The Heavens: Man Covers the Heavens, Refines Treasures to Become an Emperor

"Can you clear the game by remaining undefeated in every battle?"

Jiang Xuan frowned instantly, having spotted a seemingly huge "loophole" in the rules.

According to the literal meaning, doesn't that mean as long as you survive 100 battles without completely losing, even if you lose 99 times, as long as you win the last one, you'll still pass the game? This difficulty... seems much lower than expected? Especially with the "resurrection after death" mechanism!

"wrong!"

Jiang Xuan immediately became alert.

"The Heavenly Secret Realm is fraught with danger at every turn. How could it leave such an obvious loophole? This 'Invincible in a Hundred Battles' is not as simple as it sounds! Otherwise, why would it be set up that 'one defeat means certain failure'? And what about the extra reward of 'winning every battle'? There must be something hidden in these rules! I'm afraid that the word 'invincible' hides a deadly trap!"

Just as Jiang Xuan's mind raced, trying to analyze the true intention behind these seemingly contradictory rules...
hum!
At the edge of the platform, the largest sculpture closest to him suddenly began to move!
It was a monster sculpture with a human head, a snake's body, and four thick, ferocious arms!
Its snake tail was coiled up, its upper body muscles were as bulging as rocks, and its four arms gripped a stone hammer, a stone spear, a stone shield, and a stone whip covered with bone spurs! The originally cold and lifeless stone surface now rippled with visible, eerie waves, like the surface of water tossed with pebbles!
Click…click…

A series of fine cracking sounds rang out, and the thick layer of stone dust that had covered the monster sculpture for countless millennia began to peel away! Where the dust had fallen away, dark, iron-like scales with a metallic sheen were revealed beneath! And the tightly closed stone eyes slowly opened a crack amidst the falling stone dust!
From the gap, two scarlet, cold beams of light, filled with violence and a desire for destruction, pierced through the dust and instantly locked onto Jiang Xuan in the center of the platform, like tangible blades!
A primal, savage, and nauseatingly bloody aura erupted like a volcano awakening, engulfing the entire platform! The air seemed to solidify into viscous blood!
It came to life!

A chill emanated from the soles of his shoes as Jiang Xuan stood in the center of a vast, empty platform, his muscles tense, his pupils fixed on the statue that had come to life before him!

It has a human head and a snake's body, with dark, iron-like scales covering its tangled upper body. Its four thick, deformed arms tightly grip a stone hammer, a stone spear, a stone shield, and a stone whip covered with bone spurs.

At this moment, the stone shells covering the weapons were peeling away, revealing their true forms beneath, which shimmered with a chilling blood-red light. The hammers resembled blood-stained mountains, the spears resembled dripping blood fangs, the shields were covered in flowing demonic patterns, and the bone whips were wrapped in a nauseating scarlet aura!
What's most chilling are those wide-open eyes, blood-red, churning with pure violence, destruction, and a cold indifference as if looking down on ants.

The snake flicked its tongue, making a hissing sound that seemed to freeze the soul.

A savage, bloody, and terrifying pressure, as heavy as a mountain, slammed into Jiang Xuan like a tangible tsunami, making it hard for him to breathe!
hum!
A clear, resonant sound rang out in Jiang Xuan's hand without warning.

The light coalesced, and a simple, dark-colored battle sword, with only a thin, cold glint flowing from its blade, appeared out of thin air in his hand.

The blade felt cold and heavy to the touch, carrying an aura of battle-hardened solemnity. It was indeed his sword!

At the same time, the fully revived Serpent Spirit Clan expert suddenly swung his coiled serpent tail!

Boom!

The ground seemed to tremble slightly!
Its enormous body soared into the air with extraordinary agility, as if riding a blood-red gale, instantly covering a distance of a hundred feet, and landing steadily opposite Jiang Xuan. Its huge snake tail coiled up, occupying a large part of the arena-like platform.

With a sudden jerk of his four arms, the blood hammer, blood spear, and bone whip emitted a piercing shriek, while only the shield with flowing demonic runes protected him.

Its scarlet vertical pupils were fixed on Jiang Xuan, as if locking onto prey destined to die, and its overwhelming killing intent almost froze the space!
The cold, emotionless voice, like a divine decree, resounded throughout the entire space.

[The first battle begins! Opponent: Bloodscale of the Serpent Spirit Clan!]

"Shout!!!"

