Chapter 345 – I Choose to Push Straight Through

Mu Yuan narrowed his eyes as he surveyed his surroundings.

The moment he noticed the two-winged angel, he felt a slight surprise.

It wasn’t the angel’s tier that surprised him, but rather the identity it represented.

Angels were different from dragons.

Lords from the Seven Great Nations and several powerful local nations all had opportunities to recruit epic dragons. Even some small-nation lords or stateless lords who had stumbled upon great luck might have managed to recruit a dragon.

But angels…

Throughout the Eternal World, there was only one faction that could possess them.

That was the self-proclaimed successor of the Holy Radiance Empire, the ‘Holy Griffin Empire’—the strongest power currently on the Eternal Continent.

And within the Holy Griffin Empire, typically only the imperial family, or great nobles who had received imperial rewards, were qualified to possess an angel. This was not merely a symbol of strength, but also of identity and status.

—All of the above, Mu Yuan had read in books.

He hadn’t even ventured beyond the Taixuan Alliance or the Twilight Plains Great Domain, let alone the distant Holy Griffin Empire located deep within the continent.

The lord from the Holy Griffin Empire was also a young man with brilliant golden short hair. His face appeared slightly younger than the angel’s, but the divine aura emanating from him was in no way inferior to the angel’s.

Well, to be precise, this sacred and lofty power originated from the divine armor worn by the Holy Griffin lord.

He made no attempt to conceal this divine armor. Rings of golden light rippled outwards, adorned with threads of lightning dancing along the edges—exceptionally flashy.

Mu Yuan assessed at a glance: this was a wealthy, top-tier second-generation noble.

Besides him and this Griffin second-generation, there were four other trial lords.

In the first position on the left was a young man wearing round-framed glasses and a plain-colored mage robe, presenting a scholarly and amiable appearance. Several commanders accompanied him, but none had striking features like the angel, making it impossible to discern their origins for now.

Mu Yuan took a few extra glances at the second position on the left.

This was a young female lord, clad in form-fitting yet seemingly thin black soft armor. Her legs were pale, slender, yet clearly defined with muscular contours—robust and powerful.

Of course, Mu Yuan’s focus wasn’t there, but rather on the cat tail and cat ears swaying on this lord.

This was a cat-person race lord.

Mu Yuan speculated this because the commanders following behind the cat-woman lord also had distinct cat ears. She was a genuine cat-woman, not a human with cat-woman ancestry.

The first position on the right was a man wearing a black trench coat and a magician’s top hat.

His face seemed veiled in a layer of gray, indistinct and unclear. The commanders beside him were all cloaked in black robes with hoods drawn up, presenting an air of mystery.

The final trial lord was entirely encased in thick silver armor, with not even their eyes visible. This suit of armor was exceptionally tall, exceeding three meters, making the silver-armored lord stand out like a giant among men.

Six individuals: some cautious, some confident, some apprehensive and doubtful.

“What’s going on? Isn’t the promotion trial just a promotion trial? Why is there a special event? Hmm… what was originally a near-certain trial—could it be about to go wrong, go terribly wrong?”

Thinking this, the cat-woman’s ears drooped down.Not far away, the trial Lord from the Holy Griffin Empire wore an expression completely opposite to hers. The golden-haired young man beamed with joy, the corners of his mouth involuntarily turning upward:

“A trial ascension… Hahaha, this prince has also encountered such an opportunity. This proves destiny favors me!”

He seemed to have a clear understanding of the trial’s circumstances.

Beside him, a young man wearing round-framed glasses recognized the identity of this trial Lord from the Holy Empire. “Your Excellency, Golden Lion Prince, I am Duke, from the Star Luo Holy Temple.”

He paused before asking, “Are you familiar with the intricacies here? Could you enlighten us fools a little?”

Mu Yuan glanced over, unsurprised.

After all, the status of a prince from the Holy Griffin Empire far surpassed theirs.

This was a true top-tier second-generation heir. Among the entire Eternal World, he stood at the very pinnacle of such heirs.

Top-tier second-generation heirs like Wang Ba and Liu Miumiu might seem like mere country bumpkins in his eyes, completely incomparable.

The Golden Lion Prince greatly enjoyed this feeling of reverence. He slightly raised his chin and said, “Since you’ve asked so sincerely, this prince will divulge a little to you.”

“In promotion trials, there exists a historically rare type of trial with an extremely low probability of occurrence. The reason for its rarity is that it requires several sufficiently outstanding Lords to apply for the trial simultaneously to trigger it.”

If only one Lord applied, no matter how excellent, powerful, or full of potential they were, they could not encounter such a ‘special event.’

Special trials require matching with a sufficient number of outstanding trial-takers.

According to intelligence held by the Holy Griffin Empire, this was the case.

On this point alone, the Golden Lion felt quite grateful to the people before him.

He had also found three reasonably capable Level 4 Lords to apply for the trial at the same time as him, but clearly, none of them were present. They likely didn’t meet the requirements set by the world’s rules.

