T0 Gaming Guild Saves the World.

Chapter 336, Section 335: The Only Son
The results of the Tower World Trials are not differentiated by country, but are calculated based solely on team points.

The national flag displayed behind the player's information is so eye-catching that no one can ignore the significance of that vibrant color for the individual player and for the gaming community of their country.

With the World Championship now postponed and canceled, the consensus among all Proof of the Stars players is that the Tower of Trials is essentially a brand new World Championship, and the same applies to those playing it online.

Filled with pride and excitement, many players who had missed the threshold of the Tower World learned of the incredible power of the virtual-real boundary and immediately opened the leaderboard.

"Let me see who's number one on the ladder..."

"It's not the boundary between reality and illusion?"

"Not Khorne's Chosen either?"

"It must be a powerful figure from another country."

"What the hell is the Fuxian Sect?"

No wonder the players in the world chat were stunned. All of the top 100 on the list were faction names that looked like they were machine-translated or randomly generated by the system's AI.

Strange names like "Fuxianmen," "Chizhatan," and "Nurishanmen" clash with the game's art style, making it seem as if team names from a fantasy world have intruded into every corner of the list.

The only difference between them and other guilds like Virtual and Real Boundaries is that there is no national flag after the player ID.

Players directly searched for the name of the boundary between the virtual and real worlds and were surprised to find that, despite being ranked first in the entire server's progress and the first to enter the second level, their ladder ranking was only 112th.

“Look at the Fuxian Sect, which is ranked number one, they have already entered the third level.”

"Is it a crisis for omnipotent machines?"

"These are all AI enemies generated by the system, their combat power is ridiculously high."

"Have you forgotten? This is a humanoid figure pieced together from player game data."

Reading the announcement is one thing, but actually experiencing the combat power of AI enemies in the game is quite another.

According to the announcement from Starfire, players will need to compete against all opponents on the leaderboard, and the rewards will not be passed on to the next player.

In other words, many players may be captured by AI stomping on their heads.

Just as AI technology has been developing rapidly in recent years, the Starry Bonfire has also appeared at this time, inevitably causing a lot of discussion among players who are not involved in the Tower of Trials world.

Gradually, the theme of humanity's struggle against artificial intelligence has been outlined and intensified.

Many players can't help but wonder.

"Can you win?"

Candlelight and wind, standing in distant opposition.

In the center, Yuu-ro holds a celestial globe, controlling the entire Tower World and monitoring every detail.

"Now, do you still think you can win?"

Weaving Wind projected the battle records of the Heavenly Ladder Ranking into the air, forcing Candlelight to directly confront this outstanding achievement of a successful start to the Three Kingdoms Land, which was enough to declare a complete victory.

Among the top 140, only the Virtual Boundary guild is struggling to pave the way for Candlelight.

Including the Fuxian Sect, a total of 13 teams from the Three Domes Lands have already entered the third level.

Candlelight yawned, glanced contemptuously at the smug Zhifeng across from him, and just smiled without saying a word.

This feeling is terrible. Every time Zhifeng tries to get feedback, Zhuhuo is like a sandbag, getting hammered and mocked.

But the disdain in her eyes, that superiority complex, always made her feel like she was being pricked by needles.

"Why won't you speak?" she pressed through gritted teeth.

"What else do you want me to say?" Candlelight retorted. "To praise your intelligence in understanding the rules and exploiting loopholes?"

From God's perspective, it's clear that hundreds of teams in the Three Realms benefit from card experience, generally gaining a 1 to 3-level lead over the boundary between the real and virtual worlds at the start.

The effect of [level suppression] is negated, so even if the equipment is slightly inferior to the boundary between reality and illusion, the efficiency is still beyond the reach of ordinary players.

With her "exceptionally clever" strategy, Zhifeng successfully dragged the starting line of the Three Kingdoms Land, including the land itself, forward by a large margin.

The top 100 on the ladder, the Three Realms Land has ruthlessly shaved off one side of the boundary between reality and illusion. Such a spectacle has never been seen since the game was born and the rules were established.

“I can see that you’ve pinned all your hopes on the boundary between the virtual and the real,” Zhifeng continued mockingly. “But don’t forget, when the Chaos Tower world settles its accounts, it calculates points and point coefficients based on rankings and actions.”

"In such a one-sided situation, what can they do, no matter how strong they are?"

The candlelight gently brushed through her hair, tucking it behind her ear.

"The competition has only just begun."

She stood up and made a motion on the celestial globe hovering in the sky, causing the floating bearing beads to roll around.

The action resembled teasing a pet cat.

"Every level that the Chaos Tower world opens up is unpredictable, and even we cannot know where fate will lead us."

"I recently learned a new meme from this world."

"If possible, it's best not to open the champagne halfway through the game."

"I really hope you can learn to be quiet and shut up; the game has only just begun."

The sarcastic and mocking words made Zhifeng furious.

The candlelight, as soft as cotton, was approached by the wind's actions, sparking with each word.

She detested the unfairness of the game.

Regarding Zhifeng's struggle for self-expression, she can calmly say, "Dolls are all imperfect beings, it's not surprising."

Thanks to the Lord's earnest teachings, she remained as composed as ever.

But the moment she realized that Zhifeng had tainted the game, her usually calm heart was suddenly filled with turmoil.

"I really want to tear her face apart!"

Evil thoughts grew wildly, and the desire to fight was like a reactivated volcano, roaring loudly.

There are no rules about chess pieces fighting off the board, and chess players cannot make moves—she had also heard of the story of the Great Han Chess King.

