157: Chapter 157 Target Trial Tower First

Of course, the limitations were also very obvious.

It only had defensive and early warning capabilities, with no means of long-range tracking.

Without being able to find the enemy and proactively eliminate threats, hidden dangers would always exist.

But before the wormhole detection array was fully deployed, this was already the best transitional plan.

At least it could hold out for this period.

Chen Mo looked at his own Will Clone and nodded slightly.

With this defensive line in place, at least there was no need to worry about enemies suddenly launching a sneak attack and directly destroying Blue Star.

After finishing all this, Chen Mo stood on the moon with his hands behind his back.

He looked up into the depths of the Universe; it was pitch black, hiding unknown enemies and endless dangers.

The threat of the hunting fleet was just the beginning.

And what he needed to do was to become stronger before the crisis arrived.

The Hengyuan Force needed further tempering, his will needed to be polished, and the Annihilation Origin needed to be further deepened.

Chen Mo took one last look in the direction of Blue Star, turned, and transformed back into a pure white stream of light, heading back into the depths of the star.

Next, it was time to go to the Trial Tower and meet some stronger opponents.

...

A few days later, December 5th, on the surface of the sun.

Chen Mo slowly opened his eyes, a flash of pure white light passing through his pupils. His Annihilation Domain silently retracted, and the churning plasma surged back to his side.

"It's about time."

Chen Mo whispered to himself, his tone calm but full of certainty.

The last time he voluntarily stopped at the 27th rank, his combat power was only at the limit of the fourth tier.

Now that he had achieved a Breakthrough to the fifth tier, not only had he mastered the Annihilation Origin, but he had also completely achieved Fusion with his Inner World, making his combat power incomparable to before.

Even an ordinary fifth-tier Early Stage Universe life form in reality would not be able to gain any advantage in front of his Annihilation Domain.

For this challenge, Chen Mo had only one goal—the 1st place, that [Yuan] who was at the apex of the 4th tier.

Of course, if he could encounter other opponents who could give him enough pressure during the challenge, that would also be a good thing.

After all, battles in the Trial Tower were never just about victory or defeat; they were a form of tempering.

Fighting against Prodigies from different systems and civilizations, every collision could spark new insights, and every confrontation was a verification of his own systematic path.

Chen Mo's thoughts stirred, and his consciousness connected to the Spirit Energy Universe, the familiar cold, mechanical voice sounding in his mind.

[Challenger authority detected, the ninety-day cooldown period has ended. Do you wish to immediately start the third ranking challenge?]

"Yes." Chen Mo did not hesitate at all.

He directly selected the 26th rank.

The rules of the Trial Tower were very clear: there was no limit to the number of challenges in a single session, and one could challenge upwards one by one.

But once a higher ranking was reached, one could not go back and challenge lower-ranked opponents.

Chen Mo cherished every opportunity to fight.

[26th Place: Myriad Tough Marrow Octopus System · Cang Rou, Reality Realm Sixth Tier]

As the light dissipated, Chen Mo appeared in the middle of a boundless deep sea.

Unlike the heavy and gloomy atmosphere of his last battle with Shui Wuhen, the seawater here was clear and bright, with light able to penetrate thousands of meters deep.

But the clearer it was, the more eerily silent this deep sea appeared.

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow slightly.

In the seawater ahead, a translucent, soft-bodied creature with a diameter of tens of kilometers was slowly wriggling; it had no fixed form.

Countless slender tentacles stretched out in the water like ribbons, with each tentacle slowly proliferating and splitting, and its body volume expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Eerie, and full of vitality.

Almost the instant Chen Mo appeared, that mass of transparent creature moved.

The tentacles filling the sky lashed out like a sudden rainstorm, blotting out the sky and sun, dragging the water currents of the entire sea area and forming a terrifying vortex of water pressure.

At the same time, a faint fifth-tier Physical Body suppression force permeated the area, like the pressure of the deep sea, crushing towards Chen Mo in layers.

"A bit interesting."

Chen Mo did not dodge or avoid, raising his hand to casually swing out a Hengyuan Force slash.

The sharp blade of light cut through the seawater, accurately striking the foremost tentacle.

But the cutting he had expected did not happen.

The blade of light easily penetrated the gelatinous body, as if cutting into a mass of water without substance.

As it went deeper, the force was continuously unloaded and worn down by the layers of flexible tissue, dissipating completely before traveling ten kilometers, not even splashing a single drop of water.

And the tissue that had been cut did not even leak any fluid; the gelatinous substance on both sides wriggled a few times before merging back together, good as new.

The Myriad Tough Marrow Octopus System, with its extreme flexibility and regenerative proliferation, was nearly immune to conventional physical attacks.

Chen Mo understood in his heart, but he was in no rush to use a killing move.

He remained motionless, letting the tentacles covering the sky sweep towards him, while his Inner World quietly opened up a thin protective barrier.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Huge forces slammed onto the barrier one after another, shaking the seawater, but the barrier did not move a single bit.

Chen Mo closed his eyes, but his mind sank into perception.

He was carefully comprehending the essence of Cang Rou's power.

Both were fifth-tier control; his Inner World followed the path of "seeking inward," evolving a Small World within himself to support his Physical Body from the inside out.

While Cang Rou's Myriad Tough Marrow Octopus System followed the path of "changing outward," allowing the Physical Body to infinitely proliferate and infinitely deform, relying on the evolution of form to raise the upper limit of power.

Two completely different paths, yet both pointed to the extreme of the fifth-tier Physical Body.

"So that's how it is... control of the Physical Body is not just about density and strength, but also the freedom of form."

Chen Mo's heart gradually became clear.

After returning, these insights could all be broken down and integrated into the Physical Body Cultivation of the Source Power System.

Opposite him, Cang Rou became more and more alarmed as the fight went on.

Its proud Myriad Tough body was as fragile as paper in front of its opponent.

It had wrapped around and strangled Chen Mo several times, but each time Chen Mo was able to easily break free. Those strangling forces, which were enough to crush stars, could not leave a single mark on Chen Mo.

And all of its attacks, whether it was tentacle piercing or cellular erosion, were casually neutralized by Chen Mo, as effortless as swatting away flies.

What made it even more furious was that the opponent clearly had the strength to defeat it, yet delayed in using a killing move, instead adopting a leisurely attitude as if they were... using its attacks to comprehend something?

This was naked contempt!

"Roar—!"

Cang Rou let out a low roar, truly enraged.