Duan Xing

Chapter 36

The night was deep, and all was silent. The sky, under a waning crescent moon, was like a dark crimson silk.

Just then, a black hole suddenly appeared in the sky.

An object, trailing a blue flame, emerged from the hole, tore through the sky, and plummeted directly towards the Crimson Plains region of the Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range.

BOOM!

With a deafening explosion, the blue fireball struck the vast land of the Crimson Plains, creating a crater over fifty meters in diameter. Debris flew everywhere, and nearby distorted plants were scorched to charcoal by the intense heat.

As the rising steam dissipated, a massive, square metal box was revealed at the bottom of the pit, its surface slightly warped from the violent impact.

At that moment, the metal box vibrated, and a heavy metal door opened from the bottom upwards.

A boy, about 1.65 meters tall with light blue hair, emerged from within. He wore heavy Runes Armor, and his pure white pupils were devoid of any emotion, like an lifeless puppet.

Just then, a mechanical electronic voice sounded from the shuttle behind Duan Xing:

"Combat trial initiated. A radius of 35 kilometers centered on me is your trial area. You are not permitted to leave the trial area during the trial, or you will be judged as having failed!"

Leaping out of the pit, the blue-haired puppet scanned the scorched earth nearby. Then, he raised his right hand and pressed it against the raised metal knob on his left chest, turning it like winding a clock.

With a series of crisp "click" sounds, the complex patterns engraved on his armor lit up from his chest, spreading across his entire body.

The puppet boy also turned his head to look at the waning crescent moon hanging high in the sky, his face showing a grave expression. In his hand, a black gem appeared in his right palm, which he then crushed with a fierce clench.

The powder from the shattered black crystal scattered, turning into black smoke that rose into the air upon contact with the atmosphere.

Instantly, the Evil Spirits in the Crimson Plains region, like beasts smelling blood, began to converge towards the puppet boy's location.

WHOOSH!

The puppet boy crouched slightly, and two blue energy blades shot out from his wrist. A flicker of killing intent appeared in his pure white eyes.

He scanned his surroundings.

There were Evil Hounds with fangs, resembling hyenas; Dark Ghosts whose twisted limbs made them look like rolling Black Balls as they moved; Evil Spirits shrouded in decaying black mist... and a large number of blood zombies. The Evil Spirits attacking him were growing in number.

The puppet boy then transformed into a blue streak of light and charged forward, weaving through the horde of Evil Spirits. The energy blades in his hands were like scissors cutting through darkness, and wherever he passed, the Evil Spirits were cleanly bisected, dissolving into black smoke, leaving only black crystals behind.

His movement speed increased with the battle, like a dancer gracefully twirling amidst the Evil Spirits. The cold glint of his blue blades, like a flowing skirt, danced with his movements.

Meanwhile, players exploring the Crimson Plains region grew curious about the unusual movement of the Evil Spirits and began asking in the regional chat:

"What's going on? Does anyone know what happened? Why are all the Evil Spirits running in one direction?"

"I thought I was going to die, but the Evil Spirits ran off on their own. I survived by luck, happy."

"Getting ready to follow and check it out. Bros, come into my stream to watch the live action! If you can, tip some Sacrificial Power!"

Driven by curiosity, players followed the direction of the converging Evil Spirits.

Many players also seized the opportunity to start live broadcasts, wanting to profit by showing the scene to other players who couldn't reach the Crimson Plains quickly.

As the players approached the puppet boy's location, the scene before them stunned them.

The blue figure moved freely through the Evil Spirits like a dancer. The blue blades in his dual-wielding hands were unstoppable, harvesting all the nearby Evil Spirits with an extreme elegance.

But what caught the players' attention even more were the black crystals scattered all over the ground.

These were energy crystals dropped by Evil Spirits of level 10 and above, which could be exchanged for Sacrificial Power at the altar in the function panel.

To the players, the black crystals on the ground were no different from cash.

The price of 1 Sacrificial Power had already been driven up to 150 credit points, and it was difficult to acquire large amounts, forcing them to buy from individual players.

At this stage, both gold-farming players and ordinary players wanted to improve their strength before considering profits, leading to a huge demand for Sacrificial Power.

Faced with the ground full of black crystals, the nearby players did not hesitate to act.

They continuously picked up the crystals from the ground and put them into their personal inventory.

Players watching this scene through live streams went wild, leaving comments on various live broadcast channels:

"Brother, please, report the coordinates in the regional channel! I'm on my way to the Crimson Plains."

"Ahhh, I'm still in the resurrection cooldown! Watching you pick up money is more painful than killing me. You're not allowed to pick them up, do you hear me? Stop picking them up!"

"Watching this stream is giving me a heart attack. I just wanted to see what was happening, but you're showing me this! I wish I had wings to fly over and pick them up with you."

The regional voice channel also exploded due to the crystal-picking frenzy.

Players scattered across the Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range began converging towards the Crimson Plains.

The players who arrived first were already completely frenzied. They followed the blue figure's movements, continuously picking up the black crystals left on the ground.

The puppet boy, still in combat, also noticed the growing crowd of players behind him.

When he saw them picking up the black crystals from the ground, a strong killing intent appeared in his pure white eyes.

He stopped moving and turned the mechanism on his left chest.

The previously dull Runes Armor then radiated a brilliant light as the mechanism was tightened.

The figure immediately turned into a blue stream of light, changing direction and shooting towards the player group. It first passed through a player, who didn't even get a clear look at the puppet boy's face before the death notification sounded in their mind.

This time, the puppet boy's targets became players.

After a large number of players crossed paths with him, they would dissipate into black smoke, guided back to Emperor's Tomb Village by Yan Ming's spatial power to reform their flesh and blood underground.

"Damn it, why is he attacking us now? Should we run!"

"Holy crap, in the blink of an eye, my good brother was cut in half and turned into black smoke. This guy is too fierce."

"Run for what? Death only deducts 10 Sacrificial Power, and each evil crystal on the ground yields at least 5 Sacrificial Power. Just pick up two and you're back to even. Hurry and pick them up while you can, stuff them in your sacks."

Facing the puppet boy's onslaught, the players not only didn't retreat but became even more frenzied.

They all wanted to pick up more evil crystals before dying.

The puppet boy's information was also captured by the players amidst the slaughter.

[Duan Xing (Heavenly Rune Clan)]

Hunting Level: Level 53

Target Introduction: Descendant of the main lineage of the Heavenly Rune Clan, hailed as the strongest of the new generation of the Heavenly Rune Clan, currently undergoing a combat trial before joining the Tidal Rebellion Legion.

Upon obtaining the puppet boy's information, the players immediately parsed it and shared it on the regional chat channel.

Both the players on-site and those in other regions were stunned by the boy's hunting level.

A hunting level of 53 was a strength they had never encountered in the Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range region.

Meanwhile, Duan Xing, who was in the midst of slaughter, also noticed something was wrong.

After he killed these lives who were snatching evil crystals, the stolen evil crystals actually disappeared completely with them, turning into black smoke.

The evil crystals were proof of his successful trial. Facing the continuously decreasing number of evil crystals, Duan Xing became anxious.

With a flash of movement, he grabbed the neck of a player who was trying to pick up an evil crystal, lifted him, and stared directly at the player with cold, pure white eyes, asking:

"Where are the evil crystals you picked up?"

Duan Xing's words were automatically translated by the parsing system into a language the players could understand.

The player whose neck was being held showed no fear of death in his eyes. His gaze was still sweeping over the glowing black crystals on the ground. He then raised his head, his face reddening, and said, "Let me pick up one more, and I'll tell you!"

Duan Xing: ...

(End of Chapter)