Blind Arrogance

Vincent had no idea what was happening in the arena. After taking a quick rest, he now faced another Tier 1 - 5 stars primal.

Standing before him was a 3-meter tall wolf with abyss-like thick fur covering its body, capable of blending within the shadows.

A Shadowstalker!

This menacing primal beast that could easily trample any normal human being was now covered in injuries.

Vincent couldn't help but be amazed by his newly upgraded armament sword he was now gripping.

The changes it brought to the weapon were quite significant. The previously heavy and plain double-handed sword had become lighter and thinner.

It now had a matte black hilt wrapped in dark leather, with a smooth, polished blade. Silver veins occasionally pulsed with energy, giving off a faint, shadowy glow during use. When skills were activated, the sword became enveloped in a dim dusky purple aura that intensified with each strike.

Even its name and effects had improved.

[Duskedge Blade]  

Power: Tier 1 Armament  

Quality: Rare

Details: The Duskedge Blade is crafted from black-iron and dusksteel alloys, giving it a sleek, dark-gray finish with veins of silver running through the blade. The sword is light but exceptionally durable, enchanted to deal greater damage and inflict lasting bleed effects. Its sharp edge gleams under low light, giving it an ominous presence in combat.

Skill 1: Duskedge Slash  

Effect: A precise strike that deals significantly increased damage to a single target. It has a moderate chance to cause a deep wound, inflicting a severe bleed effect over 12 seconds. Each tick of the bleed slightly reduces the target's defense, making them more vulnerable to future attacks.  

Skill 2: Duskedge Wave  

Effect: A ranged energy slash projected from the blade, traveling up to 10 meters in a straight line. The wave deals moderate damage to all enemies in its path and has a small chance to stagger them. It also inflicts a minor bleed effect that lasts for 8 seconds.  

Stagger Chance: 15%

He had upgraded it before leaving the mutated lake serpent's cave, which consumed half of his accumulated experience points.

Besides upgrading his armament, he had also activated his currently most useful skill: The Virulent Stinger skill. The additional effects it brought gave him immense satisfaction.

Skill Name: Venomstrike Lash  

Quality: Rare  

Effect: Enhances weapon strikes with corrosive venom, causing severe poison damage over time. The target suffers from crippling wounds, bleeding profusely and taking continuous damage. Additionally, the venom has a moderate chance to briefly stun or slow the target's movement and attack speed, giving the user an opening for follow-up attacks. The poison and bleed effects are harder to resist and linger longer, even against higher-tier enemies.  

Poison Duration: 15 seconds  

Bleed Duration: 10 seconds  

Stun/Slow Chance: 25%

After upgrading these two factors, he was only left with 300,000 experience points, which was nowhere near enough to upgrade either to a higher level.

With these improvements, Vincent's fighting capability had obviously increased.

With deliberate action, he slashed his Duskedge Blade armament, unleashing his new weapon's skill - Duskedge Wave.

"Haaa!" Vincent roared as he struck.

A dark-purple energy slash projected from his blade, fiercely traveling straight at the exhausted Shadowstalker, destroying everything in its path!

The weakened primal attempted to flee by using its innate ability to hide within the shadows but completely failed as the energy blade swiftly landed across its battered chest.

Bang!

Awoo!

The Shadowstalker Wolf could only let out a pitiful whimper before it collapsed into particles of digital light.

You have successfully killed a Tier 1-5 stars Shadowstalker Wolf!  

+10 experience points!  

Talent Activated!  

You have received 100,000 experience points!

"I've definitely gotten stronger!" 

Vincent exclaimed as he gripped his sword tightly. Seeing his efforts clearly show the progression of his strength gave him a profound sense of fulfillment.

"Let's go, no time to lose. I better hunt more primals to fill my experience points!"

Vincent then headed to another location according to the given map.

On the other side of the wilderness, Greg's group had been continuously hunting and setting traps for other participants.

Standing before Greg's group was another team consisting of four male students. They all had furious and displeased expressions etched on their faces.

Injuries were visible all over their bodies, indicating they had just been in battle.

The male student—acting as party leader of the team, spat furiously, "Greg! Aren't you ashamed of doing this? Such a despicable move against your fellow students? Do you really think the dean is just going to sit back and watch this happen?!"

His face flushed as he gritted his teeth in anger.

Hearing the male student, Greg flashed a wide, malicious grin. 

"What are you talking about? Is there a rule that says it's prohibited to fight against other participants?"

The male student fell silent, realizing that the event's rules specifically only prohibited killing.

One of Bry's party members suddenly asked in worry, "Team Leader Bry, what should we do now? We're all exhausted. We just fought against several Tier 1 Black-Iron Bees. Should we try to escape?"

"Why should we run? Let's fight our way out. I've really hated that fucking Greg's face for a very long time!" 

Another party member chimed in, clenching his fists.

Before Bry could make a decision, Greg no longer wasted time and unleashed a wave of fire energy from his gauntlet, straight at Bry's party!

"I have no time for your pointless chatter. If you don't want to surrender your communication devices, then you can die!" Greg shouted, his eyes gleaming with malice.

"Go! Attack!" He ordered, which was immediately followed by his party members.

Flashes of skills flew straight at Bry's party!

