Devouring the Starry Sky: Cultivation Makes Me Stronger

Luo Shen had originally planned to head to the Nine-story Tower today to test the results of his recent training, but Retnas stopped him halfway there and challenged him without a word of warning.

"What are you talking about, junior brother?" Retnas said with a smile. "It's just a friendly spar, nothing else. Let's wager 5 billion Huaxia Coins."

There were generally two kinds of wagers in betting matches: Points or money. For trainees, Points were the most important, since they were closely tied to rankings.

Of course, some wagered both.

"5 billion?" Luo Shen glanced at him.

Compared to Candice, that fool with more money than sense, this wager was not much. Luo Shen had no interest in it.

"Not interested." Luo Shen waved a hand.

He had no interest whatsoever in a mere 5 billion. It would be better to wager Points. If he won, combined with his current Points, he could directly rise to first place on the ranking list!

He was about to walk past Retnas.

But Retnas said in a strange, mocking tone, "Junior Brother Luo Shen dared to accept a 50 billion betting match, so why does he not dare accept mine? Does he think my wager is too small? Or does junior brother only dare bully the weak and fear the strong?"

Those words were rather grating.

"Oh?" Luo Shen raised a brow, and his gaze at Retnas became more meaningful.

No one who could maintain a stable position in the top five of the Training Camp could be an idiot.

For Retnas to provoke him for no reason, there were two possibilities.

One was that Retnas disliked him and wanted to humiliate him. After all, Luo Shen's powerful rise had indeed made many trainees lose face.

The other was that someone was stirring things up behind the scenes.

Both possibilities were quite likely.

After all, Retnas did not seem like someone particularly scheming. With just a little provocation, he would probably get hotheaded.

"What do I gain from betting against you?"

Before Retnas could speak, Luo Shen continued, "If I win, I get those 5 billion Huaxia Coins. Who cares about such scraps? If I lose, I only make your reputation."

Disdain was written all over his face.

"Only an idiot would bet against you."

After saying that, he did not wait for a reply. He simply stepped around Retnas and left behind one sentence: "Use your brain. Don't act like an idiot and let others play you like a fiddle."

If he agreed this time, it would probably never end.

Did they really think he was some stray dog by the roadside, one that anyone could kick whenever they did not like the look of him?

The initiative to accept challenges was in his hands.

As long as he refused, no matter who came, they could only glare helplessly.

Watching Luo Shen's retreating back, Retnas spread his hands helplessly. He had not expected Luo Shen to be so "gutless," lacking even the courage to draw his blade.

Still, he did not have the nerve to force the matter.

In the Training Camp, trainees who deliberately caused trouble would, at best, have their time using Ancient Civilization Instruments revoked; at worst, they would be expelled from the Training Camp. No one was willing to test the Training Camp's limits.

Luo Shen did not take the betting match to heart.

It was just a boring wager.

Retnas was not like Candice, that fool willing to throw around vast sums of money. A wager of just 5 billion—who was he trying to embarrass? Luo Shen was not someone short of 10 billion. He had not even spent the 100 billion in his hands yet.

He simply did not lack money.

If half their Points had been wagered, Luo Shen would definitely have agreed without a second word.

The 25th.

He went out as usual to hunt monsters, deliberately increasing the pace of his hunts in hopes of rushing for first place. However, his Combat Power Amplitude was only on par with Chu Qiang's and Retnas's. Moreover, because of his emergence, the two had become fiercely competitive.

The rankings remained unchanged.

Luo Feng, on the other hand.

Because he had teamed up with Luo Shen, he had killed more High-level Beast General Level monsters than he had during the same period in the Original Work. As a result, his ranking was somewhat higher, hovering around 110th place.

Once he underwent the Trial Tower privilege assessment, he should have no trouble stabilizing within the top 100.

It was only a pity.

With Luo Shen's brilliance preceding him, the stir caused by Luo Feng was not as great as in the Original Work. Still, quite a few factions wanted to try offering Luo Feng generous contracts to recruit him.

The afternoon of the 26th.

He trained in the Gravity Chamber.

