Chương 168: War God — Chapter 168

Xiong Kuohai studied it for a long time, frowning in thought. Something seemed to click.

"It looks like... it looks like..."

"Decades ago, I heard that Spear God Yang Tianchan had a unique spatial spear Secret Skill called Starflight Piercing the Void. But that era had no Memory Crystals, so the cultivation method was lost... According to the records, the relic this kid cleared last time was called 'Dragon Calamity Bone Tomb,' a manifestation of Yang Tianchan's Martial Apex Divine Weapon remnant blade... Could it be... he's already learned this lost Secret Skill?" At the thought, Xiong Kuohai shuddered.

"......" He was right. Wang Xian was cultivating a Secret Skill right now. Starflight Piercing the Void! Couldn't find spatial beasts. But these spatial targets worked perfectly. He could absolutely use them to cultivate this Secret Skill! To make full use of every spatial target, he treated them like actual beasts. He wanted to stab hundreds, thousands of holes into each one. Unfortunately, these spatial targets had production costs. Stab them to pieces and the military might demand compensation...

So Wang Xian settled for a symbolic dozen stabs per target. At the same time, because they were spatial targets, every successful stab let him feel the Secret Skill improving at breakneck speed. Then Wang Xian thought of another cultivation method.

'As long as I don't hit them, the spatial targets won't break... I can just cultivate with phantom strikes.'

'Treating them like beasts makes the skill rise fast, but it wastes too many targets.' With that realization, the long spear in Wang Xian's hand moved like a dragon. Whenever a spatial target appeared, in that instant, the spear tip became an afterimage, feinting toward the target, seeming to hit yet not hitting. How many strikes did he unleash in that single moment? Xiong Kuohai in the command room stared, dumbfounded.

"Tell the control room to prepare..." Xiong Kuohai waved a hand.

"No more one at a time. Send a dozen targets continuously, shorter intervals!"

"......" The adjutant blinked. Commander. Isn't that a bit cruel? Cranking up the difficulty?

"Do as I say!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Otherwise this kid won't hit a single target." Xiong Kuohai had figured it out. The kid was definitely cultivating some Secret Skill. At first he was probably just adapting. Now he'd thought of another method, not even bothering to hit the targets anymore. If that's how you want it, then I'll give you a real cultivation opportunity! The Illusory Space Chamber. In an instant, over a dozen spatial targets appeared densely in the air, shifting rapidly, space fluctuating violently!

"Hm?"

"This trial stage increases in difficulty?" Wang Xian paused. Perfect timing! He'd been frustrated that single targets appeared too slowly. Seeing so many now... They looked like experience packs.

'Divine Meridians, open!' Wang Xian's eyes burned. He activated his Divine Meridians directly, pushing his physical state to maximum! In that instant, the long spear in his hand became countless afterimages. The entire Illusory Space Chamber filled with boundless spear shadows! As the spatial targets multiplied, Wang Xian thrust out dozens of spears in a single breath. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. A completely different intensity from before!

Only, as the targets increased and he was still cultivating Starflight Piercing the Void, every strike was unique. They looked like ordinary thrusts but contained the profound mysteries of Yang Tianchan's Secret Skill. The demands on full-body power were extreme. So Wang Xian couldn't make every strike perfectly accurate. Under the continuous hundreds and thousands of spear shadows, a few strikes would inevitably hit the spatial target cores by mistake, destroying them. Wang Xian wasn't satisfied.

'As my Secret Skill proficiency rises... I should be able to achieve layered spear shadows with space trembling between them, without touching the cores.'

'Perfect control. Only then will this Secret Skill be fully cultivated!' Otherwise, every strike hitting the core, each one containing spatial power, would pierce and cripple the target in one hit. Far too wasteful. Had to consider the military department. Producing so many cores with such high costs wasn't easy.

"This kid doesn't even want to hit the cores for the sake of cultivation." Xiong Kuohai understood Wang Xian's thinking and laughed.

"Other people taking trials wish they could hit more cores..."

"He doesn't want to hit them at all." The adjutant watched the terrifying scene in the Illusory Space Chamber and said quietly, "Maybe... maybe he wants to save costs for our military department... After all, these spatial cores aren't easy to produce."

"Although most martial artists can't hit them, so our consumption isn't too high..."

"But..." But who could have imagined there'd be such a monster? Watching the scoring panel tick upward occasionally, both men's mouths twitched. Probably no one outside could imagine that the ticking panel wasn't because Wang Xian wanted to hit the targets. It was because he failed to control it and accidentally hit them... At the same time, outside.

"Seven targets!"

"Already seven!"

"Eight targets!"

"Every minute it goes up by one!"

"This third-realm martial artist is a monster!"

"Twenty minutes... 10 targets!" The hearts of the observing martial artists leaped with every ticking score! No one could imagine it. Originally one target every 10 minutes. Then in the next 10 minutes, as if hacking, it jumped nine targets in a row! Until it surpassed Chu Xiao's count. Still rising! Especially after reaching 11 targets, even Chiba Ryuzaki couldn't stay seated.

