130: Chapter 130 Stargate

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"Rest briefly. One hour later— — — — the final assessment—practical combat—will commence."

King Chu He's voice, seemingly carrying immense weight, suddenly rose, piercing through the lingering awe and discussion above the Enlightenment Plaza.

The invisible sound waves swept through the hearts of every Genius.

The huge uproar just caused by the Comprehension Ability assessment results had not yet subsided; many people were still immersed in anxiety over their own rankings, yet this even more heart-pounding ultimate test had mercilessly descended.

In an instant, the noisy plaza fell eerily silent, yet the blood of everyone surged faster within that silence.

Almost instinctively, thousands of gazes snapped back in unison to the slender yet remarkably upright figure in the center of the field—Li Wen.

One who received a Spiritual Sense evaluation of "Peerless," and whose Comprehension Ability allowed him to grasp ten techniques under the watchful eyes of the masses, taking the lead.

Moreover, he was a Technique Awakened, whose specialization was Perception and Combat Control.

He already possessed the Innate advantage of insight into the battlefield and knowing the enemy's moves in advance, truly a natural seed for combat.

Now, paired with that earth-shattering "Peerless" Spiritual Sense, what did such a combination signify?

It meant that in the rapidly changing life-and-death struggle, he would possess unparalleled information acquisition, situation analysis, and reaction speed.

As if a tiger had grown wings? No, this was like a Divine Dragon entering the sea, a submerged Dragon in the abyss.

A thought rose in everyone's mind, carrying intense apprehension and even stronger curiosity.

Just how terrifying would his practical combat performance be?

Would this dark horse, who had been rising against the odds all along, once again subvert everyone's perception in the final and most crucial practical combat segment?

Among the crowd, Ron Zaka's golden pupils narrowed slightly, his fists clenched; Du Yun's gaze was heavy, his Aura condensed like a volcano about to erupt.

Chu Feng pressed his lips together, a complex glint flashing in his eyes; Nangong Xue's ice-blue eyes looked into the distance, seemingly contemplating.

The air across the entire plaza seemed to have grown viscous and tense due to the impending battle.

Li Wen also felt that tangible torrent of light.

He slightly raised his gaze, looking past the surging crowd, calmly toward the distance.

In the preceding power test, constrained by his Physical Body Rank as an Elementary Martial Artist, he ultimately achieved a score of only 105 layers, making him unremarkable among the top Geniuses.

But in the final practical combat— — — — everyone's Physical Body Rank was uniformly set to Advanced Martial Artist.

This meant that the final shackle restraining his combat strength, his only weakness, had vanished.

The long-suppressed sharpness now had no obstacle.

Deep within Li Wen's eyes, the calm lake surface was finally torn apart, and a sharp edge, like a prairie fire, began to burn.

— —

Time had never passed so quickly.

The one-hour rest period was merely a few deep breaths for the thousand Geniuses who were holding their breath and adjusting their states.

Afternoon.

Guided by attendants in ancient attire from Kindling University, the thousand Geniuses filed into a building whose grandeur far exceeded imagination—the Kindling University Virtual Center.

It was no longer simple helmets or metal platforms; what met their eyes were thousands of neatly arranged devices stretching as far as the eye could see.

They all flowed with a cold, cyan-blue light, their lines smooth and full of futuristic feeling, resembling meticulously carved works of art lying dormant.

Each device emitted a heavy energy fluctuation, forming a peculiar harmony with the atmosphere of this ancient academy—a perfect Fusion of cutting-edge technology and long-standing martial arts.

It wasn't just Li Wen; even the well-traveled Ron Zaka, or Fang Chenghong from a technologically prosperous planet, were shaken by this understated luxury and the vast technological power it contained.

A silent pressure permeated the air; this was a mixed Aura of the foundation of a top academy and the bloody slaughter about to unfold.

"Take your positions according to your numbers," a cold voice echoed in the vast hall.

No need for urging, the thousand Geniuses quickly found their virtual pods, their movements tinged with tension and excitement.

Buzz—As the heavy hatch of the virtual pod closed silently, a faint neural connection signal injected into their senses like an electric current.

When their vision cleared again, it was no longer the familiar simulated plaza.

Biting cold mixed with dry sand lashed against their faces.

The wind howled mournfully, carrying the scent of rust and gunpowder.

Beneath their feet was cold, rough, earth-yellow solid ground. Li Wen and the others stood scattered at the foot of four city walls towering a hundred meters high.

Strangely, the direction everyone faced was not the vast wilderness outside the city walls, but inside the city.

An empty city.

A massive yet dead silent stone metropolis.

Li Wen's gaze swept rapidly: broken streets crisscrossed, abandoned houses resembled the skeletons of giant beasts.

In the entire city, there was nothing but the sound of the wind.

His sight was abruptly seized by the center of the city.

A gigantic, indescribable 'door frame' soared from the ground, nearly thirty meters high.

Its material was neither metal nor stone, shimmering with a dark, cold metallic luster. Its edges were inscribed with countless runes so complex they were dizzying, currently emitting a faint, rhythmic, strange light, like breathing.

