Chapter 42 | Paladin Class: Awakening the Strongest Demon System

After finishing the announcement of the rewards, she looked at the students below, each with hearts surging with excitement, and continued:

"This examination will adopt a 'shrinking circle' rule. Once the assessment begins, you will be randomly teleported to various locations throughout the secret realm to hunt demonic beasts. Subsequently, the safe zone of the secret realm will gradually shrink. You must reach the designated safe area within a specific time. If you exceed the time limit, the identity bracelet on your person will teleport you out of the secret realm, resulting in disqualification and the locking of your points."

Upon hearing this, everyone present widened their eyes in surprise. Many of them were only learning about this rule now.

In this way, battles between squads would be unavoidable, and the intensity would increase drastically.

Revealing this only now was perhaps to prevent students from forming improper teams in advance?

For a moment, whispers began to ripple through the previously silent square.

However, Cecilia merely swept a gaze over them, and the crowd immediately quieted down, not daring to speak further.

It could only be said that the Hall Master's presence was too powerful, making people afraid to act out of line.

Soon, the remaining rules and formalities were finished, and the examination officially began.

Teaming up was done by binding through one's own identity bracelet.

Jiang Lin did not bind with Anya and the other, so as the light curtain of the secret realm's protective barrier fell, he was teleported inside.

His vision warped and spun. Amidst a bout of dizziness, Jiang Lin felt his feet touch the ground.

Little Black was not a candidate, so it wasn't teleported in and instead remained outside.

Before him was a dense forest emitting a faint fluorescence, the air filled with the scent of damp soil and mixed vegetation.

The surroundings were silent, with only the faint cries of unknown creatures echoing from the distance.

Jiang Lin glanced at his bracelet and saw the characters displayed on it:

【Points: 0】

【Ranking: N/A】

【Total Eliminations: 0】

There were much fewer people around, so Jiang Lin finally dared to open his right eye.

However, as the plants before him swayed with a rustle, double images appeared, still making Jiang Lin feel a bit lightheaded.

Sigh, I still need to get used to this talent before I can use it normally.

Jiang Lin let out a sigh.

He had already tried; the 【Chronowalker's Evil Eye】 could not be manually closed—it would always remain active. On the bright side, since it was a talent rather than a skill, it didn't seem to consume any of Jiang Lin's magic essence. It only caused a stinging pain in his right eye when facing a powerhouse like the Hall Master.

This did have one advantage: once Jiang Lin got used to the evil eye, he would be able to perceive approaching danger at all times.

Enduring the dizziness caused by the evil eye observing the swaying plants, Jiang Lin began to determine his current position.

Hm, these fluorescent plants should be near the Fluorescent Swamp. If there are bodies of water nearby, there will be crocodile-type demonic beasts ranging from transcendent to elite grade.

Killing a transcendent grade demonic beast would grant points corresponding to its level. For example, a level 1 transcendent demonic beast would yield 1 point.

Killing an elite grade demonic beast would yield points equal to its level multiplied by five. For example, a level 1 elite demonic beast would yield 5 points.

Jiang Lin recalled the map he had borrowed from Old Luo, planning to find the nearby water first to kill a few crocodiles for practice.

Demonic beasts were different from humans. Humans could improve their strength through post-natal effort or comprehension, while demonic beasts relied heavily on the bloodline of their ancestors—the so-called racial grade.

Adventurers categorized all demonic beast racial grades into the following six classes:

transcendent, elite, commander, lord, king, and overlord.

A demonic beast of a higher racial grade fighting one of a lower racial grade at the same level was essentially like a father beating a son.

Furthermore, higher-grade demonic beasts could easily defeat lower-grade ones even when out-leveled.

For example, a level 1 overlord cub, as long as it wasn't a newborn lacking mobility, could easily suppress a level 20 transcendent demonic beast.

It was just like certain low-level geniuses among humans who could defeat higher-level opponents.

Of course, the number of overlord creatures was exceptionally rare. At Jiang Lin's current level, he had no chance of coming into contact with such beings.

These demonic beasts could also change their racial grade from low to high through post-natal training, thereby altering the bloodline of their descendants.

For instance, the black cat that Little Black possessed did not originally belong to the category of transcendent creatures; its racial grade wasn't even transcendent. But through post-natal training with a breathing technique, it had evolved from a common creature into a transcendent creature.

