Chapter 10 – Ultra Difficulty, Five Gates

When Lin Ze opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a brightly lit plaza.

Towering walls and densely packed spectator stands surrounded him on all sides.

The stands were empty—no one was seated, only countless vacant chairs.

About twenty meters ahead stood a massive iron gate.

“So this is the inside of the Origin Stele Virtual Realm? It looks a bit like an arena.”

Lin Ze surveyed his surroundings with interest.

He also stretched his body a little.

The sensation was incredibly realistic.

It felt as if he were still in the real world.

But Lin Ze knew that all of this was virtual.

His physical body remained outside.

What was here in the Virtual Realm was only his consciousness and projection.

Under these circumstances, any injuries sustained in the Virtual Realm would have no effect on his real self.

That included the death of Pet Beasts.

Even if a Pet Beast fell in battle within the Virtual Realm, it could be revived normally upon returning to reality, without any cost.

“Quite fascinating.”

Lin Ze clicked his tongue and casually summoned the Ice Crystal Soul.

“Little one, it’s your turn to shine.”

“Ah-woo.”

The Ice Crystal Soul understood its master’s words and patted its chest, making a ‘leave it to me’ gesture.

At the same time.

A cold, mechanical voice echoed from the void.

“The assessment is about to begin.”

“Under Ultra Difficulty, there are a total of five Gates. Participants, please prepare yourselves.”

“Ten, nine, eight, seven… The assessment begins!”

As the voice faded, the iron gate twenty meters away rumbled open.

A massive lizard, its skin as crimson as flames and measuring over two meters from head to tail, slowly crawled out.

“Tsk, a Flame Lizard.”

Lin Ze recognized the Pet Beast at first glance.

Flame Lizard—a Fire Attribute Pet Beast. Once it develops to the Mature Stage, its Power Level can reach Tier 1 Stage 7.

“Well, I suppose this is what Ultra Difficulty means—the opponent at the first Gate is already a Tier 1 Stage 7 Pet Beast.”

Though he mused about it, there was not a trace of wavering on Lin Ze’s face.

With a subtle thought, the Ice Crystal Soul beside him floated forward.

Seeing its prey daring to take the initiative, the Flame Lizard flew into a rage and charged forward with a Roar.

Midway, it suddenly opened its gaping maw and spat out a massive cone of blazing fire.

The Ice Crystal Soul did not retreat in the slightest. It opened its small mouth slightly and spat out an extremely frigid white mist in return.

Frost Breath!

Boom!

The crimson flames and the icy mist collided violently at the center of the arena.

A violent surge of air erupted, sweeping outward as a fierce gale.

After barely half a second of stalemate, the icy mist ruthlessly overpowered the flames, crushing and extinguishing them, then without pause, engulfed the Flame Lizard.

Crack! Crack!

Crisp sounds of freezing rang out one after another.

The Flame Lizard didn’t even have time to let out a cry of pain before it instantly turned into an ice sculpture.

Battle over!

A cold, mechanical voice immediately echoed from the void.

“First Gate passed. The challenge continues!”

Lin Ze’s expression remained unchanged.

The Ice Crystal Soul’s Power Level completely overwhelmed the Flame Lizard, so victory was only to be expected—nothing worth celebrating.

There were still four more Gates ahead.

Soon.

The massive iron gate opened once again.

A monster made entirely of gray-white bandages, shaped like a skeleton, slowly drifted out.

It hovered about half a meter above the ground. Its body consisted only of an upper half—everything below the waist vanished into thin air, leaving only a few trailing gray-white bandages.

Bandage Ghost—an Undead Attribute Pet Beast. Once it develops to the Mature Stage, its Power Level can reach Tier 1 Stage 9.

It was adept at attacking with corrosive bandages.

Lin Ze quickly recalled the information about the Bandage Ghost while ordering the Ice Crystal Soul to take the initiative and attack.

