The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

With a flash of light, the projections of the sword and scabbard materialized into real objects, floating in mid-air.

Su Qi reached out and grasped the hilt of the sword. The feel was just as perfect as before. He then casually swung the sword to test it out and found that there were no problems. He then sheathed the sword and, with a thought, it disappeared into his palm.

"Finally got the exclusive item sorted out, next up is the lucky draw."

Su Qi was in great spirits and felt no discomfort even after not sleeping for several days. He opened the lottery panel, prayed to all the gods and Buddhas for good luck, and then drew three times in succession, from bad to good.

"Ding! One D-level lottery draw has been used up. You have obtained one Advanced Background Character Immersion Card."

"Ding! One C-level lottery draw has been used to obtain a rare item that allows you to change outfits in one second."

"Ding! One B-level lottery chance has been used to obtain the special skill Black Flame Dragon's Roar."

"Alright! Time to test my bloodline! Opening the box is all about showing off! Based on past experience, I'm undoubtedly the luckiest person ever!"

Filled with confidence, Su Qi clicked on the panel and began to read the item descriptions.

Tsk, it took me more than four hours to write this much. Setting up the plot is more troublesome than writing the story.

Chapter 119 Increased Difficulty

"Advanced Background Character Substitution Card: Background characters refer to characters who exist in that world but never officially appear in the work. Advanced background characters are background characters who will interact with the main characters. Using this item will automatically substitute a reasonable and legitimate native identity in the next trial world, sufficient to deceive the world's consciousness, and become an advanced background character."

"One-second Clothing Mimicry Object: A strange item that can mimic any clothing or accessory. It can change clothes in a second according to the owner's will, changing the appearance and texture of the clothing. However, it only changes the appearance and does not exceed the defensive capabilities of ordinary clothing. It can be repaired with a thought after being damaged."

"Roar of the Black Flame Dragon: A special skill from 'Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions'. First, you need to accumulate chunibyo energy through chunibyo behavior. Once the energy reaches a certain level, you can unseal the Black Flame Dragon in your right hand and unleash a destructive jet of black light."

"The attack power of the black light is determined by the amount of chuunibyou energy. The maximum energy storage capacity of the chuunibyou gauge and the maximum attack power of the black light are determined by the soul strength of the trial participant. In addition, to collect chuunibyou energy, you need to wrap a bandage on your right arm. When releasing the destructive jet of black light, you need to shout 'Be devoured by the pitch-black flames' to activate it."

After reading the item descriptions on the panel, Su Qi's expression became somewhat subtle. "This... I don't have any other lottery experience to compare it with, so I don't know if it's particularly good or particularly bad, but it seems to have an effect... Well, I'll just assume I'm a lucky person for now."

After that, he clicked the "Put lottery item into personal space" button on the panel, and then, on a whim, he took out the strange item that could change clothes in a second.

"What is this? A slime?"

Looking at the transparent slime-like thing in his hand, Su Qi couldn't help but complain.

Before he finished speaking, the viscous and resilient gel-like substance suddenly melted on its own, turning into a semi-fluid that flowed down his arm and quickly spread throughout his body. The clothes that were in its path were melted away, yet it felt like air, leaving no trace.

At the same time, a message immediately surfaced in Su Qi's mind. With a thought, the transparent semi-fluid covering his entire body instantly changed shape, color, and texture, transforming into a set of wide-sleeved, light blue Hanfu.

In a flash, the Hanfu on her body instantly transformed into a complete set of black swordsman's (referring to a real black swordsman) armor and cloak. And it wasn't just these two pieces; the belt, leather boots, arm armor, leather pouch, dagger sheath, and even the underwear and socks underneath could all materialize—it was practically a cosplay marvel.

Moreover, although it looks very hard and heavy on the outside, it feels weightless when worn, and the inside is light, silky, comfortable and breathable, which is far superior to ordinary fabrics.

"Great, it seems we won't have to worry about clothing anymore."

Su Qi's mind raced again. He transformed his armor and cloak into the pajamas and slippers he had worn when he first transmigrated. Then, he rolled up his right sleeve, looked at his forearm wrapped in bandages, pondered for a moment, and suddenly stepped forward, his left hand behind his back, his right hand covering his face. In a deep, mysterious voice, he said, "Black Flame Dragon sealed in my right arm, show me your true power! In the name of your master, Su Qi, I command you—release the seal!"