Xi Lu loudly reminded, "Boundary between the real and the virtual, second level, pass the level."

Like a clear spring, her voice extinguished the candle's thoughts of retaliation, and she turned her gaze to the Tower World. The second level of the Chaos Tower World: "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you."

The second level scene is exceptionally simple, a remarkably spacious dojo.

On the wooden floor, which looked like it had been coated with three layers of wax and was so shiny it could be used as a mirror, there were black wooden stakes that the team of seven could barely encircle by holding hands, connecting the ground and the ceiling.

Apart from that, there were no other decorations.

Yuru hints: "Destroy the wooden stakes to clear the level."

At least the first level has a level advantage, so when fighting monsters, you have to consider factors such as stamina and damage.

The second level tests your ability to stand still and deal damage.
In light of the overt theme of "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you," the entire team silently put away their weapons.

Jiang Heyi gave the prison guard a look.

"okay."

He summoned the zombie and patted it on the shoulder: "Go, take down the wooden stake."

The zombie swayed, opened its blood-red maw, let out a hoarse "gurgle" and pounced.

Sharp teeth gnawed into the wooden stake, followed by claws scratching wildly, leaving white marks on the dark wood.

The attack lasted for nearly 10 seconds. From the inside out, a hazy black light rippled outwards from the wooden stake, and the zombie was shaken into a pool of blood foam. The dissipated magic flowed directly into the wooden stake.

The horrifying scratches and bite marks on the surface of the wooden stake healed rapidly, as if it were not an inanimate object.

Just as everyone was stunned, the space in front of them distorted, and a blurry black shadow appeared between reality and illusion.

It had no facial features and was completely black.

Standing nearly 3 meters tall, his body is like a masterpiece sculpted by a master, with sharp angles and hard lines, like a rock, all showcasing the muscles of the human body and the beauty full of power.

He was wearing only a pair of animal skin shorts, and his thighs, as thick as an orange tea torso, were bulging with veins.

With a forceful stomp, the entire training ground shook violently, as if an earth dragon were turning over.

"drink!!!!!"

A furious roar, deafeningly loud.

His hands, which should have been empty, now held a giant axe.

He gripped the axe with both hands, raised it high above his head, and, ignoring the combined attack of everyone at the boundary between reality and illusion, brought it down in a single blow.

Compared to the whole prelude of the event, the ending felt somewhat anticlimactic.

The damage wasn't high; Zhong Zemo's giant shield slammed into the ground, and everyone ducked behind it, surviving the attack unharmed.

Only a few scratch marks remained on the giant shield... scratches?
With a single strike, the mighty, muscular warrior vanished without a trace, as if erased by an eraser, his existence wiped away into thin air.

The jailer scratched his head and shrugged.

"It's just bluffing, nothing special."

Jiang Heyi and French Fries squatted in front of Zhong Zemo's shield, touching the rough scratches, and frowned in unison.

"Use the zombie again."

The jailer obediently complied, and this time he was asked to go easy on the zombie.

The muscular warrior reappeared, wielding his giant axe.

Although it still had the power to shake the earth, the damage was even weaker than before. Zhong Zemo, who was asked by Jiang Heyi to use the small round shield to absorb the damage, admitted that his hands were only slightly numb and he could not feel much force.

After two experiments, the jailer also glimpsed the clues.

"Will this wooden stake reflect the damage back to us in equal measure?"

Jiang Heyi stepped forward, stroked the wooden stake that had been damaged twice but now showed no signs of injury, and shook his head.

"It's not equal, it's double, and it will slowly heal the injury over time."

If a one-hit kill isn't possible, then the double damage bonus would be a wipeout mechanism for any team that's going all out on damage output.

Even with Zhong Zemo's giant shield, all his professional skills activated, and everyone taking shield potions to maximize their elemental shields, they still couldn't withstand a single hit.

The previous attack also revealed that all attacks against the muscular man only have a hit detection, but no actual damage. Therefore, there is no strategy of eliminating him first to break the mechanism.

Thinking of this, Jiang Heyi and the fries smiled at the same time.

They had the same idea.

"Monkey show!"

With a shout, the entire guild took their positions, throwing all the effective buffs they could provide to the two without hesitation.

[Summoning Tide] In the instant of the slash, the spatial slash is released simultaneously.

[Bloodlust Frenzy] Stacks spatial slash damage, making it unstoppable.

Two beams of light, one red and one blue, pierced through the wooden stake one after the other, carving a bottomless pit into the ground in the center of the training ground.

The Tower World's powerful forces swiftly repaired the site.

Everyone swallowed hard, waiting quietly for the giant axe-wielding man to appear.

Ten seconds later, all was quiet, and the pleasant sound of the completion notification echoed in my ears.

"Is this what it feels like to be carried by a top-tier damage dealer? I love it!" Zhong Zemo put down his shield and clapped enthusiastically.

It's a very powerful monster with a strong mechanism, but unfortunately it spawned on the second floor.

Death does not consume challenge attempts, so players feel no pressure and can try and fail indefinitely.

If you can't kill it instantly, you can exit and reconsider your options to find a solution.

Whenever the item refreshes on the fourth floor, Jiang Heyi doesn't dare to act rashly. He first uses his highest output to test the item.

No matter how much you describe the candlelight, it can't compare to actually playing a couple of rounds yourself.

With a foundation of experience from the first two levels, they gradually figured out how to play the Chaos Tower world, blurring the lines between the virtual and the real.

(End of this chapter)