After Yang Luo had defeated three hundred and twenty enemies, he was shocked to see another six hundred and forty appear.
"There are still more? This is truly difficult. I won't fight anymore. With my current strength, it's nearly impossible to clear them all. Even if I could, I'd be completely exhausted and unable to deal with Ye Yu afterward."
Yang Luo chose to withdraw immediately. Not long after, Wang Jue and Ba Ye also exited.
Like Yang Luo, they had only managed to defeat the first wave of three hundred and twenty before retreating. The three of them sustained minor injuries and hadn't expended too much energy.
Yang Luo felt reassured—since they were in the same state as him, his confidence grew.
"In that case, if Ye Yu does manage to clear this stage, he'll be facing the combined attack from the three of us. He'll be dead for sure."
Ba Ye nodded firmly. "Even though Ye Yu has contracted seven powerful Non-Ability Users, the three of us together should at least match five, maybe even six of his."
Ba Ye was extremely confident in his own strength.
Wang Jue agreed. "Indeed, Ye Yu must die. Otherwise, the rewards we sacrificed would be wasted. After all, if we pushed our limits, we might have had a chance against the six hundred and forty Rock Stone Generals. Maybe that's the final wave."
Yang Luo said, "Let's rest and recover. If six hundred and forty is indeed the last wave, then Ye Yu will definitely clear it."
Ba Ye frowned slightly. "But what if it's not the last wave? What if there's another one with twelve hundred and eighty?"
Wang Jue shook his head. "Impossible. That would be far too difficult—no one could clear it."
Yang Luo, however, furrowed his brow and sighed. "Not necessarily. It might actually be possible. If six hundred and forty were the final wave, the difficulty wouldn't quite match up. This first stage is already harder than the Giant Sanctuary. There's a chance it could escalate further."
Wang Jue grew concerned. "In that case, Ye Yu will definitely give up."
After a moment of contemplation, Yang Luo replied, "There are pros and cons. The downside is that Ye Yu might quit. The upside is that he might push himself even harder and pull off another miracle. If he does, his exhaustion will be far worse than we expect, and he'll be easy prey for us. It all depends on his choice. No point overthinking it—we'll find out soon enough."
By now, nearly everyone had withdrawn and been teleported out of the Mystic Realm.
The reason they weren't kept in the waiting area was that they didn't qualify as attackers for the second stage—Yang Luo's group had already taken those spots.
Only the elite teams remained—Lin Muxue's squad, Jin Mo's team, Xia Ling's group, and other top-tier Chosen Ones.
They weren't holding back to target Ye Yu, so after clearing the first three hundred and twenty, they faced the six hundred and forty head-on, determined to take down as many as possible.
Meanwhile, Feng Yi sighed. "Xiong Houdao hasn't come out yet. It seems he doesn't plan to help Ye Yu much further. That's understandable—since Ye Yu is my great benefactor, Xiong Houdao naturally wants to focus on improving his own strength."
Xiong Houdao, currently facing the six hundred and forty Rock Stone Generals, was also determined to eliminate as many as possible. As a top-tier Chosen One, he stood a chance.
His abilities were diverse and formidable, but his stamina was draining rapidly.
Meanwhile, Ye Yu's swings with Black Blade Night had slowed—his strikes were less frequent and less forceful. His arms ached, the soreness intensifying, his stamina dwindling, and his injuries worsening.
With a single slash, all six hundred and forty Rock Stone Generals were dealt with. Ye Yu panted heavily; though his energy consumption was significant, he hadn't yet reached his limit.
This made Ye Yu suspect that there was likely another wave coming. After all, he hadn't pushed past his breaking point yet—perhaps only by surpassing his limits once more could he truly pass this trial.
Crack… crack… crack…
Just as Ye Yu had guessed, the rocks split and reformed once again. In no time, one thousand two hundred and eighty Rock Stone Generals emerged.
At that moment, a message echoed through the air:
"Congratulations. You are the first challenger to face the final wave of the first trial."
Ye Yu didn't relax upon hearing this. Even though he now knew this was the last wave, the difficulty was still overwhelmingly high—no less challenging than his previous battle against the Giants.
Moreover, the reason he had been able to defeat the Giants was due to luring them into the sea, where he had drained much of their strength. Multiple factors had played a role, and missing even one would have spelled failure.
"This is the final wave… I'll have to go all out."
Ye Yu removed the weighted plates strapped to his body. He had been fighting with them on the entire time—though they were just a few pieces of iron, they carried significant additional weight.
Once they were off, Ye Yu instantly felt much lighter, as if he had ascended to heaven. His body no longer felt as heavy, and his movements became far more effortless.
The reason he hadn't taken them off from the start was to temper himself. Removing them earlier wouldn't have given him a significant advantage anyway.
Boom… boom… boom…
The ground trembled as the one thousand two hundred and eighty Rock Stone Generals surged forward.
Ye Yu took out a photograph and sighed softly. "With our help, Han Ling was given extra treasures and experience, allowing him to reach level 30. That's why the photograph he created can now last for an entire hour—and the timing is perfect. I'll use it now. Originally, I was thinking of saving it for the second trial, but if I don't use it here, even I might not be able to clear the first trial."
Ye Yu's goal was to pass the first trial and secure greater rewards—not just to see how far he could go.
As for why he had considered saving Phantom for the second trial, there was some concern behind it.
If he barely scraped through the first trial in poor condition, then he could use it then.
Of course, even if Jin Mo, Lin Muxue, and Wang Quanshi teamed up to attack him once, he could withstand it without relying on Phantom—he wouldn't be taken down so easily. But Ye Yu had to consider more than just them.
The world's top Chosen Ones weren't limited to just Wang Quanshi and the others. There were many more—some renowned, others deliberately hidden.
Because he was familiar with One Piece, Ye Yu knew which figures hadn't yet made a name for themselves but were still formidable.
For example, the Combination Fruit.
Neither the fruit's ability nor its user was well-known yet, but Ye Yu wouldn't underestimate it. After all, in One Piece, the one who possessed this power was Barrett.
At just eighteen years old, while serving in Roger's Pirate Crew, he could fight on equal footing with the Dark King Rayleigh—who was already in his prime, middle-aged at the time.
In the movie adaptation, Barrett was undeniably Emperor-level in strength, with many believing his personal combat prowess far surpassed his Devil Fruit abilities.
Additionally, there were others who hadn't gained fame but were incredibly powerful in the world of pirates.
Take the Red Earl, for instance—he relied solely on his own strength. In his era, he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with both Roger and Whitebeard, all by himself.
As for the Red Earl, he obtained the Devil Fruit only after Luffy wreaked havoc in Impel Down and escaped. So during that period, he became a legend purely through his own strength.
Additionally, there was another figure Ye Yu paid special attention to—Rocks. His strength wasn't at the Emperor level, nor the King level, but rather above the King level.
Apart from these three, there was also the successor of the Revolutionary Army's Dragon, who had yet to make his mark.
Although in the world of pirates, Dragon is on the protagonist's side, it's unclear whether his successor in this world is good or evil.
Then there's Loki, the Giant Prince who appeared not long ago in the manga, claiming to be the Sun God. In this world, someone was bound to inherit his legacy as well.
Thus, there were still many hidden top-tier Chosen Ones to consider. If luck was particularly bad and a team ended up with three King-level or even above King-level opponents, then keeping Phantom would be absolutely necessary.
-Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!