Will and Battle (Thanks to Lengye Changkong for the recommendation vote!)

At first, the pressure only caused mild discomfort, like being watched by a ferocious beast, making their hair stand on end. But as time passed, the pressure grew stronger and stronger, like a mountain slowly pressing down on them, leaving them unable to breathe.

Golden Horn gritted his teeth, his legs rooted to the ground as firmly as stakes, utterly motionless.

The pressure continued to rise. Among the five people beside him, some had already begun trembling uncontrollably, their breathing growing heavy.

"Huff... huff..."

A young man from the Snake Race let out a suppressed gasp. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his body shook beyond his control.

After a while longer, he finally could not endure it. Staggering toward the door, he withdrew.

Five people remained in the room.

The pressure was still increasing, and the others each showed different reactions. Golden Horn felt as though an invisible hand had seized his consciousness and was constantly kneading it.

His mind buzzed, making even thought difficult. In his daze, he saw that finger—the finger of the elderly Sirius clan Sector Lord. With a casual point, his true body had exploded into a mist of blood.

No!

Golden Horn roared inwardly, and at that moment, his spiritual power underwent a transformation!

It was as if a string stretched to its limit had suddenly snapped, only to reform at the instant it broke, becoming tougher and more solid. The pressure abruptly lessened.

Golden Horn suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing through his vertical pupils.

Beside him, another person collapsed.

The pressure rose again, gradually reaching the limit of what Golden Horn could endure. His consciousness began to blur, the scene before him twisted, and the buzzing in his ears grew louder and louder.

At last, darkness swallowed everything.

What he did not know was that outside the trial chamber, Cang Jin and the elderly World Lord were watching the scene on the Curtain, surprise flashing through both their eyes.

"He broke through?" Cang Jin muttered.

The old man nodded slightly and, unusually, said a few more words. "His will is commendable. It is rare to see someone break through in spiritual power under such pressure."

Cang Jin took a deep breath and looked at the silver figure slowly being transported out on the Curtain, a trace of anticipation appearing in his eyes.

"This one might really make it."

After an unknown amount of time, Golden Horn slowly opened his eyes and discovered that he was lying in a quiet lounge. A crystal lamp above him gave off a gentle glow, and the bed beneath him was soft and comfortable, completely unlike the coldness of the trial chamber.

Sensing that he had awakened, Cang Jin pushed open the door and walked in with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Not bad." Cang Jin sat beside Golden Horn's bed. "You lasted a full three and a half minutes and ranked second, behind only that Scorpion Race genius. He had undergone many trials of will before, so he truly had an advantage in that regard."

"Second?" Golden Horn was slightly stunned. His consciousness had already been blurry then. He only remembered people constantly falling beside him, until even he had been swallowed by darkness. He had not noticed who had lasted until the end.

"That is already very good." Cang Jin patted him on the shoulder. "You can rest for the day and adjust your condition."

He took out a transparent vial from his spatial ring. It contained a pale cyan liquid that faintly emitted gentle waves of energy.

"This is a recovery potion issued by the Monster Hunting Hall. It can quickly repair the depletion of spiritual power and the body, and it is quite valuable. Drink it, get some proper sleep, and do not let it affect tomorrow's assessment."

Golden Horn accepted the potion without hesitation and drained it in one gulp. A warm current of energy spread from his stomach and surged through his limbs and bones. His exhaustion receded like the tide, and even the lingering pain in his mind gradually faded.

Seeing him drink it, Cang Jin stood up. "Rest well. I will wait for you at the entrance at eight tomorrow morning."

"Thank you." Golden Horn nodded.

Cang Jin turned and left, gently closing the door behind him.

Early the next morning, Golden Horn arrived at the assessment hall on time.

A row of enormous silver-white metal pods had been added to the center of the hall. Each pod was connected to dense energy pipelines, its lid half-open. Inside was soft padding that emitted faint spiritual fluctuations.

Cang Jin stood to one side. When he saw Golden Horn arrive, he raised a hand toward the metal pods. "The second test is a combat power assessment."

He paused before continuing, "The assessment has two rounds. The first is one-on-one, to see how many opponents you can defeat. The second is a group battle, to see how long you can last while surrounded and how many enemies you can kill in return. Your score will be based on both performances."

"A simulated battle?" Golden Horn looked at the metal pods thoughtfully.

"That's right." Cang Jin nodded. "Without these devices, the six of you would not be able to fight at all. Any injuries or disabilities would be losses for the Monster Hunting Hall. These simulation pods can fully scan your physical data and project your consciousness into a virtual battlefield. It is almost no different from real combat. There is a Curtain nearby, and we will be able to watch your battles."

Golden Horn walked up to one of the metal pods and flipped himself inside. The lid slowly closed, and darkness descended around him.

The next moment, his vision suddenly brightened.

He stood on a vast wilderness. Beneath his feet was cracked earth, and above him was a gray sky. Wind and sand battered his face, the air filled with the dry scent of soil. Everything felt so real, even the sensation beneath his claws was exactly the same.

Golden Horn lowered his head and looked at his body. It was identical to his body outside.

"First round: one-on-one. Opponents will appear one after another."

A cold mechanical voice rang out in his mind.

A hundred meters ahead, space twisted, and a massive Wild Bull appeared out of thin air. Its body was covered in dark brown short fur, its two horns curved like scimitars. White vapor sprayed from its nostrils, and a fierce aura rushed toward him. Stellar level ninth order, ordinary standard.

Golden Horn did not even move.

He swung out a claw. Silver light wrapped around his sharp claws as they struck directly into the Wild Bull's chest. The beast did not even have time to scream before it scattered into points of light.

"First round: victory."

The mechanical voice sounded again. Then, a Universe level first-order Wild Bull appeared.

Golden Horn narrowed his eyes. There was a vast gulf between the Stellar level and the Universe level, but his Void Beast clone was already at the Stellar level, ninth-order peak. With a genetic level three hundred times greater than ordinary Stellar-level beings, along with the Spatial Domain third layer, fighting above his level was effortless for him.

The Universe-level Wild Bull immediately used its earth-element domain to reinforce its entire body, then lowered its head and charged. Its two horns tore through the air with sharp sonic booms.

Golden Horn did not take the attack head-on. His figure flashed, and he appeared at the Wild Bull's side. His claws swept across its neck, their light like silver lightning. They left a deep bloody mark in the beast's hide, but failed to kill it in one blow.

Its defense was more than a level stronger than that of a Stellar-level opponent. Golden Horn's expression turned grim, and he stopped holding back. A hundred clones appeared at once, attacking from every direction. Though the Wild Bull was thick-skinned and tough, it could not withstand such a dense barrage of attacks. Within a few breaths, it crashed to the ground.

"Second round: victory."

The following Universe level second-order, third-order, and fourth-order opponents were more or less the same to him. It merely took progressively longer to defeat them.

Starting from the Fifth order, he began to suffer injuries. His opponent's domain had also reached the third layer. Golden Horn pushed Absolute Space to its limit, his figure flickering in and out of sight. Every streak of claw light landed precisely on his opponent's vital points. After two hundred exchanges, the Wild Bull crashed to the ground.