Currently, the several variant creatures Xia Tian has encountered include:
the Ghost Vulture's “Coma” ability, the Golden Bee's “Healing” ability, the Black and White Pheasant's “Weight Alteration” ability, and the Stone Man's “Earth Transformation” ability.
These special “variant abilities” seem rather ordinary compared to the “Lord Talents and Skills” bestowed upon humans by Earth.
However, considering that Lord Talents and Lord Skills are possessed by everyone, if he can successfully undergo metamorphosis and acquire “Divine Variant Abilities” before the next round of Heaven and Earth Merging, he will undoubtedly have an advantage over other lords!
“I just don't know when the ‘second’ merging will happen? It won't be three days later when the shield weakens and the first batch of historical figures descend, will it?”
Xia Tian had a guess in his heart.
Moreover, the more he thought about it, the more reasonable this idea seemed.
This was because after the seventh day of the lord's arrival, the shield would change from full defense to only being able to defend against the invasion of “advanced creatures.”
And what are advanced creatures?
Clearly, they should be the so-called Transcendent-level creatures.
That is, the demonic beasts in immortal-hero worlds, magic beasts in magic worlds, and variant beasts in sci-fi worlds, and so on.
“Hiss, if that's the case, then three days later will be the true beginning of the survival test for human territories.”
Xia Tian suddenly understood.
Why the Earth's Will would initiate the competitive challenge for “historical figures” with inherent wondrous items on only the fourth day of arrival.
Because after the shield disappears, if human territories don't replenish new forces in time, even if only ordinary-level creatures invade, if their numbers are too great, they might not be able to withstand it!
“But in that case, the time left for me is very tight. To reach ‘metamorphosis’ from eighth-tier in just three days, the difficulty might be a bit high!”
Xia Tian couldn't help but frown.
Although he had already reached “eighth-tier,” he was clearly still some distance from the human limit, and the closer his “physique” and “soul” values were to the limit, the harder it was to increase them.
Reaching ninth-tier within three days was certainly not a problem, and even reaching the human limit was entirely possible.
But wanting to complete the metamorphosis by his own power, the feasibility was too small… “In that case, the value of this batch of medicine is crucial.”
Xia Tian sniffed the furnace, which was already emitting a strong medicinal aroma. The contents within were likely what he needed to acquire “Divine Variant Abilities.”
“Roar!”
Just then, Xia Tian heard a beast's roar.
On a large rock on the east side of the valley, a fierce tiger appeared, entirely black like obsidian, extremely robust in build, with piercing eyes, and exhaling a foul odor!
【Black Jade Tiger (Green), Eighth-tier, a creature with the bloodline of a Transcendent demonic beast.】
The information that appeared in his mind let Xia Tian know the basic attributes of this tiger, and the opponent was already roaring and charging towards where Hua Tuo was refining medicine.
“An eighth-tier tiger, perfect for testing my current strength!”
Seeing this, Xia Tian's eyes showed no fear.
Today was different from the past; he was no longer the novice who could only roll and escape when encountering a tiger.
The battle with the elf had quickly transformed his character, and Grandmaster-level “Five Animal Play” coupled with a physique seven times stronger than ordinary people gave him ample confidence.
Furthermore, this was a “secret realm,” so even death would only result in the loss of a portion of the luck points consumed upon entry.
Thus, Xia Tian felt no tension at all. Instead, he took a deep breath, his feet moving in a jade-ring step, his robes fluttering, and charged towards the roaring black demonic tiger.
As the two sides approached, facing the black demonic tiger that roared with a foul wind, leaped into the air with all four limbs, and swung its sharp, knife-like claws towards his chest!
Xia Tian roared, clenching his fist and striking towards the black demonic tiger.
Just as his fist and the claw were about to meet head-on, deciding the victor.
A flash of light appeared on Xia Tian's hand, and a golden-quality Embroidered Spring Blade suddenly appeared, slicing off the black demonic tiger's outstretched claw in its astonished gaze!
Sorry, using weapons.
That's the biggest difference between humans and you… “Damn it, these monkeys are shameless enough to ambush me…”
Inside the Lord's Mansion.
