Relic Rewards

"Another dungeon-crawling game?"

After running for over a thousand meters through the Elite Channel, Lu Yunhe saw the familiar Black Robe Guardian again. Without hesitation, he charged straight at it.

However, when Lu Yunhe reached the black-robed figure, he discovered that it had no intention of attacking him. It simply stood there like a robot that had run out of power.

Bang!

At that moment, the passage behind Lu Yunhe instantly sealed shut. Streams of transparent light descended from above, forming a massive crystal room.

"Apprentice Lu Yunhe, your Elite Assessment has officially begun. During the assessment, you will be provided with adequate food and water."

"Your assessment task is to defeat the black-robed man before you. Its maximum strength will remain at ten times yours. Should your strength improve during this period, the black-robed man's strength will increase accordingly."

"The test for elite apprentices is tenfold exertion!"

Lu Yunhe made a quick estimate. Although this was vastly more difficult than the basic apprentice assessment, it was only ten times stronger. It should be enough to let him have a proper fight.

"Notice: the walls of the assessment chamber are engraved with the Martial Artist Basic 256 Forms. Studying these 256 forms can improve your exertion techniques and martial artist fundamentals."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yunhe's gaze was immediately drawn to the various human figures carved into the crystal room. They were the techniques most suited for basic physical cultivation, created by the Human Race over countless years.

"Excellent. This is exactly what I needed."

Lu Yunhe was overjoyed. Although his realm was high, he had never received professional training. His martial artist fundamentals were practically nonexistent, supported entirely by the talent of his Ultraman Avatar. Now, he finally had a chance to make up for his weaknesses.

"Assessment duration: two years. Failure to succeed within two years will result in death."

As soon as the word "death" was spoken, the relic's voice vanished completely, leaving only Lu Yunhe trapped within the crystal room.

"Two years?"

Hearing the time limit, Lu Yunhe smiled. Let alone two years—even now, he could defeat the black-robed man, who was only ten times stronger than him.

"What's this?"

Just as Lu Yunhe was about to begin practicing the martial artist basics, he noticed what appeared to be a control panel in the room. It seemed to be used to control the black-robed man.

"Strength adjustment: 5–10!"

After the intelligent translation, Lu Yunhe understood the controller's function. It was a machine for adjusting the black-robed man's strength, with the minimum set at five times his own strength and the maximum at ten times.

After all, martial artist cultivation differed somewhat from that of a Psychic Master. During training, one desperately needed opponents to practice against. The black-robed man filled all three roles at once: enemy, teacher, and punching bag.

"As expected of an apprentice selection base. It's quite considerate."

After figuring out the situation, Lu Yunhe swept his gaze across the diagrams and text of the manuals on the crystal walls, asking Dracion's Sub-body to translate them into Chinese. Otherwise, he could not understand them.

"I'll study the Martial Artist Basic 256 Forms here. The Ultraman Avatar is only absorbing energy and has nothing else to do, so I'll have him study Universal Cosmic Language with Dracion!"

Having Dracion translate everything for him every time was troublesome, so Lu Yunhe decided to use this opportunity to learn Universal Cosmic Language. He would need to learn it eventually when he entered the universe anyway.

With their tasks clearly divided, Lu Yunhe settled down to study the Martial Artist Basic 256 Forms. Meanwhile, the Ultraman Avatar, who was evolving toward Stellar level, devoted a portion of its attention to studying Universal Cosmic Language with Dracion.

Only after Lu Yunhe began learning the Martial Artist Basic 256 Forms did he realize how poor the cultivation techniques and exertion methods he had created before were. They had truly been carried entirely by the Ultraman Avatar's realm.

The essence of these Martial Artist Basic 256 Forms was extraordinarily intricate, to the point that they hardly seemed like something humans could have created. Yet ordinary martial artists could learn them step by step, and the corresponding exertion techniques could enhance every aspect—strength, speed, defense...

In just three days, Lu Yunhe used the Basic 256 Forms as a reference to raise his speed and defense amplification to the same level as his strength.

As Lu Yunhe practiced, he adjusted the black-robed man's strength and fought it to verify what he had learned.

Half a month later, Lu Yunhe successfully broke through to Intermediate War God. The black-robed man's strength rose accordingly, though its upper limit remained ten times his strength.

Lu Yunhe did not care about that, because one month later, he stopped activating the black-robed man altogether. It could no longer provide him with any training.

Two months later!

Lu Yunhe, who had been meditating, suddenly opened his eyes. An invisible aura spread from within him. In an instant, the entire crystal room became somewhat unstable, and even the light within seemed to warp.

"The Ultraman Avatar has broken through!"

Since his avatar had broken through, there was no need for him to remain here. The Martial Artist Basic 256 Forms had long since been committed to memory. He could practice them anywhere.

With that thought, Lu Yunhe activated the black-robed man once more and adjusted its strength to ten times his own. Then, with a single punch, he smashed it directly into a droplet-like shape.

"Congratulations. You have completed the elite task. Please proceed through the passage in front of you to meet me and receive your assessment reward."

Whoosh!

The chamber, which had been sealed for three months, opened once again. Lu Yunhe rushed forward at high speed and arrived within a few breaths at a hall enveloped in dreamy, multicolored light.

Suddenly, the colorful light gathered and condensed into a Crystal Bald Man, who looked at Lu Yunhe with a smile.

"Congratulations, elite apprentice Lu Yunhe. You are qualified to enter Yunmo Star and become one of its members."

The Apprentice level disciples under Yunmo Star had an average exertion level of around tenfold. Yet Lu Yunhe, who had essentially taught himself, had reached that average standard in only a month.

However, although the Crystal Man could monitor everything within the relic, Lu Yunhe had never gone all out. Therefore, it did not know what level he had truly reached.

The Crystal Man then took out four items. The first was the Black God Set from earlier. The second was an Auxiliary Light Brain in the form of a silver armguard. The third was a martial artist manual—Extreme Path. The final item was naturally the Token for entering Yunmo Star.

"Other than this martial artist manual being somewhat useful, the rest seem pretty useless."

Lu Yunhe shook his head as he looked at the four items. If Yunmo Star still existed, he could have used the Token to enter Yunmo Star's elite disciple cultivation base and obtain better cultivation resources.

"Can you tell me how much exertion amplification you can achieve now?"

After chatting briefly, the Crystal Man could not help asking. It was extremely curious about this.

"You guess."

Lu Yunhe smiled. Seeing that the Crystal Man could not offer anything better, he did not wish to waste any more time. The Ultraman Avatar's situation was more important, so he took the rewards and hurriedly departed.

"What a pity he isn't a Psychic Master!"

Watching Lu Yunhe leave, the Crystal Man could not help sighing. Yunmo Star's core was Psychic Masters. Thus, no matter how talented Lu Yunhe was, it was difficult for the Crystal Man to feel much about him.

"I hope the next one is a Psychic Master!"

The Crystal Man muttered to itself, then its body transformed into a streak of multicolored light and vanished from the hall.