Chapter Ninety-Three: The Phantom Spirit King, Trial One

In the virtual universe, Quinia pointed at a woman with a foxlike tail and a body covered in purple fur, introducing her to Eso. “This is one of the super powerhouses of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, the Phantom Spirit King.”

The fox-woman radiated such overwhelming presence that, even under deliberate restraint, Jiang Chen still felt his soul shiver in her presence.

The Phantom Spirit King?

A name flashed through Jiang Chen’s mind: a being who had crossed the threshold of the Invincible King, and who was counted among the most formidable of the immortal kings.

In the original story, she had once targeted Hong, indirectly exposing the secret of Earth.

But in this world, none of that had happened yet. Jiang Chen held no hostility toward the Phantom Spirit King, and immediately bowed respectfully. “It is an honor to meet you, my lord.”

“This little one, Quinia, came to me and asked for a chance on your behalf.” The Phantom Spirit King’s voice seemed distant and ethereal, yet it carried a strange force that stirred at the soul. “So I will give you one chance. Pass the assessment, and you may join the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance’s Death Mystical Realm.”

Quinia had already explained to Jiang Chen the ranking of geniuses within the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance.

Broadly speaking, it was similar to the Virtual Universe Company’s system, divided into four tiers.

The Death Mystical Realm corresponded to the geniuses of the Virtual Universe Company’s End of Days Mystical Realm.

Though it was the lowest tier, becoming a core genius personally cultivated by one of the five great powers was still an exceedingly rare honor.

Across the 1,008 universe nations of the human race, the number of star-level and universe-level talents born in each generation was enormous. Only the most outstanding among them, at most a few tens of thousands, would ever have the chance to join one of the five great powers as core geniuses.

Moreover, once one successfully joined the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, there was still a chance to improve one’s evaluation rank.

Jiang Chen asked at once, “May I ask, my lord, what exactly is the test?”

“You did not come through the usual internal promotion path, so the difficulty will be higher. You must clear three levels.”

With a sweep of her hand, the place where they stood changed abruptly, and they appeared at the edge of a cliff.

Ahead of them lay an endless black ocean, surging and roaring, sending up wave after wave that crashed against the rocks at the base of the cliff.

“This is the Illusion Sea. Step onto the islands ahead, and countless illusions will form. The farther you go, the stronger the illusions become. It is a tremendous test of will and consciousness.”

The Phantom Spirit King looked at Jiang Chen. “Considering that you are only at the star level, you need only pass through the first island to count as having succeeded.”

The Illusion Sea?

Was this the Illusion Sea he knew of?

A doubt rose in Jiang Chen’s mind, but before he could think further, the Phantom Spirit King pointed toward a small island faintly visible in the rolling waves. “I have already granted you temporary access. You may begin now.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Jiang Chen accepted respectfully. The next instant, he rose into the air, turning into a streak of light as he flew toward the distant island.

—

“Quinia.” The Phantom Spirit King turned to the one who had recommended Jiang Chen for the trial. “You used your own authority to vouch for this little one. What is your relationship with him?”

“My lord...” Quinia bowed and replied, “Eso is merely a talent I discovered in the Black Dragon Mountain Empire branch. I am not familiar with him. I only recommended him because his talent is outstanding.”

“Interesting...” The Phantom Spirit King nodded thoughtfully. “I thought he might have some connection to your family.”

As an Invincible King within the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, the Phantom Spirit King was not considered part of the inner leadership, but she held extremely high authority.

In addition, she had long resided in the Ganwu Universe Nation, and was naturally very familiar with the talents of the Ganwu branch. She could be said to know Quinia’s background inside and out.

This silver-haired girl was not a civilian genius, but the daughter of a prominent family within the Ganwu Universe Nation, and the people she mingled with in her daily life were the finest among those great clans.

Still, the Phantom Spirit King did not dwell on the subject. Her curiosity about Jiang Chen had come entirely from Quinia’s recommendation.

“Have you considered what would happen if he could not even pass the first level?” she asked with a faint smile.

Quinia’s heart sank at those words. Her thoughts turned rapidly, and she wondered whether the Phantom Spirit King intended to suppress Eso in secret.

