Free Web NovelChapter 77: Chapter 77: The Broken Spear Trial
Qin Yuheng did not immediately activate the optional mechanism.
That alone made Qin Mo look relieved.
The War Remnant Stone Platform was heavy with pressure. Countless spirit shadows knelt around the giant broken spear, unmoving. The gray sky above the platform swirled slowly, like a storm that had forgotten how to fall.
The mission panel continued counting down.
[Battlefield Spirit Wave begins in 8 minutes 42 seconds.]
Qin Yuchen looked at the optional mechanism.
"Offer fragments to awaken Broken Spear Trial."
Qin Lian asked, "Do we know the risk?"
"No," Qin Yuheng said.
Qin Mo immediately said, "Then we do not do it."
Qin Yuheng studied the platform.
The whisper calling him heir had stopped after he refused to answer. That meant the floor tested response. If he acknowledged the voice, something might connect to his bloodline. That was dangerous.
But the Broken Spear Fragments resonated with the platform, not directly with his blood.
Perhaps the trial could be activated as a battlefield challenge rather than bloodline inheritance.
He needed to separate the two.
"Qin Mo," he said, "can you inspect the offering mechanism without activating it?"
Qin Mo looked unhappy but stepped closer.
He placed a formation needle near the platform edge, careful not to touch the central rune.
After a moment, his expression shifted.
"There are two layers."
Qin Yuheng’s eyes sharpened.
"Explain."
"The outer layer accepts Broken Spear Fragments. That likely triggers a combat trial or strengthens the spirit wave."
"And the inner layer?"
Qin Mo swallowed.
"Blood recognition."
The air became colder.
Qin Yuchen looked at Qin Yuheng.
Qin Lian’s hand moved near her dagger.
Qin Mo continued, "If someone with a related bloodline responds, the platform may open something deeper. Not sure what. Not safe."
Qin Yuheng nodded slowly.
Then the answer became simple. freēwēbnovel.com
"We only use the outer layer. No blood. No response to voices."
Qin Mo looked at him.
"You are still activating it?"
"Yes."
"I gave you the dangerous explanation."
"And it helped us avoid the wrong part."
Qin Mo rubbed his forehead.
"This is why I suffer."
Qin Yuheng took out ten Broken Spear Fragments.
He placed them on the outer offering stones, avoiding the inner blood rune.
The fragments melted into gray light.
The kneeling spirits around the platform trembled.
A message appeared.
[Broken Spear Fragments offered.]
[Outer Broken Spear Trial activated.]
[Blood recognition layer untouched.]
[Trial Type: Battlefield Formation Challenge.]
[Objective: Survive and break the spear formation commander.]
Qin Mo blinked.
"Outer layer only. It worked."
"Prepare," Qin Yuheng said.
The ten-minute countdown vanished.
The spirit wave began early.
Across the platform, kneeling spirits rose one by one.
Not wild.
Not chaotic.
They formed ranks.
Spear line.
Shield line.
Archer line.
At the rear, a taller spirit appeared, wearing cracked armor and holding a broken spear with a banner tied beneath the blade.
[Broken Spear Formation Commander]
[Level: 19]
[Type: Battlefield spirit commander]
[Abilities: Formation command, spear intent pressure, spirit rally]
[Danger: High]
Qin Yuheng’s eyes focused.
This was not a beast boss.
This was a commander.
To win, they had to break the formation, not simply overpower one enemy.
"Qin Mo, disrupt formation links. Qin Lian, archers first. Yuchen, shield gaps with me."
The spirits advanced.
Their first spear thrust came as one.
A wall of spear points.
Qin Yuheng stepped forward with War Thunder Advance, meeting pressure with pressure. His sword struck the center spear shaft, not to kill, but to bend the formation line.
Qin Yuchen followed, cutting into the gap.
Qin Lian vanished toward the side, cloak blending with the gray platform.
Qin Mo activated a spirit-clearing formation, causing the left shield spirit to pause.
The formation line wavered.
Qin Yuheng exploited it immediately.
Thunder flashed.
One spear spirit fell.
Then another.
But the commander raised its broken spear.
A silent war drum sounded.
The fallen spirits’ fragments gathered back toward the formation.
"They can reform!" Qin Yuchen warned.
Qin Mo shouted, "Commander link! Break commander link or they keep rallying!"
Qin Yuheng looked at the commander.
It stood behind two shield spirits and four spear guards.
Getting to it directly would be costly.
Qin Lian solved the first layer.
She appeared behind the archer line and destroyed two archer cores before they could respond. The formation shifted to protect the rear, weakening the front.
Qin Yuheng moved.
Thunder Shadow Flash.
Then War Thunder Advance.
A burst and a heavy step.
He crossed the broken front line and struck the first shield guard. Qin Yuchen attacked the second from the side. Qin Mo’s formation disrupted the spear guards for one breath.
The commander finally moved.
Its spear thrust came faster than expected.
Qin Yuheng blocked.
The moment their weapons touched, a battlefield vision struck him.
A young commander standing before a collapsing gate.
A banner torn in half.
A voice shouting, "Hold until the last breath!"
The vision tried to pull him in.
Qin Yuheng’s war intent stability dropped.
Qin Yuheng: 74%
He gritted his teeth and circulated thunder.
Not my memory.
The vision cracked.
He pushed the spear aside.
The commander attacked again.
This time, Qin Yuheng did not block fully. He redirected, stepped inside, and struck the commander’s chest armor.
Crack.
A spirit core flickered beneath.
The commander retreated, raising the banner.
All remaining spirits surged.
Qin Mo’s face paled.
"It is rallying everything!"
The spirit soldiers abandoned defense and charged.
Qin Yuchen was forced back.
Qin Lian was nearly surrounded.
Qin Yuheng made a decision.
"Blue formation pattern!"
Qin Mo understood instantly. It was the same structure they had developed from sound disruption and spirit clearing.
He threw three formation needles.
Qin Yuchen struck the left point.
Qin Lian struck the right.
Qin Yuheng struck the center with thunder.
A triangular disruption field opened.
The charging spirits slowed.
Qin Yuheng used the opening to reach the commander again.
The commander raised its spear.
This time, Qin Yuheng did not let the vision enter.
He struck first.
Black Thunder Pattern Sword pierced the cracked chest armor.
Thunder erupted.
The commander’s spirit core shattered.
The entire formation froze.
Then all spirits dissolved into gray light.
A Tower message appeared.
[Outer Broken Spear Trial completed.]
[Battlefield Spirit Wave cleared.]
[Evaluation increased greatly.]
[Reward pending settlement.]
Qin Mo collapsed onto the platform.
"We survived the optional thing. Good. No more optional things."
Qin Yuheng looked at the giant broken spear.
The inner blood rune glowed faintly.
The whisper returned.
"Heir..."
This time, it sounded clearer.
Qin Yuheng did not answer.
He turned away.
The rune dimmed.
A message appeared only before his eyes.
[Blood recognition ignored.]
[Hidden bloodline path remains sealed.]
[Current decision: Approved by dormant bloodline stability.]
Qin Yuheng exhaled quietly.
He had gained the trial reward without touching the deeper bloodline path.
For now, that was victory.
The return light began to gather.
Floor 7 was complete.
