My skills have mutated again!

Chapter 379 Thousand-Layered Tower, Dark Horses

A skyscraper rises from the ground, its top invisible.

When Xia Lin arrived at the square, the area around Qianzhonglou was already crowded with people.

As Xia Lin approached, the crowd automatically parted, revealing the path leading to the building to her.

The shadow of a famous tree.

After the Human race's preliminary rounds, which were abruptly interrupted, Xia Lin finally stood on the highest stage of the Ember Zone and became known to everyone.

I could faintly hear people talking.

"This is Xia Lin?"

"Hmm, the experts on the Demon Emperor's side... are said to be even stronger than Donald, the first-ranked demon!"

Xia Lin stated that firstly, she had not pledged allegiance to the Demon Emperor, and secondly, she was no match for Donald.

But rumors are always like that, getting more and more outrageous as they spread, and Xia Lin was too lazy to clarify anything.

Soon, he walked to the tower and came to Donald's side.

……

"The Thousand-Layered Tower is one of the most precious treasures of the King of Kings."

"The functions aren't really important. After all, it's just a venue and it won't show any power to us juniors. Just follow the rules once you're inside."

Donald possessed leadership qualities, constantly reminding his companions of important points, while Xia Lin's gaze was fixed on the walls of the Thousand-Layer Building.

A faint light appeared, as if revealing something. Soon, accompanied by gasps from the crowd, the light rapidly distorted and transformed into a real scene.

In the scene, Wuxin's figure appears out of nowhere!

Xia Lin chuckled at the sight.

"Wow, it even has a live streaming function!"

This building does indeed have a live streaming function.

After all, this isn't a particularly remarkable feature.

This undoubtedly made it easier for Xia Lin to spy on Wu Xin's background.

"But the initial tests also prevented Wuxin from playing more of his trump cards."

Donald said this from the side, and then gestured for Xia Lin to proceed.

"Shall we go in and take a look? Let's test the water temperature of this Thousand-Layer Tower first?"

Xia Lin nodded immediately.

……

A thousand-story building opens its doors in all directions.

Looking from the outside into the room, it was pitch black, and nothing could be seen.

The moment Xia Lin stepped into the building, he felt a sudden dizziness and a sense of teleportation—this building clearly possessed spatial abilities.

When Xia Lin opened her eyes, she found herself in a pure white space.

A sound similar to the Ember Zone notification tone rang in my ears, but slightly softer.

Please select your test type.

[Category 1: Puzzle Games]

[Part Two: Combat]

【Three: General Category】

[Note: Please select the test type that best suits you. The rewards will be the same after passing the test.]

[Note: This option will remain active for ten levels! It will reappear after you pass the tenth level.]

Xia Lin smiled knowingly.

The King of Kings is relatively mild-mannered...

The rules of the Thousand Towers are much more lenient. Not only is there a rule that travelers in the Ash Zone cannot harm each other, but travelers in the Ash Zone can also choose the type of trial they want to take advantage of.

Without much thought, Xia Lin simply made her choice: "Combat type."

The earlier levels can't be too difficult.

With Xia Lin's combat strength, a straightforward victory is sufficient; there's no need for any fancy maneuvers.

With Xia Lin's selection complete, the light shone once more.

Soon, a stone golem appeared in front of Xia Lin.

[Level 1 Assessment, now begins!]

The golem's eyes suddenly flashed red!
The moment it moved, it immediately displayed attributes in the millions!
However, before the golem could make any further moves, a simple finger strike, like a bullet, pierced the golem's energy center in its heart.

A piercing explosion rang out, the golem's chest shattered, it froze on the spot, and finally dissipated into light.

Xia Lin grinned.

"To see only a part of the whole picture and reach the top of this thousand-story building is quite a challenge."

A million-level attribute isn't considered strong; all the Ember Walkers in Oath City could easily deal with a puppet of this strength.

But you should know that this is only the first level of the Thousand-Layer Tower, and there are still 999 more levels to come!
But only with this level of difficulty can Wuxin be forced to play more cards... Anyway, Xia Lin felt that the more difficult the Thousand-Layer Tower test was, the better!
"Another point is the issue of rewards..."

