The Second Phase, The Defense of the City

  After the thirty-minute pause to recover from the fight, Huang Di felt a sudden tremor and looked up at the sky, observing a massive swarm of stone beasts flying toward the arena. It was an overwhelming number, composed of hundreds of creatures of all shapes and kinds: felines, birds, humanoids, insects, marine beasts, and many others Huang Di had never seen before. Most appeared to be rank 5 beasts, but there were four larger creatures, with more elaborate details, resembling rank 6 beasts. They represented four different and exclusive types: a Dragon, a Phoenix, a Great Tiger, and a Turtle-Serpent.

  Huang Di recognized these figures. Their representations were scattered throughout various locations in the relic and demonstrated the connection of these creatures with the owner of that place. Moreover, there was a strong resemblance between them and the statues of the four great heroes located in the elderly’ village square, although those versions now seemed to have their power greatly diminished.

  He understood that defeating all these beasts would be the challenge of the second phase. But, unlike the first test, this one seemed considerably more difficult. This made him reflect on the true purpose behind the trials. The first had required defeating oneself; the second, facing a horde of enemies; the third, overcoming a direct adversary. Huang Di began to interpret these challenges as a way for the ancients to pass down teachings to the new generation. There must be a lesson behind each challenge, and perhaps a way to win without necessarily defeating all enemies.

  He recalled the words of the Emerald Elder, who said that, in the past, beasts united forces to attack large cities, and that members of sects and families were often summoned to help defend those regions in exchange for something valuable. Looking at the arena, Huang Di saw it slowly transforming into a miniature replica of a city, a kind of model, and understood that his role would be to defend this safe zone.

  Regretting not having trained his summoning skills, he realized how much he could have benefited from an army of spirit beasts. If he had more loyal summons, he could use them to protect the city while he faced the enemies directly. This also showed that, with a well-formed group of allies, it would be possible to attack enemies, families, cities, sects, even empires, with the resources at hand. The lesson was clear: he needed to develop his secondary skills aimed at multiple targets, such as his Spiritual Summoning Art.

  Knowing that using Umbra was not considered cheating, as it was part of his own power through the spiritual bond, Huang Di summoned him from the grimoire and gave direct instructions:

  “Protect this zone of the arena. Eliminate any enemy that crosses this line, without mercy.”

  The barrier surrounding the area symbolized the protective formation commonly used by cities during large-scale attacks.

  Wasting no time, Huang Di activated his flying skill, Phantom Foot, and took to the air above the barrier, surprised to notice the air was breathable, something different from what he expected. He pressed forward boldly, leaving Umbra in charge of defending the “city.”

  As he flew toward the enemies, he murmured aloud:

  “They say the best defense is a good offense. Today, I will follow that advice. I will annihilate anyone who crosses this line!”

  The four statues representing the mythical beasts, the Dragon, the Phoenix, the Tiger, and the Turtle-Serpent, observed him strangely, as if they had understood his words. There was intelligence in those stone eyes, a spark of consciousness Huang Di noticed but did not have time to analyze.

  The hundreds of remaining beasts continued their relentless advance, but the four largest maintained a slow and imposing pace, as if parading their grandeur before the inevitable clash.

  Huang Di was prepared for the worst-case scenario, awaiting the imminent confrontation.

  Strategy and Sacrifice in the Defense of the City

  Huang Di watched the starry sky, filled with enemies. A single mistake could lead to his swift destruction. He needed to devise a plan, and quickly. He was now alone, against a tide of beasts, and lacked many skills effective against multiple targets. Furthermore, his techniques were not yet fully developed or demanded an energy consumption he could not afford in a prolonged battle. If he focused his efforts on just a few enemies, others could break through the siege and attack the miniature city, increasing the pressure on Umbra.

  The best approach would be to eliminate the enemies quickly and decisively, with minimal energy expenditure. To achieve this, he would need to use two of his skills: Phantom Foot and A Sound as a Weapon, focusing on maximizing his speed and delivering devastating strikes that could take down the greatest number of beasts possible in a short time.

  Time was against him. The beasts approached every second, and Huang Di could not afford to hesitate. He considered forming a rune barrier, but that would require resources and time he did not have. Thus, he decided to act with force and speed, breaking the sound barrier with his own body and delivering punches that generated waves of wind and sound, amplifying damage over a medium-range area.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  To his surprise, the first enemies struck disintegrated as if they were made of sand. One by one, the enemies he hit vanished, but many others managed to pass by him, ignoring his presence and heading toward the city protected by Umbra.

  Then, Huang Di received the first telepathic message since the start of the second phase. It informed him that he must defend the city for one hour, or defeat 50% of the enemies, or eliminate one of the four bosses to complete the test. This information worried him. He would not have enough energy to maintain that pace for so long. Quickly calculating, he estimated that maintaining that level of consumption, in only fifteen minutes he would use 50% of his energy, which would cause him to lose the ability to fly and force him to retreat. The city, in that case, would be exposed to all sides.

  While fighting, Huang Di realized that if he wanted to be prepared for this kind of situation in the future, he would need to create instant energy regeneration pills and prepare quick-activation rune formations. Furthermore, he would need to invest more time improving his Spiritual Summoning Art, which, if mastered, would allow up to ten summonses simultaneously. With them, he could cover the rear while attacking.

