The ten soldiers from the Fourth Army of the Jin Clan World exchanged glances, and almost simultaneously, they transformed into streaks of light, flying toward the imposing gate. Not a single soldier dared to attempt instant teleportation—they were all keenly aware of the dangers inherent in a ranked mission.
Wuji Tower, First Layer World.
A vast, desolate desert world swept by gusts of frigid wind, so cold that frost subtly crystallized on the sand grains. In the distance loomed a colossal spatial gate. With a whoosh! whoosh! whoosh!,
Ten figures shot out from that spatial gate, surveying their surroundings before slowly descending to stand upon the desert floor.
“Wuji Tower, First Layer?” Luo Feng surveyed the endless desert, which stretched as far as the eye could see; even the distant spatial gate had vanished without a trace.
“This Wuji Tower is incredibly perilous,” murmured Xu Zhong, the tall, thin soldier standing next to Luo Feng, transmitting his voice. “Yinhe, where do you suppose the danger lies? Is it beneath this endless desert?”
“I don’t know.”
Luo Feng shook his head.
The ten soldiers—six Tribal Warriors and four Exotic Beast Warriors—proceeded with utmost caution, their alertness razor-sharp.
Among the ten, only two, Luo Feng and Xu Zhong, hailed from the Eastern Army. Naturally, they gravitated toward each other, ready to face any danger together.
Boom!
The tranquility of the desert world was shattered by a tremendous roar, and an energy shockwave immediately radiated outwards, sweeping across boundless regions in an instant.
Luo Feng and the others felt the vibrating wave and turned. In the sky above the distant desert, a dazzling pillar of light, like a bolt of lightning, twisted violently as it descended, connecting the desert floor to the infinite heavens in mere seconds.
“What is that?”
“It seems to contain immense power.”
The soldiers were filled with confusion.
Just then, colossal black characters suddenly manifested, distorting the surface of the endless cyan light pillar connecting the heavens and the desert. The characters were black as ink, each one exuding an overwhelming, murderous intent that pierced directly into the minds of every soldier, including Luo Feng.
The sheer intensity of the killing intent stirred Luo Feng’s own will; his eyes subtly reddened, and a silent roar seemed to echo within his heart.
The black characters materialized one by one:
“This is the passage connecting the First Layer and the Second Layer of Wuji Tower.”
“Those who enter the passage may proceed to the Second Layer of Wuji Tower.”
“One soldier must be killed to enter the passage.”
“If another soldier is not killed, one will never be able to leave before the next batch of soldiers reopens the gate; those who have not entered the Second Layer will be annihilated.”
“Those who hide in ship-type treasures to avoid combat will be counted as having failed and will be annihilated!”
The black characters hung in the air, emanating boundless pressure. The murderous intent contained within the text alone was almost unbearable for the soldiers. Such power could annihilate these Law Domain Lord soldiers with a single sweep; no one could play tricks in Wuji Tower. Luo Feng and the other nine soldiers harbored no doubt about the message's veracity.
“Must kill one soldier to enter the passage and proceed to the Second Layer of Wuji Tower?” Luo Feng was stunned. “This means at least five of the ten soldiers must die!” Luo Feng suddenly understood why the horned exotic beast outside had said more than half of the first three batches of soldiers had perished.
“Kill one?”
“Who should be chosen?”
Luo Feng’s gaze swept over the surroundings. Because the ten soldiers had entered together, they were not far apart, and everyone watched the others warily. They were all contemplating which soldier to select as an opponent; anyone brave enough to come here was no ordinary person, and choosing someone too strong might result in one’s own death.
Whoosh!
Silently, the surrounding space solidified—this was nearly simultaneous action taken by several different soldiers.
Boom!
Accompanied by a violent explosion, one of the soldiers moved, instantly igniting the previously suppressed atmosphere. Then, boom! boom! boom! soldiers erupted, charging toward their chosen targets.
Roar!
An ugly exotic beast with massive scaled wings roared and charged directly at Luo Feng.
“Die!” A burly soldier lunged forward, wielding a gruesome great hammer wreathed in endless lightning. The sheer power emanating from the hammer led Luo Feng to instantly judge it a Mechanical Flow treasure of the highest caliber.
Hoo! A streak of black light swept directly toward Luo Feng’s head.
Three soldiers attacked Luo Feng simultaneously!
Three soldiers had chosen him as their target. Luo Feng let out a wry chuckle. It seemed his admission of being a rookie outside the Wuji Tower had stirred things up. It was precisely because he possessed strength absolutely superior to these so-called elite soldiers that Luo Feng dared to speak as he had.
Swish!
Luo Feng retreated rapidly. Boom! Endless snowflakes suddenly erupted around them—it was one of the Domain-type True God treasures he had exchanged for earlier—pressuring and restraining the three attacking soldiers. In that instant, Luo Feng clearly identified the trio: the exotic beast, the burly soldier, and shockingly, Xu Zhong, who was from the same Eastern Army as himself…
“Xu Zhong!” Luo Feng transmitted a furious shout. “We are both Eastern Army soldiers! This is only the First Layer of Wuji Tower, and you strike at me?”