"Only by offering high rewards can we motivate unsuspecting and hidden talents to climb higher and demonstrate their strength."

What Xia Lin was looking forward to arrived soon.

You have passed the first level of the Thousand-Layer Tower.

Please choose one of the following three options.

[One: 1000 points of attribute bonus exceeding the limit.]

[Second: 1 point of racial stat.]

[Three: 1 piece of divinely bestowed source material.]

Xia Lin simply chose option three, then looked at the three rewards and breathed a sigh of relief.

"The reward for this Thousand-Layer Tower doesn't look cheap."

……

Outside, apart from a few powerful individuals, most people have not yet begun to ascend the building.

The logic is simple: since there's a live stream anyway, waiting for others to explore the route is always a good option.

Some people even used special methods to transmit the live broadcast from the tower to the distant city of Oath. For a time, all the countless warriors in the myriad races of Oath City became like students on holiday, holding their screens and unwilling to let go.

"There's no point in watching Wuxin..."

In a restaurant near the Oath Square, Bao Bowen watched the battle with Wenrou and others.

The screen was showing a scene of Wuxin's trial.

I unintentionally chose the combat-type challenge, but the completion speed was very slow.

Because he only uses his biological form, his actual combat power is insufficient, resulting in a low efficiency in clearing the level...

After observing for a while, Bao Bowen discovered that Wuxin in his biological form still relied on the same three things: immortality, curses, and evolution.

I promptly changed the channel, focusing my attention on Donald's side.

Compared to Wuxin, Donald's efficiency in clearing the level was absurd.

Only an hour has passed, and Donald has already arrived at the 382nd floor!

The virtual examiner opposite him was incredibly strong, yet he was still instantly defeated and taken away by Donald.

After looking at it for a while, Bao Bowen shook his head.

"The gap between Boss Leng and this person is too great, there is no point in comparing them."

A gentle smile appeared on her face as she asked, "What about Xia Lin? How does Xia Lin compare to Donald?"

Before Bao Bowen could think or respond, Xia Lin's voice rang in Wenrou's ear.

"I'm nowhere near as good as Lao Tang..."

As he said this, Xia Lin sat down next to Wenrou.

However, after passing the 130th level of trials, Xia Lin decisively left the Thousandfold Tower and refused to undergo any further trials.

……

"The reward is quite substantial."

"But the first hundred levels mainly focus on innate source quality, evolution points, attributes and racial values, and the higher the level, the more of these there are."

Xia Lin slowly opened his mouth and explained the reward mode of the Thousand-Layer Tower.

"As for what happens after the hundredth floor, skills and items will appear... The lowest quality is SS, and racial foundation level items will inevitably appear later, but whether there will be any good six-pillar level items, I don't know."

As soon as Xia Lin finished speaking, Bao Bowen immediately said, "Yes, definitely. Lord Chaoxing reminded me that a six-pillar level reward will appear at this stage."

"It is said that the six pillars have invested a lot in this battle of the myriad races."

Xia Lin also knew about this.

The so-called investment in the six pillars is not limited to the investment in one's own Ember Walkers, but also includes the investment in rewards during the assessment.

"By the way, why did you stop?"

Wenrou asked Xia Lin a question, and Xia Lin thought for a moment before giving an answer.

"I'm not in a hurry anyway. I mainly want to come out and see how other people are being assessed."

He glanced at Wuxin's assessment screen and watched for a while before complaining, "Turns out this kid isn't arrogant enough; he's more cautious than I expected."

Xia Lin thought Wuxin would just unleash his dead form and sweep everything away, but he's been dragging his feet, and now his progress is even slower than Xia Lin's...

Watch it for free!

Bao Bowen laughed and said, "Don't worry, it won't be long before this person is forced to use some real methods."

He then concluded, "From Donald's perspective, I've summarized the patterns in combat-related assessments."

"The first ten floors are based on a million attribute, with each floor increasing by a million."

