Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Ding Hao was startled when he stepped into the Swirling Stone Domain, a world fragment.

The Swirling Stone Domain was a super-large test field for magical equipment with a diameter of more than a hundred kilometers. The ground was riddled with holes that would jet high-pressure air currents every once in a while and blow up the rocks into sky, forming a tornado of stones. The environment was quite rough. Generally speaking, only the most important magical equipment would be tested there.

Ding Hao was a postgraduate of the Battlesuit Department in the middle level of the Building Foundation Stage. He was among the most distinguished postgraduates and could stay at school to instruct students if he wanted to.

He had signed a contract with the school and was a magical equipment tester.

Whenever a piece of new magical equipment was developed by the Refining Department, professionals such as himself would be asked to run tests on them.

After he got the job, Ding Hao had tested about fifty kinds of magical equipment, some of which were large and some small, but he had never seen so many spectators before.

In the auditorium around the test field, which was covered by a translucent defense rune array, not only were the experts and professors of the Refining Department seated, there were also many teachers from the Battlesuit Department, the Flying Sword Department, and the Combat Department. Everybody was whispering to each other in high spirits.

Ding Hao even spotted the dean of the Battlesuit Department, who was chitchatting with a dry, short old man that had a disproportional head.

If his eyes were not deceiving him, it was Xue Yuanxin, one of the most respected refiners in the world!

It appears that the magical equipment to be tested today will be extraordinary.

Ding Hao’s heart was beating fast. He raised his head and found that six Exos were already standing in the middle of the test field in full crystal suits. They were doing last-minute checks with the help of assistants.

Ding Hao’s pupils shrank violently.

He knew all the six Exos. They were top experts of the Combat Department, the Flying Sword Department, and the Battlesuit Department and also some of the magical equipment testers who were on par with him, if not better!

While he was baffled, they were looking at him, too. Somebody even exclaimed.

At first, Ding Hao thought that they were surprised to see him. But soon, he sensed an invisible mountain behind him that was moving close and making him barely able to breathe.

Turning around, Ding Hao was greatly shocked.

Master You Wenjun!

A tall, handsome man with starry eyes brushed past him. The invisible aura around the newcomer forced him to step back uncontrollably. It was not until he walked ten meters away that Ding Hao returned to normal. He took a long breath with complicated thoughts.

Master You Wenjun was one of the strongest experts among the faculty of the Combat Department. He was in the beginning level of the Core Formation Stage.

Not only was he a teacher in Flying Star University, he had also participated in the competitions in crystal suit arenas multiple times. He had once held a seventeen-game winning streak. It was said that he was engaged in the bloody battles with space pirates in the riot of the Temple of Immortals, too!

No wonder his aura was so daunting. Such seasoned warriors with abundant real-life experience were far better than the rookie college students such as Ding Hao.

You Wenjun went to the preparation area in a corner and put on a special crystal suit that had been installed with sensors and charged with only half the spiritual energy with the help of the staff. The crystal suit had only 30% of its original strength.

Ding Hao was bewildered. It seemed that even You Wenjun was a tester, too. Or rather, they were going to be ’testees’ as the targets for the new magical equipment!

Five minutes later, another batch of testers crowded over. They were mostly students in their junior year and senior year and, therefore, were relatively weak. The majority of them were in the high level or peak of the Refinement Stage. After everybody put on their crystal suits, their battlesuits were uttering clanging sounds, making the preparation area rather lively.

Ding Hao observed and discovered that the team of testers were made of thirty Refinement Cultivators, nine Building Foundation Stage Cultivators including himself, and a Core Formation Stage Cultivator, You Wenjun.

Everybody was in their crystal suit, and their coldly shining blades formed a sharp metal forest. Centered around You Wenjun, the scorching air was bursting out, making them look like an invincible iron army.

Forty fully-armed Exos in total. What kind of magical equipment needs a team of so many testers?

Ding Hao was growing more and more dubious.

A while later, after a beep, the detailed information about the test was transmitted to their crystal processors.

Ares Extension?

Ding Hao’s eyebrow was furrowed. He was aware that Ares Extensions could significantly increase the combat ability of a crystal suit. But one versus forty?

Were they serious?

Hu—

A blowing wind passed by the sky of the test field, which was now enveloped in dust and smoke. The three red lights on one side of the test field turned green one after another. Ding Hao’s crystal processor reminded him that the test had begun!

Instantly, Ding Hao tensed out of natural instinct, while he crouched and gazed at the center of the test field with the other thirty nine Exos.

Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!

Thirty Refinement Stage Cultivators went to the flanks and surrounded the center.

In the center of the test field, a short-distance teleportation array emanated ivory brilliance, which rippled out like a melting candle before it was slowly condensed into a tall body. The Ares Extension known as ’Unparalleled’ was revealed to everybody.

