"Yes."

"Confirm?"

"Confirmed."

A few minutes later, Ye Chen faced his next opponent, an Atlantean at the peak of the demigod realm. The opponent employed illusion techniques, but Ye Chen broke through them with ease.

It was important to note that after a year of slaughter in that gloomy world, enduring daily carnage without being assimilated by the darkness had greatly increased his willpower. Furthermore, the Tao Ede Holy Bible, previously taught to him by Bai Yijun, had tempered his mind to be exceptionally resolute, reaching the peak of the sixth level of the Sage realm, on the verge of breaking into the seventh.

Generally...

Only the strongest among the False Gods could reach the fifth level of the Sage realm. Reaching the Saint realm was equivalent to achieving the brainwave intensity of a true deity; their will was indelible, rendering them immune to easy brainwashing or hypnosis. "Do you wish to continue?"

"Let's go."

The fifth challenge match began.

A handsome figure materialized from thin air, clad in a cyan robe embroidered with a Bagua pattern. He gazed coldly at Ye Chen, a shimmering long sword sheathed on his back, exuding an elegant aura.

"The Cultivation Civilization..." Ye Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. The Fengyue family were descendants of ancient cultivation clans. Among the various civilizations, the Cultivation Civilization stood out as a pinnacle, possessing immense, ancient power.

"Come..."

The battle commenced.

Ye Chen's expression grew serious. According to the electronic voice, this cultivator should be a strong practitioner at the first heaven of the demigod realm. Although he didn't know the exact tier, he could imagine it was a level above the peak demigod realm!

He clenched his hand, divine power coursing through his body, concentrating in his fist. The Divine Flame Armor shimmered faintly, and a tendril of protective divine flame, like a golden serpent, snaked around his body.

Just then, "Die!" The cyan-robed man's eyes turned icy cold. He suddenly raised his hand and tossed something. A talisman grew rapidly as it flew, containing what appeared to be a space-folding pouch. With a flash of light, numerous tiny metal figures spilled out, baring their fangs and claws as they rushed toward Ye Chen.

These small metal men were about the size of infants, exquisitely carved, shining golden all over. They clutched miniature swords and knives, yelling in an unknown tongue as they charged Ye Chen.

"Cultivation Soldiers!" Ye Chen's gaze sharpened. He immediately took a step forward, charging toward the cyan-robed man.

"I didn't expect this person to carry a Cultivation Soldier manufacturing plant with him. If he unleashed his divine power to endlessly forge Cultivation Soldiers within it, eventually even those stronger than him would be drowned by sheer numbers."

"This must be settled quickly!"

When facing a powerhouse from the Cultivation Civilization, close combat was the only viable option; otherwise, he would simply be bombarded into oblivion unless he, too, was a ranged attacker.

"Array!" the cyan-robed man commanded lowly.

The swarm of Cultivation Soldiers emerging from the talisman immediately took position in the front, arrayed in a Bagua formation. Back in the Three Kingdoms period on Earth, Zhuge Kongming had personally created a formidable Bagua formation that was invincible; however, that formation seemed relatively simple compared to the one before him now.

Divine light flickered across this Bagua formation, obscuring Ye Chen's vision. As the numerous Cultivation Soldiers moved about, they instantly trapped Ye Chen within.

Ye Chen looked around and immediately realized that the previously tiny metal men now appeared like towering giants, pacing around his body, creating afterimages that caused dizziness. Ye Chen inwardly startled, glanced around, noticed the cyan-robed man had vanished, and rushed forward.

Whoosh!

A golden fist smashed down violently from the side, like a meteor hitting the earth, bearing formidable momentum.

Ye Chen frowned, deftly sidestepping, and simultaneously reached out, channeling the divine power within him. It shot out, forming a small golden fist that collided with the metal fist.

Boom!

The metal fist imploded inward, and the entire body disintegrated.

Ye Chen retreated two steps, inwardly astonished. "This was just a minor Cultivation Soldier, and it required my full strength to destroy and evade. There are many of them. If they all possess this level of power, a protracted battle would be very disadvantageous for me, as this virtual space offers no Divine Stones for replenishment; that only happens after each round of combat ends."

Thinking of this, Ye Chen slightly frowned, suddenly raised his hand, and formed a seal. The imposing Nine Palaces levitated from the ground, and three Nine Palace Guardians materialized, standing abreast before detonating with a roar: Rumble—

The entire vast martial platform trembled slightly. The shockwave carrying the aura of destruction spread outward, sweeping across the surroundings. Many of the Cultivation Soldiers nearby shuddered violently before collapsing.

Bang, bang, bang...

A large area exploded with the shockwave, destroying and tearing apart numerous Cultivation Soldiers. The mist obscuring Ye Chen's front dispersed, revealing shattered fragments scattered at his feet—the golden Cultivation Soldiers had reverted to their infant size, strewn everywhere.

Furthermore, wherever this shockwave passed, the cyan-robed man, not far away, let out a pained cry, staggered back a few steps, and his body disintegrated, swallowed by the shockwave.

It had to be known that the simultaneous self-detonation of three Nine Palace Guardians amplified his combat strength threefold, an explosion comparable to ten thousand demigod power bursts.

