Moto

Everyone looked up with eager anticipation.

As soon as the third stage began, a group of people were directly ejected from the Volcanic Space, the swiftness of their exit leaving even themselves feeling somewhat ashamed.

They hadn't even lasted a single second.

But when ten seconds passed, three people still hadn't appeared, and even the Super Tier experts descended from the volcano's summit.

Over a dozen Super Tier experts appeared at once, and the trial participants didn't dare breathe too loudly.

"Three people actually entered the fourth stage—these three..."

A flicker of excitement lit up the eyes of the Super Tier experts. The fourth stage was different from the others; generally, anyone who reached this stage of the trial had a strong chance of achieving the Saint Tier.

If they could recruit one under their command and build a good relationship now, there would be plenty of benefits later on.

They had originally thought only Lianda would make it, and she had already caught the attention of a Saint Tier expert, leaving them no chance. But unexpectedly, there were two other trial participants with talent no less than Lianda's.

After more than ten seconds, Setti slowly emerged from the depths of the cave. Seeing so many Super Tier experts, he couldn't help but catch his breath.

"Come here, you should have obtained the Flame God Armor, right?" Tom said with a kind smile.

"Flame God Armor?" Setti was taken aback.

Tom chuckled, reached out, rolled up his sleeve, and revealed his arm. A layer of red, skin-tight gel quickly appeared, covering his arm and forming a Battle Suit.

"This is the Flame God Armor. You bind it with a drop of blood, and it adapts on its own as your body changes. Unlike ordinary Battle Suits, the Flame God Armor can cover every part of your body, depending on your will. Of course, its most special feature is its defense. Even ordinary Super Tier Warriors can't damage it at all, and attacks are weakened to a negligible degree. Even a Tier 6 Warrior protected by the Flame God Armor can hold out for a long time against a Super Tier Warrior's assault," Tom explained. "And don't worry—this is a reward for trial participants who performed well in the first stage. Many Super Tier experts have it. If anyone dares to steal your reward, the Land of Inheritance inside the Volcano Interior will unleash an extremely terrifying attack, killing them no matter how far away they are."

Setti finally understood, then asked, "You mean no matter how far away, they'll be killed, regardless of their cultivation level?"

"That's right!" Tom warned gravely. "In history, a Super Tier expert tried to steal a trial participant's reward and was killed instantly by a beam of light. The power of that beam was so great that even two Saint Tier experts dared not resist it. Your rewards can only be used by you. Even if you voluntarily give them to someone else, it won't work. Only after you die will the Land of Inheritance stop caring. But as long as you're alive, no one can take them from you."

Setti finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If such a treasure were stolen, he would have no way to resist.

"Actually, the two Saint Tier experts have speculated that this Land of Inheritance doesn't need the volcano as an energy source. To unleash an attack like that, it must have an extremely advanced energy supply inside. They think it uses the volcano's energy only to supplement the trials for you all. Interestingly, no matter the quality of participants each year, the number who ultimately enter the third stage hovers around twenty. So if any of you feel dissatisfied, you can give up now, because from the moment you entered the Volcano Interior, it was already decided who would reach the third stage. At least for a small number, it takes three to five evenly matched battles to determine it. Think about it—didn't the weakest among you end up facing the strongest trial participants?" Tom questioned.

The surrounding trial participants were startled.

Indeed, some of them harbored resentment, but now that Tom said this, they gradually recalled that some had faced opponents they couldn't resist, while others had always encountered evenly matched foes.

Out of five hundred people, the first stage eliminated the majority, and those who remained for the second stage were all elites. Some even felt that in the last round of the first stage, the Lava Stone Monsters seemed to have gone easy on them.

Tom's expression suddenly turned colder. "Don't be unconvinced. Before the Land of Inheritance was discovered, the entire Aoyu Empire might not produce a single Super Tier Warrior in ten years. But after that, at least ten Super Tier Warriors have emerged every four years, and even two Saint Tier experts have appeared. If you're still unconvinced, go ahead and try on your own. See if you can surpass those of us recognized by the Land of Inheritance."

The group of Super Tier experts, some with arms crossed, others with arrogant expressions, all showed their agreement with this statement.

In fact, many of them were among the dozen or so who had triumphed in such trials in the past.

Three or five people stood up with indignant faces and left directly.

But the Super Tier experts, hovering in midair, didn't even glance at them, letting them go.

Instead, they turned to Setti with friendly smiles. "Setti, how about joining our Forest Goddess Temple? The strongest in the Aoyu Empire, Lord Mercedes, is our temple's High Priest. He's the first Saint Tier in the Aoyu Empire and also the strongest. Want to consider it?"

Everyone in the Aoyu Empire knew of the two Saint Tier experts, but for ordinary people, which faction they belonged to had always been a secret.

Among the crowd, Chen's expression shifted slightly at the name, but he quickly concealed it.