Is this the Unparalleled Extension?

Ding Hao eyed his opponent with scorn.

There was no telling what the crystal suit that the Cultivator surrounded by forty Exos was wearing, but it was covered by a layer of weirdly-shaped, pearl-grey strengthening plugins. Perhaps based on the principles of biomimetics, the plate of the extension was arced and looked like the shell of insects. The overall height of the Cultivator was almost four meters.

Standing amid crystal suits that were less than 2.5 meters, it looked rather cynical.

Ding Hao had studied a lot of structures of the classic Ares Extensions and watched a lot of videos where the Ares Extensions went on a rampage.

Most classic Ares Extensions all looked dominating and magnificent.

In comparison, the Unparalleled Extension before him had nothing except inner beauty, if put nicely, or was quite dumb and ugly, if put more frankly.

Can such an Ares Extension withstand the collective attack of forty Exos? It will be quite hilarious if we blow it up into pieces a moment later.

Hardly had the idea occurred to Ding Hao when earsplitting explosions broke out inside the test field. More than ten crystal suits lunged at the Unparalleled Extension with dazzling exhaust flames behind them!

In the introduction of the test, the thirty Refinement Stage Cultivators were responsible for the first wave of attacks. They did not think too highly of the unattractive Unparalleled Extension either and simply decided to take it down together!

However—

So strong?

Ding Hao shuddered, and his back was soaked in sweat.

Half a second ago, ’King Kong Battlesuit’, a super heavy crystal suit with enormous defensive capability, passed by him like a falling star while it was blown backwards and did not hit the ground until it was fifty meters away. A hole the size of a basin appeared on its chest from which dazzling sparks were bursting out. The Exo was cramping, unable to stand on his feet. The redness popping up from his head suggested that he had been ’killed’!

However, Ding Hao did not notice how his opponent launched the attack at all!

The user of the Unparalleled Extension was attacking the Refinement Stage Cultivators like a hungry tiger mauling lambs. It looked heavy and stupid, but it was actually amazingly agile. In unpredictable curves, it divided the thirty Refinement Stage Cultivators like the sharpest scalpel. Every half a second, one of the crystal suits would be blown away brutally.

There was nothing but the screams of the testers inside the communication channel.

Since there were thirty crystal suits, there were always opportunities to counterattack. Many of them bombarded the Unparalleled Extension with various techniques when their companions were blown away. Some even resorted to suicidal attacks!

The user of the Unparalleled Extension, on the other hand, did not bother to dodge or defend; he simply resisted the fatal attacks by doing nothing!

To Ding Hao’s surprise, the grey, inconspicuous Unparalleled Extension was not destroyed by the attacks. It gradually became surrounded by glamorous colors like a warrior whose blood was boiling and whose fighting will was soaring!

In a moment, all the thirty Refinement Stage Cultivators were lying on the ground, defeated.

Ding Hao sniffed and summoned his spiritual energy. The aura of his saber was extended to ten meters long and blinking like a hissing viper, making his saber appear to be wreathed in a hazy rain and utterly unpredictable.

When he made the first step, a silver brightness next to him darted out and broke the sonic barrier instantly. It zigzagged around the opponent and phantomized into seven shadows, which sprinted toward the middle at the same time. The shadows hit the same spot and minced the target!

Excellent! Ding Hao secretly complimented. The one who launched the attack was Zhong Lifang from the Flying Sword Department. He was from a noble family, renowned for their flying swords, and in the high level of the Building Foundation Stage. He was stronger than many teachers!

His previous move, Shadow Slash, was the ultimate skill of his family. He had modified it with a lot of teachers of the Flying Sword Department. The speed and strength of the move had been improved to the pinnacle!

Although his target was not Ding Hao, Ding Hao still felt as if his heart and eyes were stung by needles.

Caught off guard, the Unparalleled Extension was hit precisely.

But ripples spread out on the surface of the Unparalleled Extension. The set of strengthening plugins seemed to have turned into liquid from metal and started shaking.

The user of the Unparalleled Extension showed absolutely no sign of being wounded. He did not even slip backward. Turning around and slashing his saber, he blew Zhong Lifang more than ten meters away!

Ding Hao’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He felt goosebumps all over his back. Before he came back to himself, his opponent had launched an attack promptly and crashed toward him like a high-speed crystal warship!

The Unparalleled Extension right now had gotten rid of all the nasty appearance a while ago.

In brilliant mists and smoke, it smashed down at him like a mountain of colorful flames!

Endless coldness emerged from the bottom of Ding Hao’s heart. His soul was so deeply awed by the enemy that he had completely forgotten that it was merely a test. He uttered a desperate roar uncontrollably!