Gao Wu: Become stronger by grinding Erlang Shen's talents

Chapter 692 A Test of Willpower! (Seeking monthly votes)
Meanwhile, in a virtual world—a vast virtual world where an entire enormous planet has been transformed into the audience seating area.

Countless viewers from different star systems logged into the virtual world, sat in the stands, and enjoyed the most realistic viewing experience.

A giant screen appeared in front of him, clearly showing the ongoing mental experiment.

There was also a screen next to it displaying comments sent by viewers watching the live stream.

Those who can be viewed in the virtual world at this time are all very wealthy.

"here we go!"

"108 million contestants, that's too many people, all top geniuses from various star systems!"

"It's only 10 kilometers, you could fly to the finish line in a second, so why are they walking so slowly!"

"With 10000 times the force of gravity, our ordinary bodies would be easily crushed into a pile of minced meat!"

"Now smart seats can adjust gravity; you can try it out, they're experiencing this kind of gravity..."

"Then forget it!"

"Our strongest genius in the Barbarian Ancestral Star Region is the fastest. He has already walked 600 meters, putting a full 500 meters ahead of the slowest genius."

"This speed is simply astonishing, far surpassing other geniuses. Is his body made of D-grade metal?"

At the same time, a leaderboard appeared out of nowhere on a screen, ranking the 108 million contestants based on their distance.

[Rankings for the First Stage of the Soul Trial]

[First Place: Gutao (Barbarian Ancestor Star Region)]

Second Place: Quintus (Dragonspine Sector)

Third Place: Pan Kai (Tianyuan Star Region)

……

Meanwhile, in another virtual world, there are only a few hundred thousand seats, divided into 108 areas based on 108 star domains.

Like a small audience seat, they were also watching the third round of the Deep Space Genius Competition's mental trial in real time.

Within each area sat the star field's top experts, whose auras were like black holes, devouring everything around them.

Their presence was no less imposing than that of the top executives of the Deep Space Institute, and perhaps even more so!
They are all super strong individuals at the fourth or fifth realm of the universe.

In one place, there was a group of people exuding a deep, rugged aura, like the earth itself.

A burly man laughed loudly and boisterously:

"The trials of the mind are all conducted randomly!"

"The first challenge of this year's competition is the Trial of Earth!"

"And our Barbarian Ancestral Star Region is most skilled in the Way of Earth!"

"Among them are countless geniuses who have awakened the Law of Earth. Gutau is the most talented genius in our Barbarian Ancestral Star Region!"

"One quick step leads to quick progress in everything!"

"With his talent and willpower, he will only get faster and faster, and will become the first genius to pass the test of the mind!"

His words were also heard by people in other star systems.

"This is only the first test. Everyone knows that the people of the Barbarian Ancestral Star Region have the weakest mental strength. Once they enter the illusionary trial, they will fall behind instantly!"

"This is just the beginning!"

"Perhaps Quintus from our Dragonspine Starfield will make a comeback in the later stages!"

"At the beginning, everyone was getting used to the intensity of the trial, and many geniuses hadn't even started to unleash their full potential!"

"Based on past years' phenomena, we can conclude that the fastest person in the first round is often not the first place finisher."

"The geniuses of our star region will only reveal their true strength later on."

A group of powerful beings at the fifth level of the universe were discussing things without any restraint.

There are also high-level discussions taking place in the location of the Blazing Sun Starfield.

“Our rankings in the Blazing Sun Star Region are relatively low. Yao Yu is currently only ranked 18th. Most of the geniuses ahead of him are those who have comprehended the Law of Earth.”

"His ranking will most likely improve in the next stage."

"He should have a place in the top ten!"

A female voice also said, "This is just the beginning!"

"This year's Deep Space Genius Competition has produced many promising talents. Such a thing might only happen once every few hundred or even a thousand years."

"There are several other star-domain level geniuses like Yao Yu."

"The real test of willpower comes later!"

"It's time to widen the gap!"

Yao Chen was among those discussing the matter. Martial artists of their level had extremely long lifespans and rarely had anything that interested them.

