For this reason, "how to use limited time and energy to maximize your strength" becomes even more important. If you spend all your time on a career with low efficiency, you will not be much better even if you work diligently all your life.

(Okay, it's almost dark, time to go hunting for a change of pace.)

Jiang Ran withdrew his mind from his endless wandering. His day was not over yet, but was about to enter the next stage.

While making props and potions in the afternoon, Jiang Ran thought about it and made a decision, which was to raise his level to the maximum level 140 near the town of Frontier, and then wait until he passed the advanced trial to obtain new skills before setting off for Yanji City.

Jiang Ran knew very well that in Yanji City, besides Viviana, there were also a group of people from the Feiqi family, young and old.

If Viviana draws her sword against him at that time, the blade pointing at him will not be just a scarlet silver sword.

Therefore, this trip to Yanji City is likely to turn into a "meeting parents and a Shura field" trip, and Jiang Ran, a "playboy", must prepare well.

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9.39 - The Fourth Trial

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October 187, 8

7:16 AM

[Confession death countdown remaining: 25 days]

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Two days passed in a flash. During these two days, Jiang Ran traveled back and forth on the border between the Kingdom of West and the Farnas Empire. He successfully completed several monster subjugation missions and successfully raised his level to the maximum level of 140, the fourth stage.

During this period, he also took the time to visit the Task Union's Frontier Town branch and asked about the distribution of the trial gates in Frontier Town.

When the staff learned that Jiang Ran wanted to challenge the trial, they told him apologetically that there had not been a first-level white trial near the town of Frontier for a long time, and now even the second-level yellow trial required an appointment.

After hearing this, Jiang Ran pretended to be disappointed with his superb acting skills, and then found an excuse to chat with the staff and ask if the remaining trials were all difficult orange, red, and purple trials.

The staff didn't think much about Jiang Ran's question and told him readily that there were many red and purple trials around the town of Frantier that no one was interested in, most of which were located in the area at the entrance of the Fran Desert.

"In order to avoid accidentally straying into those difficult trials, most people don't go near the Fran Desert. Young man, you should take it easy too."

After hearing what the staff said, Jiang Ran knew that he was safe.

What he wanted was this kind of nice place where few people go.

·

It was just after seven this morning when Jiang Ran arrived at the entrance of the Fran Desert. It was indeed as uninhabited as the mission union staff had said.

Not to mention people, even a bird or a bug is hard to find.

Thanks to the desolate appearance, Jiang Ran discovered that the spies of the Heavenly Ghosts and Earthly Ghosts did not seem to follow him. This was undoubtedly a good thing - perhaps when Jiang Ran was promoted to the fifth level, he would be able to master good skills to deal with those spies.

(Let me see...where is the purple trial door of the fifth level difficulty...)

Soon, Jiang Ran found the location of the purple trial door without much effort, and he found three of them at once. He didn't have to fight or compete for them, and could choose any one he wanted.

Jiang Ran did not hesitate and intuitively chose one that he liked. He finally confirmed his condition and equipment, then took a look at the word "Jiang" engraved on the palm of his hand, and strode into the purple trial gate.

·

Dazzling purple light surrounded Jiang Ran, and after a brief loss of consciousness, he found himself standing on a barren stone ground.

There was a gray sky overhead, so still that there wasn't a cloud in sight.

The stone wasteland beneath my feet stretched infinitely in all directions, as if this world had no end.

This was Jiang Ran's fourth time in the trial space. Everything that was once unfamiliar to him now had a ridiculously familiar feel to it.

Jiang Ran began to search for the towering stone pillar in the space with ease. After three purple trial challenges, he already knew that the words engraved on the stone pillar were the key to conquering the trial.

However, what Jiang Ran did not expect was that there were no towering stone pillars in the trial space this time, nor was there the strange huge black magic circle.

There is only a towering mountain in the distance.

(What's going on? Why is this different from before?)

The unexpected situation made Jiang Ran subconsciously alert. He activated the "all-round vision" of his super-dimensional divine eye, and was on guard against enemies that might attack from nowhere in this land where there was almost nothing.