Bang! Bang!

Greg burst into maniacal laughter as his team bombarded them mercilessly.

In another part of the wilderness, Lin Feng's group, who had abandoned Vincent, were now fighting and being surrounded by swirling dark cloud fly-like primals.

They were a swarm of insects called Sky Swarm!

Slash!

A plain steel sword cut through one of the huge flies as Van slashed desperately.

"Is this really your plan, Lin Feng? How are we supposed to kill all of these?!" 

He questioned, no longer caring about Lin Feng's background.

"Will you shut up? Just fucking focus on killing these disgusting insects!" 

Lin Feng snapped, his usually arrogant face now distorted with displeasure.

Initially, he thought his plan was flawless. Before coming to this event, he had brought several pouches of honey to attract the Sky Swarm. With his cultivation level of Tier 1 - 4 stars, he had assumed it would be a breeze to hunt the Tier 1 Sky Swarm.

However, he hadn't anticipated these overwhelming numbers. Even with his speed and sword techniques, it wasn't enough to kill all the insects.

"Van, watch out! One more behind you!" Shaina, who had a second of breathing space, shouted as she waved her staff, swatting the insects away!

"Argh!"

Although Van managed to slash one, another bit him in the back, making him yelp in pain as his movements became more sluggish.

"Lin Feng, do something, or we need to give up now!" Shaina spoke in a hurried and worried voice.

"I know! Just shut up!" 

Lin Feng's mind worked quickly, coming up with a desperate plan. Gritting his teeth, he took out two leather pouches and handed one to each of them.

"What is this?!" Shaina asked, holding the pouch as she cast a green healing light toward Van, faintly alleviating his labored breathing and sluggish movement.

"It's honey! No time to explain! Start running if you don't want to die!"

Lin Feng no longer bothered to explain the effects to them. He immediately activated his Swift Speed Talent, increasing his movement speed incredibly, leaving after images as he escaped, dumbfounding Shaina and Van for a short moment.

"Shit! He's using us as bait!" Van immediately realized Lin Feng's plan as he hurriedly threw the pouch in the distance.

"Shaina, throw it and run! Come on!"

As the two of them ran for their lives, Lin Feng was grinning deviously when he realized that no Sky Swarm had followed him.

Looking back to where he had left Van and Shaina, he muttered, "Don't blame me for doing this. Blame your own stupidity for being weak..."

He then turned, dismissing his thoughts, determined to hunt for more primals to increase his chances of passing to the next round.

And just as he turned around, he was surprised to see Vincent standing right in front of him.

"You..."

Vincent, who had been constantly monitoring his map and heading to another location of a possible peak Tier 1 primal, was also caught by surprise when he encountered Lin Feng.

However, he was confused to see him alone. Van and Shaina were nowhere to be found.

Although surprised for a moment, Vincent had no intention of arguing with him as he continued heading toward his target location.

However, before he could move far, Lin Feng's voice rang out loudly.

"Stop!"

Vincent frowned, slightly turned to face him, and asked coldly, "What do you want?"

"H-How come you're still not out of this event?" Lin Feng demanded, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"Why would I be? You're still here. Why can't I be?" Vincent replied evenly.

"You! Huh, I should have known. You must have been hiding all along. How else could an idiot like you survive this long!"

"Think whatever you want." 

Vincent really couldn't stand talking with this insufferable person. He simply ignored him and was about to leave but was once again stopped.

"Stop! Where do you think you're going? It was already a mistake that I let you go before. You better concede right here, right now!"

Utterly confused by how Lin Feng's mind worked, Vincent couldn't control his thoughts and responded, "Are you mentally ill?"

"W-What? What did you just say?" 

Lin Feng's face reddened with anger.

"I said, don't waste my time. If you want to fight, then just fight. You're talking too much!"

"Me? You want to fight me?" 

Lin Feng burst out laughing as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. A newly awakened nobody actually dared to provoke him.

His expression then twisted, evidently furious at Vincent's attitude.

"You seem not afraid of death. Fine, I'll let you know the difference between us!"

Gripping his saber, Lin Feng channeled his origin power as he activated his Swift Speed Talent, explosively increasing his movement and attack speed.

Lifting his saber, he immediately dashed at Vincent with blinding speed, his form blurring in motion.

"Die! Flash Strike!"

He slashed his saber down smoothly, cutting through Vincent's body, making Lin Feng anticipate his victory.

However, before he could rejoice, Vincent's figure blurred and vanished, revealing his attack had only landed on an afterimage.

How?

Vincent's voice then resounded despite Lin Feng's utter shock and confusion.

"Too slow..." it was calm and devoid of emotion.

What came after was a heavy 'bang' as the bone-chilling sound of cracking bones filled the air.

Vincent had punched Lin Feng's back in a swift motion, causing the arrogant youth to be blasted several meters away with a pained moan.

"Agh!"

Vincent didn't waste another second and immediately rushed at Lin Feng. He grabbed him by the collar, blood spilling from the corner of Lin Feng's mouth.

Pain distorted his usually arrogant face.

"Thank you, I am now clear about the difference between us." 

Vincent smiled coldly as he grabbed Lin Feng's communication device before dropping him unceremoniously to the ground.