This was the most powerful punch Qin Feng had ever thrown.
By now, he had refined and mastered the killing move, [Jinluan], to the point where it felt like second nature.
The enemies from the fifty-first to the sixtieth floors all had vitality indexes exceeding 1,500. Each was a nearly invincible existence within their own tier.
Qin Feng’s fights grew increasingly difficult, but in one life-or-death battle after another, his [Jinluan] was honed until it became ever more seamless and brilliant.
He had faced the metal-manipulating "Magnetic Race," the endlessly regenerating "Flesh and Blood Ancient Tree," and even "Elite Pirates" piloting small, highly mobile battle armor.
The [Jinluan] killing move had become ingrained in his very bones, an inseparable part of his Martial Dao.
He could deconstruct and reassemble it at will, creating endless variations to handle any complex battle. He could even channel it freely through his spear or staff techniques.
When he finally defeated the Nagash Follower on the sixtieth floor—a creature with a vitality index of 1,650—and cleared the stage, there wasn’t a trace of exhaustion on his face. All that remained was the calm and composure that comes with reaching a state of mastery.
The battles across these thirty floors had been a perfect metamorphosis for him.
The Sixty-First Floor.
The moment Qin Feng stepped onto this floor, he sensed a completely different aura.
This was no longer a simulated natural environment, but a pure white space filled with absolute reason and cold logic.
The floor and walls were composed of countless one-meter cubes, each emitting a soft, white light.
The entire space was eerily silent; not even the sound of air currents could be heard.
In the very center of the space, countless minuscule, silvery particles, like liquid metal, began to converge rapidly.
In a manner that defied the laws of physics, they condensed and sculpted themselves out of thin air, ultimately forming a humanoid lifeform.
Its body was composed entirely of iridescent liquid metal. Its form was slender and elegant, devoid of any facial features, possessing only a smooth, mirror-like head.
[Enemy Unit Generated: Mechanical Divine Race, Sentinel-7 Type]
[Vitality Index: 1,800]
Qin Feng’s pupils contracted sharply.
Before he could process it, the Sentinel-7 Type moved.
Its movement couldn’t be described as "fast." "Vanished" was more appropriate.
One moment, it was a hundred meters away. The next, it had already appeared before Qin Feng. A sharp long saber, formed from liquid metal and shimmering with a high-frequency particle stream, was already stabbing silently toward his heart.
Qin Feng’s combat instincts screamed a warning!
Without a second thought, he leaned back and threw a Beng Fist imbued with the might of [Jinluan].
However, the Sentinel’s reaction was faster than his instincts.
The instant Qin Feng punched, the long saber dissolved, reforming into a perfectly precise energy shield. It was just the right size, appearing directly in the path of his fist.
BOOM!
Fist met shield, and immense power erupted.
But the energy shield merely flickered before completely absorbing and neutralizing the domineering might and power of [Jinluan].
Immediately after, the Sentinel’s other arm transformed into the dark maw of a particle cannon and aimed it at Qin Feng’s head, point-blank.
Danger! An unprecedented crisis!
Qin Feng roared, forcing his body into a twist with the Dragon Body Technique and narrowly evading the fatal shot.
But the particle cannon still grazed his helmet, obliterating the pauldron on one shoulder of his power armor.
The battle had reached a fever pitch from the very beginning.
Qin Feng pushed himself to 120 percent, executing every variation of his killing arts with masterful ease.
However, no matter what killing move he unleashed, the Sentinel always managed to neutralize it perfectly in the fastest, most efficient, and most energy-conserving way possible.
It was a complete, all-around rout.
After holding out for less than five minutes, Qin Feng exposed a 0.01-second opening. The Sentinel seized it, severing one of his arms with a high-frequency particle blade. In the next instant, it pierced the power armor on his chest, and his entire body dissolved into motes of light, teleported out of the Canaan Tower.
[Challenge Failed.]
Qin Feng wasn’t discouraged. After a brief period of recalibration, he initiated the challenge again.
The second time, he lasted six minutes.
The third time, seven minutes.
...
On his tenth attempt, he gave it his absolute all, yet only managed to leave a shallow scratch on the Sentinel’s smooth body before being cleanly "killed" once more.
As he slowly stepped out of the Canaan Tower’s virtual challenge pod, there was no trace of dejection on Qin Feng’s face. Instead, he was deep in thought.
’My power and the intent behind my killing arts have already reached their current limits.’
’But my speed, reflexes, and combat style are still far from adequate.’
’Against this kind of enemy, pure offensive will is of little use. I need more speed, more efficient energy application, and... a way to disrupt or even destroy its ’computational ability.’ In other words, I need my Mental Power to interfere with reality.’
A new path forward formed in his mind.
He opened his personal terminal to check his rewards from the tower challenge.
[Canaan Tower Challenge Results]
[Floors Successfully Cleared: 30 (Floors 31 to 60)]
[Total Contribution Points Earned: 1,650]
A slight smile touched Qin Feng’s lips as he looked at the number.
His Contribution Points balance had jumped from 759 to 2,409.
’2,409 Contribution Points, plus 3,000 reputation.’
’All together, that’s equivalent to 5,309 Contribution Points, which is actually enough for me to go into seclusion.’
’If I base it on my resource consumption from last time...’
’Last time, opening 120 Acupoint Shells cost a total of 4,600 Contribution Points. I spent the rest on killing arts.’
’Now, with the equivalent of 5,309 Contribution Points, opening another one hundred and twenty Acupoint Shells is definitely doable.’
Qin Feng did the math.
He had already opened 170 Acupoint Shells. To open the rest in one go, he would need to open another 190.
The final Acupoint Shells were progressively harder to open, each consuming more resources than the last. Qin Feng figured he would need to save up at least 8,000 points to finish the job.
’I should take on a few more missions.’
Qin Feng had Hammer filter missions for him and prepared to once again plunge into the blood and fire of perilous assignments.