Limitless Ascension: Strength Amid Adversity – Chapter 174

Misty Jungle.

As the name suggests, the place is filled with ethereal white mist, swirling through the lush woods where towering ancient trees stand tall, their canopies sprawling like they aim to block out the sun, creating an air of ancient age and weariness.

Six figures stroll through, discussing amongst themselves with relaxed expressions.

“The two regions currently out of the main circle are Chaotic Blade Valley and Frosty Plain, so we don’t need to panic too much. Let’s take this chance to find some high-quality shards.”

“Heh heh, I just need two more purple shards to piece together a complete rare-grade armor.”

“The two unlucky guys we ran into earlier? After we ganged up on them, they dropped quite a few recovery medicinal pills, enough for us brothers.”

“With the six of us dominating the Misty Jungle, we can establish a huge advantage early on. Who says sheep can only flock together? That’s just a foolish view!”

…

Leading the pack is the One-Eyed Dragon Man, dressed like a brutal warrior, swaggering around with an arrogant expression, muttering as he walks:

“Damn it, too bad the six of us are strutting around here, yet we haven’t met that guy called ‘I Am Supreme.’ Otherwise, I’d make him kneel and call me daddy!”

Another companion smirked and said, “Exactly! Saw that guy on the Immortal Ship earlier, really irked me with his lone wolf act. If we bump into him, he’ll regret joining this trial!”

“Don’t talk about him. With his abilities, he’s probably already hit the ground hard. The rest of the thirty people are elites; there’s no room for that show-off!” someone else chimed in.

“Ha ha ha…” At this, the One-Eyed Dragon Man and his crew couldn’t help but laugh, the air filled with a joyful aura.

Suddenly!

A silver meteor streaked across the sky, trailing a brilliant white light, speeding over the heads of the six.

Then, it crashed onto a mountain two hundred meters away, the booming crash echoing even from afar.

“What—what was that?!” The group looked shocked.

The One-Eyed Dragon Man shook off his daze, suddenly ecstatic, “Could this be the heavenly ultimate treasure?!”

The heavenly ultimate treasure is a feature in this round’s trial, appearing with an incredibly low probability. Testers who arrive at the fallen treasure’s location can obtain various precious resources.

Whoever’s lucky enough to find it will gear up completely, giving them a massive advantage in the upcoming battles!

“Hiss, what luck! I bet there are even higher quality items inside!”

“A complete set of purple rare gear?”

“Little bro, broaden your horizons! It’s at least orange epic gear!”

“Holy crap! That means…”

In the face of such temptation, the group’s thoughts instantly became active, their gazes toward each other laden with hidden meanings.

After all, there’s only one spot to inherit Fallen Immortal Island in this round. No matter how united they’ve been, they all understand this cooperation is merely a temporary arrangement.

When it comes to the later stages, faces will have to be ripped off!

Moreover, with the heavenly ultimate treasure appearing, there’s a chance for completely dominating the scene. It’s strange if they don’t have ulterior motives.

Noticing the odd atmosphere, a glint flickered in the One-Eyed Dragon Man’s eyes. He coughed deliberately a few times and said seriously, “The urgent task is to head to the treasure location. Once we get there, we’ll split the resources evenly, no one takes advantage of anyone, after all, we’re all brothers!”

“Right, right, we’re all brothers!” The others snapped back, smiles plastered on their faces.

Though that smile had an indescribable awkwardness to it.

“Let’s go! Don’t let anyone beat us to it.” The One-Eyed Dragon Man gestured.

He was thinking that now wasn’t the time to break faces. He needed to keep these guys steady because there was no guarantee that once they reached the site, other teams wouldn’t come by to share the spoils.

If there were, they’d team up against them—after all, more numbers mean more power.

But if there weren’t any, then…

The One-Eyed Dragon Man knew very well that the so-called equal sharing of resources was merely a pretense. If an epic-grade item were to drop, how could it possibly be divided among six people? Would they take turns trying it on?

So, if the sharing didn’t go smoothly, conflicts would surely arise, leading to mutual slaughter!

Right now, the most dangerous thing was that he was the most powerful openly, and the other four might temporarily ally against him.

That’s pretty risky!

After pondering this, an anxiety began to creep into the One-Eyed Dragon Man’s heart.

At first, teamwork had its advantages, but when real profit was at stake, that dagger aimed at the opponent might just as well stab you right back!

The others harboring secret schemes said nothing on the way, deliberately keeping their distance, internally snickering,

“Brothers? Maybe on the surface!”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

The sudden rush of airflow blasted in their ears.

The six figures hurriedly sped toward their destination.

Before long, they saw a dazzling silver light glowing on that mountain, seemingly a radiant gem embedded in the earth, sparkling brilliantly.

