Testing I

Gray clouds perpetually blanket the sky.

At the center of the Perpetual Palace stands the leaning Perpetual Tower.

With the tower as the center, radiating outwards for a distance of one kilometer, this huge circular area is the headquarters of the entire Perpetual Palace.

Around the circular area, there is a ring of silver metal wire, buried in the ground, serving as a marker.

Viewed from above, Perpetual Palace looks like a giant silver hollow circle.

Strands of blue lightning continuously radiated outwards from the center.

Zhang Rongfang slowly approached from the edge, without using any footwork or light footwork. He simply followed the others around him, keeping his head down and walking silently until he stopped at the outer edge of the Silver Thread.

"Stop."

Within the Silver Thread, the ground slowly rises, and a bald head made entirely of silver metal emerges from the black soil.

On its head, between its eyebrows, is a retractable metal probe.

"What are you here for?" the bald man asked, his voice seemingly transmitted electronically, devoid of any emotion.

Zhang Rongfang glanced at the other people around him out of the corner of his eye.

Those who entered the Silver Thread all seemed to have been checked by this bald man with the metal head.

"Let's upgrade the furnace." Zhang Rongfang patted the flames burning in his chest.

"Please register your name," the silver-haired man continued.

"Heart Fusion, the Rong as in melting, and the Xin as in the heart. I bought Martial Arts Diagram here before," Zhang Rongfang answered fluently.

"Heart Fusion. Alright, you can come in now." The silver-haired man seemed to have confirmed something, and he pulled his head back into the ground and disappeared.

Zhang Rongfang glanced at the other Spirit Thread entities coming and going around him; these people seemed to be used to such checks.

He took a breath, lifted his foot, and stepped forward.

But suddenly his foot was suspended in mid-air, and he didn't step down.

Suspended in mid-air, Zhang Rongfang looked up at the Perpetual Tower.

The ground around there was constantly lit up with countless blue arcs of electricity.

All the electric arcs are converging madly in this direction.

"Were we discovered?" He retracted his raised right leg and looked straight at the upper floors of the Perpetual Tower.

There was a blurry Black-Clad Man staring in this direction.

Suddenly, the other person raised their hand and pointed in this direction.

In an instant, Blue Light shone, and all the electric arcs on the ground of the entire Perpetual Tower converged into a single beam.

Laugh!!

The electric beam of light instantly shone on Zhang Rongfang's location.

The speed far exceeded the speed of sound, and it covered a distance of a thousand meters in an instant.

A massive bolt of lightning, over ten meters thick, resembling a blue stone pillar, crashed down on Zhang Rongfang.

The surrounding groups became agitated, quickly increasing their distance from Zhang Rongfang and cautiously observing the situation.

One of the tall figures, who was sitting near the tower, slowly got up and looked in the direction where the electric arcs were converging.

"Laf of the Heartless Troupe pointed out that all of his men were dead."

"And now, another Heartless Troupe Heart Fusion, Hills, has appeared. Go and take a look." Ra's voice seemed to come from somewhere and reached the figure's ears.

"I see."

The figure raised its head, revealing a ferocious face covered in silver patterns.

His face and neck were covered with patterns and burn marks.

Without a sound, streaks of Black Sand automatically appeared beneath the figure's feet.

The Black Sand, like clouds and mist, lifted him up and slowly moved him toward Zhang Rongfang.

Not only him, but also within the area of Perpetual Tower, blurry figures with various colored halos burning in their hearts were all rapidly approaching in the same direction.

At this moment, the thick beam of lightning accurately struck Zhang Rongfang was standing still.

But the lightning didn't actually strike the flesh; instead, it was accurately intercepted by a semi-circular blood shield.

Numerous electric arcs and blood clashed and neutralized each other, producing thick black smoke.

"You were discovered so early on?" Zhang Rongfang, somewhat surprised. He believed his disguise was flawless.

But now it seems that something went wrong somewhere else.

Thud, thud.

The heavy footsteps slowly approached.

The lightning quickly dissipated, revealing the scene within the Perpetual Palace area.

A series of towering figures, each over three meters tall, were fanning out and approaching him from the front.

Each of these figures looked like a cyborg with mechanical metal implanted in their flesh.

Their hearts burned with red flames, and their eyes shimmered with a faint Blue Light.

On each person's face, the exposed metal material can be faintly seen.

The surrounding groups quickly distanced themselves, seemingly quite wary of these newcomers.

"This is the Perpetual Tower. Unidentified outsiders are not welcome."

Among this group, the leader had loose black hair in a small braid, and his square face was covered with small, strange purple symbols.

"Interesting. How did you discover that I was not right?" Zhang Rongfang had integrated the memories of the Jade Pavilion Heart Fusion had also mastered the common language of the place Locked Script.

He observed the group of Spirit Thread parasites that had suddenly appeared with great interest.

"Heart Fusion's leader, Laf, has already registered his information here. Heart Fusion himself is dead," the leader replied in a deep voice.

"Retreat, this is not a place for you. Evil spirits cannot enter this place; any attempt to do so will trigger the automatic counterattack of the Perpetual Palace."

He paused.

"That was just a simple warning. But once you actually step into the range, you will suffer an automatic counterattack Tenfold than the attack you just received!"

The man explained in a cold voice.

Evil spirits appear every day, and no one knows why there are so many of them.

Their numbers far exceeded those of the brigades still roaming the land. They were simply too numerous to kill, so expulsion was the best course of action.

