He envisioned his skill panel. Crimson Harvest was still on cooldown.
"Ember's Blade," he commanded. The Vitae Stone pulsed—and to his surprise, the skill equipped instantly.
"Quick Dash!"
His body flickered forward, leaving a trail of glowing embers in his wake. The world blurred—
Slash!
A lizard's head spun into the air, fire licking along the clean cut as Liang Wei landed, boots digging into the dirt. He pivoted, finishing the motion with another swift swing—cleaving the airborne head clean in half before it hit the ground.
"Next."
He blitzed toward another.
!!!
The beast tried to dodge, but he'd already committed to the motion. His blade bit deep into its shoulder, carving a burning gash down its flank.
"Tch—I missed," he muttered, stepping back as dust swirled around his legs. "Seems activating Dash is harder than in-game…"
He thought aloud, eyes narrowing. "Hmm. Guess I just need to get the distance right."
His expression shifted—eyes flickering with killing intent. He had nowhere to vent his pent-up aggression.
The party that attacked him earlier was still fresh in his mind.
He couldn't track them down, and he didn't even know what that technique they used against him was called.
He couldn't make good on his words, and that infuriated him more than potentially being stuck there.
That was why he planned to direct all that loathing into his blades.
Liang Wei's hair swayed as he turned toward the three remaining beasts circling him.
"If this is some twisted experiment," he said quietly, "then I shouldn't hold any remorse for your deaths."
His lips curved into a dangerous smile.
"These could very well be my last moments—so let's attempt to murder each other without restraint."
He raised his cleaver, its edge gleaming crimson under the arena lights. The surviving lizards hissed, their scales bristling with tension.
He triggered Quick Dash again, his body snapping forward in a burst of embers.
A Basilisk-Lizard lashed its tail.
"Ember Rush!!!"
Embers exploded around him as he planted his feet in the center of their formation. His blade moved in a wild, fluid rhythm—left, front, side—each swing searing through scales and muscle in bursts of burning heat.
The air warped with heat distortion.
"Crimson Harvest!!!"
He swung with both hands—
A colossal phantom blade of red fire burst forth, carving through the battlefield and engulfing the remaining lizards in a blinding inferno.
Shrikkk! Hissss!
The Crimson Harvest skill completed its full arc.
Flesh hissed and split; organs melted from the inside out, bursting under the weight of burn damage. The air reeked of scorched scales and smoke.
When the light finally faded, six carcasses lay sprawled across the dirt, still smoldering with faint flames.
A clear system chime rang out:
[Congratulations on defeating the first wave.]
First-round data has been successfully recorded in the integration database.Reward calculations in progress...
Rewards Obtained:
Half-Damaged Basilisk-Lizard Skin × 1
Charred Basilisk-Lizard Skin × 5
Raptail Bones × 18 (Includes: 6 Skulls, 6 Leg Bones, 4 Tail Sections, 2 Rib Cages)
Dull Gray Feral Beast Cores × 6 (Lv. 3–5)
Note: Rewards have been automatically gathered to save time and ensure player focus during testing. Manual harvesting has been disabled for this round.
One by one, the lizard corpses dissolved into particles of light, vanishing into the ground. In their place, a holographic accumulated reward list appeared above the gate where the basilisks had entered, glowing faintly in the crimson haze.
The ground trembled again.
[Next Wave: Grade 2 – Spirit-Born Beasts Approaching.]
A low hum filled the arena as the iron gate began to rattle.
"This next test will begin in ten seconds," the same neutral voice announced, calm and detached. "Combat data collection resuming."
The gateway shuddered once more—then cold burst out from its halls.
A chorus of howls rolled out, deep and echoing through the empty stands. Blue light spilled through the cracks in the stone, scattering across the dirt floor like shards of frost.
From within that glow in the tunnel beyond the gateway emerged lean, spectral wolves. Their pelts rippled between fur and mist, streaked with glowing veins of Qi that pulsed beneath translucent skin like rivers of moonlight.