  The sudden change in the relic’s rules, shortening his preparation time from years to just weeks, forced him to adopt a broader approach. Instead of deeply specializing in a single skill, Huang Di chose to become a learner of multiple disciplines, diversifying his resources for unforeseen situations like this.

  Despite the chaos, he was not as pressured as he had expected. His body acted almost instinctively, attacking with precision while his mind analyzed possibilities. He paused briefly to assess and noticed he had already eliminated 10% of the rank 5 beasts. However, about 5% of the enemies ignored his presence and were attacking Umbra. Unable to help his ally at that moment, he hoped Umbra could hold the assault without damaging the miniature city.

  Then, a roar echoed. One of the boss beasts, the Turtle-Serpent, made of dark stone, advanced toward him. It seemed irritating to see so many of its subordinates being wiped out. Perhaps this was the lifeline Huang Di needed: if he managed to defeat it, he would win the second phase of the test.

  Taking this possibility as his goal, Huang Di focused his attacks on the marine and aquatic beasts, which appeared to be under the Turtle-Serpent’s command. By doing so, he intentionally provoked it, forcing it to leave its position and come after him, exactly as he planned.

  Huang Di’s Strategy and the Battle’s Outcome

  Umbra was in a more favorable position than Huang Di, having acquired the Phantom Claw skill, which allowed him to attack enemies from a considerable distance. Now, as a rank 6 beast, he possesses great battle power, capable even of competing with some common rank 7 beasts. Although numerous, the rank 5 beasts did not pose a great challenge for him. With each strike, Umbra unleashed dozens of cutting energy beams, and given the number of enemies, he rarely missed. Each shot vaporized an adversary, and since the energy cost was lower than his recovery rate, he could keep firing attacks hundreds, or even thousands, of meters away. Even with damage reduction due to distance, the effect remained lethal.

  Watching the scene, Huang Di felt more at ease knowing he could rely on his partner to protect the fortress in his absence.

  At that moment, the beast leader, a rank 6 creature made of dark rocks, entered the scene. It was the Black-Shelled Turtle, with a serpent tail, significantly larger than the rank 5 beasts, which ranged from a few meters to tens of meters in size. Its presence caused the others to retreat, making way for their leader.

  Huang Di quickly assessed the situation. The pressure emanating from the creature was intense. Although made of stone, this beast surpassed even the Sandworm Umbra had faced alone. Its presence did not seem like a mere rank 6 beast, but rather that of a rank 7, a true Beast King, capable of commanding numerous subordinates with its aura alone.

  He stared at it, and it returned the gaze challengingly. Huang Di had promised to destroy any creature that crossed his imaginary line. Now, somewhat regretful, he knew he could not back down. The only choice was to fight with everything he had, hoping the remaining test time would pass quickly and that the other beasts would not continue their assault under their leader’s presence.

  But, to his misfortune, the Black Turtle let out a war roar. The sound was not only deafening, it was also a technique combining wind and water, generating an impact wave that threw Huang Di over two hundred meters away. His rank 6 armor resisted the impact but lost some of its luster, revealing that the blow was a special ability of the opponent.

  Stabilizing himself midair, Huang Di saw a horde of beasts circumventing him and heading straight for the city. If these beasts reached Umbra, they could overwhelm his defense and seal defeat in this phase.

  Huang Di did not want to lose, but he could not split his focus. The Black Turtle kept him busy, as if knowing that diverting his attention would allow others to attack the city core, where Umbra struggled to keep enemies at bay.

  The only way out was to defeat the Black Turtle as quickly as possible, only then could he relieve the pressure on his ally and end the phase. Then, he saw the creature start a violent spin with its shell, approaching like a wild spinning top, its shell pointed like a war shield.

  Huang Di recalled a teaching from the Emerald Elder: “If your strength is lesser, use your opponent’s force against them.” With this principle, he lunged forward, aiming for the Black Turtle’s tail. At the moment of collision, he made an agile maneuver, grabbing the tail and using the creature’s centrifugal force to his advantage. Spinning in the opposite direction, he propelled the turtle’s rotation to sonic speeds.

  The rotation was so extreme that the serpent’s head, connected to the tail, fainted. This indicated that, although one being, each part had autonomous function. Soon after, the Turtle itself began losing consciousness due to the increasing speed. Huang Di, already to his limit, used his spiritual sense to evaluate the location.

  To his surprise, he had been dragged several kilometers, approaching the concentration of beasts and the other three rank 6 creatures. Taking advantage of the moment, he released the Turtle’s tail, launching it like a spinning projectile into the crowd.

  Like a bowling ball, the Black Turtle’s shell plowed through entire ranks of rank 5 beasts, destroying everything in its path. Nothing could stop it, and finally, it reached the remaining three bosses. Proud and confident, they did not expect to be hit by their own ally. When they realized, it was too late. The impact caused a massive explosion.

  Meanwhile, Huang Di, still at high speed, prepared to endure the G-forces. Staying conscious, he slowed down and returned to the starting point. There, he found Umbra still fighting, decimating dozens of beasts with long-range attacks.

  Surprisingly, a mental message appeared: he had met the requirements to pass the phase, having eliminated more than 50% of the enemies.

  Looking afar, he saw the four rank 6 beasts still moving, though severely damaged. They glared at him with hostility. Huang Di did not hesitate. He mentally responded that he wished to advance to the next phase of the test.

  And then, everything around him began to change.