The Bronze Dragon King looked down at Shi Feng, a flicker of astonishment in his gaze — as if he were staring at some kind of aberration. He couldn't help but confirm one more time.
"Yes, I accept your trial, Dragon King." Shi Feng nodded.
"You humans really are something else," the Bronze Dragon King said in a low voice. "Since this labyrinth was first built, over a thousand adventurers have come here, and not one of them chose to accept my trial — because they all knew what the outcome would be. Don't tell me you're foolish enough to believe I'll let you pass?"
"However, since you've made your choice, then according to the rules set by the gods and demons, you need only survive for three days to pass the trial. So let us begin!"
As he spoke, the Bronze Dragon King began chanting a spell. Instantly, his body dissolved into countless particles of light that passed straight through the magical barrier the gods and demons had set up. After passing through the barrier, those particles of light coalesced back into a humanoid form before Shi Feng.
In the blink of an eye, a heroic-looking middle-aged man clad in bronze-colored armor stood before Shi Feng.
This tall, imposing figure was unlike an ordinary human. Golden divine inscriptions were emblazoned across his face and body, resembling some kind of binding shackles. His amber eyes were filled with deathly stillness and destruction, devoid of even a trace of human emotion.
"He can take human form?!" Shi Feng stared at the man before him, unable to hide his shock.
In the Divine Realm, only an extraordinarily small number — or perhaps only legendary — monsters could accomplish this. It symbolized not only immense power, but also terrifying intelligence.
Intelligence didn't mean much to players at this stage. It simply translated to a somewhat higher combat level. But as time went on, people would come to understand that this wasn't just about superior combat ability — these were true monsters, monsters that would make players feel utterly hopeless.
In his previous life, there had been numerous incidents where kingdoms and empires were thrown into complete chaos by human-transformed monsters. Some kingdoms had even been destroyed as a result.
And the monster that had accomplished that feat had only been at the Tier 4 Legendary level. At the time, many expert players had already advanced to Tier 4 Classes, yet when the major superpowers combined their forces, the human-transformed monster had annihilated them all. In the end, no one could stop it, and an entire kingdom was utterly destroyed.
As for the other human-transformed monsters that had been stopped, it was only because they were Tier 3 — and even then, it had taken a group of Tier 4 experts using a mountain of items and giving everything they had to pull it off.
It was because of these events that players truly came to understand the terror of high intelligence. The combat prowess that transcended human capability far surpassed that of even Domain-level monster players — by more than just a single tier.
"Human, rest assured," the Bronze Dragon King said, a faint smile on his face as he regarded Shi Feng. "According to the rules set by the gods and demons, I will not use my full power against you. And you still have three hundred chances. All you need to do is survive in my hands for three days. If you have no further questions, then let us begin our dance of slaughter."
Hearing this, Shi Feng's expression darkened. A chill he had never felt before swept through his entire body, making him tremble almost involuntarily. He instinctively activated the Void Shield, every nerve in his body straining to its absolute limit.
He had known the trial wouldn't be easy, but he hadn't expected it to be this hard.
The conditions the Bronze Dragon King described would sound absurdly simple to anyone who didn't know the truth — just survive three days against a Tier 3 monster at Level 70, with three hundred chances to boot. Forget peak experts; even ordinary skilled players could manage that with ease.
But Shi Feng knew full well that this couldn't even be called a trial. It was nothing more than a one-sided game of cat and mouse.
The very moment Shi Feng activated the Void Shield, the Bronze Dragon King — who had been over thirty yards away — was already standing right in front of him. A dragon-scale sword had appeared in his hand at some unknown point, and its tip was already striking against the Void Shield.
"Amazing footwork!" Shi Feng exclaimed, startled by the sword embedded in his shield.
He had been watching the Bronze Dragon King with every ounce of his concentration, his sensory domain fully extended, yet the Dragon King had still slipped past all of his perceptions and appeared right before him, as though he had teleported. But Shi Feng knew this wasn't some low-level magic or skill — it was footwork that defied all common sense. There was no cooldown, no restriction; he could use it whenever he pleased.
And with that single strike from the Bronze Dragon King, the Void Shield had already sustained over four hundred thousand points of damage. That meant it would shatter in just seven more hits.
Not daring to hold anything back, Shi Feng leaped backward and immediately deployed Sword Light Phantoms.
Ten blades of sword light shot from his control, each precisely aimed to seal off the Bronze Dragon King's movements — hoping to create some distance.
The Bronze Dragon King was only a Level 70 Tier 3 Grand Lord, and in his humanoid form his stats were somewhat diminished. But his true attributes were absolutely at the level of a same-tier High Grand Lord, far exceeding Shi Feng's own. A direct confrontation was out of the question; his only option was to create distance and stall for time.
"A fine attack, for a mere mortal to reach this level," the Bronze Dragon King remarked at an unhurried pace, seemingly offering praise even as he faced down Shi Feng's assault.
Just as the ten blades of sword light were about to strike, the Bronze Dragon King swept his greatsword in a casual arc. All ten vanished — shattered before they had closed to within twenty centimeters.
The dazzling sword arc the Bronze Dragon King unleashed was like moonlight — intoxicating, hypnotic. Even Shi Feng found himself momentarily mesmerized. And in the very next instant, the Bronze Dragon King had materialized at Shi Feng's side without a sound. The dragon-scale greatsword, appearing from nowhere, crashed against the Void Shield once more.
By the time Shi Feng instinctively activated Sword's Trajectory, his reaction was visibly a beat too slow.
He had hoped the powerful Sword's Trajectory would force the Bronze Dragon King to retreat, but the Dragon King pressed forward instead. The dragon-scale greatsword seemed to vanish entirely, causing the Sword's Trajectory's attack to deflect harmlessly around him. The Void Shield continued to crack and crumble.
"So this is the power of a human-transformed monster?" Shi Feng stared at his ever-shattering Void Shield, astonishment surging through him.
He had always relied on his own swordsmanship to overpower his enemies — yet here he was, completely suppressed by the Bronze Dragon King's blade work.
The speed of the Dragon King's slashes was beyond what his naked eye could follow. There wasn't even a gap between breaths. He could barely sense the incoming strikes at all.
One slash… two slashes… three slashes…
After several more, the Void Shield shattered entirely. All Shi Feng could do now was fight back based on pure instinct.
"I have no choice!"
Gritting his teeth, Shi Feng knew he could hold on no longer. He immediately unleashed Sword Light Cycle.