Xu Zhi entered the "Star Beast Hunting Ground," and the scene before him abruptly changed.
The rich scent of vegetation filled the air. Towering, ancient trees blotted out the sun, and a thick layer of decaying leaves covered the ground—this was the forest setting for the first stage.
"Welco to the first stage of the Star Beast Hunting Ground. Challenge objective: Star-Spotted Wolf (3)."
"Clear condition: Kill all Star-Spotted Wolves within ten minutes. Failure condition: Failure to kill all targets within the ti limit, or your own death."
"Challenger’s Life Energy Level for this stage is fixed at: Level 13."
Just as the system’s voice faded, three wolf howls echoed from the dense woods.
Xu Zhi tightened his grip on the virtual longspear that had materialized in his hands, completely unfazed.
He had trained in the Wind-Chasing Spear technique back in the Central Province and was highly experienced in dealing with speed-type Star Beasts like these.
Three grayish-black figures darted out, the silver spots on the Star-Spotted Wolves shimring in the dim light.
The leader of the pack pounced first. With a shift of his feet, Xu Zhi executed the Wind-Splitting Step, his body dodging aside like a gust of wind. At the sa ti, he swung his longspear in a wide arc, the shaft whistling as it slamd into the wolf’s side.
THUD!
The Star-Spotted Wolf yelped in pain and turned to retaliate, but Xu Zhi gave it no chance. Following his montum, he thrust the spear forward, plunging it precisely into the creature’s eye.
As the first Star-Spotted Wolf dissipated into white light, he even had a mont to spare to check the ti—only a minute and a half had passed.
The remaining two Star-Spotted Wolves posed even less of a threat. Xu Zhi entangled the legs of one, then used his spear tip to rip open the throat of the other. In less than four minutes, he had cleared the first stage.
’That’s it?’ Xu Zhi flicked the virtual blood from his spear, smirking to himself. ’Xu Wuyi only made it to the fourth floor? I can clear the sixth, at least!’
He didn’t rest, imdiately selecting "Enter Second Stage."
The scene instantly transford into a desolate Gobi Desert. A fierce wind whipped sand and dust against his face, stinging slightly.
"Second Stage challenge objective: Iron-Spine Lizard (3). Clear condition: Kill all Iron-Spine Lizards within ten minutes."
"Challenger’s Life Energy Level for this stage is fixed at: Level 14."
The ground trembled as three blue-black Iron-Spine Lizards crawled out from crevices in the rocks.
They were over three ters long, their scales reflecting light like armor. Bony spines protruded from their backs, and their saliva dripped to the ground, corroding small pits into the rock.
Xu Zhi’s heart skipped a beat. ’These things look way more heavily armored than the Star-Spotted Wolves.’
But he quickly composed himself and charged forward with his longspear. His Wind-Chasing Spear technique was renowned for its speed; even against strong defenses, he was confident he could find a gap to pierce through.
His first thrust struck an Iron-Spine Lizard’s scales. With a sharp CLANG, the spear tip was deflected, and the impact sent a numbing shock through his hand.
He froze for a second. Before he could react, the Iron-Spine Lizard whipped its tail, which whistled through the air as it lashed toward his waist.
’Damn it!’
Xu Zhi hastily twisted his body. The tail scraped past his ribs, sending a sharp pang of pain through him.
He staggered back two steps and looked down to see that the hem of his uniform had been corroded, leaving a hole.
’These scales are way too hard!’ Xu Zhi gritted his teeth and stopped charging head-on.
He began circling the Iron-Spine Lizards, his eyes locked onto their movents.
Soon, he discovered that when the Iron-Spine Lizards moved, the scales on their underbellies would part slightly—that had to be their weak spot.
He took a deep breath, circulated his Qi and Blood, and pushed the speed of his Wind-Chasing Spear to its absolute limit.
Seizing the opportunity when one of the lizards raised its head to spit an Energy Ball, he shot forward, aiming his longspear straight for its belly.
SQUELCH! This ti, the spear tip plunged in smoothly. The Iron-Spine Lizard let out a pained roar and thrashed wildly.
Xu Zhi pulled his spear back and retreated, but its claws slashed his arm. The virtual pain was instantaneous, and his arm went numb.
The remaining two Iron-Spine Lizards closed in. Ignoring the pain, Xu Zhi could only dodge while looking for an opening to attack.
He realized that while the Iron-Spine Lizards’ bony spines were intimidating, their turning speed was slow. As long as he got behind them, he could inflict damage by striking their bellies or joints.
Ti ticked by. When the last Iron-Spine Lizard finally dissipated into white light, Xu Zhi checked the tir—9 minutes and 47 seconds. He had almost run out of ti.
He leaned against a rock, panting heavily. The pain in his arm and side hadn’t faded, and most of his Qi and Blood had been depleted.
’Damn it, this second stage is way too hard.’ He wiped the dust from his face, feeling a flicker of panic for the first ti. ’If Xu Wuyi made it to the fourth stage, just how difficult must that be?’
But he had co this far; he couldn’t just give up now.
He gritted his teeth and selected "Enter Third Stage."
The scene changed again, this ti to a pitch-black cave. A foul, fishy stench filled the air.
Countless dark shapes hung from the rocks overhead. A single glance told him they were Poison Fang Bats.
"Third Stage challenge objective: Poison Fang Bat (10). Clear condition: Kill all Poison Fang Bats within ten minutes."
"Challenger’s Life Energy Level for this stage is fixed at: Level 15."
The mont the system’s voice faded, the dark shapes began to move.
Ten palm-sized Poison Fang Bats flew down from the rocks. The sound of their flapping wings echoed in the cave, and their sharp fangs glinted nacingly.
Xu Zhi tightened his grip on his longspear, thinking, ’They’re just bats. No matter how fast they are, my Wind-Chasing Spear can block them.’
But he was wrong.
The Poison Fang Bats were far faster than he had imagined. They moved unpredictably, one mont diving at him, the next circling around behind him.
Before Xu Zhi could even react, a bat sank its fangs into his shoulder.
HISS— The pain shot through him. Xu Zhi felt his shoulder go instantly numb, and his Qi and Blood felt as if they were blocked, its circulation slowing to a crawl.
He quickly shook his shoulder to fling the bat off, but more of them sward him.
He brandished his longspear, trying to form a screen of light to block the bats, but they were too small and always managed to slip through the gaps.
A bat bit into his neck. The poison spread instantly. Xu Zhi’s vision went dark, and his body felt increasingly heavy. He was quickly losing the strength to even hold his spear.
’N-No... impossible...’ He tried to circulate his Qi and Blood to resist, but the poison had already spread throughout his entire body, bringing his Qi and Blood to a complete standstill.
Several bats lunged at him at once, their sharp fangs piercing his virtual body.
"Challenge failed."
The cold system prompt sounded as Xu Zhi’s consciousness was instantly pulled from the cave and returned to his personal space in the Star Martial Battle Network.
He stood on the stone slab, watching his virtual body slowly turn transparent. The phantom pain on his shoulder and neck still lingered, and his mind was a complete blank.
He hadn’t even seen what the fourth stage looked like before he was defeated in the third.
Tang Jingfeng’s figure walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "How did it go? Which floor did you get to?"
Xu Zhi opened his mouth, wanting to say sothing, but found he couldn’t even get the words out.
He had previously thought that Xu Wuyi only clearing four floors was nothing special. Only now did he realize just how difficult it was to even reach the fourth stage.
"Cousin..." His voice trembled. "I just... got insta-killed by the bats."
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