Chapter Eighty-Nine: Braving the "Hell"

For thirteen days, Liu Shaoyu had lived in this place. By now, the gravity on the ninth level had reached eighteen times normal, far beyond the limits of an ordinary human body.

He wore nothing but a pair of black shorts. The muscles beneath his skin stood taut and hard. His entire body was soaked with sweat. It was not from the gravity itself; though the first moment he had entered this level had been difficult to endure, after the initial discomfort Liu Shaoyu had gradually adapted to the environment.

Only after beginning his training here did he learn the rules of advancement. They were remarkably simple: fight an opponent in the conical arena at the center of the level. Each victory earned one point; each defeat cost two. Once he reached ten points, he could advance to the next level.

It sounded simple. In truth, it was brutally difficult.

Aside from people like Liu Shaoyu, whose own strength was formidable enough to climb five levels in three days, everyone else on each level was more or less evenly matched. To advance, one had to keep winning.

Only after entering the fifth level had Liu Shaoyu slowed his pace, beginning to train like everyone else.

After a brief respite, he resumed his push upward. At last, on the thirteenth day, he reached the ninth level.

The man before him was Liu Shaoyu’s ninth battle in this place, and from the beginning until now, Liu Shaoyu had never been defeated.

And yet, facing this opponent, Liu Shaoyu truly felt pressure.

Under eighteen-fold gravity, some people who had just arrived here could not even manage the most basic functions of daily life. Every movement in this place placed immense strain on the body.

And like Liu Shaoyu, the man before him clearly was not one of them. This was a final contest for the last point. Though it was not a fight to the death, after this battle one of them would inevitably advance to the tenth level, while the other would have to wait for the next challenge.

Both understood well that after such a match, their bodies would be under tremendous strain. The victor would be granted a week of transition and rest, but the loser would receive no special consideration. More frightening still, they were not the only ones here.

On normal days, others might not be able to beat you, but if you showed weakness, then there would be no mercy. When a man is sick, his enemies smell blood.

Anyone who had just finished a battle was allowed twelve hours of rest. Of course, one could refuse a challenge, but only three times. Once those refusals were used up, challenges had to be accepted.

Why was that? Because Liu Shaoyu currently had nine points, while some people who had trained here for a year or even longer might have only three or five. In a place where the difference in strength was not insignificant, earning points was already extremely difficult.

Every quarter, a purge would send anyone who had trained since before the previous quarter but still had no points back down to the next level.

There was another rule: if the gap in points between two people exceeded five, then if the lower-scoring side won, it would gain two points instead of one. Those two points would be deducted directly from the loser.

For other people, there might still be plenty of time to train here. But Liu Shaoyu had no time.

Too many things were waiting for him. Before Wang Weifu left, he had said that the first mental comparison would begin in another twenty days. There was not much time left.

The minimum requirement for leaving this place was to reach the tenth level. The minimum requirement for piloting the Battle Dragon was also the tenth level.

Even on the ninth level, Liu Shaoyu had not felt that this training was giving him much help. Clearly, his limit was not here. And yet, unexpectedly, when he was advancing from the ninth to the tenth level, he had run into such a formidable enemy.

Daru Chengwu stared fixedly at the young man before him. After several probing exchanges, he had realized that this youth was extremely troublesome.

Daru Chengwu had reached the ninth level in only fifteen days, but even so, he still felt that he was too slow. He had heard that the young man opposite him had done it in just thirteen days.

That fact made Daru Chengwu, who had been called a genius since childhood, feel ashamed. He was also young, but in his eyes, all the other young people were truly just that—young. None of them were like him.

Having an S-grade gene gave him every right to look down on others. That pride, however, had made him somewhat arrogant. More specifically, he was not a physical enhancement type; rather, he had inherited a mental perception ability from his family bloodline.

And in his arrogance, he believed that below the tenth level, no one could force him to use his ability.

“You are strong,” Daru Chengwu said slowly, looking at Liu Shaoyu.

For someone as proud as him to say such words was proof enough of the impression Liu Shaoyu had made.

As for Daru Chengwu, Liu Shaoyu did not know him at all... He was still thinking, what is wrong with this kid? We only exchanged a couple of moves, and then he just stopped? And now he suddenly says something like that?

“Thank you. So are you,” Liu Shaoyu replied. Though he did not understand what was going on, basic courtesy was still necessary.

“I made a rule for myself: before reaching the tenth level, I would not use my S-gene ability. But you make me feel that if I don’t use it, I will absolutely lose. So... I surrender this match.”

With that, Daru Chengwu turned and stepped out of the barrier on the platform.

Liu Shaoyu’s mind went blank. My God, what just happened? He... surrendered just like that?

Still bewildered, he saw Daru Chengwu, already outside the barrier, turn back and speak.

“My name is Daru Chengwu. We will meet again.”

Then, without another glance, he walked down from the conical arena.

At that moment, Liu Shaoyu, who still had not fully grasped the situation, received a voice notification.

“Congratulations. You have met the requirements for advancement. Please report to the transfer point within one Earth day.”

Only then did Liu Shaoyu confirm that the man really had surrendered.

“An interesting fellow,” Liu Shaoyu said with a shake of his head and a smile. There really were all kinds of birds in a big forest. Daru Chengwu, was it? We’ll meet again sometime, then.

Not lingering on the thought, Liu Shaoyu returned to the dormitory, packed his things, and prepared to head directly to the transfer point.

After being thrown into this place that day, Liu Shaoyu had immediately begun challenging his way upward. In just three hours, he had completed the requirements for advancing from the first level.

Then, just as now, he had been informed to report to the transfer point. By then, however, he no longer knew where Long Ruyuan had gone.

Likewise, Liu Shaoyu had also been issued a dragon-entwined emblem.

On the first level, it had merely been embroidered on the clothes they were given. On the second level, it had become a cloth patch. By the third, it had turned into some kind of organic plastic.

When he had seen Long Ruyuan, the emblem pinned to his chest had been made of some unknown metal. Looking down at the one on his own chest, Liu Shaoyu saw that although the material was roughly comparable, the color was still a pale brown. The one on Long Ruyuan’s chest must have been a grade higher.

By the time he slowly reached the transfer point, Liu Shaoyu had no luggage. Personal belongings were strictly forbidden here. Even private communications were restricted.

So after advancing, all one needed to do was carry the emblem to the transfer point and register to enter the next level.

“Identity scan complete. Verification passed. Welcome to the Tenth Level, the Ice Hell.”