Chapter 349: The Bigwigs' Idea, 500 Days Before Sparring

In that instant, the whole scene fell into silence, even the air seemed to stand still.

The wind stopped blowing, the clouds were completely still, and the sunlight dimmed a bit.

Divine-level Strongman, such power overflowing.

Shenlong Tower radiated dazzling light, enveloping the whole world within it.

"Today, Shenlong Tower is open."

Li Xueru's voice rang out, bearing a terrifying pressure, and everyone could only obey the command.

"The rules have changed: those whose names are called enter the Tower, the rest wait outside."

His words made everyone present feel unable to defy.

"Now begins, the first, Mu Li Academy, Lin Li." The named person stepped forward immediately and entered Shenlong Tower.

Inside Shenlong Tower, Jiang Chen saw Hong Jishi and two others.

He finally understood how he should learn.

When he heard the three teachers' teaching methods, he truly felt an indescribable sensation.

He really didn't know how the teachers came up with this idea.

However, all three teachers thought it was a good idea, and he had no chance to object.

Now the arrow is on the string; it must be released.

Ao Hongchen said, "Isn't it just failing a few times, taking a few hits? What's so great about it?"

"Who hasn't been beaten? Keep getting beaten and you'll get used to it."

Li Xueru said, "Now everything is already arranged; if you don't want it to be too terrible, then work hard."

Hong Jishi patted Jiang Chen's shoulder, earnestly saying, "Xiao Chen, the teacher believes in you; it won't be too terrible."

"The first person has already entered the Tower; it's a Great Mage of the Water Element."

"Don't worry, we've arranged everything; we'll progress little by little from low to high."

At this point, Jiang Chen can only accept it.

He sat cross-legged, and Li Xueru projected a great beam of light onto Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen closed his eyes, his consciousness drifting away.

Lin Li entered Shenlong Tower.

It was his first time entering Shenlong Tower, and he was full of curiosity.

Within this massive Tower, it bears a great deal of the Empire's history.

Here he felt solemn divinity.

At First Transcendence, he was a Rare Profession Wave Mage.

After Second Transcendence, he became a Great Wave Mage.

Now at Level 45, he has mastered his various Skills with great proficiency.

This time, he also fought his way through and obtained this rare admission ticket.

After entering the Tower, an invisible pressure fell upon him, attributes dropped rapidly, and each high-level Skill was swiftly sealed.

In the blink of an eye he reverted to his Level 10 state.

Lin Li did not panic; he was fully aware that within Shenlong Tower he was in no danger.

This is only a part of the Trial.

"Trial rule: defeat the opponent before you; the more defeats, the higher the score."

A majestic voice rang in Lin Li's ears.

The rule is very simple; anyone can understand it.

Not far ahead of Lin Li stood his opponent.

A Barrier separated the two sides; the Trial had not officially begun.

Through the Barrier, Lin Li saw the other side.

"Is it a puppet?"

"I don't know the opponent's level or strength; right now I'm suppressed to Level 10, the opponent probably isn't too strong either."

Lin Li pondered internally, his whole body taut, already ready to fight.

On the other side of the Barrier, Jiang Chen's consciousness landed on that puppet.

He is now also Level 10.

He possesses exactly the same Skills as Lin Li, with identical attributes.

At this moment, he became a Wave Mage.

Looking at the unfamiliar Skills, he recalled Hong Jishi's words.

"The best way to understand a profession is to become that profession."

Li Xueru seized this opening of Shenlong Tower to bring a full five hundred practitioners to serve as sparring partners for Jiang Chen.

He used Shenlong Tower to duplicate each person's profession Skills, turning them into puppets.

Jiang Chen controlled the puppets to battle the opponent.

A battle of same profession and same level.

During the fight, he familiarized himself with Skills and learned each profession's combat style.

At first it's unfamiliar; getting beaten is inevitable.

Although Jiang Chen controls the puppet, within Li Xueru's arranged formation he still feels pain.

Except that he won't truly die, everything else is exactly like a real person.

Just now Jiang Chen learned Li Xueru's profession: Divine-level Array Master.

All kinds of formations are not difficult for Li Xueru.

Put aside the chaotic thoughts and be at ease with whatever comes.

Jiang Chen, of course, knows that this arrangement makes sense.

The three of them went to great lengths for him, making the Empire's finest geniuses serve as sparring partners.

If I still don't seize the chance, that would be a pity.

"Becoming a Divine-level Strongman is an extremely important step."

Jiang Chen repeats the words that Li Xueru and the others have said.

"Since that's the case, then you shall become my whetstone."

