Yun Ze vs. Wang Qiu'er Projection

"Assessment starting. Current difficulty: High. Assessment requirement: Survive for one minute."

Yun Ze looked at the female projection before him. Her movements were even swifter than his own, and the moment the mechanical prompt faded, she lunged straight at him.

Yun Ze felt no fear. He sidestepped the first spear thrust from the woman and manifested a long spear in each of his hands.

The Heaven-Propping Spear clashed against the golden spear in the woman's hand, erupting with the sound of clashing metal.

As the two spears met, Yun Ze's hands trembled slightly for the first time, though the woman's attack was not yet overwhelmingly fierce.

Yun Ze was still barely able to hold his ground, so he immediately activated the first soul skill of the Heaven-Surpassing Spear: Fate Protection.

It could double all of his attributes in every aspect, allowing his body to perceive danger a step early and subconsciously execute the best maneuvers to counter it.

As the Fate Protection soul skill activated, the young girl paused noticeably, and then two yellow soul rings lit up around her.

With both yellow soul rings activated simultaneously, the girl transformed into a golden figure, as if cast from solid gold.

Her stats reached a terrifying level, causing Yun Ze to feel a flicker of fear despite himself.

This was the fear generated subconsciously after Fate Protection heightened his sensory perception.

Yun Ze hurriedly retreated, swinging the dual spears in his hands.

The moment the girl's golden spear collided with the Qingyue Dual Spears, it emitted a screeching wail even sharper than before.

Yun Ze had already guessed which figure this girl was simulating: Wang Qiu'er, the transformed state of the Emperor Auspicious Beast Three-Eyed Golden Ni.

Just as Yun Ze's Heaven-Propping Spear bypassed the Golden Dragon Spear and thrust toward Wang Qiu'er's chest, everything shifted direction, and the system prompt sounded.

"High difficulty stage one cleared. Stage two will begin after one minute."

Yun Ze twirled the Heaven-Propping Spear and loosened his arm, muttering to himself.

"That's a cheap shot. I finally found an opening and was about to win."

One minute later, Wang Qiu'er's figure reappeared before Yun Ze, only this time, there was an extra soul ring at her feet.

She had gone from two yellow soul rings to three: two yellow and one purple.

Looking at Wang Qiu'er, whose cultivation and power were now higher than his own, Yun Ze still felt the urge to fight, but he no longer dared to meet her edge head-on.

He raised his dual spears, using their combined force to parry Wang Qiu'er's first strike, and took the opportunity to land a front kick on her abdomen.

The distance between them opened up in that instant, and Yun Ze took a breath, raising his dual spears once more.

Wang Qiu'er's simulation looked at Yun Ze and actually raised a hand to beckon him with a finger, performing a provocative gesture.

Yun Ze clicked his tongue, thinking that this thing was indeed more interesting than the Tang Sect Hall of Heroes described in the original work; it even had a provocation module.

With such a rich action module, it was more fun than most games in the original world.

The only downside was that the pain sensation was far too realistic; Yun Ze could still feel the slight blood seeping from the webbing between his thumb and forefinger.

"All or nothing," Yun Ze whispered to himself, and with his dual spears positioned one in front and one behind, he charged at Wang Qiu'er.

After a fierce exchange, Yun Ze's body was riddled with blood holes, looking like a sieve.

After finally enduring the one minute of High difficulty, the cold, mechanical electronic voice rang out once again.

"Next, beginning Ultimate difficulty test. Please survive for one and a half minutes."

Yun Ze couldn't help but retort.

"What's the meaning of adding another half minute?"

At this moment, Wang Qiu'er's projection appeared before Yun Ze once again.

Aside from Wang Qiu'er's phantom, another female figure appeared, differing only in her hair.

Behind the woman were magnificent butterfly wings, and she held a massive silver hammer in her hands.

There was no need to ask; this was Wang Dong'er from the same period.

"Isn't this going a bit too far? Two against one, and you want me to last for a minute and a half?"

Yun Ze rotated the Heaven-Propping Spear in his hand, while the tip of the Moon Sky Spear remained pointed at the two women.

A minute and a half later, Yun Ze had sustained several more wounds, but he had managed to drive a spear into the calf of Wang Dong'er's phantom.

If this were a real battle, the next strike could have claimed one of their lives, so it wasn't too shameful.

However, as the electronic voice rang out again, the second stage of the Ultimate difficulty arrived.

This time, the two opponents had changed from two two-ringed spirits to one Soul Elder and one two-ringed spirit.

The difficulty climbed another notch, but Yun Ze felt less fear and instead grew more courageous with every strike. His dual spears danced, one defending and one attacking, alternating in a rhythmic flow.

With the amplification of his soul skills, he gradually found a rhythm to hold his ground.

The moment the minute and a half ended, the Moon Sky Spear pierced the heart of Wang Qiu'er's projection.

Although he was in a miserable state, he had at least survived the Ultimate test.

Yun Ze was just about to stand up and arrogantly say "Is that all?" when he heard an incredibly unfair electronic mechanical voice.

"Congratulations on passing the Ultimate test. Now entering the first stage of the Hell-level test."

Yun Ze immediately abandoned any thoughts of playing tough, and with the mindset of seeing what exactly "hell-level" meant, he slowly raised his head to look ahead.

One look was all it took to know he should just surrender; this was truly impossible to play.

It was still the combination of Wang Qiu'er and Wang Dong'er, only this time, both sides had freed up one hand to hold onto each other.

The phantoms of the Golden Dragon, the Clear Sky Hammer, and the Radiant Goddess Butterfly fused together in mid-air.

Golden armor appeared on Wang Qiu'er's body; this was their legendary Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the Golden Butterfly Dragon Transformation.

Yun Ze really wanted to curse out loud. Was this hell-level? This was clearly a "send you packing" level. How was he supposed to play against this?

Seeing that the simulation test wasn't even pretending anymore, Yun Ze could only grit his teeth, preparing to be sent flying.

Whether it was because his physical constitution was exceptionally strong due to his triple martial souls, or because the medicine Guan Yue gave him was truly effective, in any case, the first stage of hell only left Yun Ze in excruciating pain.

But he hadn't been judged as eliminated yet. After enduring two minutes of a brutal beating, he managed to survive the first stage.

It wasn't until the second stage that the torture finally ended. Yun Ze gasped for air, and by the time he regained his senses, he had already been knocked out of the simulation test.

Guan Yue was sitting nearby watching him, and beside him was his father in name, Yun Ming.

"Ze'er is indeed impressive. When I first underwent this trial, I didn't even make it to the second stage of hell."

Yun Ze gasped and said, "Father, isn't it a bit too unfriendly to use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill to beat up your son?"

Yun Ming smiled and said, "I'm afraid even a Martial Soul Fusion Skill wouldn't truly extinguish your fighting spirit. If I hadn't used a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, I fear the cultivation gap within the two-ring range wouldn't have been enough to suppress you..."