Page 676 of Heaven, Earth, Me

With thirty-two arrows per second, Yasenia began to feel it. She could see the stars around her exploding and forming at high speeds, knocking arrows out of the way.

Her relaxed form began to tense again, preparing for the sixth minute.

Time ticked away, and finally, the sixth minute arrived.

The number of people left from the initial 2300 had reduced to 1400.

The 32 multiplied by two and became 64.

The holes around the dome began firing attacks like crazy.

The dragoness's lips arched after she realized that this test might be more interesting than she thought.

The number of challengers quickly dwindled and went from 1400 to 1000 by the end of the minute.

Then, the seventh minute arrived, and the dome fired 128 arrows per second.

Her automatic defense was finally starting to fail as the number of attacks increased exponentially.

Her tail whipped every now and then, deflecting an arrow that managed to reach her.

To test it, she allowed one of those arrows to hit her shoulder, and the arrow managed to pierce her skin but not her muscle, making her bleed for a moment.

The injury healed quickly, though.

Yasenia nodded and prepared. The next minute would be the beginning of the challenge for her.

She paid attention to the number and saw that it had decreased to 272, making her nervous. 'Please, please, hold on until the tenth minute at least.'

The seventh minute finished, and the eighth minute began.

256 arrows per second.

That entitled a shooting speed of 15,360 arrows per minute.

By now, for a normal human, the sound of arrows firing would be like a constant stream instead of singular shots.

The stars around Yasenia couldn't keep up, and finally, Yasenia began sword dancing in the middle.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

She didn't move from her original position, expertly shifting between sword and tail strikes to deflect all attacks going her way.

From the corner of her vision, Yasenia tracked the number of participants left, and the number quickly fell from 272 to 103 in just the first ten seconds.

Yasenia's heart was pounding in worry. 'Please, please. I have just begun truly participating. Why are you all so weak?'

Of course, her thoughts weren't mocking anybody on purpose; it was an honest thought for someone with a skewed view of what was "normal" strength.

Be it herself, her lovers, her maids, or her seniors, all of them were vastly above average in whatever they did. What Yasenia would call average, a truly average cultivator would perceive it as a "genius" level.

102.

93.

87.

The number of cultivators kept falling like flies, approaching the 50th mark.

Thankfully, those remaining 87 resisted, and the ninth wave of attacks began.

The number of attacks per second reached an absurd 512, or 30,720 arrows per minute.

Yasenia's pupils thinned, and she activated her buffing skills and innate skills like [Celestial Cosmos dress] and [Star Dragon Body].

Then, her sword mastery became precise and elegant as [Dance In The Firmament] and [War Intent] unfolded.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Her sword and tail became a blur as arrows bounced around her. Her sword strikes were so quick that something similar to a circular dome was being created around the dragoness.

At this speed, the reason Yasenia preferred slow and powerful attacks over quickness was revealed, as she felt slightly uncomfortable with her chest bouncing about. Of course, for a cultivator her level, it was nothing, but saying that it was pleasant would be a lie.

A few other of her dears were also using their buffing skills to cope with the 512 arrows per second firing rate.

On one side, Cecile used a sword other than her flames while blocking many arrows with her large wings. Then, Andera was beautifully spinning her halberd and blocking the attacks while summoning occasional shields to stop a few. Similar to Andrea, Evelyn was attacking with her spear and blocking the attacks while leaving electric trails in her wake. Her lips arched in a wild smile. Finally, Sierra clawed at everything that approached her position like a beast, moving her upper body while lightning coursed her body.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Kali was still letting her two hundred dryads attack since each of them could deal with two or so attacks leisurely. Then, Angel was still ignoring the attacks while learning with Mirrory about how to approach these situations. Ebirah felt a bit sleepy since the cacophony of the arrows hitting her shell was actually somewhat relaxing. And lastly, Tatyana was reading the 468th page of the book she had opened previously. She took her time with it.

Yasenia's eyes became more and more elated as the tenth minute approached, but the number had fallen to 61 people. 'Only eleven people left? Use treasures or something!'

Time ticked, second after second, and the tenth minute arrived when 57 people were left.

The man's voice reached Yasenia's ears. "The tenth minute will now begin. Be careful."

Then, the dragoness's senses tingled everywhere as 1024 arrows shot toward her in a single second.

Her lips arched, showing her fangs while her energy soared and the pressure around her increased.

From these arrows, Yasenia finally felt a sense of danger.

[Star Night Domain]'s stars around her exploded, the stars gathered by [Starry Sky] constantly shot outward, and the white orbs further generated by [Star Dragon Body] met with the arrows.

The number of arrows decreased from 1024 to around 700; the rest reached Yasenia.

Her golden eyes were thinned, moving around constantly, and finally, the first arrow arrived through her bottom right side.

Her sword moved first, accurately hitting the side of the arrow, deflecting it to the side.

CLANG!

The explosive sound and tiny vibrations transmitted through [Draconic Heart] into her arm, telling Yasenia that the arrows had strength. While her sword had moved, Yasenia's tail met with the next closest arrows, similarly hitting their side to change their trajectory enough that they would barely avoid her body. Her scales were strong enough to resist the arrows, but the attacks left superficial marks on her tail.

The dragoness saw it. 'These arrows are able to damage me.'

Yet, instead of fear, Yasenia felt joy. 'Finally, a challenge!'

Using the arrow's colliding strength, Yasenia's sword quickly moved toward the projectile coming from her left.

