"Jin An, it's you! You Blood Sun City bastards actually dared to use those Wolf Beast Packs to get back at us!"
In a forest, Tuo Meng swung the long mace in his hand, trading blows with Jin An. All the while, he cursed furiously, wishing he could tear the Golden Armor Man before him apart with his bare hands.
"Haha, it was just an unexpected bonus, nothing more. Tuo Meng, your Thunder Star Mountain has gotten more and more arrogant. This is what happens when you dare cross Blood Sun City."
Jin An's pair of gleaming golden fists clashed now and then with Tuo Meng's long mace, each collision erupting with a thunderous boom. Yet neither could get the better of the other.
There was no helping it. They were both Elite Trial Takers and Metal-element warriors, and the strongest forms of the Third-Grade Mid-Rank weapons they wielded could only triple their 80-fold Force Amplitude, bringing it to 240 times.
Their strength was roughly equal, so the only things that could give either of them an edge were movement techniques and combat skills.
But this wasn't the sort of fight that could be decided in a short time, unless one of them made a fatal mistake.
Jin An wasn't in a hurry, though. Tuo Meng had fled all the way here, so he must have little Primal Force left. Buying time was all to Jin An's advantage.
For Tuo Meng, the situation was growing worse by the moment. It wasn't just Jin An threatening him; there was also that Green-Robed Youth in the distance.
Wu Sheng was using his advantage in soul power to keep four Elite Trial Takers from Thunder Star Mountain firmly suppressed.
Among the four Prison Clan Members facing him was a Planetary Level Nine Spirit Reader, whose telekinetic level was twice his own, and who was also skilled at soul defense. It was only because of this Spirit Reader's interference that Wu Sheng found it so difficult to make his Soul Illusion work.
Even so, Wu Sheng was quite confident. First, he had perfect telekinetic amplification. Second, his willpower had already broken through to the Star Grade. With those two advantages, given enough time, he could take out all four opponents.
"Elite Trial Takers are far stronger than Man Gu and the others. Whether warriors or Spirit Readers, none of them are pushovers. If Jin An hadn't held Tuo Meng back, I'd be the one fleeing for my life right now."
Wu Sheng sighed inwardly. He had never expected to sweep through the Blood Trial all by himself.
Not only were these troublesome Elite Trial Takers much closer to him in strength, but Prison Clan Members like Tuo Meng, who had no souls, were a complete counter to him.
If he couldn't use Soul Arts and had to rely on close combat, then with his current Planetary Level Seven Genetic Primal Force, he'd be at a definite disadvantage. It was hard to say whether he'd even escape with his life.
"I can't let this go on. I need to break through to Planetary Level Nine faster. As my opponents get stronger, Star Grade Trial Takers will surely appear. I can't afford to fall too far behind in basic strength."
During his first year, Wu Sheng had devoted most of his time to cultivating secret arts, which meant his basic strength had improved very little. If he didn't make up for that weakness now, he'd be asking for death.
"Mm, got it!"
Wu Sheng's eyes lit up. He could feel his Soul Illusion slowly seeping into the Spirit Reader's soul.
"No! Don't! Hold it off! You have to hold it off!"
The Prison Clan Member from the Flood Abyss Clan began to look desperate. His prized soul defense had finally been breached by the Green-Robed Youth before him, who was at Earth Grade Eight.
The next moment, he fell into an illusion. With his own strength, he could easily break free if given enough time, but right now...
Whoosh!
Wu Sheng sent his Green Shadow Sword flying, easily severing the head of the Flood Abyss Clan Member, whose battle suit was no longer protecting him.
The other three Prison Clan Members were only warriors. They couldn't withstand Wu Sheng's soul assault, and he cut them down one by one with his sword.
"Tsk, what a haul. There are at least three or four hundred Force Battle Suits in each Space Ring! Mm, my Wind Wheel is a Telekinetic Weapon focused on movement, while this Spirit Reader's weapon is focused on offense. It's perfect for me!"
Wu Sheng quickly checked his spoils and was very satisfied. He was especially intrigued by the Third-Grade Mid-Rank Telekinetic Weapon, the Flowing Cloud Needle.
