Trial Tower

At noon the next day, Luo Yuan and Luo Feng enjoyed a lavish lunch that filled the table. To Luo Yuan's surprise, there were quite a few Chinese dishes here, which gave him a hearty appetite.

Yang Hui walked in and glanced at the living room table with a smile. "Not bad. You two certainly have good appetites. Luo Feng, ready? Come with me to the Nine-Story Tower. Luo Yuan, you come too. I'll show you around."

Each floor of the Nine-Story Tower was about six meters high, and the building measured over 150 meters in both length and width. It was an absolutely colossal tower. Its exterior looked classical, but the interior was thoroughly high-tech. The floors were made of hard alloy, and bursts of sonic booms and shouts could easily be heard. Luo Yuan was delighted: picking up attributes had brought his Nine-Layered Thunder Blade close to breaking through to the fourth layer.

"Come on, let's go to the ninth floor." Yang Hui entered the elevator with Luo Yuan and Luo Feng.

The elevator was fast.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened onto the top floor of the Nine-Story Tower. The ninth floor was a spacious hall with mats scattered around. Some young men and women sat casually chatting in English, French, and other languages, while others spoke Mandarin. When Luo Yuan and Luo Feng arrived, quite a few people turned to look at them.

Luo Yuan swept the area with his spiritual power and discovered that all the students here were young, and all were at least Beginner Warlords. Every one of them radiated a sharp, formidable presence.

"Luo Yuan, I'm taking Luo Feng for his B-level test. Why don't you stay in the hall and get to know the other students?" Yang Hui asked gently.

"Uh, could I come along and have a look?" Luo Yuan asked.

"Hmm, all right."

Led by War God Yang Hui, the two reached the innermost part of the hall, where a corridor ran between large rooms on either side. Soon, they were led into a room at the far end. It was not very large and was even a little dim.

Click! The lights came on.

There were only two sofas in the room, each with a deep-blue helmet resting on it.

"Our scientists put a great deal of effort into reproducing these two helmets. They're modeled after the consciousness sensors in virtual space equipment excavated from the Ancient Ruins Civilization," Yang Hui said, pointing at the helmets. "We can only reproduce simple consciousness sensors like these. The main computer for the virtual space is still that ancient machine that lay dormant underground for who knows how many years."

Luo Feng stared blankly at the helmet. "Virtual space?"

"Yes. Put it on, and your consciousness will enter a virtual space with one hundred percent realism. You could say it's exactly like the real world," Yang Hui said. "Once you enter the virtual space, we'll have you enter the Trial Tower and take the B-level test!"

Luo Yuan watched from the side as Yang Hui taught Luo Feng how to use the helmet. He said nothing. After a short wait, Yang Hui removed his helmet.

"Luo Feng is taking the B-level test inside now. Let me show you the other places," Yang Hui told Luo Yuan.

"Could I play around with that helmet?" Luo Yuan asked sheepishly, pointing at the helmet in Yang Hui's hand.

"Uh, normally that isn't allowed. Let me ask the higher-ups first." Yang Hui took out his phone and stepped aside. Luo Yuan had no idea whom he was asking.

After a while, Yang Hui returned and said solemnly, "Your request has been approved. April will be your first month in the training camp, and you'll have a special privilege: one assessment of your trial tower level. This is an exception, specially approved by the higher-ups. However, only one person can enter the Trial Tower at a time, so you'll have to wait until Luo Feng finishes his test."

"All right, understood." Luo Yuan nodded. To aliens, this helmet was nothing more than a virtual gaming headset, but on present-day Earth, it was extremely precious. There were too many students, so they could only compete for opportunities to use it through their rankings.

About twenty-odd minutes later, Luo Feng passed the B-level test, and Yang Hui smiled and offered him a few words of encouragement.

Luo Yuan lay down on the sofa and put on the helmet, letting his consciousness sink into it.

"Amazing. So this is virtual space?" Luo Yuan looked around. The sky in this virtual space was actually a starry cosmos. Countless stars filled the boundless night sky, making the entire silver ground reflect a dreamlike glow. He stamped his foot a few times. The silver ground seemed to be made of something like alloy.

Luo Yuan looked in every direction and found only one building! It was an enormous tower rising into the clouds some three or four hundred meters away. Images were carved across its entire surface, with carvings of all kinds of monsters encircling the tower. He could just make out seven floors with the naked eye.

Luo Yuan examined himself and discovered that his body in this virtual space had no spiritual power. Its physical attributes were as follows: normal punching force, 10,000 kilograms; speed, 150 meters per second; neural reaction speed, excellent for the Elementary Warlord Level. From Yang Hui's earlier explanation, it seemed that everyone who entered had these same attributes.

Luo Yuan walked toward a black stone pillar to the left of the Trial Tower's main entrance and saw inscriptions appear on it.

Name: Luo Yuan

Gender: Male

Status: Official student of the Elite Training Camp

Trial tower level: 1

Suddenly-

"Student Luo Yuan, please select your combat suit, weapons, and trial difficulty. Enter the Trial Tower within one minute of completing your selection!" An electronic voice suddenly echoed throughout the virtual space.

Luo Yuan quickly selected his equipment. He also chose the first floor's hardest difficulty, the C-level trial.

Whoosh!

As though space itself had shifted, Luo Yuan suddenly found himself on a vast grassland.

"Student Luo Yuan," the electronic voice echoed across the grassland, "the C-level trial requires you to kill 200 Mangniu within fifty minutes. Among these 200 Mangniu monsters, 190 are Elementary Beast Generals and ten are Intermediate Beast Generals. Good luck! Since this is your first time entering the Trial Tower, you have five minutes to prepare."

The five minutes passed quickly!

"C-level trial, begin!" The electronic voice thundered throughout the grassland world. At the same time, powerful bovine monsters nearly three meters tall appeared on the grass a hundred meters ahead. These were Mangniu, famous among bovine monsters for their tightly knit herds! They had long coats, pairs of curved, sharp horns, and reddish eyes.

"Mooo!"

With a bellow that resounded across the grassland, the 190 Elementary Beast General Mangniu and ten Intermediate Beast General Mangniu thundered toward Luo Yuan, their eyes red and white vapor snorting from their nostrils as their hooves trampled the grass!

"Heh heh, little cows, Grandpa's here to play with you!"

Luo Yuan grinned and unleashed his Perfect Level movement technique, slashing at the Mangniu with his Nine-Layered Thunder Blade at the peak of the third layer. His current power multiplier was close to 3.5. Combined with the body simulated by this virtual space, it allowed him to display the strength of an advanced warlord. Blood sprayed from the Mangniu's necks in clouds of mist. They could not hurt Luo Yuan in the slightest.

Time ticked by, and Luo Yuan had the time of his life on the Trial Tower's first floor. Even the Intermediate Beast General Mangniu were left utterly disoriented by his Perfect Level movement technique. Their agonized cries and the constant sprays of blood filled him with excitement.

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