On the forty-third floor, Yin Congyang was injured as soon as they clashed. He simply couldn't fully withstand his opponent's profound axe technique. Yin Congyang felt that it was no longer a technique based on comprehending a single law; it might even contain a trace of the Law of Space.
Even the secret technique Shake God, which Yin Congyang unleashed with his powerful soul force, only affected his opponent for an instant. After all, opponents at this level were bound to have strong soul defenses, with almost no weaknesses. Besides, the deeper their comprehension of the laws, the more they were immersed in the Universe Origin, and the stronger their souls and wills became.
But Yin Congyang used that brief opening to close in, at the cost of his left arm, and behead his opponent with an axe.
Upon reaching the forty-fourth floor, the injuries to Yin Congyang's body and his mental exhaustion instantly vanished.
After appearing, his opponent didn't attack right away. Instead, he looked at Yin Congyang and said, "You're a Planetary Level Nine, and you've made it to the forty-fourth floor. You're impressive. But you should know that the Heaven-Reaching Tower gets much harder every ten floors, with a smaller jump in difficulty every three floors above the fortieth. If you were already at your limit on the forty-third floor, you won't get past this one!"
"Then let's find out." Yin Congyang roared, his eyes alight with battle fervor. "Don't just talk big..."
Before the words had left his mouth, Yin Congyang unleashed Shake God and charged at his opponent with his axe, moving like lightning. This time, he truly poured all his soul force into the secret technique.
The Soul Attack struck first. His opponent's gaze wavered for an instant, and Yin Congyang was already right in front of him, swinging his axe down at his chest. It was too late for the man to dodge. In anger and alarm, he could only fight back with an attack of his own, sweeping his axe sideways.
Yin Congyang's axe struck his opponent in the chest first. With a focused blow that exceeded a 70-fold Force Amplitude, he instantly shattered the floor's guardian into pieces. His opponent's axe barely cut a third of the way through Yin Congyang's neck. He'd been just a few centimeters from losing his head.
With his vocal cords damaged, Yin Congyang looked at his opponent's disbelieving expression, blood at the corner of his mouth, and smiled silently.
Yin Congyang, fully restored in an instant, appeared on the forty-fifth floor. His Soul Attack still had some effect, but the guardian on this floor had slightly stronger soul defenses than the one on the forty-fourth. That small difference meant Yin Congyang couldn't seize the initiative. The guardian's unfathomably profound axe technique broke through his defenses, killing him outright.
Forty-fifth floor: failed.
When Yin Congyang reappeared outside the Heaven-Reaching Tower, every student and all four instructors looked at him in astonishment.
"All right, everyone's Heaven-Reaching Tower assessment is over." Purple-Robed Dragon Lady paused and glanced at Yin Congyang. "A1 had the best result, passing the forty-fourth floor. That puts him among the best students in the Training Camp's history...
"The Training Camp Intelligent System has recorded everyone's performance. Go back and rest, and get yourselves into good shape. Over the next few days, the Intelligent System will assess each of you based on your everyday conduct over the past ten years, evaluating your temperament, intelligence, strategy, sense of right and wrong, ability to cooperate with teammates, and other aspects. It will assign a mission to each of you. Some missions will be solo, while others will require a team. Every mission will test your limits... But!"
Purple-Robed Dragon Lady looked around at all the students, her voice suddenly turning stern and icy. "No one is allowed to tell anyone else about their mission, or ask about anyone else's. Anyone caught doing so will be expelled from the Training Camp immediately, and all their resources will be taken back. Is that clear?"
"Understood!"
All the students replied in unison.
After leaving the Virtual Universe, Yin Congyang sat in his villa, thinking over Purple-Robed Dragon Lady's stern warning.
Clearly, something similar must have happened at the Training Camp before, with serious consequences. That was the only reason they'd impose such a severe penalty for leaking information. He couldn't help but feel wary. Before he'd come to the Training Camp, Ming Yu had advised him that the competition there was fierce and brutal, and that he shouldn't be softhearted. At the time, he'd thought Ming Yu meant the other students. Now, it seemed there were other things he needed to watch out for.
A few nights later, he received an email from the Training Camp Intelligent System. Its subject line read: "Top Secret. Please read privately. Do not share!"
The email read:
Student A1, after ten years of training, you are surely much stronger than when you first entered the Training Camp. But history over countless eras has shown that humanity, one of the peak races, cannot raise true powerhouses in a sheltered environment. No matter how well a flower is cultivated in a greenhouse, it can hardly withstand the wind and rain. Only by weathering storms and frost time and again can one grow into a towering tree.
The strongest members of the Human Race have all pressed forward on thorny paths, cutting through every obstacle in their way. They've killed enemy races on the Outer-Domain Battlefield and survived countless brushes with death to become invincible powerhouses.
The Primordial Universe is vast and boundless. Although humanity is one of the peak races, it is far from invincible. Countless external forces covet the lands beyond its borders, while within its territory, spies from enemy races have infiltrated in great numbers.
