Reward

"Hoo."

Setti suddenly let out a breath.

Sweat poured down his body like rain, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. The illusion woven by the phantom technique had placed Setti under immense pressure; no matter how high the multiplier on his force techniques, they were useless against it.

After ten seconds passed, the intensity of the illusion attack suddenly dropped, giving Setti a chance to catch his breath.

But Guen's expression grew even more solemn. Though the illusion attack had weakened, from all directions, one Lava Stone Monster after another crawled out. Their roars rose and fell in waves, forming another powerful illusion attack.

Moreover, these Lava Stone Monsters were all formidable, each close to the strength of a Ninth-rank Warrior, and they knew how to cooperate.

As soon as they appeared, they launched an attack on the three of them.

And the fading illusion attack was slowly rising again.

Some Lava Stone Monsters fought in close quarters, while others stood at a distance, manipulating lava-coated boulders to attack, behaving like Artifact Users. Yet they had structure and method, and their power was not to be underestimated.

"No!"

Setti roared. Under the illusion attack, his consciousness blurred, and he couldn't mount any decent counterattack. Two Lava Stone Monsters smashed into his head, and before his skull shattered, he was ejected from the Volcanic Space.

Lianda's expression was grave as she manipulated twenty-two Flying Daggers to continuously strike at the surrounding Lava Stone Monsters.

The Flying Daggers moved so fast that even Guen could only track them with his vision, but his movements could never keep up. With a "boom," a Flying Dagger pierced through a Lava Stone Monster's head, shattering it into several pieces, yet the monster still charged at Lianda.

Only after the Flying Daggers struck the Lava Stone Monster repeatedly, scattering its stone body entirely, did the monster finally collapse into rubble on the ground.

If it were a human, a single Flying Dagger through the head would kill them.

But a Lava Stone Monster required its entire body to be shattered. Even with Lianda's high Telekinetic Power amplitude, she needed multiple strikes to finish one off.

After barely killing one Lava Stone Monster, the others charged furiously at her. From a distance, more Lava Stone Monsters manipulated flaming boulders to attack Lianda. She dodged everywhere, finally opening a gap and flying out.

Lianda stepped onto another Flying Dagger and soared into the air, but flight height was suppressed here, so she couldn't go too high. Still, she managed to put some distance between herself and most of the Lava Stone Monsters, and only then did she have a moment to glance at Guen.

As an Artifact User, she was forced to flee in all directions. Guen, a warrior, couldn't possibly be having an easier time than her, could he?

But one look at Guen, and Lianda couldn't stay calm.

Guen's movements were like a snake—swift yet confined to a small range; then suddenly like a monkey—leaping and bounding unpredictably. He always ensured that no more than four Lava Stone Monsters attacked him at once, and these four monsters hindered each other, limiting their power.

Guen's Body Movement Technique had reached the point of using the environment itself. Simply through his footwork, he prevented the Lava Stone Monsters from unleashing their full strength. The distant monsters manipulating lava boulders, under Guen's guidance, several times nearly hit their own kind and had to abort their attacks, left glaring helplessly from afar.

If it were only that, Guen would eventually lose.

The key was his fist technique!

Guen's fist technique was exquisite.

With the same strength, different punching styles had different effects. Now, Guen effortlessly used thrusting punches, collapsing punches, short punches, and stored-power punches, easily blocking the heavy blows of the Lava Stone Monsters while counterattacking relentlessly.

Lianda was certain that if these Lava Stone Monsters pursued him a little longer, Guen would pick them off one by one.

Guen wasn't just fleeing; he was always keeping himself in a relatively safe position while wearing down his opponents.

"This Guen has already reached this level!" Lianda's heart churned with shock.

A hint of bitterness crept into her heart.

Lianda understood why. In the Second Stage, there weren't just methods to train force techniques, but also Secret Methods for basic martial arts like fist techniques, sword techniques, and Body Movement Techniques.

But most people had no time to learn or train them.

Only Guen had completed the trial in the first month, leaving him two months to study these things.

And to reach this level in just two months only showed that Guen had a solid foundation and astonishing comprehension.

The Fourth Stage trial was no longer a threat to Guen.

Just as Lianda's focus wavered, a Lava Stone Monster seized the opportunity, manipulating a lava boulder to knock her down. Lianda dared not be distracted again and focused entirely on the situation at hand.

Guen noticed this, but he couldn't spare much strength to help. Besides, the illusion attack was still intensifying, slightly affecting his movements.

He had to concentrate fully to deal with these Lava Stone Monsters. Now that he was affected, the pressure on Guen was also great.

Second by second passed, but both Guen and Lianda felt each second stretch on endlessly.

At around forty seconds, Lianda frantically drove her Flying Daggers to madly attack the Lava Stone Monsters within range.

Every Flying Dagger created a sonic boom in the air. Daggers that could split boulders and tall buildings could only barely push back these Lava Stone Monsters, requiring repeated strikes to truly injure them.

Lianda had reached her limit.

Even without the ever-strengthening illusion attack, just fighting at full concentration for over forty seconds had exhausted her. Such high intensity, without a single moment of slack, was more draining than any battle she'd ever fought.

