Chapter 156: Phantoms of the Past and Future

Outside the challenge space, many senior students were observing the performance of the newcomers. Among them, the ones drawing the most attention were Luo Lingfeng, who possessed the superior-tier hero class Void Stalker, and Dong Mushan, who possessed the superior-tier hero class Swordmaster.

As the only two superior-tier hero classes among Yun Dingge's newest cohort, the two had attracted widespread attention from early on.

The Weapon Master class that Chu Cheng had previously claimed publicly was merely an inferior-tier hero class, so not many people paid him any mind.

At this moment, he only had five spectators. Apart from Fang Xi, Xu Mingli, and Wang Bo, one of the remaining two had simply chosen a target at random to watch, while the other was Mentor Yun Dingge.

As Chu Cheng swept through opponent after opponent with an overwhelming, crushing posture, the expressions of the spectators varied.

Gratification, nodding in approval, shock, disbelief, panic—all sorts of reactions were on display.

"How is this possible?" Wang Bo said with an expression of disbelief. "He's only level 30. How can he be this strong?"

Beside him, Xu Mingli frowned deeply. He was equally shocked and found it hard to believe; inwardly, he also felt a trace of panic, though he did not let it show on his surface.

The strength Chu Cheng displayed exceeded his expectations, catching him somewhat off guard.

He could also solo monsters with level 30 terrifying templates, but what level was he, and what level was Chu Cheng?

Based on the strength displayed so far, Xu Mingli was confident he could win by relying on the advantages of his already systematic, high-level spells and equipment, but what about in the future?

"I cannot drag this out too long. I must resolve this issue as soon as possible."

A peaceful reconciliation?

That option did not exist in his mind.

Xu Mingli pressed his lips together and made up his mind.

When Chu Cheng emerged from the challenge space, the platform around him was completely empty. He was the first to complete the challenge.

"What is this?"

Someone immediately noticed Chu Cheng's sudden appearance. The pace had been so fast that their instinctive first reaction was that he had failed the challenge and emerged prematurely, and so they quickly looked away.

Chu Cheng made no other movements and simply sat down quietly to wait for the others to finish.

Not long after, figures began to appear one after another—these were the ones who had finished the challenge but had mostly failed to defeat the opponents, resulting in relatively quick exit times.

After the seventeenth minute, as the last figure materialized, Assistant Lu's voice echoed through the void:

"Chen Shuang, Zhang Xuan, Luo Lingfeng, Wei Lengyue, Chu Cheng, Dong Mushan, Yan Hui, Tian Lingchuan. These eight individuals achieved fewer than three wins in the first stage and will advance to the second stage."

Following Lu Dongrui's voice, figures were teleported away one by one, and the platforms beneath their feet crumbled and vanished, leaving only eight platforms and the figures standing upon them.

"Second stage: the eight individuals will challenge each other in a round-robin format."

As he spoke, four arenas rose in the center of the Star Arena.

Eight pillars of teleportation light rose, and eight figures were successively transported to the four arenas, pairing up to challenge one another.

Chu Cheng opened his eyes and saw that standing across the thin light barrier of the arena was Wei Lengyue, a beautiful woman with a cold expression and demeanor, whose class was the inferior-tier hero class Frost Sorcerer, level 29.

Chu Cheng cupped his fists in a polite salute. Wei Lengyue nodded slightly, beginning to cast her spells before the countdown ended.

First, she summoned a transparent ice shield that hovered over the surface of her body, fitting her like armor and accentuating her exquisite curves.

Next, casting an unknown spell, she condensed multiple head-sized magic ice balls radiating biting cold energy to orbit around herself.

Meanwhile, Chu Cheng did nothing at all, merely watching as Wei Lengyue prepared herself.

十几秒后，卫冷月已召唤了五颗魔法球环绕自身，此时抬头看到毫无准备的楚诚，细柳眉挑起，心中升起一丝愠怒。

"You look down on me this much."

The moment the countdown ended, she struck her staff downward, and a ring of freezing energy burst forth, rapidly spreading across the entire arena as the air temperature plummeted and the cold became bone-chilling.

