The air on the battlefield was heavier than any storm Jiang Ming had ever walked into. It pressed on his shoulders like invisible chains, humming with the power of the throne's occupant. The figure that had sat so casually a moment ago now stood as if the world itself bent beneath its will. The armies of phantoms closed in, their forms flickering between solid and translucent, every step pounding like a war drum in his ears.
Jiang Ming didn't flinch.
His Eternal Core kept his breath calm, and his gaze sharp. The skeletal gauntlet tightened around his left hand, creaking faintly as it adjusted to his grip. In his right, Glacierfang pulsed with icy light, the blade eager for blood — or whatever passed for blood in these apparitions.
"Three burdens," the voice of the throne echoed inside his mind again, layered with tones that made it sound both ancient and impossibly young. "To lead. To forge. To conquer. Fail at one, and you fail at all."
The first wave hit like a crashing tide.
He met them head-on, cutting through a line of ghostly soldiers with a sweep of Glacierfang. The enchanted blade froze their spectral forms into brittle ice that shattered under his boots. His free hand darted out, seizing a fallen spear from the frozen remains and tossing it high. Mid-air, he activated Sublimation. The weapon transformed instantly into a javelin crackling with frostfire, which he hurled into the thickest knot of enemies.
A blossom of blue-white fire erupted, vaporizing dozens of phantoms. The survivors stumbled back, their momentum broken for a heartbeat.
That was all Jiang Ming needed.
He sprinted toward the enemy's siege engines — crude constructs of shadow and bone — weaving between incoming strikes with the ease of a predator. His Tenfold Genesis amplified every move; where another man's lunge might carry him three meters, Jiang Ming's carried him six. The first siege engine never had the chance to fire — Glacierfang's edge slid through its central axle, the frost racing through the structure until it exploded into shards.
[Siege Engine Destroyed – +100 Tower Points]
The system's notification chimed in the back of his mind, but Jiang Ming barely paid attention. The second burden — forging — called to him now.
He grabbed a chunk of the broken engine, its shadow-bone still vibrating with residual mana, and slammed it into the ground. The skeletal gauntlet's grip pulsed, channeling energy into his palm. Sublimation flared — not once, but twice in rapid sequence, exploiting the loophole his system had never patched.
The crude piece of debris morphed into a mounted frost-cannon, sleek and lined with runes that glowed faintly. He swung it toward the largest cluster of spectral soldiers, planting his feet.
The cannon roared, a lance of solid ice erupting from its barrel, cleaving the enemy ranks in two.
[Improvised Weapon Created – Tier 4]
[Bonus: Dominion Architect integration achieved.]
The third burden — conquest — was already unfolding before him. With the siege broken and his new weapon holding the line, Jiang Ming pressed the advantage. He vaulted over fallen walls that the battlefield itself conjured, cutting down pockets of resistance, always moving toward the throne.
The figure was still watching him, unmoving, its galaxy eyes unblinking.
Another wave emerged from the mist, but these were no rank-and-file phantoms. These were champions — towering warriors clad in jagged armor, each wielding weapons that dripped with liquid shadow. Their movements were faster, their strikes sharper, their forms more stable.
One swung a halberd toward his chest with enough force to split a frost tree in two. Jiang Ming dropped low, feeling the wind of the strike pass over his head, and swept Glacierfang upward in a brutal arc. The champion's torso froze mid-swing, the momentum carrying its upper half into the air before it dissolved into glittering ice dust.
Two more came at him from opposite sides. Jiang Ming planted Glacierfang into the ground, Sublimated the stone beneath him into a spike-lined barricade, and used it to launch himself upward. He came down between them, skeletal gauntlet blazing with stored force, and slammed both fists outward. The impact cracked the air like thunder, sending both champions skidding back in trails of frost.
He didn't give them the chance to recover — Glacierfang flashed twice, and both figures crumbled into nothing.
[Elite Phantom Champion Defeated – +500 Tower Points] x2
The throne's voice came again, quieter now but no less intense: "You forge your path without hesitation. But conquest is not merely to destroy — it is to hold."
The ground trembled, and from the mist rose a citadel — massive, looming, its gates barred and its walls crawling with spectral defenders. Jiang Ming understood immediately. This was the final test: not just to break the enemy, but to claim their stronghold as his own.
He strode toward it without pause. The frost-cannon barked again and again, clearing the battlements while his Eternal Core kept him moving at a relentless pace. The defenders swarmed, but every strike was met with either the chill kiss of Glacierfang or the crushing blow of his gauntleted fist.
At the gates, he slammed both palms against the massive doors, channeling Sublimation. The black wood groaned, shimmered, and then transformed into a pair of towering obsidian slabs, each etched with protective wards. The gates swung inward, the defenders inside stumbling back in confusion.
[Citadel Captured – Dominion Path Integration: 25%]
The battlefield dissolved. The citadel, the armies, the mist — all of it faded into violet light, leaving only Jiang Ming standing before the throne once more. The figure studied him in silence, then inclined its head ever so slightly.
"You bear the three burdens," it said, voice now clear and almost human. "And so you may climb."
In his vision, the system notifications flared:
[Trial of Three Paths – Completed]
[Reward: Ascension Token x5, Resource Multiplier Upgrade: 100x, Unique Skill Unlocked – Battlefield Transmutation.]
Jiang Ming's eyes narrowed in satisfaction. A hundredfold multiplier was only the beginning — and "Battlefield Transmutation" sounded like the kind of power that could turn entire wars in his favor.
The staircase reformed ahead, spiraling into the unknown heights above. Without hesitation, Jiang Ming stepped forward.
The Infinite Tower waited. And he intended to take everything it had to offer.