44: Chapter 44 was easily conquered, showcasing the power of the three major races.

The first gateway came from the Mycelium Deep Forest.

Twenty thousand Mushroom People surged out from the forest.

Their mushroom caps were grayish-white, blending perfectly with the Yin Qi. They stood in neat formations before Su Bai, silent.

At the very front of the formation, a golden figure hovered quietly.

Mushroom King.

He raised his head, his purple eyes piercing through the mist and landing on that black tide.

"Spore Domain, expand."

An invisible domain expanded instantly, shrouding the entire battlefield.

Countless tiny spores began to drift from the bodies of the Mushroom People, floating in the air like grayish-white snowflakes.

The second gateway came from the Shadow Demon Abyss.

Thirty thousand Shadow Demons surged out from the abyss.

Their eyes were grayish-white, and their bodies existed somewhere between darkness and Yin Qi, as if they could merge into the shadows at any moment. They did not arrange themselves into neat formations but scattered across the battlefield like hunters lurking in the dark.

At the very front of the scattered figures, a similarly grayish-white figure hovered quietly.

Shadow Blade.

He raised his hand, his grayish-white eyes narrowing slightly.

"Space Folding, prepare."

Thirty thousand Shadow Demons raised their hands simultaneously, and the space around them began to twist slightly.

The third gateway came from the Extreme Cold Ice Plains.

Eight thousand Ice Crystals surged out from the ice plains.

Their bodies were transparent Ice Crystals, flickering with a faint blue light amidst the Yin Qi. They stood behind the Mushroom People like walls of ice-blue.

At the very front of the ice walls, an ice-blue figure stood quietly.

Frost King.

He raised his head, his silver eyes piercing through the mist and landing on that black tide.

"Extreme Cold Domain, expand."

A bone-chilling cold erupted from his body, instantly shrouding the entire battlefield.

The temperature in the air plummeted to minus one hundred degrees.

In the spectator stands, everyone was stunned.

"This... what is this?"

"How many? How many is that?"

"Twenty thousand... thirty thousand... eight thousand... that's nearly sixty thousand combined!"

"Isn't his world a waste world? How can he afford to maintain sixty thousand units?!"

"Those three heroes... Tier 3? Tier 4? Why do I feel like they are so much stronger than my own heroes?"

Outside the plaza, tens of thousands of people stared at the giant projection screen, their eyes nearly popping out.

They watched those three figures.

Mushroom King, Shadow Blade, Frost King.

They watched those sixty thousand units.

Mushroom People, Shadow Demons, Ice Crystals.

They watched that grayish-white world.

Yin Qi surged, as if hell had descended.

Su Bai still stood at the very front.

He looked at that black tide, looked at that Tier 4 Shadow Spider Queen, looked at those five hundred Tier 3 Steel-Armored Poison Spiders, and looked at those three thousand-plus low-tier spiders.

He spoke.

"Kill."

A single word.

Light and airy.

But to the ears of those spiders, it sounded like the pronouncement of death.

Mushroom King raised his hand.

Two thousand Mushroom People released spores simultaneously.

The grayish-white spores drifted down like snowflakes, landing on that black tide.

The spiders touched by the spores began to slow down. Their legs stiffened, their eyes became dazed, and their minds began to blur.

[Spore Domain: Deceleration + Poisoning + Mental Interference]

Shadow Blade raised his hand.

Thirty thousand Shadow Demons folded space simultaneously.

They vanished from their spots, appearing in the midst of the spiders the next second. Sharp claws pierced through steel armor, shadow energy eroded souls, and Space Folding severed limbs.

[Space Folding: Group Teleportation + Shadow Assassination]

Frost King raised his hand.

Eight thousand Ice Crystals released cold energy simultaneously.

The Extreme Cold Domain overlapped with the Spore Domain. Those spiders, already slowed down, were frozen directly into ice sculptures. Their bodies stiffened in place, their eight legs locked in a charging posture, their blood-red eyes frozen into ice spheres.

[Extreme Cold Domain: Group Freezing + Ice Crystal Piercing]

Finally, there were those three heroes.

Mushroom King floated in mid-air, his purple eyes locked onto the Shadow Spider Queen. He did not attack directly, instead using the Spore Domain to continuously suppress her, making every counterattack from the Shadow Spider Queen half a beat slow.

Shadow Blade vanished from his spot, appearing behind the Shadow Spider Queen the next second. His claws struck at the Shadow Spider Queen's head; the Shadow Spider Queen turned violently, blocking with her front legs. But Shadow Blade's Space Folding activated again, and he appeared above the Shadow Spider Queen, his claws piercing into her eyes.

The Shadow Spider Queen screamed, waving her eight legs wildly. She spat out venom, but the venom passed right through Shadow Blade's body.

His body existed between reality and illusion; physical attacks were ineffective.