"Upon reaching the tenth level, one becomes a virtual examiner with tens of millions of total attributes, but possesses only attributes, not talents or skills."

"From the tenth to the twentieth level, each level increases the value by ten million. By the twentieth level, it has already exceeded one hundred million!"

With a base attribute value exceeding 100 million, it is enough to pose a fatal threat to the vast majority of Ash Zone Walkers!

"Starting from the 21st level, the growth rate slows down until the 100th level, when the virtual examiner's attributes reach one billion... At the 200th level, it reaches 10 billion, triggering the first Third Law."

"Three hundred triggers of the second and third laws..."

"But at level 350, the virtual examiner triggered the third law of the third law."

In the midst of the live broadcast, Donald had already broken through the four hundred-story building.

The virtual examiner, who was at level 401, surprisingly displayed the attribute of triggering the third law for the fourth time!
This attribute falls between the Human race's Sequence 3 Coldness and Sequence 4 Weaving Way!

"From the perspective of increasing difficulty, this test is actually not simple. I personally think that even for Wuxin, Donald, and you, it would be difficult to reach the top."

Xia Lin thought for a moment, then chuckled.

"That's great. But it also makes us look like donkeys attracted by carrots..."

Bao Bowen said that six-pillar level treasures would appear during this stage.

Every six-pillar-level treasure is a target that everyone will strive for—because this reward might change the current balance of power.

Xia Lin wasn't entirely without thoughts on this.

Suddenly, a cry of alarm rang out from outside.

The faint sound of "over, over" caught Xia Lin's attention.

Outside, in front of the towering building, crowds thronged.

Most of the people huddled together, staring at the light screen in front of them.

However, the image playing on the screen wasn't Donald, who was progressing the fastest, but another familiar face: Qin Tai!

At this very moment, Qin Tai rapidly ascended the tower and overtook Donald!
Xia Lin found it quite unusual...

In terms of combat strength, Qin Tai is far inferior to Donald.

After a moment's observation, Xia Lin understood.

Because Qin Tai chose a comprehensive test, not a combat-based one!

Bao Bowen's voice rang out beside me.

"The comprehensive test is similar to the virtual Ember Zone. There are tasks, but no rewards. After choosing the comprehensive test, the specific assessment content cannot be seen from the outside world, and the internal time flow is also different from that of the outside world."

"But regardless, Qin Tai's speed is indeed fast."

After a brief comment, Bao Bowen smiled and said, "It's not surprising. It's said that the King of Kings has invested in Qin Tai, so this man's strength will probably undergo a qualitative change."

"But Qin Tai is not the main point."

As he said this, Bao Bowen tapped the table and pointed to several other light screens.

"I think you should take a look at those guys instead."

Xia Lin turned her head and looked away.

Several Ash District travelers, some strangers and some acquaintances, came into Xia Lin's view.

……

The universe is full of hidden talents and powerful beings.

Every race sequence war has seen dark horses emerge and become etched in the memory of the world.

This time, the Myriad Races Sequence Battle is larger in scale and of a higher level, offering not only high rewards but also the best stage to make a name for oneself.

For profit, for fame.

The dark horse then emerged from obscurity and took center stage.

"But how many grassroots underdogs can actually succeed? There is a possibility of a dark horse emerging from the grassroots, but as for the big dark horses, those one or two are definitely all secretly cultivated agents by various companies."

Looking at the several people on the screen, Bao Bowen spoke slowly to Xia Lin.

……

The 305th floor of the Thousand-Layer Tower.

Giant Sequence One Ocres blasted his opponent to death with a powerful punch!

This is not surprising, after all, Ocres is the strongest Limit Breaker in the Ember Zone on the surface, and he still has some foundation.

But Ocres's condition is strange.

His eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept for three days and three nights.

His expression was a mix of crying and laughing, looking extremely distorted.

As the next level began, and Ocres roared and threw a punch, Xia Lin suddenly narrowed his eyes, realizing something was wrong.

"He was deliberately hiding his strength, but he wasn't hiding it well."

