The True Relic

Spotting the crystal giant lunging from the other side, he advanced instead of retreating. He violently shoved the black iron coffin forward to serve as a makeshift shield, closely following behind it as he swung his scythe with all his might. He never intended to win this fight; stalling for time was enough.

The crystal giant let out an incomprehensible roar. Its deep purple, flaming eyes locked onto the two who dared to provoke it, and its massive crystal arm smashed down with terrifying power.

Bang! Boom!

Long Ao's fist clashed with the crystal giant's arm, erupting into shocking shockwaves. He let out a muffled groan as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but he did not take a single step back. Instead, he engaged in an even more frenzied melee. The crimson aura enveloping his body made his red hair look even more wild and untamed.

His ability was an enhancement-type power called Endless Combat. As long as he threw punches, his power would stack. Thus, he grew braver the more he fought, became stronger against strong opponents, and never felt fatigue.

Chen Guan was not nearly as ferocious. He relied on the absolute defense of the black iron coffin and the interference his gray energy had on the crystals.

He narrowly dodged several lethal attacks. His scythe occasionally left shallow marks on the crystal giant's body. Although he could not deal any substantial damage, he successfully drew away a portion of its firepower.

Out of the four crystal giants, two were temporarily pinned down by the reckless brawling of Long Ao and Chen Guan. The other two continued to close in on An Changqing and Su Yuehe. However, they seemed to be under some sort of restriction and did not attack with full force. Relying on her magical artifacts, Su Yuehe was barely able to hold on.

In this brief window of time, An Changqing made his move.

The golden threads dancing at his fingertips suddenly extended, outlining the phantom of a golden rune in front of him. In the center of the rune, the silhouette of a small sword could be vaguely seen.

One Sword of Heaven and Earth, slash!

An Changqing chanted the incantation, each word carrying the weight of a thousand pounds.

As the final word fell, the golden phantom rune in front of him suddenly solidified, transforming into a tiny streak of golden light that was pure to the extreme, seemingly capable of severing anything in the world.

The golden light flashed and vanished.

The next moment. Snikt!

Three slicing sounds, so faint they were almost imperceptible, rang out almost simultaneously.

The dark purple energy veins spreading across the three spots Su Yuehe had pointed out were sliced straight through as if by an invisible blade.

The frantically circulating dark purple spiritual energy field within the entire hall suddenly stalled. That terrifying suction force abruptly weakened by more than half. The light of the dark purple crystal hovering above the altar flickered violently, becoming extremely unstable.

The movements of the four crystal giants also became noticeably sluggish, the deep purple flames in their eyes flickering unsteadily.

Now! Attack with everything you have!

An Changqing propped himself up and shouted sternly. At the same time, he raised his sword again, golden light pulsing at its tip as he pointed it at the unstable dark purple crystal.

Long Ao and Chen Guan instantly seized the opportunity.

Ignoring his own injuries, Long Ao gathered all his remaining strength into his right fist. Compressing his crimson aura to its absolute limit, it transformed into a concentrated beam of crimson light that blasted toward the crystal.

Chen Guan also did not hesitate. He pushed the last trace of gray energy coating his scythe to its maximum. The gray light on the blade became clearer than ever for a fleeting moment as he slashed at the crystal, following right behind the crimson beam.

Su Yuehe also summoned her final bit of spiritual energy. Pointing her staff at the crystal, she shouted in a low voice, Disintegrate!

Though the power of her spirit words was weak, it was applied with pinpoint accuracy to the most unstable spot inside the crystal.

An Changqing's golden sword light, launched later but arriving first, struck the crystal before anything else. It was followed by the crimson energy wave and the gray wind blade, and finally the white power of the incantation.

Boom!

A violent explosion erupted. Dark purple light burst forth like a broken dam, instantly flooding the entire hall as rampant spiritual energy swept across everything.

At the center of the explosion, the dark purple prismatic crystal that served as the core of the trap completely shattered.

With the destruction of the crystal, the dark purple veins throughout the hall rapidly disintegrated, and the terrifying suction force vanished entirely. The four crystal giants let out roars of unwillingness before the deep purple flames in their eyes extinguished. Cracks began to form on their massive crystal bodies, and they quickly crumbled into ordinary rubble, scattering across the floor.

The storm gradually subsided.

The hall was left in complete disarray, littered with crystal debris and the scars of battle.

An Changqing leaned on his sword, bending over to catch his breath, barely able to stay on his feet.

Long Ao had also sustained significant injuries. His body was cut in multiple places by crystal shards, leaving him drenched in blood. His crimson aura had long since dissipated, and he leaned against a ruined wall, panting heavily, yet the will to fight in his eyes had not faded.

Su Yuehe was completely drained of strength, slumping softly to the ground. She could not even hold her staff anymore, her forehead covered in cold sweat.

Chen Guan was in the best condition comparatively. Although he was exhausted, the coffin had absorbed most of the impact, so he took the least damage. His overall strength was just a bit weaker now because he had squeezed out every last drop of his gray energy.

He walked over, checked on his teammates' conditions, and distributed recovery pills to them.

We did it... Su Yuehe swallowed the pill and caught her breath. Looking at the ruined altar and the shattered crystal, she still felt a lingering fear.

Long Ao snorted and said nothing, but a rare hint of defeat crept into his gaze as he looked at An Changqing.

He used to just have a vague feeling about it, but now it was clear that An Changqing had been holding back against him the whole time, never using his full strength. He had never seen this move before.

Then there was that special admissions student named Chen Guan, who was still bouncing around like nothing had happened. This also exceeded his expectations. Could this guy, who managed to get an invitation from An Changqing to join Squad Four-Nine... also be hiding his true strength?

Because of An Changqing, Long Ao was now suffering from severe PTSD; everyone he looked at seemed like a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Long Ao looked at the two boys, then at Su Yuehe, and suddenly realized that Su Yuehe always seemed to be out of mana. Logically speaking, she was a Tier Two at the very least, and she had not cast any AOE spells, so how could she be so low on mana?

Damn it, this person is hiding her strength too!

Long Ao began to doubt his life choices and silently withdrew into himself.

After regulating his breathing for a moment, An Changqing forced himself to stand. His gaze swept over the altar, which had been reduced to ruins. Although the crystal was destroyed and the trap broken, the altar itself should still have some things left behind.

He walked over to the ruins of the altar and carefully searched through them. Soon, beneath the shattered crystals and dust, he discovered a few items.

A palm-sized, dark purple token made of a material that was neither metal nor jade, covered in incomprehensible runes. It was only missing a piece in one corner.

An ancient scroll made of some unknown animal skin. Its edges were charred black, but the core section remained intact.

Four grape-sized, crystal-clear gemstones, within which a dark purple liquid seemed to slowly flow.

It seems that beneath the trap lay the true relics. An Changqing picked up the three items and carefully sensed them.

The token felt ice-cold to the touch, and its purpose was unknown. The scroll had a bizarre texture, and he did not recognize a single word on it, but he vaguely felt that it was extraordinary. As for the four gemstones, they contained pure dark-attribute spiritual energy and were clearly worth a fortune.

Spiritual energy possessed elemental traits, such as the common five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, as well as rarer attributes like light and darkness.