Chapter Ninety-Nine: Sixty Days of Battle!

Other cultivators simply could not do what Yang Ye did—insert his arm straight into the chest cavity of a mechanical soldier.

Just as Nezha had said, these mechanical soldiers were incredibly difficult to kill.

Their reactions were extraordinarily sharp, and they could perform movements that were nearly impossible for humans.

For instance, their necks and waists could rotate a full 360 degrees; their limbs could suddenly extend; their weapons would change mid-battle... sometimes transforming into powerful machine guns that fired bullets.

Blades stabbed into their bodies, star force slammed against them—yet as long as their energy crystals remained intact, their bodies suffered no real harm.

When decapitated or dismembered, they would quickly regenerate, albeit with slightly smaller heads.

They were, in essence, immortal beings!

Under the onslaught of a vast number of mechanical soldiers, at first, Zhou Hun and Felix could still manage.

But as time dragged on, they grew increasingly flustered.

These nearly indestructible mechanical soldiers instilled a profound sense of helplessness in them.

This time, the number of mechanical soldiers was several times greater than the yellow-armored soldiers from the previous stage, yet their combat effectiveness was by no means weaker.

Hours passed. After eliminating about half of the mechanical troops, all cultivators at the Super Star realm were eliminated.

Among the fallen mechanical soldiers, Yang Ye alone accounted for at least half.

His current combat strength had long surpassed that of all the Super Star-level cultivators on Earth.

...

“Phew—”

Outside the stone tower, Zhou Hun got up from the ground, exhaling deeply.

He glanced at the black war blade in his hand and shook his head. “If it weren’t for mastering the Mountain-Cleaving Blade technique, I doubt any of us could have lasted an hour.”

Seeing the worry etched on Zhou Hun’s face, a companion comforted him, “Captain, don’t worry. Ye Xun is still inside! This stage, he will definitely pass. Didn’t you see how fierce he was?”

“Yeah!” Zhou Hun nodded.

During the battle, he had seen Yang Ye darting and weaving among the mechanical soldiers; nearly every single one seemed to ‘melt away’ at Yang Ye’s hands.

After a sigh, he added, “We can’t rely on Ye Xun every single time. We need to improve our own combat abilities too! This time, Ye Xun might take a long while to come out; we can’t just wait around like last time.”

With that, Zhou Hun cast a cold glare over the twenty-nine who had emerged from the tower.

“From now on, everyone trains with purpose. If you don’t train hard every day, you’ll collapse. No sleeping!”

From then on, beneath the stone tower, for at least sixteen out of every twenty-four hours each day, Zhou Hun and his group trained with relentless intensity.

Days passed.

At first, those new to the area thought a group of people were engaged in a fierce battle.

Only later, when they inquired, did they learn these people were actually training.

...

Besides sparring-style combat, every two days, Zhou Hun would divide his team into several small groups to leave the tower’s vicinity and hunt down the star beasts that materialized.

This was real combat. Outside the stone tower, if one were killed by a star beast, it was truly death.

Of course, Super Star-level experts did not die so easily, but injuries occurred daily, whether in sparring or hunting.

After healing, they would resume training.

“What a bunch of lunatics!”

Nearby cultivators shook their heads in amazement.

Atmosphere is contagious; after half a month, some cultivators spontaneously began training like Zhou Hun’s group, albeit with less intensity.

Others living nearby increased their frequency of ‘outing’ hunts for star beasts.

Half a month, a month... two months!

Unknowingly, two full months slipped by.

“Boom~”

Zhou Hun had just been knocked down by his sparring partner when a figure flew out from the second-floor stone window.

The figure flipped in mid-air and landed steadily on the ground.

Soon after, Long Xiaoqing and Nezha were also ejected.

“Failed!”

Everyone stopped, staring at Yang Ye in stunned disbelief.

Two whole months had passed, and they still believed Yang Ye would succeed in breaking through!

But the truth was...

Yang Ye touched his neck.

He despised the sensation of having his throat slashed, but to boost his team’s combat strength, he had no choice.

Long Xiaoqing and Nezha exited the second stage the same way.

After failing the second stage, the next time they entered, the mechanical soldiers they had killed would ‘resurrect’ just as before.

“I clearly saw my neck bleeding. How come I’m fine?”

Yang Ye was puzzled.

At that instant, he had genuinely thought he was dead.

Nezha chuckled, “Master, do you know about virtual games? Those simulations with one hundred percent realism? Well, this is somewhat similar, but far more complex. You feel the blade slicing your neck and the pain, but it’s purely sensory stimulation.”

Yang Ye frowned, “So the strong ones outside Earth trained like this?”

Nezha shook his head. “Of course not! The experts simulated by the talisman array max out around the Galaxy level. Beyond that, what the talisman array produces looks utterly fake to someone at your level.”

Yang Ye understood Nezha’s meaning: at his current realm, he still couldn’t discern the talisman array’s illusions from reality.

“Though I don’t actually die, I never want to feel someone slitting my throat again.”

He cast a cold glance over his team.

“So, you have to work hard yourselves.”

“Thank you, Ye Xun!”

Zhou Hun saluted Yang Ye.

The others also realized and looked at Yang Ye with deep gratitude.

They knew Yang Ye had deliberately allowed himself to be ‘killed’ to enhance their combat capabilities.

“Rest for twenty-four hours. Tomorrow, we go again!”

With that, Yang Ye turned and entered the stone gate.

“Phew—”

Dropping onto a sofa, Yang Ye exhaled deeply.

For two months, to forge his battle instincts, he had held back deliberately and fought the entire mechanical general nonstop.

Thinking back, Yang Ye found it unbelievable.

He had been fighting continuously for a full sixty days!

When all the mechanical soldiers were finally defeated, the black metallic liquid that had ‘melted’ together coalesced into a single red mechanical general.

Compared to ordinary mechanical soldiers, the general was only slightly larger, not exceeding three meters in height.

But the quality of its metal body was tens of times superior, with strength and speed at least ten times greater.

Its red metal body could be as hard as diamond or as fluid as water.

It could burrow underground and fly in the sky.

Its weaponry was infinitely variable, with combat techniques that constantly changed—breathing fire, releasing cold air, and emitting powerful electric currents.

After fighting such an opponent for sixty days, Yang Ye’s body, replenished by energy, did not feel fatigued but rather strengthened.

Yet his spirit was utterly exhausted.

Reclining on the sofa for less than three minutes, Yang Ye fell asleep.