Hegemon's Trial

Within the Soul Barrier, Lister's body floated in the void, surrounded by energy vortexes interwoven with scarlet and dark purple.

The severely injured body is now recovering rapidly, and the first treatment injected into the body is finally taking effect.

However, it still took nearly three months to fully recover.

He scrolled through the experience points on his system panel.

In just over two years, the experience points given by players have reached a whole new level.

Whether in the Void Corridor or the Angis Galaxy.

His masterful swordsmanship, particularly the Merrick Saber Technique, was the envy of many players.

The amount of chives that can be harvested naturally has also reached a new high.

However, compared to the experience points required for upgrading now, the demand is still too high.

As experience points rapidly decreased, a unique, refreshing and pleasant sensation washed over him.

As expected... as long as it's not absorbing Soul Crystals, leveling up is a pleasure, not torture.

[Level: LV215→LV230]

[Saber Soul Mastery (Passive, No Rank) LV120→LV180 (Note: Can no longer be upgraded; requires killing or high-purity Soul Crystals for further improvement): Your soul will be transformed into Saber Soul. Killing can slightly increase the soul's strength and characteristics. Based on the soul's strength, all passive abilities are increased, currently by 30%. Battle Intent Eruption phase, Saber Soul can be summoned to increase the strength of sword-based attacks, currently by 540%.]

[Robust Soul (Passive, No Rank) LV230 (Note: Can be further upgraded): Increases soul strength by 230 points, soul-type skill effects are increased by 230%, all skill attacks will have varying degrees of true damage ratio, and special judgment rank is upgraded.]

[Merrick Saber Technique (SSS) LV215→LV230:...]

As his experience points ran out, Lister's rank reached level 23.

There are only 10 levels left to reach the maximum level for the Fourth Advancement.

Even in his previous life, he had never reached this level.

He was equally curious about the path after reaching level 240, the peak of the Fourth Advancement.

Does a higher rank exist after the Fifth Advancement?

Or is the highest rank in this world 240?

Judging from the major powers in his current universe, level 240 is probably the top.

However, it could also be due to the inherent talent of these individuals preventing them from breaking through, or perhaps there are even stronger individuals hidden deeper within.

Regardless, Lister's improvement this time was enormous.

The passive ability that Saber Soul Mastery has greatly enhanced his overall strength. Coupled with the increase in level, his overall strength is now far superior to what it used to be.

The only thing that gave him a headache was the subsequent improvement of the Saber Soul Mastery of this skill. It was no longer satisfied with the Soul Crystal itself, but with high-purity Soul Crystals.

The same applies to Robust Souls, although there's no indication of anything yet.

But Lister vaguely felt that the remaining thousand Soul Crystals in his hands had lost their value to him.

If Robust Soul can be further enhanced, he has a feeling that it will likely require high-purity Soul Crystals.

If it cannot be upgraded further, the maximum level is LV240, then the Soul Crystal is also useless.

On second thought, Lister had a new idea for how to allocate the remaining Soul Crystals.

A few days later, all players received an announcement on their system panels.

"Notification: The great pioneer Lister Merrick, in order to promote the development of new civilized people, will soon hold an event called the Conqueror's Trial. You have automatically received an invitation. You are welcome to participate."

"Conqueror's Trial: Due to the lack of key talents, especially those capable of reaching the Overlord Tier, in order to select and cultivate elites, Lister Merrick has specially permitted promising individuals from the Galactic, Babylon, and Divine Rise Galaxy to compete against the Undead Legion in a challenge tournament."

Entry restrictions:

First: The rank is fixed at (LV120~LV180) after the Third Advancement.

Second: Combat strength is at or above level C.

Competition Rules: Divided into individual battles (1V1) and team battles (10V10),...

"Winning Rewards: All members of the top 30 individual players and the top 3 team players will receive one Eye of Ashes Barrier Entry Key."

The top 300 in individual battles will receive one Soul Crystal as a reward, and all members of the top 30 teams in team battles will receive one Soul Crystal as a reward.

All participants will receive a reward of 1 million credits.

Special Resource - Soul Crystal: Can increase the player's maximum soul strength, upgrade the rank and level of the player's active and passive skills, and also provide an opportunity to learn new skills...

Special Barrier - Eye of Ashes Barrier: The varying flow of time within the barrier significantly enhances a player's ability to improve active skills and learn new abilities...

The series of announcements immediately sparked heated discussions among players in the game's public chat.

Holy crap! Finally! Finally, another game event is here!

