B-Rank Trial

A two-story pavilion, with all the furniture inside styled after antiquity.

"Because the curator is Chinese and places great emphasis on ancient Chinese culture, the entire Hongning Base City was built in an ancient Chinese style. Especially this training camp—even the furniture imitates the old ways, so you won't find sofas or TVs here." Situ Ye glanced around as he explained. "Fortunately, the curator is reasonable, so each person is allowed a laptop."

No modern appliances whatsoever, only electric lights are provided. However, power outlets are available, so you can buy your own appliances to use.

"Just rest well here. If you want to eat, give a call and someone will deliver it." Situ Ye instructed. "You'd better not wander around today. Tomorrow at noon, I'll take you to the Nine-Fold Tower for the B-rank trial."

"Once you pass the trial, you'll move to new lodgings. This is just temporary."

With those two remarks, Situ Ye turned and left, preparing to take Wang Xiao to the Basic Training Camp.

Inside the quiet pavilion, only Ji Yun remained. He went up to the study on the second floor, set down his backpack, and walked out onto the balcony, where he could overlook the entire training camp. "So this is the world's number one training camp? The atmosphere seems quite serene, not a hint of restlessness." Ji Yun leaned against the wooden railing, taking in the camp's scenery.

On the paths below, elite training camp trainees passed by, all heading toward the Nine-Fold Tower to train. Many were already deep in thought, simulating blade techniques or sword forms as they walked.

Ji Yun watched for a while and found their skill levels decent. Though they couldn't match him, they were indeed more than twice as good as those outside.

Ji Yun turned back inside the pavilion, cultivated his Genetic Origin Energy thoroughly, and only slept late into the night. Though he hadn't yet entered the Elite Training Camp, the 182 publicly ranked names on the Black Dragon Sculpture had ignited a fierce fighting spirit in him. He believed that with his ability, securing a top position would be simple.

The next day at noon.

Situ Ye arrived at Ji Yun's lodgings right on time. "It's a fine day today. The midday sun is really pleasant." He walked in, glanced at the table in the living room, and smiled. "Not bad, quite an appetite. Ready? Let's head to the Nine-Fold Tower."

Putting down his chopsticks, Ji Yun smiled. "Sure."

Each floor of the Nine-Fold Tower was about six meters high, and its length and width both exceeded 150 meters—an absolute behemoth of a tower. The exterior looked classical, but the interior was thoroughly technological, with floors made of hard alloy. The sounds of air bursts and shouts echoed easily through the space.

"Come on, we're going to the 9th floor." Ji Yun and the other entered the elevator.

Soon.

The elevator doors opened, revealing the top floor of the Nine-Fold Tower. This 9th floor was a spacious hall with some cushions, where a few young men and women sat chatting casually—some in English, some in French or other languages, and some in Mandarin. When Ji Yun arrived, many turned to look at him.

"Brother, Chinese?" asked a man of medium build but with a body like forged steel.

"This is Senior Brother Shi Jiang, ranked fourth, as you saw before."

"Fourth?"

Ji Yun grew interested. A top ranking meant excellent physical fitness and combat technique. This Senior Brother Shi Jiang looked rather short and lean, yet gave off a very sturdy impression, as if his entire body were cast from steel. His gaze was restrained, but the occasional glint in his eyes was startling.

"Keep it up. That way we'll have one more Chinese here." Shi Jiang smiled.

"Newcomers aren't usually that strong, Shi Jiang. Want to make a bet?" A white woman with light blonde curls spoke up. "I'll bet he doesn't pass."

"Then I'll bet he does. 1 billion Huaxia Currency, how about it?"

"Fine," the white woman agreed readily, as if she were quite confident.

"Heh, Christine. You've miscalculated this time."

Situ Ye shook his head with a laugh. "Doesn't the fact that I dared to bring him here say enough?" "Shi Jiang, you're practically earning 1 billion for nothing. There's no such good deal."

With that, he led Ji Yun inside.

Under Situ Ye's guidance, Ji Yun reached the innermost part of the hall, where a corridor led to large rooms on either side. Soon, Ji Yun was taken to the deepest room. It wasn't spacious and was even a bit dim.

The room had only two sofas, each with a dark blue helmet resting on it.

"These helmets were painstakingly replicated by our human scientists, modeled after the consciousness sensors from virtual space devices unearthed in ancient relic civilizations." Situ Ye pointed at the helmets. "We can only imitate these simple consciousness sensors. As for the virtual space mainframe, it's still that ancient machine that has slept underground for who knows how many years."

"I'm sure you've heard of the War God Palace, and your father must have told you about it. This is the same—a virtual world."

"Alright, put it on, and your consciousness will enter a 100% simulated virtual space, practically identical to the real world." Situ Ye said. "Once inside, we'll have you enter the 'Trial Tower' to undergo the B-rank trial!"

Ji Yun did as he was told and put on the helmet, mimicking Situ Ye.

Two figures appeared on the ground one after another—Situ Ye and Ji Yun, both wearing their helmets.

Ji Yun looked up. The entire sky was the color of the cosmos, with myriad stars hanging in the void. The ground was a silver-white alloy-like surface, feeling indestructible.

"Ji Yun, in this Trial Tower virtual space, the sky is the starry sky, and the ground is silver earth. The silver earth's material is similar to alloy!" Situ Ye smiled and pointed into the distance. "The only building you can see in this entire virtual space is that seven-story Trial Tower over there. That's where you'll undergo your trial."

"I'm sure you've noticed that your physical condition feels different in this virtual space. That's because no matter who you are, only your consciousness enters the virtual space! The virtual space then equips you with a virtual body."