“You’re a rookie—if I don’t kill you, who should I kill!” Xu Zhong retorted coldly.
Boom!
Layers of purple light enveloped Xu Zhong, pulsing outward to clash against the endless snow swirling from Luo Feng’s imposition. Clearly, this “Xu Zhong” also possessed a domain-type treasure.
“Hahaha!” Luo Feng detested soldiers like Xu Zhong the most. He roared, instantly moving, transforming into a blur of knife shadows, easily evading the burly soldier and charging straight for Xu Zhong.
This simple flicker and lunge!
It changed the expressions of the three soldiers attacking Luo Feng. This maneuver not only effortlessly bypassed the burly soldier but also left the exotic beast far behind. Weaker individuals might not notice, but they were all elite soldiers and immediately recognized the terrifying speed of “Yinhe’s” footwork.
“Not good!” Xu Zhong hissed.
Whoosh!
Layers of white light instantly enveloped his body, and in a flash, his form transformed into a white, winged exotic beast. The white creature flapped its wings and ascended in a straight line, fleeing rapidly into the distance.
“The Mechanical Flow treasure, the ‘Tui Niao’!” Luo Feng’s expression shifted slightly.
The Tui Niao was an Eastern Army Mechanical Flow treasure specialized in ‘escape.’ While perhaps lacking in dodging capability, its straight-line acceleration for fleeing was incredibly, terrifyingly fast! Exchanging for one required a full 70,000 military merits, making it even more valuable than the Golden Claw God Luo Feng used. It was unmatched in pursuit evasion.
This “Xu Zhong,” after witnessing Luo Feng’s simple movement technique, instantly knew he had encountered a powerhouse. Against Luo Feng’s close-combat footwork, Xu Zhong might strike Luo Feng ten times while Luo Feng struck him only once, and even then, it would likely be blocked. Realizing the danger, he immediately activated the Tui Niao and fled!
“You ran fast enough,” Luo Feng snorted coldly, turning away and abandoning the pursuit of Xu Zhong. He knew that with the Tui Niao treasure, killing Xu Zhong would be extremely difficult.
In the distance, the Tui Niao spread its wings and looked back toward Luo Feng’s position.
“A rookie?”
“He’s stronger than most veterans.” Xu Zhong’s face was grim. “Was he lying to me? No, I recognize all the powerful soldiers from the Mang River Army. Unless he’s a rookie I don’t know, he shouldn't be lying. He must be a rookie. A rookie this powerful?”
“This is troublesome.”
“Even if I survive this first layer, there’s the second, then the third…”
Xu Zhong was filled with regret. Why did his judgment fail him so badly that he chose to engage the strongest soldier in their batch?
Swish! Swish!
As quickly as Xu Zhong fled, the other two attackers realized the situation was dire and began to scatter. The burly soldier with the massive lightning hammer flapped his wings, revealing black pinions, and soared away. The exotic beast warrior, however, was escaping much more slowly—slowly, that is, relative to Xu Zhong and the burly soldier.
“Who told you to run slowly!” Luo Feng roared, surging forward in pursuit.
Hoo!
As Luo Feng streaked after the slowest target, his entire form began to transform. He instantly morphed into an incredibly savage, humanoid giant beast. His hands and feet became massive golden claws.
The Mechanical Flow treasure, Golden Claw God!
Ignition!
Divine Power burned at the First Layer!
The ignited divine power instantly coursed through the core of the Golden Claw God, transforming it. The powerful Golden Claw God exuded an aura of endless, savage might.
“No!” The ugly, scaled-winged exotic beast glanced back and was instantly horrified. The Golden Claw God behind it was moving too fast!
“How is his speed so fast?” The scaled beast fretted. Why hadn't it exchanged its merits for an escape mechanism? It had indeed possessed a Mechanical Flow treasure, but it was purely for offense. In terms of attack power, it feared no other soldier, but upon witnessing Luo Feng’s evasiveness, it knew a sustained fight meant certain defeat, so it fled!
But escape was no longer an option!
Boom! The ferocious Luo Feng roared as he flew closer.
He soared high into the air.
His legs became like two colossal blades, whistling down as they struck! Through his legs, he executed the blade techniques of the Light of Water and Fire. Although Luo Feng was only utilizing the first layer of the Severing Annihilation technique, his secret method level was clearly superior to his opponent’s. The divine power burning was equivalent, and his dodging was better.
“No!” As the scaled exotic beast engaged Luo Feng, it immediately felt the agony.
It couldn't escape.
Any attack it launched against Luo Feng was easily dodged or heavily mitigated by blocks, but when Luo Feng attacked it, it sometimes couldn't even manage a block.
Whack! The fierce golden claws, sharp as blades, tore through the scaled beast’s skull and violently slammed it into the endless desert.
Swish! Swish!
His legs, like razor edges, mercilessly hacked at the scaled exotic beast again and again.