Heart Demon Trial

At noon on the twenty-ninth day since Battle Through the Heavens launched (Version 1.0).

There were only twelve hours left until the server shutdown for the update.

After saving Madam Yao from an Azure Cloud Association steward, Yang Shan had remained in the alchemy room of the Cloud Frost Branch, refining medicinal pills.

He got up earlier than a rooster and went to bed later than a dog.

But as he watched the number in his bank account rise from two million to three million, then four million, and finally five million—

Yang Shan felt that the hardship and exhaustion were worth it.

Of course, once he had money, he had to treat himself better.

So Yang Shan ordered himself a top-of-the-line Game Pod.

That way, he could stay in the game longer. The longer he stayed, the more he earned.

If he got too tired, he could always make a trip to Golden Splendor.

A virtuous cycle! Just fifty more experience points, and I'll reach Tier-3 Alchemist!

Yang Shan poured Dou Qi into a mutated magic core and tossed a cluster of Cloud Leopard Flame into the Cauldron.

After a flurry of operations, he flawlessly passed the three stages of alchemy!

Ding! Body Tempering Pill refinement failed.

Ding! Body Tempering Pill refinement failed.

Two consecutive failures made Yang Shan's scalp tingle.

"Damn it!" (A Chongqing dialect expression meaning "shoe-polishing kid," a milder curse than directly saying "your mom.") "Again!"

Ding! Congratulations, Player, you have successfully refined a batch of Body Tempering Pills (three pills). You have gained 50 Alchemy Experience and 100 Character Experience.

Ding! Congratulations, Player, you have become a Tier-3 Alchemist. When refining medicinal pills below Tier 3 (excluding Tier 3), your success rate increases by 20% (based on the standard success rate).

The instant he became a Tier-3 Alchemist, Yang Shan immediately summoned another wisp of Cloud Leopard Flame.

However, he switched the ingredients to those for the Tier-3 medicinal pill, the Barrier Breaking Pill.

The Barrier Breaking Pill was considered top-tier among Tier-3 medicinal pills, though it was not an exceptional pill.

Exceptional medicinal pills were those that directly increased attributes, such as the Body Tempering Pill.

Still, its refinement difficulty was not low. Its standard success rate was only 30%.

Cloud Leopard Flame did not provide much of a boost when refining Tier-3 ingredients—only 10%.

So Yang Shan's current success rate for refining Barrier Breaking Pills was only 33%. (30% × 110%)

Of course, Yang Shan had 7 points of Good Fortune, so there should theoretically be some hidden bonus.

But after previously failing eleven Body Tempering Pill attempts in a row, Yang Shan knew all too well—

Probability was fucking unreliable forever!

Ding! Barrier Breaking Pill refinement failed.

Ding! Barrier Breaking Pill refinement failed.

Ding! Barrier Breaking Pill refinement failed.

Yang Shan's mouth twitched.

Although a 33% refinement success rate was indeed not high—

The ingredients for Tier-3 medicinal pills were far more expensive than those for Second-Grade Medicinal Pills.

Yang Shan had bought the ingredients from Ya Fei.

Due to system restrictions, he had only managed to buy ten sets in total.

Without another word, Yang Shan brought up the "Game Survey," selected "Very Satisfied" on AI Nüwa's row, and clicked Submit.

Ding! Congratulations, Player, you have successfully refined a batch of Barrier Breaking Pills (three pills). You have gained 100 Alchemy Experience and 200 Character Experience.

Yang Shan let out a long breath.

The freshly refined pills still carried a lingering warmth.

Yang Shan opened his mouth and swallowed one immediately.

Ding! Player has consumed a Barrier Breaking Pill. Player level meets the requirements. You have gained 5,000 Experience Points.

Yang Shan had been refining medicinal pills like mad lately, and his experience bar had already reached 20,500/25,000.

With that Barrier Breaking Pill, his experience bar instantly filled up!

The system prompt immediately rang out.

But it was not for a breakthrough to Great Fighter:

Ding! Congratulations, Player, you meet the experience requirement to break through to Great Fighter. "Heart Demon Trial" has been unlocked. Player may enter the secret realm at any time to attempt the challenge. Succeed, and you will break through to the Great Fighter level. Fail, and 5,000 Experience Points will be deducted.

The appearance of the Heart Demon Trial meant that Tian Yao Company's "benefit period" for Players had officially ended.

It could be said that from the first stage of Dou Qi all the way to Nine Star Dou Shi, Players would enjoy smooth sailing under AI Nüwa's special care.

Over that period, Players would gradually adapt to the rules of Battle Through the Heavens.

And once they had adapted—

It was time to raise the difficulty!

Starting from Nine Star Dou Shi, every major realm required passing the Heart Demon Trial before a successful breakthrough was possible.

And attempting the Heart Demon Trial was not without risk.

The Great Fighter realm was still manageable.

It only deducted five thousand experience points.

