Chapter 232: Forcefully Splitting Huashan!

After the first wave failed, the situation quickly began to improve.

Not all Dimension Apostles are greenhouse flowers; there are naturally individuals like Chu Danqing.

With such a massive base, someone will always rise to the top.

“I have no plans. I owe you thanks for helping me kill this Death Messenger,” Chu Danqing said—not out of politeness.

Since Shuang Wen obtained a Bloody Chest, it means the Paradise acknowledged his contribution, indicating his role was helpful in battle.

Shuang Wen was indeed pushed back step by step, but he wasn’t completely powerless—he simply couldn’t match his opponent.

“Cooperate?” Shuang Wen introduced himself: “I specialize in Ice elements. Damage-wise, I’m not outstanding, but I’m skilled at control.”

“Can you create a field? Water-element, turning an area into a water zone?” Chu Danqing asked.

He’s likely a mage and controller, but his damage doesn’t match Big Bone’s, and Chu Danqing doesn’t need much control.

If he could generate a water zone, the effect would be even greater.

As long as Shuang Wen creates a water zone at the start, even if he just idles, the Paradise will still count him as participating in the kill.

After all, that 100% bonus is simply too high.

“?” Shuang Wen stared blankly—he’d said he specialized in Ice elements, not Water.

Though they differ by only two points, the actual gap is substantial.

“Then it won’t work. Too bad,” Chu Danqing sighed. “Take care of yourself—I’m going to”

“Little Chu, look out!” Da Bao quickly warned.

Suddenly, a chilling wind swept in, carrying thick black clouds.

Upon closer inspection, these weren’t clouds at all—they were countless ghosts swirling within.

“It’s that Ghost Cultivator,” Shuang Wen’s face darkened instantly.

The ghosts scattered rapidly, forming a formation that enveloped them.

A pale-faced middle-aged man stepped forward, walking atop the ghosts: “I didn’t expect you to kill Feigu. You’ve got some skill.”

Under the formation’s Longzhao , Chu Danqing felt a chilling ghostly aura steadily eroding them.

After speaking, the man suddenly turned his gaze outward, beyond the formation.

The next instant, the entire formation trembled violently.

Before he could react, Yue Lan Wu Ying’s attack struck—a fist wreathed in elemental force slammed toward his face.

But a gust of dark wind from the Ghost Cultivator’s artifact blocked the punch.

“Get lost,” the Ghost Cultivator snarled, trying to stabilize the formation immediately.

Yet before he could even begin, visible cracks appeared across the formation’s surface.

“Forcefully Splitting Huashan!”

A roar echoed from outside the formation.

Chu Danqing and Shuang Wen saw a simple, ancient blade glow instantly cleave the entire formation apart.

An old man, his body bulging with muscle, stepped in, gripping a skull-headed blade.

“Found you,” the old man said, tossing a shriveled head at their feet. “This foreign devil was your teammate, right?”

As he spoke, terrifying murderous aura surged from his body, killing intent blazing in his eyes as he charged forward with the skull-headed blade.

“Forcefully Splitting Huashan!”

He leapt upward, the skull-headed blade glowing crimson.

In the Ghost Cultivator’s vision, a demon more insane than himself erupted from the blade, swinging toward his skull.

Without hesitation, he tried to flee using a teleportation technique—but before he could chant the incantation, searing pain erupted from his skin inward.

When he regained awareness, he was split cleanly in two.

Dead. Just one slash.

After landing, the old man’s murderous aura vanished, and the skull-headed blade returned to an ordinary, unremarkable appearance.

“Forcefully Splitting Huashan,” the old man said, smiling at Chu Danqing and Shuang Wen as he viewed the rewards.

He was introducing his codename.

“Silent Poetry,” Chu Danqing replied. Shuang Wen echoed him.

The old man calling himself Forcefully Splitting Huashan was indeed peculiar—both his technique and codename were the same.

“I’m an old man now. I only know one move: Forcefully Splitting Huashan,” the old man chuckled. “So I took that as my codename.”

Clearly, he wasn’t being asked this for the first time.

The old man likely wasn’t lying—his active skill probably consisted solely of Forcefully Splitting Huashan.

But he didn’t say how many passive or inherited skills he had.

He shattered a formation with one slash and killed a Ghost Cultivator with another—his passive skills must be exceptional.

“Old man, you picked the wrong codename. You should’ve called yourself ‘One Slash,’” Chu Danqing chuckled in reply.

Only because this was a cooperative mode did Chu Danqing even consider working with him.

Forcefully Splitting Huashan was far too dangerous. He looked harmless now, but the number of lives he’d taken likely far exceeded Chu Danqing’s.

“Haha, this codename’s too arrogant—but Forcefully Splitting Huashan’s better,” the old man teased, then added: “Together?”

Forcefully Splitting Huashan knew his own limits.

He could kill the Ghost Cultivator with one slash only because the man specialized in formations.

Against the previous Death Knight, he wouldn’t have been so easy.

