This villain is too popular.

Chapter 404 Data on Changsheng Island in the Occupied Area [Two-in-One]

"monster?"

Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Dao laughed, and the golden light of immortal star energy flickered gently in its pupils.

He brushed the pebbles off his shoulder and spoke the most inhuman words in the most relaxed tone.

"I'm not a monster, just an ordinary person with 'some talent'."

There are many geniuses in the New Federation.

Putting aside other things, Caroline, Yagami Rin, and even Chen Kong and Liu Ma, these lower-level Star Children, can all be considered undisputed geniuses.

The raccoon keeper has seen many geniuses, including top talents like Ennett.

But among all the geniuses it has ever seen, Tiandao is always the best.

It even felt that even someone like Ennet wouldn't be able to achieve what Tiandao has done at his age.

"Monster"—that's its most objective assessment of the Dao.

Upon thinking of Ennet, the flames in the raccoon keeper's purple eye sockets suddenly froze, and his body, formed of black mist, became momentarily transparent.

"Ordinary people?"

The voice of the Shadow Nightmare echoed heavily, and its body, formed of black mist, trembled slightly.

"Ennett said something similar back then."

As soon as the words were spoken, a large amount of violent black mist and black lightning erupted from its body.

Immediately afterwards, countless distorted human faces emerged from the black mist, screaming and wailing.
That was the fear it devoured from countless humans when it ruled the Black Mist-occupied area.

As one of the few calamity-level star beasts that clearly understood the concept of 'sustainable development,' it forcibly protected everyone in the Black Mist Zone.

The purpose is to make them generate a continuous source of fear energy for themselves.

Although its purpose was not pure, in terms of results, it is indeed one of the few Cataclysmic Star Beasts with no 'kill record'.

Instead of rushing to attack the Heavenly Dao, the raccoon administrator looked down at the golden bell around his neck.

The bell, crafted by Ennet himself, is now emitting a faint golden light, the 'shackles' that seal seventy percent of its power.

Back then, it wreaked havoc in the occupied territories, and humans called it the 'source of nightmares,' until Ennet appeared before it and shattered it all with a single punch.

Thinking of this, the raccoon keeper raised his hand, and black mist surged from the ground, condensing into dozens of barbed tentacles that attacked the Heavenly Dao from all directions.

The tentacles attacked with a sharp whistling sound, each one containing enough power to tear apart alloy.

"Come on! Let me see what you're really capable of!"

“Back then, Ennett defeated me with his fists. Today, I’ll see if you can do the same.”

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of tentacles attacked with a sharp whooshing sound, like an impenetrable black net, sealing off all of Heaven's escape routes.

The tentacles left charred marks as they swept through the air, as if tearing space itself apart.

Caroline watched in horror from a distance, as alarms blared incessantly on her terminal.

She wanted to intervene, but seeing Tiandao's calm expression, she ultimately chose to watch everything silently.

She knew Tiandao's character well; he would never allow anyone to rashly interfere with his 'stage'.

Sure enough, just as these tentacles were about to land on the Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Dao spoke again.

"Vector. Invert".

The voice of the Heavenly Dao was very calm, and an invisible vector force field unfolded around him, transforming into a semi-transparent barrier.

The moment the first tentacle struck the barrier, it was like hitting an impregnable city wall, instantly shattering into tiny black specks of light that scattered in the air.

Immediately afterwards, a second and a third tentacles came one after another, shattering one after another, with black light spots falling like a meteor shower.

Amidst the countless points of light, the figure of the Heavenly Dao moved about like a ghost.

He didn't use any complicated techniques; he simply relied on Sage Mode to enhance his exaggerated physical abilities, allowing him to nimbly dodge through the gaps between the tentacles.

Pale golden fluorescent patterns flowed across his skin. With each push-off and turn, he precisely avoided attacks, his movements as fluid as a magnificent dance.

Upon seeing this, the raccoon keeper's purple eye sockets suddenly contracted.

Its tentacles could attack at supersonic speeds, but the Heavenly Dao seemed to anticipate the attack trajectory and always managed to dodge them by the slightest margin.

This extraordinary responsiveness reminded it of Ennet once again.

That man was the same way back then; no matter how fast its attack was, he could easily dodge it.

Just as the raccoon keeper was distracted, the Heavenly Dao suddenly accelerated!
The ground beneath his feet cracked again, and his body transformed into a golden meteor, breaking through the last few tentacles and instantly appearing before the Shadow Nightmare.