The Deep Space Genius Tournament is one such competition, and the third round will attract the attention of most of the top five cosmic realm experts.

Yao Chen was still watching Lin Qi.

At this point, Lin Qi was in the middle ranks, not even making it into the top 100.

Take it one step at a time, and slowly move forward.

Geniuses from 108 star regions gathered, and among these geniuses, he held Lin Qi in high regard.

The opponent's characteristics are too unique, even in the third round.

Besides Flame Demon Yaoyu, he had the highest hopes for Lin Qi, who might have a chance to break into the top 10 or so.

……

The first trial of the mind takes place on a black metal planet.

Several hours have passed, and some geniuses are still moving forward, but their pace has begun to slow down.

Some athletes have already stopped to catch their breath, rest, and adjust their condition.

Some martial artists have already fallen behind.

Lin Qi felt his body aching, his muscles were numb and sore, and a strong sense of fatigue washed over him.

He glanced at the finish line in his line of sight.

A distance of 10 kilometers, or 1 meters, can be reached in just a few seconds!

But now, under 10000 times the force of gravity, the destination is still a long way off.

We've only walked one kilometer so far, and there are still 8.9 kilometers to go to the finish line!

But I already feel physically exhausted.

His physical strength and energy were being rapidly depleted, and he was mobilizing the surrounding energy to restore his strength.

However, the energy concentration is not high, and the recovery speed is not fast!
"So tired!"

Jiang Tao stopped three meters in front of him, placed his hands on his knees, and gasped for breath, his muscles trembling uncontrollably.

Looking exhausted, he asked Lin Qi curiously as he slowly approached:
"Brother Qi, aren't you tired?"

Lin Qi nodded and said, "We're all tired!"

He looked at the person in front of him, and the flow of his internal energy slowed down, even dimming its light. He also looked tired.

Although they were able to keep walking, they were really exhausted!

"Buzz!"

Just then, a large blue screen appeared in their line of sight.

"It's a leaderboard, only the top 50!"

Jiang Tao immediately spoke up after seeing the rankings:
"I haven't even made it into the top 50 yet. There are just too many geniuses from other civilizations!"

"I've comprehended the Law of Earth; it would be too embarrassing if I didn't even make it into the top 50!"

Having said that, he mustered his strength, gritted his teeth, and continued forward!

Lin Qi looked at the rankings. He didn't recognize the top few; they were all from other star systems.

He looked at the first-place Gutao, a man with a burly build like an iron tower, dark skin, walking at the very top, and had already walked two kilometers!
……

Lynch continued walking; although exhausted, he could still persevere!

Everyone is tired; it's all about willpower!

He sensed the movement of his cells, mobilized his mental energy to control them, and adjusted his breathing to quickly restore his physical strength.

"Hoohoo!"

With heavy steps, I adjusted my breathing and continued forward.

Throughout the process, he sensed the movement of cells, and even when fatigued, he gained a clearer understanding of how cells moved and exerted force.

Because the energy consumption is too high and the recovery speed cannot keep up with the consumption, he must be more economical in mobilizing his internal energy.

In this process, one might even improve their skills.

However, this process was really unpleasant.

For all martial artists, it is an ordeal; dizziness, shortness of breath, and other symptoms accompany them constantly, and they may not even be fully conscious.

"The rankings are out, I need to hurry up, I want to get into the top 50!"

The other talented players perked up immediately upon seeing the rankings, and some began to exert themselves and speed up their pace.

Some contestants have already fallen behind, especially the mentalists.

Many have only awakened two abilities; their internal strength and physical attributes are insufficient.

Fifteen hours passed in the blink of an eye.

At the very back of the group, a lean, well-built man in silver armor was panting heavily.

Sweat dripped continuously from his forehead. His features were resolute, but his face was weak, and sweat dripped down.

He hadn't sweated in a long time.

The steps were difficult; it took them half an hour to walk just 5 meters.

His consciousness became blurred, his body cracked and popped, his bones could not bear the weight, and his muscles had completely lost sensation.

His body had reached its limit, and blood was flowing from his mouth and nose.