As a newly enrolled trainee, Luo Shen had one hour of Gravity Chamber access this month. He split it into three twenty-minute sessions, scheduled for 3 p.m. on the 26th through the 28th.

That night, he tested its effect on Gene Energy cultivation.

He discovered that the Gravity Chamber had a remarkably obvious enhancing effect on Gene Energy cultivation. Luo Shen could even clearly feel that the frequency and speed at which the Five Hearts Vortex drew in and expelled energy had increased by around half.

This was also related to how the Gravity Chamber's gravitational force acted upon every cell in the body, allowing it to tap deeply into the potential of his cells.

The 27th.

Luo Shen and Luo Feng carried out their final monster-hunting operation of the month.

When they returned that day to submit monster materials, Luo Shen's ranking rose to first place on the Black Dragon Ranking for the first time. Although he held it for less than an hour before Retnas and Chu Qiang surpassed him again.

Still, it showed that the gap between the top three was not significant.

11 a.m. on the 28th.

There were still thirteen hours until this month's Black Dragon Ranking cutoff.

Just when everyone thought the outcome had been decided and that first place would once again fall to Retnas, Luo Shen entered the trial room and put on the Mind Sensor Helmet.

Luo Shen's one hour of trial room access for the month had begun!

Since the trial room was closed from noon to 1 p.m., Luo Shen would be the final person to use it that morning. Not long after he put on the helmet, a white young man left while cursing under his breath.

Only one person was allowed to enter the Trial Space.

When one person entered, another naturally had to leave.

Within the virtual space.

An endless expanse of silvery alloy ground stretched out beneath him. In the distance stood the sole towering seven-story giant pagoda—the Trial Tower. Whoosh! Luo Shen appeared on the ground.

Luo Shen made his way familiarly to the Trial Tower.

On the stone pillar, the displayed Trial Tower level was 2.6.

"After this, my Combat Power Amplitude should break 16!"

During the Trial Tower privilege assessment at the beginning of the month, one hour had not been enough, so Luo Shen had been unable to attempt the second floor's C-stage trial.

But today, he had a full hour!

"Right now, the gap in Points between Retnas, Chu Qiang, and me is not large. Once I clear C-stage, not only will my Combat Power Amplitude break 16, but first place should also fall into my hands."

Luo Shen chuckled.

He suddenly wanted to see what expression Retnas would make when he learned that he had lost first place.

It would definitely be interesting!

The virtual space.

The requirement to pass the Trial Tower's second floor C-stage trial was to kill 10 medium Beast General Level Ironclad Scorpions and 190 Beginner Beast General Ironclad Scorpions within 60 minutes.

From the very beginning, Luo Shen displayed terrifying combat power!

Perfect-level saber techniques, movement at the Unity of Man and Nature realm, and the 5.5-fold explosive power of the embryonic second move, Wind Thunder Galloping Star!

The three combined as one!

The results of Luo Shen's hard training during this period were revealed.

His battle experience from slaughtering large numbers of High-level Beast General Level monsters allowed Luo Shen to handle every Ironclad Scorpion almost perfectly. As he moved among the scorpions, he became ever more at ease.

It was as though each Ironclad Scorpion was eagerly presenting its vital points beneath Luo Shen's blade!

"Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!"

One Ironclad Scorpion after another collapsed, unable to rise again.

A large number of Ironclad Scorpion corpses piled up across the sandy ground. Foul-smelling blood dripped onto the quicksand, congealing into dark black clumps.

"Time used: 18 minutes 21 seconds. All 200 Ironclad Scorpions killed. Second floor C-stage trial passed! Congratulations, Trainee Luo Shen!" The electronic voice echoed through the desert sky.

The surrounding Ironclad Scorpion corpses and the desert instantly vanished.

"3.0 times 5.5. My Combat Power Amplitude has broken 16!"

After making a simple calculation in his mind and confirming that his Combat Power Amplitude had exceeded 16, Luo Shen quickly put it out of his mind. The people outside should already know that I've taken first place. I wonder if things will go completely crazy.