Then, she chanted incantations under her breath, preparing to cast her next spell.

Yet at a certain split second, Chu Cheng, within her field of vision, reached out and pointed a finger toward her, suddenly vanishing. The next second, she completely lost consciousness, robbed of her six senses, her thoughts stalling as she lost all sense of self.

Time Walk—instantly leaping across the flow of time to appear at any visible location.

Chu Cheng materialized directly behind her, triggering Time Lock. Her face and the magical radiance upon her body were completely frozen by the power of time, while two phantoms identical to Chu Cheng appeared on Wei Lengyue's left and right sides, swinging their blades in unison.

"Your attack deals 2,400 defense-ignoring physical damage to Wei Lengyue (Descender). The Descender Law reduces the damage by 50%. The target's Frost Armor absorbs 1,200 points of physical damage."

"Your attack (Past Phantom) deals 2,400 defense-ignoring physical damage to Wei Lengyue (Descender). The Descender Law reduces the damage by 50%. The target's Frost Armor absorbs 1,200 points of physical damage."

"Your attack (Future Phantom) deals 2,400 defense-ignoring physical damage to Wei Lengyue (Descender). The Descender Law reduces the damage by 50%. The target's Frost Armor absorbs 1,200 points of physical damage."

"Your..."

The overlapping triple body of past, present, and future unleashed nine strikes in a single second, directly shattering the sturdy Frost Armor on Wei Lengyue's body. The remaining momentum, carrying immense force, sent her flying backward.

Upon landing, the power of time dissipated. The dazed expression vanished from her face, and her vitality quickly returned. A look of shock appeared in her eyes as she pressed a hand into empty air, causing one of the magic orbs orbiting her to detonate, rapidly transforming into a thick layer of ice shield that enveloped her body.

Immediately afterward, the second magic ice ball exploded, unleashing a Frost Nova that froze Chu Cheng in place.

"Ice Roar!"

A sky-full of frigid energy burst outward, and countless shards of ice exploded back and forth. Chu Cheng stood tall amidst the ice blast as damage numbers below one hundred constantly popped up above him.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, allowing the ice blasts to continue detonating.

Descenders were protected by the power of laws; all incoming damage was first reduced by 50% before defense and damage-reduction calculations were applied, making every single one of them equivalent to a tank.

With his exceptionally high base defenses and health pool, he was astonishingly durable. Even with multiple frost spells stacked together, they only dealt around one hundred points of actual damage to him.

Seeing that her spell power was insufficient, Wei Lengyue immediately reached out and pressed repeatedly, activating two magic ice balls in succession. One transformed into a talent-enhanced Frost Chain that locked him down once more, while the other turned into an equally enhanced ice spear that blasted forward.

Chu Cheng did not dodge or evade. The crystalline ice spear pierced his chest, only to see his figure suddenly shimmer with phantoms that shifted and re-overlapped. The ice spear, as thick as a grown man's thigh, passed through his torso without ever touching his physical body.

It was as though his person and the ice spear existed in two different, parallel interlaced dimensions and crossed paths.

The passive effect of Time Shelter granted a 20% chance to shift his own timeline, completely dodging the incoming damage.

The principle was simple: when the hero skill's passive triggered, he was no longer within that specific segment of time. Although he appeared to be standing there, his true self had already departed, causing the ice spear to naturally strike empty air.

Simultaneously, the special trait *Eternal Reincarnation* on his gear happened to reach its thirty-second cycle. The power of time surged through him, purging all negative status effects from his body.

In that very instant, he regained his freedom. Using Nether Strike to slip into the ethereal plane, he instantly reappeared behind Wei Lengyue to launch a devastating blow.

He immediately executed a point-blank Charge to stun her for two seconds, then raised both arms and unleashed a flurry of thrusts.

Time Lock!

The past and future phantoms appeared simultaneously, striking seven times per second.

The triple body unleashed fifteen strikes together, and the power of time once again enshrouded Wei Lengyue.

At this point, his attack speed had reached its maximum stack, allowing for seven strikes per second.

The triple body delivered twenty-one strikes, triggering another Time Lock while the target was already under the effect of Time Lock.