{'All seats of the Hall of Citizens are shocked in various ways.}
{'All new seats of the Hall of Citizens are proposing a higher-level Apostle Contract with enhanced conditions.}
{'Rejecting the reward for the Hidden Quest (3).}
{'Challenge a higher Proficiency Level!}
{'Destroy the 'Cursed Qichenshi (21).'}
After destroying 20 Cursed Qichenshi, my Sword Proficiency Level finally reached 27.
As the Proficiency Level increases, the experience required for each level becomes exponentially higher, so it naturally gets slower the higher you go.
"27...!"
I let out a short cheer.
Considering my initial goal was Level 23, reaching Level 27 is already an incredible achievement.
It's far beyond what can be achieved on the Practitioner's Mountain.
However, there were still many Cursed Qichenshi left.
'Why do they keep proposing the Apostle Contract?'
At some point, the newly emerged seats started proposing the Apostle Contract.
The conditions were minimal—just a few 'Fragments of the Golden Rule' and a 'useful skill'—so I ignored them. But they kept raising the conditions, hoping I would agree.
Even so, it's not particularly tempting.
'100 hours of Fragments of the Golden Rule for a Mythical Skill, and in return, 10% of the fragments I earn?'
A regular player would be wide-eyed at this.
But not me.
I've already earned far more than a thousand hours of fragments.
Considering the expected future earnings, it would be a loss.
There's no need to enter a losing contract.
'The new seats are using a different approach from the existing ones. They must be proposing this to other players as well.'
They've adopted a kind of investment strategy.
If this contract becomes popular, factions based on seats might emerge.
Still, I'm not interested.
If the Adventure Seat or the Fortune Seat among the existing seats were to propose it, I might pretend to consider it for a minute out of politeness.
'To me, it's just a new reward upgrade shuttle.'
Regardless, their attention is beneficial to me.
From my experience, I've roughly understood the reward mechanisms of the seats.
If I hadn't paid attention, I might not have known, but once I started, I had to upgrade the rewards after breaking certain thresholds.
And all the seats of the Hall of Citizens are already paying close attention to me.
In other words, no matter how much they don't want to, they are forced to do so based on my actions.
"Destroy them all, caw! Leave not a single one, caw!"
*
Thud.
Rakusha, who had reached the summit, threw the unconscious spearman to the ground.
Surrounding him were over a hundred practitioners, tense and on guard.
"The spearman was quite something. Even with adjusted abilities, he managed to leave a bio-signal on my cheek."
Rakusha touched the small wound on his cheek.
The spearman's 'chaos' was indeed impressive.
If his level had been a bit higher, it would have been even more entertaining.
That's why he spared him.
After all, he had given Rakusha 'fun.'
"Swordmaster Rakusha! We cannot go any further!"
The oldest practitioner stepped forward, weapon at the ready.
Rakusha sneered.
"What if I insist on going further? Will you stop me?"
"Of course!"
"Then try."
"Activate the 108 Thousand Ling Formation!"
The 108 Thousand Ling Formation.
The most advanced joint formation practiced by practitioners on the Practitioner's Mountain.
Originally, to become the master of the Practitioner's Mountain, one must withstand the 108 Thousand Ling Formation for over 30 seconds.
Standing at the center of the 108 Thousand Ling Formation, the pressure is so intense that it's impossible to even stand.
Even Transcenders cannot face all the opponents within this formation.
But Rakusha, standing at the center, merely shrugged.
"I hope you're more entertaining than that spearman."
*
All 108 practitioners were thrown to the ground.
"Monster...!"
The practitioners were shocked at Rakusha's display.
Not only did he withstand the 108 Thousand Ling Formation alone, but he also defeated all the practitioners.
They couldn't withstand his transcendent sword qi.
Even the 108 Thousand Ling Formation, feared by Transcenders.
Is Rakusha, then, a Transcender who surpasses even Transcenders?
"Boring."
Rakusha slowly walked to the summit.
At the summit stood a massive wall.
The wall was covered with countless sword marks.
"Aria, the one who leaves a sword mark on this wall becomes the second trial's passer, right?"
"..."
Aria glared at Rakusha silently.
The wall only reacts to Proficiency Level.
Only those with a high weapon Proficiency Level can leave a sword mark.
Rakusha looked at the wall with interest.
"Is this the deepest mark? The Sword Immortal? It looks quite old."
The deep sword mark at the center of the wall.
It was left by the first master of the mountain, known as the 'Sword Immortal.'
A special existence said to be the strongest on the mountain.
Rakusha slowly traced the sword mark.
"Aria, daughter of the Hundred King. Shall I tell you something interesting?"
"..."
"The Hundred King has no intention of saving you. I waited for a long time, but no one came, not even the assassins of Kramdel."
Rakusha deliberately arrived late on the mountain.
While preparation was part of it, he mainly wanted to capture the assassins sent to save Aria.
But no one, not even a single ant, appeared.
He was disappointed.
It was a chance to personally sever those famous assassins, but he missed it.
"You must have been scared. You must have seen your own death."
Rakusha chuckled.
The Hundred King was adept at sensing danger.
To the point of reading the future.
How could one capture such a Hundred King?
Kidnapping Aria is just one of many methods.
The fact that he didn't send assassins, even when it was clear I was kidnapping his daughter, suggests he prioritizes his own safety over her.
"From the moment the Hundred King abandoned you, your life is essentially meaningless."
Killing you or sparing you, it doesn't matter.
Rakusha pondered for a moment and then raised his greatsword.
"If my sword mark is shallower than the 'Sword Immortal's,' I'll spare you."