Black Hole

“So many?” Luo Feng was surprised. He glanced around, barely able to make out two or three small teams. “Most teams are near the canyon and are all hidden, so it’s hard to spot them without a careful search,” Babata’s voice echoed. “Understood,” Luo Feng replied. The mountains were barren, almost entirely black rock, interspersed with bits of silver. Luo Feng’s team advanced cautiously. The central region of this mountain range looked as if it had been cleaved by a divine battle-blade, splitting the entire range open to form a canyon. This massive, blade-like canyon was the ‘Wind-Thunder Canyon’. Raging winds, fueled by cosmic origin energy, howled through, carrying a multitude of shattered stones, and even some Wind-Horn Stones, dancing in the air. Hidden along the canyon walls were young generations from various families, powers, and planets across the Black Dragon Mountain Starfield. They were the young generation, not yet true cosmic powerhouses. This was their first assessment on their path to becoming strong! “Luo Feng, this is the map. The marked location is an excellent spot. It’s best if your team hides there,” Babata communicated mentally. Luo Feng looked down at the screen on his arm guard. “Follow me,” Luo Feng whispered. Hong, Lei Shen, and the other four quietly followed. The closer they got to the canyon, the stronger the winds became. Luo Feng reached a rock, abruptly lifted a large stone, revealing a cave, and mentally transmitted, “Everyone, go in. There’s an opening inside that leads directly to the canyon wall.” “You found a place like this?” Lei Shen couldn’t help but praise. “Go,” Hong was the first to enter. In this Thunder World, a Mentalist’s mental force spread was very limited in the ‘air’. For mental force to penetrate these massive rocks infused with cosmic origin energy, it was absolutely impossible for a Star-level cultivator. With mental force unable to scout, such places were incredibly difficult to find. And to dig one themselves? Given the hardness of the rocks in Wind-Thunder Canyon, hardened by prolonged exposure to the winds, it would take at least a year or two to complete. “Good thing Babata reminded me,” Luo Feng said as he also jumped into the cave, covering the entrance with the rock. The cave was inside the mountain. They walked along the cave until they reached a wall facing the howling winds of Wind-Thunder Canyon, where there was an opening about thirty centimeters wide. “What’s this?” Lei Shen’s eyes lit up. “Oh?” Hong picked up a smooth, small stone lying near the cave entrance. The stone was primarily black, but its surface had a strange, film-like blue sheen. Ordinary stones here were black, or black with a hint of silver. Only Wind-Horn Stones had a deep blue aura on their surface. Legend had it that these Wind-Horn Stones were formed when rocks, struck by lightning, didn’t turn to dust but absorbed a trace of lightning energy. “A Wind-Horn Stone, it’s a Wind-Horn Stone,” Lei Shen quickly said. “I didn’t expect to just pick one up,” Luo Feng said with a smile as he approached the opening. Outside, the winds howled like ghosts, turning the world dark and chaotic. Inside the cave, because one side was blocked, the wind was very slight. Luo Feng turned to the other four in the cave and said, “The winds outside are terrifying. It’s very difficult to get another Wind-Horn Stone.” The one on the ground in the cave earlier was likely a Wind-Horn Stone carried by the winds that happened to fly into the cave. But such an occurrence was pure luck; otherwise, there wouldn’t have been just one in the cave. “Second Brother, Third Brother, according to the books, we have three methods,” Hong said in a low voice. “The first method is to risk our lives collecting Wind-Horn Stones at the top of the canyon. The winds get stronger the further down and closer to the center you go. So, the winds at the top of the canyon are much weaker; at least Star-level Seventh and Eighth Tiers can withstand them. The only danger is… being at the highest point, it’s easy to attract lightning strikes! A single bolt from those lightning-filled clouds would leave no chance of survival.” “The second method is to get close to the canyon, then use mental force or origin energy to pull in one or two Wind-Horn Stones swept by the winds! This is difficult to do but has very low risk. It requires patience.” “The third method is to kill other teams who have obtained Wind-Horn Stones and plunder them!” “Everyone, which method should we use?” Hong looked at Lei Shen and Luo Feng. Luo Feng frowned in thought. Collecting Wind-Horn Stones at the top of the canyon was the fastest way. If not struck by lightning, it would be like picking up ordinary stones. However… according to the experience of predecessors, when collecting Wind-Horn Stones at the top of the canyon, one should put away all metal items. It was said that the more metal one carried, the more likely lightning would strike. If metal robots were sent, lightning would strike them one hundred percent! For humans wearing ordinary clothes, the probability of being struck by lightning was about fifty percent. If wearing alloy combat suits, the probability increased to about two-thirds. These were the experiences passed