The Virtual Universe System is the greatest technology of the Human Race. Through investigations using the Virtual Universe System, the Training Camp Intelligence Department discovered a group of Star Pirates operating within the Frost Forest Empire, an intermediate civilization under the Ganwu Universe Kingdom. They occasionally plunder ships in the Dark Universe. Normally, they disguise themselves as adventurers while gathering all kinds of information about the Ganwu Universe Kingdom, from the secrets of its Universe Legions to news about the livelihoods of people in its various intermediate and lower civilizations. They send this information beyond human territory through the Virtual Universe. They are suspected to be agents of the Machine Race, an enemy race, operating within Human Territory.
Recent intelligence indicates that this group has been stealing information related to Elite Training Camps of every level. Their actions pose a serious threat to the Planetary Level students at these Training Camps.
Student A1, your mission is to travel aboard a Training Camp spaceship to Red Leaf Planet in the Frost Leaf Star System, which belongs to the Frost Forest Empire, and eliminate all twelve agents. Below is a list of the group's members:
Aulis (Stellar Level Nine, Domain One)
Glacha (Stellar Level Seven)
Fali (Stellar Level Seven)
Aspasia (Stellar Level Three)
It has been confirmed that the twelve members of this group will gather in the Frost Leaf Star System in thirty days. The Training Camp's E9-Grade Spaceship, registration number E386, will depart in one hour and is expected to arrive in the Frost Leaf Star System in twenty-five days. Upon arrival, the Training Camp Intelligent System will request that the Virtual Universe System mark these twelve individuals and freeze their Virtual Universe access. Please proceed to the Spaceport and board the spaceship as soon as possible. Once you arrive in the Frost Leaf Star System, eliminate the targets as quickly as possible.
Note: All rewards earned by the student during the mission, except for items specified in advance, belong to the student to distribute as they see fit.
After reading the email, Yin Congyang couldn't help but marvel at the situation. Every member of this group was at the Stellar Level, and even the weakest was a Stellar Level Three. He had no idea how they'd become agents of the Machine Race. Normally, Stellar Level individuals couldn't even enter the Outer-Domain Battlefield, and they were unlikely to come into contact with enemy races beyond human territory. Unless they'd been controlled by Soul Control on the Outer-Domain Battlefield and later retired to Human Territory, where they'd recruited new agents—but that was beyond Yin Congyang's knowledge.
He had no time to dwell on it. He quickly packed his things, hurried to the Spaceport, and boarded the E386 Spaceship. Once he received authorization, it lifted off and left the Training Camp.
Only after the spaceship made a Cosmic Shuttle and entered the Dark Universe did he reopen the email and carefully study the attached mission briefing. The twelve were ten men and two women. Their bases were scattered across five planets in the Frost Leaf Star System. Aside from their leader, Aulis, who lived in seclusion on Red Leaf Planet year-round, the others wandered around the Ganwu Universe Kingdom, gathering only when there was an operation.
An operation usually meant plundering in the Dark Universe or occasionally carrying out a mission assigned to them by their superiors. They were typically rewarded handsomely for completing a mission, with rewards ranging from large sums of Universe Coin to evolution treasures and secret techniques.
The Training Camp Intelligence Department had discovered that they were due to act in about a month, when they would all return to the Frost Leaf Star System. Yin Congyang had to reach the system within twenty-five days to have enough time to prepare and familiarize himself with its planets.
Time passed quickly as he cultivated.
Travel through the Dark Universe was dull and monotonous. Aside from cultivation, he occasionally met up with Thunder God and Luo Hua in the Virtual Universe. He'd had less contact with Hong and Luo Feng lately.
Hong's teacher was nearing the end of his life, and Hong wanted to travel and see more of the world while he still could. Perhaps a sudden insight would even give him a chance to break through, so Hong had to follow his teacher around. Luo Feng, meanwhile, was cultivating desperately in the Initial Universe, sitting in meditation as he comprehended the laws.
More than twenty days later, the spaceship left the Dark Universe and reappeared in the Original Universe, arriving at the edge of the Frost Leaf Star System.
Following the star chart provided by the Training Camp Intelligent System, Yin Congyang had the spaceship circle the entire Frost Leaf Star System several times, familiarizing himself with its planets. A Star System Defense System purchased by Aulis and the others had been installed in the system, but it wasn't high-grade enough to detect the Training Camp's E9-Grade Spaceship.
That made sense. If Stellar Level individuals like them bought a Star System Defense System capable of stopping E-Grade Spaceships, it would attract far too much attention and go against an agent's need to keep a low profile.
After several days of scouting, Yin Congyang used the star chart to draw up an action plan. Calling it a plan was generous; it was simple and brutal.
He'd wait until everyone returned to the Frost Leaf Star System, then start with the outer planets and sweep through them one by one. Finally, he'd go to Red Leaf Planet and eliminate their leader, Aulis, completing the mission.
The Frost Leaf Star System had eleven planets, but the three closest to its star were too near to be suitable for habitation. The three outermost planets were all mining worlds, and none were inhabited.
Red Leaf Planet was the most habitable planet in the system, with a pleasant climate and beautiful scenery. Its pristine landscape was covered in trees resembling Earth's maple trees. Every autumn, the entire planet turned red with maple leaves, which was how it got its name.
Normally, their leader Aulis lived alone. Whenever there was an operation, everyone would gather on Red Leaf Planet.
The other eleven members used several of the outer planets as their bases.
The Star System Defense System they'd purchased was enough to guard against a sudden attack by a D-Grade Spaceship or a Domain Lord.
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