Then, at this moment, Jiang Ran heard a series of old groans, as if an old man was crying out in pain, "Ouch... Ouch..."

(Hmm? What's going on this time?)

Jiang Ran followed the sound and found that it came from behind a big rock.

Could this be some cheesy trap?

Jiang Ran summoned a black shadow clone to test it out, and then scared a hunchbacked, disheveled, ragged old man out from behind a rock.

"Monster, monster!" (Common language among humans, same below)

"No, no, don't kill me, I have nothing on me!"

Jiang Ran noticed the old man's fearful reaction to the black shadow clone, but he didn't take it too seriously. To determine this guy's origins, Jiang Ran preferred to use his identification ability to see clearly.

However, after using his identification ability on the old man, Jiang Ran was stunned because he couldn't identify this guy's information. This was the first time in the Prison Star World!

(What's going on? Could this guy have the power comparable to that of a good god?!)

Jiang Ran subconsciously took two steps back and observed for a few seconds with bated breath, but the old man was still begging for mercy from the black shadow clone and did not make any other moves.

Jiang Ran was even more puzzled. If this old man truly possessed the power of a benevolent god, why would he feign weakness and grovel here? If he had anything he wanted to do to the challengers, he could just do it openly.

(Strange... This trial is really weird...)

Jiang Ran took two more steps back, intending to wait and see what would happen.

·

In Jiang Ran's understanding, everything that appears in the trial space should have its meaning of existence.

There are no stone pillars or magic circles in this trial, only a high mountain in the distance and this old man nearby, so there is no doubt that passing the trial must be closely related to these two.

The next thing Jiang Ran had to decide was whether this old man was just a functional NPC for the quest, or an assassin who was trying to stab Jiang Ran in the back by playing the pig and eating the tiger?

Now that the identification ability is no longer effective on the old man, Jiang Ran can only gather information through observation.

From what he could see, the old man's every move was consistent with his frail image, and his skinny limbs looked as if they would be shattered if he fell.

However, these are meaningless to Jiang Ran. If the other party intends to disguise himself, then all these can be pretended. It is even possible that this old man is actually a monster transformed.

The only meaningful detail Jiang Ran observed was that there was a small long stone hanging on the old man's chest. The shape of this small stone was very similar to the inscribed stone pillar in the previous trial, except that there was no inscription on it.

(Could it be that, in this trial, this old man is the incarnation of the stone pillar?)

·

Speculations aside, Jiang Ran still hid in the old man's blind spot and did not take the initiative to contact him.

After the black shadow clone disappeared, the old man first looked around carefully for a while, and then his emotions slowly calmed down. He continued to sit there sighing, until he accidentally turned his head and saw Jiang Ran's presence.

"Oh my! I'm so scared! Why is there a person standing here?!"

The old man was so scared that he rolled on the spot, then got up angrily.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, you little brat! Don't you even know how to say hello when you come over here? Are you trying to scare me to death by standing there so quietly?"

As the old man spoke, he walked towards Jiang Ran cursing.

9.40 - Strange Trial (Part )

Looking at the old man walking towards him, Jiang Ran tried hard to maintain his outward and inner composure.

Jiang Ran told himself that if this old man, who could not be identified or read with the super-dimensional divine eyes, really had the strength of a good god, then no matter how he defended himself, he would not be his opponent. And if the opponent could not be seen through only because of the special rules of the trial space, then there was even less need to worry.

Therefore, there is only one thing Jiang Ran should and can do now, and that is to relax and face it calmly.

(Hashrate Improvement and Overclocking)

"Grandpa, I just arrived in this ghost place too. I'm surprised to see a living person."

Jiang Ran began to act skillfully, and now it depends on how far he can test this old man.

However, what the old man said next was completely out of the ordinary and directly disrupted Jiang Ran's rhythm.

"What nonsense are you talking about, living and dead? You're so young, what nonsense are you talking about? Oh, by the way, you've come at the perfect time. Do you see that mountain over there? I want to go to the top of it. Can you carry me there?"