After all, his greatest strength right now was his Spiritual Force. Attacking with a Telekinetic Weapon was bound to be more powerful than close combat!
"It'd be great if I could kill a Special Elite. They have Third-Grade High-Quality Weapons, which can triple the amplification of perfect Force Amplitude and perfect telekinetic amplification. Those are the best fit for unleashing my full strength."
Wu Sheng looked at the blue needle, as long as his palm, and sighed.
First-grade weapons provided no amplification at all. Starting from the second grade, however, as long as one could activate the corresponding control secret art, the weapon would provide amplification according to its grade, all the way up to fifth-grade weapons.
Among weapons of the same grade, the higher the quality, the less demanding they were to use.
Low-quality third-grade weapons had low amplification limits and usually required a Domain or something similar.
Take the Escape Shuttle, for example. Its three forms could be activated with the corresponding control secret art, Escape, when one's telekinetic amplification reached 12, 30, and 48 times, respectively, with a maximum of 60 times. But the third form required not only Cosmic Level strength, but also a Domain.
Wu Sheng's own Third-Grade Mid-Rank Force weapon, the Green Shadow Sword, specially made for the Blood Trial, had three forms that could generally be activated with the corresponding control secret art, Shadow Kill, at Force Amplitudes of 20, 40, and 60 times, respectively, with a maximum of 80 times.
It didn't require a Domain or anything like that, but even so, a Third-Grade Mid-Rank weapon still couldn't bring out his full potential.
As for Third-Grade High-Quality Weapons, their three forms generally corresponded to Force Amplitudes of 40, 60, and 80 times, with a maximum of 100 times for perfect amplification.
That was why only the Third-Grade High-Quality Weapons in the hands of Special Elites could meet the needs of his perfect amplification.
As for top-quality third-grade weapons, the Prison Clan didn't provide them for Planetary Grade trials. At most, they offered some top-quality second-grade weapons.
Top-quality third-grade weapons were actually less demanding to activate. Generally, meeting a specified minimum Force Amplitude was enough to unleash their full power. They had no fixed forms.
For example, Man Gu's own Force Amplitude was only 52 times. But if he had a top-quality third-grade Force weapon he could activate, he could unleash a final amplification of 156 times.
Top-quality third-grade weapons were extremely complicated to manufacture and required materials that were far too precious, so they couldn't be supplied in large quantities.
Besides, all these weapons and battle suits would be collected when the trial ended. Trial takers were only allowed to take away treasures such as Cosmic Crystals.
Otherwise, the Blood Trial couldn't be held at all. Even with subsidies from the Prison Clan's upper ranks, the Blood Sun Tribe would lose its shirt.
Of course, one had to know one's limits when using weapons. Some people whose own amplification fell short still tried to use stronger weapons. They might not even be able to activate the first form, and would simply end up getting killed.
"Haha, Tuo Meng, you're finished! Let's see who can save you now!"
After Wu Sheng easily dealt with the four Elite Trial Takers from Thunder Star Mountain, Jin An felt as though he'd just been given a shot in the arm. His attacks against Tuo Meng grew even more ferocious.
"No! He's only a Spirit Reader. His powers don't work on a soulless race like me. You're dreaming!"
Tuo Meng roared furiously, but his heart sank to the depths.
He had already used up nearly all his Primal Force escaping the Wolf Beast Pack. Now Jin An had dragged the fight out for so long. What hope did he have?
"Bastard! Blood Sun City bastard!"
Tuo Meng fought back desperately, but it was useless. At last, amid his pained roar, a pair of massive golden fists smashed into his head.
"Senior Brother, why haven't you come yet? I'm not ready to die!"
With Tuo Meng's death, Wu Sheng's side wiped out the Thunder Star Mountain squad without a single casualty.
Just as Jin An was grinning and about to say something to Wu Sheng, Wu Sheng held out a hand and said:
"The Wolf Beast Pack killed five Elite Trial Takers, and we killed five on our side. That makes ten million Cosmic Crystals."
"As for the ordinary squad members, there should have been more than 120 of them. According to your rules, each ordinary squad member is worth 100,000 Cosmic Crystals. That makes twelve million Cosmic Crystals."
"So, twenty-two million Cosmic Crystals. Time to settle the score!"