The gap between heroes and masters, the trial passage. (5400)

"Alright… Okay…"

Wei Jianyi seemed to have just snapped out of his shock and continued leading everyone into the passage.

Bai Zhi and Cheng Lu followed closely behind.

Before entering, they all took a complex look at Cao Xing.

Sighing endlessly in their hearts.

They also knew that this man was no longer a powerhouse on the same level as them.

Such terrifying creatures that could easily wipe out all of them were things Cao Xing could slay with a casual wave of his hand.

The gap between them was like the difference between clouds and mud.

They entered the eighth stone chamber together.

"Rumble…"

As the stone door behind them closed, two figures appeared in the secret chamber ahead.

Everyone swept a glance over them, their gazes turning solemn once again.

This time, there were two full 60th-level Commander-tier Swordsmen!

The difficulty was unimaginably high.

However, as they looked at those few figures, they gradually calmed down.

After all, Assam had dealt with that 55th-level Commander so easily in the previous battle.

Even with one more person this time, it presumably wouldn't be a problem for him.

Cao Xing still let Assam go up to fight alone.

This heroic knight instantly rushed out, wielding the lady of the lake sword, and clashed head-on with the two 60th-level Commander-tier Swordsmen!

Both sides' movements were so fast they left afterimages!

"Clang! Clang!"

The three of them exchanged sword strikes continuously.

Sword shadows flickered, making it impossible for anyone watching to react.

The offensive from those two Sword Pavilion Guards was extremely fierce!

Every sword strike carried lethally sharp sword qi!

If it were them, they would probably have been slain in the very first second of the battle.

However, although the opponent's attacks were fierce.

But Assam, as a Leader-tier creature, was unilaterally suppressing these two Commander-tier creatures.

One must know that his current true combat power was already equivalent to an eighth-tier creature; fighting these two 60th-level Swordsmen was simply child's play.

Although he was hit by the opponent's attacks during the battle.

But relying on his health, which was approaching three million, it was completely inconsequential.

In less than a minute, the health of the two Commander-tier Swordsmen was whittled down to below half.

At this moment, they entered a berserk state.

"Whoosh!"

From behind each of them, a dozen flying swords appeared and attacked Assam together.

It was their Leader-tier skill—Sword Sheath Release!

The sky filled with sword qi attacked Assam.

A large number of damage numbers instantly appeared above his head.

His health was dropping at a rate of 200,000 to 300,000 per second!

These two Commander-tier Swordsmen were indeed quite powerful.

Just with this move, they could instantly kill a powerful creature with 1.5 million health in a short time!

However, Assam still withstood the enemy's berserk attacks without dodging or avoiding.

And he continued to strike with his sword, dealing damage to the enemies.

Relying on his health, he didn't need to dodge at all.

The commotion from the battle between the three Master-tier powerhouses was too great; the entire secret chamber was shaking constantly.

Everyone also silently retreated to the side.

"Whoosh!"

A few seconds later, the opponent's burst skill ended.

Assam's health dropped to 1.5 million.

However, this was still inconsequential to him.

His health was constantly regenerating.

Meanwhile, the health of the two Swordsmen opposite him had already entered a critical state after this period of fighting.

Along with a sweep from Assam!

The fifth stage of Glory Tribute's damage erupted simultaneously.

"Bang!"

Two explosion sounds rang out, and two more damage numbers in the hundreds of thousands appeared.

These two Sword Pavilion Guards' health hit zero, and they collapsed directly.

In about two minutes, he had forcefully slain the enemies.

Then he put away the longsword in his hand, walked over with an indifferent expression, and said respectfully.

"Lord, the mission is complete."

Cao Xing nodded slightly.

"Wei Jianyi, let's continue."

"Alright, Great Lord Cao Xing!" Wei Jianyi said in an excited tone.

Compared to the despondency at the very beginning, they had now become full of confidence.

After all, anyone from Cao Xing's subordinates who appeared had such powerful combat strength!

This time, it might actually be possible to take out the items from this inheritance!

Everyone couldn't help but feel even more expectant.

Soon, they entered the ninth stone chamber.

And the level of the enemies inside changed from 60 to 65.

They were still Commander-tier creatures, but the number had increased to four.

To speed up progress, Cao Xing sent out Braum to assist Assam in the battle.

This big guy let out a roar, entered his Ice Giant form directly, and then activated Mass Taunt!