“It’s right there!!”

The group exchanged glances and then charged forward in unison.

At this moment.

A pit began to exhale hot gases, revealing a massive silver meteorite. As long as the Testers approached to extract it, they could gather the valuable resources within.

The six stood shoulder to shoulder above it, gazing down at the shimmering meteorite with eyes that couldn’t hide their ardor.

As long as they got all the resources inside, even a weakling could instantly rise to power!

“No one else is around, right?”

“There is!”

“Where?”

“You’re looking at him!”

“What! You…”

Swish~

A rushing dark claw came flying in, revealing a huge bear’s head, roaring with bared fangs, its blood-red eyes brimming with ferocity.

Earth-grade mid-tier skill, Demonic Bear Quakes the Heavens!

“Ugh!” One Lean Tall Man was hit squarely by the attack, exploding into a cloud of blood and flying back, turning into a square box on the ground.

“You little sneak!”

The other four, their scalps tingling, created distance in alarm, gazing at the suddenly attacking One-Eyed Dragon Man with shock and anger.

The One-Eyed Dragon Man wore a triumphant smirk, “In this situation, who’s still going to talk about honor?”

After all, these guys would all be his opponents. It’s better to strike first and take one down to lessen the pressure.

“You’re too arrogant! Do you really think you can take on all four of us?” The Young Man in Green had a darkened expression, swinging a silver-white spear, its tip swirling with terrifying energy, aimed directly at the One-Eyed Dragon Man.

In this scenario, his strength ranked just below that of the One-Eyed Dragon Man.

The One-Eyed Dragon Man made a meaningful remark, “You know my strength well. Before you die, I’ll definitely take one with me. Why not collaborate to take down the other three brutes, then we can battle it out and decide the winner?”

The faces of the other three shifted slightly as they stepped back from the Young Man in Green, wary of him suddenly turning against them.

Seeing the expressions of the other three, the Young Man in Green thought slyly that this was crafty, separating him from his little group.

Seems like I have to get on this pirate ship, since we’ll be turning on each other sooner or later.

“Fine, I agree! Let’s first take care of those three, and then we can settle it!”

“Ha ha, that’s the spirit!”

With that, the One-Eyed Dragon Man and the Young Man in Green teamed up to attack the other three, a fierce battle breaking out.

Twenty minutes later.

Three boxes appeared on the ground.

The One-Eyed Dragon Man and the Young Man in Green faced each other warily, both taking medicinal pills to restore their states, preparing for their impending showdown.

“Demonic Bear Quakes the Heavens!”

The One-Eyed Dragon Man, not wanting to delay, leaped up and slammed down with his metal-covered palm, unleashing a terrifying force.

In the background, a demonic bear formed in the void, roaring with its gaping maw, full of ferocity that sent chills down their spines.

“Pierce the Heavens Nine Styles!”

The Young Man in Green brandished his silver-white spear, summoning a fierce wind, the white spear light surging like a comet ripping through the sky, his aura commanding like a god of war.

Both battled fiercely for about ten minutes, ultimately the One-Eyed Dragon Man barely came out on top.

“You bastard! So you had the pieces I needed all along, hiding them pretty well!” After opening the wooden box, the One-Eyed Dragon Man’s outfit transformed into a brand new set, radiating a purple glow, the sign of a rare-grade set.

“Now, all the ultimate treasures belong to me!” The One-Eyed Dragon Man laughed loudly, feeling a strong sense of accomplishment.

Swish!

Just then, a transparent outline of a humanoid figure appeared behind him, holding five talismans, two weak and three lit, all of them instantly binding onto the One-Eyed Dragon Man.

“Ah! Who?!” The One-Eyed Dragon Man’s state plummeted instantly, his body engulfed in an unknown flame, his life force draining wildly.

He was shocked and furious, realizing there was actually someone else in this arena besides him.

As they attacked, the invisibility state was removed, revealing a handsome man clad in red robes with a teasing smile on his face.

Above him was a line of text: I Am Supreme.

“It’s you?!” The One-Eyed Dragon Man’s eyes bulged in rage, trembling as he recognized this was the guy from the Immortal Ship.

Hong Qianye coldly laughed, “If you want to act like a sheep, you should have the awareness of a sheep. Thinking you can swallow the ultimate treasure all by yourself? You better take a good look in the mirror and ask if you’re worthy!”

He actually arrived even earlier than these six. When he noticed that extracting the meteorite required time, he knew he would be ambushed if he didn’t act, so he simply lay in wait.

It wasn’t until the One-Eyed Dragon Man won and upgraded his gear that he realized he could no longer wait, thus using the invisibility talisman to quietly strike, weakening the opponent’s state to gain an edge for himself.