Chapter 1799: End of the Second Trial!
Chapter 1799: End of the Second Trial!
The guardian had fully adapted to his earlier response. This time, its sword did not simply cut through space. It created multiple overlapping spaces, each one containing a different attack timing. For a normal cultivator, it would have been nearly impossible to identify which attack was real. For Max, it was only troublesome, not fatal.
His Dimensional Sovereign Body saw the entire structure.
He stepped through the first false space.
Cut the second.
Ignored the third.
Then thrust Dragonheart into the fourth, where the real core was hidden.
The guardian froze.
Max twisted the blade.
The core shattered.
[Participant Max Morgan Has Defeated Personal Guardian.]
[Bonus Genesis Flame Awarded.]
At the same time, Ervin’s spear pierced through his own personal guardian, which had tried to interfere in his battle with Varkhon.
[Participant Ervin Has Defeated Personal Guardian.]
[Bonus Genesis Flame Awarded.]
Varkhon saw two bonus flames appear and grinned wildly. "Good. More to steal."
He abandoned Ervin for a moment and rushed toward Max’s Gold Dominion Region, clearly deciding that the person with the most flames was the best target. Tamara also moved at the same time, not directly attacking Max but heading toward the boundary between her region and his. Revona remained near the center, her eyes glowing as if calculating the final flame’s appearance.
Max stood inside the Gold Dominion Region, several stabilized flames already secured and several unstable flames still circling him.
Varkhon arrived like a meteor.
His fist came down with all his strength.
Max raised his left arm and blocked it.
Boom!
The Gold Dominion Region shook violently, and the cubic ground beneath Max’s feet cracked in a wide circle. Varkhon’s raw strength was terrifying. Even among demons, he was clearly a monster, and his body seemed to contain enough brute force to tear apart ordinary geniuses.
But Max’s golden-black dragon scales appeared faintly on his arm, and with the support of his physical foundation, he held the punch without being forced back.
Varkhon’s grin widened. "Your body is strong too."
Max looked at him. "Strong enough."
Tamara’s spear suddenly came from the side, aiming not at Max’s body but at one of the unstable flames circling him. Max’s Dimensional Sovereign Body detected it instantly. He tilted his body, shifted the flame with spatial pressure, and let Tamara’s spear pass between him and Varkhon.
Varkhon immediately tried to grab the shifted flame.
Max kicked his wrist aside.
Ervin’s spear light arrived from the distance and struck another unstable flame near Max, pushing it toward the center.
Revona appeared there first.
Her Void Origin Eyes erased the flame’s resistance, and she took it.
Max glanced toward her.
Revona said calmly, "You were occupied."
Max smiled faintly. "Fair."
The timer reached the final minute.
[01:00]
A brilliant white flame appeared above the central core.
It was larger than the others.
The moment it appeared, every participant felt its value.
[Final Genesis Flame Appeared.]
[Final Genesis Flame Value: 3 Genesis Marks.]
The entire arena stilled for a fraction of a breath.
Then all five moved.
Varkhon abandoned Max and charged toward the center.
Tamara flew from the crimson region with her spear surrounded by war intent.
Revona’s Void Origin Eyes locked onto the space around the final flame.
Ervin’s spear pointed straight at its core path.
Max activated his Vein of Speed.
All five reached the central area almost at the same time.
Varkhon punched first, trying to blast everyone away.
Tamara’s spear met his fist and diverted the force upward.
Ervin’s spear pierced through the gap between them, aiming to hook the flame away.
Revona erased the spear force’s pull for an instant.
Max appeared above them and reached down.
The final flame reacted by splitting into five shadows, only one of which was real.
Max’s Dimensional Sovereign Body saw through it immediately.
But so did Revona’s Void Origin Eyes.
And somehow, Ervin’s abyss-like gaze also seemed to find the real one.
Three hands, one spear force, and one void gaze converged on the true flame at once.
The trial core trembled.
The final flame could not choose a direction.
Then Tamara made an unexpected move.
