The valley was quiet, the trees tall and fearsome, swaying with the whistling wind like spectral figures.
Xu Mu opened his eyes and found himself sitting cross-legged in the midst of this spectral forest.
His realm had also advanced to the first stage of an ability user.
Xu Mu stood up, balled his fist, and lightly punched a tree that was large enough for four people to embrace. The tree immediately shook violently, shedding many leaves.
The tree did not break.
Xu Mu fell silent. If it were his former physique, his punch would have been enough to smash through ten trees of such girth, but now it only managed to make one sway.
As for his weapons, Xu Mu found that both the Devil God’s Horn, which transformed into a hunting knife, and the Fairy Bow, had lost their spiritual essence here, becoming ordinary hunting knives and bows.
This was understandable, as it was merely an illusion, incapable of replicating true holy relics.
Xu Mu himself, in his own jungle, felt a hint of unease, for he was now utterly alone.
He had been accustomed to Charles before, and when Charles was gone, he could occasionally converse with the remnants of the Devil God’s soul, or even exchange glances with the eyes of the Fairy Bow.
But now, he had nothing.
He was alone.
…And there was a monstrous beast.
"Roar!"
A tiger's roar shook the mountains and forests.
Xu Mu heard it and instantly snapped back to attention, then calmly raised his head.
He saw the trees in the forest before him swaying as something passed through, startling a flock of birds, and the ground trembled.
Xu Mu's expression grew solemn. As the monstrous aura approached, he soon saw, within the dense forest about two hundred meters ahead, a gigantic tiger with two fangs protruding from its mouth.
This was a monstrous beast at the peak of the second stage.
Xu Mu gripped his hunting knife and, instead of retreating, lunged forward, instinctively slashing to confront it head-on.
But just as the two were about to collide, Xu Mu realized that his current strength was only at the first stage, while this tiger demon was at the second.
He wasn’t entirely sure of the difference between these two realms, as he had once broken through two stages in a single night.
Even so, Xu Mu believed that with his current strength, he would certainly not be a match for this tiger demon.
*Boom!*
The hunting knife collided with the tiger’s paw, a meter wide. Sparks flew instantly. Xu Mu’s arm muscles bulged as he used all his might to hold his ground, but the next second, he was sent flying by the tiger demon’s overwhelming power.
*Bang!*
In the collision, Xu Mu flew tens of meters like a kite with a broken string, only stopping when he hit the tree he had punched earlier.
Blood trickled from the corner of Xu Mu’s mouth. He opened his mouth slightly, staring at the roaring tiger demon that was charging again, a hint of long-lost fighting spirit appearing in his eyes. Without regard for the pain, he gripped his hunting knife and charged forward once more.
*Clang!*
Xu Mu feigned a direct attack, but at the critical moment, he slid under the tiger demon’s belly, his hunting knife reversed in his hand, and drew a not-shallow bloody gash.
The tiger demon cried out in pain, leaping up and opening its monstrous maw towards Xu Mu. But Xu Mu’s left hand had already grasped the tiger’s tail, using its momentum to fling himself into the air. At the same time, he gripped his hunting knife again and thrust it with all his might towards the tiger demon's eye.
"Roar!"
One eyeball pierced, blood gushed out. The tiger demon shrieked and swung its front claw, imbued with a dense monstrous energy. The power was so immense that all the surrounding trees, fragile as winter branches, snapped automatically.
Xu Mu still couldn’t withstand it directly, so he could only place his hunting knife horizontally in front of him, using the tiger demon’s rear to push himself backward, deflecting the blow with his momentum. He was then sent flying back over a hundred meters, tumbling seven or eight times on the ground before he finally managed to stop.
Instantly, Xu Mu sprang up from the ground.
His cheeks were scratched with blood from the sand and stones, his clothes stained with dust, appearing somewhat disheveled, but not seriously injured.
In contrast, the tiger demon, though far superior in strength, was now blind in one eye, and its soft armor-like belly was bleeding continuously.