"Wait, is there something seriously wrong with this kid?"

"First 10 minutes, one target. Next 10 minutes, nine targets in a row..." At this moment, he half-suspected the Dragon Nation military had given the kid some kind of cheat. Fortunately, in the final 10 minutes, the pace slowed remarkably. Finally not that near-one-per-minute rate anymore. Sometimes several minutes passed before one target ticked up. In the last five minutes, not a single target. But by then, the number on the scoring panel had frozen at 18.

Chiba Ryuzaki watched for a long time, seemed to think of something, and turned to his younger sister. The white-haired woman frowned at the panel. Only when time ran out did she silently lower her head. Seemingly wondering how he'd managed it.

"I'll have them pull up the trial records." Chiba Ryuzaki's voice was low.

"Little sister, wait here. I want to see exactly how a third-realm martial artist hit 18 targets." Viewing someone else's trial records was generally not permitted. But foreign martial artists had sensitive status. If they wanted to watch, it wasn't entirely impossible. If they said they wanted to observe and learn from Dragon Nation martial artists, you couldn't exactly forbid learning and exchange, right? After all, they were members of Dragon Nation's 'International Military Martial Exchange Program.'

"Don't..." The white-haired woman grabbed Chiba Ryuzaki's arm.

"Brother, don't go!"

"What's wrong?"

"I have a premonition..." The white-haired woman said softly.

"If I watch it, I'm afraid... I won't be able to sleep for a very long time. I'll lose all confidence in martial arts."

"How can you have that feeling?" Chiba Ryuzaki said in surprise. But thinking of his little sister's talent, as the Dragon Nation saying went, such premonitions didn't come from nowhere.

"This third-realm martial artist is that bizarre?" Chiba Ryuzaki frowned deeply, staring at that glaring '18' on the scoring panel.

"Ha! Chiba, you and your sister can feel what I experienced earlier now, right?" The blond man beside him instantly perked up, clapping Chiba Ryuzaki on the shoulder repeatedly.

"How is it? How does it feel? This third-realm martial artist is really something!" The two remained silent. At that moment, Wang Xian had already emerged. Just like when he came out from the previous trial stage, his expression was slightly pleased, without the listless appearance other martial artists showed. This left the martial artists shocked yet unable to understand.

Now, not just Chiba Ryuzaki and the other foreign martial artists, even Chu Xiao and Big Sister Wang Shu were extremely curious how Wang Xian had hit 18 spatial targets while coming out looking so happy and relaxed. They even half-suspected whether the military had rigged something... Of course, just a tiny suspicion deep in their hearts. On the surface, they were excited.

"Just one last stage!" Chu Xiao said enthusiastically.

"This one shouldn't be too hard for him." Big Sister nodded slightly.

"Xiao Xian probably hasn't seen particularly powerful beasts... Even though S-rank beasts appeared in our Rong City, they all flew through the sky. He never had a chance to see them."

"The ones he's truly encountered are probably at most B-rank or A-rank."

"This child grew up alone. His will is firm."

"The only blow was the life force test in senior year..." Thinking of this, Big Sister let out a breath of relief, her heart welling with joy. The Battle Soul Field connected to a martial artist's brain, using the most realistic holographic imagery to simulate the scene the martial artist least wanted to face. Basically always beasts. And inevitably the most terrifying beast the martial artist had encountered and least wanted to face!

But if you hadn't seen anything too powerful, the difficulty would be slightly easier. Yet fourth-realm martial artists who reached this point were mostly young martial artists with excellent aptitude. Their experience was substantial. The most powerful ones they'd encountered were basically all S-rank beasts. Trial difficulty was very high. Conversely, those at lower realms without so many experiences were less likely to have encountered truly powerful beasts.

The Battle Soul Field was an open-type stage, unlike the enclosed chambers. So the holographic feed in the observation room could show the martial artist themselves. Even though only the individual could see the complete beast model, people in the observation room could still see a simple outline and roughly perceive the simulated beast's aura. At this moment, Wang Xian slowly walked onto the Battle Soul Field. The martial artists wore smiles, quietly waiting for this third-realm youth to breeze through.

However, the next instant! The Battle Soul Field flashed with light. Suddenly, a terrifying giant beast silhouette blanketed the entire field. Countless alarms blared! BOOM! Even in the observation room, countless martial artists were instantly petrified. The smiles on their faces froze. Their entire bodies trembled uncontrollably! Even through the screen, even though it was only a blurry outline, they could feel a fear from the very depths of their souls!

"What kind of beast is this!" Only Xiong Kuohai in the command room, watching this scene, had his square-jawed face go rigid. The shock in his eyes was beyond measure.

"This... is this the aura of a Z-rank Beast simulation?" ➤ Next: Beast of Finality — Star-Devourer Calamity Lord