Instead of competing for the flame, she stabbed her spear into the platform and released a burst of war intent that froze Varkhon’s movement for a split second. Varkhon roared, but that instant was enough to keep him from reaching the flame first.
Ervin smiled faintly.
His spear force wrapped around the flame.
Revona’s eyes erased part of that pull.
Max’s hand passed through the gap between both powers, and for a moment, he almost took the flame.
But the black-haired Ervin suddenly changed his spear angle.
The abyssal aura around him deepened.
Max felt that bottomless feeling again, and the flame sank slightly as if pulled toward an unseen depth.
Max’s eyes sharpened.
His Dimensional Sovereign Body twisted space around the flame.
Revona’s Void Origin Eyes flashed brighter.
The final flame trembled violently between three powers.
Then the timer reached the final ten seconds.
[00:10]
The trial suddenly released a shockwave.
Everyone was pushed back half a step.
The final flame shot upward.
Max moved first.
Ervin moved second.
Revona moved third.
Their powers collided in the air, and the final flame cracked into three smaller white flames under the pressure of their simultaneous capture.
[Final Genesis Flame Split Due To Equal Claim Conflict.]
[Value Distributed Among Valid Claimants.]
Each of the three obtained one fragment.
Max landed back in the Gold Dominion Region.
Revona appeared near the silver region.
Ervin lowered his spear with a faint smile.
Varkhon stared at the result, then burst into loud laughter. "Even the trial could not decide."
Tamara pulled back her spear and exhaled. "Better than letting one person take all three."
The timer reached zero.
[00:00]
[Trial Two Completed.]
[Genesis Core Dominion Cleared.]
[Team Cooperation Assessment: High.]
[Competitive Performance Assessment: Exceptional.]
[Survival Contribution Assessment: Completed.]
[Genesis Flame Stabilization Completed.]
[Genesis Marks Distribution In Progress...]
The arena stopped moving.
The guardians froze and dissolved into cube dust.
The outer regions dimmed one by one.
For a moment, the five stood in silence, each surrounded by the fading glow of the flames they had secured. None of them had truly trusted the others, and none of them had held back from competing, yet the trial had forced them into a strange balance where cooperation and conflict had both been necessary.
A new prompt appeared.
[Trial Two Results:]
[Max Morgan: 12 Genesis Marks]
[Ervin: 8 Genesis Marks]
[Revona: 7 Genesis Marks]
[Tamara: 5 Genesis Marks]
[Varkhon: 3 Genesis Marks]
[Total Genesis Marks Distributed In Trial Two: 35/35]
[Current Genesis Mark Totals:]
[Max Morgan: 21/100]
[Ervin: 15/100]
[Revona: 13/100]
[Tamara: 10/100]
[Varkhon: 6/100]
Varkhon looked at the totals and clicked his tongue. "Again with three."
Tamara glanced at him. "You spent half the trial trying to punch people instead of reading the rules."
Varkhon grinned. "Punching people is how I read rules."
Revona looked at Max’s total calmly. "You are far ahead."
Ervin also looked at the prompt, then at Max. "For now."
Max did not respond immediately. His gaze moved from the system prompt to the cubic sky above them. The first two trials had already distributed sixty-five Genesis Marks, and there were only thirty-five left. That meant the third trial would decide the final ranking, and judging by the structure so far, it would likely be far more dangerous than the previous two.
As if confirming his thought, the arena beneath them began to sink into the void.
The central core broke apart.
The five participants were swallowed by white light once again.
[Preparing Final Trial.]
[Trial Three: Genesis Sovereign Descent.]
[Maximum Genesis Marks Obtainable In Trial Three: 35]
[Warning: Final Trial Will Determine Genesis Ranking.]
[Warning: Death Or Elimination In Final Trial Will Result In Loss Of Unstabilized Genesis Marks.]
[Warning: The Final Trial May Be Completed By One Participant, Multiple Participants, Or No Participants.]
The white light deepened.
Max’s eyes became sharper.
The third trial was coming.