Chapter 1144: Earth: A Troubled Fate, But I

Elite Training Camp, Nine-Tier Tower, Challenge Room.

This was an endless expanse of silvery alloy ground, with only one structure upon it—the arena.

Swish! Swish!

Luo Feng from the Dao Inquiry Palace and William from the training camp arrived on the arena.

Besides them, there was no one else.

The challenge room, like the trial tower, was a virtual space; those who wished to challenge could send their consciousness into this virtual space to engage in a simulated battle.

This differed from challenges among Yuhua Sect disciples in the Eternal Life Realm, where the so-called Tian Xing Platform allowed outcomes ranging from a disciple being crippled, to being killed, or even, in cases like Fang Yu, challenging and directly slaying a ten-thousand-year giant, resulting in the loss of one such giant per challenge.

The cost was still immense.

In this world, every human warrior was a precious asset to humanity, and losses were strictly forbidden; thus, even if two individuals harbored grudges and wished to settle them, they did so in the challenge room, on a virtual battlefield.

At this moment, Luo Feng and William entered this virtual space, each selecting their own weapons and combat suits, and even choosing the battlefield environment they desired.

"You choose. You're the guest."

William smiled slightly.

"Then… the gymnasium."

Luo Feng casually selected the battle scenario.

Boom—boom—the heavens and earth trembled; the surroundings of Luo Feng and William shifted, and now they seemed to stand within a vast gymnasium, its interior completely unobstructed, with bleachers surrounding the arena.

Yet not a single spectator occupied the bleachers; only two people filled the entire gymnasium.

"Battle, begin!"

An electronic voice echoed through the gymnasium.

"Brother Luo Feng, since you chose the battlefield, I'll strike first!"

William's lips curled slightly; his body lunged forward in an instant, covering dozens of zhang in a flash—his longsword became a streak of light, rippling the air, its tip piercing straight toward Luo Feng's third eye.

It was an extremely sharp strike!

In an instant, dozens of zhang covered, a single thrust!

"Too slow."

Luo Feng shook his head; he felt this William moved far too sluggishly—he merely shifted his stance, took one step, and his long blade swept across William's neck, sending the head flying.

"Puff!"

Blood spurted skyward.

William collapsed.

"Challenge: Luo Feng wins!"

The electronic voice echoed throughout the gymnasium, which then blurred and vanished entirely.

The silvery alloy ground and the empty arena reappeared; Luo Feng and William both returned to it.

"How is this possible? I was selected for the elite training camp, and I've trained here for a year—every day I practiced swordplay, power generation, and more—how could I lose so easily to you? I've seen your records; your current strength shouldn't be a match for mine—why can you defeat me? Did you cultivate for one day and surpass a year of my effort?"

William stared fixedly at Luo Feng.

"I've only cultivated for one day—why would he say that? I've trained for months in the Dao Inquiry Palace—could it be…"

A shocking thought rose in Luo Feng's mind: could time flow differently inside the Dao Inquiry Palace than in the outside world?

If true, then what level had his master reached?

He simply could not imagine—could any cultivator manipulate the flow of time? Such a being must have reached the legendary realm of gods.

In the myths he'd seen as a child, not a single tale featured such effortless control over time.

Luo Feng said nothing more and exited the challenge room.

When he stepped out, many trainees waited outside—they had all heard the electronic announcement.

"Challenge: Luo Feng wins."

"What? Luo Feng defeated William so quickly? William isn't particularly strong in our camp, but to be beaten in one move—that's too fast!"

"Yeah, one move defeated William—I don't think I could do that. How did Luo Feng manage it?"

"Could this be the wonder of Chinese Daoist methods? But in the challenge room, those mystical techniques probably can't be used."

"I'm starting to get curious about Luo Feng—I want to challenge him too."

"Look, someone's challenging him—another foreigner. They seem even more intrigued by Luo Feng."

Many warriors were murmuring—some Han Chinese, some Europeans, others from elsewhere—when a tall, slender man approached with a smile: "Luo Feng, I admire your strength and it's left me eager to test myself—do I have the chance to spar with you? Whatever stakes you set, I'll accept."

Silence fell; many trainees grew quiet.

"You're on?"

Luo Feng's gaze fixed on the tall, slender man—this man carried an air of nobility, like a Western aristocrat, yet he evoked one word in Luo Feng's mind: vampire.

"Fine. Then let's keep it small—five billion."

Luo Feng thought for a moment and spoke.

"Alright, five billion."

The tall, slender young man nodded.

A new match began.

"Luo Feng faces Candice—Candice ranks 42nd and has been in our camp for three years. Can he beat Luo Feng?"

As Luo Feng and the tall, slender man named Candice entered the challenge room, others began discussing.

"Hard to say—after all, Luo Feng is the disciple chosen by that Daoist. He must have something extraordinary, or else the Daoist wouldn't have taken notice of him."

"But even if he's extraordinary, what could he achieve after only one day of cultivation? Could one day of instruction from that Daoist surpass three years of Candice's arduous training? I don't believe it."

"This Luo Feng is said to be a mentalist—regardless of win or loss, in the real world he deserves respect, though his challenge room performance might be affected."

"Let's wait and see."

Amid the crowd's discussion, inside the challenge room, both of them had already reached the arena.

This time they chose a new combat setting — a ruined city under a torrential downpour.

*Slap! Slap! *

In an instant, both of them were inside the ruined city with rain pouring down. The high-rises here had long since rotted, some even collapsed outright, and on one of the streets, two figures appeared.

Luo Feng, Candice!

"A rainstorm setting, huh — there's a bit of an Eastern mood to it, but your opponent is me."

Candice wore a black combat suit; her figure flickered, as if merging into the downpour. Her speed was even faster, her movement technique more flawless, and her entire body seemed to blur within the rain.

At this moment Luo Feng also moved — within the downpour, his body transformed into a streak of afterimage.

When he appeared again, the blade in his hand had already cleaved off Candice's head.

"What a fast… blade!"

Candice, defeated.

Defeated in an instant.

She couldn't even react in time.

Luo Feng wins again.

This news quickly spread to the ears of the martial artists outside.

"That fast?"

"Candice lost too?"

"How exactly did he do it? I want to go too!"

Many of the martial artists were overcome by a sense of absurdity, yet Luo Feng's expression remained calm.

He felt that his physical qualities surpassed these people in every respect — all of it was the grace of his Shizunde Sect's teaching, and most crucial of all was that his Shizunde Sect had adjusted the flow of time, allowing him to grow powerful within an extremely short span.

Of course, he didn't mind sparring with the others either.

"Luo Feng, I'll spar with you!"

Another person stepped forward.

And so the sparring continued.