CHAPTER 236 THE FIRST TRIAL

The moment Darren and other participants arrived at the spot, an elder's shadow suddenly materialized

in front of them.

"Welcome to the Ancient Void Battlefield, young ones. The first trial is about to start," the shadow

proclaimed loudly. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

"Who..."

All the participants were astonished at the sight of the shadow. They could also sense it was stronger

than the grand warriors they had met outside.

"You must be wondering who I am. I am the guardian of the Void Battlefield. Please, do not fear me.

You have no reason to. The aura you feel is coming from my real body. I am just a spiritual intent and I

cannot do any physical harm to you. You may call me Mr. Guardian," the shadow continued, noticing

the alert look on the participants' faces.

"The test begins," the elder's shadow announced.

"Why did I lose my cultivation base?"

"What's going on with me? Why did my realm regress?"

Every participant's face turned panicked the second the guardian made his announcement. They could

feel that their realm and cultivation base were regressing rapidly. Moments later, they had become

ordinary people, and couldn't even recall the martial arts skills they had learnt.

"Calm down, young ones. The first test is called 'starting over'. Now, I shall introduce the rules and

rewards to you. Listen attentively," the guardian said.

With a wave of his hand, a black stone wall fell from the sky and landed before all the participants.

Everyone looked up at this massive structure and observed that it was covered by a myriad of

characters.

"These are all martial skills and formulas. Some of them are supernatural martial skills and some are

about more powerful martial skills!" many exclaimed in delight, their eyes almost popping out of their

sockets.

"From now on, you have three years to master these martial skills. After that time, you need to fight

each other. Only twenty-five of you can go through to the second test.

The participants who pass the first test will be rewarded," the guardian said.

As he waved his hand, many items materialized in mid-air. They were placed in the form of five-layer

pyramid. The higher the level, the fewer the items were.

The crowd looked up and observed the floating objects.

"Isn't that a Talent-upgrading Elixir? Oh my gosh! That is really the Talent-upgrading Elixir. If a person

consumes one pill, his talent will be promoted by one whole level."

"That's the supernatural martial skill. There are a dozen supernatural martial skill books!"

Those prizes they mentioned were at the fifth layer and drew their attention.

The Talent-upgrading Elixir was a rare pill, one that was heavily sought after in the real world. When

Darren was in the Starry Tower back then, he had managed to find one Talent-upgrading Elixir which

was much better than the one in front of him. That pill could increase one's talent by ten levels and he

had chosen to give it to Elsa.

The Talent-upgrading Elixir only worked for those whose talent was below the ninth level of Earth

Degree. What was more, a cultivator could only take one in his or her lifetime.

The talent of most of the participants were at the third or fourth level of the Earth Degree. Hence, a

Talent-upgrading Elixir was a treasure to them.

But there was another thing that caught their attention. Those supernatural martial skills were also a

coveted prize!

There were all kinds of weapons on the fourth layer and each looked powerful and quite lethal.

"Level-nine legendary weapon: Void Spear. It can help the user gain an additional thirty percent of their

battle force. It's most suitable for cultivators below the Grand Realm."

"Level-nine legendary weapon: Magic Blade..."

All the weapons on the fourth layer were level-nine legendary ones and had similar functions.

If an expert at the top level of supreme stage of Wonder Realm used one of them, his battle force

would be quite astounding. In fact, he might be able to match a Grand Realm cultivator with it in hand.

Any Wonder Realm warrior who got a level-nine legendary weapon could singlehandedly defeat his

peers at the same realm. That was how powerful these weapons were!

There were ten items on the third layer. They were some high-level defense treasures.

On the second layer were five rune papers.

The rewards on the previous layers only slightly surprised Darren. But he was greatly attracted to the

rune papers on the second layer.

'A 500-fold Speed-boosting Rune, a 500-fold Strength Enhancing Rune, a 500-fold Restoring Rune, a

500-fold Defensive Rune and a 500-fold Suppression Rune.

Great. The five rune papers are certainly valuable things, ' Darren observed in his head.

He yearned to win the five rune papers.

