Chapter 269: Kill the Familiar Ones First

Bad news always came without warning, just as nightmares always followed close behind. The moment the light illuminated that beast-like steel face, the powered armor roared to life.

A boiling hiss rose from within. The evil creature batteries in the reaction chamber convulsed violently, wailing as they were brutally squeezed dry, and unleashed another explosive surge of power.

Blazing light erupted from the propulsion engines like a pair of wings as the armor shot forward like a meteor. In the blink of an eye, it arrived right in front of the workshop entrance. Every spirit matter pillar in its path snapped and shattered. Countless streaks of light struck the armor forged from the bones and corpses of aberrants, leaving behind nothing more than shallow scratches.

BOOM!

A greatsword shot from its scabbard and landed in the armor’s hand. As the armored figure rushed forward, the blade swept through the air, tracing a dazzling scarlet arc behind it.

The door, reinforced with layer upon layer of barriers and crystal structures, split open along a deep gash. Then the armored man pivoted and swept the sword sideways.

Another deafening crash rang out as intersecting cracks spread across the door in the shape of a cross. A moment later, the entire structure burst, and fragments went flying all over the place.

With the shrill blare of alarms in the background, “Ji Jue” breached the workshop!

Time taken: two seconds.

***

Outside the simulation, Gustav glanced over with a slightly raised eyebrow. “Why did you send Ji Jue over to him?”

Jiang Tongguang listened contentedly to the long string of Federation profanity pouring from the floating screen, much of it involving Ji Jue’s mother, and nodded in satisfaction. “Hmm? Aren’t they pretty close? I figured I’d give them a chance to get to know each other a little better.”

Gustav stared at him. Jiang Tongguang simply smiled.

Across the countless floating screens, screams and alarms rang out without end. And so, the nightmare began...

***

It was just like refining metal in a furnace. For crude earth and stone to be refined into gold, they had to pass through endless suffering and pain. Without being tempered by reality and adversity, how could anyone tell whether what they were forging was worthless iron or a peerless blade?

The earlier assault by the massive horde of aberrants had been nothing more than an appetizer. Using them as catalysts to push every examinee’s abilities and skills to their limits and gather enough phenomena and data in the process was the only way the examiners could create invaders that brought genuine danger and fear to these self-proclaimed prodigies.

Legend had it that, long before even the Age of Chaos, someone once said, “Let heroes test heroes, and let champions keep champions in check!” Only when rivals fought their own kind did every blow truly cut deep, and only when tryhards tore into other tryhards did it really hurt.

As council members of the Association and the organizers of the examination, Gustav and Jiang Tongguang had long since become masters adorned with countless Gold Badges and powerful figures crowned as Laureates. Naturally, they could not stoop to bullying a bunch of apprentices.

They had reputations to maintain, after all. Massacring a kindergarten or wiping out a nursing home would sound terrible if word got out. Thus, despite Jiang Tongguang’s enthusiastic insistence that he was more than willing to shoulder this important responsibility, Gustav had firmly rejected the proposal.

The opponents best suited to accurately test the examinees’ abilities were, in fact, other examinees. Anyone could answer questions on paper. Anyone could talk big or make themselves sound impressive. But when it came to who was truly stronger, who stood above whom, there was only one way to find out: combat.

The Ember Path had no use for tears or excuses. Only the capable rose to the top. That was the truth craftsmen had always believed in!

Still...

“Who did you arrange to fight Ji Jue?” Jiang Tongguang asked curiously.

Gustav’s expression remained impassive. “Naturally, only the best will go against the best. He thought it was too easy, didn’t he? Then we’ll make things a little harder for him.”

He pointed at the display.

Another thunderous roar erupted across Leafway Island beneath the pouring black rain. Outside the underground base, with a storm-like rumble, endless lightning and mist converged, condensing into a crystalline colossus several meters tall with four arms and three legs. Wherever it passed, rainwater evaporated, and the earth cracked beneath the heat.

“The Lou family’s spirit matter giant, Dragonite.”

From another entrance, a horse loudly neighed through the rain as phantom figures emerged from thin air. Aside from the armor and weapons covering them, the knights and their steeds were all translucent, shrouded in flames and mist like vengeful spirits.

“Northwind Workshop’s sixteen Soul-Hunting Knights, Valhalla.”

And then, beyond another gateway, a solemn statue seemingly sculpted from shadow emerged. Its mere presence distorted gravity and defied common sense, sending countless raindrops and fragments of stone floating into the air, where they spiraled into a vast vortex.

“And finally, the Imperial trueblood’s Throne’s Shadow.”

At that moment, three completely different replicas descended outside the workshop, promptly charging forward and launching a ferocious assault. Feeling those threatening presences rapidly closing in, Ji Jue was at a loss for words as the earth shook, accompanied by deafening crashes. When someone was utterly speechless, sometimes all they could do was laugh.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me...”

Ji Jue sighed helplessly. So they were specifically targeting him now, huh? They weren’t even trying to hide it anymore!

Jiang Tongguang sighed. “You really hate him, don’t you?”

Gustav glanced back coldly. “What makes you say that?”

“Do I really need to spell it out? Eighty-seven points, ninety points, eighty-eight points... Add those three threat ratings together and they’re more than twice his score. Surely you’re not planning to target him this blatantly at the start of the second round and eliminate him outright?”

