CHAPTER 1018: CHAPTER 814: PIONEERING MISSION (LONG CHAPTER)

Vision and knowledge cannot be compared.

After more than half a year, Vito’s realm has not improved much, only moving from Three Core to Four Cores.

——This was achieved by exchanging academic credits for half a day’s access to the Pure Source Power Pool and cultivating.

However, his combat power has increased tremendously.

Before arriving in Void City, Vito considered himself among the best in his class, except when facing Duan Qin’s unreasonable combat skills, even Ji Kaipeng couldn’t defeat him easily.

He could use his First-tier Senior Transcendent physique to withstand a Second Tier Transcendent.

Vito found this quite incredible.

Further improvements would likely elevate his combat power to Ji Kaipeng’s level—defeating Second Tier opponents with a First Tier physique.

That was the limit.

This is what he believed after being broadened by the World Tree Academy.

But now, his worldview has been refreshed again.

Void City, Spirit Space,

Human Race Trial Tower, third level.

Vito stood on an endless wasteland, holding a First-tier Divine Weapon.

Suddenly,

as the countdown in the sky approached zero, three figures appeared on the wasteland.

Each had two horns, a hideous visage, and an aura... at Second Tier Transcendent!

And they were all veterans of the Second Tier level!

As soon as the three figures appeared, they immediately charged toward Vito.

They didn’t rush all at once; two aliens wielding melee weapons attacked Vito from left and right, while the other quickly chanted, causing Vito’s mind to buzz, as the two aliens had already arrived close.

’If it were me from a year ago, under the skilled cooperation of these three Second Tier Transcendents, I fear I couldn’t withstand more than three moves.’

Zheng——

The long spear vibrates.

A faint golden domain spreads out from him as the center.

The two aliens attacking from the left and right paused for a moment.

Vito seized the opportunity, the spear moved like a dragon, tearing the space.

Boom~!

The alien on the right was torn apart, its body shattered into several segments, which were then scattered to various directions by Vito’s spear tip.

At the same time, he moved a hundred meters sideways, avoiding the other alien’s attack.

The dissected alien was not dead; the fragmented meat began to regroup. However, because they were too far apart, more Source Power was consumed.

By the time the other alien recovered, Vito had shattered the alien in front of him.

Hours later,

On the desolate ground, Vito had an arm bent, and a hole in his abdomen, his aura somewhat weak.

But the aura of the other three alien powerhouses had completely vanished.

"Finally won."

Vito let out a long breath.

After all, he was only a First-tier Transcendent, and his life force was his greatest weakness.

He needed to defeat Second Tier aliens dozens of times to kill them completely, but his own combat power would be greatly reduced and life risk ensue if he sustained critical hits.

Vito, after making a mistake and injuring his arm, could only fight desperately to kill the final alien powerhouse.

"But it’s finally a success, I’ve passed the Human Race Trial Tower’s third level, now I can start taking on tasks, right."

’The Human Race Trial Tower’ is the checkpoint to gauge combat power standards for Void City’s Heavenly Pride.

On the first level, one faces multiple Senior Transcendents whose combat power nearly matches that of Vito a year ago.

The second level entails direct confrontation with veteran Second Tier.

The third level opponents are three veteran Second Tier.

Passing the third level means the combat power of this Heavenly Pride is among the top tier in the Second Tier, able to fight through a path of blood even under encirclement by multiple Second Tier enemies.

It reaches the entry-level standard for Void City’s Heavenly Pride.

If the young students of World Tree Academy are still sheltered like... carnivorous plants, then Void City’s Heavenly Pride are already mature warriors.

They have reached the age where they need to contribute.

They need to accept tasks and head to different Otherworlds to explore.

It is also how they earn their academic credits.

Vito has long wished to take on tasks, but... one must pass the third level of the Human Race Trial Tower first.

He cultivated for more than half a month, during which he contacted alumni from the same cohort.

The Transcendent Class ventured into Otherworld either alone or in teams of three to five.

As someone at the bottom tier in Void City, Vito had long lost his pride and decisively sought stability.

Finally,

he teamed up with Ji Kaipeng and Eva to form a three-person squad.

...

At the halfway point on the mountain, still at the Transmission Array platform.

Upon returning, the area had become deserted, even the personnel controlling the array were absent.

——They needed to operate the thing themselves.

Ji Kaipeng walked to the control platform and used his tactical smartwatch to connect, granting access permissions.

Several tasks appeared on the control platform along with their respective worlds.

[① Shadow of the Devil Race (Advanced World)]

[Explanation: It is suspected that powerful forces from the Devil Race have appeared on Ogarod Continent. Acquire detailed intelligence without exposing identities to complete the task.]

[② Divine Crossing Tree (Advanced World)]

[Explanation: In the Central Court world, there are legends about the Divine Crossing Tree. Investigate the truth and details about these legends...]

[③ Rise of the Human Race (Intermediate Plane)]

[Explanation: The Desert Dove Plane is a diverse racial plane where the Human Race can only survive in the crevices. This task involves helping the Human Race rise to become the dominant race of this plane... (Note: Long-term task, with multiple travels, rewards given per stage)]

[④...]

"Which to choose?" Ji Kaipeng scratched his head.

"Uh... don’t you have insider information?" Vito asked, "Aren’t you from Green Shadow?"

"Do you have some misunderstanding about Green Shadow people?" Ji Kaipeng questioned with dark lines across his forehead, "Even for City Lord, I only met him for the first time during the graduation test."

"Then which should we choose?"

"Roll a dice? Flip a coin?"

"How do we flip a coin?"

"Maybe we should analyze first... The first task is too uncertain, the third task is too troublesome, and the fourth and fifth look difficult... Let’s choose the second one?"

Ji Kaipeng analyzed.

Vito and Eva slowly formed a "?"

However, from their perspective, whichever task they chose would likely be challenging.

Ji Kaipeng casually pressed the button.

A hazy halo enveloped them and, the next moment, they vanished without a trace.

...

The cold wind howls, the snow whirls.

A small town stands tall on the scarcely populated ice field.

The town is small, with only a few dozen low buildings, their roofs covered in thick snow.

But in the town’s center, on a small square, lied an ancient stone platform, with snow piled higher than the platform, and yet no trace of white could be seen on it.

It seemed as though an invisible barrier blocked the raging snowflakes.

On the mini Array platform, a hazy glow suddenly appeared, and after a while, it dissipated, revealing three figures.

"Is this... Central Court world?" Vito looked around.

"Not much different from our home." Eva was familiar with this snowy environment.

"This is the Green Shadow’s base in the Central Court world, meaning we might get some intel, thankfully... I’ve heard some worlds do not have development bases and even the landing location might be random."

Ji Kaipeng clearly sighed with relief.

Vito and Eva looked over, "Did you say you had no insider information?"

While they joked, they expanded their perception first, remaining cautious despite the existence of a base.

"The town has a barrier to isolate probes... wait, someone’s coming."

Eva, who had the strongest perception, spoke.

Shortly, they saw a silhouette walking through the snow.

It was a middle-aged man in a fur coat.

The man pointed to their watches, and Vito’s group understood, initializing the wrist communication immediately.

And the most primitive password connection——Vito’s team knew the relevant information was available to them once they accepted the task.

Soon,

The man nodded, visibly more relaxed.

Even though the transmission array had never failed, identity checks and connection procedures could not be skipped.

This was the vigilance expected of excellent intelligence personnel.

He extended a hand, "Welcome to Central Court world, this is the Extreme North Ice Field, rarely seen by humans... No, I should say even Ice series Mutant Beasts are scarce in this desolate area."