They reminded him of the thousand-fold Strength Enhancing Rune which Wayne had spent most of his

life to make. The process to create that amazing rune paper must have been incredibly intricate!

After Darren studying the rune papers intently, his eyes shifted to the prize on the first layer—three

keys.

According to the introduction, the keys were necessary to getting through to the 11th test.

"Well, I'm sure you have by now scoped out all the prizes. You should focus on your cultivation in the

following three years. The talent who wins the first place can choose twenty prizes first. The one who

comes second can select eighteen items... The top twenty-five talents will have the access to the next

test," the guardian said.

"Mr. Guardian, I heard we will be transported out of here three months later. If that's the case, how can

we cultivate here for three years?" one of the participants asked out of curiosity.

"Ha-ha. Don't worry. Three years here only equates to ten days outside in your world. I'll not waste

more of your time. I'll be back when the battle begins. The top three will have extra prizes which will be

greatly beneficial for the next test. I hope you can cultivate hard here.

One more thing, fighting is forbidden here. Anyone who breaks the rule in the span of three years will

be disqualified and sent back immediately."

After the guardian's shadow finished these words, it vanished into thin air.

The test began. Many participants were confident that they would pass the test, especially when they

sensed the dense spiritual energy that surrounded them.

Darren got flustered because he couldn't upgrade his current stage by absorbing spiritual energy

around here. Besides, there was nothing left for him to assimilate to upgrade his talent. What made it

worse, he couldn't even take items from his Space Ring.

'Am I doomed to fail the first test?' he wondered worriedly.

Apart from Darren, many of the rest which were not superior talents looked dispirited.

'There are fourteen superior talents here. No doubt they will be able to improve their realm faster than

us. Compared to us, they can master martial skills faster. Looks like we stand no chance of squeezing

into the top 14 in the upcoming tournament, ' they thought.

"I'll be the winner this time," a superior talent in white declared confidently.

"You think too highly of yourself, George. Fisher is here. Do you think you can defeat him?" someone

said scornfully.

Fisher was ranked eighty-second on the Talent Roll. It was said that he was more talented than most of

his peers. Rumor was that his true talent degree was close to reaching the eighth level of Earth

Degree.

"Humph! Don't forget Miss Violet Wang's talent is at the eighth level of Earth Degree. I think she is

much more likely to be the winner."

A group of people began to voice out their opinions, bickering amongst themselves.

Boyce who stood beside Darren didn't join their conversation. He looked composed.

"Darren, obviously this trial tests one's talent. What's your talent degree now?" Boyce whispered to

him.

Immersed in his own thoughts, Darren didn't hear what Boyce said.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Boyce nudged him.

"He's just a loser who had dumb luck with a strong physical body. I doubt whether his talent has

reached the Earth Degree," Don ridiculed.

Facing Don's aggressive provocations, Darren was pissed off. Considering that the guardian said that

fighting was not allowed, he forced himself to stay calm. Getting angry here would do nothing good for

him.

"Level nine," Darren replied flatly, leaving Boyce stunned.

"Humph! You see? Turns out his talent is just at the ninth level of the Black Degree. He is just a loser.

Boyce, you were wrong to think highly of this guy. You'll be in trouble," Don quipped.

"That's none of your business. Get the hell of here, or I will beat you up even if I am going to be

disqualified," Boyce scolded angrily.

"You're really good. I will teach the two of you a lesson in the upcoming tournament. Just wait and see."

After sneering spitefully at them, Don went towards the wall like other people did. They memorized the

martial skill techniques and chose a secluded place to begin cultivating.

"Darren, don't lose heart. It's not easy to be at the ninth level of the Black Degree. You're such a strong

cultivator. Even though you're not as talented as other participants, I believe you will surprise others

with your other skills in the upcoming competition. Good luck!" Boyce tried to comfort Darren.

"Who told you my talent was at the Black Degree? My talent is at the ninth level of the Earth Degree,"

Darren explained nonchalantly.

"What... what did you say? Your, your talent is at the ninth level of the Earth Degree?" Boyce

responded, flabbergasted. "You've gotta be kidding me. If your talent is really at that stage, you're

supposed to have reached the middle stage of Wonder Realm by now!"