down by generations of pioneers in this Thunder World. “The first method is too dangerous and purely relies on luck; we won’t take it.” “The third method, ambushing other teams?” Luo Feng shook his head. “Our current cave location is excellent. The cave entrance is right on the canyon wall. Let’s use the second method for now. At the same time, we can observe how other teams obtain Wind-Horn Stones. Let’s watch and see.” “Alright,” Hong nodded. Lei Shen also agreed, so Luo Feng and his team temporarily adopted a ‘waiting for the rabbit’ approach. Catching the Wind-Horn Stones flying near the cave entrance required both luck and strength! Because the howling winds made it impossible to see clearly, and among the vast number of stones, only occasionally would there be one or two Wind-Horn Stones, hence the need for luck. Moreover, a Wind-Horn Stone would pass the cave entrance in an instant! They had to grab it immediately! Miss it, and they would have to wait a long time for the next opportunity. Alas… the winds contained cosmic origin energy, and mental force would be directly destroyed and dissipated as soon as it tried to extend deep into them. Luo Feng’s ‘mental force hand’ could only extend about 20 centimeters out of the cave entrance before dissipating. Even Aogu’s ‘mental force hand’, as a Star-level Ninth-tier, could only extend 1 meter before dissipating! Beyond one meter, Aogu simply couldn’t maintain the stability of his mental force. Conversely… to Luo Feng’s pleasant surprise, the Moyun Teng, now a Star-level Fourth-tier, when shrunken, formed a very tough vine that could lightning-fast penetrate about two meters deep into the raging winds and then quickly retract. Although the vine was covered in scars, its repair speed allowed it to maintain this ‘lightning-fast 2-meter penetration’ feat! This truly surprised and delighted Luo Feng! He speculated that these winds, imbued with cosmic origin energy, had a more destructive effect on ‘energy’ like mental force, and less so on a plant like the vine. In Wind-Thunder Canyon, most teams relied on this ‘waiting for the rabbit’ method to catch Wind-Horn Stones. Occasionally, some would force slave bodyguards to risk their lives at the canyon’s peak to get Wind-Horn Stones. But such teams were rare, as slave bodyguards were also combat power, and losing one or two would significantly impact the team. On the third day in Wind-Thunder Canyon, Luo Feng’s team obtained their second Wind-Horn Stone. On the fifth day, they obtained their third. On the ninth day, they obtained their fourth. … This was also due to their excellent geographical location. An average team would spend a year and a half just traversing most of the Thunder World, and another year and a half collecting Wind-Horn Stones. So, spending several years was normal. Luo Feng’s team was already considered highly efficient. On the 32nd day in Wind-Thunder Canyon. “This cave has a really good location. At this rate, we’ll definitely collect all the Wind-Horn Stones in another month,” Lei Shen laughed. Luo Feng, Hong, Lei Shen, Tienan River, and Aogu sat cross-legged. A vine extended from Luo Feng’s arm, poised at the cave entrance, ready to strike. In front of the five, on the cave wall, was a projection screen created by Luo Feng’s intelligent life, Babata. The screen displayed four views, showing the situation within a twenty-kilometer radius. “Even though we’re in a cave, we can clearly see the situation of all the teams within 20 kilometers outside,” Luo Feng chuckled. “This is awesome,” Lei Shen praised. “Look, two more teams are fighting over here. They’re dodging so fast; that Mentalist is pretty good too,” Lei Shen’s eyes lit up as he commented on two teams that suddenly appeared on one of the screens. Then his expression froze, and he quickly said, “It’s He Ruo!” “He Ruo?” Luo Feng’s expression changed. Back when he, his eldest brother, and second brother were in the Virtual Universe killing field, they had made many friends, including He Ruo and Buleimu. He Ruo and Buleimu had mentioned participating in this Cosmic Apprentice Mercenary assessment. The entire Black Dragon Mountain Starfield was in this area, so it was normal for He Ruo to be here. “Go,” Hong was the first to rush out. Aogu and Tienan River looked at Luo Feng. “Quick.” Luo Feng didn’t hesitate either. The five-person team quickly rushed out through the other end of the cave passage. Using mental force to roll away the inconspicuous rock, they emerged and then placed the rock back. In the distance. He Ruo’s team was under pressure from another team’s attack. He Ruo’s team currently only had two Star-level Ninth-tiers, while the opposing team had five. However, both sides were mostly injured, clearly having fought fiercely. “Hmm?” Both teams quickly noticed another team rushing towards them from a distance. “He Ruo!” A mental transmission sounded in his ear. He Ruo turned to look. Among the five lightning-fast figures rushing towards them were Luo Feng, Hong, and Lei Shen, three of his friends. Joy immediately appeared on his face. Tienan River and Aogu, who were leading the charge, especially Aogu, released his mental force weapon from afar, transforming it into a golden stream of light. “Two Star-level