Chapter 442 - 424: Reward Settlement

Chapter 442: Chapter 424: Reward Settlement

[In the 15th-floor trial of the Disaster Beast Trial Tower, you engaged in a life-and-death struggle against 1,000 Calamity Beasts. Your Spear Technique, through a breakthrough from accumulated experience, has improved. Your comprehension of the > has increased. Spear Technique +1%]

[You battled 1,000 Calamity Beasts. Your Body Technique, through a breakthrough from accumulated experience, has improved. Your comprehension of the > has increased. Body Technique +1%]

[Spear Technique: Tier Four 45%→46%]

[Body Technique: Tier Four 42%→43%]

...

Lin Qi looked at the information on his panel. The difficulty of the 15th-floor trial was immense.

Generally, based on his calculations, an ordinary genius would need at least Tier Four 50% in both martial skill and Body Technique to pass.

But he was different. His Combat Talent compensated for the shortcomings in his Spear Technique.

He then looked at the pop-up message, especially his rank on the overall leaderboard.

He had successfully climbed from 9th place to 5th.

The only ones ahead of him now were four people: Shen Heng, Zhang Tianyang, and Lei Frost...

Thinking of this, he chose to proceed to the 16th-floor Calamity Beast trial.

He was extremely curious what kind of difficulty could stump even Shen Heng, an SSS-level genius at the Peak of the Sixth Realm.

BZZZT!!

In the span of a breath, everything around him seemed to rewind. The Calamity Beast corpses all dissipated, and the area returned to its initial state.

[16th-Floor Trial: Within 100 minutes, kill 1,000 Calamity Beasts, including 300 Level 4 Disaster Beast Bronze Bulls, 300 Level 4 Disaster Beast Silver Giant Wolves, 200 Level 4 Disaster Beast Steel-Feathered Eagles, 150 Fifth-level Disaster Beast Split Claw Apes, and 50 Level 6 Disaster Beast Iron-Backed War Bears.]

[Your Qi and Blood Value will be fully restored. Failure to kill all Calamity Beasts within the time limit will result in failure...]

...

Lin Qi’s brows furrowed the moment he saw the trial’s details.

He felt a continuous surge of power from within his body as his Qi and Blood Value rapidly recovered to 1900.

It quickly returned to the level of the Sixth Realm, and his Combat Power increased dramatically.

His Qi Blood had increased significantly, but the difficulty of the 16th floor had increased even more.

All the Third-Level Calamity Beasts were gone; the weakest were now Fourth-Level Calamity Beasts.

Of course, those were just the appetizers. The real challenge was the 150 Split Claw Apes and 50 Iron-Backed War Bears.

Back when he was in the Fifth Realm, he had struggled to kill a single Iron-Backed War Bear, and that was with the help of his Special Ability, [Jin Feng].

But things were different now. He had advanced to the Sixth Realm, and his physical constitution had improved substantially.

However, in the Disaster Beast Trial Tower, Special Abilities and Little Divine Powers were forbidden.

He could only rely on his Spear Technique and Body Technique, yet he had to kill 150 Split Claw Apes and 50 Iron-Backed War Bears.

’No wonder Shen Heng was stuck on this floor. It was asking the impossible.’

[Countdown: ...3, 2, 1]

[The 16th-floor trial has officially begun!]

...

Just as Lin Qi was contemplating how to deal with this horde of Calamity Beasts, the trial officially began.

AWOOO~

MOOO~

The ground beneath his feet shook violently. In his line of sight, a tide of Calamity Beasts surged toward him.

Running at the forefront were the Silver Giant Wolves. They stood four meters tall, with long, powerful bodies.

Their entire bodies were covered in thick, silver-white fur that shimmered in the light.

Besides them were the Bronze Bulls, their bodies the color of bronze.

RUMBLE!!

There were also the roaring, stampeding Split Claw Apes. They were six meters tall, and the charge of 150 of them kicked up powerful gusts of wind.

At the same time, there were even stronger beasts: the Iron-Backed War Bears, which stood over ten meters tall, their bodies as imposing as small hills.

The spines on their backs were as sharp as blades, and their thick limbs held astonishing power.