Yasenia's skills intertwined, increasing her strength, coordination, and reflexes many times over.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Yasenia laughed as she moved with such speed that it would make her look like a blur.

She could use more powerful skills, she could use defensive skills, she could dodge, she could semi-transform her body and increase her defense, or she could use her dress's defensive properties, but Yasenia didn't.

Her heart pumped at the absurd number of attacks coming her way, her blood boiled with excitement, and her soul trembled with delight at the feeling of danger.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

"Faster, faster, faster! Move faster, attack faster, deflect faster!"

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Yasenia continued moving quickly, wishing for more arrows, for more strength behind the attacks.

Yet, sadly for her, her wishes would not be realized.

After Yasenia blocked an arrow approaching her shoulder, she swung her sword and hit nothing, stunning her.

Her heart dropped, and she quickly searched for the number. 'Don't tell me...'

50.

That was what the number showed.

Her excitement froze, and her grin receded. The amount of time that had passed was ten minutes and twelve seconds. 'It's over?'

Yasenia couldn't help but feel like they'd robbed her of something.

Her lips arched down in displeasure. 'Why are they so weak?'

She couldn't understand and muttered. "Why are they so weak?"

She felt anger and roared. "WHY ARE THEY SO WEAK!?"

Her scream echoed in the empty dome, snapping her out of her trance.

'Relax. It's a competition, not something to feel joy about.'

The dragoness took a deep breath and calmed down, deactivating all her skills. Then, she smiled wryly. 'It has been a while since my dragon instincts took over me this much.'

At that moment, this message echoed. "Congratulations on overcoming the endurance trial."

Yasenia heard it, but the message tasted bitter.

To forget about it, she opened her communication device and asked her dears if they had all made it.

Receiving the affirmation, Yasenia nodded and congratulated them. She felt happy for them, and this happiness quickly soothed her other feelings.

Then, she listened to the benefits. "There have been a total of ten rounds. Those who didn't overcome the first five minutes will receive nothing. After overcoming the fifth minute, you receive a [Bronze Shadow Talisman]. For resisting six minutes, you receive two [Bronze Shadow Talismans]. For resisting seven minutes, you receive four [Bronze Shadow Talisman]. For resisting eight minutes, you receive five [Silver Shadow Talisman]. If you reach the ninth minute, you receive six [Golden Shadow Talisman]. Finally, those who reached the tenth minute receive seven [Clone Shadow Talisman]."

The man continued, "If you have reached the top fifty, 0.2 will be added to your point multiplier. Finally, those who didn't get touched gain an extra [Library Ticket]."

Hearing the final thing, Yasenia frowned. 'If I knew, I wouldn't have... Well, whatever.'

Yasenia stepped on the formation, and her body disappeared.

She appeared in her room and saw the rewards on her table. 'Hm? I thought I would receive all the rewards since I lasted ten minutes, but there are only seven talismans on the table.'

After looking at one of them, the dragoness titled her head. 'Not bad, they are mid-level Heaven-ranked.'

"Either way, my multiplier is 2.2 now; I have one [Library Ticket] and seven [Clone Shadow Talisman]... What do these talismans do?"

Waving her hand, a jade scroll fell onto her hand. It was a catalog of Talisman. Naturally, she also had product catalogs for the other professions. It was a neat thing to have, just in case she didn't know about something like right now.

"Let's see... The bronze Talisman creates a clone with twenty percent of a cultivator's strength, the silver one with thirty-five percent, and the golden one with fifty. Finally, the Clone Talisman creates a copy with eighty percent of the cultivator's strength. They last for five minutes, and a single cultivator can only have one of them active at a time. More than one creates instability in the talisman array, making the talisman become useless."

Yasenia blinked and read in more detail.

From what she read, it was by no means a perfect copy because it could not imitate things like intents or innate skills, but it was a not-bad effect and could be used as a shield in the worst-case scenario.

Moreover, it couldn't copy cultivators above the Dantian Spiritualization Realm. Either way, Yasenia was happy with it. It was a nice thing to have.

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Cecile: Are you upset, my love?

Yasenia: Well... A little bit.

Cecile: Come here.

Evelyn: She looks very cute while snuggling in Cecile's wings.

Author: I have to agree. They are really well suited together.

Andrea: A cold and elegant beauty with a fiery and seductive one, a very nice view.

Yasenia: I also fit very well with all of you!

The girls: Hahaha.

Author: I summon you!

????: Hello~.

Angel: Oh? Question mark again!

Author: That's anonymous, little Angel.

Angel: Anonymous again!

?????: Hahaha. Well, Kali and Dr. Ava, I have a question for them.

Avalonia: Here I am.

?????: Are there any poisons capable of harming the soul?

Avalonia: Go ahead, disciple.

Kali: Yes, Master.

Kali: There are many poisons capable of harming the soul. The higher the rank, the more common they become since attacking the physical body of a cultivator becomes more and more useless. Therefore, even if a poison at high levels is able to kill the body, there are cases where the soul is strong enough to survive by itself.

?????: By itself?

Kali: Yes, just the soul. Not only that, with the proper environment, a soul can reform a physical body. It's difficult, though, and using puppets or invading another cultivator's body is easier than completely creating one from zero.

Avalonia: I have nothing to add. Very good, Kali.

Kali: Thank you, Master!

Avalonia: Hm... Your wagging tails are very cute.

Kali: T-Thank you, Master.

?????: Thank you both.

Author: And that's all for today. Bye!