"boom."
A giant dragon made of lightning struck Liu Nian's shield precisely, and the magic shield finally overloaded and was shattered by the lightning.
The residual power of the lightning then wiped out Liu Nian's remaining health points.
Under the bombardment of the fifth-tier lightning spell, Purple Lightning Dragon, Liu Nian was ultimately defeated and eliminated.
He still didn't choose to retaliate with the Judge's Eyes; this was just a trial, not a life-or-death battle.
Once this move is used, no one knows whether the old man on the other side can withstand it.
Having figured this out, he chose to accept defeat.
After the match ended, the two were teleported back to the small house.
Liu Nian checked the dark space immediately, and thankfully, all the summoned creatures were still there.
Upon seeing the familiar faces in the space, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It's just a trial, and it's a bit unacceptable that all the summoned creatures were killed.
"The Eyes of the Judge? So you're the number one on the leaderboard. You're quite the young talent!" The old man seemed to see through Liu Nian's blindfold and teased him with a smile.
"Nothing can compare to your magic. Whether it's the application or the occasion for casting, it's something I should learn from." In terms of the specificity of their spells, Liu Nian and the old man were completely incomparable.
Most importantly, he hesitated. The moment he hesitated about which magic to use, he had already lost!
The prolonged victories inevitably led Liu Nian to develop a sense of pride, making him feel that he was invincible.
When you encounter an opponent who is stronger than you, your mindset will change negatively, which is especially important when playing high-level games.
I still need to work on my character; my willpower is not strong enough.
"Why not use it?" the old man asked Liu Nian with a smile.
"This is just a trial, not a life-or-death battle," Liu Nian replied honestly.
This old man has eaten more salt than he has eaten rice. What are you trying to do with a ghost story in front of a thousand-year-old fox?
Moreover, Liu Nian doesn't think her acting skills can fool the other party, otherwise the Oscars would have already awarded her!
The old man had seen countless gazes—avoidant, guilty, and feigning composure—but this was the first time he had ever seen Liu Nian's open and honest gaze.
What an interesting little guy! It's a pity I don't have time for him!
"The time for parting has come. We'll meet again someday!" The old man sat back down on the bed, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and said calmly.
"Goodbye, senior!" Liu Nian stood up from the chair and bowed to the old man.
Although I failed, I learned a lot from this battle!
A worthy opponent!
After bowing, Liu Nian turned and left the room. A portal in the courtyard was quietly waiting for Liu Nian's arrival.
Without any hesitation, Liu Nian stepped into the teleportation portal.
The old man inside the house could not sense Liu Nian's presence and was certain that he had left.
"Come out! Lilith, the Goddess of Death!" The old man stared intently at a certain spot.
"Hehehehehehe, as expected of the Archmage Abbas, you saw right through me."
The vampire—no, no, now she should be called the Goddess of Death, Lilith—emerged from the shadows with a smile.
"Long time no see. I never imagined that the former human hero had fallen to such a state." Lily didn't hesitate to use her sharp tongue.
“Death is a relief for me, not being trapped here in this state of being neither alive nor dead.” Abbas said calmly, as if she were not talking about herself.
"How pathetic!" Lilith added insult to injury, seemingly annoyed by Abbas's defeat.
Abbas remained expressionless, offering no response.
"Did you think you were going to expose my identity?" Lilith asked curiously.
That old rascal is really wicked. He's being so obedient this time. Could he be plotting something?
"What good would that do me? What good would it do him?" Abbas asked Lilith, neither confirming nor denying.
"Are you bored in the Underworld? Why did you come to the plane guarded by the Zhen Dan Empire?"
“When you live to my age, you’ll find immortality to be a torment!” Lilith sighed, unusually without being sarcastic.
"Why choose him? His heart isn't dark enough!" Abbas said, somewhat puzzled.
This crazy woman loves pain and death. When did she start playing the role of raising animals?
"I'm so bored, so incredibly bored, I'd bet on when he'll fall into depravity!"
This answer is very Lilith-esque: transforming into a summoned creature to respond to the scroll's call, simply because she's bored.
Otherwise, given Liu Nian's skill level at the time, the scroll could only summon a mid-level vampire.
Perhaps there are special cards that allow this vampire to transform into a hero unit.
It's important to know that only units summoned by scrolls are eligible to be transformed into hero units. Units summoned by skill books are not affected by upgrade cards and can only exist as mindless summons.
What? You're saying Liu Nian's ordinary ghoul has turned into a medium-sized ghoul?
Tier 1 units are not within the scope of this discussion, and nobody knows that some brave warrior (idiot) would use his valuable upgrade card on a ghoul!
And if you're brave enough (or a bit silly), a ghoul can evolve into a ghoul lord, as long as you have enough upgrade cards!
"Alright, that's enough of our reminiscing. You can just rot here quietly!" Lilith finished her sarcastic remark with an air of nonchalance, then opened the spatial barrier and left in the blink of an eye.
"Was it really wrong to only care about myself?" Abbas murmured to himself as he lay in bed.
At the foot of the mountain, Liu Nian looked at the sky, which was already almost dark, with a bewildered expression.
This dungeon run has wasted so much time, let's hurry home.
I dared not floor the accelerator, for fear of causing an accident.
After a moment's thought, he summoned a skeletal chariot and left the area.
Fully automated driving means there's absolutely no risk of rollover.
Liu Nian lay in the carriage watching the scenery outside rush by, unaware that a dungeon completion treasure chest on the panel was flashing with brilliant light.
...
Meanwhile, the group of mercenaries who entered City A successfully established themselves there.
Their arrival disrupted the balance in City A, and many team leaders began to test their attitudes, both openly and covertly.
For example, permanent residence or temporary residence?
This is a problem, and a very serious one.
The cake is only so big. If you settle down permanently, whose cake would you want to take?
To win them over or to suppress them—this is also a question, and a very serious one at that.
However, the leader of this group was also a shrewd person and avoided answering.
Unless the people of City A unite as one, trying to forcefully take them down is nothing short of a pipe dream.
Moreover, as Chen Ling's influence grew here, her family appointed many helpers and also presented her with a marriage contract—a marriage contract with the Wu family of Jiangnan.
Yes, that's the Zhu family member who was wiped out by He Xi, Zhu Xiaotian's older brother.
This kind of marriage is never a good thing, but family marriages don't care about your happiness. It's a tyrannical contract that you can't decide, and you have to face it as long as you're a member of the family.
People from the family are both helpers and poison, a fact that Chen Ling clearly understands.
"If you have any objections, please return to the family headquarters and meet with the patriarch in person." These were Master Chen's exact words, and this was said by the leader of the helpers who came this time.
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