Compared to them, Lin Qi was minuscule.

WHOOSH~

Facing the assault of 1,000 vicious Calamity Beasts, Lin Qi stepped forward and shot out, transforming into a black bolt of lightning as he plunged into the tide of beasts.

Since he couldn’t pass in time anyway, he might as well kill as many Calamity Beasts as he could.

BOOM!

An intangible Mental Realm spread out. The Mountain and River Realm flowed along his long spear, transforming into Spear Intent that blasted outward.

PSHH~ PSHH~ PSHH~

BANG BANG BANG!!

In an instant, the necks of several Silver Giant Wolves were slashed open, and they collapsed to the ground, dead.

Now that his full strength was restored, his Combat Power had soared. In his eyes, the Fourth-Level Calamity Beasts were just living targets.

...

「Half an hour later.」

ROAR~

BANG!

Lin Qi felt his body take a heavy blow and go flying, dematerializing into nothingness in mid-air.

[Student Lin Qi, we regret to inform you that you have died.]

[Class Ranking: 1]

[Overall Ranking: 5]

...

Lin Qi reappeared, shaking his head as he looked at the pop-up message.

Facing the combined assault of the Fifth-level Disaster Beast Split Claw Apes and the Level 6 Disaster Beast Iron-Backed War Bears, his current strength was completely insufficient to resist.

He surmised that he would need his Martial Arts to break through to the Tier Four Late-stage, the level of a Seventh Realm Martial Artist, to be able to pass the 16th floor.

Reaching that level meant he would be eligible to graduate and go to the battlefield.

But he was still a long way off. He hadn’t even reached Tier Four 50%, let alone Tier Four 60%.

Looking at his overall ranking again, there was no major change; he was still in fifth place.

’This is probably my final ranking.’

Thinking this, he chose to exit the trial, planning to accumulate more strength before attempting it again.

...

Meanwhile, on the 16th floor of the Disaster Beast Trial Tower.

A tall, burly Martial Artist swung the sharp War Axe in his hands, cleaving the skull of a Silver Giant Wolf before him.

BANG!

But behind him, a massive figure blotted out the sky, enveloping him in its shadow.

With a loud CRASH, the burly man dematerialized into nothingness and reappeared in his original spot.

All the surrounding Calamity Beasts instantly vanished.

’It’s a shame. The 16th-floor trial is too difficult. I’ll probably be stuck here for a year or two, just like Shen Heng and the others.’

’At my current level, I’ll probably just maintain my 6th-place rank. No progress, but no regression either.’

He was Fang Wu, a fourth-year student and an SS-level genius from Shanyu Martial Arts University.

He was usually ranked fifth in the Disaster Beast Trial Tower.

He was also one of the top six in the Celestial Vault Competition, having been defeated by Zhang Tianyang.

He looked at the pop-up message.

[Overall Ranking: 5→6]

He was stunned when he saw his rank. He had passed the 15th floor, so how did his rank drop?

’Who surpassed me?’

Several figures, all among the top ten, flashed through his mind.

He eagerly exited the Disaster Beast Trial Tower.

He left the Trial Tower and arrived at the entrance.

Outside the colossal, cloud-piercing Trial Tower, dozens of people were standing around, having just finished their trials.

"Lin Qi actually made it to fifth place! That’s insane!" someone exclaimed.

’Who? Lin Qi?’

Fang Wu immediately looked up at the overall leaderboard.

[Fifth Place: Lin Qi (Sophomore), Floor: 16]

Sure enough, he saw Lin Qi’s name in the fifth-place spot.

And he himself had dropped to 6th.

"Lin Qi is too strong. I heard he’s about to become an SSS-level genius."

"Du Shanyan, another SSS-level genius from the same year, is only ranked 12th, and Chu Yu is only 10th."

"Lin Qi has already left them far behind."

Fang Wu could only shake his head with a bitter smile. He had been surpassed just like that.

’Is this what an SSS-level genius is like?’

’They’re all monsters, each one more absurd than the last.’

Not far away, Chu Yu, handsome and dressed in a red robe, wore a grave expression as he saw the projected rankings.

"How could this be..."

"Why is the gap getting wider and wider?"

...

