Chang Siyao looked at the man standing on top of the Heaven Ranking, momentarily dazed.
Though she had already formed a certain impression of Jiang Kai, when she saw him in person for the first time, she found that the Jiang Kai making bold declarations now was completely different from the one described in online comments.
She didn't know whether it was because Jiang Kai was standing too high, or whether she was really hallucinating—in Chang Siyao's eyes, Jiang Kai's figure actually appeared taller.
The crowd had already quieted down by now.
The instigator was unwilling, but with the tide turning and Jiang Kai having already made a declaration, he had nothing more to say.
Jiang Kai leapt down from the high place, ready to head into the Endless Abyss, but was stopped by a guard.
"Jiang Kai, wait a moment, the battalion commander will be here soon," said the soldier.
Jiang Kai nodded.
A few minutes later, that officer really came over.
Only, he was followed by several people—Generals Luo Shen, Hua Tianchen, and Tian Feng!
Luo Shen quickly stepped in front of Jiang Kai. "You came and didn't even let us know. Things almost got out of hand here."
Jiang Kai smiled slightly. "God Luo, I didn't know things had gotten so serious out here. But most people are still rational—only a few like to fan the flames."
Luo Shen understood without needing it explained.
Hua Tianchen walked over. "Kid, the difficulty of the Endless Abyss is extremely high—this isn't the same as the gambling tournament. Don't you want to reconsider? After all, if you fail, people with ill intent might use it against you, and life for you will only get harder."
Jiang Kai nodded. "God Hua, this matter started because of me, so I'll be the one to end it."
"Besides, if I don't fiercely slap the faces of those clownish China-bashers, I don't deserve to be called Huaxia!"
Hua Tianchen, Luo Shen, and Tian Feng exchanged glances. Tian Feng smiled and said, "Jiang Kai, it seems we didn't understand you deeply enough before... very well, we wish you luck. Once inside, you must be careful—especially watch out for abnormal statuses and the beasts' buffed states. That's the biggest difficulty challengers are facing."
"These statuses are extremely dangerous."
Tian Feng did his best to inform Jiang Kai of the information they had.
Jiang Kai nodded. "Got it, I'll be careful."
After that, Tian Feng turned to the watching crowd and loudly shouted, "I believe whether or not Jiang Kai makes it onto the Heaven Ranking isn't the point. The tribulation-level difficulty is two levels higher than Heaven's Chosen! Besides, after repeated reshuffling recently, the Heaven Ranking scores have increased greatly. Expecting Jiang Kai to get on it on his first try isn't reasonable. So I personally believe, as long as Jiang Kai clears the first layer, we shouldn't continue blaming him."
Jiang Kai saw General Tian speaking with the crowd and felt a bit touched in his heart.
General Tian was helping lower expectations for him.
Luo Shen patted Jiang Kai's shoulder. "Kid, come out alive!"
Jiang Kai nodded, took a deep breath, and walked toward the entrance of the Endless Abyss.
As he passed by Chang Siyao, he suddenly heard her softly say, "You—be careful!"
Jiang Kai turned his head and glanced at Chang Siyao. This hot-tempered woman hadn't lashed out at him—surprisingly, she even showed concern. Truly rare.
Under everyone's watchful gaze, Jiang Kai stepped into the abyssal light barrier, and his figure disappeared into the white light.
News that Jiang Kai was challenging the Endless Abyss immediately spread like wildfire.
People nearby rushed to Huaxia City. Large numbers of players logged in, heading toward the Endless Abyss.
On the Huaxia forums, dozens of posts were being flooded rapidly, attracting the attention of over a million people.
In the login lobby of Zone 18, even Wei Ying, Su Lanlan, and Lu Jun personally came—just to see if Jiang Kai would die and be forced offline.
Everyone was waiting for the final outcome.
Either he dies and is forced offline, or—the Dragon Ranking will finally bear the name of the first person!
......
After a slight dizziness, Jiang Kai entered the Endless Abyss.
He was now in an arena-like area. The field was circular, about 100 meters in diameter. The ground was paved with gray-white bricks, surrounded on all sides by towering walls, around twenty to thirty meters high.
Opposite him was a tall iron gate, currently tightly shut.
[You have entered the first layer of the Endless Abyss secret realm. Current difficulty: Tribulation level.]