Gustav shook his head. “He won’t be eliminated. At most, this will put a little pressure on him. Besides, this is a good opportunity to knock some sense into those smug scions of prestigious families, inheritors of ancient legacies, and Imperial truebloods.”

He wanted to give them a reality check, pressure them, and then put them through a little torment.

At the same time, this would let those weaklings who had started complaining and grumbling the moment they were eliminated see for themselves the disparities between themselves and the world, the gulf between the strong and the weak, the difference between themselves and their opponents, and just how vast and despair-inducing that chasm truly was!

***

Inside the simulation within the Myriad Transformations Tower, a vast hall had been set aside for the eliminated examinees.

Those who had been kicked out of the testing grounds were hanging their heads in dejection, seething with resentment, or angrily filing complaints and demanding an explanation from the Association. Countless displays materialized in thin air and unfolded before them, showing the battles and struggles unfolding across the various simulated scenarios.

Before those examinees whose scores had amounted to only single digits, or perhaps twenty or thirty points at most, a new ranking based on the reassessment results appeared.

As the simulation continued to change, the statistics and evaluations began anew. The numbers on the leaderboard shifted once more. Unlike the scores in the lower half, which dropped sharply, or those in the middle ranks, which fluctuated up and down, the numbers at the very top soared.

After the invading apprentices had been cleared out, the score of the candidate in first place doubled in the blink of an eye. And it did not stop there. It continued to climb, slowly but steadily, all amid the suffocatingly brutal siege shown on the floating projection!

The moment Ji Jue sensed the attackers approaching, he promptly decided to activate every defensive system in the workshop.

Mercury surged in torrents, with countless hands emerging. Under Ji Jue’s command, they immediately began carrying out rapid repairs and reinforcement. One blast door after another slammed down, blocking the Throne’s Shadow from advancing straight into the base, while all available firepower shifted toward Valhalla as it charged forward like a resentful phantom.

The armored engine went into overload and rushed ahead at full speed. Ji Jue had taken the initiative and launched a counterattack by charging straight toward the crystalline giant attacking from the other side. After all, if he had to pick a target, he might as well go for the weakest one first.

In a chaotic assault where the attackers’ abilities, specialties, strengths, and weaknesses were all unknown, the first priority was to eliminate as many threats as possible. Whatever the means, he had to cut down the dangers one by one and seize the advantage.

Lou Feng could recognize Ji Jue’s handiwork with his eyes closed, and under the same circumstances, Ji Jue could spot Lou Feng’s familiar style at a glance as well.

They had known each other for long enough, had fought each other to the death and survived life-or-death situations side by side. Aside from the trump cards and techniques they kept hidden from one another, they knew each other inside and out.

Ji Jue had no idea whether Lou Feng was really the easiest target here, but he was definitely the one Ji Jue felt most confident dealing with! They were both craftsmen. Who were they kidding? Of course they’d privately thought about how they would counter each other.

Right, Lou Lou?

BOOM!!!

The corridor wall crumbled with a deafening crash. With the tremendous roar of the propulsion engines, the evil-creature armor burst straight through the wall, but before it even emerged, the blood-red edge of its enormous greatsword had already thrust forward.

Bang!

Sparks flew everywhere.

The crystalline giant raised one arm. Spirit matter surged as crystals rapidly proliferated through the air, spreading around before hardening into a massive shield in front of the blade. Deep cracks spread across the shield as the sword continued forcing its way forward with a piercing screech.

The spirit matter shield exploded, causing the enormous construct to instantly disintegrate into countless gleaming fragments. Innumerable blades swept forward in a raging storm. The construct made from Spirit Morph collapsed!

By disrupting their internal balance and catalyzing them again, the fully formed spirit matter crystals could be made to transform and explode. They could even be given entirely new properties through further qualitative change.

It was like having a bomb go off right under his nose. Arcs of electricity flashed and merged into a torrent, and lightning surged in a violent wave, mingling with innumerable razor-sharp crystal shards and swallowing Ji Jue whole.

Then, just as suddenly, it all scattered as a wave of repulsive force burst outward.

The blessing of the Repulsion Foundation manifested along the elongated arm. Like a reef splitting an incoming tide, it tore straight through the onrushing lightning and shockwave. Then one arm after another shot forward, pursuing the crystalline giant like shadows glued to its heels, refusing to let it widen the distance between them.

Lou Feng had practically grown up using Spirit Morph. He was so thoroughly familiar with it that even without the ability itself or the matrix, he could still reproduce and utilize its effects through alchemy. Aside from Ascension, the Supreme Benevolence most compatible with Spirit Morph was Entropy.

If Ji Jue allowed him to open up the distance, then once the other attackers arrived, this brat would probably kite him to death.

“You’re already here. Why are you running?”

The evil creature’s arm extended, crossing dozens of meters in an instant. Its blade-like claws raked across the spirit matter giant, leaving a deep gash behind.

The giant reacted just as quickly. It raised its hollow arm, and a searing jet of spirit matter burst forth like a blade, sweeping sideways and forcing the evil creature’s claw back.

By then, it realized it had been driven into a dead end of the corridor. There was nowhere left to move. It had no way out!