Artifact Users

Double Moon Town was a small town in the Aoyu Empire.

The Aoyu Empire was the only country on this planet. Only one-sixth of the planet was ocean; the rest was land, most of it covered in forests. No one could say how many ferocious beasts lurked in those forests.

The Aoyu Empire was merely a small patch of land carved out as a habitat suitable for humans. Its entire area was less than one-thousandth the size of the forests.

Even so, this single country had all kinds of factions within it.

The Forest Goddess Temple, deeply rooted in the hearts of the people; the Council of Elders, representing the traditional powers; the Imperial Council, representing the rising powers; and, not to mention, civilian organizations like the Demon Hunters and the Crimson Moon Society. The Aoyu Empire was an immensely complicated place.

Guen had heard all this from his parents. Even the "Twin Moon Wonder" unique to Double Moon Town, they had told him, was simply a pair of planets.

The concept of a planet was still a strange one to Guen.

His parents had taught him all these things. Though he had never seen them for himself, he had dutifully committed them to memory. Maybe they would come in handy one day.

"Hey, Guen, over here!" Guen had just reached the edge of Double Moon Town when he spotted a crowd. A green-haired boy waved to him.

"Chen." A faint smile appeared on Guen's face as he urged his Horned Boar Beast toward him.

Chen was one of the few friends he had in town.

Chen was a little slender, but exceptionally handsome. He rode a very rare ferocious beast, a Diamond Unicorn. It wasn't much of a fighter, but it could summon an extremely special Diamond Level shield strong enough to hold off even a Ninth-rank Warrior's attacks for a while. It could also fly, making it a very high-grade mount.

Chen pointed to the center of the crowd. "Why are you only getting here now? A Demon Hunter was just giving a speech. He wanted to recruit those of us who passed the trial once it was over."

Demon Hunters!

A very special civilian organization with a strong reputation among the people.

"Like hell I'm joining the Demon Hunters. The truly powerful organizations only recruit people after the trials are over. I'd never join some civilian organization that starts recruiting before the trial," said a burly man in a Bull-Horn Helmet, patting his shield with a sneer. "I advise you not to join those civilian organizations either—the Demon Hunters, the Crimson Moon Society, or whatever. How many Super Tier powerhouses do they have? Even the Royal Imperial Council, a minor official organization, has over twenty Super Tier powerhouses. I've heard the Forest Goddess Temple and the Council of Elders have Saint Tier powerhouses above the Super Tier! Those are the organizations worth joining."

"Exactly. We've worked hard to pass the trial, so we can join these organizations and obtain the Transcendence Method. We have to pick the best one." Someone nearby chimed in with the Bull-Horn Helmet warrior.

Super Tier.

Saint Tier.

They were all true powerhouses.

Cultivators were divided into Warriors and Artifact Users.

Warriors fought with their bodies and weapons. Artifact Users could wield weapons in battle without having to put themselves in danger.

But whether someone was a Warrior or an Artifact User, the ranks were the same, from first to ninth—a total of nine levels. There was a wide gap between each level, especially between every third level, so the ranks were further divided into Low Tier, Middle Tier, and High Tier.

Guen was a Tier 7 Warrior.

And above that were the Super Tier powerhouses!

Super Tier powerhouses could fly through the air—that was the hallmark of the Super Tier.

But breaking through to the Super Tier was incredibly difficult.

Only by joining one of those organizations could people obtain the Transcendence Method and reach the Super Tier. Could someone break through without obtaining it?

Yes, but history had shown it would be extremely difficult. That was why everyone was willing to join these organizations.

Still, not everyone could join. Whether civilian or official, every organization had the same requirement: pass the Jungle Trial to become a senior member. Otherwise, a person could only be a junior member.

Senior members received the Transcendence Method as soon as they joined, while junior members had to spend a long time building up their standing. So most people preferred to join after passing the trial.

To qualify for the trial, a person had to be above Level 6 and below Level 8.

Though Ina felt Guen didn't need to take the trial—she and Kolong already had the so-called Transcendence Method—Kolong had still encouraged Guen to put himself through some training. That was how Guen had gotten the chance to join the Jungle Trial.

Guen and Chen exchanged a glance and smiled without saying a word.

"Everyone, the trial is about to begin. We'll now verify your identities. Each person may take the trial no more than three times. We'll check everyone, and anyone found to be joining for a fourth time will be executed on the spot!" A general encased in armor shouted, drawing everyone's attention.

"Don't take any chances. Even if you've come all the way here from the Northeast Province, you won't be able to pass yourself off as someone else. If you're taking the trial for a fourth time, you'd better withdraw now!"

The soldiers immediately began checking everyone's identities.

Guen and Chen dutifully joined the line and waited their turn.

"Those soldiers seem to be holding some kind of testing device?" Guen glanced at the iron box in the distance, which was glowing green, and couldn't help feeling puzzled. He remembered his parents saying this was an Ancient Martial Planet with no technology.