"Tick!"

He felt that his body had reached its limit, and he was only being supported by his powerful mental strength.

"I'm a galaxy-level genius, how could I possibly fail to even pass the first level!"

"I fought my way out of the star field to enter the supreme power, how can I fall here!"

"This is so unfriendly to mentalists!"

"But it's okay, I have a strong will, I can persevere!"

He forced himself to overcome his exhaustion and control his leg muscles to move forward. "Pfft~"

A sweet taste rose in his throat, and a mouthful of blood, along with fragments of internal organs, gushed out.

My vision blurred, then went dark, and I completely lost consciousness.

"Oh!"

His body fell to the ground, and the sound attracted the attention of many people.

Then it vanished into nothingness, becoming the first contestant to collapse.

The first trial of the mind, 16 hours in, the first person was eliminated.

His death was like a fuse.

Three minutes later, another contestant coughed up blood, collapsed to the ground, and vanished into nothingness, eliminated and teleported away.

Five minutes later, the third person was eliminated.

"The spiritual trials are so unfair to us spiritual practitioners!"

Some people knew they had reached their limit, let out a loud shout, and finally collapsed to the ground, eliminated.

"It's clearly a matter of insufficient strength. The so-called mentalist is just an excuse."

"I'm also a mentalist, I won't be eliminated so early."

"It seems they come from a small star region. If they were in our Eternal Frost Star Region, they wouldn't even be able to get into the third round."

"It's also unfair to those geniuses who were eliminated."

Some people gave a disdainful smile.

The others also looked indifferent; they were too tired to even speak, and mechanically continued walking forward.

At this point, many people have reached their limit, and it all comes down to willpower.

On the large screen in the sky, in addition to the ranking of the top 50, there was another number in the corner representing the number of people eliminated.

The numbers change every now and then.

Within hours, hundreds of contestants had been successfully eliminated.

All those eliminated were mentalists.

24 hours later

At the front of the crowd, Lin Qi also felt physically exhausted and was feeling a bit dizzy.

However, his physical recovery ability is amazing, and he was able to watch the big screen again.

The top 50 remained largely unchanged, but the number of people eliminated has changed dramatically.

[Survivors: 106 million/108 million]

The number of contestants has decreased by a full 20,000!
In just one day, 20,000 people have already been eliminated!
This speed is really fast. He thought he would be eliminated in the third or fourth round.

In retrospect, he overestimated the strength and willpower of the other contestants!

But thinking about it, it's understandable. If someone with his physical condition felt so exhausted, how much more so would others?

He continued walking forward without slowing down, and before he knew it, he had overtaken one of the people.

The other person was indeed Lorraine. After seeing Lin Qi overtake her, she frowned and wanted to overtake him back.

Despite her physical exhaustion, she continued forward, but after an hour, she had to give up and stop to rest.

"Lin Qi's physical abilities are stronger than mine; I can't surpass him!"

In the blink of an eye, another 5 hours have passed.

"Someone has passed the first level!"

Suddenly someone spoke up ahead, and countless people looked towards the end.

"what!!"

A burly man, as tall as an iron tower, stepped across the finish line, stopped, and roared to the sky!

"Someone has already reached the finish line!"

"Too fast, too strong!"

"What is his body made of? Is he still a Sky-Soaring Realm martial artist?"

"Why is it that my body is so heavy that I can't walk anymore, while he can reach the finish line with ease?"

Guteau reached the finish line and successfully passed the first stage, causing a huge stir among the contestants.

[Congratulations to Gutao from the Barbarian Ancestor Starfield for becoming the first contestant to pass the first stage of the Mind Trial, with a time of 31 hours and 53 seconds!]

On the big screen, an intelligent voice rang out, and everyone heard it.

"It is said that the top ten finishers in each level will be notified so that everyone, including the audience, will know."

"I'm so envious!"

"What's there to envy? Think about how to reach the finish line. They've already cleared the level."

“We’ve only gone 5 kilometers so far, there are still 5 kilometers to go. I’m so tired that I don’t even want to talk anymore. There are still almost two days left, I don’t know if we can reach the finish line.”

