There were many floors to pass; Sam could not afford to waste his energy and stamina. He had to rush to the top in a single leap and take the first-place reward – the Crimson Gold Dragon Marrow Pill!
When the shadow warrior saw Sam flying at him, he raised his weapon to intercept him. But Sam was too quick, and even before the weapon was raised to his breast, a hard fist had imprinted itself on its chest.
"Peng!"
The shadow warrior's chest collapsed, and spat blood before falling dead.
Sam quickly passed the first floor. This was natural, as Sam's strength had greatly surpassed those of the same cultivation.
Onto the second floor!
This was still a black space like before, but a vicious beast stood before Sam this time.
"A first-level vicious beast!"
A first-level vicious beast was equivalent to a martial artist in the Third Stage of Body Transformation.
This beast was a single-horned rhinoceros. Its strength as a first-level vicious beast was relatively poor; it was about as strong as a peak Second Stage martial artist.
Although its strength was ordinary, it had superior defensive abilities due to its tough hide. Even if a martial artist greatly exceeded it in power and cultivation, they must still expend some effort to defeat it.
Sam overcame several obstacles and did not want to waste his stamina. His hand turned, and a chilly deboning knife appeared in his palm.
The single-horned rhinoceros' blood vessels and body structure appeared in Sam's mind, with each weakness clear as day.
Sam's advantage was his familiarity with the weaknesses of vicious beasts.
"Hwaaaakkkkkk!!"
The single-horned rhinoceros suddenly roared and trampled towards Sam. Although this was an illusionary realm, Sam felt a rumbling vibration in the ground.
A killing array was not the same as an illusion array. The illusions in an illusion array may not only kill you, but they could also make you fearful. The illusion would crumble if you kept your heart and mind focused and firm. Standing still would be suicidal in the case of a killing array.
Sam suddenly leaped to one side as he watched the single-horned rhinoceros barrel towards him. His jumping posture was odd. His body was parallel with the ground, and one of his shoulders nearly touched the dirt.
In the next moment, the vast body of the single-horned rhinoceros passed him. Sam slammed his hand against the ground, and the force propelled him underneath the beast's abdomen.
He raised his hand and slashed with the knife!
"Puff!"
The boning knife struck just half a foot from the center of the single-horned rhinoceros' front thigh. This spot was the softest patch on the beast's abdomen and where its abdominal aorta was located.
The knife slid into the beast-like butter and cut it out. The single-horned rhino released a keening, agonized howl as a stream of blood flew out like a busted pipe. The terrible beast shuddered violently before collapsing to the ground.
Seeing the success of his knife strike, Sam could not restrain a sigh as he thought of how lifelike and realistic this magic array was.
The phantom single-horned rhinoceros has the same bodily structure and weaknesses as a real single-horned rhinoceros. He suspected that the magical array contained the beast spirit of a single-horned rhinoceros, explaining its intense realism.
After the successful knife strike, Sam pulled back instead of taking another cut. Although killing the single-horned rhinoceros at this point was not difficult anymore, he wanted to save his stamina. There was no resting between the floors of the Exquisite Sagol.
The aorta had been cut, and the single-horned rhinoceros was losing more and more blood. Its movements began to slow, but Sam waited for another opportunity this time and slashed his knife down again.
There was a 'puff!' sound, and the abdominal aorta on the other side of the single-horned rhinoceros was also cut!
The fight had lost its suspense; it was only a matter of waiting now. The single-horned rhinoceros thrashed about as it rocked back and forth on the edge of death until it unwillingly went still.
Sam had entered the third floor!
"Oh? Someone has entered the third floor!"
Several elders outside the Exquisite Sagol noticed that the runes and symbols on the third floor began to move and light up. The third floor was activated, but they had no idea who had entered.
"It should be Oliver. He is strongest in consideration of his age. Sam's strength lies in his martial heart and in his inborn divine strength. In terms of combat prowess, strength is only a small part. Speed, skill, and fighting techniques are not any less important than strength alone."
"Most of the candidates are still stuck on the first floor. That Oliver has already rushed up to the third floor is impressive."
As these elders discussed, another person had reached the third floor. This person was only thirty breaths slower than Sam. This person was Oliver.