As the old man spoke, he walked towards Jiang Ran, with an attitude that was as matter-of-fact as if Jiang Ran was his servant.

Jiang Ran was confused by this inexplicable development. Could this be the content of this trial?

·

"Grandpa, let me suggest... you should just climb up by yourself."

After a brief but extensive period of thought and analysis, Jiang Ran flatly rejected the old man's request.

This old man's behavior of bullying the weak and fearing the strong just now, as well as his current behavior of taking advantage of his seniority, have caused Jiang Ran physical discomfort. However, the real reason that made Jiang Ran decide to refuse was that he wanted to see what the consequences would be after refusing.

Jiang Ran's decision was not just for fun, but also for the purpose of exploring the "trial mechanism".

After the previous three purple trials, Jiang Ran had noticed the patterns of purple trials, specifically three:

1. There must be a stone pillar after entering. The words engraved on the stone pillar are important tips for passing the trial.

Second, each trial is a test from an "Old God" to the challenger, and the content of the test is directly related to the name of the "Old God";

3. Regardless of the content and form of the test, it must include a test of strength and not be so outrageous as to be absolutely impossible to pass;

Although Jiang Ran felt that the rules of this trial had been broken as soon as he entered the venue, now thinking about it again, he felt that perhaps this old man was used to replace the stone pillar itself.

So, if the rules summarized by Jiang Ran are correct, then the trial this time will correspond to another old god besides "God of Courage·Eret", "God of Temperance·Tepurans", and "God of Diligence·Indas".

Speaking of old gods, Jiang Ran first encountered this concept when he entered the "Maze·Green Ghost Lair" for the second time.

During that experience, the three Goblin Kings mentioned the "Gods of the Old Times" many times, which left a deep impression on Jiang Ran.

Unfortunately, although Jiang Ran asked questions to the Goblin Kings, the Goblin Kings did not give him much opportunity to communicate.

[Note: See chapter 8.67 - Negotiations on the Battlefield (Part )]

Later, during his adventures, Jiang Ran would investigate the affairs of the Old Gods whenever he got the chance, and as he expected, information about the Old Gods was indeed difficult to find.

As of today, Jiang Ran only knows the names of the seven Old Gods. In addition to the three Old Gods he has already received protection from, the names of the other four Old Gods are:

Furtud, the God of Perseverance;

Murti, the god of humility;

Phias, the god of faith;

The God of Mercy, Khilji;

In other words, if Jiang Ran's speculation is correct, the old god who is testing Jiang Ran in this trial must be one of these four.

From the time he entered the trial until now, Jiang Ran had analyzed the old man's performance and concluded that the Old God most likely to be associated with this trial was "Kilri, the God of Mercy," and the quality that would be tested was "Kindness."

If Jiang Ran was a kind and loving young man, he would have tolerated the old man's cruelty and agreed to his unreasonable request.

And now, after Jiang Ran rejected the old man, what will happen?

Will the trial space judge that Jiang Ran does not possess the quality of "kindness" and directly teleport him out of the trial?

If that's the case, doesn't it mean that Jiang Ran can challenge the trials of the same class repeatedly?

The words of rejection had already been spoken, and Jiang Ran couldn't wait to know the result.

·

"Let me climb up by myself? Young man, what nonsense are you talking about?"

After being rejected by Jiang Ran, the old man was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, and simply sat down on the ground, as if saying "I won't get up if you don't help me up."

After catching his breath for two seconds, the old man saw that Jiang Ran didn't respond, so he immediately "stood" on the moral high ground and continued to question Jiang Ran: "Hey, can't you see that I'm exhausted? You're still so young, how can you have a clear conscience if you don't help me?"

Jiang Ran listened, smiled slightly, and then replied to the old man: "Of course it's okay, because I have no conscience, hahahaha."

After saying that, Jiang Ran turned around and left in a leisurely manner, leaving the old man standing there helpless and furious.

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