"This person's strength is seriously inconsistent with the existing intelligence."

According to the information Xia Lin already possesses, Ocres's properties fall between the seventh and eighth Third Laws.

This attribute surpasses the Human Race Sequence Three Coldness, but Limit Breakers do not have as many combat methods as Warriors, so it cannot be said that his actual combat power is necessarily stronger than Coldness.

But right now, this person's attributes have soared to the level of the tenth Third Law!
Intelligence is time-sensitive, so Xia Lin can understand situations where intelligence does not match the facts.

However, there must be a limit to this. A difference of two to three levels in judgment is by no means a problem that can be explained by the timeliness of intelligence.

Bao Bowen slowly began, “Just a few days ago, the Six Pillars summoned the Sun, and the Old One summoned Ocres. The Old One only summoned him.”

"It seems that the Overlord has given Ocres a lot of benefits right now, but I estimate that what Ocres is showing right now is not the whole story."

"Therefore, it is necessary to take precautions against this person."

Xia Lin watched as Ocres passed through three challenges and nodded slightly.

Judging from the attributes Ocres is currently displaying, he still poses no threat to Xia Lin, but it's hard to guarantee that a certain sixth-pillar level technique bestowed by the Overlord could teach Xia Lin a profound lesson.

He turned his gaze to the next person.

This is also someone I only know a little bit.

That uncertain shadow named Shadow.

This person also chose the combat-type test mode, but his combat methods were completely different from Xia Lin's, the unpredictable shadow!
On the 265th floor, a fierce battle rages between the shadow and the virtual puppet.

Various skills shot out from Shadow Hands; within seconds, he unleashed hundreds of completely different skills!
Furthermore, the attributes and even the appearance of the shadow itself are constantly changing, like a slime that can be transformed at will. The most prominent feature is its unpredictability and immeasurability!

"The random mechanism of the Unseen Shadow..."

Xia Lin made a guess in his mind.

In the past, Xia Lin obtained a skill called "A Random Skill" and guessed that the Shadow of Uncertainty had a completely random system.

What Shadow excels at is clearly this completely random system—not only are his skills random, but even his form, attributes, and racial stats change randomly.

"So is it possible that... this uncertain shadow called Shadow can randomly generate a form and attribute that rivals or even surpasses Wuxin?"

Xia Lin was taken aback when Bao Bowen made this assumption.

Soon, Xia Lin, who was also an Uncertain Shadow, gave a definite answer.

"It's probabilistic..."

Because of the Unseen Shadow, it also possesses the Miracle mechanic!

This led Xia Lin to think of even more things.

He thought of the skill called Eternal Freeze that the Demon Emperor had given him.

These uncertain shadows and eternal pillars are both mutually antagonistic and mutually reinforcing!

As the second dual-class user of uncertain and eternal nature after Xia Lin, Ying seems to have the potential to combine a fully random system, a miracle system, and a solidification system into a unified whole, thereby unleashing a combat power that will blow people away!

"Fortunately, this person is from our side."

Bao Bowen gleaned some information from Xia Lin's expression. He muttered something under his breath, only the two of them could hear, and then pointed to the third light screen.

"This person is named Ning Feng."

Xia Lin turned to look at Ning Feng, and it was easy to tell his allegiance from his appearance and clothing.

Despite his young age, he wore an old-fashioned robe, clearly belonging to the side of the Heavenly Creator.

Unlike others, this person chose a puzzle-solving type of challenge.

—Endless light and shadow flickered in front of Ning Feng. Xia Lin did not know the specific information of the test, but he could feel the complexity and dazzling effect from the light and shadow.

Then I started to feel dizzy.

Like a slacker who stumbles upon an advanced math problem.

Then look at the floor number again.

399 floors...

Old Bao slowly said, "This person is one of the hidden experts from the side of the Heavenly Dao Creator... He chose puzzle-solving tasks that did not test combat strength all the way up. However, although puzzle-solving tasks do not test combat strength, they are recognized as the most difficult and the most time-consuming."