"Brother Qi, you’re a fucking legend!"

In the distance, Jiangtao gave Lin Qi a thumbs-up as he looked at the overall rankings on the Trial Tower.

He had just entered the Trial Tower himself and was ranked 181st.

At Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy, he was first in his year, even surpassing many third and fourth-year seniors.

But in the Celestial Vault Institute, he was dead last.

Meanwhile, Lin Qi, who was the same age, was already among the top five.

In terms of Realm, he was at the Fourth Realm Bone Cultivation, while Brother Qi was already at the Sixth Realm of Marrow Refining. The gap was too large.

He felt both pressure and a fighting spirit.

Seeing this, Lin Qi just smiled faintly and said, "You’ll make it into the top ten one day too."

...

Time passed, and before they knew it, it was 11 PM.

The final rankings for the Disaster Beast Trial Tower were mostly set, and all 182 students had seen their final placement.

The slender Shen Heng sat cross-legged in his Martial Arts Room. He hadn’t entered the Trial Tower, confident that no one could surpass him.

He looked at the overall rankings projected from his phone.

When he saw Lin Qi ranked fifth, he was only surprised for a moment.

’As expected of a genius. I can’t compare to him in terms of Talent.’

’But as long as I’m in the Celestial Vault Institute, I can always keep him suppressed.’

He turned off his phone screen. He didn’t plan on going home for the winter vacation; instead, he was going to have his parents come to the Celestial Vault Institute to celebrate the New Year.

As for himself, he planned to go into seclusion to break through to the Seventh Realm and shock everyone.

He recalled the scene from last year’s Global Martial Arts Tournament.

Although he was powerful, he was still no match for those freaks.

He had ultimately been defeated, much to his regret. But that wouldn’t happen this year. He was going to sweep through the competition and take the final championship.

After setting this goal in his heart, he once again immersed himself in Marrow Refining.

...

At the same time, the other top-ranked students—Zhang Tianyang, Lei Frost, and Meng Yu—also felt the pressure after seeing Lin Qi’s ranking.

Lin Qi’s rise was ferocious. If they weren’t careful, they would be surpassed. No one could afford to rest on their laurels.

...

In the study of a top-level villa in Star Residence.

Dean Liu, dressed in a white robe, watched the screen projected before him. Xue Zhou’s face appeared on it.

Even with his Battle Armor stained with blood, he still exuded a carefree and untamed aura:

"The situation at the Steel Great Wall has stabilized for now, but the nearby Calamity Beasts are gradually gathering. It seems they’re brewing a larger offensive."

"There’s a Ninth-Level Calamity Beast pulling the strings, and more than one."

"Once they attack the base simultaneously, it’s bound to be a brutal battle. I don’t know how many people will have to be sacrificed."

"But don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. It’s just a shame I won’t be able to come home for the Spring Festival this year."

"I’m so sorry to our two boys. I can only make it up to them in the future."

"..."

After ending the video call, Dean Liu stood up from his smart chair and looked out the window at the sky of the Otherworld.

’What a time of troubles. The situation will only get worse in the future. Perhaps the day will come when I, too, must step onto the battlefield.’

After a moment of reflection, he took out his phone and checked the rankings.

A rare smile appeared on his face when he saw Lin Qi’s rank.

’This kid Lin Qi’s rate of progress is getting more and more absurd.’

’I’m really looking forward to the day he breaks through to the Ninth Realm.’

...

Just after 12 AM, the rewards for the Celestial Vault Institute’s Disaster Beast Trial Tower began to be calculated.

One after another, almost all 182 students opened the projected messages.

Inside a spacious bedroom in Villa 36 of Star Residence,

Lin Qi, dressed in black pajamas, looked at the green screen projected in front of him.

[Student Lin Qi, due to your outstanding performance in the Disaster Beast Trial Tower, achieving first place in your year and fifth on the overall leaderboard,]

[The Celestial Vault Institute will grant you a bonus of 240 million Xia Country Coins.]

[As well as 9,000 kilograms of Level 7 Disaster Beast Flesh and Blood (beast type selectable) and 500 kilograms of Level 8 Disaster Beast Flesh and Blood (not selectable).]

...