Eternal Heavenly Emperor

"Clang!"

The sword struck Kang Boyan's neck, yet there emitted a crisp metallic clash, and Kang Boyan fell along with the sword. However, his neck showed no sign of breaking.

What incredibly strong defensive power.

A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Kang Boyan's mouth. The Kang family's bloodline had been passed down since ancient times, even producing two War Emperors! Unfortunately, with the passage of time, the Kang family's legacy had long been lost; now the strongest in the family was but a War King.

However, it could not be denied that they had once been proud, had once stirred endless turmoil in history, influencing an entire era. It's a pity they couldn't go further. If a War God were to be born, it is said it could affect the entire clan's bloodline.

Even so, the Kang family's Vajra Buddha was still considered one of the strongest defensive physiques. It's unlikely that Chu Hao, who was a whole realm lower, or even someone with a much higher power, could break through his defense.

Wait for it. After you unleash your strongest attack, that's when your defense will be at its weakest. That's the moment you'll meet your end.

Chu Hao slashed with all his might, and the might of Thunderclap Miles had not yet fully erupted.

"Boom!"

Flames erupted, emitting a terrifyingly high temperature.

How high was this temperature? Even Kang Boyan's metallic skin was melted, though it did not turn into molten gold but became charred, emitting a savory scent of roasted meat.

—This was not a true Elemental Transformation, otherwise it would indeed have turned into molten gold.

Fire conquers gold.

Of course, weak flames couldn't melt metal. Whether it conquers or not depended entirely on the comparison of their intensities.

Chu Hao's realm was actually quite similar to Kang Boyan's, but when it came to physique... He repeatedly broke through limits, and possibly being a descendant of the Gu Clan, how could he be inferior to the other?

The flames roared, and the metallic skin on Kang Boyan's neck finally broke open, revealing his blood-filled flesh beneath.

"Freeze for me!" Kang Boyan roared, desperately activating his physique, causing the flesh beneath to continue to metalize to resist the intrusion of the Grey Rock Sword—he could not afford any breach; one breach and he would perish.

Could he block it?

Chu Hao roared, smashing out the full force of Thunderclap Miles.

Sizzling, this strike induced the power of heaven and earth, with the thunder elements materializing and entwining around the blade, striking down upon Kang Boyan.

"Ah—" Kang Boyan's body trembled wildly; metal was the best conductor of electricity. Activating his physique to metalize was originally the best defense, but now it had become the best conductor for electric currents, instantly absorbing all the thunder's power into his body.

The electricity gave him a truly soul-stirring shock.

In fact, under different circumstances, he could have withstood such a level of electric current, but at this moment... it was adding insult to injury. Under the thunder's power, he shuddered, his whole body feeling a twinge of numbness, losing control.

Even if it was just a twinge, only a tenth of a second.

But at this moment, could he afford even a tenth of a second? Even a ten-thousandth of a second could be enough for him to die several times over.

His body experienced a momentary normalization, and amidst this, the unstoppable Grey Rock Sword had already slashed through. With a "swoosh", a perfectly fine head flew up, accompanied by a fountain of blood.

"Thud," the head fell to the ground. Kang Boyan's expression was indescribably strange. Perhaps he regretted provoking Chu Hao or couldn't believe a top expert on the Fledgling Dragon List could be decapitated in one strike.

No matter how unwilling he was, it was already history.

Chu Hao sheathed his sword, muttering, "I told you I'd kill you with one strike, believe it now?"

He searched Kang Boyan's body, obtaining a Mustard Seed Ring, which contained not only a large number of Star Stones but also the Black Bear Brain and Green Snake Gall he needed.

Great, he had all three items.

With a satisfied smile, Chu Hao turned around and left.

He returned quickly. In just over an hour, he was back in the village, embedding the three items into the grooves on the wooden puppet's arm.

The puppet elder nodded slightly at Chu Hao, extending a hand towards him.

Chu Hao instinctively wanted to dodge but then suppressed the urge.

The other party probably had no ill intentions.

Sure enough, the puppet elder merely held Chu Hao's wrist for a moment before quickly letting go and walked away.

Damn, was that it?

Not even a reward, at least some hints on how to navigate this place.

Chu Hao chased after the puppet elder, but this time the old man ignored him, continuing to walk on his own.

How odd.

Chu Hao circled the village but found nothing unusual, so he left the village and followed the main road. After more than two hours, he saw another village.

It was almost identical, making him wonder if he had circled back.

In the middle of the village, another puppet greeted him, holding a sign: Kind-hearted person, my wife is seriously ill and needs Black Bear Brain, Fierce Tiger's Heart, and Green Snake Gall for treatment. Can you help?