As the sound faded, the vast, pure white space remained completely silent, save for a certain middle-aged, immature person awkwardly striking a pose.

"It's here, I can feel it! Dark power is gathering within me, and the world-destroying black dragon in my arm is roaring to burst forth... You insignificant ant, cry out, scream, and then be devoured by the pitch-black flames!!"

Su Qi roared loudly, and the bandage on his right arm suddenly came undone on its own, revealing a black Chinese dragon coiled around his forearm.

In an instant, a glint flashed in the blood-red dragon's eyes, revealing an aura of majesty and terror like that of an ancient ferocious beast. The next instant, a jet-black beam of light shot out from his right palm, which was pointing forward, and instantly disappeared into the end of the pure white space, with a diameter of a full... six centimeters.

"Okay, I think I understand what to do."

After testing his special skill, the bandages wrapped themselves back up, and Su Qi immediately dropped his childish act, feeling no embarrassment whatsoever.

Compared to his initial state of complete otaku, having already undergone a trial, his will is now incredibly firm, and his limits of shame are unfathomable. The opinions of others simply cannot shake him in the slightest. So, let alone being a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur), if necessary, even going naked or cross-dressing, he... would still have to consider it.

The reason he needs to consider this isn't because he cares about other people's opinions, but simply because it's a matter of his own values ​​and self-esteem.

"So, how do we begin the next trial?"

After clearing the checkpoints and settling accounts, Su Qi had just thought of this problem when the white earth beneath his feet suddenly trembled. Then, right in front of him, three zhang away from the original black stone base where the silver cup was placed, the ground suddenly caved in, and another identical black stone base rose up.

"Looks like that's the one."

Once the earthquake subsided, Su Qi stepped forward and, with practiced ease, touched the base, causing a panel to pop up:

"The Second Trial World: Shaman King"

Difficulty: Medium to Low

Status: Pending

"Important Notes: Starting from the second trial, participants are no longer in the novice protection period. From now on, the number of times each trial world is rolled back will be considered a special evaluation factor. Dying more than ten times will forcibly lower the evaluation by one level, more than twenty times will lower it by two levels, and so on. Conversely, if you can clear the trial in one life, you will be rewarded with one special lottery chance."

"If the rating drops to D or below, and cannot be lowered further, the basic completion reward will be cancelled. If you fail to complete the trial, you will be permanently trapped in that trial world and will not be able to return. Please be careful."

"This is bad. The cheat code has been weakened, and with the penalty for failing to complete the game, the next world will still be Shaman King..."

After reading the information on the panel, Su Qi frowned immediately.

Needless to say, the increased difficulty of the game is a given. As for Shaman King, which is the next trial world, even though it is a classic comic from a long time ago, he still remembers two impressive points.

First, the manga features an interesting concept of psychics manipulating spirits in battle. Second, the main villain, Hao Asakura, is clearly modeled after the hard-working anime character Abe no Seimei.

The reason this villainous boss left such a deep impression on him was because he overwhelmingly defeated everyone else from beginning to end, and almost never actually fought a serious battle. So, how can the protagonists defeat this villain to achieve the ending?

The answer is... it was a failed project.

The anime adaptation of *Shaman King* is a given; it undoubtedly had a terrible ending. The original manga also didn't have a perfect conclusion, as there was too little buildup. The final battle was a disaster for the main characters, and then the sudden summoning of Yoh's mother's spirit, using maternal love to reconcile the main villain with the protagonists, left viewers unsatisfied.

Now that Shaman King has become a trial world, Su Qi dares not pin his hopes of victory on the fact that the big boss lacks maternal love. This means that he must face that powerful and hopeless enemy on his own.

"Sigh, this is troublesome. I can't just recklessly rush in this time."

After glancing at the "Start Trial" button on the panel, Su Qi did not press it immediately. Instead, he temporarily left to adjust his state, think about his plan, and push all his remaining abilities to their limits in this pure white space.

After preparing for more than half a year, he stood in front of the new black stone base once again and pressed the "Start Trial" button.

1. Well, the main character is the Dark Flame Dragon Envoy, who happens to be paired with a certain Ji from next door.

Second: Tomorrow we will begin the second volume of Shaman King. We will try our best to make it understandable for readers who have not read the original work. At the same time, in order to make it more reasonable and avoid 404 errors, we may make some appropriate changes to the settings.

