First Stage

Guen had more than enough strength to deal with the Lava Stone Monster, so his gaze involuntarily drifted toward the stone pillar.

He noticed that the positions of some names on it had changed, and behind each of those names, a string of characters had appeared.

"Yanlefu, Phase 1, 100

Toster, Phase 1, 100

Charko, Phase 1, 100

Lianda, Phase 1, 100

Guen, Phase 1, 0."

This seemed to be a ranking for all the trial participants, and it was definitely related to the Lava Stone Monster before him. With this thought, Guen couldn't help but directly strike out and shatter the Lava Stone Monster.

The Lava Stone Monster writhed its body in unwillingness, but Guen crushed it with a single punch, sending gravel wrapped in magma scattering everywhere. Guen stared at his own fist for several glances.

The burning sensation and the hardness that came from it confirmed to Guen that this was indeed a real, tangible thing.

"What a bizarre space. It just shaped something equivalent to a Tier 7 Warrior out of nothing. No wonder that guard said there could be life-threatening danger. If the strength of these Lava Stone Monsters gradually increases, someone will eventually get hurt—or even die."

Guen's gaze shifted to the stone pillar.

He was just getting used to illusion-based attacks, since this kind of combat method was rare in the Aoyu Empire. There was no point in wrestling with something that only had one times power output.

Guen's final score was 54.

At the same time, a piece of information came from the stone pillar.

Each phase of the trial had a maximum of one thousand points. If anyone could reach eight hundred points in any phase, they would receive an additional reward. If they could achieve a perfect one thousand points, they would have the chance to become a citizen of Tucha Planet.

Each battle would only last one hundred seconds. Whatever time remained would be the score earned. If one lasted the full hundred seconds, they could continue.

"So that's how it is. I ended up doing the opposite of what I should have," Guen said with some regret. It seemed he was destined to miss out on the perfect score reward. "But what is Tucha Planet? Is it the one who left this Legacy?"

Guen knew that the Aoyu Empire he lived in was only a tiny part of this planet, and he was aware that other planets existed.

But the planet he was on was definitely not called Tucha Planet.

Guen silently noted this detail.

The Lava Stone Monster shattered completely, and the light screen appeared again. But this time, it was different—no silhouette emerged. Instead, a pillar of light and another person appeared.

The face opposite him looked somewhat familiar. It seemed to be a trial participant from Eastsea Province, named something like Scott.

With just one glance, both of them understood what this challenge was. It was no longer about comprehending techniques and fighting Lava Stone Monsters, but about fighting other trial participants.

Scott's expression turned grim. Although Guen hadn't fought anyone since arriving at Lionheart City, everyone knew he was a warrior with five times power output.

Was there anyone simple who could reach that level?

Five times power output—that was universally recognized as the top tier.

Just as Scott was thinking about stalling for time, the stone pillar fully solidified, and another piece of information came through:

If no victor was decided within a hundred seconds, the one with the lower score would be eliminated.

Scott hurriedly searched the stone pillar for Guen's name. If their scores were the same, he could try to persuade Guen to stall out the hundred seconds together—unless Guen was dead set on chasing the eight-hundred-point reward.

But Scott swept through over two hundred names in an instant and didn't find Guen's name. He couldn't help but panic.

A red light flashed, and the stone pillar began its countdown.

Guen revealed a hint of mockery. "Stop looking. I'm dead last."

Scott looked, and sure enough, at the very bottom of the stone pillar, Guen's name sat there: 54!

That meant Guen had taken forty-four seconds to defeat the Lava Stone Monster.

"How is that possible?" Scott was baffled. In his view, although the Lava Stone Monster was a bit troublesome, it only had one times power output. Everyone who made it here had at least three times power output. Ten seconds was more than enough to deal with one Lava Stone Monster. In fact, aside from Guen, everyone else's first-round scores were above ninety.

A five-times-power-output warrior had taken over forty seconds? Strange thoughts stirred in Scott's mind.

Could it really be, as some people said, that Guen was all bark and no bite?

Just as Scott's mind was racing, Guen charged straight out. The rock beneath his feet cracked with a small fissure. Before Scott could even make out Guen's movements, he heard the wind whistling past his ears.

But Scott was, after all, an outstanding warrior from Eastsea Province. In that narrow, elongated province, it was easy to be ambushed by ferocious beasts. So although his mind hadn't caught up, his muscle memory had already drawn his blade and barely blocked that punch.

