Chapter 163 - 154 - Reaching Last Level

Five minutes later, Inside the test, Kritos opened his eyes and looked forward, the same Snowing Path appeared in front of him. At the same time, he heard a voice in his mind.

"The test of Will. You must reach the 5th level if you wish to get good rewards. You may start now."

As he heard, a shocked expression appeared on Kritos's face. 

'This voice!'

It was the same mechanical voice Kritos heard at the Legacy tomb.

[Ding…]

[Detected the A.I consciousness exists deep inside the Pagoda.]

[Alert : Increasing rewards….for the completion of the mission.]

"..."

'Fu"k! The system is trying to tempt me!'

Kritos doesn't how much the rewards have increased but one thing is certain, this System certainly desires the unknown AI. 

Kritos smiled and began to walk forward. Sure enough, as soon as he took the first step, the cold energy seeped into his body and soul. Any type of protection seemed to be useless against it.

"Indeed, this is a good test of will. Let's keep going. I need to reach the 10th floor if I want to complete the mission."

Although the cold was there, Kritos didn't seem concerned about it. Cold? I can produce fire from my body, I never cared about the cold! Of course, this test wasn't simply the same as a winter cold. It could also affect Kritos, just like everyone else. It was just that Kritos paid it no mind.

Kritos's plan was pretty simple...

Ignore it! Ignore it all! Pretend that such a thing doesn't even exist. 

If there is a big problem, I can just create an anti ability of it.

Although it seemed easy to ignore everything, that was not the case. Several other cultivators and beasts also tried to use this method. But in the end, the majority failed.

The reason was quite simple too, it all depended on their willpower! There is a big difference between 'wanting' to ignore something and 'being able' to really do so. However, for Kritos, who has the mind and the body of High Human, the cold's discomfort was a joke!

Nonetheless, Kritos himself doesn't know that at this moment is far superior to any human in terms of racial traits.

Kritos soon finished the Snowing Path and entered the Searing Desert. However, it made no difference whatsoever. In Kritos's eyes, be it the Cold or Heat, they are basically the same thing. With stable steps, Kritos calmly walked through the desert as if he was strolling around his own garden. The people and beasts outside couldn't see even a hint of discomfort in his expression.

"Just how can that silk pant walk so easily?" An Elder watching the screen snorted.

"He must be pretending. I don't believe anyone can resist those two realms without feeling anything."

"Well, there had been a few before us who passed it without problems. So I guess it is fine for the son of Clan's head to be this good, no?"

"Indeed. Let's wait and see if he can really make it past the 5th realm."

Kritos quickly arrived at the third level, where death energy started to seep inside his body. It wasn't as easy to ignore the cold and heat levels. Still, it was far from being able to hinder Kritos's progress.

Then came the Fourth Level. There Kritos saw a bunch of top disciplines walking together. 

There was no restriction that only one person could take the test at the same time. There were the people who were inside the Golden Pagoda before Kritos.

Nonetheless, he ignored them and pressed forward.

The other competitors gasped in shock as they saw the young master of their clan was walking faster than them.

Then after a few thoughts, they recall although the Young Master was the leader of the silk pants. His talent in his early days was at its peak.

Then came the fourth and finally the fifth!

Of course, even Kritos was finding it somewhat hard to resist the attacks on his will at this point. He understood that he definitely wouldn't make it to the last level. But that isn't a problem. He had checked the willpower test ranking before, the highest place that someone reached was 9th level.

Kritos pressed forward.

6th level...

7th level…

Finally, he arrived at the 8th level. This was a pain-inducing realm. It looked like a battlefield, and the warriors here would always attack your body. Swords, maces, spears, arrows, you name it. Once an injury appeared, it was instantly healed, though.

Suddenly, Kritos thought about Sasha as she had reached the peak of 8th level.

However, what Kritos didn't know is that Sasha could have gone further. But because she knew that her will would not be strong enough to reach the 9th level, Sasha gave up. Of course, no one other than Sasha knew it.

Kritos's silk pants brothers were pretty excited about Kritos' accomplishment.

