On the vast grassland, Han Jue's figure materialized out of thin air.
"Han Jue." An electronic voice echoed across the endless expanse. "Welcome to the first level of the Trial Tower, Stage A assessment. Your objective: eliminate fifty Elementary Beast General-level wild bulls within ten minutes. Death results in immediate failure. Killing fewer than one hundred wild bulls after thirty minutes also constitutes failure. As this is your first entry into the Trial Tower, you have five minutes to prepare."
Han Jue smiled with quiet confidence. Wild bulls?
He took a moment to acclimate to the changes in his body. Although his Six Eyes ability couldn't be brought into the virtual space, his combat effectiveness didn't rely entirely on that supernatural perception.
His Perfect-level agility and Perfect-level swordsmanship were real, tangible skills honed through countless hours of training and natural talent.
"Stage A training commences!" The five minutes passed in a heartbeat, and the electronic voice rang out once more.
In the distance, across the rolling grassland, a herd of massive bovine monsters appeared, each nearly three meters tall at the shoulder. These were wild bulls, famous among monster species for their unity and pack behavior. Their long, shaggy coats rippled in the virtual wind, curved horns gleaming wickedly sharp, eyes burning crimson with manufactured rage.
"Moooo~~"
The bulls' horns bore a reddish tint, as if permanently stained with blood. Their eyes glowed scarlet, white vapor billowing from flared nostrils as their hooves thundered across the grass, charging toward Han Jue with devastating momentum!
Han Jue's eyes held no trace of fear. He drew the Everlasting Sword from his back and rushed directly toward the stampeding herd.
Whoosh!
The second level of the Everlasting Sword Technique activated! Hidden force erupted!
Double burst of power!
With a single swing of the Everlasting Sword, he effortlessly claimed a wild bull's life. Han Jue used the momentum from that strike to pivot away from another bull's charge, causing two of the beasts to collide with each other in a thunderous impact!
Second burst!
Han Jue raised his sword and swept it in a devastating arc, weaving through the wild bulls like the god of death himself, reaping lives with each graceful movement.
Third burst!
The wild bulls were enormous, much larger than the Iron-Haired Boars from Monster Town, but fortunately, the Everlasting Sword's considerable length allowed him to decapitate the creatures with single strikes.
Fourth burst!
The herd's formation collapsed under his relentless assault. Han Jue barely needed to employ his full agility, crushing these wild bulls through swordsmanship alone.
Finally, Han Jue stopped. On the field, only the last wild bull remained standing, its eyes wide with fear rather than rage.
Swish!
His blade swept across in a final, merciful arc, ending it completely.
"Time elapsed: two minutes and eighteen seconds. All fifty wild bulls eliminated. Stage A training complete! Congratulations, Student Han Jue." The electronic voice resonated across the entire grassland like the proclamation of a god.
"Continue," Han Jue said calmly, rolling his shoulders to loosen his muscles.
"Han Jue, congratulations on completing Stage A training. Next is Stage B of the first level of the Trial Tower. Your objective: eliminate one hundred Elementary Beast General-level bulls within thirty minutes. Good luck." The virtual space's electronic voice echoed once more.
In the distance, another hundred bulls materialized on the grass, pawing the ground with barely contained aggression.
Stage B of the Trial Tower's first level began!
Cutting melons and chopping vegetables.
Those four words best described Han Jue's systematic slaughter of the bulls.
When Luo Feng had first entered the elite training camp in the original timeline, he'd been able to pass Stage B, so naturally Han Jue wouldn't be stumped by such a challenge.
Even Stage C, with its one hundred ninety Elementary Beast General-level bulls and ten Intermediate Beast General-level bulls, posed no real problem for Han Jue!
"Han Jue, congratulations on completing the first level of the Trial Tower. Next is Stage A of the second level. Your objective: eliminate fifty Elementary Beast General-level armored scorpions within ten minutes. Good luck." The electronic voice announced the next challenge.
The surrounding environment transformed, the grassland dissolving into an endless desert. Han Jue's expression grew more focused.