"Blocked it?"

Guen was slightly surprised, but immediately threw another punch.

Scott was drenched in sweat, using every trick he had to desperately defend. But after three exchanges, a gap appeared, and Guen landed a punch squarely on his chest.

"Pfft."

Scott felt an excruciating pain in his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Ever since entering the Volcano Interior, the battle suit had been suppressed by some immense force, its structure destroyed. Only the weapon remained intact.

So with no protection at all, being hit like that by Guen's punch made the sweat that had just poured out feel ice-cold in an instant.

Guen pressed the attack, and with a few more punches and kicks, forced Scott to spit out two more mouthfuls of blood.

"I surrender!" Scott knew he had no chance of lasting, so he gave up very cleanly. A red energy protected Scott, and when Guen attacked again, it was gently repelled.

Scott's pillar of light began to collapse, and Scott glared at Guen with hatred. "Guen! When you run into Toster and the others, they'll avenge me, you coward!"

Scott was in agony, because from the looks of it, this was probably a free-for-all with five hundred people fighting one-on-one, meaning half would be eliminated in a single round.

He was doomed to miss the top hundred.

The attention given to the top hundred versus the bottom four hundred couldn't be compared, let alone the fact that he was eliminated in the very first batch.

So all he hoped was that Guen would run into Lianda and Toster in the next round.

In Scott's view, while Guen and Toster were both among the elite, Guen had taken over forty seconds to crush the Lava Stone Monster in the first round. Whatever he was up to, he definitely wasn't on Toster's level.

A red glow enveloped Scott and whisked him away.

Guen didn't even glance at him, his eyes fixed on the stone pillar.

He had defeated another trial taker in just five seconds, and he hadn't even gone all out.

One by one, the names on the stone pillar dimmed, until finally, when the light screen appeared and began demonstrating techniques again, only two hundred and fifty trial takers remained.

"Double power output—this is the second round?"

Guen watched the figure on the light screen. This time, only fifty-five moves were demonstrated, covering the range from 1.1 times power output to double power output. Though the moves were fewer, they were still simple and effortless.

After a while, the light screen vanished, and with a rumble, a Lava Stone Monster appeared once more. Unsurprisingly, its power output had reached double.

Second round. Glancing at his score, Guen decided not to dawdle this time. He charged straight forward, and amidst the monster's roar—an attack laced with illusion magic—he punched it square in the chest. The Lava Stone Monster's body shuddered violently, then shattered into pieces.

Within one second, Guen had killed the Lava Stone Monster.

This time, he earned the full one hundred points, bringing his total score to 249.

The Lava Stone Monster dissipated, and across from him, a phantom stone pillar and a figure taking shape appeared. No doubt the same scene was unfolding on the other side.

Ten seconds.

That was the baseline Guen set for himself. As long as he wasn't up against the absolute top-tier opponents, he had to finish the fight within ten seconds.

"Swish."

"Swish."

One by one, bewildered and injured figures appeared outside the volcano. Some were resentful, others cursing.

They were the eliminated.

The first round eliminated two hundred and fifty people.

The second round eliminated one hundred and twenty-five.

In the third round, someone finally got a bye, and sixty-seven were eliminated.

In the fourth round, out of the remaining sixty-eight, forty-nine were eliminated outright. Some were defeated by other opponents, but more were taken down by the Lava Stone Monster.

It was bitter. Some of them never even faced an opponent before being beaten by the Lava Stone Monster.

The fourth round's Lava Stone Monster had reached four times power output. Its scorching body and rock-hard fists made life hell for trial takers without battle suits. Ten or twenty seconds was bearable, but inside the cramped volcano, lasting a hundred seconds was far too difficult.

Only nineteen people remained in the trial.

"Pity. They didn't even make it through the first stage, so they're guaranteed no rewards and got nothing out of it. If only they'd held on a little longer." The guards were used to this.

In truth, if you could just get through the fourth round, there wouldn't be any forced eliminations afterward—unless you couldn't meet the most basic requirements.

Because in the fifth round, as long as you could achieve five times power output, you'd get one hundred points. Even if you couldn't, you'd move to the next step: defeat the Lava Stone Monster or survive a hundred seconds, and you'd pass without having to fight other trial takers anymore.

Not to mention that the fifth round's meditation period would last a full two hours.

"Let's see how these final nineteen perform. If nothing unexpected happens, most of them should become Super Tier experts," the guard said solemnly.