They have thought that the 7th level will be the limit of the Elder Brother. It seems their Elder brother was secretly cultivating while also fooling with them all day.

Far away from the Golden Pagoda, Sasha looked at the screen and couldn't help but smile after seeing Kritos reaching 8th level.

"Looking at your state, the 8th level should still be possible. I wonder if you can make it through the 9th, though."

Sasha was right. Kritos really managed to pass the 8th level and enter the same realm as the first placed person.

The 9th level was a suffering one. One's mind would be purposely affected by the formation. Then it would show scenes of one's family members, friends, or whatever they regarded as important in their lives being lost several times over. As much as everyone knows that it was all an illusion, the formation inside forced your mind to believe it was happening.

For Kritos, the previous 8th level wasn't much difficult. Compared to the System talent implantation extreme pain, the induced pain inside the 8th was not as inhumane as he had previously experienced.

Kritos observes the change in his surroundings after reaching level 9. 

"Makarwat Village!"

He never thought he could ever again see the demolished Makarwat Village. Upon again seeing it with his own eyes, many childhood hidden memories refresh in Kritos's mind.

Kritos saw the cheerful villagers who once complained about him to his parents. 

The trees that were once his crew base haunt people for fun.

The smell of the crop field that he has forgotten now.

Suddenly, the scene changes, and Red horn demons attack the peaceful village and start slaughtering incident villagers.

The scene changes shortly and he watches his younger brother sacrificing himself for the survival of his family.

"No!!!!"

Kritos cried out as he again saw the familiar scene.

Unconsciously, He rushed out towards his younger brother to stop him from sacrificing himself.

However, as soon as touched him, the environment again completely transformed, and Kritos found himself standing in the awakening hall of Rewa City.

"Riya!"

Again he watches his younger sister abducted by someone while he was helpless to do anything. 

Soon, Kritos begins hearing mocking voices from his inner self.

'Tsk! Big brother for nothing!'

'Useless!!'

'All of them die because of you.'

'Hopeless!!'

'Forget about revenge, you fool!'

'Why are so worthless and weak!'

The words continuously rain on Kritos's mind. 

***

While Kritos was struggling on the 9th level, the people outside the golden pagoda only watched Kritos suddenly fall on the ground and murmur some words in his dream. No one knew what he was saying, but most of them guessed that he was experiencing some nightmare of his past.

"Tsk! Even the little patriarch has suffered in his life."

"Nah! He is just faking it. Are you an idiot? Who has been punished more than him in the entire clan?"

"--"

***

Soon after a few minutes, Kritos stabilized his mind and quickly activated Heavenly Glare.

Booming sounds rolled out, and thousands of huge hands appeared in the air, each one of which was thoroughly shocking. They instantly descended downward, sweeping across everything.

With the activation of the Heavenly Glare, immediately the illusion sucked inside a black hole that looks like an eye.

Kritos opened his eyes and adjusted himself after standing.

Right after, Kritos looked at the sky and snorted before saying.

"So what if it is just an illusion? Anyone who dares to touch my emotions! I am more than happy enough to devour such a vile mind illusion."

A few seconds later, Kritos's body disappeared from the 9th level and was teleported over to the last level of Golden Pagoda. 

At the same time, the magical symbols of the top hundred magic techniques suddenly appeared. They swirled around Kritos, after which, a red symbol shot toward Kritos.

As soon as it touched his forehead, his mind filled with a roaring sound. An ancient voice filled his mind.

"Daylight Incantation Magic!"

The voice didn't just echo in Kritos's min, but rather spread out from within the entire Clan. The sound echoed out so that all disciples could hear, filling their minds with shock. Quite a few people began to pant, and their eyes filled with avarice and greed.

"Daylight… Daylight Incantation!!"

"Dammit! DAMMIT! He actually got the Daylight Incantation just after passing 9th level!!"

"In the rankings of the 100 top magics, the Daylight Incantation is number 3! It's said that if you gain enlightenment, that when you use it, all you have to do is turn your hand over, and the sky will turn dark. Flip your hand back, and it becomes day! He actually got the Daylight Incantation."

***

Sorry, For the long break!