Basic Training Camp branch, Nine-Story Trial Tower.
"Beep!"
The elevator reached the ninth floor. Not a single trainee was in the vast hall. Yang Zheng and the other two followed a long corridor, passing rooms filled with advanced equipment until they reached a room at the end.
"Click!"
"Access granted!"
Wine Brute took out a white card and swiped it across the reader by the door. The door opened.
The room was fairly small, containing only a table-like platform surrounded by individual armchairs. A series of peculiar-looking helmets rested on its surface.
Consciousness interface devices!
Yang Zheng found a seat and put on a helmet. Before he could react, the scene before his eyes abruptly changed, and he found himself standing in a boundless wilderness.
Seeing Yang Zheng put on his helmet, Zheng Cangli picked one up and put it on as well.
"Let me see what kind of genius could get a tight-lipped fellow like Old Zheng to bring him here personally!" Curious, Wine Brute found a seat, picked up a helmet, and put it on.
Virtual Space.
Three figures appeared out of thin air in the boundless wilderness.
"It feels so real!" Yang Zheng surveyed his surroundings. The wilderness seemed endless, with silver ground and stars scattered across the sky, like a world out of a dream.
Not far away stood a massive tower that soared into the clouds. Carved images covered its surface, with depictions of all kinds of monsters encircling the entire structure.
That was the Trial Tower!
"But this body..."
Yang Zheng assessed the condition of his body. He had suddenly been placed in a different one, and no matter how advanced the consciousness interface technology was, he still needed some time to adjust.
Moreover, only his consciousness could enter. Yang Zheng had lost the spiritual force that constantly surrounded his body. This Virtual Space was extremely unfriendly to spirit readers.
"Come on, let's head over!"
Only after a short while did Zheng Cangli speak. Anyone entering the Virtual Space for the first time needed time to adjust to their new body, or it would affect their final assessment results.
The difference might not be large, but often, that tiny margin determined whether someone passed.
As the three approached the Trial Tower's entrance, their information appeared directly on the stone pillars on either side.
Name: Pang Qingyan Sex: Male Identity: Director of the Basic Training Camp in Huaxia Kyoto City Trial Tower level: 4.8
Name: Zheng Cangli Sex: Male Identity: Inspector of the Limit Martial Hall in Northwest Base City Trial Tower level: 4.5
Name: Yang Zheng Sex: Male Identity: Member of the Limit Martial Hall in Northwest Base City Trial Tower level: 1.0
"This..."
Yang Zheng could not help looking at the two men. Their Trial Tower levels were 4.8 and 4.5. That made them formidable even among High-level War Gods.
From what Yang Zheng knew, even Hong, the strongest man in the world, had only reached the sixth floor. Anyone whose Trial Tower level reached 5.0 could directly obtain an Inspector position in the Limit Martial Hall.
Under normal circumstances, one of the requirements for becoming an Inspector of the Limit Martial Hall was reaching the Planetary Level.
"Yang Zheng, this so-called Trial Tower level is..." Wine Brute, Pang Qingyan, began explaining beside him.
The Trial Tower level represented how many floors of this towering structure someone had cleared, while the number after the decimal point indicated their progress on the current floor.
Yang Zheng's Trial Tower level was 1.0, the starting level for someone who had not attempted any trials.
Suddenly, a synthesized electronic voice sounded. "Member Yang Zheng, please select your combat suit and weapons, then enter the Trial Tower within one minute for your assessment!"
At the same time, combat suits and weapons of various designs appeared before Yang Zheng, floating in midair.
"Uncle Zheng, Uncle Brute, I'll go take the assessment now!" Yang Zheng selected the weapons and equipment he was most comfortable with, nodded to the two men, and headed toward the Trial Tower.
"Just give it your all!"
"Good luck, kid!"
After walking through the pitch-black entrance, Yang Zheng felt as though space had shifted around him. A vast grassland stretched before his eyes.
"Yang Zheng!"
The synthesized electronic voice echoed. "Since this is your first Trial Tower assessment, you have five minutes to prepare. Floor one, stage A consists of fifty Junior Beast General-level Mangniu. Kill them all within ten minutes."
"Show us the full extent of your strength!"
The Trial Tower had seven floors in total. Each floor was divided into three stages of differing difficulty: A, B, and C.
Whether an ordinary person or a Planetary Level fighter, everyone here had the same physical attributes: a normal punching force of 10,000 kilograms, a speed of 150 meters per second, and excellent Elementary Warlord Level reflexes.
The Trial Tower tested a warrior's overall abilities, including movement techniques, blade techniques, physical power output, combat experience, and performance in life-or-death battles.
Clearing stage A would bring his level to 1.3. Passing stage C on the first floor would complete all of that floor's trials, automatically raising his Trial Tower level to 2.0.
"All I can say is, stage A won't be any challenge for me..."
The five minutes soon passed. Fifty Mangniu appeared out of thin air on the grassland a hundred meters ahead.
Their eyes glowed red, and almost all stood three meters tall. Their size was only average among Beast General-level monsters, but their brute strength was astonishing.
Combined with their tough, sharp horns, a head-on charge could leave a Beginner Warlord warrior with severe internal injuries and massive bleeding, even with the protection of a combat suit.
"Mooo!"
All fifty Mangniu had horns tinged with a faint red. They fixed their eyes on Yang Zheng and charged wildly toward him in an orderly formation.
Rumble!
The herd's hooves pounded the grass, making the ground tremble faintly.
"Kill!"
Alloy Battle Blade in hand, Yang Zheng strode forward to meet the charging herd. The hundred-meter distance vanished in an instant. In the blink of an eye, less than ten meters separated them.
"Die!"
Without dodging in the slightest, he unleashed Triple Dark Force, multiplying his brute strength by 2.8. The blade in his hand swept down with unbridled ferocity,
striking the head of the Mangniu at the very front.
Squelch!
More than half the Mangniu's head was sliced away. Its massive body slid over ten meters under its own momentum before crashing to the ground.
"Squelch!"
"Squelch!"
Dodging with his micro-level movement techniques, Yang Zheng delivered two more slashes, leaving two more Mangniu corpses on the grass.
"Whew..."
That instantaneous burst consumed a great deal of stamina. Yang Zheng steadied his breathing slightly, then turned and charged at the nearest Mangniu again.
The entire herd seemed unstoppable, but at most, only four Mangniu could engage Yang Zheng at once. Their strength and speed were considerable; their sole weakness was a lack of agility.
Yang Zheng's physical power output multiplier was 2.8, boosting his strength, speed, defense, and other attributes by the same amount. As long as he managed his stamina consumption, he could easily take down the entire herd.
But before that,
he still needed to test his earlier idea.
Before you continue