Ti ticked away, second by second.
The group had begun to notice sothing was off, and murmurs of confusion spread among them.
"Hasn't the Sky Ladder test already ended?"
"Could the Secret Area be malfunctioning?"
"Maybe this is a good thing. We might get to survive."
"Don't get your hopes up. The final rules of the Secret Area are irreversible."
...
As the final prompt from the Secret Area continued to be delayed, many of the challengers ranked below 33rd started to feel a sliver of hope.
At first, everyone was restless, anxious even. But as ti dragged on, the atmosphere grew quiet.
Ti passed, and before anyone realized it, three months had gone by.
John had still not appeared.
Tony and the others were growing increasingly worried.
"Do you think sothing really happened to Godslayer?" Tony had all but given up on training. Thankfully, the Secret Area's rules prevented them from fighting each other, so for now, they were safe.
Cand-Dragon frowned deeply. This was his first ti participating in the final Secret Area trial, and he had no idea if this kind of situation was normal. He glanced at the two won beside him.
Nine-Tails shook her head, equally puzzled. She had never encountered sothing like this before.
Jolyne was just as clueless. "I suspect Godslayer is probably having so sort of unexpected encounter," she said.
"Let's hope so," Tony muttered, sitting down in a bored slump, clearly frustrated by the uncertainty.
...
In the Void Area, John regained consciousness once more.
He had no idea how much ti had passed, but the image of Creator creating heaven and earth replayed in his mind over and over again.
He studied every detail carefully, afraid to miss even the slightest thing.
The mysterious, elusive force he had sensed earlier was becoming clearer to him.
Finally, as the creation scene finished one last ti, John had a mont of clarity.
"Chaos Force!" he gasped aloud. It was the force that existed at the very dawn of the universe, the most pure and primal source of all power.
[You have comprehended the Power of Chaos.]
As the system prompt appeared, John's vision gradually sharpened.
He could now see everything around him, though it was still a vast, empty void. There was nothing in sight, but at least he could now sense the existence of the space itself.
Aside from his newfound understanding of Chaos Force, there was no other noticeable change within him.
"Huh? The Creation Stone?" he muttered in surprise, noticing the stone floating above him. With a wave of his hand, the Creation Stone descended into his grasp.
Its na had changed-it was now the Chaos Creation Stone-but other than that, he still couldn't see any attributes or specific properties.
He still couldn't figure out what purpose the stone served.
He didn't bother dwelling on it. Now that he could sense the space around him, he could use his Split Void talent to leave.
Although he had comprehended the Power of Chaos, he couldn't yet refine or absorb it, so his strength hadn't changed at all.
Buzz!
Spatial power rippled, and with ease, he tore through the Void Area, opening up a space portal and stepping through.
In the next second, his figure appeared back in the Secret Area.
"Godslayer!" Cand-Dragon imdiately sensed his presence and breathed a long sigh of
relief, finally letting go of the anxiety that had gripped him.
"My lord, where have you been all this ti?" Nine-Tails rushed over, curiosity filling her
eyes.
John simply shook his head, not offering any explanation.
The space he had been in was far too strange, and he didn't feel like revealing what had happened. Besides, he wasn't sure how to explain it to them.
"How long has it been?" John asked, realizing he hadn't been able to perceive the passage of ti while in that Void Area.
"It's been three months," Cand-Dragon replied.
"Three months?" John was shocked, not expecting that much ti to have passed.
Blood Moon narrowed his eyes, sensing that sothing about John had changed, but his strength hadn't increased, which puzzled him.
At that mont, a notification from the Secret Area appeared.
[The fourth stage of the trial has ended. Rankings have been finalized. Those ranked below 33rd will be erased.]
"No...!"
Boom!
Cries of despair filled the air as explosions echoed around them. Blood mist erupted from all directions.
As seventy-six people were eliminated, leaving only thirty-three survivors.
"Godslayer! Your death is coming soon!" Blood Moon glared at John with hatred, his teeth
grinding in fury.
Among the various races, the Shadow Clan had suffered the greatest losses. Now, only thirteen of them remained, though they still had the largest numbers.
Aside from the five on John's side, the other races had only one or two survivors each. So of
the weaker races had been completely wiped out.
[Each survivor has received one of the four basic elental essences. The Secret Area's rules are now lifted. Transforming your body to 100% elental essence will allow you to pass the trial and receive the Heart of Skyline Continent.]
The notification flashed. Before the survivors could celebrate, they imdiately grew
cautious.
"Ha! Finally, the final stage. Every one of you will die here. Attack!" Blood Moon laughed maniacally, his face twisted with rage, and at his command, all the Shadow Clan elites
charged straight for John's group.
"Godslayer, stall them for a bit," Jolyne called out to John before quickly retreating. She focused her mind to contact Sea King, directing it to attack the hunters' brood mothers that Blood Moon's forces controlled.
"Got it!" John responded, charging straight at Blood Moon without hesitation. Cand-Dragon and Nine-Tails also engaged the other Shadow Clan elites, while Tony, being the weakest among them, could only hide behind the group, barely contributing. "Hmph, courting death. Rending Blood Strike!" Blood Moon sneered. His figure transford into a streak of blood-red light, piercing through John's body in an instant, giving him no
ti to react.
[You have been instantly killed by Shadow Clan's Blood Moon. The Blessed Ring has been
triggered.]
The system notification flashed, and John was resurrected with full health. Without missing a beat, three longswords shot out, slashing wildly at Blood Moon.
