Once everybody arrived, Mu Shen's magnificent illusion appeared in the sky above the palace; he looked down at them with the entire palace in his arms.
"The second round will be a test of your determination.
"You'll experience the slaughter in the void battlefield in advance. Those who hunt lord-level void beasts in the sixth space will be qualified to advance.
"Now, the channel is open!"
A purple and black vortex appeared above the palace after Mu Shen said that. It was emitting an evil aura, and there was a murky light inside.
"Let's go in."
The Ascendant State expert who was in charge of the first round instructed everyone.
"Be careful. Don't stray too far from the base," You Long said to Su Ping telepathically.
Su Ping's eyes glittered, and he nodded.
At that moment, the others were already flying towards the void channel.
Luo Ying and the other top ten contestants had already set off. Su Ping didn't waste any time; he quickly flew into the channel.
Su Ping felt dizzy the moment he stepped in, as if he were spinning, but it was soon gone. He saw an island in front of him when he opened his eyes again.
There were palaces, buildings, and tall walls on the island.
There was also a light-colored energy shield that covered the island.
An Ascendant State expert stood above the island and looked at Su Ping and the others who were arriving. He said coldly, "Open the shield and let them in."
Very soon, a crack was opened on the energy shield, and everybody entered it.
The island floated quietly in the void, surrounded by a barren void. There was no sun, but there was light. The void was like a huge cave, and the surrounding "sky" was a turbid grayish-blue color.
"Listen up, geniuses!"
Once everybody entered the shield, the tall and straight Ascendant State expert said coldly, "I don't care how talented you are, but you'd better not be arrogant in this place!
"This is the sixth space, not a place for Fate State cultivators like you."
"Void beasts attack this place all the time. Your mission is to hunt them down. We'll cooperate with you for the time being, but remember, you only have one life. Apart from the void beasts, there are other invisible dangers that even Star Lords can't resist. You'll die for sure!"
"All of you better be on your best behavior!"
Hearing his reprimand, everyone looked at each other. Some people looked indifferent and disapproving, while others looked worried, worried about the invisible danger he spoke of.
Even a Star Lord would have been killed by it. Wouldn't it be fatal for Fate State kids like them?
"It's just a competition. Do you have to risk your life like this?"
"Just now, when I was in the void, I felt like my body was about to be torn apart. Just standing here is already using all of my strength. Lord Paragon said that I have to hunt that lord-class void beast in order to advance in rank. Isn't that a little too much?"
Some of the geniuses whispered to each other. They were all unparalleled geniuses in their respective galaxies, but they had seen many geniuses of the same level in the competition, so they all held back their arrogance.
"Senior, what's the level of a lord-class void beast?"
A woman suddenly asked.
Instantly, many people looked at the Ascendant State expert. Some of them didn't react at all, as if they already knew the answer.
"A lord-class void beast is as strong as a Star Lord!" The Ascendant State expert looked at the woman who asked the question and said, "However, void beasts don't have the power of faith. They only have the strength of a Star Lord. So, it's not impossible for you to kill them if you're strong enough!
"You can also join hands if you can't. Of course, you'll have to decide who gets the title in the end."
Star Lord!
Hearing his words, many people sucked in a breath of cold air.
Is this really just a test? Is he not trying to kill us?
Even though the void beast didn't have the power of faith, it was still a Star Lord. It would be a dominator in the Federation, second only to the Ascendant State!
That was a gap of two major levels. Could they really cross that gap?
While everybody was whispering, the Ascendant State expert said indifferently, "The test will last a week. You'll be assigned to the defense of the base during that time. You'll have to obey orders if void beasts attack!
"As for hunting the lord-class void beasts, that's your own business. You can apply to leave the shelter and hunt in the void outside.
"I hope you will enjoy this opportunity and take a good look at how respectable the warriors guarding the border are!"
Everybody lowered their voices. Someone asked, "Senior, if we hunt the lord-class void beasts on our own, does it mean that we don't have to stay in the formation to resist the void beasts?"
The Ascendant State expert glanced at him and said, "You don't have to obey orders if you leave the island to hunt before the void beasts attack, but you have to obey orders if you're still on the island when the alarms are set off!
"Here, I have to remind you that with your cultivation, you will lose your life every minute and every second if you stay outside the protective shield. Some powerful void beasts appear, and it is impossible to guard against them. Also, do you remember what I said before? Other than the void beasts, there are also some invisible dangers."
"Your seniors must've taught you that anything can happen in deep spaces!"
The man who asked the question didn't say anything else; he was deep in thought.
The others were also thinking about how to deal with the situation.
They were all top geniuses who were good at thinking and solving problems.
The Ascendant State expert left after seeing that nobody had any questions. He then asked a Star Lord general to register them.
"Hey!"
Su Ping was thinking about what to do next while waiting for the registration, when someone suddenly called out to him.
Su Ping raised his head and saw that it was Su Jin 'er.
"Are you interested in teaming up with me?" Su Jin 'er said with a smile, "Although you're much stronger than me, I have my own unique experience in hunting void beasts, which I don't think you have."
Su Ping was stunned for a moment. He couldn't help but smile and say, "What a coincidence. I don't lack such experience."
Su Jin 'er was stunned for a moment. She frowned and said, "That's impossible. You're only a Fate State warrior. You shouldn't have been able to enter the sixth space on your own. Even if you were, you wouldn't have stayed long; your seniors wouldn't have taken you to such a place. How can you have experience hunting void beasts?"
"I don't lack experience anyway." Su Ping smiled and said, "But I do need a meat shield. However, I don't think a meat shield is good enough for you." Su Jin 'er was speechless.