But she did not dare ask outright. Lowering her head, she said in a grave voice, “Eso crossed the threshold of the laws at star level three. Though I do not know much else about him, anyone who can comprehend the laws should have a will that will not be too poor under their nourishment. I believe he should be able to clear the first island.”

After a pause, she continued, “But if Eso fails the trial, as the recommender and guarantor, I may not be implicated directly. Even so, the great figures in the alliance will doubt my judgment, which would be detrimental to my future development.”

“You do understand these things rather well,” the Phantom Spirit King said with interest. “If that is so, why did you still recommend this little one for the assessment? You yourself are only a genius of the Blood Battle Mystical Realm. Though domain lord-level geniuses have greater resources and authority, obtaining a recommendation slot should not have been easy for you either, no?”

The Blood Battle Mystical Realm corresponded to the Virtual Universe Company’s Universe and Heaven Mystical Realm, and belonged to the third tier.

Within the five great powers, the attitude toward core geniuses was basically the same: the higher the talent and the ranking, the more attention one received.

For geniuses ranked lower down, producing even an ordinary immortal was rare enough; naturally, they would not command much say.

Quinia had indeed gone to some trouble to secure a recommendation slot for a star-level assessment.

“I’m only placing a bet on him,” she said.

In front of the Invincible King before her, Quinia did not dare conceal her thoughts, and answered truthfully. “If Eso can become a core genius of the alliance, then as his introducer, I will at least have a favor owed to me. If he can grow into greatness in the future, I believe that favor will bring me immense returns.”

A strange glint flashed in the Phantom Spirit King’s eyes as she looked at Quinia.

In her view, Quinia’s talent was no worse than that of the geniuses from the first two mystical realms. It was only that she may have been too deeply influenced by her family, spending too much effort befriending strong figures and talented people, and not enough on cultivation, so that her natural gifts had never been fully realized.

However, the Phantom Spirit King had no intention of reminding Quinia.

The girl’s talent was indeed good, but her path was the exact opposite of the one the Phantom Spirit King walked. No matter how excellent her talent might be, she was destined never to become the Phantom Spirit King’s disciple.

Given her status, the Phantom Spirit King would not interfere in the choices of some junior unrelated to her. Instead, she found herself with a touch of detached amusement, wanting to see whether Quinia’s future would unfold as she imagined.

“Let us watch the little one clear the levels.”

With that airy remark, the Phantom Spirit King drew Quinia’s attention back to Eso.

—

The instant Jiang Chen stepped onto the island, his consciousness was dragged into an illusion.

Earth.

The Golden Horned Beast was born, one powerful figure after another fell, and even Luo Feng, whom Jiang Chen was close to, died in the struggle against it.

“Brother Chen, my brother he...”

“Ah Chen, why didn’t you go save Luo Feng!”

Luo Hua, Xu Xin, Wei Wen, and many others hurled accusations at Jiang Chen in bitter grief.

Yet in Jiang Chen’s eyes, the scene was nothing short of absurd.

“The Illusion Sea is just this?”

He looked at the “Wei Wen” before him.

The appearance was indeed similar, but the face gave Jiang Chen the impression of features molded in a game editor, with a strange and unsettling inconsistency.

Suddenly, a message surfaced in Jiang Chen’s consciousness.

[Spiritual Sublimation]: Intelligence, spirit, and mystery attributes increased by 30%; spiritual resistance increased by 40%; spiritual resistance rank +1.

One of the special traits Jiang Chen had exchanged for earlier.

The increase in attributes was secondary. The true core of this trait was the boost to spiritual resistance.

Then a thought flashed through Jiang Chen’s mind. Could it be that the reason I can see flaws everywhere in this illusion is because of [Spiritual Sublimation]?

According to the Phantom Spirit King, the early trials of the Illusion Sea were simple in principle, but for a star-level combatant, the difficulty was still extremely high.

Passing the first island alone already counted as outstanding talent.

To withstand illusions, both consciousness and will were crucial.

Consciousness was tied to the strength of a powerful being’s soul, and depended more on the level of spiritual force.

Will, however, was the part that differed from person to person.

Some possessed indomitable will and an immensely powerful mind; with one unit of consciousness, they could exert ten units of force.

Others had weak will and could not even fully bring out the strength of their own consciousness.

When faced with illusions or mental attacks, their resistance naturally differed.