Xu Mu crouched, his right hand gripping his hunting knife, his left hand beckoning to the tiger demon, a gesture full of provocation.
The latter let out an angry roar and was about to charge again when, from the distant mountains, a more intimidating and powerful monstrous beast’s roar echoed.
Hearing this roar, the tiger demon’s body immediately stiffened, the fur on its tail bristling, as if sensing danger.
It cast one last look at Xu Mu, as if to remember the human who had hurt it, then turned and fled, not daring to linger.
Seeing this, Xu Mu immediately released the breath he had been holding. A wave of weakness washed over him, but he knew it was not yet time to rest, for it seemed a more powerful demon was approaching from afar.
With trees all around, where could he go?
Xu Mu pondered for a moment, then lightly tapped his left foot, creating a Bagua formation in the air.
Aiming for the Kun position, Xu Mu exerted all his strength to move each layer of the formation. It was only when his ability was almost depleted that he completed the final divination.
Receiving guidance, Xu Mu decisively turned and fled, using all his might, like a leopard darting through the jungle. Soon, he reached a cliff. Passing through a gap in the cliff, Xu Mu arrived at a hollow mountain cave.
Here, only a faint light shone, the rest was pitch black.
Xu Mu closed his eyes with relief, his face pale, and began to meditate and recuperate.
He knew he had made a serious mistake today: underestimating his own strength and that of his opponent, almost losing his life to the tiger.
Ultimately, Xu Mu had underestimated the difficulty of the first round of the Ten Thousand Races Assembly. Or rather, he had endured so many great hardships before that he had become somewhat dismissive of these "low-level" struggles.
But only now did Xu Mu realize that he had always been the weaker one, with no right to look down on anyone, because most of his strength came from others, not himself.
Xu Mu sat cross-legged in the cave, slowly closing his eyes, his expression gradually becoming resolute.
Starting anew, for others it might be a test, but for him, it was a new beginning.
"The guy in seclusion in the Heavenly Palace, it’s time to prove that I’m no worse than you!"
…
Time flew by.
In these days, Xu Mu sat cross-legged in the cave, a strong will of death emanating from him. He continuously circulated his abilities, compressing his physique, tempering his muscles and blood, and breaking through his realm.
This went on for an unknown duration.
One day, the sun blazed fiercely, shining through the gaps in the mountains and directly into Xu Mu’s eyes. His circulating aura suddenly paused.
The next second, Xu Mu opened his eyes. The dust that had accumulated on him was instantly blasted away by a surge of robust qi. His clothes were as clean as new. When he stood up, his entire body crackled, the sound of his joints and bones moving.
"Hoo~"
Xu Mu walked out of the cave, gazing at the endless green forest, and slowly exhaled a turbid breath, a smile appearing on his face.
These days, he had cultivated and comprehended the Dao day and night, finally breaking through to the second stage.
Although it was only the lower realm, he had also comprehended his first true, personal ability, which enhanced his perception of the blade, making his slashes more potent.
Xu Mu held his hunting knife and casually slashed at a tree to his left. It instantly snapped in half.
Looking at the fresh, sharp cut, Xu Mu smiled faintly.
"The cultivation these past few days has likely wasted a lot of time. The duration of this first round of competition is probably already one-third gone. It's time for me to traverse this forest and find the way out!"
With this thought, Xu Mu left the cliff where he had stayed for over half a month without looking back.
Before long, Xu Mu encountered a second-stage monstrous beast. A terrifying giant snake spat venom, hidden in the undergrowth, launching a surprise attack on Xu Mu. Having broken through two realms, Xu Mu’s movements were agile. In an instant, he leaped into the air like a roc spreading its wings. As the snake's body chased to its extreme range, he slammed a punch downwards onto its seven-inch mark, tearing a mass of flesh.