For a creature ten meters tall, the figure of the Heavenly Dao was undoubtedly insignificant at this moment.

But this seemingly insignificant human being has now made it sense 'danger'.

Without giving him much time to think, the golden light in the Heavenly Dao's eyes shone brightly, and all the immortal star energy in his body gathered on his right fist, the fluorescent patterns shining dazzlingly.

The fist's surface even caused a slight distortion in the surrounding space due to the excessive concentration of energy.

Its immense power is evident.

As Tiandao's right fist slammed out, time seemed to stand still.

The raccoon keeper could clearly see the golden light flowing on the Heavenly Dao's fist, hear the 'sizzling' sound of its own black mist body due to fear, and even recall the unparalleled, suffocating feeling of Anite shattering its body with a single punch.

In the slowed-down anime footage, the fist of the Heavenly Dao, wreathed in golden flames, struck the Shadow Nightmare precisely in the chest.

This is where its nightmare core is located, and also the core location where Ennet was sealed away.

boom!
With a sudden burst of celestial star energy, a pale golden light exploded from its chest.

The next second, a huge gap was torn open in the raccoon keeper's massive black mist body, and countless black light spots dissipated in the light.

The fear that was once swallowed up has now transformed into particles of free light, drifting throughout the world.

"Roar!"

The raccoon keeper let out a painful yet relieved roar.

Then its body began to disintegrate rapidly, and the black mist around it scattered in all directions as if blown away by the wind, while the flames in its purple eye sockets gradually dimmed.

As the golden bell around its neck rang out its last crisp "ding," its body, along with the surrounding black mist, transformed into countless points of light and appeared above the abandoned plaza.

As the light faded, a pale golden rune fell to the ground, bearing Ennet's unique mark—proof of passing the test.

"call"

The raccoon's figure reappeared before the Heavenly Dao.
It slumped to the ground, its round face full of exhaustion, yet with a relieved smile.

"You passed."

Seeing the raccoon curled up into a round ball after exhaustion, the fluorescent patterns around Tiandao's body and the golden light in his pupils faded simultaneously. As the physical burden brought on by Sage Mode receded like a tide, Tiandao felt a rare sense of fatigue.

He patted his knees and caught his breath, then walked over to the raccoon and plopped down next to it, laughing as he said, "It was just luck. If you hadn't had seventy percent of your power sealed by the Golden Bell, I wouldn't have won so easily."

"Where did this luck come from?"

The raccoon waved its paw, its paw pads slapping the ground with a soft 'thud,' its round face full of carefree joy.

Whether you have enough strength or not, whether you win or not, are all part of your ability. If you can win, you win. There are no "ifs".

As soon as it finished speaking, a pale blue transmission light, like a gentle stream of water, silently flowed over the ankles of the two people.

At the same time, the domain power of the Eternal Nightmare rapidly dissolved in the light, and the dark clouds in the sky were completely blown away.

Sunlight filtered through the cracks in the ruins, casting dappled patterns on the rubble. Even the musty smell in the air seemed to lessen, and the space felt warm and bright.

As the teleportation light dissipated, the familiar ceiling of the rest hall came into view of Tiandao and Caroline.

The holographic screen broadcast was briefly shut down when the Little Raccoon Administrator started and Tiandao conducted a private test.

This resulted in Chen Kong and the others being unaware of everything that happened during the assessment.

As for whether Tiandao and Caroline would fail the test, they didn't think that way.

But guessing is one thing, knowing it is another.

As soon as Caroline stood still, some people couldn't help but come up to her and ask her all sorts of questions.

Helpless, she looked at the heavens, only to find that the raccoon had already jumped onto the platform and cleared its throat.

"Quiet!"

The childlike voice carried a calamity-level pressure, and the hall instantly fell silent.

Looking at the hall where order had been restored, the raccoon administrator raised his paw and pointed at Tiandao and Caroline, announcing loudly, "Examiners Caroline and Tiandao Siming, you have passed the second test!"

After speaking, the raccoon manager turned to look at the other test takers who remained in the arena.

"Alright everyone, those who have passed, follow me. This last step is just a formality, there's no time limit."

"I'll take you to get the materials first. You can apply for the assessment whenever you feel you've thoroughly understood them."

At this point, the raccoon administrator paused and added, "By the way, there's no limit to the number of times you can take this final test, so even if you fail, you can try again. Don't worry."