Third: Starting tomorrow, the basic update will resume to 6,000 words per day. However, considering the reading experience, it will be updated in the form of 3,000 words per chapter, two chapters per day.

Chapter One: A Bed at the Start

A psychic is a special being who connects the material world and the spirit world, can communicate with various spirits such as gods, spirits, and the spirits of the dead, and obtain all sorts of incredible abilities by borrowing their power.

The oldest spiritualists are called shamans. They have been communicating with spirits and gods since the ancient times of ignorance, ruling the spiritual world of mankind. This tradition has continued to this day, giving rise to countless related schools and professions around the world, of which Taoism is one.

In the world of Shaman King, the prototype of Taoism is clearly the Zhengyi sect in reality. However, compared to the Zhengyi sect, the Taoism in the Shaman King world is more family-oriented than a religion.

As a family of spiritualists with genuine supernatural powers and a history of two thousand years, Taoism has always played the role of the behind-the-scenes manipulator in the historical changes of China, secretly ruling the secular world with witchcraft and Taoism. However, with the development of civilization and the progress of science, the influence of Taoism inevitably weakened, and after World War I in modern times, it was plotted against and finally expelled.

But the Taoists would certainly not accept defeat so easily. The once-every-five-hundred-years war of spirit mediums was about to begin, and the ultimate victor would become the Spirit King, ruling over the collective souls of all living beings on this planet—the Great Soul.

With a great soul at your disposal, annihilating all of humanity is merely a matter of a single thought. There was once a Shaman King who triggered a volcanic eruption on Earth, wiping out two-thirds of all life on the planet in one fell swoop.

Therefore, as long as one can become the Shaman King, the revival of Taoism will be unstoppable! And for this, they will spare no effort to seize the throne of the Shaman King!

……

1996, Ming Dynasty, Guizhou, Lishan.

A square city sits nestled among mountains. The city itself is not large, only about two square kilometers, but it is surrounded by towering peaks and steep cliffs, so steep that even monkeys would find it difficult to cross them. The iron chain walkway twists and turns every few steps. It is truly a miracle that such a large-scale structure could be built in such a treacherous and difficult-to-access mountainous area.

This Taoist stronghold, known as the Taoist City, is indeed a miracle created by spiritualists. It was built five hundred years ago, and the main construction work was not carried out by living humans, but by zombies controlled by Taoist spiritualists. Otherwise, how could such a city have been built in such a perilous place?

It was early summer, dusk, and in a small courtyard in the northeast corner of Daocheng, Su Qi woke up in a side room.

Daocheng, male, eleven years old, belongs to an inconspicuous branch of the Taoist family. His parents died unexpectedly during a mission to exorcise ghosts. Because he has the ability to see spirits, he was adopted by the main branch and became a member of the Taoist "Spirit Child Selection Program".

The so-called Spirit Child Selection Plan originated from a major divination performed by Dao Zhen, the previous head of the Taoist family. According to the divination he performed, the winner of the upcoming Shaman King battle would be a boy under the age of sixteen. Therefore, the "Spirit Child Selection Plan," which specifically collected exceptionally talented children from within the Taoist family, trained them to become outstanding shamans, and then sent them to participate in the Shaman King battle, was born.

Another orphan, I guess I really am destined to be a protagonist...

A flood of memories rushed through his mind, but Su Qi, with his powerful soul, easily handled it and instantly understood the identity he had inhabited.

Although he inwardly complained about the orphan setting, he was generally quite satisfied with the effect of the high-end background character identification card. First, being in a Taoist family made it easy to access a large amount of knowledge and resources needed by spirit mediums in the early stages; second, being an orphan meant he had no attachments and no weaknesses; and third, as a candidate spirit child, he didn't need to worry about food, clothing, shelter, or transportation for the time being, and only needed to become stronger as quickly as possible.

However, there is only one bad thing: he seems to be seriously injured, with all four limbs broken, and he will soon be driven out of the city and driven into the nearby mountains to live as a savage.

I didn't expect that before even making an appearance, he would already have dealings with that brat Dao Lian. He really is a high-level background character...

Recalling the reason for his serious injury, Su Qi opened his eyes while thinking about how to teach that brat Dao Lian a lesson. Then, a boy wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and trousers, with a light blue Taoist robe over it, short, fluffy hair, and a delicate and cute face, but with slightly squinted eyes, appeared before him, giving the impression that he was somewhat listless.