The Barrier disappears.

A flash of cold light flickers, and an Ice Arrow has already struck his body.

It hurts, very much.

His whole body is frozen stiff; turns out freezing can be this painful.

The pain of being about to crack from the cold.

Jiang Chen didn't react at all, or rather his subconscious never thought to dodge.

He is already accustomed to the presence of Bone Armor and to the Undead Legion's damage transfer.

For attacks of this magnitude, he doesn't even bother.

He forgot that he is now merely attached to a puppet, just a Level 10 Wave Mage.

By the time he reacts, it's already too late.

The second Ice Arrow comes straight at him.

The frozen body cannot react, and is hit directly.

In the excruciating pain, the puppet disappears.

In that instant, Jiang Chen truly gets the illusion that he might be dead.

The next second, his consciousness descends again onto a brand‑new puppet body.

The level rises to Divine Power Level 12, the skills remain unchanged, and the attributes have altered slightly.

The familiar Barrier, the familiar opponent.

On the other side of the Barrier, Lin Li is a bit stunned; this opponent is a bit too weak.

Two Ice Arrows finish it, and he doesn't even try to dodge, not even reacting.

The feeling is like hitting a wooden dummy.

"Is this a Trial?"

"It feels like playing house."

"Or perhaps the first round was just an appetizer."

The level has risen another two levels, now at Divine Power Level 12.

Lin Li doesn't dare to be careless, remaining fully alert.

Jiang Chen finally regains his reaction; he was indeed careless earlier.

"I must discard all previous combat methods; I am now a mage, a Level 12 mage."

"There is no Undead Legion, no Bone Armor, no damage transfer."

"I can endure at most two to three attacks."

Jiang Chen constantly admonishes himself.

He begins to adapt to his new identity.

The Barrier disappears, and the second Contest begins again.

An Ice Arrow cuts through the wind; this time Jiang Chen reacts swiftly and dodges to the side.

At the same time, he taps a finger, activates a Skill, and throws another Ice Arrow.

"Finally moving, as expected the earlier round was just an appetizer!" Lin Li, seeing Jiang Chen start to counterattack, feels his guess was right.

Now comes the real test.

Only…

The opponent's Ice Arrow accuracy is considerably off.

The Ice Arrow doesn't even aim at him; it flies past and vanishes.

Lin Li feels strange in his heart, yet his hand keeps moving.

The Level 12 Wave Mage has few Skills; there are only a handful, not even a Magic Shield.

He throws one Skill after another.

Jiang Chen instantly falls into a passive state, scrambling to dodge.

Finally, after repeatedly dodging several attacks, he makes a mistake and fails to evade.

Lin Li seizes the opportunity.

Jiang Chen, regaining his senses from the pain, becomes a Level 14 Wave Mage.

"I'm too accustomed to the Soul Burn lock, and also to the Bone Fang's area AOE."

"The Ice Arrow Technique requires aiming at the target."

"And the Water Sphere behind also needs to be aimed at the target."

"The Ice Arrow is faster than the Water Sphere, but the Water Sphere rotates faster; the two can complement each other."

Jiang Chen continuously analyzes his mistakes and makes up for them.

The waiting time is short, only a minute later.

Jiang Chen only managed to give a brief summary; the new Contest began again.

This time the loser was still Jiang Chen, but he was much better than before.

Li Xueru and the other two watched the whole time, taking in all of Jiang Chen's changes.

Hong Jishi was pleased with Jiang Chen's performance: "Not bad, not bad, Xiao Chen, you're improving quickly."

Ao Hongchen nodded, "Stronger than you were back then."

Hong Jishi snorted coldly, "Isn't it stronger than you?"

The two were extremely at odds; although they didn't come to blows as before, a few sharp words were still inevitable.

Hong Jishi said slowly, "I trust Xiao Chen's comprehension, but repeated failures might undermine Xiao Chen's confidence."

After all, Jiang Chen has always had smooth sailing.

He has created one history after another, seemingly never having tasted the flavor of failure.

Now, with consecutive failures like this, it could indeed dent his confidence.

Li Xueru shook his head, "No, you've seen Xiao Chen's ferocity before; once his ferocity kicks in, such a small setback means nothing."

Ao Hongchen said, "The smoother things go, the more one must endure setbacks. No strong person has ever grown without facing adversity."

"Besides, I see Xiao Chen has already begun to adapt; he can do it."

Hong Jishi unusually offered no rebuttal, clearly agreeing with Ao Hongchen's words.

In the Trial Tower, a new round of Contest began again.