Chapter 144
Chapter 144
Whoosh!
The moment his figure vanished into the vortex, Zhou Ming’s surroundings shifted. He appeared inside a blue space with no other contestants nearby. Apparently, the trial had to be completed alone.
Ding!~
[System Notification: Trial Stage One. Defeat a phantom representing the average strength of your tier! (Your final score will be based on the time taken to defeat the phantom and the HP lost during battle.)]
Zhou Ming looked up. Ten meters ahead, a blue phantom condensed into being.
[Trial Phantom] (War Soul Grade)
Level: 80
HP: 1,500,000
Attack: 28,700-30,600
Defense: 16,100-17,200
Skills: [Super Combo] [Super Heavy Strike] [Super Berserk] [Super Tenacity] [Blade of Destruction]
Description: This is a phantom.
…
A Level 80 War Soul-grade boss!
Without a doubt, Zhou Ming’s Perfect Disguise had even fooled the trial space.
As soon as the phantom finished taking shape, it gripped its sword and charged at Zhou Ming.
Soul Plunder!
Baptism by Fire!
To keep any outside observers from noticing anything unusual, Zhou Ming wielded the spear dropped by the evil flying insect. Without giving anything away, he concentrated the power of Heavenrend at its tip and thrust.
Shnk!!
The Trial Phantom could not defend itself at all. The spear punched straight through its chest.
The explosive flames continued onward, blasting more than a hundred meters into the distance.
-775,126! (Critical Hit)
In the past, that strike probably would have killed the phantom outright. Unfortunately, his current weapon left much to be desired.
When the phantom tried to counterattack, Zhou Ming immediately used the technique he had just learned. Flames seemed to burn within his eyes, giving him a frightening air.
Ding!~
[System Notification: You have used the skill [Soul Refinement] to launch a mental attack against the Trial Phantom, inflicting Stun for 4 seconds!]
With both Suppression and Stun locking it down, Zhou Ming thrust several more times. He was not particularly comfortable with spears, but he still won without losing a single point of HP.
“Once I forge my divine weapon, I should hurry up and claim the first kill on a War Soul-grade boss too,” Zhou Ming mused.
More than a month had passed since he claimed the first kill on a Radiant-grade boss.
No one had taken the War Soul-grade first kill since then for two reasons. First, Zhou Ming had already been far ahead of every other player when he killed the Radiant-grade boss. Second, actual War Soul-grade bosses were all above Level 100. A Level 80 specimen like this phantom simply could not be found anywhere on the Destiny Continent.
Ding!~
[System Notification: Trial Stage Two. Awaken from the illusion as quickly as possible! (Your final score will be based on the time taken to break free of the illusion.)]
The trial offered no time to rest. The second stage began immediately.
Zhou Ming’s vision blurred.
Before he knew it, he stood in a room filled with the fragrance of rouge. On the bed lay a beautiful woman wearing little more than a few scraps of fabric over her most private places. Her watery eyes gazed at Zhou Ming with unmistakable desire.
“Hey, handsome~”
The alluring woman slipped the garment from her shoulder and gave him a sultry look, her voice soft and enticing. “Come on. Let’s get wild…”
Shnk!
Before she could finish, Zhou Ming could no longer restrain himself. He approached with his hard weapon in hand.
One thrust, straight into her vital point!
The spearhead entered between her brows and blew her head apart!
Someone with weaker mental fortitude might indeed have been misled, forgotten that they were inside an illusion, and surrendered to her embrace. Zhou Ming, however, had twice drunk the fine wine Ning Wushen gave him. On top of that, Soul Refinement granted +50% Mental Resistance. Even inside the illusion, his mind remained perfectly clear.
Ding!~
[System Notification: Trial Stage Three. Create an original B-Rank skill or higher within three days! (Your final score will be based on the time taken to create the skill and its rank.)]
Create an original skill?
Zhou Ming was not intimidated in the slightest.
This test would probably give an ordinary person an enormous headache, but he was the exception!
Ding!~
[System Notification: You have used the skill [Return to Ruin] and entered the Return to Ruin state. While in this state, all other skill cooldowns and costs are reduced to zero, and all activation penalties are negated. Duration: Unlimited! (Note: This state will end upon entering combat.)]