His name was Daohe, a roommate of Daocheng, and a fellow sufferer who, along with him, had been stuck at the bottom of the list of strongest child prodigies for years. However, Su Qi, having just re-examined Daocheng's memories, knew that Daocheng was just a genius who was too lazy to work hard, while the guy he had inhabited was the real slacker.

"The Way is my friend..."

Looking at Daohe sitting on the edge of the bed, reaching out to take off his clothes, Su Qi, who had transformed into an eleven-year-old boy, said shyly, "Although I'm not a casual person, it's okay if it's you. But it's my first time, so please be gentle, okay?"

Daohe froze, then looked at him with disdain and said coldly, "No, you misunderstand. Although I have homosexual tendencies, I wouldn't even look at an ugly man like you."

"Alas, my friend, life is already so difficult, why hurt each other further?"

"You idiot, you started this disgusting thing." After saying that, he grabbed the medicine bottle by the bed and threw it into Su Qi's arms. He crossed his arms and sneered, "Here, take the medicine. Apply it yourself. I'm not going to serve you."

Su Qi sat up on the simple wooden bed, the pain from the displacement of his fractured limbs causing him to frown slightly. He then looked at his right hand, which was in a splint, and then at his left hand and legs, tightly wrapped in bandages. He decisively lowered his head and admitted defeat, "I'm sorry, I was wrong. Please, Lord Daohe, have mercy and help me."

Daohe gave a light snort, "I'm sorry, Lord Daohe rejects your apology. Please try your best."

"Little Hehe~~" Su Qi said with an exaggerated expression like something out of a romance novel, speaking in a Taiwanese romance tone, "Don't be like that! He's your best friend who's been through thick and thin with you, please forgive me!"

Daohe shuddered and quickly raised his hand, saying, "Stop, stop, stop! I'm scared of you, stop being disgusting, I'll help you apply it."

After saying that, he took the medicine bottle back, beckoned Su Qi to come closer, and helped him take off his shirt, revealing the bruises all over his upper body. He said, "I feel like you've become even more foul-mouthed after Dao Lian beat you up."

The system's services were quite comprehensive. Before Su Qi took over, the original owner's speech and behavior had already been deliberately shaped to resemble Su Qi's, making him a quirky kid who talked a lot of nonsense. This saved Su Qi the trouble of pretending and not letting anyone discover that the original owner's consciousness had been switched.

However, pirated versions can never compare to the originals, and when it comes to witty banter, Su Qi himself is undoubtedly superior, so Dao He now feels a subtle difference.

Okay, I'm new here, so I can't be too reckless...

While reminding himself to tone it down, Su Qi said, "Perhaps it's because I saw a great soul when I was on the verge of death that my ventriloquism skills have improved so much."

Dao He opened the medicine bottle, poured out some oily substance with a pungent smell, spread it in his palm, and sneered, "Great soul, my foot! I think you almost met your match in the underworld. I warned you not to talk nonsense before, and look what happened this time. You were talking about someone behind their back and got overheard, and you almost got beaten to death by Dao Lian."

"I'm just speaking the truth, enduring the tingling and itching from the medicine applied to my body, and I'm just saying this with a slight sneer: "Dao Lian is the eldest young master of the main branch of the Dao family. He has received the best training since he was a child, and he can use all kinds of resources at will. Even his spirit is more than one level stronger than ours... He talks about a fair competition, and the winner will become the next head of the Dao family and go to participate in the Spirit Summoner War. In reality, he is just using our lives as stepping stones for us."

"Alright, let's not talk about it anymore. At least you've escaped with your life. You know, that young master never shows mercy. Compared to those unlucky guys who were killed before you, you're already considered lucky."

"Ha, he didn't hold back at all. He just deliberately broke my arms and legs so that I would suffer more torment and humiliation."

"No matter what, you can't beat him. So let's put this issue aside for now. What you should be thinking about now is what to do if you rank last in the next assessment and get expelled from the city."

To encourage the aspiring monks to work hard and compete with each other, Dao Yuan, the current head of the Daoist family, established a rule: the aspiring monks cultivating in the city would take a minor exam every month, a mid-term exam every six months, and a major exam every year. Regardless of whether it was a minor, mid, or major exam, those who ranked in the bottom ten three times in a row would be expelled from the city and forced to survive and cultivate alone in the deep mountains surrounding the Daoist city for at least a month. Only those who ranked in the top ten in the next assessment could return to the city.