"Roar!" With a furious roar, the giant snake bellowed. Its scales, hard as steel, were struck at its vital spot yet it could still move its body to swat at Xu Mu. Xu Mu’s fist light shifted, his abilities augmented within his qi, and he continued to deliver terrifying punches to the python's body. The force of a ten-thousand-jin hammer striking down, he smashed the python to death.
Finally, Xu Mu took out his hunting knife, retrieved the giant snake’s demon core, and then absorbed its demonic energy into his body, using his Dao Origin to purify it and convert it into ability.
His physique was strong, his blood like glazed glass, impervious to mutation, thus he could absorb it this way.
Leaving the giant snake’s territory, Xu Mu continued walking in the forest. Before long, he encountered a swarm of peak second-stage ground bees. These bees had venomous stingers and were incredibly fast, making them difficult to deal with. However, Xu Mu simply used his newly learned ability, combined with his hunting knife, and in an instant, he resolved the swarm of bee demons, then absorbed their demon cores.
In this manner, Xu Mu slayed demons and took cores, his strength growing rapidly. His swordsmanship and physique became increasingly closer to his strength in the outside world. He even encountered the peak second-stage tiger demon from before, whose head he also severed.
At this time, above the Holy City in the outside world, within the cloud layer, everyone could see all that was happening in the illusion.
It turned out that the illusion for the first round was divided into three areas. The first area was the forest Xu Mu was currently experiencing, filled with numerous dangers and beasts. The strongest great demon was at the peak of the second stage. Only by passing through this forest could one reach the second area and encounter other ability users who had also emerged from the forest.
The second area was a random illusory battlefield. They might encounter various scenes here, such as towns, forests, fields, or even the seabed. The highest realm of great demons here was the peak of the third stage, and other demons were also formidable. A solo ability user encountering them would generally mean certain death.
Therefore, many talented contestants chose to form alliances in this stage. They were all elites who had passed the first area, with strengths around the second stage. They formed alliances of about ten people, and generally, there would be no danger.
And at this moment, Xu Mu in the illusion had joined a team. Their team consisted of seven people, including one support ability type, two agile types, one tank type, and three main attackers, including himself.
Their team had clear tactical divisions and could easily deal with anything except great demons of the third stage. Even ordinary third-stage great demons were no match for them.
This situation continued until the middle of the second area. The scene before Xu Mu’s team kept changing, and they became lost in a maze.
"Be careful. I have a premonition that there might be very powerful monstrous beasts in this maze."
At this moment, someone spoke. His name was Situ Zhen, with an extraordinary and handsome appearance, a thin build, and extremely sharp, piercing eyes, suggesting considerable strength. He was the captain of this team, and it was he who had invited Xu Mu to join.
"Haishan, you lead the way. Ye Luo and Xing Lu will boost our movement speed. The rest of us will guard your flanks, constantly vigilant against surprise attacks from monstrous beasts."
"Alright, let's do it this way. I'll take the lead."
Situ Zhen commanded. Then, a tall and burly man stepped forward. He held a shield as tall as two men, incredibly heavy, as if it could withstand a blow of millions of pounds.
However, his movements were not slow, as the support ability user in the team provided buffs. Everyone moved with great speed, and soon they had covered a considerable distance in the maze.
"How do we break this maze? It seems endless." Xu Mu asked.
"I don't know. We can only take it one step at a time." Situ Zhen shook his head. Just as he was about to say something more, he suddenly heard an unusually sparse sound coming from a corner of the maze ahead.
Everyone stopped simultaneously, their gazes fixed forward with grave expressions. Then, they soon saw a skeleton.
The skeleton was eight zhang tall, holding a drumstick made from a human head. Its eyes flickered with spectral fire, and a powerful corpse aura emanated from its entire body.
This was a third-stage skeleton.
And it was at the peak of the third stage.
A look of gravity appeared in Xu Mu’s eyes. But before he could say anything, the skeleton had already charged forward.
As the captain, Situ Zhen swallowed hard, then turned around and abandoned everyone.
"Run!"
…