The "blood scales" seemed to be completely ignited by this declaration, and the hideous human head suddenly rose up, letting out a roar that could shatter metal and split stone, a mixture of snake hiss and beast roar! This roar carried a tangible sonic impact, making Jiang Xuan's eardrums ache and his blood surge!

Without any probing! Before the roar had even subsided, the arm of Bloodscale that gripped the crimson longsword was already raised high! Thick, almost tangible, crimson light suddenly erupted from the blade, illuminating the entire platform in a scarlet glow! An indescribable, terrifying aura descended instantly!
Jiang Xuan felt the scene before him suddenly distort and change! The deep void above his head disappeared, replaced by a shattered, burning apocalyptic starry sky! Countless enormous stars, trailing long, burning trails of destructive flames, were being violently dragged down as if by an invisible force, crashing down at an unimaginable speed onto the tiny platform where he stood!

Stars are falling! The heavens and earth are collapsing!
The scene was so real, so vast, so utterly despairing! Every "star" carried a terrifying aura capable of crushing continents and incinerating all things!
They locked onto Jiang Xuan, sealing off all his escape routes! This was the Star Gathering Style! But the intent of falling stars and destroying everything contained within it was more than twice as powerful as what Jiang Xuan himself had comprehended and unleashed!

A chill emanating from the depths of his soul instantly froze Jiang Xuan's limbs and bones!
He didn't even have time to think, much less to react! That vast and boundless will to destroy, that terrifying killing intent that locked everything in place, had crushed all his thoughts of resistance like a tangible mountain!

puff!

Excruciating pain! An indescribable pain instantly overwhelmed all consciousness! It was as if the entire body, along with the soul, was completely crushed and vaporized the moment that "star" crashed down! Vision was completely swallowed by crimson and darkness, and all senses were instantly ripped away.

He didn't even see how the other person drew their knife; death came faster than he could have imagined!
He was enveloped in endless cold and darkness, his consciousness sinking as if into the deepest ocean.

I don't know how much time has passed; it may have been just a moment, or it may have been a century.

Jiang Xuan suddenly opened his eyes!
His heavy breathing was like a broken bellows. He instinctively clutched his chest, his heart pounding wildly inside, almost bursting out of his chest! Cold sweat instantly soaked through his clothes, bringing a chilling sensation to his bones.

He remained standing in the center of the platform, surrounded by the hundreds of silent, eerie statues, as if the devastating blow and the terrifying experience of instant death were nothing more than a nightmare that felt too real.

But is it really a dream?
Jiang Xuan suddenly looked up, his gaze fixed on the huge sculpture with a human head and a snake's body at the edge of the platform.

At this moment, it has returned to its original cold and lifeless state, covered with a thick layer of stone chips, its scarlet eyes tightly closed, as if it had never woken up.

However, Jiang Xuan's face turned deathly pale in an instant!
The scene just now—the shattered starry sky, the burning stars, the unparalleled destructive sword intent, the excruciating pain and despair of being instantly crushed—every detail was branded into the depths of his soul like a red-hot iron! That fear of facing death head-on, being annihilated in an instant without any power to resist, clung to him like a leech, causing his fingertips to tremble uncontrollably. "Star Gathering Style... how is this possible..." Jiang Xuan's voice carried a hoarseness and tremor that he himself was unaware of.

"He also used... the Star-Gathering Style! But... but why... is it so powerful?!"

For the first time, he felt the breath of death so acutely.

It wasn't an injury, nor was it near death; it was a complete and utter death, a death in which consciousness was instantly erased! That feeling was enough to break anyone with a weak mind!
"Combat techniques? Level of cultivation methods?"

Jiang Xuan forced himself to calm down, suppress the pounding in his heart, and frantically pondered.

"No! That strike just now wasn't just stronger or faster! It was a kind of... overwhelming force! It was a higher-level manifestation of the 'Star Gathering Style' sword technique itself! The true meaning of his Star Gathering Style, with its falling stars and the destruction of all things, is far beyond mine! This is not even a contest of equals!"

A terrible thought came to mind.

"Could it be... that the real test of this third trial, 'Hundred Battles,' isn't actually defeating the opponent? Otherwise, given the strength these opponents have displayed, I would surely die in a single battle, let alone a hundred! The rules allow for a hundred failures... is it testing... the experience accumulated through repeated deaths? Or perhaps... the willpower to withstand the impact of death?!"

The thought had barely formed when the cold notification sound rang out again, shattering his brief respite.

