Chapter 142: Graduation Agreement

The Novice Evolution Sphere had not been abandoned with the emergence of the Advanced Evolution Sphere; on the contrary, it functioned like a permanent training ground, allowing everyone to enter daily for practice.

At noon, all the students entered the Novice Evolution Sphere. Chen Mo continued his challenge at Hell difficulty, summoning a more powerful Hell Cerberus. Yet, despite its fifty-meter towering stature, the three-headed dog was instantly defeated!

At 7,500 meters into the Hell dungeon, where every step was fraught with danger, Chen Mo activated Killing Mode, unleashing all his attributes. His health soared to 40,000, and clad entirely in A-grade equipment, he was still no match for the Hell Cerberus—he was immediately slain.

Chen Mo was now absolutely certain: this Hell Cerberus was the ultimate boss, its power surpassing that of an S-rank zombie by more than a hundredfold!

Although the Novice dungeon’s points had lost their value, Chen Mo relentlessly pushed himself, refusing to waste even a single revival chance granted by his limited number of Intellect Cells.

Death, revival! Death, revival!

Chen Mo’s current record in the dungeon stood at 7,500 meters on Hell difficulty. He no longer advanced even a single meter, for any change in his record would signal to those watching the Overlord that he was engaging in the dungeon again, risking exposure.

Thus, his goal was no longer to set records, but to battle the Hell Cerberus repeatedly, honing his practical combat skills.

Only by fighting this ultimate boss could Chen Mo make gradual progress!

“Tenfold Power Arrow!”

He fired ten arrows aimed straight at the Cerberus’s eyes.

A roar echoed as the Cerberus’s middle head spewed a pillar of flame, reducing all ten arrows to dust.

Of course, this was merely a feint.

Wielding his S-grade weapon, the Golden Scale Twin Blades, Chen Mo’s speed reached sonic levels. He transformed into ten afterimages, mimicking the moves of Young Master Wei—tenfold shadows, tenfold strikes!

Smack!

The Cerberus slapped away the ten afterimages as if they were nothing.

“Heh, got you!”

But those were only mirror images. The real Chen Mo had already circled behind the Cerberus’s three heads. With the Mind Crystal enhancing his meditation by 20%, his meditation power surged to 300!

Chen Mo’s mastery of magic had reached an unprecedented peak—no one else on Earth had meditation power even close to 300.

“Tenfold Compressed Fireball!”

The special effect of the Phoenix’s Eye allowed flame magic to fuse with other elemental magics.

“Lightning Strike!”

Within the tenfold compressed fireball was lightning, combining the high damage of fire with the explosive power of lightning—forming a devastating fire-and-electricity attack!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The tenfold compressed fire-electric blasts struck the Cerberus’s neck, their power stacking relentlessly.

“Explosive Flame Detonation!”

The damage intensified further!

Chen Mo’s pure magic power was 1,000. With the Phoenix two-piece set equipped, his magic power rose to 1,800. Killing Mode doubled his attributes, pushing damage to 3,600. Multiplied tenfold, that was 36,000 damage. The Explosive Flame Detonation brought the total to a staggering 100,000 damage!

Boom!

A cataclysmic blow—without a doubt Chen Mo’s strongest strike ever!

“-10,000 HP!”

A blood-red number hovered above the Cerberus’s heads!

“Ha ha ha! Success!”

Chen Mo was ecstatic. Previously, whether physical or magical damage, his attacks on the Cerberus felt like mere tickles—damage of -1 HP or -10 HP, utterly ineffective.

But now, he had directly taken 10,000 HP from the Cerberus—a monumental breakthrough.

Roar!

Furious, the Cerberus unleashed a brand-new skill. It whipped its tail, spawning thousands of venomous snakes that formed a tangled network, sealing off every escape route. Then it unleashed a relentless barrage of bites, making Chen Mo’s ordeal worse than death.

Chen Mo had died countless times and was numb to pain.

He switched Intellect Cells, expending one challenge attempt.

Revived! Onward once again!

With 84 Intellect Cells and 252 challenges in total, aside from a few reserved for the Little Prince to grind dungeon records, all were devoted to the Overlord’s battles!

Chen Mo pushed the Overlord’s combat potential to its limits—magic attacks, physical assaults, dual damage from both, fusion of Phoenix flame magic with other elemental magics, Phoenix claws converting magic into physical damage, and a myriad of physical skills.

Various equipment, countless skills, endless combinations.

The Hell Cerberus had become Chen Mo’s ultimate sparring partner.

The Cerberus was near collapse, perplexed why this tiny ant dared repeatedly challenge its dominion. Did he not fear death or pain?

Who does not fear pain? But the desire to grow stronger is greater.

Finally, with all 84 Intellect Cells exhausted, Chen Mo returned to the dungeon hall.

Within the hall, many students excitedly discussed how many meters they had progressed and what new gear they had acquired.

Chen Mo felt reborn, utterly indifferent to records or equipment. He now understood the true purpose of the Novice dungeon was not rankings or points, but to push one’s physical limits, to complete every stage with excellence, betterment, and mastery—constantly challenging one’s extremes!

It dawned on him why Young Master Wei, with his Marquis-level strength, had yet to conquer Hell difficulty. Wei must have long understood the dungeon’s core—perfectly clearing every stage. That was the hallmark of a true hardcore player.

In the days that followed, the school was calm. Instructor Moon Fox returned to Class F, while Instructor Wei Zheng continued guiding Class A.

Yet Chen Mo found himself nostalgic for Class F, or rather, for the days when Instructor Moon Fox taught him personally.

While many high-level students began to complain that the Novice dungeon had grown dull—too hard to clear Hell difficulty, nothing left to challenge—Chen Mo delighted daily in his battles against the Hell Cerberus, steadily improving his skills and memorizing its attacks. He could even endure the Cerberus’s overwhelming area-of-effect onslaughts for three minutes without dying—a feat of great prowess.

As complaints spread through the school, Chief Instructor Wei Zheng announced a major event: “Tomorrow, the four premier evolution schools of Star City will embark on their first field mission, joining forces with the Shadow Legion to assault a small guild. Each school has only 100 slots, forming teams of five, totaling twenty teams. The top twenty ranked students will have priority in selecting teammates.”

At this, all eyes turned eagerly toward the top twenty students in Class A.

“Pick me! I’m a healer—I can restore health!”

“Choose me! I’m a tank with thick armor!”

Students enthusiastically promoted themselves. The more attractive female students played up their charms with coy smiles and flirtatious glances.

Inside, Chen Mo rejoiced—finally, a mission to attack a guild! His goals had taken a significant step forward!