In the center of the door, there was no physical door leaf; instead, there was a slowly rotating, deep and vast vortex nebula twinkling with countless tiny starlights.

It resembled a wormhole leading to the void or the abyss. As the light flowed, it emitted mysterious and heart-palpitating spatial fluctuations.

That feeling was incredibly real, as if passing through it would lead to another entirely different world.

"Hiss—The Interstellar Gate," a voice filled with extreme shock and disbelief rang out from a corner.

"What? The Interstellar Gate?!" More exclamations spread like ripples.

"The Interstellar Gate?" Li Wen's memory surged back like a tide.

Fang Chengwu's solemn expression was still before his eyes— — — — the cold words exploded in his mind again: "The ground of Blue Star is covered with Interstellar Gates— — — — divided into temporary gates and permanent gates— — — — the size of the gate determines the upper limit of the strength of the invading alien races— — — — the greatest enemy is the alien Yao Race from the depths of the starry sky— — — — they view humans and Yao Beasts as resources— — — —"

A chilling cold shot straight up from his spine to the top of his head.

So that was it; the simulated scene before him was clearly a projection of a real Star Gate checkpoint.

The desolation of that city was the tragic epitome of repeated bloody massacres.

"Is this— — — — the war humanity must face?" A realization as heavy as a mountain surfaced in Li Wen's heart. "The frontline battlefield— — — — the simulated Tianfeng Pass? Or somewhere else?"

He recalled Marquis Ning Wei, who was stationed at the medium-sized permanent Star Gate.

"I suppose some people have already recognized this thing." A clear voice, yet carrying boundless majesty, suddenly echoed in the center of the city, instantly suppressing all extraneous noise and discussion.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that atop the massive Interstellar Gate, Marquis Qingyuan was standing with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering in the wind. It was him.

His gaze calmly swept over the young faces distributed on the four city walls, his eyes deep as the ancient abyss of the starry sky.

"Not bad. This is the Interstellar Gate. Your only mission in this final assessment— —" Marquis Qingyuan's voice suddenly turned sharp, carrying the piercing power of clashing metal, "—is to stop and slay."

"Stop everything from the Yao Race descending the city wall through this gate."

"Slay every Yao creature that passes through the Interstellar Gate."

"Your final score depends only on two points: One, the quantity slain. Two, the individual strength of those slain."

Concise and to the point. No superfluous embellishments, only cold, bloody instructions.

The moment the words fell, Marquis Qingyuan's figure vanished into thin air like smoke dispersed by the wind.

Rumble!

In the center of the city, the rotating vortex nebula suddenly erupted with unprecedented brilliant light.

The blinding starlight, like a stellar explosion, instantly dyed the entire dead-silent empty city a strange pale white.

Immediately following that— — — —

"Roar! Roar! Aooo!!!"

Countless chaotic, violent roars filled with pure bloodlust and desire for slaughter erupted like rolling thunder from the center of the starlight vortex.

They shot straight toward the sky. As the light slightly receded, a tide of people!

No, it was a— — — — Yao Tide.

They had appeared! Like a black torrent released from a sluice gate.

Their forms were bizarre and varied.

Some were nearly three meters tall, their muscles knotted like rocks, with green faces and fangs; others were short, less than a meter tall, agile as ghosts, with sharp ears and teeth.

Still others were covered in scales or bone armor, like bipedal monsters— — — — the only commonality was that they all sported ferocious beast heads of various kinds, combined with human-like torsos, exuding a nauseating Demonic Qi.

These "humanoid Yao creatures" tightly gripped various, irregularly shaped weapons that shimmered with a dull luster—a great axe, bone spikes, poisoned short blades, twisted scimitars— — — — clearly possessing complete armament and superb combat skills.

Their Auras— — — — uniformly Advanced Martial Artist Rank.

Exactly the same as the Geniuses gathered at the foot of the city wall.

Quantity— — — — dense and countless.

In just one surge, at least ten thousand Yao Race members rushed out of the Interstellar Gate.

They almost instantly filled the wide central area of the city. Dense Demonic Qi and blood mist, carrying a fishy-sweet smell, shot up to the sky, forming a massive blood-colored demonic cloud that obscured the light of the virtual sky.

The Yao Tide showed no hesitation.

Like the most precise hounds sensing prey, they all looked up in unison. Tens of thousands of Yao pupils, whether scarlet, emerald green, or deathly pale, instantly locked onto the thousand tiny figures at the foot of the city wall.

Killing intent, bone-chillingly cold, like a tangible gale.

And then— —

"Aooooo—!!!"

A fiercer unified battle roar, seemingly issued by tens of thousands of Yao creatures, shook the entire city wall.

Over ten thousand Advanced Martial Artist level Yao Race members automatically completed a rough grouping within a few seconds, forming four world-destroying mud and stone torrents.

Carrying a crazed Aura that trampled everything, they launched the most primitive, most brutal— — — — charge toward the four city walls from different directions.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless bare feet, hooves, and insect legs trampled the hard ground, their sound waves converging into a terrifying tsunami.

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