Xia Tian's somewhat speechless voice rang out.
Just now, he had finished his first “Historical Figure Secret Realm Challenge,” or more precisely, ended the challenge in failure.
Although with a golden-quality Embroidered Spring Blade, Xia Tian only took half a minute to disembowel the black tiger, which was also eighth-tier and possessed a demonic beast bloodline!
Subsequently, he continuously killed a golden elk, which was seventh-tier but extremely fast, and a huge white bear with incredibly thick skin that even the golden-quality Embroidered Spring Blade struggled to fully cut through its flesh.
But just as Hua Tuo said, as the medicine in the “furnace” gradually took shape.
More “demonic beasts” were attracted, with various forms of demonic beasts appearing endlessly.
Flying in the sky, walking on the ground, burrowing in the earth.
And while he was entangled by several agile monkeys with fur like burning flames, a seventh-tier golden eagle suddenly flew down from the sky to Hua Tuo's side, and its sharp claws instantly overturned the medicine furnace onto the ground!
“Fortunately, although I failed, I also gained a lot.”
Xia Tian shook his head, calming his mood.
Besides learning two crucial pieces of information, Xia Tian also discerned the essence of this “Hua Tuo Secret Realm” from the previous challenge!
“Originally, I thought Hua Tuo's related challenge was to test the proficiency of the ‘Five Animal Play,’ and I believed ‘Grandmaster-level’ should be sufficient, so I chose to challenge it alone. But now it seems that it's not actually testing my mastery of the ‘Five Animal Play,’ but rather testing whether my territory has the ability to protect Hua Tuo.”
As the most renowned and top-tier potential golden medical figure in ancient China.
Clearly, the Earth's Will hoped that through the secret realm challenge, Hua Tuo could descend near a territory that had sufficient protective capabilities for him.
“So this secret realm is not actually a solo secret realm, but rather more suitable for multiple people to participate together.”
Xia Tian already had a plan in mind.
He had thoroughly cultivated the “Five Animal Play” to Grandmaster-level, and his understanding of it had reached a certain level. He could completely teach it to some people in his territory, allowing them to master it and meet the conditions for entering the Hua Tuo Secret Realm.
Of course, as mentioned in the chat channel, the more people who enter the “secret realm,” the greater the difficulty of the challenge.
Therefore, the final personnel entering would probably only be himself, Wu Song, and Hua Rong.
The reason for deciding to teach the “Five Animal Play” was also because Xia Tian knew that the second “Heaven and Earth Merging” would occur three days later. If Hua Rong and Wu Song could also successfully metamorphose and acquire “variant abilities,” the territory would undoubtedly have greater security!
Speaking of Wu Song.
After Xia Tian entered the “Hua Tuo Secret Realm,” Wu Song also officially entered the challenge secret realm of the silver historical figure “Zhou Ti.”
And clearly, the challenge of the silver historical figure posed no pressure to Wu Song, who had already begun his “metamorphosis.”
【Your territory resident has completed the ‘Contention Challenge’ for the silver mid-potential historical figure ‘Zhou Ti.’ Your territory's luck +100, and you have received the challenge completion reward, “Iron Arm Golden Blade Art”!】
When Wu Song's consciousness returned from the secret realm, a new skill book appeared in Xia Tian's lord's space.
Unlike the previous “Five Animal Play” skill book, this skill book was primarily made of silver, with an embossed cover.
The embossed content depicted a middle-aged martial arts grandmaster with a stable physique and strong, powerful arms. Using his golden-glowing iron arms as weapons, like a battle saber, he easily cleaved dozens of sabers, spears, swords, and halberds!
【Iron Arm Golden Blade Art (Silver)】
【Level】 Mortal-level · Transcendent
【Description】 Contains the detailed understanding of fist and blade techniques by a generation of martial arts master Zhou Ti.
【Remarks】 After the second “Heaven and Earth Merging,” it can automatically absorb the rules of Heaven and Earth to condense cultivation content at the “Transcendent” level!
“Hmm, a Transcendent-level skill book?”
Xia Tian's eyes suddenly lit up.