Translator: CinderTL
Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Four figures streaked across the Ivory Mountain Range.
The Ivory Mountain Range wasn't a single mountain but a cluster of over a dozen jagged peaks, each resembling an ivory tusk. These peaks encircled a bottomless chasm, forming a natural barrier.
The underground fortress lay beneath this abyss.
Due to the treacherous terrain and perpetual miasma, even second breakthrough martial artists found it nearly impossible to cross this chasm.
Fortunately, Jiang Ye and his team wore Cosmic Battle Armor, activating their flight capabilities to swiftly descend to the bottom of the abyss.
"We're here," Jiang Ye announced, standing before a moss-covered stone wall.
The wall appeared completely ordinary, as if naturally formed.
Yet according to their map, this was the entrance to the underground fortress.
"Laser," Jiang Ye said, pressing a button on his gauntlet.
In an instantโ
Buzz! A searing white beam erupted from his battle armor's gauntlet, instantly piercing through the stone wall.
Shen Changxi, Yun Qing'er, and the others followed suit.
The Cosmic Battle Armor's laser energy was immensely powerful.
Fully charged, it could kill a second breakthrough expert.
Of course, this ability was their last resort for survival. Once used, the Cosmic Battle Armor would lose all its energy.
Moreover, recklessly using laser energy to kill enemies would undoubtedly lower their mission score.
However, using it to cut through the stone wall would consume minimal energy and wouldn't affect their rating.
Zzzzt! Soon, a door-shaped fissure was cut into the stone wall.
Jiang Ye kicked it with full force.
Boom! The entire stone wall collapsed with a thunderous crash.
A dark, underground tunnel was revealed.
Jiang Ye, Yun Qing'er, and the other two transformed into streaks of afterimages as they darted into the shadowy passage.
Just half a minute later, the four of them entered an incredibly vast underground space.
The underground fortress was divided into three levels, each resembling a honeycomb with countless rooms of varying sizes.
Each room was teeming with powerful individuals.
The moment Jiang Ye and his team breached the fortress, a piercing alarm blared throughout the entire complex.
Immediately afterward, black-clad figures swarmed out of the rooms, their killing intent palpable.
These individuals varied in appearance, but they shared a single, striking characteristic: their eyes were completely black, as if lacking any white sclera.
This was one of the defining characteristics of the Hidden God Organization's assimilation with the Shadow Clan.
"Stick to the planโkill them all!" Jiang Ye roared, charging forward first.
These individuals had already been assimilated by the Shadow Clan, transformed into half-human, half-shadow monsters.
Whether they had volunteered or not, they had to die. Otherwise, they would pose a grave threat.
Boom!
As he spoke, the nine-foot Black Dragon Spear behind Jiang Ye transformed into a streak of black light, soaring into the air and sweeping horizontally across the battlefield.
In an instant:
Splat! Splat! Splat! Seven or eight black-clad figures charging toward him were sliced in half at the waist, blood erupting from their wounds.
"Just as I thoughtโall below the first breakthrough," Jiang Ye's eyes flashed.
With his current combat prowess, he could wipe out entire groups of enemies below the first breakthrough with a single sweep of his spear.
Jiang Ye summoned the Black Dragon Spear back into his palm.
"Kill!" Gripping the spear, his figure blurred into a black afterimage as he surged through the underground chamber.
Although this mission required teamwork, the final score would undoubtedly be based on individual kill counts.
Jiang Ye had no intention of holding back!
Rumble! A dense barrage of spear strikes erupted, illuminating the area like the Great Sun, sweeping across all directions.
With each swing of Jiang Ye's spear, heads rolled, leaving trails of blood in his wake.
He moved like a killing machine.
Against these enemies who hadn't reached their first breakthrough, he barely needed to use stellar energy to crush them.
Shen Changxi, Yun Qing'er, and Liu Wanxiao were doing the same.
Just thirty seconds later, over half the enemies on the first level of the underground fortress lay dead.
"Going smoothly," Jiang Ye thought to himself. "We should be able to reach the second level within a minute."
The underground fortress was massive, covering an area at least three kilometers wide and long.
Otherwise, his slaughter would have been even faster.
"ROAR!!"
Suddenly, a terrifying roar echoed from ahead.
It sounded like a pack of wild beasts driven mad, their shrill cries rising and falling in waves.
In the next moment, a large group of pitch-black figures surged from the shadows ahead, charging toward Jiang Ye with bared fangs and claws.
Whoosh! Many of the figures seemed to merge with the shadows on the ground, moving with astonishing speed.
"Divine Concealment Art?" Jiang Ye immediately recognized it.
"Kill!"
Without hesitation, he gripped his spear and strode forward to meet the charge.
These Hidden God Organization members who hadn't reached their first breakthrough would experience a dramatic increase in their assimilation rate after using that bizarre secret technique.
Their limbs and even torsos had been assimilated into Shadow Clan forms.
The higher the degree of assimilation, the greater the boost to their strength.