Ninth-tiers?” The enemy team’s auxiliary AI had already detected the opponents’ strength. “Retreat!” “Quick, retreat!” At their captain’s command, without any hesitation, the team quickly retreated. Although they had five Star-level Ninth-tiers, three of them were injured… It should be noted that Star-level Ninth-tiers also varied in strength; the strong ones could fight ten of their peers. He Ruo’s team had a rather strong Star-level Ninth-tier, which was why they could hold on for so long despite being at a disadvantage. And the two rushing towards them now… daring to charge meant they were confident! With the two teams merging, the enemy team believed they couldn’t hold them off. Even if they could, a mutually destructive battle was not something the enemy team wanted, so they simply chose to retreat! … Luo Feng’s team and He Ruo’s team merged. “Thank you.” “Who are you?” A bald youth with green markings on both sides of his face immediately came over to express gratitude. “They are my friends,” He Ruo quickly said, stepping forward. “Luo Feng, Hong, Lei Shen,” He Ruo introduced. “What happened? How did it come to this?” Luo Feng, Hong, and Lei Shen looked at He Ruo. Lei Shen even said, “He Ruo, weren’t you organized by North Dragon City? How did you end up in such a state?” After their first contact with the Virtual Universe, Lei Shen and Hong knew the importance of the cosmic common language and naturally began to learn it. With their brain capacity, they learned very quickly. Although not fluent, they could communicate without problems. “To be honest, this time has been truly miserable,” He Ruo shook his head. “Our team originally had five elites and five bodyguards. When we were getting the horn of the single-horned iron rhino, we were ambushed by fierce beasts, and one bodyguard died then.” “Later, on our way to Wind-Thunder Canyon, we were ambushed by other teams six times in a row. During that process, we lost two more bodyguards and three elite companions.” He Ruo’s face was bitter. “Now, our team only has two elites and two bodyguards left.” Luo Feng felt a chill in his heart. Heavens! Although his own team had also experienced more than ten life-and-death crises, most were beast-related. As for ambushes? With Aogu’s cooperation with the ‘Crimson-Mixed Copper Mother Fragment’, they truly swept through everything! Plus, with Babata on alert, Luo Feng’s team had faced hardships, and some were injured, but no one had died. Yet He Ruo’s team had lost more than half! “Where’s Buleimu?” Lei Shen quickly asked. “Is he with another team?” “He’s dead,” He Ruo shook his head. Luo Feng was stunned. That rough, burly youth who looked like a black bear, dead? Luo Feng still clearly remembered the scene of him, Hong, and Lei Shen wishing them both a safe return. He hadn’t expected that in the blink of an eye… Buleimu was already dead. How could this be? “Grief is useless,” He Ruo shook his head and gave a bitter smile. “Many of my brothers and sisters, with whom I’ve lived for years, have already died. This is the first assessment for us so-called ‘elites’. Only by enduring one life-and-death trial after another and finally breaking through to become Universe-level, do we earn the right to be called ‘powerhouses’ and become important members of the organization.” “Screening!” The bald, green-marked youth beside him shook his head. “This is screening. Large numbers of so-called genius elites are eliminated and die in one life-and-death adventure after another! Until finally, only a few Universe-level cultivators are born! Our training camp had tens of thousands of genius elites, but if ten of them can become Universe-level in the end, that’s already good.” Luo Feng, Hong, and Lei Shen exchanged glances. Cruel… So cruel! This was the rule of those cosmic organizations: gather large numbers of genius elites, provide the best education, give them abundant resources, and then impose the most brutal elimination rules to ultimately produce a few powerhouses! One could say… those participating in the Cosmic Apprentice Mercenary assessment were not yet powerhouses. They were merely ‘reserve powerhouses’, undergoing a one-in-a-thousand, no, that’s the probability for elites of large organizations. To be precise, they had to go through a one-in-ten-million probability, perhaps, to produce one Universe-level cultivator. Boom! The entire Thunder World suddenly vibrated violently, without any warning! All the teams were shocked. “What’s going on?” “Is this world collapsing?” “Oh my god!” Within a thousand-kilometer radius of Wind-Thunder Canyon, tens of thousands of Star-level adventurers undergoing the assessment all looked up in astonishment at their surroundings, at the world. Luo Feng’s team and He Ruo’s team were naturally just as shocked, looking up at their surroundings. The entire world was trembling, the mountains shaking. “What’s happening?” Luo Feng looked around. “Over there!!!” Someone shrieked. Tens of thousands of Star-level adventurers, all those on the mountains, almost simultaneously saw the nearby mountain split open, and a pitch-black, torn-looking hole appear. This black hole was half on the mountain, half inside it, tearing the surrounding space, appearing incredibly bizarre.