However, in cases like Little Black where there was a master (as Jiang Lin considered himself), they weren't usually called demonic beasts, but were given titles like spirit beasts or spirit pets.

As Jiang Lin walked while trying to find his bearings, he suddenly received a notification that a system quest had been completed.

Jiang Lin was initially confused, but after seeing the line of ant corpses beneath his feet, he understood the truth.

He then ground his sole against the earth, completing another quest as well.

【stamina】: 9,000 → 10,000

【mental power】: 6,400 → 7,400

【Stone Skin (proficient) → (superlative)】

Memories flooded his brain. Jiang Lin watched as his skin changed from its original normal color to being plated with a faint layer of gray, which then merged into his body. This made his skin even tougher, completing the transformation of Stone Skin from perfect to superlative.

Jiang Lin pinched his current skin. A flicker of golden light appeared at his fingertips—he had casually manifested a small 【Light Blade】.

He pressed the golden glow against his skin, testing its current toughness.

Hm, not bad. It can resist the edges of most ordinary swords.

If he added the powerful physical strength brought by his terrifying 10,000 stamina, as long as the strength gap wasn't too massive, Jiang Lin could directly tank a direct sword strike by manipulating his muscles.

Now that his last skill had reached superlative, Jiang Lin had achieved the accomplishment of having all his skills at max level.

All that remained was to break the limit.

However, being inside the secret realm now, limit-breaking might cause him to fall unconscious, so he needed to make preparations beforehand.

In fact, Jiang Lin found it a bit strange. As he acquired more and more superlative skills, the random skill upgrade rewards seemed to always target skills that hadn't reached max level.

Could it be that only the 【Designated Skill Upgrade】 reward can be used for limit-breaking, while the 【Random Skill Upgrade】 can only be used to level up non-maxed skills?

Jiang Lin rubbed his chin in thought.

He recalled past system rewards. It seemed that challenging quests generally gave 【Designated Skill Upgrade】, while simpler tasks gave 【Random Skill Upgrade】 or 【Random Skill Copy】.

From this perspective, the level of the three rewards shouldn't be on the same horizontal plane.

But in terms of reward effects, the 【Random Skill Copy】 reward's value depended entirely on luck. Sometimes, the gains might even exceed a 【Designated Skill Upgrade】...

Shaking his head and putting those thoughts aside for now, Jiang Lin looked at the ants by his feet.

At this moment, they were neatly lined up, advancing along the pheromones left by their comrades. They ignored the giant being that had appeared above them, merely detouring around the corpses of their fellows to carry food back to the ant nest.

Jiang Lin discovered that there were quite a lot of ants here, at least more than in Boulder City.

Thus, Jiang Lin followed the direction the ants were heading and found their ant nest.

It was a relatively large ant nest. Only an old-growth forest environment like the Phantom Forest could allow ants to develop to such a scale.

Jiang Lin glanced at the system.

【Phase Quest:】

【Slaughter】

【Requirement: Accumulate the slaughter of 100,000 living beings】

【Reward: Demon Lord Seed and a special title】

"Hah! You ants, come and serve as the stepping stones for Emperor Jiang Lin's path to enlightenment!"

A holy light longsword appeared in Jiang Lin's hand. He thrust the sword into the ant nest and released light-element attacks that killed the ants instantly upon contact.

Jiang Lin watched as the required number for the quest continued to climb, reaching the threshold before long.

【Phase Quest:】

【Slaughter (Completed)】

【Slaughtering 100,000 living beings with a nonchalant air, you are a demon soaked in a sea of blood, bearing monstrous slaughter karma. Amidst the wails echoing across the land and the devastation of life, you remain unmoved. You are a natural demon lord—slaughter is the sacrificial rite for your ascent to the throne.】

【Rewards Obtained: Demon Lord Seed and a special title】

【Phase quest completed. System freedom increased.】

【Random Skill Upgrade (or Copy) rewards can now be exchanged for a Designated Skill Upgrade at a 2:1 ratio.】

The system actually upgraded?

As expected, his previous guess was correct; there really was a gap between these two types of rewards.

Next, Jiang Lin looked at the system rewards.

【Obtained Demon Lord Seed. Granted Demon Lord Trial eligibility.】

Demon Lord Trial?

What is this?

Jiang Lin was puzzled. He claimed the 【Demon Lord Seed】, and in the next moment, this so-called 【Demon Lord Seed】 appeared within his body.

