#923 - Hidden challenges, limit-breaking rewards

"I would rather die standing than live kneeling.

A son of the Quan family should be like this."

Quan Yi's praising voice echoed within the room.

In this final desperate struggle, Quan Ming wasn't simply resisting with his body; his mind remained remarkably clear.

Only by completely nullifying the kinetic energy and knocking down the metal sphere could he consider his resistance a success.

Therefore, his will was as hard as iron, but his movements were exceptionally supple.

He treated his body like highly elastic rubber. At the moment of contact, he slightly lifted his feet off the ground, converting the majority of the impact force into a propulsive force that sent him flying backward.

The metal sphere didn't fly off as a result; instead, it clung tightly to his pliant body, sinking into it and carrying Quan Ming backward along with it.

Throughout this process, his precise control over force was executed flawlessly.

However, the impact force clearly exceeded his body's tolerance limit. Before the metal sphere completely lost its momentum and both fell to the ground, he lost consciousness.

Nevertheless, the recorded number changed from ten to eleven at that moment, and Quan Yi's voice also entered the room.

Of course, the unconscious Quan Ming was certainly unable to hear it.

However, Quan Yi's voice hadn't stopped.

"Tester Quan Ming has now completed the hidden challenge: [Breaking Limits]. The Ring Condensation Tower will now issue the corresponding reward.

Challenge item: Skill.

Corresponding reward: Reduces the soul power consumption of the first soul skill by fifty percent."

Emerald green life radiance was projected from within the walls, shining upon Quan Ming, who had fainted on the ground.

The indentation on his chest and the fractured hand bones caused by the impact were all rapidly healing.

His complexion, now regaining its color, resembled that of a child in deep sleep, completely devoid of the previous struggle and frenzy.

Fully restored to normal, Quan Ming's body floated in the air, and the Martial Soul and Soul Ring that had merged into his body due to unconsciousness reappeared.

Quan Yi's divine sense directly controlled Quan Ming's body.

In the next moment, the first Soul Ring floating behind him shattered with a bang!

The energy surge caused by the ring explosion couldn't shake the emerald green light waves at all, and Quan Ming didn't wake up as a result.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Quan Yi quickly manipulated the Soul Ring, adjusting the order of the patterns on it.

The Soul Ring reformed, collapsed, reformed, and collapsed.

After repeated testing several times, it finally reformed and merged into Quan Ming's body.

The emerald green light disappeared, and the moment Quan Ming's feet touched the ground, his consciousness awakened.

At this time, Quan Yi's voice had already vanished, and only clear words were displayed on the crystal platform that had reappeared in front of him.

It was also at this moment that he truly felt a sensation completely different from before.

"Evil Crab's Pincers!"

The clanging sound of metal friction erupted from his hands.

The skill, capable of clamping down on a full-strength attack of the same level, not only had its activation time shortened compared to before, but more importantly, the consumption required to activate and maintain it had been reduced by half.

Compared to direct attacks, the Evil Crab's Pincers, which combined control and maintenance, placed greater emphasis on Soul Power consumption.

But now, without reducing its power, the consumption had been reduced by half. Such a fantastical thing had actually happened to him.

"Is it really possible for something like changing the effects of a Soul Ring skill to happen to me?"

Quan Ming's murmuring voice echoed in the room, but unfortunately, no voice answered his question.

At this moment, the image on the crystal platform flickered, and the longer sentence gradually faded away, revealing the initial selection panel again.

Quan Ming walked up to the platform and reached out to touch the crystal ball. He discovered something different from before.

That was, the last skill option was presented in a brilliant golden color and could no longer be selected again.

"So, this test isn't just a test after all."

Quan Ming's lips curled into a clear smile amidst the shock.

"There are still four selectable options left, so why not dye you all golden too."

He stroked the four ordinary options on the crystal panel, revealing unconcealed ambition at the corner of his mouth.

Meanwhile, on the other side, four hours had passed.

Quan Lin's endless running continued.

The specific mileage had already exceeded one hundred kilometers. The rhythm and posture that Quan Lin had tried his best to maintain also began to collapse at this stage.

The Soul Power and physical strength within his body were nearing their limits.

Sweat soaked his clothes, and the sound of heavy breathing and dripping sweat filled Quan Lin's mind.

There is a concept in marathon running called hitting the wall.

In the second half, near the thirty-kilometer mark, the phenomenon of the body not listening to commands occurs due to excessive physical exertion.

In this state, the mind will constantly transmit the idea of stopping and giving up running.

Just at that moment, Quan Lin felt his body suddenly hit a wall, and the connection between his consciousness and body seemed to be interrupted for a moment.

When he barely mustered his energy to reconnect, he felt that his body was no longer his.

"Ah, I really want to stop. I've been running for so long; it should be enough, right?"

Quan Lin instinctively realized the information his body was sending him.

'I have reached my limit; please stop immediately.'

Clear warnings caused Quan Lin to have a variety of thoughts.

Among them were dissatisfaction, complaints about the test design, as well as laziness and relaxation.

However, for some reason, he thought of Quan Ming in the room next door, running on the track with him.

"With Xiao Ming's weight, he must be running longer than me.

Right now, he must be running on the track just like me."

A blurry illusion of Xiao Ming running in front of him appeared before his eyes.

In that instant, Quan Lin's hazy consciousness suddenly woke up.

He gritted his teeth and stared firmly ahead.

"No, I can't run worse than Xiao Ming. I still have to have a good competition with him when we get out."

The childish competitive spirit of not wanting to lose to his best friend reignited his fighting spirit.

What complicated Self-Condensing Soul Rings, what showing off, at this point, everything became unimportant.

Only the most childish and original thoughts could mobilize the body's instincts and continue to persevere.

Incredibly, the body that had encountered the wall began to gradually escape the worst state.

The feeling of regaining control of the body and successfully crossing a hurdle prompted Quan Lin to burst out with even stronger willpower.

Bright light erupted from his hazy eyes, and Quan Lin's swaying body stabilized again. Slow but rhythmic steps were helping him to run better.

When the body can't hold on, willpower will lead you to break through.

Breaking through the limit is simply such a process.

Unknowingly, Quan Lin successfully touched his own limit and completed the breakthrough.