“Since clearing the first island is enough, there’s no need for me to keep going. I can test myself slowly after I join the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance.”

A thought passed through Jiang Chen’s mind. He fully mobilized his spiritual power and launched it in a violent surge.

Crack—crack!

A sound like shattering glass rang out.

Under Jiang Chen’s mental assault, the entire illusion world collapsed at once.

Jiang Chen lifted his head and looked over the island beneath his feet.

The island was tiny, visible in a single glance.

Behind him lay the path he had come from. Ahead of him, however, there was a channel, and at its end, the faint outline of another island could be made out.

Without continuing onward, Jiang Chen turned into a streak of light and flew back to the cliff from which he had come.

“My lord.” Jiang Chen bowed respectfully. “I have broken the illusion of the first island. Does this count as passing the level?”

“Less than five minutes to clear the first illusion island. Excellent. Very excellent.” The Phantom Spirit King smiled as she looked at Jiang Chen. “I can see you still have energy to spare. Why not continue?”

Seeing that the Phantom Spirit King could tell he still had reserves, Jiang Chen was not surprised. He replied with a smile, “No matter how many more I clear, I would still only be a member of the Death Mystical Realm. Passing is enough. Why waste more effort?”

“A clever little one...” The smile on the Phantom Spirit King’s face deepened. “What if I said that if you continue and perform better, I will give you additional rewards?”

Additional rewards?

Jiang Chen’s eyes flickered, and instead of asking what they were, he said very straightforwardly, “Since my lord has made the request, I am willing to keep going until I can no longer move forward!”

“Heh...” The Phantom Spirit King’s smile vanished in an instant. “I was only joking. The rules of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance are not something I can change. Since you have passed the first trial, next comes the second.”

She pointed a finger, and the scenery changed abruptly.

At the sight of the familiar surroundings, Jiang Chen could not help asking, “The Slaughter Space?”

Indeed, this was the Slaughter Space within the Slaughterhouse.

“This is my Slaughter Space,” the Phantom Spirit King explained. “You have ten minutes to prepare. Choose your weapons and battle suit. You may not select technological weapons; otherwise there are no restrictions, and you may carry up to ten items. As for the battle suit, you may only choose a tier-two one.”

“And my opponent?” Jiang Chen asked.

The enemies in the Slaughter Space were freely set by its master.

Since this was the Phantom Spirit King’s Slaughter Space, the opponent would naturally be set by her.

“Normally speaking, not knowing your enemy’s strength would make it more interesting. However, the alliance places no restriction on this, so telling you in advance is not impossible.”

With a faint smile, the Phantom Spirit King said to Jiang Chen, “Your opponent will be ten thousand enemies who possess the same force and spiritual force intensity as you, and who use the same weapons and battle suit as you. The only difference is that these opponents have not grasped the laws; they are all only at the ninth level of the domain.”

Hearing this, Jiang Chen’s eyes widened.

Ten thousand ninth-level domain opponents, with everything else identical to him?!

That degree of difficulty, even though Jiang Chen had already crossed the threshold of the laws, still gave him no assurance of victory.

Of course, that was only under the premise that he exposed merely the wind law.

If he revealed his full strength, then he could easily crush them.

Although Jiang Chen’s comprehension of each law was not particularly deep, he had studied six laws in total: earth, fire, water, wind, light, and darkness. His capabilities were extraordinarily comprehensive. With full power unleashed, any foe of the same level who had not crossed the threshold of the laws could not even break his defenses, while being slower than him and unable to withstand his attacks.

Even if he wore them down gradually, Jiang Chen could grind every last one of them to death.

But if he revealed only the wind law, the difficulty would surge by a huge margin.

Wind excelled in speed and was not bad in offense either, but it offered no obvious advantage in defense.

At the very least, it could not withstand attacks from ninth-level domain opponents.

This meant Jiang Chen’s margin for error would be extremely low. Once struck, he would at least be injured.

As injuries accumulated to a certain degree, his combat strength would naturally be reduced.

But conversely, if he could exploit his speed advantage and avoid every attack perfectly, then the balance of victory would tilt toward Jiang Chen.

He quickly formulated his strategy, chose his battle suit and weapons, and said to the Phantom Spirit King, “My lord, I am ready.”

End of chapter.