“Do you know where the other Death Messengers are?” Chu Danqing asked.

“No. But I know where there are lots of people,” Forcefully Splitting Huashan replied, recalling his earlier observations. “These Death Messengers are small-scale infiltrators causing chaos.”

“The mission probably has two objectives: the standard trial task, and possibly a kill quota.”

“So we must hurry. If we wait too long, we might be recalled,” Forcefully Splitting Huashan said.

Shuang Wen watched the exchange between Chu Danqing and Forcefully Splitting Huashan, feeling deeply unsettled.

He’d thought himself among the top Tier-1 Apostles, but now he saw how vast the gap was between him and true Tier-1 powerhouses.

Chu Danqing’s summoner obliterated the Death Mage in one strike; Forcefully Splitting Huashan killed the Ghost Cultivator with a single slash.

Hui Feng was powered by combo effects, but it was still a single skill, consuming resources.

Forcefully Splitting Huashan invited Chu Danqing along mainly because he feared failure.

No matter how great the reward, it’s useless if you’re dead.

“Let’s go,” Chu Danqing agreed immediately.

With Forcefully Splitting Huashan as their brute-force output, Chu Danqing could relax somewhat.

As for Shuang Wen, he was ignored—just output if you can, control if you can, and if you can’t, just stay alive.

Whether he got the reward was up to him.

“Old man, how many others in this group are like you?” Chu Danqing asked curiously.

Forcefully Splitting Huashan shook his head: “I don’t know. I just glanced at them from afar before heading off on my mission.”

He was a lone wanderer, never teamed up, aware only of a faction’s existence without investigating further.

“You mean the Bafang Tower, right? Their map was posted on the public chat channel,” Shuang Wen said.

Chu Danqing and Forcefully Splitting Huashan had little contact, so they knew little.

But as a member of a faction, Shuang Wen understood the various factions within the Paradise.

“What’s their specialty?” Chu Danqing pressed.

“No specialty. Just an ordinary faction,” Shuang Wen said, his impression of Bafang Tower being vague. “It’s a small faction.”

Generally, any faction in the Paradise that’s sizable has a defining trait.

For example, Shuang Wen’s own Element Spire accepts only Element Apostles.

It’s not an intentional restriction—it’s because those on the same path can support each other and exchange knowledge.

You don’t know it, he does; he doesn’t know it, I do; I don’t know it, you do—forming a learning platform.

They also gain access to more Element-related resources, with internal subsidies for members.

Of course, their scope is still narrow, limited strictly to Element Apostles.

The Longhu Alliance is broader—it includes all Eastern Immortal Cultivation types.

But joining such large factions comes with extremely high entry barriers.

Correspondingly, their resources are far greater.

“By the way, what benefits do you get from joining a faction?” Chu Danqing asked curiously.

Forcefully Splitting Huashan also showed a hint of interest.

“It’s more like joining an in-built platform within the Paradise,” Shuang Wen said, adding: “Mainly, factions provide buffs.”

“Especially if the faction’s core lies in a higher tier, the buffs they offer us low-tier members are extremely cost-effective.”

Hearing this, Chu Danqing thought about returning to research how to create a faction or squad—perhaps a solo faction to grant himself buffs.

“That’s great. I thought I’d have to” Chu Danqing began, then suddenly spotted a burst of fire shooting straight into the sky.

Not just them—every Dimension Apostle in this region likely saw it.

The fire was a flare, exploding into the shape of an eight-cornered ancient pavilion in the sky.

Simultaneously, members of Bafang Tower spoke on the public channel.

【Bafang Tower · Bao Chong: Five people. Coordinates sent. See you in the next life】

Dead. Before dying, they used a signal flare to mark their location and relay information to all.

All Bafang Tower members who entered this trial Fuben have been wiped out.

The Dimensional Adept with the codename Bao Chong did not have the good fortune that Shuang Wen had, of someone coming to rescue him.

Li Pi Huashan and Shuang Wen also saw it; both fell silent for a moment, then Li Pi Huashan said, “Old man I’m going ahead!”

With that, he shot forward like a cannonball.

“Let’s go—we can’t let him hog it all,” Chu Danqing realized this was a good opportunity.

Others besides them were surely racing there too—other fierce types like Li Pi Huashan.

The Son of Huangtian immediately cast a spell, lifting Chu Danqing and Da Bao into the air, while Yue Lan Wu Ying relied on his own speed and moved even faster.

Shuang Wen had no need to worry—his ice-element skill system and equipment setup were fully developed.

A pair of wings formed from condensed ice elements sprouted from his back; with the ice spirit’s enhancement, he could barely keep up with Chu Danqing.

But he was suffering inside.

He had promised to assist others, yet he couldn’t even match their travel speed.

The gap between this Adept’s upper and lower limits was simply too vast.

He had originally hoped to earn the Arena Enthusiast title.

Now it seemed better to keep his feet on the ground.

(End of Chapter)