Jiang Lin first felt a bout of sharp pain in his chest, followed by his heart suddenly beating violently.

His body temperature rose rapidly, the world before his eyes turned blood-red, and his senses became exceptionally sharp. Even the slight breeze blowing against his face felt like a scraping pain to Jiang Lin.

However, this state only lasted for a moment before disappearing.

Jiang Lin checked again. Inspecting his body internally, he saw that his original heart seemed to have several runes on it that he didn't understand.

In other aspects, Jiang Lin didn't notice any changes.

So, he looked at the title reward from the system.

【Obtained Special Title】

【Crimson Slaughterer】

【Grade: Epic】

【Description: A crimson slaughterer bearing countless lost souls, stepping onto the path of the demon lord via a sea of blood. The bones of all living beings form the base of your crown, and their mournful wails are the hymns of your coronation. But slaughterer, do not forget: when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.】

【Equip Effects:】

【1. Blood Demon Summon: Active effect. Upon use, a blood demon will be summoned from the Blood Realm to assist in battle. The blood demon exists for 5 minutes, after which it will return to the Blood Realm. The blood demon's strength is linked to the user's power. This active effect can be used once per day.】

【2. Slaughter Disguise: Active effect. Upon use, enter a disguised state. You can disguise yourself as a target you have killed. Requires that the size difference of the target is not too great. This active effect has no usage limit.】

【3. Blood Deterrence: Passive effect. Automatically triggers once the title is equipped. Indiscriminately releases blood deterrence to surrounding targets, lowering their will to fight. Can be manually turned off.】

This title looks quite strong.

The grade is Epic. Logically speaking, it should be one grade lower than Legendary.

However, it seemed much more practical than the previous 【Pope of one of the Four Great Secret Cults】 title.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Lin equipped the title and hid it.

The moment Jiang Lin equipped the title, the passive of Blood Deterrence triggered automatically. A terrifying, malevolent aura radiated from Jiang Lin.

At this moment, he was like a demon lord descending. Behind him was a towering sea of blood and endless withered bones. He came walking over those infinite bones; anyone who met his gaze would be struck with terror.

Even the holy light longsword in Jiang Lin's hand became entwined with wisps of blood-colored energy. The holy light and blood energy interlaced, resembling the sword of a holy angel who had committed slaughter.

Jiang Lin withdrew the holy light longsword, only to find that many of the ants he hadn't killed earlier had now been scared to death by his 【Blood Deterrence】.

Only after Jiang Lin turned off 【Blood Deterrence】 did everything return to normal.

Hm, quite excellent.

I've gained another trump card for self-preservation.

As for the other two skills, he would try them later.

Furthermore, due to the completion of the phase quest, the system entered the next stage.

【Phase Quest:】

【Demon Lord Trial】

【Through the Demon Lord Seed, complete the Demon Lord Trial (The system has detected a vast disparity between the host's current strength and the difficulty of this quest; it is not recommended to attempt the challenge at this time).】

【Reward: Obtain Demon Lord Status and entry qualification for the Abyss of Slaughter】

Another few unfamiliar terms.

Jiang Lin rubbed his chin.

Whatever. These things like "blood demon," "Blood Realm," and "Abyss of Slaughter"—he would try to see if he could find any information after he got out.

Or he could just ask Little Black, who was basically a walking encyclopedia.

Jiang Lin glanced at his bracelet and found that while he was killing ants, many squads had already made their move.

【Points: 0】

【Ranking: 79】

【Total Eliminations: 0】

The ranking number was still constantly rising. It seemed more and more squads had begun hunting demonic beasts.

Jiang Lin didn't delay any longer and began searching for other squads and demonic beasts.

......

Fluorescent Swamp, a vast biome of transcendent creatures.

Several dozen shallow water stone crocodiles, showing only a pair of eyes, were silently waiting for prey to appear.

The leader of their group, a second-rank elite shallow water stone crocodile, had suddenly vanished for some reason a while ago. Now, only this group of transcendent shallow water stone crocodiles, who were at most first-rank, remained in charge.

Suddenly, a dark shadow seemed to flash above them. Subsequently, a vast expanse of sword qi, falling like a rain of light, descended. Each strand of sword qi precisely targeted one of the dark shadows in the water.

Some shallow water stone crocodiles with quick reactions tried to dodge. However, they were shocked to find that the sword qi seemed to know their movement paths in advance, with other strands of sword qi blocking their escape routes beforehand.