[Spirit-Born Frostfang Wolves – Lv. 7–9]
Their eyes burned a cold cerulean.
Each breath they exhaled came out as a cloud of white frost, chilling the air around them.
In seconds, the arena's heat from the previous battle was gone—replaced by a biting cold that clung to Liang Wei's skin.
Frost crept along the ground in thin branching patterns. The wolves spread out, silent now, their claws scraping faint trails through the ice.
"I didn't get any spirit residue or materials."
Liang Wei rested his cleaver on his shoulder. "Maybe ending the round before I butchered them myself wasn't a great idea." His lips twitched into a grin."I'll just have to try again, right?"
He steadied his saw blade as the first wolf charged and lunged, its jaws snapping with frozen mist.
"Dash!" he commanded, stepping to the side and out of reach. He twisted, aligning his body back toward where the wolf had landed, gaze fixed on it.
SWISH!
"Quick Dash!"
Liang Wei surged forward—almost reaching the beast when its skin suddenly hardened like iron, tanking the strike to its ribs.
Even so, the impact sent it flying.
It tumbled into the dirt, growling as it gathered ice Qi and fired off several jagged shards.
"Awooo!!!" it howled, veins bulging as the shards tore through the air.
"Ember Rush!" Liang Wei's eyes narrowed, tracking each projectile.
His heated blades sliced through the frozen shards, and as the final one shattered, he prepared to blitz the wolf—
—but his instincts flared.
Awooo! Awooo! Awooo! Awoo!
Half a dozen more ice blocks sprang from the circling pack around him. Clever. He pushed through Ember Rush, heat distortions rippling around him.
The air grew misty.
Two wolves lunged while his focus was elsewhere.
"!!!" His instincts flared as he guarded.
His cloth armguard slammed into one's jaws. "Argh!!" he grunted as it tried to bite through his forearm.
"Don't think I'm that easy to take down!"
His saw blade stabbed the other's throat as he fell with his full weight, pinning it to the ground.
Hard Strike!
The command pulsed through his muscles.
His right arm locked with power as he twisted the blade deeper. Letting go of the hilt, he drew the cleaver from the arm sunk in the wolf's jaws.
Strike!
Strength surged through his arm again. He slashed open the wolf's flank, plunging the knife into its neck.
"Bloodfire Transmutation!"
Molten fire surged from Liang Wei's arm, spreading into the wound. The creature thrashed, howling as fire consumed it from within. He wrenched free, flipped it down, and hacked through its eye socket—again and again.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
The pack charged.
He yanked the saw blade free and hurled it—missed—and the wolves retaliated with a volley of frost.
Liang Wei swept his arm in a wide arc.
"Crimson Harvest!"
A massive blade of flame formed before him.
Some wolves leapt aside, but the rest were cleaved through.
Purple fire flickered along his body as he triggered Phantom's Blaze, merging it with Crimson Harvest. The fiery construct spun violently, gathering flames.
"Violet Vortex!!!"
FLASH!
Violet fire burst outward, forming a spinning inferno that swallowed the arena. Cries filled the air, drowned by the roar of flame. Flesh melted, limbs curled, fur ignited, and blood boiled.
Their howls warped into shrieks of agony, echoing through the blazing maelstrom before fading into silence. The stench of burning hide and scorched ice lingered.
Amid the infernal chaos, one light held firm—a bright blue glow that refused to die.
As the flames faded, a single wolf stood tall, water dripping from its ice armor.
[Mortal Grade: Spirit-Born Frostfang Wolf – Lv. 9 → Lv. 12]
[Mortal Grade: Elemental Beast – Frostfang Wolf – Lv. 12]
"It's you again…" Liang Wei muttered, narrowing his eyes.
The beast had grown larger, jagged icicles running along its spine. Its shoulders were broader, its snarl deadlier.