"So you mistook me for an evil spirit?" Zhang Rongfang gave an innocent smile. "It's actually a misunderstanding. I'm just an ordinary person who just came out of the Interaction Zone and only now knows the truth about the outside world. Disguise is my forte and talent. To avoid being corrupted, I heard that Martial Arts Diagram can be bought at the Perpetual Palace to build my own Heart Burning Furnace."

"But the furnace can purify evil, which is why I traveled so far to get here."

"So..." Zhang Rongfang's eyes slowly ignited with Blood Flame. His voice gradually softened and became magnetic.

"Can I go in now?" he asked softly.

The square-faced man leading the group momentarily lost focus, his expression gradually turning blank.

"Sure."

He stepped aside, revealing a passageway leading inward.

The other men and women who approached also stared blankly and made way for them.

"Thank you, you are all such kind people," Zhang Rongfang replied softly.

He stepped inside, his figure instantly transforming into a streak of blood-red light as he charged toward the Perpetual Tower.

Just then.

A new wave of massive amounts of electricity rose out of nowhere from the ground and rushed towards Zhang Rongfang from all directions like lightning.

The speed of the electric light far exceeded Zhang Rongfang's reaction time; in an instant, all the current bombarded him.

The blood formed a blood film, covering his body surface and blocking the scattered bombardment of the electric light.

The two forces, one blue and one red, remained locked in a stalemate.

Just when things reached a stalemate.

In the distance, in some ruins.

Two figures, dressed entirely in black and wearing Helmet and protective gear, were secretly observing the Perpetual Tower from a distance through the gaps in the ruins.

"The Stone Statue Troop directly under the Perpetual Palace has been deployed. Someone has blocked the automatic counterattack system; it looks like a big guy."

One of them whispered.

"Di Mo and Sandra of the Stone Statue Troop are both terrifying experts who have cultivated the highest level of the Heart Burning Furnace to its extreme. It's been many years since anything like this has happened—unauthorizedly trespassing into the Perpetual Palace, and having Di Mo's own troops directly intervene to stop them," another person replied.

"I'll inform the alliance; you continue monitoring."

"Good."

One of the figures retreated swiftly, silently employing a movement technique to disappear into the distance.

The remaining person gazed at the Perpetual Palace area from afar.

For the Human Alliance, the hyenas from the Perpetual Palace who search for Interaction Zone everywhere are incredibly powerful.

Both Di Mo and Sandra are powerful parasites that require multiple Adapters to fight against.

These two men were his right-hand men and frontline generals who had been fighting the Human Alliance head-on for many years.

As longtime rivals, the Human Alliance is paying close attention to the movements of both of them.

To his surprise, the Stone Statue Troop of the Perpetual Palace soldiers in the distance stood there blankly, making way for the mysterious man to walk through.

"What's going on? Could it be a parasite we knew before visiting? But why did the automatic counterattack system activate?" The members of the monitoring Human Alliance wondered.

Just as he was unable to understand, the mysterious figure that had entered suddenly changed color rapidly in the distance.

In an instant, she transformed from a gray-white fitted long dress into a dark red, gorgeous, and exquisite wide robe.

Zhang Rongfang's figure transformed into a streak of blood, rapidly approaching the Perpetual Tower.

In a flash, a black figure suddenly rushed over from the side, accurately predicting his path.

The black figure glowed with Blue Light, arcs of electricity gathered in its palm, and it slammed its palm down in this direction.

A large amount of blue electric arc Blue Light emanated from his palm, writhing like a giant net that covered an area of dozens of meters around him, completely enveloping him.

The opponent's speed was actually able to keep up with mine.

Zhang Rongfang was surprised, but not too surprised.

As an advanced version of Gods and Buddhas, the Perpetual Palace is the source of creating even stronger Heart Burning Furnace. Without a few top experts, it would not have been able to survive for long on this chaotic land.

"So."

He slightly raised his hand.

Countless drops of blood coalesced into a round shield in front of him.

Boom! The blue lightning palm slammed into the surface of the Blood Shield.

A tremendous shockwave rippled outwards from the point of impact.

Before Zhang Rongfang could react, the man moved to the left with lightning speed, his palm once again crackling with electricity, bypassing the Blood Shield protection at an astonishing speed, and striking inward with a palm.

Bang!

Another new Blood Shield appeared out of thin air, blocking the attack.

But then the person dodged in an instant, their figure seemingly illusory, shifting their attack route again at an astonishing speed.

The third time, the Blood Shield reappeared, blocking the third blow.

But Zhang Rongfang's pupils suddenly contracted. Unbeknownst to him, the closest he got to the other person was less than half a meter away.

From the moment this person appeared until now, only a second has passed since he changed his moves and shifted positions.

"Such speed!"

Zhang Rongfang possesses the bloodline of the Blood Clan Progenitor, making him incredibly fast and agile. He has always been the one to overwhelm his opponents with speed, and this is the first time he has encountered someone even faster than him.

In an instant.

Blood Shield kept appearing out of thin air, blocking the Blue Light figure's lightning-fast attack.

Bang bang bang bang bang!!

A series of loud impacts were accompanied by a large number of electric arcs and blood splattering out.

The fight between the two became intense from the very beginning.

What surprised Zhang Rongfang even more was that the other party's martial arts level was obviously extremely high.

His moves were fluid and unpredictable, completely avoiding any attempt to anticipate the Enemy Anticipation.