Without others to set off against, even with all his strength and strategy, the Golden Lion Prince would have nowhere to display his abilities.

“Historical trials are far more difficult than the normal mode. Of course, this prince has full confidence. As long as you all follow this prince’s command, passing this special trial won’t be difficult either.”

Glasses Man Duke gave a hollow laugh and brushed past the topic.

The Golden Lion Prince’s raised smile stiffened slightly. He turned his gaze to Catwoman.

Catwoman smiled awkwardly, “Uh, well… Shouldn’t we first clarify the mission procedure? By the way, I’m Sanhua, from the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance. I’m relatively skilled in intelligence reconnaissance.”

Catwoman changed the subject.

She didn’t actually mind cooperation, but her feline intuition told her that cooperating with the Golden Lion Prince wouldn’t be cooperation at all—it would be completely working for him.

She was a rising star Lord herself; how could she be willing to take orders from someone else?

However, she didn’t dare offend a prince of the Holy Griffin Empire. Setting aside his identity, the power the Golden Lion Prince displayed alone was enough to make her tremble with fear.

He had three epic-tier, two-winged angels.

One of them had wings white with hints of gold, likely already an epic two-star lifeform, with potential to advance to epic three-star ‘four-winged angel’ in the future.

And it was highly possible that this prince possessed more than just three epic-tier beings—perhaps a fourth, or even a fifth.Offending this prince could mean failing the trial if he decided to cause trouble.

The others shared similar thoughts. They briefly revealed their origins and specialties to hint at potential cooperation, but carefully avoided mentioning any submission to the Golden Lion Prince’s command.

If they couldn’t afford to provoke the Golden Lion Prince, could they not at least avoid him?

The low-profile Lord Mu quietly observed, gathering considerable information. He was likely the least experienced among all the lords present.

He ignored the names reported by the trial lords, assuming most were pseudonyms.

Instead, he assigned them codenames himself.

The man wearing a magician’s top hat was dubbed ‘Magician’ by Mu Yuan. He claimed to be from the ‘Myriad Merchants Nation’, one of the Seven Great Nations, a country that revered commerce with trade routes spanning the world.

‘Catwoman’ hailed from the ‘Myriad Kingdoms Alliance’, while ‘Glasses Man’ belonged to the ‘Star Luo Holy Temple’—both were local forces surviving from the old era. Similar to the Holy Griffin Empire, these nations were located further inland.

The Star Luo Holy Temple worshipped the old gods; the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance was composed of numerous remnant civilizations and races.

Their attention shifted to the Silver-Armored Giant.

From behind the giant’s faceplate came a soft, melodious voice, “I… I come from the Thunder Mountains, and I’m… relatively skilled in frontal assaults.”

A minor lord.

Of course, there was also the possibility of fabricated origins and voice modulation.

After all, Mu Yuan himself…

He now wore a deep blue battle suit, with silver hair flowing and crimson eyes, declaring, “I am Tian Xing, from the Eternal Star Empire, proficient in a little bit of everything.”

This was a transformation he had prudently made before the countdown ended.

Using Dolai’s Perfect Mimicry ability.

This ability could alter not only his appearance and physique but also external equipment and accessories. It wasn’t an illusion but a fundamental transformation, impervious to any detection skills.

As for why he concealed his identity…

Tianyuan was merely an unknown figure on the world stage, but with a prince from the influential Holy Griffin Empire present at this trial, and given the competitive nature among the trial participants…

Using a disguise might not guarantee success.

But if he didn’t use one and needed it at a critical moment, it could lead to complications.

Playing it safe was always wise.

Besides, in this trial, he intended to…

“Clank, clank, clank—”

Gears turned, and the heavy, profound door slowly opened, revealing a straight staircase leading upward.

The Golden Lion Prince, followed by his nine officers, strode out first.

“Let’s go, let’s go. We’ll have to see what comes next—the trial task gave far too few hints.”

Glasses Man followed closely.

Outside, they entered another spacious hall. The hall was supported by several thick pillars, with a dome soaring over twenty meters high. Sunlight filtered through the crystalline ceiling, casting golden radiance across the chamber.

At the far end of the hall stood a majestic statue.

The statue’s face was unseen, its form that of pure white wings slightly folded.

Yet, as Mu Yuan gazed upon the statue, its revered name naturally surfaced in his mind.

「Pure White God」.In the Eternal Continent of the old era, numerous deities coexisted. Of course, according to researchers from the Taixuan Alliance, the deities of the old era were merely powerful lifeforms. However, they innately wielded some great powers, making them gods in the eyes of the insignificant.

“Pure White God…” Magician recalled, “It seems that back then, when the Pure White Kingdom fell, the Pure White God also perished.”

Glasses Man nodded, “Indeed, and the collapse of the Pure White Kingdom happened so swiftly that their suzerain state, the Holy Radiance Empire, had no time to offer aid before the kingdom faded into history… Wait, could it be that the trial we’re facing now is the very war that led to the fall of the Pure White Kingdom in history?”

The more Glasses Man thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, sending a chill down his spine.