"Do you know how annoying tanks are?" he said, half-grinning. "You not only ate my first strike—you even lucked out and advanced your core with that skill."
"But don't worry. I like breaking tanks too."
His grin sharpened. "Especially now that I know I can stack skills if I switch fast enough."
"Dash! Quick Dash! Strike! Ember's Blade! Quick Dash!"
Swish—Bang!
His shoes tore into the dirt, sending pebbles and dust exploding around him. Embers flared.
"Awe," he muttered, a little disappointed. "Overshot myself again."
The frost wolf growled, a guttural rumble rolling through the arena.
Its claws dug into the ground, sending a ripple of cold across the dirt. Pale blue Qi surged around it, fusing into a lattice of frost.
Crack. Shhhk!
Sharp ice plates grew outward, shimmering with runic veins of frozen energy.
Liang Wei narrowed his eyes. "So you can use defensive layering now, huh?"
The wolf's only answer was a chilling snarl. Then it moved—faster than before.
WHOOSH!
It darted forward, a blur of frost and vapor. Liang Wei crossed his Clever over his arms in defense.
CLANG!
The impact sent a shockwave through his arms. His boots skidded back, cutting deep tracks into the dirt.
"Damn—your weight doubled," he hissed, pushing back. Sparks and frost burst where they clashed.
The wolf didn't relent. Ice condensed in its jaws, forming a crystalline spear. It exhaled—
Crack! Boom!
A shard of ice shot forward like a cannon shell.Liang Wei ducked as it slammed into the wall behind him, freezing a wide section of the arena.
"Stronger ice, thicker Qi…" he muttered, rubbing the cold burn on his cheek. "Guessing you're really scaling up with me."
He raised his blade, embers curling along it. "I wonder what alchemist item I'll get from butchering your soul~"
"Ember Rush!"
He vanished, flame streaks marking his path.
The wolf turned just in time to see his silhouette flicker beside it—Slash!
The blade met its flank, sparks and frost clashing violently. Steam exploded outward.
Liang Wei gritted his teeth. "It's like hitting reinforced steel—"
The wolf spun, tail lashing through the haze. He barely raised his armguard before it hit.
BANG!
The blow threw him off his feet, skidding across the dirt. His arm throbbed from the impact.
The wolf crouched low. Frost spread beneath its paws as ice spikes erupted around him, trapping him.
[Warning: Area Confinement Detected.]
[Skill Signature — "Frozen Dominion"]
Liang Wei's eyes gleamed. "You're using more than three skills now too? Definitely being tested."
He inhaled, flames flickering brighter across his armor.
"Fine then—let's melt your damn dominion!"
He spun his cleaver, molten lights twisting into a vortex.
"Ember Rush! Phantom's Blaze! Stack—Violet Ignition!"
WOOOOOM!!!
His body erupted into a blinding violet inferno, the air warping under the surge of heat.
He slashed violently—first strikes bounced off the wolf's icy hide, but as his speed climbed, molten trails carved the frozen ground. Ember sparks flared with every swing.
Liang Wei's relentless assault forced the beast back—a barrage of slashes, bursts, and flame. The wolf stumbled, claws digging into the dirt for traction.
It wanted to retreat. But he didn't give it the chance.
"Quick Dash!"
He flashed forward, appearing by its head, the hilt of his cleaver crashing into its eye. The beast roared, staggering as he dragged his blade across its icy jaw—all the way to its ear—and sliced the tip clean off.
The wolf howled, enraged, summoning jagged spears of glacial Qi around itself. The air filled with cracking ice, each spike aimed directly at him.
Crack-crack-crack! They launched—
—and Liang Wei charged straight through.
BOOM!
Flames clashed with ice, steam turning the world white. His roar tore through the mist:
"BURN—FOR—ME!"
Heat and frost exploded outward in a dazzling storm of red and blue light as the two collided.