"It's been several versions now, and finally, apart from the one in the recruit camp, there's a new official ranked challenge!"

"Soul Crystal? What's that? Does anyone know?"

"Where's the data team? They reply instantly on the game forum every day, are they just playing dead now?"

"Holy crap! There's a barrier too!"

"The Eye of Ashes Barrier...? Isn't that the location of our mission?!"

"Oh my god... so this isn't a regular side quest! Is it a prerequisite for a barrier-triggered event?"

Many players who had participated in the battle in the Eye of Ashes Star Region in the Angis Galaxy were excitedly speaking in the public chat.

As if they knew a lot of inside information in advance, they are currently quite popular in the public chat.

"Eye of Ashes's good buddy? Share it!"

What's going on with this barrier? Has anyone been inside it?

"Why even ask? Isn't the announcement crystal clear? It's an active skill upgrade!"

"Could it even upgrade SS-level skills? If it reaches SSS-level, it'll be unstoppable!"

Meanwhile, inside Merrick Castle.

Lister first handed 200 Soul Crystals to Boren Leviathan.

As one of only two top civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy, and also the ones who overthrew the old system together.

The other party should have a share of the output within this Soul Barrier of the Milky Way Galaxy.

To some extent, the benefits of this barrier were one of the reasons why Boren took action.

"I've already used up the majority of the Soul Crystals this time."

"The next batch of Soul Crystals produced will prioritize replenishing the Leviathan Civilization's share."

"No problem, I don't need any Soul Crystals right now."

This matter had been discussed beforehand, and Lister would receive the majority of the resources allocated to the Soul Barrier.

Furthermore, this time the quota will be prioritized for his promotion.

Boren had no objection to this. He didn't have much need for Soul Crystals to improve; his focus was more on his understanding and knowledge of mechanics.

All that's needed is for Lister to acknowledge his share of the barrier resources.

After all, whether or not to use it is one thing, and whether or not it exists is another.

Having reached this point in his career, Lister would naturally not treat his old friend General Boren unfairly.

"However, can our Leviathan Civilization participate in your Hegemon's Trial?"

"Certainly!"

"This trial is open to all three star systems."

"The prerequisite is that they meet the requirements and they have to be one of our own."

The involvement of the powerful members of the Leviathan Civilization was already within his consideration.

Lister readily agreed to Boren's question.

"We still have too few Hegemons that we can truly trust."

"The misappropriation of these Soul Crystals from your civilization's quota is also for the purpose of this event."

"We must do everything we can to foster the birth of a new Hegemon!"

As soon as Lister said this, Boren, Hoffman, and even Wang Yue, who was also in the room, all stared at him with strange looks.

There's no other reason than that his ideas and vision are simply too grand.

Having experienced the original political system of the Milky Way Galaxy, even after the old system was overthrown.

But deep down, everyone felt it was just a matter of no longer suppressing the new Overlord Tier and no longer using them as "feeding material" to be harvested.

Who knew that Lister genuinely intended to cultivate future generations?

Give the precious Soul Crystals to promising newcomers.

As for using resources to cultivate new talent, the fact that it must be "one of our own" is something that no one seems to disagree with.

Good resources should always be used to cultivate our own people, not to fund our enemies.

Some things are best left unsaid in comparison. Lister, a leader who was willing to allow and even help his successors to become Hegemons, is arguably "noble" compared to the two original civilizations.

At least at this moment, Boren was filled with awe.

"In that case, I'll also use this Soul Crystal Stone in this trial, as a way to train newcomers."

Boren then acted out of character.

He is actually quite generous by nature and doesn't dwell on temporary gains or losses.

Relatively speaking, they are the kind of Hegemon who are extremely easy to get along with and quite friendly to people.

If it weren't for the fact that the original Witchcraft and Beta Civilizations were so powerful, Boren would definitely be a staunch supporter and steadfast ally of both of them.

"No need, I've already used part of your share."

"This number of Soul Crystals is already sufficient; any more would just be a waste."

Lister didn't dare to expect that all 600 Soul Crystals could be nurtured into talents, producing 600 Quasi-Hegemon.

In fact, the emergence of 100 Quasi-Hegemon already far exceeded his expectations.

This is even with player participation, given the high potential of players.

The top few hundred players on the server all have the potential to Quasi-Hegemon.

As for those players who actually reach the Hegemon after the Fourth Advancement, there are actually dozens of players with that potential.

It all depends on the supply of resources and the individual's luck.

