The Bloodsteel Labyrinth shifted.
RUMBLE...
Stone walls groaned.
Ancient mechanisms turned somewhere deep beneath the mountain.
Entire corridors moved.
Passages sealed.
Others opened.
The maze was alive.
Shen Tian walked through the darkness with one hand in his pocket.
The first Wolf Sigil rested safely inside his system storage.
Xu Ning floated beside him.
[Host.]
"Hm?"
[The labyrinth is changing around you.]
"I noticed."
[That usually means the second sigil isn’t going to be as easy.]
Shen Tian smiled.
"Good."
Xu Ning stared.
[Why is everything ’good’ to you?]
"Because easy gets boring."
[You found the first sigil by accidentally taking the correct hallway.]
"Skill."
[Luck.]
"Charm."
[STOP SAYING CHARM.]
Shen Tian laughed.
Then...
He stopped.
His green eyes narrowed.
Something ahead.
A faint sound.
Scrape...
Scrape...
Scrape...
Metal against stone.
Xu Ning immediately became serious.
[Something is coming.]
Shen Tian slowly removed his hand from his pocket.
The Heaven Piercing Spear appeared.
Black metal rested comfortably in his palm.
The scraping became louder.
Then...
A figure emerged from the darkness.
Ancient armor.
Wolf-shaped helmet.
Long curved blade.
Then another.
And another.
Five.
Ten.
Twenty.
Shen Tian stared.
Xu Ning stared.
[Twenty-three.]
"Twenty-four."
A final warrior stepped forward.
Larger than the rest.
Nearly seven feet tall.
Its armor was covered in crimson markings.
In its chest...
A faint silver glow.
Shen Tian’s eyes sharpened.
"The second sigil?"
Xu Ning checked.
[No.]
"Of course not."
[But...]
A panel appeared.
Bloodsteel Pack Commander
Trial Guardian
Defeat Reward: Map Fragment
Shen Tian smiled.
"Better."
The Pack Commander lifted its sword.
All twenty-three warriors moved at once.
Shen Tian tightened his grip around the spear.
"Come on."
They charged.
. . .
Meanwhile...
Lu Chen sprinted through another section of the maze.
Blood covered his arms.
His clothes were torn.
His breathing had become heavy.
But...
His speed didn’t decrease.
He had slaughtered the first wolf pack.
Passed two trap corridors.
Broken through a rotating blade chamber.
And still...
No sigil.
His expression grew darker with every minute.
Then...
A voice echoed through the labyrinth.
"FIRST SIGIL REMAINS CLAIMED."
Lu Chen’s eye twitched.
"I know."
Silence.
Then...
The voice continued.
"TWO SIGILS REQUIRED."
Lu Chen stopped.
Slowly looked upward.
"I KNOW."
The labyrinth remained silent.
Then...
Somewhere far away...
An explosion shook the walls.
BOOOOOOM!
Lu Chen froze.
Dust fell.
His expression changed.
Shen Tian.
It had to be.
Lu Chen immediately started running again.
"No."
His pace increased.
"Not again."
Another explosion.
BOOM!
Lu Chen’s jaw tightened.
"If he’s fighting something..."
A smile slowly appeared.
"...then he hasn’t found the sigil yet."
For the first time in several minutes...
Hope.
Then...
A stone door opened beside him.
RUMBLE!
Lu Chen stopped.
His eyes widened.
Behind it...
A narrow staircase descended.
And carved above the entrance...
A glowing wolf paw.
Lu Chen’s heartbeat accelerated.
He smiled.
"Finally."
He entered.
. . .
Shen Tian ducked.
SHING!
A sword passed over his head.
He rotated the Heaven Piercing Spear.
THOOM!
The shaft smashed into one warrior’s chest.
Armor collapsed inward.
Before the body hit the floor...
Shen Tian stepped forward.
Spear thrust.
CRACK!
The tip punched through another helmet.