[The second battle begins! Opponent: Shadow Fiend of the Demon Race!]

hum!
At the edge of the platform, another enormous, distorted, and seemingly composed of countless shadows and tentacles began to tremble violently! Stone chips flew everywhere as a demonic figure nearly three zhang tall, covered in flowing shadow armor, with only two leaping, pale green flames above its head, broke free from the stone shell's restraints!
It has no weapons, but from the tips of its ten fingers extend foot-long, gleaming energy claws!
A chilling, eerie, and seemingly soul-freezing aura spread out!
The Shadow Demon didn't roar; it simply vanished without a trace! The next instant, Jiang Xuan felt a blur before his eyes, and a chilling killing intent that sent shivers down his spine locked onto his throat!

"not good!"

Jiang Xuan's pupils shrank sharply. Almost instinctively, he frantically poured the powerful spiritual energy from his perfected human aura into the battle blade in his hand, and unleashed his strongest killing move without hesitation!
"Star-Picking Style!"

A flash of light appeared! Like a shooting star streaking across the night, carrying a fierce momentum that seemed to pull stars and tear the sky apart, it slashed fiercely at the strangely appearing demonic figure! This was the strongest strike he could unleash at this moment!

However, when faced with Jiang Xuan's all-out strike, the two pale green flames on the head of the Demon Shadow Demon only flickered very slightly.

It extended a claw covered in shadow, its five fingers spread wide, and grasped it in mid-air at the dazzling meteor-like light!
Buzz!

There was no earth-shattering, loud collision.

Jiang Xuan felt as if his sword light had cleaved into a thick, dark swamp that swallowed all light! The violent power and stellar intent contained in the sword were like mud entering the sea, easily decomposed, devoured, and annihilated by the five ghostly claws in a bizarre way that he could not understand at all!

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Xuan's vision was once again filled with a shattered starry sky burning with a ghastly green flame! It was the same Star-Gathering style of artistic conception! But the one that Shadow Fiend unleashed was filled with a sinister, eerie, and deathly aura of withering everything! Countless "stars" trailing ghastly green flames fell silently, carrying a despair that froze the soul!

puff!
Excruciating pain! Icy cold! Consciousness was once again mercilessly dragged into an endless abyss of darkness!
“Ugh!”

Awakening for the second time from the chill of death, Jiang Xuan let out a suppressed growl, like that of a wounded beast.

He braced his hands tightly on the cold ground, his knuckles turning white from the force, and his body trembling violently.

This death was clearer and colder than the first! The helplessness of having his ultimate move easily shattered, the despair of having his soul frozen by the eerie "stars," were like countless cold, venomous snakes coiling around his heart, biting him madly!

Fear! A profound fear of death itself, originating from the depths of his soul, was growing and spreading wildly in his heart! Each death was like a heavy hammer, slamming into the walls of his will, leaving deep cracks.

He clearly felt that a shadow called "despair" was taking root and spreading in his mind with each death and resurrection.

If this shadow cannot be dispelled, it will surely transform into the most terrifying inner demon! Once the inner demon takes shape, at best, one's cultivation will stagnate; at worst, one will suffer a qi deviation, leading to eternal damnation!
"I understand... I finally understand!"

Jiang Xuan suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, but his face showed an almost frantic realization.

"'Undefeated in a hundred battles to pass the level'? Hah... What a wonderful 'undefeated' rule! This rule is nothing but a huge trap!"

His voice was hoarse, carrying a chilling edge.

"It allows you to fail a hundred times, even to die a hundred times! Every time you are resurrected after death, you will carry the memory of your last death, along with that fear and despair! Once, twice... maybe you can grit your teeth and hold on."

But what about ten times? Twenty times? Fifty times? When you are faced with terrifying opponents whose strength far surpasses yours and who possess a higher level of 'Star Gathering Technique,' being mercilessly crushed time and time again in different ways, experiencing the real, utter pain of death time and time again…

That despair and fear will accumulate and accumulate, growing bigger and bigger like a snowball! Eventually, it will solidify in your heart into an inescapable, all-consuming inner demon!

It will extinguish your fighting spirit and cause your mental breakdown! Before the hundredth battle, you'll have already become a walking corpse dominated by fear!
At that point, forget about clearing the game; you'll even lose the courage to pick up a sword! That's the most terrifying aspect of 'Hundred Battles'! It doesn't just destroy your body, it destroys your fighting spirit! Your will! (End of Chapter)