Frost King stood in the distance, raising his hand as a giant ice blade condensed in his palm. He swung it violently, the ice blade slicing through space and hacking into one of the Shadow Spider Queen's legs. The leg snapped off upon impact, and black blood gushed out.

Three against one.

The Shadow Spider Queen did not even have a chance to counterattack.

The battle lasted less than twenty minutes.

When Frost King's final ice blade pierced through the Shadow Spider Queen's head, there were no living enemies left on the battlefield.

Over three thousand spiders, completely wiped out.

Five hundred Tier 3 Steel-Armored Poison Spiders, all killed.

The Shadow Spider Queen, fallen.

Netherworld World.

Zero casualties.

...

In the spectator stands, there was complete silence.

One hundred thousand eyes stared at that projection screen, stared at that grayish-white world, stared at those sixty thousand units that were withdrawing their formations.

No one spoke.

No one dared to speak.

After a long while, someone muttered:

"He... is this... a unit-spamming build?"

"Sixty thousand units... who can withstand this?"

"The Shadow Spider Queen didn't even kill a single hero before being beaten to death by the group..."

"What he sent out just now, those were just normal units, right?"

"Those three heroes, what were they called again? Mushroom King? Shadow Blade? Frost King?"

"Just how many heroes does he have?"

No one could answer.

Outside the plaza, tens of thousands of people stared at the projection screen, equally silent.

They looked at that thin figure standing at the very front.

That teenager wearing a school uniform.

In his world projection, those sixty thousand units were withdrawing, returning to their respective territories, and merging back into that grayish-white world.

And he himself just watched it all quietly.

There was no expression on his face.

No excitement, no pride, no smugness.

Only calmness.

And a hint of imperceptible boredom.

Su Bai withdrew his hand and turned to walk toward the edge of the platform.

The battle was over.

Faster than he had expected.

He had originally thought that the Tier 4 Shadow Spider Queen could hold on for a while, enough to force him to send out the Ghost King or Black and White Impermanence.

And the result?

Even just the Mushroom King, Shadow Blade, and Frost King were enough to overwhelm it.

With sixty thousand units swarming it, it did not even have a chance to resist.

"Is this the provincial assessment?"

Su Bai sighed softly in his heart.

Too weak.

It did not even count as a warm-up.

He raised his head and looked at the other nine platforms.

Lin Canglan was still fighting. His Sword Dao World was holding off a legion of Stone Giants, sword intent soaring to the heavens, every sword strike shattering a giant. But his face was already pale, and several wounds on his body were bleeding.

Murong Xue was also fighting. Her ice phoenix world was locked in a stalemate with a legion of Fire Elementals, ice and fire intertwining, steam filling the air. Her Ice Phoenix had already suffered minor injuries, and her aura was clearly fading.

Chu Tiange was also fighting. His War Demon World was locked in a bloody battle with a legion of Shadow Hunters, War Demons charging crazily, Shadow Hunters weaving in and out for assassinations. Over a thousand of his War Demons had already fallen, and his face was ashen.

Only Chu Kuangren was in the worst shape.

His Berserker World was being crushed by a legion of Thunder Beasts. Although those berserkers were crazy, they fell one after another before the Thunder Beasts' lightning attacks. His hero was already severely injured, and his world was on the brink of collapse.

But he was holding on.

Gritting his teeth, eyes red, he was toughing it out.

Because he knew that as long as he held on for one hour, he could get that thing.

Race potential enhancement item.

That thing was worth risking his life for.

Su Bai withdrew his gaze.

Ten minutes later, Lin Canglan was the first to survive the hour, collapsing onto the platform covered in wounds.

Fifteen minutes later, Murong Xue passed second; her Ice Phoenix had been nearly shattered, and her face was pale as paper.

Twenty minutes later, Chu Tiange passed third; his War Demon World had less than half its units left, and his hero was on the verge of death.

Then came the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth.

With one minute left in the hour, Chu Kuangren finally survived the time limit.

His Berserker World had only three units left, his hero was dying, and he himself was covered in blood, lying on the platform gasping for air.

But he passed.

Tenth place, passed.

Old Zhou walked to the center of the arena again, scanning the ten figures on the ten platforms.

His gaze lingered on Su Bai for a second.

But soon, he withdrew his gaze and raised his hand.

"The assessment is over."

"All ten people have passed."

He waved his hand, and ten rays of silver light flew from his hand, landing in front of the ten people.

Those were ten palm-sized silver crystals.

The crystals were completely transparent, with golden halos flowing inside them; those halos moved slowly within the crystals like living things.

[Race potential enhancement item: After use, it can increase the base potential limit of the selected race. The degree of improvement is related to the race's current potential; the lower the potential, the greater the improvement.]

Su Bai gripped the crystal, feeling the warm touch coming from his palm.

"Although it was a bit boring, it's still a good item."