Lianda began to make mistakes, getting hit by the Lava Stone Monsters more and more often.

"Boom!"

A Lava Stone Monster's massive fist struck Lianda's body head-on, but instead of seeing her form crushed under the giant blow, a red light enveloped her, and she was moved out.

Before leaving, Lianda didn't howl in frustration like Setti. Instead, she looked at Guen, wanting to see where this person's limit lay.

"Whoosh"

In the end, Lianda never got the chance to witness that.

Guen did not waver in the slightest. He continued to punch and sidestep with unwavering resolve.

The Lava Stone Monsters that had been besieging Setti and Lianda collapsed on their own after the two left, without turning to attack Guen. Guen faced only those Lava Stone Monsters—each time he shattered one, a new one appeared.

Though he had adapted to this rhythm, the increasingly powerful illusion attacks still caused Guen to make mistakes.

Facing the Lava Stone Monsters alone, or the illusion attacks alone, Guen could endure. But when the two combined, they pressed him into errors.

"Thud."

A Lava Stone Monster seized the opportunity and struck Guen in the chest. But Guen shifted his body back just in time, leaving only a scorched, blistering wound from the graze.

"Get lost!"

Guen grew furious.

He stopped controlling the battle with precision and instead let loose, charging and striking with reckless abandon.

"Bam, bam, bam."

"Thump, thump, thump."

One Lava Stone Monster after another was shattered, and one after another rose again.

What Guen paid for this was a massive drain on his stamina and an increasing number of wounds on his body.

Guen said nothing and charged forward again.

Punch, punch, still punch.

At this moment, Guen felt an unprecedented smoothness. Every cell in his body rejoiced and cheered. His power had never flowed so freely as it did when he threw those punches.

Just as Guen was in the midst of this exhilarating release, all the Lava Stone Monsters around him suddenly vanished, and the illusion attacks ceased.

Guen panted heavily, wanting nothing more than to collapse onto the ground. Streams of pure energy surged into his body, healing his injuries and sweeping away his exhaustion.

"Congratulations, Guen. You have completed the Fourth Stage. You are also the second person on this planet to complete the Second Stage. You are qualified to undergo the Fifth Stage trial." A stiff, emotionless voice sounded.

The second?

Guen was startled. That meant someone before him had also completed the Fourth Stage. Were they one of the two Saint Tier experts?

The stiff voice seemed to know what Guen was thinking and said, "It is a chief from the Western Tribe, whom you call 'Barbarian.' He is close to breaking through to Star Level and is currently undergoing the Fifth Stage."

To the west of the Aoyu Empire lived a group of humans who maintained a tribal form of existence. Most people looked down on these unfamiliar humans with contempt. Guen had never seen them either, only knowing that such a person existed.

"The Fifth Stage is very difficult to complete. The master set the first four stages to be enough to select geniuses. But the Fifth Stage is for geniuses who shine across the universe. The Fifth Stage is to comprehend the Domain when you are at Star Level. If you can achieve this, your status will directly rise beyond that of an ordinary citizen of Tucha Planet, becoming a core member. Work hard, Guen. Strive toward this goal. The master would also be very pleased to see a genius emerge." The stiff voice spoke without emotion.

Then, five items appeared before Guen.

"The first item is a Battle Suit similar to those in your Aoyu Empire. It is your reward for the First Stage. It can protect your entire body, and even a Planetary Level warrior would find it difficult to destroy. On your Aoyu Empire, it will be enough to keep you safe.

"The second item is Grey Bamboo Shoot Liquid, a rare treasure even in the universe. It can make your body tougher and bring you many benefits. Take it—it is your reward for the Second Stage.

"The third item is a Second-order Force Weapon, the Meteor Light Blade. It will serve you well up to Star Level. It is your reward for the Third Stage.

"The fourth item is a sleeping Kejia Beast. Though it is not as good as auxiliary Plant Lifeforms like Cloud-Touching Vine or Star-Quaking Grass, it excels in loyalty and grows quickly. It can reach Planetary Level Seven in a short time. While further improvement becomes difficult after that, it is enough to help you explore and survive on this planet. It is your reward for the Fourth Stage.

"As for the fifth item, it is the most important—an Auxiliary Optical Computer. It stores several basic Secret Methods unique to Tucha Planet, including two that are considered precious even there, along with much cultivation experience. It will be of considerable help to you in training to Universe Level or comprehending the Domain at Star Level. Though I think your chances of achieving either are less than one in ten thousand, still, work hard. Strive to become a citizen of Tucha Planet.

"Don't bother with Super Tier or Saint Tier anymore. In the universe, they are called Planetary Level and Star Level. These materials will also be in your Auxiliary Optical Computer. Since you have reached the Fourth Stage, even if you are not a Spirit Reader or an Elf, you are qualified to become a citizen of Tucha Planet. At most, in three to five years, someone will come to take you to Tucha Planet. Work hard, Guen."

The stiff voice finished speaking.

All five items fell into Guen's hands. Clutching them, he was moved out of the Volcanic Space.