"This is for both of you."

"Wang Yue, you shouldn't participate anymore. Now that you've sensed an opportunity, you should focus your energy on evolution."

With his help, Wang Yue had already entered the Eye of Ashes Barrier.

With the improvement of her special active skills, the opportunity for her fourth evolution finally arrived ahead of schedule.

The same applies to Hoffman; the opportunity was always there, but he just lacked the right push.

Lister also reserved Soul Crystals for the two of them.

"Hoffman, one of these is Roland's."

"Please pass it on to him for me later."

Roland of the Glimmer Civilization was one of the earliest companions of Lister who also kept Soul-Devouring Spiders in captivity.

Now that the Soul-Devouring Spiders are completely extinct, Lister naturally gets his share as well.

A month later, large fleets continued to enter the Milky Way Galaxy.

After all, the Hegemon's Trial is about to begin, and players from the other two star systems, as well as qualified native powerhouses, are all rushing to the scene.

These warships always cause quite a stir whenever they dock in the designated berth area.

"I'm finally back! I'm taking the key to the Ashes Barrier!"

He posted a message in the public chat, and immediately many people responded.

"Another one has gone mad!"

"These days, who among those returning from other galaxies doesn't go crazy?"

"Holy crap! Is this really the 'War God of Jiangling Prefecture' himself? Or is he an imposter?"

However, after many people in the public chat saw the ID of the person who made the comment and realized that it was indeed the top player on the server, their attitude changed again.

Wow! It's the real deal!

"Spot Key - 1!"

At the same time, the blue light in the warp portal receded like a tide, and thousands of battered warships sailed out one after another, their hulls still bearing the scorch marks and crystal fragments of the Void Corridor battle.

"War God of Jiangling Prefecture" wasn't just making a casual remark; it was a statement made by top players whose troops in the Void Corridor had mostly returned.

Only those whose combat strength is insufficient are still tied down on the front lines.

As soon as these players' fleets appeared, the other players near the port erupted in a cacophony of noise.

"Holy crap! Look at the shipyard! The 'War God of Jiangling Prefecture' is missing half of its armor plates!"

"How many tough battles did they fight? Two of the specialized robotic arms broke!"

The public chat was instantly flooded with comments, and onlookers frantically took screenshots.

"Brothers! A true account of the return of the frontline veterans!"

As soon as the top players disembarked from the warship, they stepped into the teleportation array one after another.

In the blink of an eye, they had arrived at Merrick Ninth Administrative Planet, the only venue for this Hegemon's Trial.

Compared to the ports where players are docked, most of them are players whose combat strength is insufficient to participate.

But things are immediately different on this ninth administrative star.

The players coming and going were mostly NPCs from within the game, and their combat power was generally around B-level.

Players with C-rank combat power, who should make up the majority, are actually quite rare; instead, there are many C-rank NPCs.

Chen Shanqiang, who goes by the ID "War God of Jiangling Prefecture," silently observes the bustling scene on the Ninth Administrative Star.

They were also curious about where the players with C-level combat power were.

Was it because there were too few prize slots available? Did they voluntarily give up?

Exclude the 30 slots Eye of Ashes Barrier.

Even with 300 slots for Soul Crystals, those without an A-level combat power shouldn't even dream of getting one.

But being rational is one thing, and whether or not to participate is another.

Since the requirements are met, most players are quite enthusiastic about joining in the fun.

Especially on an official website-backed competition stage, who wouldn't want to get some exposure!

Until they discovered an unusually crowded area, a quick scan revealed it was filled with players, all with combat power generally between C-rank and above.

Unable to resist moving closer, I discovered that at the very back were several familiar top-tier players.

There was also a large virtual screen displaying information above.

"Slots for Soul Crystals, 3 million credits from the Earth Federation."

"A chance to qualify for the Eye of Ashes Barrier. Qualification is not guaranteed. Fixed price: 10 million Earth Federation Credits!"

Can he really guarantee that Soul Crystals and a spot will be included? What makes him think he can do that?

Is there some additional information regarding this trial?

Chen Shanqiang couldn't help but stop and ponder.

"That's right! Real-world transaction, join the team now!"

Hearing the familiar face from the swordsmanship department speak from inside, Chen Shanqiang finally realized what was going on.

So they were selling team competition qualification spots!

With his skill level, carrying a healer or tank would be a solid way to break into the top 30 of the team.

He truly hadn't expected that such a deal would already be made before the trial even began.