Fang Senyan had no choice but to remain there for the time being. While it seemed like a waste of time, it wasn't entirely without fruit.

His previous skirmish with the Shadow had, by now, spread among the Dark Templar. These were formidable warriors, and they clearly perceived that the Shadow had been decisively disadvantaged in their exchange.

Consequently, a significant number of them came seeking to avenge the slight or, more accurately, to defend the honor of the Dark Templar. Fang Senyan accepted every challenge; not a single challenger dared to face him without eventually leaving with a crestfallen face, carrying their precious particle blades toward the repair bay.

Given this situation, the continuous stream of Dark Templar seeking to test him soon led to an organized protest:

"Your weapon is too sharp."

Fang Senyan was amenable to reason:

"Very well, then let's fight without weapons."

The Dark Templar were beings that thrived in darkness, valuing high attack power and the ability to land a killing blow in one strike. They excelled at agility and stealth, not frontal assaults. To face the tough and resilient Fang Senyan without weapons was akin to a male agent challenging a female spy to a contest of who could urinate farther—a contest that seemed fair on the surface but was fundamentally unbalanced!

Of course, the Dark Templar would still be the ones suffering the disadvantage.

However, as the saying goes, nothing is absolute; anything is possible. There might be a Dark Templar specializing in frontal assaults, but such a one would likely be an elder like Black Scythe. This elder, mindful of his status, would certainly never stoop to fight Fang Senyan.

Thus, Fang Senyan enjoyed several days of undefeated sparring, feeling like he was hitting a punching bag. Yet, he soon sensed something was off. The initial challengers were sporadic, but gradually, they came one after another, forming a long queue outside the entrance... This development suddenly dampened Fang Senyan's enthusiasm. He was sharply reminded of the bustling scene when a highly sought-after courtesan opened her doors for business.

With his characteristic shrewdness, Fang Senyan quickly grasped the reason for the massive influx by observing one Dark Templar who had 'honored' him twice already: improvement! This individual's personal combat prowess showed marked advancement compared to their last encounter!

Indeed, this location had been too isolated for too long. No matter how potent their training methods, they couldn't replicate the crucible of actual combat. They could only seek internal refinement. The normal training for these Dark Templar likely consisted of closed-door sparring amongst themselves. Such confined practice eventually became useless, much like a group of monkeys boxing themselves to death, resulting in nothing more than monkey-style kung fu.

Therefore, the strength of many Dark Templar here had reached a plateau, lacking the stimulus of different fighting styles. Engaging with Fang Senyan provided an immediate epiphany—while they might not match his raw power, some opponents were stronger, immediately teaching them how to counter a physically weaker but more agile foe. Conversely, the weaker ones learned how to compensate for their inherent flaws.

So, the first few Dark Templar defeated by Fang Senyan initially felt deep shame. But once they discovered that the techniques they learned allowed them to overcome opponents they previously couldn't beat, that sense of humiliation gradually faded. The craving for growth drove them forward in droves.

More critically, they were certain that Fang Senyan dared not use lethal force. Thus, they dedicated all their efforts to studying his combat techniques... Roni finally emerged from his seclusion.

But he was unable to restore Fang Senyan’s prestige.

Because he ultimately failed to last the full ten days.

To be precise, Roni was ejected after enduring eight days and twenty-one hours. What brought Fang Senyan a measure of satisfaction was seeing the grim, ashen expressions—a look akin to having swallowed excrement, to put it crudely—on at least half the Dark Templar when Roni stumbled out of the trial cavern and collapsed unconscious. Although Fang Senyan’s confidence in Roni might have been excessive, this result shattered the previous record, placing Roni firmly in the top three since the Templar trials began. The previous third-place holder had managed eight days and eighteen hours, now regrettably bumped down to fourth.

This meant that in the entire 373-year history of the Dark Templar trials, every single Dark Templar, save two, had been decisively surpassed by a lowly human!

What a damned, disgraceful achievement!

The moment Roni saw Fang Senyan, his eyes snapped open, showing a look of profound relief before he immediately passed out again. He looked utterly feral, his entire body coated in grime.