Oliver and Sam were similar in age, and the opponents they fought on the second floor were the same; both were first-level vicious beasts equal to the peak of the Second Stage of Body Transformation.
Oliver was in the early Third Stage of Body Transformation. Not only that, but his combat strength exceeded those his age. The vicious beast was not his match, but its skin was coarse, and its meat thick and tough. Oliver had spent much of his true essence to defeat it.
There was no rest in the Exquisite Sagol. On the third floor, Oliver came head to head with two dark, shadowy humanoid figures holding two long swords. These shadow warriors were in the early Third Stage of Body Transformation.
Oliver gritted his teeth and maintained his dignified demeanor. He could deal with these two warriors but also had to think carefully about using his true essence; otherwise, breaking through to the fourth floor would become increasingly difficult.
He had to make this as quick a victory as possible. He began to revolve the true essence within his entire body and prepared the display martial skill handed down in his family, the 'Nine Paths of Truth.'
At this time, Sam also confronted two early Third Stage shadow warriors on the third floor.
The Third Stage of Body Transformation was Viscera Training. He hadn't anticipated facing something of this level on the third floor.
And there were also two! The difficulty of the fourth and fifth floors could only be imagined, and no rest was allowed between them.
No wonder the middle-aged man had so confidently said that the fifth floor was impossible to pass.
While Sam revolted against the 'True Primal Chaos Formula,' he also cautiously kept the two shadow warriors in his line of sight.
For now, the two were motionless. He would be glad to recover just a bit at this moment, although he had not spent that much true essence.
But the two warriors did not give Sam the chance. In a single leap, they both reached him; one attacked from the left and one from the right, both with vicious killing intent.
The two warriors were amazingly swift and had teamwork.
Their movements seemed to be in harmony, like two halves of a whole.
One warrior swept the ground with his long sword. Sam jumped to dodge the strike, but the other warrior took advantage of Sam as he twisted in the air and stabbed his sword towards Sam's chest.
"Ha!"
Sam cried out and suddenly shot his foot towards the warrior's wrist.
"Kacha!" The warrior's wrist broke with a single kick!
However, the shadow warriors did not feel any pain.
The shadow warrior only shook his wrist and sent an open palm flying towards Sam.
Every movement he made left him wide open! These shadow warriors could only aggress; they could not defend or retreat. This was a suicidal form of fighting that wished for both sides to perish!
This moment was where Sam's old strength would have perished, but he had a new power now. Seeing his opponent fight with such a self-destructive style, he forcefully revolved the 'True Primal Chaos Formula' and forced his true essence to the forefront. A punch went flying out that intersected with the shadow warrior's palm.
"Peng!"
The shadow warrior was forced back a few steps and spat out a mouthful of blood.
But Sam's vitality only swelled up. It was easy to force them down, and he didn't even have a single injury.
Even so, he was secretly surprised. These two shadow warriors may not have been top-tier martial artists, but they were not weak either.
Their close cooperation and kamikaze fighting style were tricky and challenging. And this was only the third floor; there was still the fourth and fifth.
Although he was surprised, Sam had not stopped moving for half a second.
He had landed back from the recoil, and while the injured shadow warrior was catching his breath, he slammed his fist straight into the shadow warrior's face.
Now, the other shadow warrior rushed to intercept him. He wielded his long sword in his hands and cleaved downwards. This strike was to cut Sam in half.
"Ha! Now it's you! Die!"
Sam's fist was only a feint. He suddenly turned around with the deboning knife and cut the shadow warrior's blade horizontally.
"Boom!"
Sparks scattered everywhere as the blades met.
As the knife met the sword, Sam had not been forced back. This was a reflection of his astonishing physical strength!
"Be defeated by me!"
After Sam fended off the long sword, he punched at the center of the shadow warrior's chest!
"Peng!"
There was a dull thud as the opponent's ribs collapsed, took a fatal blow to the heart, and died.
After defeating one, the other was already injured and no longer a threat. Sam set out several kicks at the last shadow warrior's legs and then stabbed him with the knife.
The third floor passed!
Outside the Exquisite Sagol, the elders saw the fourth floor's magic array light up and were startled. "My goodness, the fourth floor, and it only took half an incense stick of time!"