered formations. And even then, they were struggling.
At the end, Yasenia's score managed to increase by another few billion, but her ability to kill became much more "normal-paced" compared to before.
Even then, she crushed the others by almost two digits by the end of the trial.