108: Jinglei: I always feel like that funny face is mocking me.

Outside Starfall City, within the World Purifying Society's new base, a gloomy atmosphere prevailed.

Zhou Jin, the person in charge, had just ended his call with headquarters.

Due to his overly large movements, he tugged at his wounds and winced again.

The people at headquarters had just given him another dressing-down, something he had grown accustomed to.

Now, everything was going wrong.

The last time they used technological power, it was immediately exposed by netizens as a fake.

Through various manipulations, the World Purifying Society had become popular again.

Now, no matter what they said, it would be questioned by netizens.

The worst part was that.

Due to frequent use of the spirit net, they were located by the Spiritual Energy Research Institute.

Not long ago, the base was ambushed by two battle groups of the Federal Army.

They were almost completely wiped out, and even the base was destroyed.

Even the last remaining Genius of the Three-Eyed Clan died in that encirclement.

Zhou Jin only escaped with severe injuries thanks to his subordinates' desperate protection.

He had now relocated to a backup base.

Headquarters had just sent news that a new Genius Group from the Three-Eyed Clan had been dispatched and would arrive here soon.

To ensure the success of this mission, headquarters had again sent reinforcements.

This was his last chance to atone for his mistakes; if the mission failed… Zhou Jin sighed, gazing at the gloomy night sky outside the window.

Thick dark clouds obscured all the starlight, mirroring his current mood.

"I hope nothing goes wrong this time..."

...Inside the Inner World.

After eating and drinking their fill, Lin Xingyu and the others put on their helmets and entered the trial tower.

His vision went black, and a mechanical voice sounded in his ear.

"[Since this is your first time entering the trial tower, please enter a nickname.]"

"God of Wine!"

Lin Xingyu couldn't be bothered to think and simply used his nickname.

"[Nickname confirmed. Please select your appearance!]"

A large number of images appeared before Lin Xingyu.

It seemed the trial tower's confidentiality was well-maintained, as it wouldn't reveal real appearances.

Lin Xingyu casually chose a comical face.

"[Appearance generated!]"

As the mechanical voice fell, Lin Xingyu found himself in an empty room.

His physical sensations were indistinguishable from the real world.

However, his equipment had all been replaced with F-rank gear, and his companion spirit seed was only the thousand star gourd.

The thousand star gourd transformed into a sword scabbard and was carried on his back.

The Inner World and the Tower of Rebirth could not be sensed.

Presumably, they were too special for the trial tower to simulate.

Lin Xingyu checked the information provided by the trial tower in the room.

The trial tower was divided into "Battle Mode" and "Tower-Climbing Mode."

"Battle Mode" was divided by ranks, from one to nine.

It was said that there were higher ranks above nine, but no one had reached them yet.

The initial rank was one; ten consecutive wins resulted in promotion, while ten consecutive losses led to demotion.

The trial tower would periodically issue points based on rank.

"Tower-Climbing Mode," on the other hand, involved challenging upwards starting from the first floor.

Enemies on floors 1-9 had first-order strength, 10-19 had second-order, and so on.

The higher the floor cleared, the more points gained.

However, points rewards were only given for the first successful clear of each floor.

Points could not be farmed repeatedly.

It was said that there was a brand new mode after 100 floors, but currently no one had managed to break through the 100-floor mark... "Let's try Battle Mode first!"

After understanding the rules, Lin Xingyu selected "Battle Mode."

His vision went black, and the next second, he found himself in a desert.

Under the scorching sun, Lin Xingyu stepped on the burning sand, the sensation very real.

Not far away, another figure also appeared.

This was a handsome young man holding a long spear.

When he saw Lin Xingyu's comical face, he was visibly stunned.

Was it that abstract?

However, he didn't speak, but nodded to Lin Xingyu before assuming a battle stance.

Lin Xingyu also nodded in response, then summoned his star ray shuttle and charged towards his opponent.

The battle was decided instantly; his opponent was pierced by the star ray shuttle and disappeared as a white light.

The mechanical voice sounded again.

"[You won this battle. Do you wish to continue the challenge?]"

"Yes!"

The scene shifted, and Lin Xingyu arrived at a lush green grassland.

His opponent was a burly man wielding a battle saber.

After a nod of acknowledgment, the star ray shuttle attacked again, ending the battle.

In the time that followed.

Lin Xingyu challenged again and again, quickly killing enemies each time.

Most opponents in the first rank were newcomers with first-order strength, which for him was a matter of a single sword strike.

He quickly achieved ten consecutive wins and was promoted to the second rank.

Most opponents in the second rank had second-order strength, which made no difference to him.

He leveled up all the way until he reached the fourth rank.

His opponent's strength also reached the fourth-order.

Only then did he encounter a formidable enemy.

An expressionless opponent possessed an SS-Rank Spirit Seed, [Crystal Cluster].

It could summon a large number of crystal attacks with a very wide range.

"Truly fierce!"

Lin Xingyu had just dodged the "earth spikes" emerging from the ground when he saw a large number of crystals shooting down from the sky.

Four star ray shuttles revolved around him, defending against the storm-like attacks.

The opponent's offensive was extremely fierce, forcing Lin Xingyu into passive defense.

This was the strongest opponent he had encountered so far.

After all, there was a one-order difference in their strength.

Coupled with the opponent having an SS-Rank Spirit Seed, his combat talent was very high.

If it weren't for Lin Xingyu's higher gene value and the thousand star gourd being SSS-rank, he probably wouldn't have been able to cope.

He dodged while looking for his opponent's weak points... While Lin Xingyu observed his opponent, the opponent was also observing him.

Jinglei was in a very bad mood right now.

With nine consecutive wins, he was just one step away from being promoted to the fifth rank.

He thought victory was assured, but he was ambushed by a guy with the ID "God of Wine."

Only nicknames and Realm were displayed in the trial tower.

Seeing that his opponent was only a third-order, Jinglei felt greatly insulted.

He prided himself as a Genius, yet he was forced into such a situation by someone one Realm lower than him.

This hurt him deeply.

What kind of monster was this "God of Wine"?

His spirit seed was very rare, four Flying Swords.

With third-order strength, he had stubbornly withstood his barrage.

The Flying Swords' defense was impenetrable; he couldn't find a single flaw.

If the defense was so strong, how terrifying must the attack power be?

This made him afraid to reduce his attack intensity, even though it was very draining.

However, Jinglei's abilities leaned towards bursts, lacking sustained power.

The longer the battle dragged on, the more disadvantageous it was for him.

Realizing that he couldn't defeat his opponent, Jinglei thought about giving up several times.

But every time he saw that comical face across from him, an inexplicable rage would rise within him.

He always felt that the comical face was mocking him, deliberately playing with him... At this moment, Lin Xingyu also noticed his opponent's weakness.

The seemingly fierce offensive gave him a feeling of insufficient stamina.

Seeing this, he was no longer in a hurry.

Three star ray shuttles rapidly rotated around his body, blocking attacks from all directions.

The remaining one attacked Jinglei, harassing him.

Jinglei had no choice but to summon a crystal shield to block the star ray shuttle's attack.

Time passed minute by minute, and Jinglei's spiritual energy finally ran out, leading to his defeat.