Devouring the Stars: Soul Master

Chapter 173 Breaking the Trial Tower, Choosing a Master
"Then let's see who he chooses to become his disciple in the end, and see who he uses the best methods."

The Lord of Darkness smiled slightly, and then vanished.

It is extremely rare for two universe masters to simultaneously take a liking to a top genius.

But once it happens, it often comes down to who can offer better terms.

As the apparent leader of the human race, the Lord of Chaos City has indeed done a very good job. He is recognized for his fairness and impartiality, and many alien races in the Hong Alliance admire him.

However, this is also his biggest weakness.

Because his fairness and impartiality were also extended to his disciples.

As the most favored disciple of the Chaos City Lord, he didn't even have a decent treasure, and was ultimately ambushed by the Zerg, unable even to be resurrected.

This is undoubtedly a tragedy.

In truth, why should the so-called Lord of the Universe care about so many rules?

My rules are the rules!
It's because the Lord of Chaos City is too easy to talk to that he's been put on a pedestal.

If it were the Lord of Darkness, let alone giving his disciples precious treasures, even two supreme treasures, who would dare to utter a single word?
The Lord of Darkness is not well-known among humankind or in the primordial universe.

But the reputation of the Lord of Darkness in the Cosmic Sea was earned through bloodshed!
Of course, it is precisely the fairness and impartiality of the Chaos City Lord that has allowed the human race and the Hong Alliance to develop in peace. Whether this is good or bad is hard to say.

……

In the central square of the Genius Battle, millions of geniuses and numerous immortals remained silent.

When Qin Ming unleashed the sixth level of the Divine Weapon, all sound vanished, and everyone knew that he was a rising star.

It completely obscures the brilliance of all geniuses.

Even Bolan had long since lost the will to win.

Not to mention the sixth level of the universe, he couldn't even break through the defenses of the mountain colossus on the fourth level.

This is completely different level.

The greatest genius in the history of humankind, spanning billions of eons, has been born.

At this moment, everyone is concerned about only one thing.

That is Qin Ming. Can he pass the last level for the first time in history?
When the power of the world appeared, the mechanical puppet on the fifth floor was dismantled into pieces by Qin Ming as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

No one believed that the colossal star beast Cang on the sixth floor could withstand Qin Ming.

Just as they imagined.

When Qin Ming stepped into the final sixth level, even though the strength of those 10 star beasts was already extremely abnormal, even much stronger than the star beasts in reality!
Each of the colossal star beasts possesses the fifth level of the Divine Suppression Weapon realm in terms of their understanding of the laws.

Unfortunately, under the sharp edge of the world's power, its scales were easily torn apart, turning into a pile of broken limbs.

……

The seventh trial tower, seventh floor.

As far as the eye can see, it is an endless desert.

In the oasis in the middle of the desert, there is a huge mother nest with a diameter of 300 meters. Poisonous gas is escaping from the mother nest, and venom is flowing everywhere.

A 300-meter-long mother nest is already enormous.

The Zerg are not known for their size.

Even the mother nest of a peak world lord level is only 800 meters in diameter!
When Qin Ming stepped into the seventh floor, from the honeycomb structure on the surface of the 300-meter-diameter mother nest, triangular-headed insectoids covered with blue carapaces and covered with a little sticky fluid emerged.

These Zerg warriors have four forelimbs like swords and two semi-transparent wings on their backs.

And in an instant, 3000 appeared!
In three consecutive rounds, 9000 Zerglings emerged, all of them being 'Blue Mantises'.

As for the final round, however, the Blue Mantis no longer appeared.

Instead, a horde of red, crustacean-like insectoids emerged, their auras far stronger than those of the Green Mantis.

With the Zerg Queen Irina inside the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, and the large number of Zerg warrior corpses purchased, Qin Ming could naturally recognize that these were elite combat units of the Zerg, Blood Mantises.

Looking at the overwhelming number of Zerg warriors, Qin Ming couldn't help but gasp.

Judging from their aura, even the cannon fodder unit, the Green Mantis, is stronger than the mechanical golems on the fifth floor!
Each Blood Mantis is as powerful as the sixth-level Starry Sky Beast, Cang!
Blood Mantis is not only more powerful in combat, but even more terrifying is its leadership ability.