The crowd whispered amongst themselves, their words broken and disjointed, clearly too exhausted to speak.

Standing at the finish line, Guteau looked at everyone with excitement and listened to their discussions, thoroughly enjoying himself.

He's the first one to clear the level, making a name for himself in the Barbarian Ancestral Starfield.

He grinned and said in a booming voice:
"Sorry everyone, I got first place in the first round. See you in the next round!"

"I'll be waiting for you all in the next level, so don't keep me waiting too long!"

After saying that, he turned around and walked into a black spatial wormhole, where he was teleported to the second level.

"That's incredibly arrogant!"

"However, he is indeed powerful and has the right to be arrogant. It is said that Gutao is the strongest genius from the Barbarian Ancestor Star Region. He is a special physique holder and has condensed 9 source veins."

"In the first level of the environment, who can compare to him!"

Jiang Tao, standing ahead, looked exhausted, but gritted his teeth and said:
"This guy is really good!"

"Taozi, you need to step up your game!"

He was startled when he suddenly saw Lin Qi appear beside him.

"Brother Qi, how come you're so fast?"

Lin Qi laughed and said, "I've always been at this speed, it's you who's slowed down!"

"Three kilometers to go, keep going!"

He looked towards the end, and after Guteau passed the first level, several geniuses had increased their speed!

Looking at the three-kilometer distance, Lin Qi decided to speed up a bit!

So the pace quickened!
Seeing this, Jiang Tao stared wide-eyed, wanting to catch up, but his body was too tired to keep up with his mind.

He could only watch as Lin Qi surpassed him.

……

[Congratulations to Pan Kai from Tianyuan Star Region for becoming the second contestant to pass the first trial!]

After Guta'o cleared the level, Pan Kai from the Tianyuan Star Region also successfully advanced. He was a burly man with sharp facial features.

Next up was Quintus, and one by one, the contestants successfully advanced to the second round.

Yao Yu became the 10th genius to clear the game.

Ahead of him were several other geniuses from other star regions, whom Lin Qi suspected were all geniuses with special physiques.

Despite not having grasped the Laws of Earth, he was still able to pass the first stage and be among the top ten.

Lynch himself gradually quickened his pace, overtaking one person after another.

Before we knew it, we had successfully reached the finish line in the 48th hour.

The last person he surpassed was Byers of the Universal Seas Society.

"Sorry, I was one step ahead of you!"

Before him was another red line, and under Byers's gaze, he stepped his entire body into the red line.

As his body crossed the finish line, he felt a sense of relief wash over him, as if the gravity had receded like a tide and the 10000 times gravitational force had dissipated.

"Kaka!!"

As his blood and qi surged out, Lin Qi felt completely relaxed.

"Whoo~"

He let out a heavy sigh!

Looking at the leaderboard in the sky.

[41th Place: Lin Qi (Liyang Star Region)]

This ranking was a little higher than he had expected.

He took a deep breath. There was no 10000 times the gravity now, but his physical strength was greatly depleted and he needed to recover.

My body was still feeling tired and sore, and I just wanted to find a place to lie down and sleep for the rest of my life.

His body involuntarily began to absorb the surrounding energy to restore his depleted strength.

"Lynch!"

Meanwhile, Byas became the 42nd genius to clear the game.

He looked at Lin Qi and said defiantly:

"I didn't expect you to beat me to it. I'll definitely be faster than you in the second round!"

Lynch smiled and said:
"Really? I'm looking forward to it!"

"However, I think I will still surpass you in the second round."

While the two were chatting, the other runners also arrived at the finish line one after another!

There were many people, exceeding 50, and Jiang Tao was among them. Unfortunately, he was the 51st to pass the level.

The God of War was even faster; his willpower was astonishing, and he was the 49th person to clear the level.

Moreover, he seems to still have energy left, no wonder he was once the second strongest on Earth.

"Let's go, it's time for the second level!"

Lin Qi looked at the black wormhole and turned to walk into it.

……

(End of this chapter)