Armored scorpions were considerably more difficult to handle than bulls. Each scorpion possessed multiple blade-like claws and a ghostly tail spine capable of striking from unexpected angles with lethal precision.
However, Han Jue remained completely undaunted.
Under the combined effects of the Everlasting Sword Technique and his Perfect-level movement, fifty armored scorpions couldn't survive beyond ten minutes.
The entire second floor of the Trial Tower presented no significant obstacle to Han Jue's advancement.
Next came the third level of the Trial Tower!
The monsters on the third level were golden vultures, flying predators known for their exceptional ferocity. Even the weakest golden vultures operated at the Elementary Beast General level, and their aerial mobility made them exponentially more dangerous than ground-based opponents.
Han Jue finally reached Stage C of the third level, just a hair's breadth away from clearing the third floor entirely. His final Trial Tower level registered as 3.9.
That frustrating margin of failure stemmed from an unexpected ambush by one of the golden vultures exploiting a blind spot in his limited combat experience against aerial opponents.
If I could attempt it again, I'm confident I could reach the fourth level, Han Jue thought as he exited the simulation. But there's no need to waste time repeating cleared stages right now.
Leaving the Trial Tower's virtual space, he was immediately met with Chen Ping's utterly shocked gaze.
"Are you some kind of monster?" Chen Ping couldn't help but blurt out, his composure completely shattered.
"It was acceptable, just a few minor mistakes," Han Jue said with genuine modesty, though his eyes sparkled with satisfaction.
"This is absolutely insane," Chen Ping muttered to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. "Some veteran War Gods are still stuck grinding through the third level. And you... You truly are the prodigy the Founder personally values. Reaching this level at just sixteen years old, are you the next Hong?"
He paused, collecting himself before asking the critical question, "What's your force amplification?"
"Double," Han Jue answered honestly.
"Twice, that gives you a Combat Power amplitude of 7.8! Just shy of excellent performance, which would easily place you in the top thirty of the entire training camp!" Chen Ping exclaimed in amazement. "If your force amplification were even slightly higher, you might have directly broken into the top ten!"
The elite training camp at the Thunder Dojo not only had fewer resources than the Extreme Martial Arts School but also maintained a much smaller student pool overall.
For example, at the Extreme Martial Arts School, reaching the top ten required a Combat Power amplitude of at least thirteen.
At the Thunder Dojo, a Combat Power amplitude of at least ten made the top ten achievable.
Chen Ping could already envision the future leader of the Thunder Dojo's younger generation, no, the future leader of the entire world's younger generation, rising before him like a brilliant pearl breaking through ocean waves!
Han Jue, however, was mentally calculating that the Purple Source Crystal and chalcedony mentioned in his contract were now within reach.
With these two precious resources, his physical fitness could be enhanced to at least mid-level War God, possibly even high-level War God.
Then he would challenge the Trial Tower once more, completely clearing the third level to increase his Combat Power amplitude to eight, completing the second milestone in his contract.
After obtaining the Thousand-Year Wild Ginseng Spirit mentioned in the subsequent clause, he would be able to break through to the War God level!
It seems the path to War God level will be faster than I anticipated!
If others knew about Han Jue's thoughts, they would be consumed with envy.
Thunder God had indeed provided Han Jue with maximum resources to facilitate his explosive growth.
Of course, Han Jue was absolutely worthy of these resources and the investment being made in his potential.
"Let's go. Next up is the gravity chamber," Chen Ping said, leading Han Jue out of the virtual space building.
As they walked, Chen Ping explained, "Over at the Extreme Martial Arts School, they possess an ancient civilization gravity chamber that can adjust between one and one thousand times Earth's gravity. We don't have such advanced facilities at the Thunder Dojo. However, the Founder said that if you need access to that level of equipment, he can personally escort you to the Extreme Martial Arts School."
He gestured toward another building in the distance. "We have ten gravity chambers that were reverse-engineered and manufactured by human scientists. They can adjust between one and three times gravity. This month is designated for wilderness survival expeditions, and all students will participate, so you can use the gravity chambers as much as you want during this period. Next month, usage time will be allocated according to leaderboard rankings."
Han Jue nodded thoughtfully, already planning his training regimen.