"Human, it's useless. Give up," Blood Moon scoffed, shrouded in a crimson aura as he let the sword strikes land harmlessly. Red threads of energy connected from Blood Moon directly to
John.
"That move again!" John cursed under his breath, recognizing the terrifying technique. Any damage dealt to Blood Moon would be absorbed and reflected back, devouring John's life
force instead.
He hesitated, knowing he couldn't attack recklessly.
Boom!
A deafening explosion resounded, and John was once again obliterated into a cloud of blood mist. His Lifesaver talent triggered, granting him ten seconds of invincibility.
"Red Lotus Fire!" John shouted, raising his hand as crimson flas erupted, enveloping
Blood Moon and the surrounding Shadow Clan elites.
Taking advantage of his invincibility, he unleashed a ferocious assault.
"Hellfire!" Agonizing screams echoed around him as the Hellfire burned their very souls, leaving the enemies powerless to resist.
However, because they were bound to their Hunters brood mothers, their powerful soul techniques prevented imdiate death, but the pain was excruciating nonetheless.
John's soul energy was draining rapidly.
As long as the Hunters brood mothers survived, John's Soul Techniques couldn't fully
extinguish the Shadow Clan elites' souls.
Boom!
Soon, his invincibility wore off, and with another thunderous blow, he was killed again.
Imdiately, the Lifesaver talent activated for the second ti, resurrecting him once more.
"Jolyne, how's it going?" John shouted urgently as he glanced back at her.
Maintaining Red Lotus Hellfire on so many targets was rapidly exhausting his soul power-he
couldn't hold on much longer.
anwhile, Cand-Dragon and Nine-Tails were struggling, overwheld by several shadow Clan elites, unable to fight back effectively.
"Almost there!" Jolyne replied, her face tense with concentration.
But at that mont, two more Shadow Clan warriors turned their attention toward Tony and
Jolyne, charging at them without hesitation.
Jolyne's expression turned frantic. She couldn't defend herself right now-she was too busy trying to establish a connection with Sea King.
But there was no response. It seed like Sea King was locked in its own life-or-death battle
and couldn't co to their aid.
This left her confused, wondering who in the Skyline Continent could possibly be strong
enough to demand Sea King's full power.
With no other options, she continued trying to reach Sea King. If they didn't eliminate Blood Moon's Hunters brood mothers, they stood no chance in this fight.
"Tony, can you hold them off?" She shot a pleading glance at Tony.
The others were too entangled with the Shadow Clan elites, barely holding on themselves.
"You really have faith in , huh? Alright, let's give it a shot." Tony muttered, his face serious as he eyed the two shadow Clan elites charging toward him.
"Die, you old bastard!" one of them cursed, his hatred for Tony evident. Many of their fallen
Shadow Clan comrades had t their end because of Tony's actions.
Buzz!
A blood blade whistled through the air, slashing toward both Tony and Jolyne behind him.
"Immortal Golden Body!" Tony roared, his body instantly enveloped in radiant golden light. This was the first ti he had used his Immortal Art in front of everyone.
Boom!
A loud explosion rang out as the golden light rippled around him, leaving him completely
unhard.
The Immortal Golden Body boosted his defense a hundredfold, making him immune to any ranged attacks, true damage, percentage-based damage, and even soul attacks. In short, the Immortal Golden Body was the bane of the Shadow Clan. "What kind of ability is this?" one of the Shadow Clan elites muttered, his eyes wide with
surprise as he watched Tony glow with golden energy.
"It's an Immortal skill. It makes him immune to ranged damage. Get up close!" the other
quickly shouted in warning.
He had seen the Immortal Golden Body before.
"Bastard! Let's see how tough that shell of yours is!" one of them roared in anger as both
charged in, launching a barrage of close-range attacks at the golden light around Tony.
Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted, shaking the very space around them.
Tony's face twisted in pain, blood pouring from his eyes, nose, and mouth. His demon energy was draining rapidly-at this rate, he wouldn't last much longer.
He glanced over his shoulder at Jolyne, desperation in his eyes. "How much longer?" "Almost there," Jolyne responded, her expression calr now. She had successfully sent her
ssage to Sea King. All that remained was for Sea King to destroy the Shadow Clan's brood
mothers. Once that was done, Jolyne was confident they could defeat these Shadow Clan
elites.
Boom!
Suddenly, the golden light surrounding Tony shattered. Blood spurted from his mouth as he
was sent flying back, his soul severely damaged by the two Shadow Clan elites, who were experts in soul attacks.
"I've got this." Jolyne stepped forward, her body shimring with multicolored light as she barely managed to fend off the relentless attacks from the two Shadow Clan warriors. Chaos erupted all around as Cand-Dragon and the others fought for their lives, barely holding
off the shadow Clan.
In the distance, elites from various other races watched the fierce battle unfold, their faces filled with shock.
None of them dared to make a move to snatch the elental essences from others.
The Shadow Clan and John's group were far too powerful. If either side won, the others knew
they wouldn't stand a chance. They were all hoping for both sides to wear each other down, leaving the spoils for the taking.
"My lord, shouldn't we step in to help Godslayer?" Grey of the Angel Race asked Lincoln.
Lincoln shot him a furious glare. "Are you an idiot? Our goal is the final treasure, not a suicide mission!"
Grey opened his mouth to protest but quickly fell silent when he saw Lincoln's temper flare.
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