The four Commander-tier Swordsmen had no choice but to come over and attack Braum.

And Assam kept swinging his sword on the side; the battle was effortless for him.

It also took four minutes to slay the four enemies.

The battle could be described as a crushing victory.

Then came the tenth secret chamber; the enemies here still didn't pose much of a challenge.

A total of 6 70th-level Commanders.

With the cooperation of Assam and Braum, it took seven minutes to slay them.

By this point, they had forcefully cleared ten secret chambers!

At this moment, everyone looked at this scene in a daze.

From beginning to end, they only saw these two people fight.

Cao Xing, as the Lord, and the two terrifyingly aura-wielding women beside him hadn't even taken out their weapons.

Cao Xing's voice sounded again.

"Wei Jianyi, is the next place the one you mentioned, where there are two Hero-tier guards?"

Wei Jianyi nodded blankly and said: "Yes."

"The place guarded by those two is where one truly enters the inheritance grounds."

"The previous ten stone chambers were likely just a mechanism for testing and screening."

Cao Xing nodded slightly and then said: "Alright, let's go over then."

Everyone walked towards that wide stone door.

After passing through a two or three-meter passage, the scene before their eyes suddenly opened up.

Ahead, a wide hall appeared, resembling a gigantic underground palace.

Stone pillars up to a hundred meters tall stood erect, supporting the entire palace.

A thin layer of mist permeated the surroundings, making the view ahead somewhat hazy.

And at the end of their line of sight, everyone saw another huge stone door.

The stone door was tightly shut, engraved with complex patterns and symbols, exuding an ancient sense of heaviness.

And in the doorway area, two entities clad in battle armor and holding longswords were standing.

They stood there quietly, motionless, as if they were two sculptures cast from steel.

However, the aura they emitted was extremely terrifying!

Far exceeding ordinary seventh-tier creatures, a powerful sense of oppression kept washing over them.

Cao Xing swept a glance at their attributes.

[Sword Tomb Guard-1]

[Level: 80 (Eighth-tier Leader-tier creature)]

[Health: 6476125 / 6476125]

[Attack: 21623 ~ 22515]

[Armor: 5167 ~ 5296]

[Skills: Hero Sword Art, Moonfall Slash, Water-Severing Flow, Flowing Wind Slash, Sword Sheath Release]

[Talent: Sword Affinity]

[Status: Summoned Creature]

"Good grief, two eighth-tier Leader-tier creatures?"

"And there are two of them; these gatekeepers are truly formidable!"

Thinking of this, Cao Xing looked at them with some doubt and asked: "Are you sure you have a way to restrict such powerful creatures?"

"And then go inside and steal the inheritance?"

Hearing Cao Xing's question.

The three people on the scene all fell silent.

Only when truly facing the enemy in front of them could they feel the terror of such creatures!

That was a kind of strength that far exceeded Master-tier!

Moreover, the reason Hero-tier creatures were called heroes.

Besides their powerful destructive capability, they also possessed unparalleled mobility.

Their speed was simply too fast.

Even if you had skills that could restrict such powerful creatures, it would be useless if you couldn't hit them.

Even Bai Zhi dared not guarantee that she could defeat an enemy of this level.

A moment later, Cheng Lu sighed: "We indeed underestimated Hero-tier creatures."

"The probability of controlling these two guards at the door is very small; if we're not careful, we might just lose our lives!"

Speaking of this, he glanced at the swordsman beside him.

"Damn it, I almost got screwed by this guy Wei Jianyi!"

Wei Jianyi, who was on the side, spread his hands, "I told you all, this operation is very dangerous."

"I didn't have high expectations from the start anyway; as long as we cleared the ten stone chambers, we could quit at any time."

"So, is everyone choosing to quit?"

Hearing this, everyone on the scene turned their eyes to that man.

Whether to continue challenging or to quit right here, he was the only one on the scene who could decide.

Cao Xing nodded slightly and said: "Let's continue."

"Two 80th-level Leaders; their strength is actually about the same as those six 70th-level Commanders in the tenth secret chamber."

"The difference is just that their attack power is fiercer, their speed is faster, and their range is wider."

Hearing this, the corners of everyone's mouths twitched.

Is it really just that?

One must know that a transformation is comprehensive.

It includes attack, speed, reaction capability, vitality, defense, and so on.

