“This third rule doesn’t make any sense…”
He frowned slightly.
“But before worrying about that, I should understand the first rule.”
He looked at the slab again and read carefully.
Rule 1: To know the first rule, check the left wall from here.
Winay looked around.
“Left wall from here… that means if I walk toward the center of the floor and then turn left…”
He walked forward slowly.
After a few steps, another stone slab appeared on the wall.
“There it is.”
Winay began reading.
***
“Do you have the courage to face the real?”
“If you wish to face the real enemy, show me your undefeated spirit.”
“Activate the inscription on this slab with your soul energy and face the swarm of beasts.”
“Show me you are qualified to face the real monsters.”
***
Winay crossed his arms.
“The real enemies…”
He thought for a moment.
“In general, humanity’s real enemies are known to be…”
-
Corrupted beasts
-
Rogue corrupted cultivators
-
Monsters from the Yashan Continent
“I’ve already fought corrupted beasts before.”
“So that leaves the other two possibilities.”
“But what exactly does this trial mean by real enemies?”
Winay shrugged slightly.
“Guess I’ll find out.”
He placed his hand on the slab and released his soul energy.
The inscription activated instantly.
A bright beam shot across the floor toward the opposite wall.
Then—
A portal opened.
Winay narrowed his eyes.
“So that’s where the beasts will come from.”
“But what kind of beasts are they?”
At first the portal glowed with bright energy.
Then suddenly—
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It turned pitch black.
Something crawled out.
A small creature appeared.
It had the body of an ant, the front legs of a mantis, a sharp beak, and transparent glass-like wings.
Winay stared.
“What… is that?”
Suddenly words appeared on the slab beside him.
Chimarantis
Winay blinked.
“Chimarantis…”
Even though he had never seen one before, the slab began displaying information.
Chimarantis:
An insect-type monster with the body of an ant and mantis-like front legs.
Possesses sharp beak and glass wings.
These monsters move in swarms under the command of a queen.
Unless the entire swarm is destroyed, the threat level remains classified as High-Class Danger.
Winay sighed.
“So I have to destroy the entire swarm…”
Another line appeared on the slab.
To proceed to Rule 2, satisfy Rule 1.
Then the counter appeared.
0 / 1000 Chimarantis
Kill the targets to move forward.
Winay stared at the number.
“One thousand?”
He looked at the portal again.
“You expect me to fight a swarm of Voidspawn-level monsters alone… when I’m only at the first level of the Communication Realm?”
He shook his head.
“Well… complaining won’t help.”
The portal suddenly erupted with movement.
Hundreds of Chimarantis began flying out.
Their glass wings vibrated rapidly.
“SHHIKK—SHHIKK—”
“They’re fast…”
Winay watched their movements carefully.
“And those blade-like legs…”
“They’re sharp enough to leave marks on the stone floor.”
Winay raised his hand.
“First I’ll cut their wings.”
Void Thread Technique – First Form: Thread Slash.
A thin Void blade sliced forward.
Several Chimarantis fell instantly.
But more kept pouring out.
Winay frowned.
“Oh no…”
“All one thousand are coming out at once.”
He swung his hand again.
Void Thread – Second Form: Multithread Slash.
The threads cut through the swarm.
The slab updated.
9 / 1000
More Chimarantis attacked.
Their speed was terrifying.
“SHREEEK!”
“Wuh— that was close!”
Winay stepped back quickly.
“How are they moving this fast in a swarm?”
Another attack.
Winay responded instantly.
Multithread Slash.
19 / 1000
Winay exhaled slowly.
“This isn’t going to work.”
“They’re too fast.”
He jumped high into the air and released a burst of soul energy.
Then landed safely again.
Winay raised both hands.
“Let’s try something else.”
Void Thread Technique – Third Form, Second Variant: Void Net.
A massive net of Void energy spread across the battlefield.
Winay activated Void Eye.
“Now…”
“Void Manipulation.”
The Void net began moving according to his hand movements.
Each time he moved his arm—
The net sliced through the swarm.
31 / 1000
42 / 1000
59 / 1000
Winay waved his hand again.
More Chimarantis were shredded.
87 / 1000
147 / 1000
Winay breathed heavily.
“Huff… huff…”
“Using this technique once already drains a lot of energy.”
“If I keep this up for another minute…”
“My spirit energy will completely run dry.”
But the swarm kept growing.
297 / 1000
304 / 1000
Winay suddenly noticed something.
“These beasts…”
“They’re made of energy.”
“How else would their bodies vanish into ash without blood?”
The swarm screamed.
“SHREEAK—SHREEAK!”
Suddenly the counter jumped.
393 / 1000
452 / 1000
Winay’s eyes widened.
“The portal is accelerating!”
“I need to expand the net.”
He released more Void energy from his left hand.
Then combined both hands together.
“Yes… that works.”
Void Net Expanded.
The net grew larger.
Winay pushed it toward the portal.
606 / 1000
688 / 1000
733 / 1000
Winay’s breathing became heavy.
“Huff…”
“I can only maintain this for thirty seconds.”
The counter continued rising.
854 / 1000
903 / 1000
“Seven seconds left…”
957 / 1000
Winay gritted his teeth.
“Time’s up.”
The Void Net began losing sharpness.
Only forty Chimarantis remained.
Winay sighed.
“Looks like I’m out of spirit energy.”
He walked toward the remaining swarm.
“Guess I’ll finish this the old-fashioned way.”
The Chimarantis rushed towards him.
But—
In a single flash—
They were gone.
1000 / 1000
Winay stretched slightly.
“Close combat is still more efficient than using soul energy sometimes.”
Suddenly—
A mysterious voice echoed across the third floor.
“Congratulations.”
“You have achieved the impossible.”
“This will be noted.”
Winay looked around.
“Noted?”
“What does that mean?”
The voice continued.
“Next: Satisfy Rule Number Two.”
A new slab appeared.
“Please read the slab below to understand Rule Two.”
Winay slowly turned toward it.