Meanwhile, the Black-Haired Elder looked at Setti seriously. "Setti, your mother should be Catherine, right?"

Setti's face changed.

The Black-Haired Elder continued, "But if you're willing to return to our Royal Family, I can guarantee that Kan won't dare do anything to you. You'll receive the Royal Family's full support in training, and your mother can be buried in the best spot in the cemetery."

Chen suddenly understood, and everything became clear.

Kan, the current king.

The king of the Aoyu Empire receives extensive cultivation and can generally advance to Super Tier during their reign. Unless their descendants are exceptionally outstanding, succession to the throne requires internal struggle.

And Kan, during his competition for power, abandoned his original wife to gain stronger political resources.

Ordinary people might not know this, but Chen had heard rumors and immediately understood why members of the Imperial Council had come to hunt Setti.

The Imperial Council was originally subordinate to the Royal Family.

If the trial hadn't been valued by all parties, it might not have been just a few Tier 8 Warriors chasing him, but the process was still perilous.

Setti, however, looked somewhat gloomy and replied, "Sir, I'd like to watch the rest of the trial before making a decision."

The Black-Haired Elder nodded and didn't press further.

Another Super Tier expert sneered, "So it's him. Your Royal Family... too cold-blooded! Setti, join our Council of Elders. The Council of Elders is much warmer and more promising than the Imperial Council."

The Black-Haired Elder shot the man a cold glance and spat disdainfully.

The other Super Tier experts didn't intervene, watching the scene like spectators.

Just then, a graceful figure slowly walked out from inside the volcano, and everyone's expressions turned extremely interesting.

"Lianda, just you?"

The one emerging from the Volcano Interior was indeed Lianda, everyone's top pick. But they had all seen that Lianda's score on the stone pillar had already been set, while another participant's was still showing as in combat.

Lianda mumbled a vague "Mm."

She was still disoriented by the flood of information—things like Tucha Planet, Planetary Level, Star Level—which had left her deeply shaken.

But there was no time to dwell on Lianda's rudeness now; all eyes were fixed on the only name on the stone pillar.

Guen.

"Could it be..." Tom's heart pounded violently.

Never had he imagined that someone from the Southeast Province could go this far—not just taking first place, but judging by the time, possibly on the verge of completing the Fourth Stage.

Even Mercedes, the strongest in the Aoyu Empire, had only performed slightly better than Lianda did today.

The others weren't faring much better either.

In the end, the characters behind Guen shifted from the Fourth Stage to the Fifth Stage.

But everyone was stunned. The Fifth Stage appeared, then quickly vanished from the stone pillar, indicating that Guen had also finished the trial.

"Is it over already?"

Guen had no idea about the shock outside. He simply collected the rewards one by one. The protective suit awarded by the Volcanic Space was slightly better than the one he wore, roughly reaching the A7 Level.

He immediately put on the new protective suit, then equipped the smart computer. The binding process was simple—just locking onto his mental energy. Everyone's mental energy was completely unique, and once bound, the data stored inside the smart computer opened up to Guen.

He merely strapped the smart computer onto his arm.

"Beep!"

"How simple. I'll call you Moto." Guen casually named the smart computer. From now on, whenever he called, it would automatically execute his commands.

"Moto, transmit the Secret Method catalog to me."

"Yes, Master." Moto replied in a mechanical, emotionless voice.

At the same time, it sent Guen a list of various Secret Methods along with brief introductions.

"So it seems there's an intelligence inside the Volcanic Space managing this Volcano Interior. Actually, I have one at home too." Guen smiled. At his home, there was Kolong's intelligence. As for its origin, Guen wasn't entirely sure. When he was a child, he'd always thought an invisible old man lived in the house, always ready when called.

Guen refocused and browsed through the Secret Methods.

There were all kinds of basic Secret Methods, including fist techniques, sword techniques, Body Movement Techniques, and so on. The most important ones were the two Secret Methods specifically mentioned by the stiff voice inside the Volcanic Space.

One was Flame Slash, a combination of Body Movement Technique and combat method. It had only five moves. Mastering the first four at the Planetary Level would make one nearly invincible among Planetary Level fighters. If one could grasp the fifth move, they could even contend with some ordinary Star Level fighters while still at the Planetary Level.

The other was called Star Body Forging, a Secret Method that tempered the body with special substances, making it tougher while also building a certain resistance to illusion attacks. The quality of the substances used only affected the speed of cultivation; it had little impact on the final result.

"Moto, check my strength." Guen commanded.

"Yes."

A stream of information quickly transmitted into Guen's mind.

His level, punch speed, physical reactions—all of it was presented to him in the form of data.

"What a novel feeling. Using numbers to describe my condition—so straightforward. Too bad it can only test below the Planetary Level. I remember my father's intelligence could often test his strength. Looks like this one of mine is the cheaper kind." Guen understood.

Then he turned his gaze to a small beast curled up into the size of a watermelon, covered in armored scales, and a blade that looked dull and gray.