Chapter 101: Corridor of Eternal Tribulation

"Weak and powerless, raging in futility!" Lu Jingming watched Tang San's emotional state and slowly shook his head.

He truly didn't know how Tang San, with this mindset, had been an assassin in his previous life. If he couldn't even control his own emotions, could he truly be a qualified assassin?

In his opinion, if it weren't for his strong background and his opponents being hopelessly lovestruck, Tang San would have died ten thousand times over by now.

"Second Soul Skill, Corridor of Eternal Tribulation." Lu Jingming had no intention of continuing to entangle with Tang San.

The current Soul Elder-level Tang San was too weak. His strength mostly relied on hidden weapons, but hidden weapons were useless against his power of disintegration.

Lu Jingming flipped his hand and plunged Black Abyss into the ground. In an instant, rolling black mist surged out, instantly spreading to a thirty-meter radius.

In just the blink of an eye, the land, trees, rocks—everything simulated by the Simulated Universe—rapidly devolved from order to chaos under the influence of this power, completely collapsing.

Tang San, caught in the black mist, was no exception.

He had just conjured a small hammer in his left hand, but before he could activate it, his entire being was mercilessly swallowed by the black mist, completely disintegrated in the blink of an eye, as if he had never existed in this world.

This was Lu Jingming's second soul skill—Corridor of Eternal Tribulation. As a large-scale destructive soul skill, any soul master below his level who was drawn into it would be disintegrated instantly, without even a chance to resist.

Even soul masters whose soul power levels were higher than his, if enveloped by this black mist for too long, would gradually be disintegrated under the erosion of this deathly power until they perished.

"Only you two are left. I'm too lazy to bother with support and food-type soul masters. Just end yourselves." Lu Jingming slowly walked out of the black mist filled with the aura of death, carrying the black long spear on his shoulder. His expression was leisurely as he calmly looked at Oscar and Ning Rongrong, the only ones still alive on the field.

It wasn't until Lu Jingming drew near that Oscar and Ning Rongrong had a chance to properly examine him.

The young man before them had white hair and red eyes, a handsome and dashing face, and exuded an inherent noble aura. From their age, he seemed to be roughly their contemporary.

"He looks good, but his personality is a bit annoying," Ning Rongrong thought to herself, though her face didn't show much fear.

After all, she knew very well that in this illusionary world, one wouldn't truly die, and the challenge mode allowed one to surrender. At this moment, her finger had already lightly touched the surrender option.

As for why Zhu Zhuqing and the others hadn't chosen to surrender, it was simply because Lu Jingming's offensive was too swift and fierce, almost instantly killing them with every move, giving them no chance to surrender at all.

Tang San, on the other hand, did have a chance, but due to Xiao Wu's death, his emotions completely spiraled out of control. All he thought about was avenging Xiao Wu, and as a result, he was also instantly killed.

Ning Rongrong didn't want to experience the taste of death, and seeing Lu Jingming's ruthless demeanor when he attacked Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu earlier, he didn't seem like someone who would show mercy to women.

Thus, without hesitation, she decisively exited the Simulated Universe.

Seeing this, Oscar had no other choice. His teammates had all been defeated. What could a food-type soul master like him do on this battlefield?

With Ning Rongrong and Oscar's exit, the battle concluded. The Shrek Seven Devils' challenge stage ended in failure, and Lu Jingming also exited the Simulated Universe.

As for having "abused" the Shrek Seven Devils just now, that was done by a simulated data entity, and what did that have to do with him personally?

Tang San wouldn't be so absurd as to take his anger out on the actual person just because he was abused by a simulated data entity, would he? If so, that would be truly abstract.

After Ning Rongong and Oscar exited the Simulated Universe, they saw the ashen-faced Zhu Zhuqing and the others.

Unlike them, who had actively surrendered and exited, Zhu Zhuqing and the others had truly experienced death in the Simulated Universe. At this moment, they were still immersed in that terrifying experience, unable to recover for a long time.

"All seven of us were wiped out by a Soul Elder. This can't be real!" Ma Hongjun couldn't help but wail, covering his head tightly with his hands, a look of despair on his face.

He could already foresee the strict punishment that awaited them from the Grandmaster. Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.

"Brother San, are you okay?" Xiao Wu looked at Tang San with a face full of concern, as Tang San's expression was the most unsightly of all.

His face was pale, and his eyes revealed endless disappointment and frustration.

"I'm fine, Xiao Wu. We're just not as skilled. It seems we still have a long way to go!" Tang San forced himself to cheer up, managed a strained smile, and gently shook his head.

In truth, the mental fatigue was nothing to him. What truly dealt him a heavy blow was that his proud Tang Sect hidden weapons had no effect against Lu Jingming.