Inside the Stele Chamber.

He Zhenwen and Lu Peixin stared intently at the light screen.

Because of the earlier incident, both of them had shifted their attention to Lin Ze’s assessment.

When they saw the Ice Crystal Soul instantly kill the Flame Lizard with a single strike, both of them were taken aback.

He Zhenwen said with some surprise: “This kid is quite skilled, no wonder he dares to challenge the Ultra Difficulty.”

Lu Peixin said expressionlessly: “The Ice Attribute counters the Fire Attribute, his pet beast had the advantage.”

He Zhenwen disagreed and smiled: “Even so, being able to instantly kill a Flame Lizard means his pet beast is at least at Tier 1 Stage 9 in power level, and there’s a good chance it’s Tier 2. With this kind of strength, he could be considered an ace student at any high school.”

Lu Peixin didn’t refute this time, apparently conceding to He Zhenwen’s point.

But then, he shook his head again.

“Even so, what does it matter? The result will be the same. Over the years, how many ace students have fallen to the Ultra Difficulty?”

This time it was He Zhenwen’s turn to fall silent.

Indeed, being an ace student was not enough to guarantee passing the Ultra Difficulty.

He Zhenwen clearly remembered that two years ago, there was a genius said to be the strongest student at some high school, who possessed a Tier 2 Stage 3 pet beast. During the Apprentice Assessment, he confidently challenged the Ultra Difficulty.

As expected, he failed.

He had no choice but to repeat a year, and only managed to obtain the apprentice qualification the following year, allowing him to apply for the Beast Tamer Academy.

During that time, many peers with lesser aptitude had already surpassed him in strength.

That student deeply regretted it.

He Zhenwen was the Examiner at that time.

It was precisely because he had personally witnessed that incident that he had kindly advised Lin Ze just now.

Unfortunately, the latter didn’t appreciate it.

Letting out a silent sigh, He Zhenwen set aside his stray thoughts and focused back on the light screen.

On the screen, the Ice Crystal Soul and the Bandage Ghost had already engaged in battle.

In just a single exchange.

A sky full of Ice Spikes engulfed the Bandage Ghost.

By the time the Ice Spikes dissipated, the Bandage Ghost was nowhere to be seen, leaving only a ground full of ice shards.

He Zhenwen and Lu Peixin’s expressions shifted slightly.

“It seems you were right, this kid’s pet beast really is at the Tier 2 level.”

Lu Peixin nodded slightly, and the look he gave Lin Ze immediately softened considerably.

An ordinary student challenging the Ultra Difficulty was overestimating their abilities.

But if it was a young genius with a Tier 2 pet beast, at worst it was just excessive confidence.

The meaning represented by the two was completely different.

In an instant, Lu Peixin’s impression of Lin Ze greatly improved.

Of course.

He still held the same view, not believing that Lin Ze could succeed in the challenge.

As for He Zhenwen, he felt even more regret.

Such an outstanding genius seedling, wasting a whole year for nothing, was truly a pity.

Just as the two were lost in their respective thoughts.

The third Gate had already begun.

This time, what emerged from behind the iron door was a creature covered in thorny branches all over, like a humanoid shrub standing upright.

Within the head shrouded by withered branches, two glowing flames were quite intimidating.

The Wither Beast, a Plant Attribute pet beast.

Its power level at Mature Stage could reach Tier 2 Stage 1.

“A Tier 2 pet beast, this won’t be easy to deal with…”

He Zhenwen muttered to himself.

But before he could finish speaking, he saw the Ice Crystal Soul on the light screen wave its little hand.

Countless ice spikes materialized out of thin air, shooting forth like a violent storm, instantly shredding the Wither Beast into pieces.

“……”

He Zhenwen was stunned in place, his mouth agape.

Beside him, Lu Peixin’s eyes were equally wide, his face full of astonishment.

The two stared blankly at the light screen, momentarily wondering if they were seeing things.