After all, the Pure White Kingdom was not like small, destitute nations such as the Eagle or Black Snake, located in desolate lands and impoverished beyond measure.

The Pure White Kingdom possessed the basic scale of a kingdom. It had at least a few Legendary Realm experts stationed within its borders, several fully-formed Military Soul Legions, and dozens or even hundreds of Fourth-Order Experts.

And what about them? Even with all of them combined, they numbered only sixty.

Mortal commanders, without the ability to lead Military Soul Legions, were utterly defenseless against Legendary Realm beings.

How could they possibly fight?

Moreover, a kingdom of such scale like the Pure White Kingdom apparently lasted only a few days under the Crimson Mist disaster before it was destroyed.

Just as Glasses Man was about to say something, hurried footsteps approached from a distance.

A bishop, accompanied by a male and a female priest, strode over quickly.

His gaze swept over the group, and he nodded slightly, “There are actually sixty in this batch? Not bad. Valiant spirits, our Pure White Kingdom has paid a great price to summon you all in order to…”

The NPC bishop began his introduction.

The expressions of the group shifted subtly, a mix of uncertainty and unease.

The good news was: They were not the only ancient spirits. Before them, there had been twelve batches of spirits, varying in number and strength.

These were likely genuine ancient spirits, not trial participants like themselves.

They were the thirteenth batch.

The bad news was: According to the divine prophecy, the Pure White Kingdom had indeed reached the brink of destruction, and they were likely participating in the very war that would lead to its fall.

After finishing his speech, the bishop left without paying them much attention, seemingly treating these summoned ancient spirits as mere tools to be used.

And they…

Truly had no choice but to comply.

Such was the task.

“According to the bishop, aside from emergency summons, we can choose tasks to undertake at our own discretion during the remaining time. However, merely completing these tasks certainly won’t be enough to safely last ten days,” Glasses Man said, adjusting his glasses.

Catwoman pondered, “Perhaps, while carrying out tasks, we should gather as much intelligence as possible and identify the enemy’s weaknesses? We still know very little about the enemy’s existence.”

Glasses Man nodded, “We can basically assume that there are Legendary Realm beings among the enemy, and definitely far more than one. We are no match for Legendary Realm opponents, so we must avoid these formidable foes as much as possible when selecting tasks.”

“However, we do have some advantages. Some of the technical means we possess are not available to the Pure White Kingdom.”Unique skills, special equipment, epic lifeforms, reverse-engineering processes from outcomes—these were all their advantages.

“But even if we can identify some weaknesses in the enemy, relying solely on us won’t be enough to overcome them.”

The Magician spoke.

Glasses Man nodded, “Indeed, so we need to unite with the forces of the Pure White Kingdom itself. However, from the earlier situation, the higher-ups of the Pure White Kingdom merely treat us as tools of war. They may not value the intelligence we provide.

“I suspect that gaining their attention is closely tied to the number of tasks we complete in the early stages.”

Thus, the strategy chain took shape.

Complete tasks → Increase reputation → Provide intelligence → Join forces with the kingdom’s experts to repel the enemy and buy time.

Yet, even with a clear plan, Glasses Man and the others still felt immense pressure.

Only the Golden Lion Prince remained calm, a faint smile on his face as if he had anticipated it all.

Historical trials were inherently difficult.

But he—his angel possessed resurrection abilities, a super trump card capable of turning the tide on a legendary battlefield!

However, attempting to clear the trial alone, let alone with the highest evaluation, was clearly still challenging.

He glanced at Glasses Man and the others.

At this moment, Glasses Man hesitated. In his calculations, without the Golden Lion Prince, their chances of barely scraping through were slim.

But he still wanted to secure some autonomy.

“For daily task execution, we should act separately. That would be more efficient.”

“…Agreed.”

The Golden Lion Prince was still somewhat displeased but acquiesced.

After all, the combined strength of these individuals was not weak.

Catwoman, the Magician, and the Silver-Armored Man agreed one after another, forming a temporary alliance.

Only Mu Yuan refused.

“I won’t be joining.”

The Golden Lion Prince frowned, his expression turning displeased.

The Magician spoke up, “Everstar Lord, are you going to disregard the greater situation?”

Mu Yuan had already walked over a dozen meters away when he suddenly paused.

By nature, he would usually ignore such remarks, but at this moment, he was the Tian Xing Lord of the Eternal Star Empire—he had to play the part fully.

He recalled the Everstar Lord he had seen.

After a moment’s pause.

He turned half his face, a slight smile curling at his lips, “The greater situation? No, I am the greater situation.”

His figure melted into the brilliant golden sunlight and vanished from their sight.

If it were peacetime, he, Lord Mu, might have chosen to slowly explore the trial instance and savor the style of the old era. However…

Following the conventional process to clear the trial would take far too long.

He was facing the threat of the Hyena Overlord.

A major battle could erupt at any moment outside Wolfhead Mountain.

He didn’t have that much time to slowly strategize.

He had no choice.

He was forced… to break the rules and crush everything in his path.

(End of Chapter)