He pulled it free.
Turned.
Three warriors attacked simultaneously.
Shen Tian’s green eyes moved.
Left.
Right.
Center.
He stepped between the attacks.
One sword missed.
Another struck another warrior.
The third...
Shen Tian caught the wrist.
Then...
He pulled.
The armored figure stumbled forward.
Shen Tian drove his knee into its chest.
BOOM!
The warrior flew backward.
Shen Tian spun the spear once.
"Six."
Xu Ning blinked.
[You’re counting?]
"Obviously."
[Why?]
"Entertainment."
[You need hobbies.]
"This is a hobby."
[That is deeply concerning.]
The Pack Commander moved.
Fast.
Much faster than the others.
Its blade came down.
Shen Tian blocked.
CLAAAAANG!
The impact cracked the stone beneath his feet.
Shen Tian’s eyebrow rose.
"Strong."
The Commander twisted.
Second strike.
Shen Tian stepped aside.
Third.
He ducked.
The blade carved through the wall.
Shen Tian’s green eyes sharpened.
Then...
He smiled.
"Predictable."
He moved.
The spear came forward.
The Commander blocked.
Exactly as Shen Tian expected.
He changed grip.
Reverse strike.
THOOM!
The spear shaft slammed into the side of its helmet.
The Commander stumbled.
Shen Tian stepped in.
Palm.
BOOOOOOM!
Golden Qi erupted.
The Commander flew through four of its own soldiers.
Stone exploded.
Xu Ning stared.
[Host.]
"What?"
[That was unnecessary.]
"Efficient."
[YOU THREW HIM THROUGH FOUR PEOPLE.]
"Exactly."
Shen Tian moved again.
The remaining soldiers surrounded him.
He looked around.
Then...
Sovereign Suppression.
WHOOOOOOM!
Every armored warrior froze.
Their red lights flickered.
Metal knees bent.
Shen Tian’s green eyes gleamed.
"Down."
BOOM!
All seventeen remaining soldiers slammed onto one knee.
The chamber shook.
Xu Ning slowly looked around.
[...]
Shen Tian smiled.
"Useful technique."
[That’s horrifying.]
He lifted the spear.
Then...
One by one...
THOOM!
CRACK!
BOOM!
Armor shattered.
Red light extinguished.
Finally...
Only the Pack Commander remained.
It forced itself upright.
Even beneath Sovereign Suppression.
Shen Tian’s eyebrow rose.
"Not bad."
The Commander roared without a mouth.
Its crimson markings ignited.
The pressure around it shattered.
Xu Ning’s eyes widened.
[It broke free!]
"Good."
[STOP SAYING GOOD!]
The Commander charged.
Shen Tian met it.
BOOOOOOM!
Spear and blade collided.
Again.
BOOM!
Again.
CLANG!
The Commander attacked relentlessly.
Shen Tian blocked.
Countered.
Moved.
Then...
He noticed something.
Every fifth strike...
The Commander shifted its right foot.
Preparation.
Shen Tian smiled.
There.
First.
Second.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
Right foot shifted.
Shen Tian vanished.
The blade cut empty air.
He appeared behind the Commander.
"Got you."
Spear thrust.
CRAAAAACK!
The Heaven Piercing Spear pierced directly through the glowing core in its back.
The crimson markings went dark.
Silence.
The Commander slowly collapsed.
BOOOOOOM!
Shen Tian pulled the spear free.
Then...
A small stone tablet fell from the armor.
He caught it.
Golden lines spread across the surface.
A map.
Xu Ning leaned closer.
[That shows part of the labyrinth.]
Shen Tian looked.
Two sigils.
One marked as claimed.
His.
The second...
His green eyes narrowed.
"Moving."
--------
(Author’s Note: IMPORTANT!)
SEND POWESTONES!!!
ALL SUPER GIFTS (Magic Castle, Space Ship, Golden Gachapon) = MORE ChapterS!

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