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"Whether it's a War God, someone beyond War God, an ordinary martial artist, or just a regular person—once their consciousness enters, they all receive a body with the same physical attributes: a normal punch force of 10,000 kilograms, a speed of 150 meters per second, and neural reaction speed at the Low-Level War General excellent grade."

So the B-rank trial tests combat ability. Ji Yun understood, but felt no panic. His combat skills were outstanding—his power application, footwork, and even Spear Path were not inferior to a War God's.

"Alright, begin the trial."

"Look at that stone pillar." Situ Ye led Ji Yun toward the Trial Tower, pointing to a black stone pillar on the left side of the main entrance. On the pillar, an engraving appeared—

"Name: Ji Yun

Gender: Male

Identity: Elite Training Camp Probationary Trainee

Trial Tower Level: 1"

"Let me explain the Trial Tower level. From now on, your ranking will be directly tied to this level..."

"For example, you and I use the same body, then enter the Trial Tower and push through floor by floor. After clearing the first floor, you go straight to the second. Your Trial Tower level then becomes 2.0. When you reach the third floor, it becomes 3.0. While exploring the third floor, it might be 3.1, 3.2, 3.3... anything is possible. Right now, since you haven't attempted it yet, it's just the base 1, meaning you have no achievements on the first floor of the Trial Tower."

"So, as you must understand by now, this Trial Tower is a test of clearing stages—fighting, battling monsters. The more monsters you kill, the higher your rank."

"Let me tell you something else: no one has ever reached the top floor of this Trial Tower." Situ Ye chuckled.

"The world's number one, 'Hong,' has currently made it to the sixth floor—the strongest on the planet." Situ Ye shook his head with a sigh. "That's the gap. Even if the sect master and I used the same body, I could only reach the third floor, while he reaches the sixth!"

"Ji Yun, please select your weapon and combat suit."

Ji Yun shook his head, forcing the shock from his mind, quickly chose his combat suit and the Wind Lifter, and strode straight into the Trial Tower.

As soon as he entered, a mechanical female voice rang out. Ji Yun opened his eyes and saw before him an endless grassland.

"Ji Yun." The electronic female voice echoed across the vast prairie. "The B-rank trial is: within 30 minutes, kill 100 early Beast General-rank Reckless Bulls that will surround and attack you! If you die midway, you fail! If after 30 minutes you haven't killed 100 Reckless Bulls, you also fail! Since this is your first time entering the Trial Tower, you have five minutes of preparation time."

"A hundred Reckless Bulls, all early Beast General rank?" Ji Yun smiled calmly. If this had been before, he might have panicked a little. But after experiencing the recent beast tide—moving with ease among tens of thousands of Beast Soldiers and hundreds of Beast General monsters—Ji Yun found facing just a hundred early Beast Generals a simple matter.

"But with a time limit, that makes things trickier."

Ji Yun stretched his body, quickly adapting to the sudden drop in strength, speed, and neural reaction.

Soon.

"B-rank trial, begin!" The electronic voice boomed like thunder across the entire grassland world. At the same time, over a hundred meters ahead on the grass, powerful bull-like monsters nearly three meters tall appeared—Reckless Bulls, famous among bovine monsters for their tight-knit herds! Their long, shaggy fur, curved and sharp horns, and bloodshot eyes.

Ji Yun planted his spear and stood ready, watching the approaching herd of Reckless Bulls like an old monk in meditation, waiting for them to arrive.

With a roar that shook the prairie, rumble~~~ all one hundred early Beast General-rank Reckless Bulls charged, eyes red, nostrils spewing white mist, hooves trampling the grass as they rushed toward Ji Yun!

Ji Yun's gaze turned cold. In an instant, he moved, cutting through them as if no one stood in his way. Every spear thrust claimed a Reckless Bull's life. But these bulls surged like a tidal wave, and the endless tide of Reckless Bulls swallowed Ji Yun in an instant!

Rip

A sound of tearing air rang out. At the spot where Ji Yun should have been buried by the herd, a whirlwind suddenly erupted around him. Fierce wind blades ceaselessly tore at the surrounding Reckless Bulls. The bulls' defenses weren't strong, and they lacked thick scales—wherever a wind blade struck, flesh and blood were shredded.

"Reckless Bulls are big—much larger than the average Iron-Haired Wild Boar. Like a tank! Their size means only a few can attack me at once." Ji Yun was completely at ease. "I don't even need to move; I can just wait for them to come to me."

"But I'd better speed things up!"

Ji Yun swung the Wind Lifter rapidly, the spinning spear disk seeming to block everything, each rotation claiming several Reckless Bulls' lives.

Ji Yun even considered charging against the tide to crush the herd, but under the constraints of his physical limits, he had no ability to counterattack.

With lightning speed, a spear thrust killed one Reckless Bull! The bull's massive body crashed down, colliding with the charging herd behind it, reducing their momentum. Ji Yun surged forward, and in that instant, the tip of the Wind Lifter Spear flicked past several nearby bulls. In a flash, an empty space appeared.

"Hm?"

Ji Yun was a little confused. Why were there so few Reckless Bulls around now?

The wind blades Ji Yun carried with him had already shredded quite a few Reckless Bulls, and with every spear thrust killing one, his kill speed was extremely fast. Within the Wind Domain, the Reckless Bulls couldn't even touch him.

Around him, only seven or eight Reckless Bulls remained, encircling Ji Yun, all poised to charge.

With one bull flying backward, blood scattered through the air.

"Time elapsed: 5 minutes 32 seconds. All 100 Reckless Bulls eliminated. B-rank trial, passed! Congratulations, trainee Ji Yun." The emotionless electronic voice echoed across the grassland sky.