The mental shock continued.

The remaining players became aware of the mental shock and quickly activated their mental strength to construct spiritual resistance defenses, desperately resisting the mental strength shock coming from the old man.

Arkley’s forehead veins bulged as he clenched his teeth, staring hard at the old man.

Where did this old man come from?

Just standing there and releasing a mental shock was enough to leave him completely immobilized!

Benny glanced at the eight players still standing in place and nodded silently to himself.

This batch of players had pretty good qualities.

To optimize the selection of test subjects, the mental shock he released this time had been quite intense.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Benny’s gaze gathered on Fang Heng.

Interesting!

Fang Heng stood there calmly, his expression relaxed, as if the mental shock had not affected him at all.

What an interesting kid!

So he had high spirit attributes and a high degree of spiritual resistance...

Curious to test Fang Heng’s spiritual strength, Benny rubbed the black gemstone embedded atop his cane with his right hand, eyes fixed intently on Fang Heng.

"Whoosh!!!"

A more berserk mental shock converged and struck Fang Heng.

"Bang!!"

It was as if an invisible barrier surrounded Fang Heng, directly bouncing off the focused mental shock.

The intangible mental strength exploded in front of Fang Heng!

Zaka, who stood right next to Fang Heng, was instantly affected by the residual wave of the expanding mental shock. His face turned pale, and he immediately fainted, needing to be supported out of the trial by two staff members.

Fang Heng’s expression still didn’t change. He looked at Benny calmly.

"Interesting..."

Benny felt provoked and muttered under his breath. Rather than being angered, his eyes revealed a deeper interest. He slightly raised his cane off the ground and swung it rhythmically from side to side.

Mental Suggestion-Illusion!

Fang Heng stared at Benny, his consciousness slowly drawn toward the cane, a trace of confusion flashing through his eyes.

Whoosh!!!

A rapidly spinning magic array was instantly reflected in Fang Heng’s right pupil.

The illusion in front of his eyes shattered in an instant.

"So, it was a talent ability. Not bad at all..."

Benny praised while ceasing the mental shock skill. He raised his head and looked at the five people still standing in the arena.

"Congratulations on passing the initial Shadow Step assessment. Now, follow me to begin the second-tier formal ritual training. The others will undergo conventional training arranged by the teaching team and will proceed to the next stage when their foundational strength is sufficient."

With that, Benny turned and began walking away. After two steps, he suddenly remembered something and nodded toward the unconscious Zaka.

"Almost forgot. Bring that guy too. He’s coming with us."

...

Zaka was very confused.

All he remembered was being hit by a wave of mental shock from Fang Heng during the trial, and then he blacked out.

When he woke up again, his outer garments had been removed, and his body was covered with layers of black markings.

"Trial participant, please don’t move."

"Uh? Okay..."

Zaka raised his head and saw that Fang Heng and the others were around him, letting staff members draw patterns on them using a black, unknown potion.

Fortunately, the potion didn’t have an unbearable smell. Instead, it gave off a faint jasmine fragrance.

Benny stood nearby, leaning on his cane, watching them critically.

"The process of unlocking the ’seal’ is complicated. Just follow my instructions and don’t waste time asking why. These are classified Federation secrets, and I can’t disclose them."

Fang Heng observed the runes being drawn on everyone and frowned slightly.

Strange.

He had studied both occultism and alchemy, but he had never seen the runes being drawn by the coaching team.

Su Guantong whispered, "Is it Black Fog crystal?"

"That’s right. Powdered Black Fog crystal."

Fang Heng nodded.

He could also sense that the ink used to draw the patterns was infused with powdered Black Fog crystals.

The Federation was certainly willing to invest.

Soon, the runes on all seven people were completed.

"Everyone, the preliminary preparations are complete. Next, you will use modified special game cabins to enter the game and carry out the next tier of cultivation."

As Benny spoke, he gestured with his hand.

Staff members from the coaching team brought trays to each trial player.

Fang Heng picked up the blue jade key placed on the tray.

"This is your trial key. Use it to enter the game and begin the next stage of the trial. Everything is ready. Let’s begin."

Fang Heng and the others exchanged glances and turned toward the row of game cabins lined up at the back of the hall.

The game cabins looked hastily dismantled, with large bundles of wires connecting them to a central transfer instrument.

Zaka swallowed nervously.

Something about this felt sketchy...

"Well, we’re already here. Might as well give it a shot."

Zate muttered and followed the staff’s instructions to climb into a game cabin and close the hatch.

Fang Heng nodded and followed suit.

[Hint: Detected that the player possesses the Awakening Key of the Ancient Sages.]

[Hint: Would the player like to use the key to enter a special area?]

[Yes.]

[Hint: The player has entered an unknown high-tier Sequence World.]

[Hint: The player possesses psychic abilities, and the level is above high-tier. The player is immune to this world’s special negative effects.]

[Hint: The player already possesses the Awakener Rune.]

[Hint: The player is now in Awakener Trial mode. Death in this environment will not be permanent and will not consume a death count; the player will automatically revive.]

Fang Heng slowly opened his eyes, quickly scanning his surroundings.

It was dark.

It felt like he was standing in a void. The ground beneath him formed a solid black circular domain, and beyond that was pure darkness.

Fang Heng quickly released his perception.

There didn’t seem to be any immediate danger.

He reviewed the in-game prompts again.

What exactly was the Awakener Trial mode?

Was this a new special world?

Hmm?

Fang Heng noticed that most of his skills were currently inactive.

As he thought, Zaka and Su Guantong’s group entered the space one after another.

Su Guantong checked the in-game information, and her expression subtly changed. She quietly warned, "Everyone, this isn’t just a trial space—it’s one of the highest-tier special game worlds. Extremely dangerous. Be careful."

As she spoke, specks of dim light began to flicker and gather in the space.

"Everyone, welcome to the trial ground. You now exist in a very special form—we call it the spiritual consciousness state."

It was Benny’s voice.

The players all looked up and around, but Benny was nowhere to be seen. His voice echoed through the hollow space.

"Let me explain the requirements of this trial. While in the spiritual consciousness state, you will be attacked by forces within this trial world. The goal is to endure—as long as possible. Although death in this state will not be permanent, it will cause significant mental trauma that will take time to recover from. So, try not to die."