A force of 9000 Green Mantises, led by 1000 Blood Mantises, can easily slaughter 1000 Starry Sky Beasts!

"This seventh-level Zerg Queen is far stronger than the sixth-level Starry Sky Beast Cang!"

Qin Ming's gaze also became extremely solemn, and he also felt immense pressure.

This is only the first batch born from the mother nest!
Based on the experience from the previous trial towers, the mother hive will spawn a second batch of Zerg warriors in about 20 minutes, and they will be even stronger!

"We must end this battle before the second wave of Zerg spawns!"

Qin Ming knew this clearly.

There are too many opponents on this level. If I can't defeat them quickly, I won't be able to hold out for long with my mental strength in the Trial Tower.

Without the support of the soul aura of the Myriad Souls Banner, it was still too difficult to unleash the sixth level of the Divine Weapon, 'Universal World,' with the mental power of a ninth-level stellar weapon.

This is why Qin Ming was able to quickly resolve the battles on the fifth and sixth floors.

"The whole world!"

Within the Universal Suppressing Tower, fragments of Star-Suppressing Stones burst forth. As the secret runes surged, the surrounding world rapidly changed, with sharp fluctuations of world power flowing within it.

Capture the thief first and capture the king!
The battle can be ended simply by killing the Zerg Queen in the hive.

"呲-"

However, as soon as Qin Ming rushed out, he felt an extremely powerful soul impact drill into his sea of ​​consciousness from the void.

Soul attack!

Every Zerg Queen is a master of the soul.

The moment the Queen of the Insect Nest noticed Qin Ming charging towards her, she launched a soul attack.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the palace formed by the Nine Hells trembled, and cracks were faintly visible.

That vast power of the soul seemed to transform into a swarm of insectoid creatures, frantically tearing at the palace, trying to rip it apart.

Even with his soul amplitude 20 times stronger, he almost couldn't withstand the Zerg Queen's soul attack.

In reality, there is a Ten Thousand Souls Banner guarding the souls.

With the hundreds of millions of powerful souls within the Myriad Soul Banner, as well as soul talents such as Netherworld Regeneration and Domination, he is not afraid of even the strongest soul attacks.

They could even unleash a combined soul attack to instantly kill the Zerg Queen.

But this is in a virtual universe!

However, Qin Ming had already made preparations for this battle of geniuses.

"Ninefold Hell—Indestructible Through Eternity!"

With a low shout, the secret patterns on the palace formed by the Nine Hells in his soul's sea of ​​consciousness flowed, and the cracks were constantly repaired, firmly blocking all attacks from the outside.

"Soul Blade!"

A surge of vibrant spiritual power erupted forth, transforming into countless soul blades that clashed with the Zerg warriors conjured from the Zerg Queen's soul power within her sea of ​​consciousness.

A prolonged defense will inevitably lead to defeat! Only by attacking can he create an opportunity to kill the Zerg Queen!
"At most five minutes! The soul power of this body will be completely exhausted!"

Feeling the rapidly depleting soul power, Qin Ming knew the truth.

brush!
In an instant, Qin Ming, riding on the Shattered Star Shuttle, created a full ten thousand illusory bodies in mid-air and charged towards the Zerg Queen.

With the support of the power of the world within the universe, he found it much easier to unleash the Myriad Illusions Body than before.

Roar!Roar!Roar!
The ten thousand insectoids, led by Blood Mantis, also attacked Qin Ming at the same time.

Long-range energy attacks and close-quarters combat quickly formed a comprehensive and three-dimensional combat system.

"boom--"

Across the entire universe, a Zerg squad led by Blood Mantis roared as it tore apart phantoms; these Zerg warriors were incredibly fast.

However, in the next instant, the power of the world condensed into a halberd blade, tearing the leading blood mantis apart.

Even the Blood Mantis couldn't withstand the power of the world.

However, there were too many Zerg warriors attacking from all sides, numbering in the thousands, while Qin Ming could only condense a limited amount of world power at the same time.

Moreover, being simultaneously attacked by the Zerg Queen's soul, his ability to unleash the Universe would also be affected.

Not just melee combat!
In the distance, hundreds of Zerg warriors unleashed energy attacks imbued with primal laws from their sharp claws and fangs.