Upon hearing this, Chen Kong clenched his fists in the crowd.

By now, he had long understood the entire process of the Starry Sky Ladder Ranking Tournament, as well as the operating logic of the Tianwu Training Base.

Explorer qualification is a necessary certificate for anyone who wants to achieve something in the Starry Sky Ladder ranking competition.

Without it, you'd be just like the people living in the Yellow-level training zone—an ordinary logistics worker, completely unable to explore the dangerous occupied territories.

But Chen Kong's excitement didn't last long before he remembered Liu Ma, Vivian, and Isabel.

After all, there were four of them when they came, but now, he is the only one who made it to the end.

"What are you thinking about? You look so bitter and resentful."

Liu Ma saw through his thoughts, reached out and ruffled his hair, speaking in a nonchalant tone.

“This assessment isn’t a one-time opportunity! Vivian, Isabel, and I will go back and study it. At most half a month, we’ll definitely be able to pass it within the adaptation period.”

"You should hurry up and prepare for the third level, instead of wasting your time here."

Chen Kong looked up at Liu Ma's grinning face, and his disappointment instantly dissipated.

He nodded vigorously: "Yes! I'll be your sparring partner for your next assessment!"

"Go, go, go!"

Liu Ma pushed his back and gestured with his lips toward the raccoon.

"Don't leave everyone waiting for you alone."

Without further hesitation, Chen Kong quickly caught up with the group.

As he walked through the narrow passage, he could still smell a faint scent of disinfectant on the walls. The indicator lights on both sides of the passage would flash every few seconds, making the floor tiles gleam coldly.

After walking for about five minutes, the group finally arrived at a spacious conference room. Chairs were neatly arranged on a long table, and several thriving plants were placed on the windowsill.

Squeak!

The meeting room door was pushed open, and an owl-like caretaker wearing round-framed glasses walked in.

It was carrying a thick stack of documents in its arms, with a tablet computer tucked between its wings. When it walked to the long table, it carefully placed the documents on the table and pushed up its glasses that had slipped down to the tip of its nose.

"These are the exam contents for the third stage, which are divided into two books: 'Explorer's Code of Conduct' and 'Basic Data on the Environment and Star Beasts in the Occupied Zone'."

Halfway through his sentence, the owl administrator paused and pointed with his wing at his tablet.

“The AI ​​Star Envoy can come to me and request data transfer, and directly store this information into a private quantum database.”

"As for non-AI Star Envoys, they'll have to read it themselves. I suggest reading it through once before registering for the third test, since each test costs 100 Tianwu Coins."

The owl administrator added, his tone somewhat serious: "Although there's no limit to the number of attempts, we still suggest you come prepared beforehand. Don't waste your money; Tianwu Coins aren't easy to earn."

After saying that, Owl picked up the tablet, turned around and walked out of the conference room, making sure to close the door quietly so as not to disturb everyone.

With a touch of curiosity, Chen Kong picked up a book titled "Basic Information on the Environment and Star Beasts of the Occupied Areas".

The book cover is dark blue and has the emblem of the Tianwu Training Base printed on it.

He opened the book and began to read, his gaze quickly landing on the section for 'Latest Investigation Records of Occupied Areas'.

The newly discovered occupied area is clearly marked with the words "Chang Sheng Island," and is accompanied by a blurry satellite image.

The island in the picture is shrouded in thick fog, and the outlines of huge creatures can be vaguely seen on the shore.

Whether it was foresight or luck, Chen Kong carefully memorized the words "Island of Immortality" after seeing them.

Then, he took a deep breath, opened the "Explorer's Code of Conduct," and began to read it carefully.

With little time left before the end of the one-month adaptation period, he wanted to obtain Explorer qualification as soon as possible to ensure that he wouldn't be eliminated later due to not having it.

The sunlight streaming through the window shone warmly and brightly onto the pages of the book, as if cheering him on for his new journey ahead.

Unlike his serious demeanor, Tiandao, who was not far away, merely glanced at the document a few times before standing up and looking at the raccoon administrator nearby, asking, "Can we proceed with the assessment now?"

The raccoon keeper asked curiously, "Have you finished watching?"

Heaven responded with a smile.

"If it's just the content in the book, then I think I've finished reading it."

P.S.: This is the end of today's update (two parts combined). Daily request for monthly votes!
(End of this chapter)