Monster Paradise

Looking at the Second Palace that was rapidly materializing before his eyes, Lin Huang could not help raising his brows.

The Second Palace also looked nothing like a palace; it was a shabby little log cabin. From the outside, it was about 70 to 80 square meters at most and looked like it had been abandoned for at least two or three decades.

‘It’s supposed to be a palace, why make it look like that?’

Lin Huang was convinced that the Second Palace had not looked this way originally, otherwise, the seller would not have been able to find a purchaser at all.

As Lin Huang continued his silent criticism, a squeaky noise suddenly sounded.

He immediately looked toward the source of the sound, and the small wooden door of the cabin slowly opened.

“Although the house is different, the formula is rather familiar…”

Lin Huang smiled and walked straight toward the cabin as naturally as if he were visiting an old neighbor. Without any hesitation, he crossed the threshold of the small wooden door.

Lin Huang was not surprised to see a vast expanse of grassland inside the door.

After all, this was a Trial arena. If it was really a small log cabin that had less than 80 square meters of space, the two of them would not be able to unleash their abilities at all once they began fighting.

The world behind the small wooden door had cloudless blue skies and lush grass extending as far as the eye could see.

Lin Huang took a deep breath. The scent of flowers and grasses filled his lungs, putting him in a joyful mood.

Almost simultaneously, however, Lin Huang sensed a figure gradually materializing not far away.

He lifted his head and stared straight ahead. Someone was standing there on a big stone that was about half a meter high.

To be precise, it was a man with a rabbit’s head. He was not tall; the impression he gave was that of a teenager wearing a bunny mask.

Lin Huang knew that the man’s head was real, however.

This was a rabbit-headed man with clean white fur.

He looked to be only about one point six meters tall, not including his ears, which were furry and very long—more than forty centimeters or so.

Taken together, from the soles of his feet to the tips of his ears he was almost two meters in height.

Because his ears were so long, however, he appeared shorter.

Not only did he look short, but he also seemed thin and frail.

On the surface, this fellow did not seem threatening at all. As he stood on that half-meter high rock surveying Lin Huang from high ground, his two scarlet eyes showed not the slightest emotion.

‘This fellow should be the Bunny that Sword8 mentioned…’

Lin Huang was not surprised by Sword2’s physical appearance. When Sword8 had let slip the nickname “Bunny” previously, he had already guessed. Moreover, he had also seen the elephant-headed Sword3 earlier.

“Being able to pass Long Nose’s level means that you probably possess some solid capabilities. He’s not the sort of character who goes easy on participants,” the rabbit-headed man said with a smile after weighing Lin Huang up thoroughly.

“Senior Sword3 is indeed the strongest opponent that I have ever encountered.” Lin Huang nodded with a smile.

“That’s a bit of a premature declaration; I’m stronger than him.” Sword2 shooked his ears.

“…”

Lin Huang then remembered that this man in front of him was a powerhouse who was ranked higher than Sword3.

“I mainly cultivate rapid speed sword skill.” Sword2’s battle sword slowly coalesced in his hand. It was a thorn-like blade that looked like a tree branch and the point of the blade was almost as thin as the tip of a needle. A hint of playfulness showed in his scarlet eyes. “If you can get through one day with me, I’ll consider you to have passed this stage.”

Lin Huang did not respond to Sword2’s remarks. From the moment he entered the Second Palace, his intent had not only been to pass this level but also to find a sparring partner to enhance his abilities.

Sword2 grasped the hilt of his weapon in his right hand, bent his knees and leaned forward, already in attack stance. Before he made his move, he grinned at Lin Huang, revealing two gleaming white front teeth.

“Are you ready?!”

“Bring it on!”

The silver blade in Lin Huang’s hands had also coalesced into being. His aura began to rise sharply and in barely a breath, it reached its peak.

The moment Lin Huang answered, Sword2 suddenly disappeared on the spot.

The stone under Bunny’s feet slowly crumbled and turned into powder, the entire half meters’ worth of it.

‘So fast!’

Lin Huang’s pupils suddenly contracted. His eyesight and Divine Telekinesis had yet to capture his opponent’s movements, let alone his opponent’s movement trajectory.

Almost at the same time Sword2 disappeared, Lin Huang suddenly felt an extreme sense of danger to one side of him.

Without any hesitation, he immediately initiated the Seraphic Speed God Rule and moved like a flash. His figure instantly appeared hundreds of meters away.

Even so, as he planted his legs firmly, he still found a slash about 20cm long on the left waist of his robe.

“You’re still a little too slow!” Sword2 stood where Lin Huang had originally been standing, grinning and showing his two front teeth before suddenly disappeared once more.

Lin Huang quickly dodged again…

In just half an hour, Lin Huang’s black robe had more than ten slashes on it.

In terms of rapid speed sword skill, his abilities were far below that of his opponent.

Under this extreme pressure, however, Lin Huang began striving for a breakthrough once more.

He was no longer relying solely on Seraphic Speed to dodge but was merging Lightning Element skills with his ultimate dao-type Thunder Eclipse, trying to achieve a breakthrough in Elemental Enlightenment.

In the next half hour, the number of sword slashes on his black robe increased from 16 to 107.

Fortunately, he possessed sufficient Divine Power and God Rule as well as Divine Regeneration skills, so he did not suffer substantial damage.

The next day was arguably the worst for Lin Huang in terms of being thoroughly schooled.

Throughout the day, he was constantly taking a beating. Sword2 managed to slash Lin Huang’s black robe more than 2000 times, but Lin Huang barely found an opportunity to attack. All day he delivered less than 10 slashes in total, but could not even brush the cuffs of Sword2’s sleeves at all.

As soon as the twenty-four hours were up, Sword2 cheerfully sheathed his sword and moved to the side.

“It’s been twenty-four hours. According to the conditions that I mentioned earlier for passing this stage, you’ve qualified. Congratulations, you’ve successfully made it past the Second Palace!”

As usual, Lin Huang did not accept this result.

“Senior Sword2, I hope that I can stay and practice for a while.”

After hearing this, Sword2 was silent for a moment. “You must consider this carefully. If you give up your chance to exit this level now, you must beat me or be strong enough to make me admit defeat before you can pass.”

“I know the rules.” Lin Huang nodded with a smile. “Let’s continue!”

Seeing that Lin Huang had made up his mind, Sword2 said nothing further. The thorn-like blade coalesced in his hand again, and he vanished once more…