In his previous life, Yang Shan had failed three times when breaking through from Nine Star Dou Wang to Dou Huang.

Each time, all the experience he had accumulated as a Nine Star Dou Wang had been wiped clean.

The Dou Zong realm was even worse.

According to leaked information, if a Nine Star Dou Huang failed the breakthrough to Dou Zong, their level would directly drop to Seven Star Dou Huang!

However, while the Heart Demon Trial was difficult, there had to be limits! Great Fighter was ultimately just a "transition" realm. Tian Yao Company could not possibly leave Players stuck at this level for too long.

Too many failed breakthroughs would dampen Players' enthusiasm.

It was unlike his previous life, when the game had been running for three years and Players already regarded Battle Through the Heavens as an emotional anchor for a second life. A few extra failures did not matter then.

Therefore, the basic standard for passing the Great Fighter Heart Demon Trial should be whether a Player had Yellow Rank High-Level or better cultivation methods, Dou Techniques, and high-quality equipment.

But for Yang Shan—

"I'm fucking clicking Challenge right away!"

At this stage, who could kill monsters faster than him?

And who else could consume Barrier Breaking Pills like him, instantly gaining five thousand experience points and saving vast amounts of leveling time?

The title of The World's Number One Great Fighter was already his for the taking!

Player has activated the Heart Demon Trial. Preparing for secret realm teleportation. Please close your eyes.

Three seconds later.

Please open your eyes!

Yang Shan appeared in a forest.

There was no one around him.

Trial objective: Kill the Black-Clothed Man. The trial will begin in ten seconds. Countdown: 10, 9, 8...

Yang Shan frowned. "That's not right. The Great Fighter Heart Demon Trial is indeed supposed to be this scene, but shouldn't the Black-Clothed Man be right in front of me? Did the difficulty increase?"

Though he had doubts, Yang Shan gripped the hilt of his blade at once.

When the countdown ended, a faint rustling sound reached Yang Shan's ears.

It differed from what he remembered.

A frontal confrontation had become a sneak attack!

Yang Shan drew his blade as he turned, while simultaneously pouring Dou Qi into its edge.

Thunder Cleaving Slash was activated.

The entire sequence flowed as smoothly as water.

And the trial target appeared before Yang Shan.

A Black-Clothed Man dressed entirely in black, even his face covered with black cloth.

He clutched a dagger and charged forward.

The Dou Qi Armor covering his body was somewhat unstable.

One-Star Great Fighter!

And a Wind Attribute cultivator at that!

In Yang Shan's memories, the opponent in the Great Fighter breakthrough Heart Demon Trial should have been a Nine Star Dou Shi wielding a blade.

The current situation did not quite match his memories.

But this change was not entirely beyond Yang Shan's expectations.

On one hand, Battle Through the Heavens was an open-world game, and Players had countless possibilities.

On the other hand, AI Nüwa would macro-manage each version's various outputs and the intensity of the challenges Players faced.

By the end of the launch version in his previous life, no Player had reached the Great Fighter realm.

That showed that the Great Fighter realm had not been part of the launch version's normal progression plan.

In that case, it was only natural for the Heart Demon Trial's difficulty to increase.

But unfortunately, it was still not difficult enough!

Although he had been ambushed, Yang Shan reacted quickly.

He turned, raising the Thunder Guiding Blade horizontally before his chest.

Ding! Thunder Guiding Blade successfully parried the Black-Clothed Man's dagger.

The Black-Clothed Man lost 22 Vitality Shield points! Yang Shan had not activated Dou Qi Gauze, yet he only lost 1 HP!

Seeing this, Yang Shan grinned. "You've got to be kidding me. Do you think all those Global Announcements were for nothing? You think my attributes are fake?"

Yang Shan was only a Nine Star Dou Shi, but his attributes and equipment were outstanding. With two Hundred Refinements Grade pieces of equipment supporting him, his stat panel was even better than that of many low-star Great Fighters!

Despite being a Great Fighter, the Black-Clothed Man's offensive attributes were actually inferior to Yang Shan's!

Yang Shan used the combo he relied on most often.

Thunder Cleaving Slash followed by normal attacks, repeated without end!

In the once wildly popular 5v5 competitive game Demon-God Alliance, there had been a hero named Rui Mengmeng.

This valiant female warrior's core skill could be interwoven with normal attacks, canceling each other's attack recovery animations and allowing her to deal terrifying damage in a short time.

Players called this technique "Light-Speed QA."

The combo Yang Shan used now was extremely similar to Light-Speed QA.

His sustained damage output was off the charts!

The Black-Clothed Man's Vitality Shield plummeted wildly at a visible rate.

If Cheng Yuan, the Azure Cloud Association's Five-Star Great Fighter, were still alive, he would definitely tell the Black-Clothed Man to run.

This bastard wasn't human!

Even Cheng Yuan, a Five-Star Great Fighter, could not withstand Yang Shan's onslaught.

What chance did a One-Star Great Fighter have?