For them, even a 10% increase in base attributes was quite significant.

After various skill buffs and equipment buffs, this 10% could raise a person's strength by another level.

And now, the gap between eighth-tier and seventh-tier was 100%, and it would also activate some special attributes.

And Cao Xing said directly: "Braum, Assam, continue going up."

Upon hearing the command, the two of them held their great shields and longswords and charged forward.

The two guards also spotted the pair.

Their previously calm and emotionless expressions instantly filled with fighting spirit.

"Intruders, die!"

They raised their longswords and launched an attack at Assam, Braum, and the others from several hundred meters away.

"Swish! Swish!"

Two shocking sword auras emerged, slashing toward Assam and Braum.

A layer of the holy shields on the two of them shattered, but their footsteps did not falter in the slightest.

As Master-level creatures, they could not yet achieve such a large attack range; they had to close the distance with the enemy before they could fight back.

Seeing them charging over, the two sword-wielding guards continued to slash out waves of sword aura with expressionless faces.

"Whoosh!"

Each sword aura was like a roaring dragon, weaving through the air with bared fangs and brandished claws, carving trenches a hundred meters long and wide into the ground!

Assam and the others did not dodge or evade.

The three layers of holy shields above their heads shattered completely within a single second.

When those sword auras landed on them, even after being reduced by armor and various skills, they still dealt damage in the range of ten to twenty thousand.

If the transformation at the seventh rank is an increase in attack speed,

then the eighth rank is not only fast, but the attack range also sees an explosive increase!

A seventh-rank can slash once in the same amount of time, while an eighth-rank can slash twice, and the attack range is also far more terrifying.

A casual sword aura can easily span over a hundred meters.

This is the reason why eighth-rank creatures are capable of destroying cities.

Experts of this level possess immense destructive power even in their basic attacks.

Coupled with their major skills, they are enough to turn a prosperous city into ruins in a short period.

Not to mention those eighth-rank Archmages; like Cao Xing, who can now destroy a city with a single forbidden spell, other mages possess the same capability.

Furthermore, the Dragon Speaker had told Cao Xing before.

Some existences with powerful talents have a chance to awaken powerful 'Hero Combat Techniques' or 'Forbidden Spells' after becoming heroes.

Therefore… the gap between heroes and masters is truly vast. "However, although the Hero-level is powerful,"

"only upon reaching the Legendary level can one truly be considered to have reached another level."

"Completing the first step from a mortal to the path of godhood!"

One can glimpse just how powerful the Legendary realm is from the two skills, [Eternal Sin Ice Prison] and [Lizardman Ancestor Statue].

Meanwhile.

Assam and Braum had already charged in front of these two eighth-rank leader-level swordsmen.

Braum let out a roar and activated [Giant's Roar] once again, forcibly drawing the enemies' aggro and providing Assam with an excellent environment to deal damage.

"Puff! Puff!"

Assam's lady of the lake sword slashed into the enemy one blow after another, bursting with damage numbers of forty to fifty thousand.

With a critical hit, it could occasionally even exceed one hundred thousand.

Even though these hero creatures had over six million HP, they could not withstand such terrifying health reduction from Assam.

Suppressed by the pair, these two hero guards also fell into a state of rage.

Sword after sword, they slashed out continuously.

A massive amount of sword aura poured out like a violent storm.

These sword auras touched the surrounding stone pillars and walls, triggering violent explosions one after another!

"Boom! Rumble!"

The entire underground palace shook incessantly due to their battle!

Many stone pillars were even slashed directly into several pieces.

Just then, a combatant beside Bai Zhi was swept by a sword aura because they couldn't dodge in time.

A damage number of over fifty thousand instantly appeared above their head!

It was incredibly close, with only a little over a hundred HP remaining.

They almost died on the spot!

A look of lingering fear appeared on the combatant's face.

Cao Xing said quickly, "Everyone get behind me, so you don't get caught in their battle and get one-shot."

Hearing this, the people on the scene gathered behind Cao Xing.

At the same time, they watched the battle scene ahead with lingering fear.

The terrifying battle continued.

Assam and Braum withstood the storm-like attacks from these two hero swordsmen!

Everywhere around where they were located, there were sword marks a hundred meters long and wide.

The ground was riddled with pits and craters.

The entire underground palace was almost plowed through by the intense battle of these four!

This also made Cao Xing clearly realize the combat power of Hero-level creatures.