Among the group before him, Jiang Ye noticed several individuals whose power had already surged beyond the first breakthrough.
Boom! Boom!
Jiang Ye charged forward, spear in hand, immediately sensing that these enemies were no longer as easy to kill as before.
It now took two strikes to blast through a single opponent.
"Die!" Jiang Ye's eyes turned icy as his spear flashed like lightning, its devastating power instantly piercing through a man's skull.
He knew all too well that during every Shadow Calamity outbreak, these rats would seize the chaos to act.
The Shadow Calamity in Ancheng had been a prime example.
If Jiang Ye hadn't stumbled upon and destroyed a Hidden God Organization hideout beforehand, countless more people would have been kidnapped.
Thus, Jiang Ye harbored not a shred of goodwill toward this organization.
Roar!
Suddenly, a black-clad figure lunged forward with a blade, his Martial Dao Aura surging to approximately the mid-stage of the first breakthrough!
"Hmm?" Jiang Ye's eyes narrowed as he dodged with the agility of a swimming dragon.
His gaze flickered to the attacker, who seemed to have completely transformed into a shadow, merging seamlessly with the darkness.
Clearly, this man's assimilation with the Shadow Clan had reached an exceptionally advanced stage!
"Originally, he was only approaching the first breakthrough, but after assimilating with the Shadow Clan, he actually reached the mid-stage?" Jiang Ye thought, slightly startled. "He skipped two stages?"
This meant that the first breakthrough peak experts on the third floor, after using their secret techniques, might not just be approaching the second breakthrough.
They could actually reach the second breakthrough!
"Roar!" As Jiang Ye pondered, the black-clad figure charged forward again, his blade flashing.
"Clang!" Jiang Ye swung his spear horizontally, unleashing terrifying force that instantly sent the enemy's longsword flying.
He took a large step forward, his spear thrusting out like a dragon's strike.
A streak of starlight flashed.
Boom! The spear pierced straight through the black-clad figure's chest. Stellar energy surged, causing his body to explode in an instant.
Blood splattered everywhere.
A mid-stage first breakthrough expert, dead!
Three months ago, this mid-stage first breakthrough black-clad figure would have given Jiang Ye a headache.
But now? Everything had changed.
"Too weak!" Jiang Ye scoffed, his spear sweeping across the battlefield like a dragon in flight.
Such slaughter offered him no real training.
Nor did it significantly increase his strength.
Jiang Ye simply wanted to quickly finish the battles on the first two floors and then challenge the first breakthrough peak experts on the third floor.
As Jiang Ye thought this, a sudden doubt flashed through his mind.
"With such a massive battle raging, why haven't any enemies from the second or third floors appeared?"
While Jiang Ye and his group were slaughtering their way through the first floor, outside the underground fortress, Zhu Honglie and Chen Yuntian stood atop a massive boulder on a peak in the Ivory Mountain Range.
Before them floated a holographic projection displaying live footage of Jiang Ye, Shen Changxi, and their companions in combat.
This location had been designated as an S-Rank combat training site.
The entire underground fortress had long been under constant surveillance by Penglai University, unbeknownst to the Hidden God Organization.
"The first floor poses no challenge whatsoever for these youngsters," Chen Yuntian observed, nodding slightly as he watched the projection.
"The difficulty will ramp up on the second floor," Zhu Honglie replied, glancing at the second-floor surveillance feed with a faint smile.
Chen Yuntian followed his gaze.
"These rats have already set up their traps so quickly," Chen Yuntian chuckled hoarsely. "Good. This level of difficulty is perfect for the youngsters to hone their skills."
"These young geniuses have had it too easy with their cultivation," Chen Yuntian added with a grin. "It's time they tasted some hardship."
Zhu Honglie nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on the holographic projection.
On the first level, everyone's performance was flawless, easily sweeping through the opposition.
But the second level? The difficulty would skyrocket!
This marked the true beginning of their trial.
And the start of their performance evaluation.
"They've reached the second level," Zhu Honglie suddenly said, his gaze sharpening.
Chen Yuntian immediately looked over.
Underground Fortress.
After Jiang Ye, Shen Changxi, and their two companions had cleared the first level, they regrouped at the entrance to the second level.
"Something's not right," Jiang Ye said through his battle armor's comms. "We've been in the underground fortress for several minutes, but no enemies have appeared on the second or third levels."
Shen Changxi nodded. "It's definitely abnormal. I suspect there might be traps below."
"I agree," Liu Wanxiao chimed in.
"There's something else," Jiang Ye continued. "I just encountered an enemy at the mid-stage of the first breakthrough."
"What did you say?" Shen Changxi's crimson eyes narrowed.
A mid-stage first breakthrough opponent posed no threat to her or any of the four present.
But the problem was, this was the first level!
Enemies on the first level should only be approaching the first breakthrough.
The appearance of a mid-stage first breakthrough enemy suggested the Hidden God Organization's secret technique could potentially bridge two stages.
By the third level, they might face second breakthrough opponents!
This completely disrupted their original battle plan.
