BOOM!!!

Qin Feng felt as if his [Raging Tide] long spear had struck a Divine Mountain hurtling toward him at the speed of light.

An indescribable, irresistible, and terrifying force surged wildly up the spear’s shaft.

The force of that single elbow strike sent him and his long spear flying hundreds of meters. He carved a pitiful arc through the air before slamming heavily into a distant cliff face.

"PFFT!"

A spray of blood erupted from his mouth. Qin Feng felt as if every bone in his body was about to shatter.

He struggled out from the pile of rubble only to see the War Lord striding toward him at a leisurely pace. Each step made the very earth tremble.

An absolute gap in power!

Qin Feng’s mind cleared in an instant. The confidence that had just swelled within him was shattered by that single blow.

’The gap in our life force indexes is too large! I’m not even wearing Power Armor, but this War Lord is. There’s no way I can win right now!’

Without a second thought, he turned and fled. He pushed his newly perfected ’Assault Step’ Body Technique to its absolute limit, vanishing into the complex Gobi terrain in the blink of an eye.

...

The crushing defeat didn’t break Qin Feng’s Will. Instead, it made him acutely aware of his own shortcomings.

In the days that followed, his training became even more frenzied.

He fought shoulder to shoulder with more unfamiliar teammates, conquering one Greenskin position after another.

His combination of the ’Assault Step’ and the [Heavy Stab] grew increasingly proficient and refined.

He was no longer bound by the rigid forms of the Technique. Instead, he began to perfectly integrate the convergence of Mental Power and Spiritual Energy into every step and every thrust of his spear.

At times, his steps were as heavy as a mountain, rooting him to the ground.

At others, they were as light as a feather, completely traceless.

When necessary, his spear could unleash devastating piercing power.

But it could also become as nimble as a thread of silk to ensnare his opponents.

His every breath, every heartbeat, seemed to perfectly match the rhythm of the Heavy Spear.

This sensation of perfectly fusing Mental Power, Spiritual Energy, Techniques, and footwork into a single whole gradually became muscle memory—his combat instinct.

[Life Force Index: 12,100.0]

[Life Force Index: 15,400.0]

[Life Force Index: 17,800.0]

[Proficiency: 1,250/10,000]

[Proficiency: 5,180/10,000]

[Proficiency: 7,950/10,000]

「The final month of the trial.」

In the G12 Combat Zone, before the War Lord’s lair, Qin Feng approached slowly, alone, his spear [Raging Tide] in hand.

His aura, compared to when he first arrived, had undergone an earth-shattering change.

If eleven months ago he was a blade with its edge laid bare, now he was a Divine Weapon concealed in its sheath. All of his sharpness was drawn inward, making him far more dangerous, far more unfathomable.

Two key stats on his personal panel had reached new heights.

[Life Force Index: 18,000.0]

[Proficiency: 9,919/10,000]

He was already standing at the starting point of the same realm as the War Lord before him!

"ROAR!"

The War Lord clearly remembered the little pipsqueak it had sent flying with an elbow months ago. It sensed a threat of an equal level emanating from him, and this provocation filled it with rage.

It roared, grabbing a massive metal totem pole and swinging it down at Qin Feng as if it were a mere straw!

This time, Qin Feng did not clash head-on like last time.

He activated his ’Assault Step.’ His figure flickered like a ghost, dodging the mountain-shattering blow by a hair’s breadth.

The battle erupted in an instant!

This was a true, grueling battle between experts of the same level.

Relying on its heavy Power Armor and immense strength, the War Lord’s attacks were powerful and sweeping, each one wide and devastating.

Qin Feng, however, pushed the techniques of the Heavy Spear to their absolute limit.

The grueling battle lasted for hundreds of rounds.

The entire hill was razed to the ground by the aftershocks of their battle.

A dozen new wounds appeared on Qin Feng’s body, but the battle intent in his eyes only grew stronger and brighter.

He could feel it. The final mystery of the Heavy Spear, just beyond his grasp, was beckoning to him.

Another perilous exchange.

The War Lord seized an opening in Qin Feng’s defense, its massive power-armored fist aimed straight for his face.

’This is it!’

Instead of retreating, Qin Feng advanced. In the instant before the punch connected, he poured everything into his spear, [Raging Tide]: all of his Mental Power, his Will, his Spiritual Energy, and every insight gained over the past eleven months.

The world before his eyes seemed to slow down at this moment.

He saw every line on the War Lord’s armored fist, saw every subtle twitch of its muscles, saw the flaw in its Technique as the Waaagh field operated.

[Proficiency: 10,000/10,000]

[Realm: Perfection]

Qin Feng thrust his spear.

[Heavy Stab].

This thrust was both heavy and fast. From the power generated by his feet, surging up his spine, and exploding from the tip of his spear, every movement was perfectly combined with a masterful convergence of Mental Power and Spiritual Energy.

Pfft.

The tip of the long spear effortlessly pierced the War Lord’s supposedly indestructible power gauntlet. It went through its steel-like skin and bone, unerringly sinking into its heart.

The War Lord’s movements froze.

Its huge body swayed, then collapsed with a crash.

Qin Feng stood over its corpse, his eyes shining with an astonishing light.

The trial was over.

A figure appeared silently behind him. It was Zongyun.

He took in the scene before him, his gaze falling on Qin Feng. A genuine, appreciative smile spread across his face.