[Defeat the beast of this layer to enter the next. You cannot exit the secret realm midway.]
[You will receive two abnormal statuses. Generating abnormal statuses... Generation complete. The statuses you have received are "Corrupted Blood" and "Attack Weakening."]
[Corrupted Blood: Lose 10% of stamina per second. This status will not directly cause death. When stamina drops below 1%, the effect of Corrupted Blood is nullified. But once stamina recovers above 10%, the effect resumes.]
Jiang Kai sucked in a sharp breath.
He suddenly understood why those top experts couldn't even pass the first layer of the Endless Abyss.
Just the Corrupted Blood status alone was enough to bring despair!
[Attack Weakening: Reduces attack effectiveness by 50%.]
"Good lord, cuts attack in half? That's insane."
"Did I speak too confidently earlier…" Jiang Kai seriously began reconsidering that question.
However—it wasn't over yet!
[The beast of this layer receives two top-tier buffed states: "Rapid Recovery" and "Defense Enhancement."]
[Rapid Recovery: Recovers 5% stamina and spirit per second. External wounds heal rapidly.]
[Defense Enhancement: Increases defense by 100 points, boosts elemental resistance, and adds 100 points to special attack defense.]
"Only a ghost could beat that!" Jiang Kai couldn't help shaking his head.
[Challenge will begin in 1 minute. Countdown starting.]
When the countdown reached just 3 seconds, Jiang Kai narrowed his eyes, staring at the large gate opposite him.
"Still not coming out?"
3, 2, 1… Countdown ended. Suddenly, Boom!—a loud bang—the massive, imposing iron gate exploded, and immediately, two huge figures lunged toward Jiang Kai!
These beasts resembled the Howling Moon Wolf Demons from Mount Taiping. The Howling Moon Wolf Demons had half-man, half-wolf forms, fast speed, fierce attacks, and agile movements—among same-level beasts, they were quite difficult to handle.
Their weakness was relatively low defense.
However, the two wolf demons charging out now had even their weak points covered in a layer of rock. Beneath that hard rock surface, you could see traces of silvery material, gleaming with a metallic sheen.
They weren't Howling Moon Wolf Demons. To be precise, they were Vajra Wolf Demons!
These metals had already merged into their bodies. Their bones and claws all carried a metallic texture!
Judging by the size of these two Vajra Wolf Demons—around seven to eight meters—and their speed comparable to elite-class Howling Moon Wolf Demons, they were likely elite-class beasts.
The two Vajra Wolf Demons smashed through the wooden gate, leaving behind two gray-blue afterimages, splitting into two directions and charging at Jiang Kai.
At the same time, the Corrupted Blood status had already taken effect—Jiang Kai's stamina was rapidly decreasing at a rate of 10% per second.
"Roar!" With a furious roar, one Vajra Wolf Demon used the surrounding walls as a springboard, lunging at Jiang Kai from the side.
Jiang Kai quickly flung out five Forged "Chaser" throwing knives, aiming directly at the wolf demon's face.
Clang clang clang clang... After a series of metallic clinks, four knives fell to the ground. Only one landed a critical hit, smashing fiercely into the wolf demon's face.
However, the Forged Chaser's ignition effect didn't trigger burn status!
Even though it was a critical hit, Chaser couldn't penetrate its defense—it only managed to knock it back slightly.
The Vajra Wolf Demon landed, rubbed its forehead, then its fur stood on end, letting out a furious roar at Jiang Kai.
"Roar!"
"The flames got extinguished directly? My attack dropped so much too!" Jiang Kai immediately retreated.
A gust of wind swept from behind. Jiang Kai quickly dodged and flung out a few more Chasers.
The previous scene played out again—Chaser couldn't penetrate its defense, ignition was ineffective, and even critical hits couldn't one-shot the Vajra Wolf Demon!
Though Jiang Kai repelled the wolf demons twice, his stamina had already dropped by 30%!
"Damn, this tribulation difficulty is kinda ridiculous!" Jiang Kai couldn't help but exclaim, then pulled out two throwing knives.
These throwing knives emitted a thick black mist.
Jiang Kai narrowed his eyes, locking onto the two eager Vajra Wolf Demons. "Without the Wheel of Fate… well then, sorry—looks like I have to get serious now."
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y