Su Jin 'er was rendered speechless. She rolled her eyes and said telepathically, "You're not kidding, are you? Fine, I can be your shield. I happen to have something that can attract void beasts; I've prepared it for this test. You don't have it, do you? All we need to do is find a place to lure the void beasts over and kill them together."
Su Ping raised his eyebrows; he really didn't have such a thing.
"This thing you're using to lure monsters isn't a trap, right? What if it attracts a group of monsters? Can you control it very precisely?"
"It'll be good enough if it can attract a single void beast. We'll just run back to the shelter if a bunch of them are attracted." Su Jin 'er said angrily, "Don't mind it. It's rare. You'll have to look for it in the void without it, which is even more dangerous. You'll be exposed to the world of void beasts. You can run into groups of even more horrifying void beasts at any time."
Su Ping thought for a moment, then simply nodded and said, "Okay, let's work together."
Su Jin 'er was secretly relieved. She put on a smile and said, "You'll see how good I am later."
Su Ping smiled, but didn't say anything.
"Brother Su."
Another person approached them at that moment; it was the young man who had golden wheels in his eyes, who had been enslaved by Su Ping.
Su Ping withdrew the sword aura next to the young man's heart after the test. After all, the young man had an expert backing him. It was understandable that Su Ping had subdued him in the beginning of the test, but it wouldn't make sense if he controlled him again after the test.
"Are you interested in working with me?" asked the young man who had golden wheels in his eyes, as if he didn't mind that Su Ping had suppressed him earlier.
Su Ping was slightly surprised. "You want to work with me again?"
The young man with golden wheels in his eyes thought of being enslaved before, and his face was a little embarrassed. He said, "Aren't we already familiar with each other? It's better than working with strangers. I know your fighting power is stronger than mine, but there are all kinds of dangers out there at any time. It's better to have more people to take care of each other."
"If we're hunting a Void Lord, you'll have the first one. I won't blame you if you don't want to kill the second one with me."
He spoke with great sincerity.
Su Ping hesitated and asked, "Are you sure?"
"Of course." The young man who had golden wheels in his eyes smiled and said, "This Void Horde Lord is extremely terrifying. Since Lord Supreme has used it as our assessment standard, it means that there won't be too many people who will pass this assessment. I estimate that there will only be a handful of people. Even if I don't cooperate with Brother Su, it will be extremely difficult for me to hunt it with my own ability.
"Okay. If the hunt is too dangerous, I'll come back after I finish my own one. Don't blame me for that," said Su Ping.
"Of course I won't," said the young man with a smile.
Su Ping looked at him. He knew that the man was being sincere on purpose, but he found it hard to turn him down.
Su Ping looked at Su Jin 'er and told her about the young man who had golden wheels in his eyes. "Then, let's make it a team of three."
Su Jin 'er frowned and said, "That's fine, but I'll be the one to hunt the second one. He'll only get the third one."
She knew that she had to fight for the spot, or accidents could happen if she was at the bottom of the list.
"Okay."
Su Ping nodded.
Once their discussion was over, a few more people sent telepathic messages to Su Ping, asking to join his team. However, Su Ping politely turned them down.
After all, there would be a quota for every person who joined the team. If there were five people in the team, he would have to accompany them to hunt Lord-class Void Beasts five times. It would be better for him to hunt alone.
Not long after, everyone completed the formation registration. Through the wristwatches that were distributed, they knew where they lived.
Su Ping asked the Star Lord about the activation and deactivation of the protective shield.
The Star Lord was quite polite to Su Ping and the other geniuses; at least thirty of the top hundred had a chance to reach the Ascendant State. Su Ping's previous second-place result hadn't been made known to all the planets in the universe, but the well-informed major organizations had.
The Star Lord was also aware of Su Ping's achievements, so he answered all of Su Ping's questions.
"It will take five seconds to activate the shield in a small area, and three minutes to activate it in a large area."
"It'll take the same time to deactivate it."
Su Ping made a mental note of this. He would be in a pinch if the shield couldn't be opened and he couldn't get in.
Everybody then split up.
Many chose to team up; Luo Ying, who was at the top of the list, was surrounded by a couple of geniuses.
Dragon Shepard from the Heavenly Dragon Star Region, who was at the fourth place, was surrounded by the sixth, the seventh and the ninth. All four of them were in the top ten.
They were the strongest team at the moment.
Some of the lower-ranked people had more than twenty members in their teams, but they still had a chance to hunt lord-level void beasts; they just didn't know how they would distribute the spoils.
Su Ping ignored the others and went to the military office on the island with Su Jin 'er and the young man who had golden wheels in his eyes.
Su Ping asked for information about the void beasts there.
There were different kinds of void beasts; Su Ping read them and got a general idea.
He then asked for the defense log of the base.
It was confidential, but the officer still gave it to Su Ping after he asked for it. He even looked at Su Ping with appreciation. After all, it was possible to infer the frequency of the void beasts' activity from the defense log, which was why the log was so important.
"The battles are very frequent."
Su Ping frowned after reading the defense log for the past three years.
The battles there were more difficult than he had imagined; a tide of void beasts would break out once every three days. However, most of them were small ones, and a large one would only happen once every six months.
The large-scale beast tides would have to be stopped by the shields.
The small ones could be killed by the army outside.
"Where did the reinforcements come from?" Su Ping couldn't help but ask out of curiosity after reading the logs.
The general was a muscular Star Lord. He shook his head and said, "They're all selected from the military departments of the Federation. If you join the army, you'll join the Federation's military department, where there's a department that specializes in preparing for void beasts. All the new soldiers will be trained in the barracks and then transferred to this place."
"The casualties here are too high." Su Ping heaved a sigh.
The general smiled and said, "You'll get used to it. Maybe someone else will take my place after a while. That's the norm at the border. Casualties can only be reduced if an Ascendant State expert is present."
(End of Chapter)
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