The cyan-robed man didn't even manage a full scream before his body was ripped apart by the surging wave of divine power. "Congratulations on passing the fifth challenge. Do you wish to continue?"

"Yes."

As Ye Chen nodded, the depleted demigod power within him instantly recovered, returning to ten thousand points. Simultaneously, a figure materialized from thin air not far in front of him: petite and exquisite, with smooth, soft hair, clad in a leaf-green dress, carrying a delicate, small bow and arrow on her back.

"The Elf Civilization." Ye Chen's gaze flickered.

The Elf Civilization was a remnant of the previous era, the Solar Epoch. They revered nature and advocated for peace. Every elf possessed acute senses of smell and hearing, and each was a born hunter with an extremely keen awareness of danger, possessing dynamic vision capable of tracking the trajectory of every moving bullet.

"Second Heaven of the Demigod Realm!"

"Come..."

The battle commenced.

The expression of the maiden in the leaf-green dress turned cold. As the bell sounded, she swiftly drew her bow, rapidly condensing a shaft of divine power into a sharp arrow and shooting it toward Ye Chen.

Swish!

This pale golden shaft of light vanished instantly.

Bang!

Ye Chen's entire body exploded into fragments, instantly destroyed.

"Challenge failed. You have two chances remaining!" the electronic voice sounded in Ye Chen's mind. Soon after, Ye Chen's body reformed, standing before the elven maiden once more.

"What was that!" Ye Chen's expression was one of shock and uncertainty... "Her power was ten times greater than that cultivator! With my eyesight, I didn't even have a chance to react!"

"She's just a demigod, how could she be this terrifying!"

"This is unbelievable!"

Ye Chen did not rush to try again, as the result would only be instant defeat.

The elven maiden stood to the side, arms crossed, looking poised and detached, seemingly deep in thought, not sparing Ye Chen a single glance.

"If the second heaven of the demigod realm is this terrifying, what about the third, fourth, and beyond? If the strength increase is tenfold for every level ascended, then by the ninth heaven, wouldn't the increase be forty million times?"

Ye Chen felt somewhat stunned. If that were true, a powerhouse at the ninth heaven of the demigod realm could sweep through all the False God realm experts!

Although demigod power and false god power were different, such a massive quantitative difference would lead to a qualitative change. Calculating this way, the final challenge—facing an initial-stage False God expert—seemed less difficult than the preceding challenges.

Ye Chen sat cross-legged on the martial platform, paying no mind to the surrounding clamor, frowning in deep thought.

"I've never heard before that the demigod realm is divided into nine tiers. It's very strange. If one can pass the previous assessments, why must they still challenge a False God realm expert at the end?"

"Based on my estimation, if I can defeat someone at the third heaven of the demigod realm, dealing with an initial-stage False God expert wouldn't be difficult."

"At this rate, even using my current power against the second heaven demigod is difficult. Even applying the Nine Palaces Secret Art, which grants a 30-fold combat power boost, wouldn't even scratch the opponent!"

"Defeating a powerhouse at the third heaven of the demigod realm is even more remote—absolutely impossible within ten years, unless I myself become a true deity!"

"However, in this virtual world, no matter how long I stay, it only serves to temper willpower and combat skills; it offers zero benefit to my physical body."

Ye Chen pondered for a moment, then suddenly a thought struck him, and his eyes lit up. "At this point, I have no choice but to rely on that 0.35% divine blood! Otherwise, there is no other way!"

"Before I broke through to the demigod realm, when my physique reached level 100,000, only 0.1% of the divine blood had been refined. I estimate I'll need to reach level 1,000,000 to refine one percent! This extra 0.35% of divine blood power is thanks to Little White Rabbit, but this small fraction can only contend with initial-stage False God experts. Although the quality is high, the quantity is too scarce."

Ye Chen gritted his teeth and chose to challenge again!

"Come..."

The battle began.

Without waiting, the instant the bell sounded, Ye Chen thrust out his finger. Divine blood shot out like a ray of light piercing through eternity, comparable to near light speed. Before the maiden in the leaf-green dress could react, it struck her forehead.

Bang!

The head of the leaf-green maiden exploded.

"Congratulations, you have passed the sixth challenge. Do you wish to continue?"

"Yes!"

As the words fell, Ye Chen felt his entire body's power instantly restored, filling him with surprise. The divine blood power was indeed effective! But thinking about it, it made sense: although the elven maiden possessed abundant divine power, her physique was still within the demigod realm, less than 1,000,000 levels. Her retina could not possibly capture the near light-speed divine blood energy!

Soon, the next opponent materialized on the martial platform.

As the battle began, Ye Chen immediately unleashed his divine blood power, giving his opponent no room to attack, because if the opponent attacked first, his body would only be pulverized.

"Passed!"

"Passed!"

"Failed!"

As battles began one after another, Ye Chen charged straight through, reaching the seventh heaven of the demigod realm. However, at the start of the fight, he was instantly annihilated by a casual wave of golden light from his opponent. Even the Divine Flame Armor, after accounting for weakening, and that extra sliver of power, blasted Ye Chen into nothingness.

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