Under Qin Ming's icy gaze, these attacks converged into a single point in the void.

When all the energy comes together.

boom--

A terrifying energy shockwave swept in.

Energy Combo!

The Zerg's most powerful attack!

If a million peak-level Zerg world lords were gathered together and unleashed a combined attack, even an invincible king would be severely injured!

"World Barrier!"

Qin Ming roared, and the power of the world around him suddenly condensed, forming a thick defensive barrier around him.

The Zhen Shenbing, which combines earth and air elements, excels most in defense!

boom! boom! boom!
The terrifying energy surge caused violent tremors throughout the universe, as if it could be destroyed at any moment.

One by one, the illusory forms disintegrated amidst the surging energy fluctuations.

But in the end, it still managed to block it.

But while Qin Ming was holding back, the Zerg warriors surrounded him from all directions.

Phew! Phew! Phew!

The blades, formed from the power of the world, slashed wildly, killing one Zerg warrior after another. However, there were too many Zerg warriors charging forward, and some still managed to break through the blockade.

"Foolish! Do you really think I'm not good at close combat?"

A sinister smile crept across Qin Ming's lips.

He swung his hands, gripping the Eight Desolations Halberd, and a faint black light surged from his body, making the surrounding space feel solid and heavy.

It seemed to possess an infinite gravitational pull, tearing these Zerg warriors apart.

Qin Ming's halberd was incredibly powerful, slaying more than ten approaching Zerg warriors.

Even the Blood Mantis couldn't withstand his attack.

Black Hole Battle Body!
After receiving the secret technique of "Black Hole Evolution" bestowed by Master Qianwu, the mountain giant began to learn its various secret methods.

The "Black Hole Battle Body" is the most core combat technique in "Black Hole Evolution".

When one cultivates to the extreme, a black hole can be created by a punch, a knife, a sword, or even a single thought.

At this moment, Qin Ming was far from reaching his limit.

However, with the combined support of the Black Hole Battle Body and the Universe World, it was far beyond the capabilities of these Zerg warriors.

boom! boom! boom!
A series of combined explosions rang out around Qin Ming, the violent energy fluctuations seemingly about to tear him apart completely.

However, Qin Ming eventually broke through.

"Die!"

When he rushed to within a kilometer of the mother nest, a sinister glint appeared in Qin Ming's eyes.

"Click——"

The halberd blade, formed from the power of the world, tore through the hard outer shell of the mother nest, and Qin Ming instantly rushed in along the crack.

In an instant, he appeared before a Zerg queen who was about three meters tall and had an exquisite figure.

hum!
The Zerg Queen's eyes turned bloodshot, her veins bulged all over her body, and she let out a sharp roar. The intensity of the soul attack in her sea of ​​consciousness instantly increased several times.

The surging power of the soul tore the nine-layered palace apart almost instantly.

Before the Zerg Queen could rejoice, Qin Ming swung his halberd down fiercely, cleaving her in two from head to toe.

Zerg Queen—Dead!

The instant the Zerg Queen died, the Zerg warriors who rushed in behind her froze instantly, like robots that had lost power, their bodies losing control.

"Phew! That was close—"

Looking at the shattered corpse of the Zerg Queen, Qin Ming let out a soft breath.

In order to kill the Zerg Queen, he used all his means, and finally killed her by close combat.

If it had been any later, his soul defenses would have been breached, and he would have been the one to die.

An invisible repulsion surged from all directions, and the surrounding environment gradually became illusory, just like when I had passed through the Trial Tower several times before.

hum-

When the surrounding environment solidified again, Qin Ming's surroundings had already changed.

It wasn't the central square I had imagined.

Instead, it is a vast starry sky.

In the starry sky, two majestic and vast figures, exuding an aura of boundless greatness, appeared, their gazes fixed intently on Qin Ming.

……

The Secret Realm of Qianwu, within a Heavenly-level Manor.

Suddenly, Qin Ming heard the voice of the Qianwu Kingdom Lord in his ear.

"Qin Ming, listen to me! Two universe lords have taken a liking to you. One is the Chaos City Lord I told you about before, and the other is..."

"Don't worry about me, choose the teacher who is most suitable for you!"

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

(End of this chapter)