This fact made him question whether his chosen path of researching hidden weapons had been correct all along. Was it true that only by focusing on the path of martial souls could he become as powerful as Lu Jingming, possessing power capable of controlling everything?

"Alright, children, go rest. This time, it's not your fault. The opponent was indeed too strong." Flender saw the atmosphere was exceptionally heavy, and Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang was lost in his own thoughts, unable to extricate himself. He had no choice but to step forward and softly comfort these dejected youngsters.

He had observed the entire battle. In terms of power, speed, spiritual force, soul power, martial soul, and soul skills, the opponent completely overwhelmed Tang San and the others.

Even with Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda assisting, it was still impossible to narrow the vast gap between the two sides.

In his opinion, although the opponent appeared to be only at the Soul Elder level, he was certain that even a Soul King in person would likely struggle to defeat that monster-like young man.

Moreover, among Tang San and the seven others, only Tang San, Xiao Wu, Oscar, and Dai Mubai were Soul Elders. The other three were still Great Soul Masters.

Under such a disparity in strength, losing was not really a disgrace.

"I've never heard of someone named Lu Jingming. He shouldn't exist, right? That soul ring configuration, it's impossible for there to be no news of it," Dai Mubai frowned, his expression solemn as he spoke in a low voice.

He was always well-informed about intelligence, yet he had never heard of anyone with such a soul ring configuration.

In his knowledge, such a soul ring configuration completely defied common sense. If such a person truly existed, the entire Douluo Continent would probably have been shaken by now.

"Big Brother Dai is right. That must have just been created by that illusionary world. There can't be such a strong Soul Elder in reality. How can there be a Soul Elder that even Big Brother San can't beat?" Xiao Wu quickly nodded in agreement. As a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form, she found it truly hard to believe that such a powerful monster could appear among humans.

In her heart, Brother San's strength was already formidable. If even Brother San couldn't defeat someone, then such a person was simply beyond her imagination.

"Is that really true?" Looking at Tang San and the others, who unanimously believed that Lu Jingming didn't exist, Ning Rongrong fell into deep thought.

She couldn't help but recall what Grandpa Bone had told her when he brought her the soul tool.

Grandpa Sword had achieved a major breakthrough in his swordsmanship because of someone he met in the illusionary world, and he firmly believed that person truly existed in this world. He had also specifically warned her not to underestimate this seemingly illusory world.

Therefore, Ning Rongrong's thoughts were completely different from Tang San's and the others. She vaguely felt that the powerful young man with a somewhat sharp tongue might actually exist in this world.

Since "abusing" the first generation Shrek Seven Devils in the Simulated Universe last time, Lu Jingming's life had returned to tranquility.

After successfully absorbing the hundred-thousand-year Mountain-Moving Ape soul ring and the hundred-thousand-year left arm bone, Lu Jingming's cultivation soared like a rocket, directly increasing by a full five ranks, reaching Rank 55.

However, this kind of soul power, rapidly increased by absorbing soul rings and soul bones, was somewhat unstable.

Thus, after that, he spent a considerable amount of time thoroughly refining this soul power into his own strength, truly solidifying his power.

During this time, Abyss City was in full swing preparing for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

Busy figures were everywhere in the city, and the preparatory work proceeded in an orderly manner.

Looking at the entire Douluo Continent, nothing major happened. Everything was proceeding as planned, as calm as a lake, without a ripple.

In such peaceful days, Lu Jingming's life was fulfilling and pleasant.

During the day, he cultivated, studied, played, and "beat up" Gu Yue. At night, he either looked for Zhang Lexuan or entered the Simulated Universe for a rendezvous with Xu Jiu Jiu.

Lu Jingming felt that such a life, no matter how long it lasted, would never bore him. Each day was full of freshness and anticipation.

However, peaceful lives are always broken by small interludes.

Recently, St. Freya Academy welcomed a special new student. This new student was not simple; upon entering the academy, she successfully passed the four-star difficulty of the Holographic Strategy with her outstanding performance, directly earning an A-rank student evaluation.

But she seemed dissatisfied with this evaluation. Her inherent pride always made her restless, often running to challenge Gu Yue and Firefly, wanting to prove her strength.

At first, she was indeed a bit arrogant, but after being taught a few lessons by Gu Yue and the others, she reined it in considerably. Although she occasionally couldn't resist coming to challenge them, her attitude had become much more humble.

Now, this newly joined A-rank student—a blonde girl—stood before Lu Jingming, blocking his path, her eyes gleaming with fervent light as she challenged him.

"I've already challenged all the other S-rank students, except for Miss Robin. You're the only one left, City Lord!"

The blonde girl's voice was clear and firm. She stared unblinkingly at Lu Jingming, not showing any fear despite his status as City Lord.