122 Late Level Cain showed a radiant smile as he saw his mark. Combining the boy’s skill with his Astral Wave allowed his speed to reach Middle Level 5, granting him the N°1 position!

Silence reigned among the pillars as all the cadets and soldiers stared at Cain with awe. Many of the ones that achieved one of the top 3 positions in the Cadet Ranking did it because their bloodlines and techniques specialized in one aspect.

Those like Earth Fiend that did it in more than one were legends that had reached high levels in the military and positions of great power. None among them had outrageous and yet balanced power like Cain, taking the second spot in both the Pillar of Strength and Pillar of Resilience while securing the N°1 in the Pillar of Speed!

Their shock only grew stronger as they saw Cain moving to the Pillar of Destruction and adopting a meditative position next to this one.

Slowly chatter reignited among the cadets and soldiers, but this time none dared to utter the slightest negative remark against Cain. Some soldiers and cadets went away, as they did not have the face to remain present after insulting the new genius.

Cain couldn’t care less about those people and solely focused on recovering.

‘Asura Form puts immense stress over my circulatory system, increasing the already excessive pressure I endure when pushing my Wave output beyond my body’s natural resistance.

If it wasn’t for Blood Refinement Art, I could resist for less than a minute. Still, I should not use it in long battles.’

Despite all the precautions that Cain had to take with Asura Form, there was still a large smile on his face. Deep down, he knew that Late Level 4 was not his limit and trusted his gut, achieving what others could only dream.

.....

Minutes passed as Cain used the wave crystal to refill his Astral Wave and revolved the Blood Refinement Art to heal the damage to his blood vessels. Once he was back in his peak condition, he put a hand on the Pillar of Destruction and vanished.

All the cadets and soldiers remained silent and focused on the Cadet Ranking. Members of the military considered the Pillar of Destruction the most important, as it involved just how much battle power they could show on the battlefield.

Impressive strength did not necessarily mean you could display that same level of destructive power. For example, Earth Fiend had strength at Early Level 5, taking the N°1 position in the Strength Pillar, but his mark in the Pillar of Destruction was just Middle Level 4 and was the N°6. The reason behind that low mark discrepancy was the lack of speed and martial skill of this one.

Cain was teleported to a white room roughly two hundred meters wide, with three faceless puppets near him. They were black, blue, and yellow.

“Cadet, the trial will begin when you get within ten meters from the puppets and will last ten minutes. You must do as much damage as possible to them.

Your mark will be determined by the total sum of the damage divided by three. However, if one puppet received fifty percent less damage than the others, the sum will be split in six.”

That message reached his mind through the [A.I. Chip Module] before silence reigned in the room.

The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

Cain focused on the puppets as he got right next to the ten-meter mark. If he just concentrated on one puppet, it would significantly affect his level, so he needed to attack all of them.

He took a deep breath and activated Asura Form and a 2000% Wave Burst. The moment his power reached its peak, he flashed forward.

The instant Cain got within ten meters of them, the puppets moved, all dashing in different directions. If they were to remain static while he attacked, that would have been pointless since there was no way a true enemy would act like that.

Each of those puppets was extremely fast, but Cain was even faster. A fist covered in lightning arcs landed in the head of the yellow puppet before a kick found its way to the blue puppet’s chest.

Cain saw how the black puppet managed to get more than fifty meters away from him as he sent the other two flying away. Thanks to Asura Form, he got near this one in less than a second and unleashed a ferocious barrage.

Besides Asura Form, Cain also gained a lot of martial knowledge from the boy’s memories, and every attack carried his body’s full weight and momentum.

“Boom.” “Boom.” “Boom.”

Every punch and kick from Cain carried so much strength that they unleashed small blasts, just like the sound of small missiles landing on buildings.

Cain’s eyes burst with red light as he attacked the black puppet. He then connected a kick on the puppet’s head, which sent this one flying away right toward the blue puppet.

The blue puppet managed to dodge the black one but could not evade that red hand that grabbed its head and used its entire body as a hammer.

Cain crashed the blue puppet against the black one, rotating his entire body to generate a massive torque that would increase his brute strength.

After hammering for roughly ten seconds, Cain sent the blue puppet toward the yellow one with such strength and speed that this one could not avoid it.

Before the yellow puppet could get up, Cain dived into its chest, unleashing a blast.

The blue puppet was about to run when a hand grabbed its head and pushed it back to the ground, hammering it again and again.

Cain was crashing both puppets when suddenly, the blue managed to push him away before flashing at even greater speed.

‘The more damage they receive, their resilience and speed become greater.’ Cain’s eyes narrowed as he saw that. He did not pursue the blue puppet but continued striking the yellow one before sending it flying away toward the black one’s path.

—

A little over ten minutes went by, and when Cain emerged from the pillar, everybody focused on the Pillar of Destruction’s Cadet Ranking. What they saw left them in a state of utter shock.

N°1 Saint of Killers – Late Level 5

N°2 Lightning Death – Early Level 5

N°3 Divine Flame – Early Level 5