But that iron box, which seemed to be a device, was clearly a product of technology.

I'll have to pay closer attention. According to my parents, I'm only a Tier 7 Apprentice. I don't even count as a Cosmic Citizen. Guen reminded himself. I wonder what the universe is like.

He often saw things like this at home, too. His father said they had been salvaged from a wrecked spaceship. Guen wasn't entirely convinced about the spaceship, which he had never seen and which had been reduced to nothing but a giant tortoise shell. But he had used many of the devices himself, so he trusted they were real.

Chen studied the iron boxes curiously. "I heard the mayor say they can store our information. They just point the box at us, then use the stored information to check our records. If it shines green, we can take the trial. If it shines red, that means we're taking it for the fourth time."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of beeps rang out across the square. A red beam shot from one of the boxes, falling on a burly, bearded man.

"Damn it, they really caught me." The bearded man's expression changed. He pulled the javelins from his back and began hurling them one after another.

The soldiers conducting the checks hurried to defend themselves. Spears swept through the air with a sharp tearing sound. They seemed about to fend off the javelins, but one suddenly curved in midair and plunged into a soldier's head, instantly pulverizing it. Then the javelin flew back into the bearded man's hand.

"Impudent!" The general moved in a flash, leaving a string of afterimages as he threw a punch. The distance of over a hundred meters vanished in the blink of an eye.

Oh no!

The bearded man's hair stood on end. He hurriedly jumped onto a javelin and controlled it, taking flight.

The general snorted and leaped into the air. The bearded man had barely taken off when the general seized him and dragged him back down. The general's strength was immense; no matter how hard the bearded man struggled, he couldn't break free.

Sweat ran down the bearded man's forehead as he continually used his telekinetic power on the general's armor, trying to push him away.

But the general didn't budge. Instead, his hand tightened around the bearded man's shoulder.

Crack.

"Aaagh!"

The bearded man's shoulder was crushed in the general's grip.

"A Level 6 Artifact User dares to act out in front of me? Die!" The general threw a punch. No matter how hard the bearded man tried, he couldn't evade it. The blow shattered his head.

The crowd cried out in shock.

"See that? Anyone who lies about their attempts will be killed on the spot. But if you withdraw before being checked, you'll be safe." The general spoke calmly, as if nothing had happened.

But no one could pretend nothing had happened.

"That general must be a Ninth-rank Warrior. He's only one step away from the Super Tier."

"Even so, breaking through to the Super Tier isn't easy. Look at the emblem on his chest. He must hold a high position and have obtained the Transcendence Method, but still hasn't broken through. He's at the ninth rank, with the Super Tier just one step away—but that step is no easy one."

"I'm going to pass the trial. I'm going to become a Super Tier powerhouse!"

"So strong, Guen! Did you see that? Just one step and one punch, and he killed a Level 6 Artifact User. That's the might of a Ninth-rank Warrior! I wonder how strong the Super Tier powerhouses are." Chen exclaimed in awe.

Guen nodded. "He's impressive."

Artifact Users were extremely rare. Double Moon Town was famous throughout the Aoyu Empire. It was hardly less prominent than the empire's only seven cities, yet Guen had met only three Artifact Users.

Every Artifact User who was willing to join an organization could generally become a senior member, regardless of rank. But for some reason, this one had been willing to lie about how many times he had taken the trial just to participate in the Jungle Trial.

Artifact Users were also powerful fighters. They were said to be invincible among those of the same rank!

Guen had fought an Artifact User who used a bow. The Artifact User's unique telekinetic power, channeled into the arrows, gave them a terrifying amount of force. The arrows didn't even have to be fired from the bow; bolstered by telekinetic power, they could attack Guen again and again. If the Artifact User actually shot them, they would be even more powerful.

That Artifact User was only a Level 4 Warrior, but his telekinetic power was equivalent to Level 6, and he had given Guen a lot of trouble.

Guen and Chen soon passed the check.

Aside from the Artifact User earlier, no one else had lied about how many times they had taken the trial.

Lying about it was foolish.

"All right. There are 421 people from Double Moon Town taking the trial this time. I hope every one of you passes, but that's impossible. Only two out of every ten people complete the Jungle Trial, and the death rate is as high as thirty percent. In other words, only half of you will make it out alive, so don't let your guard down." The general's gaze swept across the crowd. "Now, we'll distribute the maps. This trial will take place in Starlight Forest. You'll hunt Golden-Bearded Mastiffs there, then make your way to Stardew Valley. Each of you must submit at least fifteen Golden Whiskers."

"Remember, people from Double Moon Town aren't the only ones taking the trial. Participants from more than twenty nearby towns and others from Leiquan City will be in Starlight Forest as well. You'll all take the trial together, and it will last one month. Come collect your maps, and then you can set out."