"Are you sure you sensed that correctly?" Shen Changxi asked Jiang Ye, her gaze fixed on him. "Teacher Zhu's intelligence clearly stated that the Hidden God Organization's secret technique could only advance one stage."
"Intelligence isn't always accurate," Jiang Ye replied, shaking his head.
Back at Ancheng Third High School, during a live combat mission to suppress the Hidden God Organization, the intelligence had also been flawed.
It wasn't that the school was unreliable; rather, this was intentional.
Facing inaccurate intelligence required adaptability, which was itself part of the evaluation.
"Did any of you encounter a first breakthrough mid-stage enemy?" Jiang Ye asked the others.
Liu Wanxiao shook his head.
Yun Qing'er timidly raised her hand. "I think I might have encountered one, but I'm not sure."
"Not sure? What do you mean?" Jiang Ye pressed.
"It looked kind of like one, but I smashed him in a second. I didn't have time to get a good look," Yun Qing'er said softly.
"..." Jiang Ye and the others were speechless.
"It seems only a few possess this secret technique," Jiang Ye concluded. "But to be safe, we need to adjust our plan."
"Starting from the second level, traps will undoubtedly be waiting for us."
"Better safe than sorry," Jiang Ye said as they discussed their strategy.
A few minutes later.
The four set off again, flying toward the second level.
Moments later, they entered a vast, empty corridor.
"Second level," Jiang Ye murmured. "Stay close."
"Okay," Shen Changxi, Yun Qing'er, and Liu Wanxiao replied, falling in behind him.
Jiang Ye's eyes blazed with focus as an invisible wave of energy radiated outward.
[Universal Observation: Mental power can envelop your surroundings, penetrating all things!]
After three and a half months of training, Jiang Ye's Martial Dao Will perception could now cover a radius of two meters. Within this range, his Martial Dao Will could bypass physical barriers, completely penetrating everything. Any traps would be immediately detected.
With Jiang Ye leading the way, the group advanced safely for some time.
"Doesn't seem like there are many traps here," Liu Wanxiao muttered.
Suddenly, Jiang Ye's expression shifted. He barked, "Get down!"
He instantly dropped to the ground. Shen Changxi, Yun Qing'er, and Liu Wanxiao followed suit, diving for cover.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A split second later, a dense barrage of whistling sounds erupted. Thousands of beams of light shot from the walls, sweeping across the corridor just above their heads.
Fortunately, they had all ducked down in advance and avoided being hit by the laser beams.
"Laser beams?" Shen Changxi's expression changed slightly as she pressed herself tightly against the ground.
These laser beams were incredibly powerful, posing a threat even to second breakthrough experts.
If they had been struck, even with the protection of their Cosmic Battle Armor, they would likely have suffered severe injuries.
At the very least, the armor would have been instantly destroyed.
"How did you sense that?!" Liu Wanxiao stared at Jiang Ye in shock.
Shen Changxi and Yun Qing'er couldn't help but turn to Jiang Ye as well, their beautiful eyes filled with astonishment.
Though they had sensed danger earlier, they might not have been able to dodge in time.
After all, laser beams move at incredible speed.
They could only rely on their Martial Dao Will to vaguely sense the impending threat, but they lacked Jiang Ye's decisive action.
"Let's move," Jiang Ye said curtly, offering no further explanation.
This corridor was riddled with traps, and they needed to escape as quickly as possible.
Otherwise, if the enemy recklessly charged in for a desperate fight, it would become an extremely dangerous situation.
Without hesitation, Jiang Ye led Shen Changxi, Liu Wanxiao, and Yun Qing'er out of the corridor and into a spacious hall.
But the very next second...
"Offend the Hidden Ones, die!" a thunderous roar echoed through the hall.
In the next instant, a dense barrage of gunfire rained down upon Jiang Ye and his group like a torrential downpour.
"Conventional firearms?" Jiang Ye wasn't surprised; the intelligence reports had predicted this.
Their Cosmic Battle Armor was impervious to ordinary firearms. Only high-powered laser weapons and kinetic energy weapons posed a threat.
But such weapons were prohibitively expensive, and the Hidden God Organization couldn't possibly equip every member with them.
As expected, the hail of bullets proved utterly ineffective against Jiang Ye and his companions.
Boom! Boom! Boom! From the depths of the hall, a series of overwhelmingly powerful Martial Dao Auras erupted, all emanating from experts at the first breakthrough late stage or higher.
And their auras continued to surge.
Within seconds, they had all reached the first breakthrough peak.
"Over sixty at the first breakthrough peak, and the rest at the first breakthrough late stage?" Jiang Ye's eyes lit up.
This was the real combat he had been craving!
He could already foresee the immense growth in his own strength that would result from this frenzied slaughter.
"Execute the plan!" he barked, his figure transforming into a bolt of lightning as he charged forward.
Shen Changxi, Yun Qing'er, and Liu Wanxiao also erupted into action, each charging toward their designated target areas.
A fierce battle erupted.
(End of the Chapter)
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