Yet, this apparent mud was burned, crisscrossed with fissures, shedding flakes at the slightest touch. Upon closer inspection, his skin was riddled with large patches of grotesque pustules. Some of these had ruptured, revealing rigid, black specks at their tips.

Fang Senyan observed carefully for a moment, then retrieved a pair of tweezers. He grasped one of the black specks atop a pustule and slowly applied force, pulling it out.

The thing was a horrifying parasite, nearly twenty centimeters long and as thick as an earphone cord, its body incredibly tough, like piano wire. To give a direct comparison: even with Fang Senyan's monstrous strength, he had to exert five or six-tenths of his effort just to snap it.

Looking at the countless pustules covering Roni, Fang Senyan felt his scalp crawl, wondering how many such worms infested him. He could only surmise the terrible ordeal Roni had faced: he must have been hunted by creatures with keen senses of smell or infrared vision, forcing him to flee into the river and coat himself in mud to hide.

But the mud must have been teeming with the eggs of similar parasites. Upon contact with human skin, they rapidly burrowed in to proliferate. Driven to desperation, Roni must have used fire or found a heat source, perhaps near a volcanic vent, attempting to cauterize the parasites, but some unforeseen complication must have forced him to prematurely withdraw.

Clearly, the diseases and parasites Roni carried were capable of bypassing the digitized bodies and immune systems of Contractors. Just as Fang Senyan was racking his brain for a cure, the Shadow stepped forward and stated chillingly:

"I regret to inform you, Brigadier General, but this Trialist must depart our sacred grounds immediately. There is no room for negotiation."

Fang Senyan was shocked:

"What are you saying? He can't even defend himself! Where can you possibly send him?"

"He has a memory coordinate point on the lost Temple Planet; that is where he initiated the trial. We will send him back to that location," the Shadow stated flatly.

"But there are still people outside hunting him! And if that location is in a Death Zone, the harsh natural environment could kill him too!" Fang Senyan protested angrily.

The Shadow remained unmoved:

"That is his concern."

"Fine, at least let me heal his wounds?" Fang Senyan refused to yield.

The Shadow shook his head:

"A pity. Rules are rules. The weakest aspect of your human race is your disrespect for order, and thus, you can never access the true power of universal law!"

Fang Senyan immediately retorted:

"What good is the power of law to the Protoss? Aren't they still chased around like dogs by the Zerg?"

"You!!! Brigadier General, this is the final warning. This Trialist must leave the Holy Land now, or we will not hesitate to use coercive measures."

Fang Senyan nodded, then suddenly smiled and inquired of the Shadow:

"Then, Mr. Shadow?"

This was the first time he had appended a term of respect after the Shadow's name. The Shadow felt a sudden unease, sensing something was profoundly wrong, but could only answer:

"Yes?"

"Would the noble Protoss commit the despicable act of abandoning their comrade on the battlefield?" Fang Senyan asked calmly, deliberately emphasizing his words. Before the Shadow could reply, the other Dark Templar roared:

"Never!"

"Absolutely not..." Fang Senyan turned back to the Shadow: "Meanness is not bound by race; nobility stems from the soul. Since even the Protoss would never abandon their own, neither will humanity! Please transport both of us out."

The Shadow was trapped between a rock and a hard place, but ultimately, his sense of honor overcame his other considerations. He looked at Fang Senyan and said:

"Very well. Bring him and follow me."

Fang Senyan effortlessly hoisted Roni up... He was certain Roni still harbored active parasites, and given how aggressive those things appeared, Fang Senyan certainly wasn't going to carry him and risk infection—under the Shadow's guidance, they proceeded to an area that looked exactly like a teleportation array, because it was one, and stood within its circle.

The Shadow gazed at Fang Senyan for a moment with his pale green eyes, then transmitted a thought:

"Good luck."

Then, his slender, long-clawed fingers pressed against the metallic wall beside them.

The area had appeared unremarkable, but as the Shadow touched it, it began to emit a deep emerald glow, and an adjacent energy conduit rapidly began to fill. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please cast your recommendation and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)RQ