"However, this person's progress in the strategy is second only to Donald and Qin Tai, ranking third."

"Leaving aside this person's combat strength and ability system... On the surface, this person is similar to Xu Haonan, but his mind and methods may be stronger than Xu Haonan's."

Xia Lin thought of the pairing of Lin Xiantian and Xu Haonan in the old fantasy novel.

One provides military support, the other provides intellectual support...

Well, looking back now, it seems like the Lin brothers, Lin Xiantian and Xu Haonan, were just there for laughs.

"It is currently unknown whether there will be team battles or other forms of challenges in the subsequent stages."

This is only the preliminary stage of the multi-race sequence war.

Even in the main competition, it doesn't necessarily have to be a one-on-one ring battle.

And Wuxin's combat power is no joke... especially if he's paired with an exceptional external brain...

Xia Lin squinted at the man named Ning Feng, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"And finally, there is this person named Yuan Zhuo."

Bao Bowen raised his hand and pointed again, and Xia Lin looked in that direction.

However, they discovered that the person named Yuan Zhuo was still on the 53rd floor, having chosen a combat-type test. His combat strength was quite ordinary, even below average.

Bao Bowen dispelled Xia Lin's doubts with a single sentence.

"Reliable intelligence indicates that this is the only traveler summoned by the original dark side during the previous audience with the Six Pillars..."

……

Bao Bowen truly lives up to his reputation for resourcefulness; he even managed to find out about something like this.

Xia Lin sighed heavily, but remained silent.

He was well aware that this battle of the myriad races was not to select the strongest Ash Zone Walker, but rather a chessboard of the six pillars.

Currently, it appears that it's not just the Creator of Heaven and the Demon Emperor who have made their moves; the other pillars have also participated.

I glanced sideways at another light screen.

In the light screen, Leng Mo and Hei Xing ascended the steps one after another. Leaving aside Hei Xing, only Leng Mo was mentioned. His methods were much more varied than last time, as if his martial arts had improved again.

Then I looked at Qin Tai, Ocres, Yuan Zhuo...

These correspond to Superstar, King of Kings, Old Ruler, and even the primordial dark side of the mindless.

Time passes slowly.

As the sun sets and night falls, darkness descends.

After a day, the challengers left the tower to rest.

This record for the first day was jointly set by Qin Tai and Donald: 500 floors!
"The first half is just to tease you and give you a little reward. The real challenge begins from floor 501!"

This was Donald's advice to Charlene at dinner.

"However, the rewards are indeed quite good... The Dream Master just told me that starting from the 991st floor, each floor will provide the player with either a six-pillar-level item or a six-pillar-level skill!"

Xia Lin was taken aback.

"Every floor!? And every single person?"

Donald nodded emphatically: "Yes, every level has one, and every Ash Walker who can clear it will receive a six-pillar level reward!"

Wholesale of six-pillar-level products!?
But considering that all six pillars have already focused their attention on this battle of the myriad races, such a move is not surprising.

Not enough props?

How can there be a problem with not having enough?
A six-pillar level item is just a small gadget that a six-pillar can casually squeeze.
Thinking of this, Xia Lin noticed that Donald's expression turned serious.

"Additional news."

"Items are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. The first person to complete the level gets to choose first, and those who are slower can only pick up what's left."

"So, brother, you wasted a whole day today because of a mistake in your operation."

Xia Lin just smiled.

The assessment period is in January, and this is only the first day.

Furthermore, the difficulty of the Thousand-Layer Tower increases progressively, and the six-pillar level reward only exists in the last ten levels.

"Don't talk about that. Whether I can get through the last ten floors is still uncertain."

This preliminary round isn't about who can pass the test, it's about who can stand the highest.

Xia Lin even had reason to suspect that the Six Pillars had no intention of expecting anyone to pass the Thousand-Layer Tower test—including Wuxin.

That's what they say, but Xia Lin doesn't do it that way.

Dinner had just ended when Xia Lin hurried to the Thousand-Layer Tower and began climbing the stairs.

(End of this chapter)