For a moment, the entire trial space fell completely silent.
The Crowned Sword Zacian seemed to have little interest in the human standing before it. It showed no intention of attacking first.
"Great!"
Liu Yunlan, who had been nervously watching from in front of the television, suddenly pumped her fist into the air.
"That's perfect! If it's not going to attack, just keep it that way!"
"Aren't the rewards based on how long you last?!"
"As long as Pei Jingguo keeps stalling for time, the rewards will just keep getting better!"
"Pei Jingguo's luck is incredible!"
It wasn't hard to tell that the chuunibyou girl had completely immersed herself in Pei Jingguo's role.
Seeing what appeared to be a favorable situation for him, she could barely contain her excitement.
"Uh…"
Su Bai looked at the chuunibyou girl speechlessly and was just about to say something.
But Xiao Zhang's somewhat dazed voice came from beside him.
"No…"
"Pei Jingguo wouldn't do that."
"If he did, then he wouldn't be the Pei Jingguo I know!"
Almost the instant Xiao Zhang finished speaking—
Pei Jingguo on the screen moved.
His hand tightened around the long sword in his grasp, and a faint aura of sword qi began swirling around the blade.
At that moment, there wasn't even a trace of the word reward in Pei Jingguo's mind.
The Trainers watching through the television were destined to be unable to sense the aura radiating from the Crowned Sword Zacian.
But Pei Jingguo could feel it.
From this Legendary Pokémon illusion, he could sense a tremendous power as heavy and imposing as a mountain!
"So this is the courage of one who has fought a hundred battles…"
Pei Jingguo silently gripped his sword and slowly approached Zacian.
Facing the enormous Zacian illusion, which was as imposing as a prehistoric beast, he slowly thrust his sword forward.
"At the very least…"
"I have the courage to face you!"
In an instant, the sword qi surrounding the three-foot blade in Pei Jingguo's hand surged explosively!
A gigantic wave of sword qi burst forth from the rapidly vibrating blade, descending upon Zacian in a devastating slash!
"As expected…"
"He's attacking!"
"Pei Jingguo really has become much stronger. That sword qi…"
"It's already surpassed A-rank!"
As Xiao Zhang spoke with a relieved sigh, the sword qi had already reached Zacian's face.
Yet a trace of disdain suddenly appeared in the eyes of the Zacian illusion.
It gave its head a slight turn.
The enormous sword clenched between its jaws moved with seemingly effortless speed, meeting the incoming attack head-on.
The next moment, the explosion or collision everyone expected never came.
Pei Jingguo's carefully prepared sword strike…
Was simply and effortlessly split apart.
It was as though it had never existed in the first place!
Yet the enormous sword in Zacian's jaws did not stop.
With seemingly no effort at all, it lightly tapped against Pei Jingguo's long sword.
"Clang!"
That seemingly effortless strike allowed Pei Jingguo to experience what true strength was.
With a crisp metallic ring, he barely managed to bring his sword up in front of himself.
The tremendous force instantly sent his entire body flying backward.
He even tumbled several times across the ground before finally using his sword to steady himself, stopping in an extremely disheveled state.
But in the next second, a grating sound that made one's teeth ache came from the sword in his hands.
The precious steel sword that had accompanied Pei Jingguo for years—crafted by an S-rank blacksmith and infused with countless alchemical materials—
Was suddenly covered in rapidly spreading cracks!
Then—
Crack!
It shattered into countless fragments!
Pei Jingguo silently stared at the sword hilt that was all that remained in his hand.
..............
In front of the old television, a chorus of sharp inhales rang out.
Liu Yunlan angrily waved her hand.
"I told you! He shouldn't have attacked that thing in the first place!"
"It shattered Pei Jingguo's sword with a freaking basic attack! How are they supposed to fight this?!"
Judging from her expression, she almost wished she could crawl through the screen and physically drag Pei Jingguo back herself.
"That's not Pei Jingguo's personality…"
"Is this what a Legendary Pokémon is?"
Xiao Zhang stared blankly at the screen.
"Even though it's only an illusion, it's already this terrifying."
"Articuno and this thing aren't even in the same league!"
"Is the gap between a Legendary Pokémon of the first level and one of the second level really this enormous?"
Zacian's performance had genuinely frightened these Trainers.
Actually, they had known from the beginning that Legendary Pokémon would be incredibly powerful.
After all, Groudon's Precipice Blades had left an extremely deep impression on them.
But things were different now.
During this period, all of these Trainers—including both themselves and the Pokémon under their command—had experienced tremendous improvements!
Their rapid growth had even allowed them to awaken an Articuno that had fallen into a berserk state!
Their strength had risen so quickly that the Trainers had gradually developed a faint idea.
Perhaps…
Legendary Pokémon weren't truly invincible?
If they became a little stronger, worked together a little better, perhaps…
Even if they faced a Legendary Pokémon, they wouldn't necessarily be completely helpless?
It couldn't really be blamed on the Trainers for becoming overconfident.
Legendary Pokémon appeared far too rarely.
And these Trainers were all young people who had never learned to fear the heights they wanted to climb.
Wanting to challenge the summit wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
It was just that…
"The gap between first-level and second-level Legendary Pokémon is far greater than you imagine."
"Besides, Articuno wasn't fighting you at full strength."
Su Bai looked at the Trainers who were practically staring with their jaws hanging open and calmly stroked his chin.
"Although this is only an illusion, it is still Zacian."
"For Pei Jingguo to face Zacian's illusion alone…"
"Losing is inevitable!"
Their strength had risen too quickly.
Sometimes, that wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Becoming complacent was always a fatal mistake!
Zacian's illusion had appeared at exactly the right time.
Having the strongest Trainer among them, Pei Jingguo, experience this defeat would also help cool down the Trainers who had begun to become a little too confident.
This trial wasn't merely for Pei Jingguo.
For the Trainers as a whole, it was also a rare opportunity to clearly understand the limits of their own strength!
After all…
The Apostles had already emerged.
The Trainers' overall strength was now enough to rival S-rank Death Beasts.
Before they knew the truth, S-rank had essentially represented the ceiling of strength within an entire city.
But after the Apostles appeared…
That level of strength was no longer enough.
Su Bai had a feeling.
Sooner or later, these Trainers would have to face those Apostles.
After all, if they wanted to change this world…
The Sub-Beasts would eventually have to be eliminated.
"Losing is inevitable."
"But losing doesn't necessarily mean losing everything…"
Su Bai stared at the television with a meaningful smile and murmured,
"Pei Jingguo…"
"Don't disappoint me!"
............
"What terrifying strength…"
"And what terrifying swordsmanship!"
Pei Jingguo slowly stood up and glanced at the sword hilt remaining in his hand before casually tossing it to the ground.
That strike from Zacian had looked completely casual.
Yet Pei Jingguo hadn't even had room to dodge.
It had clearly been nothing more than an ordinary sword strike, yet he had seen countless variations hidden within it.
Under those countless variations, it seemed that no matter what he did…
He would be cut down!
The only angle from which he could raise his sword to block…
Had seemingly been deliberately left open by Zacian!
"This difference…"
"It really is difficult to accept."
Pei Jingguo looked at Zacian and suddenly laughed.
"If this had happened in the past, faced with sword intent that surpassed my understanding like this…"
"I might have simply given up."
He glanced at the long sword lying on the ground, the one he had discarded.
"After all…"
"If a swordsman loses his sword, what use is he supposed to be?"
"But…"
"That is what Swordsman Pei Jingguo would think."
"And now…"
"I'm not just a swordsman."
"I'm also a Trainer!"