CHAPTER 253 THE REWARD IN THE TENTH SPACE

Thoughts spun in his mind for a few moment. "Have someone passed the test of the ninth space?"

Brian's avatar asked with a tone of a little surprise.

"The guardian of the Ancient Void Battlefield said that it was Darren who had passed the test set in the

ninth space. When we left the Ancient Void Battlefield, Darren made himself qualified to enter the next

space. Judging from the guardian's tone, I can tell that Darren probably can pass more tests given his

performance."

"Yeah. Darren's show of skills has really stunned and amazed us."

Speaking about Darren, the talents couldn't stop talking and discussing what he had done in the

Ancient Void Battlefield. Each one of them had something to say in the story. Even the avatar cast by

Brian didn't interrupt them. Instead, what he did was listen quietly to the heated talk among them.

However, as Darren's story was about to end, complicated feelings built up in the avatar's eyes.

'This time, Chad will get a huge benefit? It is way more than I have expected. Oh, I should get in with

him?' Without them noticing, the avatar disappeared after several seconds. Brian, the person behind

the avatar's character, walked towards Chad with a big grin.

"Chad, I got some rare tea in the forbidden area. Come on. Let's have a sip together." Brian invited

Chad.

...

Meanwhile, in the ninth space of the Ancient Void Battlefield.

Bang!

More skilled and advanced, Darren emanated a mighty aura and unleashed the Blade and Sword

Domain, which was his most potent weapon on the battlefield. As he did so, the battlefield was taken

by awe. It was as if the ninth space was about to be broken by the strength.

"Good! Your realm has upgraded to the middle stage of the Wonder Realm. The domain you released

has reached its peak. It's powerful enough to make the upgrade," the young guardian of the ninth

space instructing Darren with the blade and sword said seriously.

"Thank you a million times. If you didn't instruct me, my Blade and Sword Domain would not have

acquired this powerful strength," Darren said with a mild smile, grateful to the youngster.

"Alas. How unfortunate that I am just a spiritual intent. If I were a human being, I could make friends

with you," the youngster sighed with pity, casting a sad glumness on his face. While fixing his eyes at

Darren, he continued, "There is no time left for you. You can't stay in this space anymore. The strength

of the defender in the tenth space is about the same as mine. By the strength you have now, you can

trounce him. However, the defender of the eleventh space is a mighty master. I hope you can seize the

chance to defeat that master and keep your guard all the time."

"Thank you very much!" Preparing himself to leave, Darren cupped his hands and then turned around,

entering the shining gate with sheer determination.

As soon as he entered the tenth space, Darren was mesmerized by the view of a deep blue river that

flowed calmly with the swaying breeze. As he looked around, from the corner of his eye, he saw a

lonely boy casting his fishing hook by the riverside. The moment the boy saw Darren, he slowly walked

toward him with a faint smile.

"It's my first time to see the defender so soon. I just entered the space," Darren uttered anxiously,

overwhelmed by the boy's presence. Usually, he needed to pass several tests before he was given a

chance to see the defender.

"There is no need to set obstacles for you because you are powerful enough. You have proven yourself

worthy." The boy took off the bamboo hat he was wearing and continued, "I intended to let you enter

the next space directly, but as the defender, I have to follow the rule. So, let's have a battle. Execute all

your strength in a single attack, and we will see who will win."

"Ha-ha. Okay." Darren chuckled a reply. 'This defender is not bad, ' Darren thought to himself as he exclusive content.

examined the defender by looking at him from head to foot.

Swoosh!

As soon as Darren agreed to the duel, the boy threw the line of the fishing rod toward him, gushing out

a powerful attack.

"Oh? Whoa! That one is quite potent." Dodging the attack, Darren felt that the weird aura exuded by

the fishing rod was not inferior to the aura emanated by the ninth defender's blade and sword intents.

The most surprising thing for him was not the rod but the line. With the attack made by the defender,

Darren perceived that the fishing line was a line of the rule.

As he was about to execute skills to counter-attack the boy, Darren's body tensed. His body went numb

and cold as if thousands of huge mountains pressed him.

'I understand. The defender is not a simple enemy as he looks. The rule of shackle is in his fishing line.

Apparently, he had mastered much of the Shackle Rule, ' Darren marveled internally, realizing these

facts. Surprisingly, the boy was a rule cultivator and a martial artist at the same time.

But, even if Darren had been blocked and stunned for several seconds, he mustered all his strength to

overcome the enormous pressure and fight back. Instantly, the mighty blade intent and sword intent

shot out towards the boy.