Practice made perfect. Zhou Ming immediately considered Heaven-Slaying Sword Qi, the exclusive skill created when he bound Rending Slash to Defy the Heavens and advanced it.
[Heaven-Slaying Sword Qi] (Exclusive S Rank)
Description: With the edge of sword qi, sunder the heavens and split the earth.
Skill Effect: Unleashes sword qi, dealing damage equal to 300% of your Attack to all enemy units within a 20 x 200 area. Affected enemies lose 0.5% of their Max HP per second and suffer -50% Movement Speed for 5 seconds.
Cooldown: 20 seconds
…
Heaven-Slaying Sword Qi truly shone when used against powerful enemies.
Its percentage-based HP drain had also been one of Zhou Ming’s trump cards when he defeated Flame Giant King!
The greatest flaw of Heaven-Slaying Sword Qi was that it had no additional effects. Its direct damage, by contrast, was hardly important.
Fwoom!
Zhou Ming put away his spear, then gathered fire elements into a sword with his bare hands.
Creating an original skill was by no means the same thing as combining other skills. Those skills could only serve as references. Zhou Ming wanted to know whether he could transform Heaven-Slaying Sword Qi using nothing but his own accumulated insight, without borrowing from any other technique!
“Why does it have to take the form of sword qi?”
Zhou Ming lightly ran a finger along the blade and pondered for a long time. Inspiration flashed in his eyes as an idea came to him. “I still have to personally release the sword qi. The skill’s greatest advantage is its percentage-based damage. That 300% damage multiplier isn’t important in itself!”
…
Outside the trial space, the dragons and Dragon Domain soldiers could observe what was happening within.
The blue mirror could only display a limited selection of images, however, and everyone’s attention remained fixed on Submit and Perish. Cries of amazement erupted from time to time.
As the Eastern Region’s third-place finisher in Pinnacle Showdown, he had plenty of remarkable methods and naturally possessed his own unique strengths.
“The Dragon Soul Mage truly is a class seen only once in a century!” Sacred Dragon of Light · Cork said in admiration as he stroked his beard. “Not only is he nearly unrivaled among his peers, his mental strength is exceptional as well!”
A nearby dragon said, “It seems first place in this Dragon Domain trial can only belong to him!”
“Indeed!”
Cork fully agreed.
Dragons were proud by nature, but they respected the strong.
They would not object to such an outstanding talent forming a contract with one of their children.
Whoosh!
At a certain moment, the man named Rod emerged from the trial space.
The entire trial had only three stages. It had been rather easy.
“Hm?”
Cork stared at Zhou Ming and frowned.
“Is something wrong, my lord?” Zhou Ming’s heart skipped a beat. He thought Cork had noticed something amiss.
“Young man, you’re the first person to be eliminated!” Cork shook his head. “As a Dragon Warrior, you performed even worse than the Dragon Domain soldiers. What a disappointment!”
Zhou Ming was speechless.
Eliminated?
Wait, I cleared the whole thing!
“What a scrub!”
“Even I could’ve done better!”
“How did someone at his level ever get promoted to Dragon Warrior?”
…
Boos sounded from every direction.
Rod’s performance had thoroughly disgraced the Dragon Warriors.
“Go home and reflect on yourself. Learn how wide the gap is between you and a true genius!” Cork pointed sternly at the blue mirror.
Zhou Ming turned and looked at it. Submit and Perish was on the verge of breaking free from his illusion, his expression shifting between panic and fury. In the end, he gritted his teeth and cast a forbidden spell, obliterating the inner demon named “Zhouyou Shijie” and clearing the second stage.
“Zhouyou Shijie isn’t anything special. Sooner or later, I’ll trample him beneath my feet!” Submit and Perish declared with a haughty smile.
“…”
Zhou Ming said nothing and returned to the crowd to wait.
Smack!
Someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder.
Zhou Ming turned to find a pretty young woman standing behind him. Her name had changed, but her title had given her away.
[Heavy-Armor Warrior · Carter]
“Carter” ground her teeth and asked in a low voice, “Honest, unassuming Rod, did you find the Dwarves?”
…