Damn, Chu Hao really wanted to curse.

Even if you're doing a game task, at least change the request a little; swap out the Black Bear Brain for monkey brain, monkey claws, or ginseng. This was too lazy, wasn't it? Aren't you afraid of being complained about for lack of sincerity and word padding?

Was this a test of the trial participant's patience?

Chu Hao left the village and started searching for the three items again.

The tiger had been taken down once before, so doing it a second time was naturally no problem. But finding the Black Bear and Green Snake was quite a task. The Black Bear puppet was strength-oriented, its power reaching fifth-tier Martial Sect, but it was very slow, making it easy to wear down.

On the other hand, the Green Snake was difficult to deal with. Though its strength was only equivalent to the third-tier Martial Sect, its speed was ridiculously fast, giving Chu Hao quite a bit of trouble. But its "weak" strength was an inherent flaw, and it was eventually slain by Chu Hao.

After half a day, he returned to the village and "submitted" the task.

The puppet simply shook his hand wrist again, and there was no other movement.

I'll endure it.

Chu Hao continued forward, and not long after, he arrived at the third village.

Another task, but still the same three items: Black Bear Brain, Fierce Tiger's Heart, Green Snake Gall. After completing it, the same handshake as thanks, no further action, driving him almost mad.

Fourth, fifth, sixth... tenth!

A normal person would probably give up after ten tries, but Chu Hao was persistent. Every time he reached a new village, he would head straight to the task. He even got smart, obtaining double the materials in one place so he wouldn't have to run back and forth. He could just hand over the required items in one go and then go fetch the next set, greatly saving time.

In ten days, he passed through 27 villages, completing 27 tasks without missing a single one.

Then he arrived at the 28th village, then the 29th, then the 30th.

But finally, there was no 31st village. What appeared before him was the end of the third level.

Ahead, a small square paved with white jade stone reflected a gentle light. On the square, there were more than 30 people, some sitting, some standing, all keeping a considerable distance from one another, each exuding a unique aura, as dazzling as the sun.

Bian Yu, Bai Zhan, You Zhiyuan... Chu Hao saw a few familiar faces.

They weren't really acquaintances; he had only heard their names when entering the Ancient Training Ground and remembered them.

To get further, reaching the third level, they must indeed be geniuses among geniuses. Yet even geniuses had different tiers—of course, there were age limits. Now, even a year or six months could make a huge difference, resulting in being overshadowed and failing to make it onto the Fledgling Dragon List.

Among the 30-plus people, the radiance of these three shone the brightest, overshadowing the others.

In the other three towers, the record breakers must be these three, right?

In Chu Hao's mind, the talents of Jiang Qixuan, Wu Shitong, Feng Buping, and Cang Taiyun were no less than these three, but being one or two years younger led to differences in strength.

Seeing Chu Hao walk over, several from Tianhe County nodded at him, especially Wu Shitong and Qin Yulian, the most welcoming, while the only one looking displeased was Jin Yunlin, who even snorted.

"Unexpectedly, Tianhe County did quite well this time, with seven people making it here!" You Zhiyuan suddenly said.

Out of the nine counties, only 34 people in total arrived here, averaging about four per county. Yet Tianhe County had seven, which was no small feat, even surpassing the top-ranked White Water County by one person.

Jin Yunlin snorted again. He had expected to be the only one with such an honor, only to see a significant surge of talents from Tianhe County this time, greatly stealing his thunder.

"Heh, it's getting crowded, better eliminate a few!" You Zhiyuan strode forward, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the talented from Tianhe County, "A weak county should act as such. I'll give you two choices: first, you eliminate five among yourselves, and I'll guarantee the safety of the remaining two. Second, I'll do it, and all seven of you will die."

Truly tyrannical and indeed bloody, earning the name Bloodhand.

"You Zhiyuan, you think I'm afraid of you?" Jin Yunlin, as Tianhe County's top expert, naturally had the pride and courage to match, coldly replied to You Zhiyuan.

"You should be afraid of me, for that's the condition to survive!" You Zhiyuan naturally stated, "You might think you've gained some opportunities in the previous trials, greatly increasing your strength, and that you now have the capital to contend with me?"

"Too naive!"

You Zhiyuan placed his hands behind his back, "To kill you, I won't need more than ten moves!"

Jin Yunlin couldn't help but laugh in anger. He was the strongest expert among Tianhe County's younger generation. Wasn't it too much to say that he couldn't last ten moves against the other and not just lose, but die?

"You Zhiyuan, come fight, and I'll show you that I'm no longer the Jin Yunlin from two and a half years ago!"