Activating his Spirit Power at the same instant, Darren also released a spiritual attack intending to

distract the boy's mind.

Boom!

The blade and sword intents hit the fishing rod, and the rod flew backward in the air because of the

powerful impact. As he disturbed the boy's mind with his Spirit Power, Darren forced himself to use the

blade and sword intents struggling out of the block. With lightning speed, he dashed over and pierced

the sword through the boy's chest.

Like the usual thing he did during battles, Darren waited for several seconds on the spot, and then the

boy came to life.

"Your Spirit Power is at level eighteen!" Surprise built up in the boy's eyes as he spoke. Then he looked

at Darren, who was weirdly panting in front of him.

As a defender, he understood what had happened in the ninth space. He had thought that he still had a

chance to defeat Darren by his strength and his ability to use the rules. To the boy's surprise, Darren

seemed to have seen a loophole through the practice he executed early. 'He also can understand the

rule, ' the boy thought to himself.

"I reached level eighteen accidentally by trying out many techniques. Your Spirit Power is higher than

mine if I didn't misunderstand it," Darren said faintly through short breaths.

A few moments later, the boy pulled himself out of surprise and said, "Yes, you're right. My Spirit Power

has reached level twenty. I was unprepared. If you knew the real skills of how the rule cultivators

employ their rules, you could have killed me and made me disappear in this space by launching a

sudden attack with your Spirit Power.

You defeated me so you can get your reward. It is the Spiritual Secret Skill. Take it." As the boy spoke,

an ancient book flew from his hand to Darren's palm.

"Thank you." Accepting the book, Darren bowed with respect to the defender. Then he opened the old

book.

However, his eyebrows creased in confusion when he saw the characters on the pages. They

consisted of piles of lines arranged disorderly. Darren had no idea about what these weird characters

meant.

While still rummaging through the pages of the book, Darren paused for few seconds in awkwardness.

Then he raised his head and looked at the boy.

The boy knew how he felt from the look of his eyes and said, "Teaching you the characters is also a

part of the reward, but it will cost you a lot of time. Are you sure that you want to learn them?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure!" Darren replied instantly. That was what he wanted. The strength of rule was not

inferior to the power of martial arts. Besides, if his ability to employ the rule was strong enough, he

could use it to defeat his rival instantly with a sudden attack. However, Darren had made little

achievement in mastering it.

"But it is a pity that even if I master the skill in the book, I could only use them in the Ancient Void

Battlefield. The fact would remain that if I leave the battlefield, all my memory would be erased," Darren

said with little disappointment, his head shaking in dismay.

"Who said that?" The boy sauntered and stopped in front of Darren. "In the Ancient Void Battlefield,

except for the cultivation base you've upgraded, all the rewards you got belong to you. Moreover, they

are not restrained from being used only in the Ancient Void Battlefield."

"Really?" Hearing the defender's words, Darren was overjoyed. "Please teach me the characters now!"

he said excitedly in a hurry.

"Don't be in a hurry. You need to learn step by step. First, you should understand the characters written

by the rule cultivator. Given your good ability to understand things, I think you can understand the book

within three months." After saying that, the boy opened the old book and started teaching Darren.

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Time passed quickly, and Darren didn't waste even a

single moment. He made himself busy learning and mastering the Spiritual Secret Skill. Six months

passed.

The tenth space of the Ancient Void Battlefield didn't have a time restraint so that he could stay here for

half a year. It was not a long time, as if the months just passed by in the blink of an eye.

"Release your Spirit Power and attack me!" the boy ordered Darren. They had battled for numerous

bouts as part of Darren's training.

Boom!

A mighty thread of Spirit Power was shot at the boy; then, his body twinkled at the edge of

disappearing.

"Good job! You have mastered it. You can execute the most powerful soul attacks with your level

eighteen Spirit Power," the boy said with a smile, proud of Darren.

"I'm grateful to you," Darren said sincerely.

"You needn't thank me. It's a part of the reward. You deserve it. Besides, if you don't have the Spirit

Power, I couldn't help you to improve it. I haven't done much. You have everything within you. Now, you

have a chance to pass the test in the next space.

But you need to remember that no matter whether your rival is the guardian in the eleventh space of

the Ancient Void Battlefield or any cultivator in the real world, he might be born with excellent Spirit

Power. Even if he is not a rule cultivator, you can't use the soul attack as your trump card to defeat your

rival. Don't use it in the wrong way."

"I got it. I will always have that in mind." Nodding his head, Darren cupped his hand toward the boy. He

thanked him and bid him goodbye. Then with confident strides, he entered the eleventh space.