However, Assam would usually return a sword strike to the opponent after taking two attacks.

Then, relying on that powerful recovery ability, he would whittle down the opponent's HP.

Of course, Wei Jianyi and the others could not see the recovery numbers above Assam's head.

They couldn't even see Assam's HP.

So they could only see this knight before them enduring the opponent's attacks, steadily reducing the HP of the two Hero-level guards.

Just like an undead monster!

Finally, after about seven minutes or so.

The first hero guard's HP bottomed out, and then it was killed on the spot by Assam!

The remaining battle was relatively easy.

Coordinating with Braum's powerful defense, the two of them took about three minutes to kill the other hero guard.

As the enemy's HP reached zero, the body collapsed powerlessly and vanished into a wisp of white smoke.

However, Cao Xing did not receive any related kill notification.

"It seems that even if you kill these summoned creatures, there is no experience point reward."

However, Cao Xing saw that after these two Sword Tomb guards disappeared, two ancient scrolls dropped on the ground.

At this moment, everyone on the scene looked over, their eyes fixed on the scrolls on the ground.

Although they didn't know what grade of scrolls those were, since they could drop from eighth-rank leader-level creatures, they must be quite precious.

After the battle ended, Assam skillfully picked up the scrolls from the ground.

Then he came to Cao Xing's side and said, "Lord, please take a look."

Cao Xing took them.

[Obtained: Sixth-Rank Leader-Level Wandering Swordsman Recruitment Scroll * 2]

"It actually dropped Master-level recruitment scrolls directly, and two of them at once!"

"Damn, this wave is quite satisfying!"

After all, a sixth-rank leader-level creature can already be called a Master.

Cao Xing had essentially picked up two powerful combatants for free.

These two scrolls alone made the trip worthwhile.

The three people on the side naturally saw that the items in his hand were extraordinary, and looks of envy appeared in their eyes.

Cao Xing said, "I'll take these two scrolls; no objections, right?"

The three of them nodded one after another, "No objections."

Even Wei Jianyi nodded calmly.

Although these two scrolls should have belonged to him.

But in this battle, they could basically be considered spectators.

Naturally, it had nothing to do with him.

Wei Jianyi took a stone seal from his backpack, with irregular edges.

Then he said, "Great Lord Cao Xing, this is the key to open that door."

"It was a reward the system gave me when I passed the tenth stone chamber for the first time."

Cao Xing took a look and said, "Alright, let's go open the stone door now."

Soon, he led everyone to the large door.

They saw at a glance that there was a groove in the center of the door, similar in shape to the stone in Wei Jianyi's hand.

After Wei Jianyi stepped forward and approached, he placed the stone on it.

At the same time, a mysterious light emanated from that groove, instantly illuminating the entire underground palace.

It also dispersed the hazy mist in the underground palace.

A moment later, they all sensed a vibration beneath their feet.

"Rumble."

The heavy stone door slowly rose upward!

At this moment, excitement appeared in everyone's hearts.

Because they were finally going to enter the interior of the true inheritance!

That was the inheritance of a Sword Saint, at least a Legendary-level creature.

What kind of things could be inside? It was truly something to look forward to!

After a dozen seconds, the heavy stone door was completely opened.

In front of them appeared a wide and deep passage.

The passage was pitch black inside, and nothing could be seen.

Maintaining some vigilance, everyone entered the passage.

At this time, Sarah suddenly said, "Lord, there is some writing here."

Hearing this, a dozen pairs of eyes looked over.

Sure enough, they saw a passage of text on the wall of the passage.

[Trial Passage: Length is 100 meters, one trial every 10 meters; pass all trials to enter the true land of inheritance.]

Seeing the content of the text, a look of realization appeared in everyone's eyes.

"Is this the final test?"

"A trial every 10 meters, ten in total. It seems this Sword Saint went to great lengths to find a suitable successor," Cao Xing sighed.

Meanwhile.

Huge stone doors descended in front of them one after another.

"Boom! Rumble!"

Ten in a row, completely blocking the passage.

Moreover, the first stone door was exactly ten meters away from them.

Everyone walked forward and saw the few lines of large characters carved on the stone door again.

[First Trial.]

[Please answer the question: What is a sword?]

[You have a total of three chances to answer; if you get it wrong three times, you will lose the opportunity to obtain the inheritance.]