Apollo stared at the humongous figure, his eyes wide.
"Challenge?" the beggar muttered. He only wanted the strongest technique in the Great Serpent Library, but this monster wanted him to take a challenge? There could only be one explanation: the technique on this floor must be incredibly powerful.
Although Apollo felt his current situation was dangerous, he knew there was no way this Great Serpent was here without reason. Clearly, a valuable object lay hidden on the fifth floor, guarded by this powerful presence.
The beggar took a deep breath to calm his nerves. If he couldn't escape, then he would face what lay ahead—not by fighting it, as there was a thousand percent chance he'd die. Besides, he came here for the technique, and his initial goal wasn't going to change.
"What challenge?!" Apollo called out, his voice echoing in the vast space.
"Don't… shout…" the Great Serpent rumbled, its tone cold and low, making the temperature plummet.
The beggar shivered as a mist of breath escaped his mouth, his heavy breathing adding to the eerie atmosphere.
"What challenge?" Apollo repeated, this time his voice barely above a whisper. He didn't want to die—no way he'd waste his second life.
"Come… here," the Great Serpent commanded, its voice rumbling deeply. The slow, thunderous speech made the beggar's hair stand on end.
"Alrig—" Apollo started to answer when his vision blurred. Before he knew it, he was standing directly in front of the serpent. He blinked a few times, trying to process what had just happened.
What the hell? That's cool! Apollo thought, impressed. He hadn't felt a thing—no Qi, no warning—just a blur before he was teleported.
"State… your… name," the Great Serpent said.
"I'm Ap—" Apollo coughed. "I'm Yoma."
The beggar kept his voice low, not daring to raise it in fear it might cost him his life.
The Great Serpent was silent for a moment. The water around it began swirling faster as its voice boomed.
"Yoma… is not… your… real name!"
Apollo felt the serpent's piercing gaze go straight through him, making his whole body shiver. The air grew thick with killing intent. Swallowing hard, the beggar smiled sheepishly. "Hehe, my bad. I was just trying to protect my real identity. My name is Apollo.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he revealed his real name.
"Apollo… Leone," the Great Serpent repeated. "Hundreds… of individuals… have tried… to enter… this place… however… you are… the first… to have… qualified."
Hearing this, Apollo smirked confidently. It's because I'm so talented! he thought, though he kept silent, waiting for the creature to reveal the details of the challenge.
"A… vessel… capable of embodying… the real… me… to transform… into something… greater…" The Great Serpent's voice turned melancholic as it spoke.
As Apollo listened and stared at the Great Serpent, he was suddenly reminded of a scene from a television show he'd seen in his previous life.
A person with spiky hair collecting seven shiny balls, summoning a creature from them that's huge and wide, just like the one in front of him. Then they were granted three wishes—money, power, strength—anything could be granted. But reality and fiction are very different. Apollo had to face a challenge to get what he wanted.
"Hundreds… of fragments… scattered across… Continent Drakaris… hoping… to find… the one… who can… inherit…" The Great Serpent's slow voice reverberated.
Apollo, listening closely, crossed his arms with a raised eyebrow. Continent Drakaris—he knew that's where Klown City was located. Luckily, he had learned the basics back on the first floor, or he'd still be clueless.
Fragments? What's this monster talking about? Apollo didn't need much time to figure it out. Fragments—it was referring to itself. These fragments were likely located at the top of each Great Serpent Cultivation School's library, scattered across Drakaris.
"Inherit… the true… identity… of the true… Great Serpent… Apollo Leone…" The Great Serpent's gaze softened.
Okay, here comes the main part! Finally, the serpent was going to explain the challenge. Apollo's ears perked up, afraid to miss a single detail. Just from the creature's story, the technique on this floor had to be something unique and incredibly powerful!
"The Great Serpent… embodied… water…" the snake continued. "Water… embraces the land… water… extinguishes fire… thousands… of years ago…"
Oh, god! Can't you just get straight to the point! Apollo's face twitched in irritation. He began tapping his finger on his arm. The Great Serpent's voice was slow enough to test his patience, and now it was going off into some ancient story!
Come on! I'm here for the technique, not to listen to a fairy tale! But the creature pressed on with its tale.
"My kind… ran rampant… we were the kings… and queens… of water… but our existence… became known… to man…" The Great Serpent looked toward the 'ceiling,' the endless void of darkness, its eyes seeming to pierce through time. "War… we couldn't… escape… some… were imprisoned… some died… some chose… to fight…"
Apollo didn't need to hear the rest. The history books on the first floor had already provided enough information for him to piece together the War.
The War of Greed had brought the unknown to light. Dragons, serpents, great turtles, and more legendary creatures appeared, and once peace was broken, their presence became entangled in the battle between Cultivators and normal humans who had gained power from other influences.
Theories and doubts were also written in those books, some of which Apollo agreed with. The Ancient Cultivators and normal humans had made a treaty, in part to face the threat of the Legendary Creatures.
Apollo waited, tuning out the rest of the Great Serpent's words. It was just bragging about how great its species was and how powerful they had been. The serpent even claimed the dragons couldn't compare to them.
Though the serpent's speech was slow, its pride was unmistakable.
Apollo lost track of time, and just as he was about to reach the end of his patience, the Great Serpent finally stopped.
"Apollo… the one… who is… qualified…" The Great Serpent stared coldly at him, its body shifting subtly, the scales glinting.
"Yes?" Apollo asked unenthusiastically. For god's sake, if this snake dares to tell another story, I'll throw my life away and pick a fight with it! Luckily, the worst-case scenario—one he definitely wasn't ready to try—didn't happen.
"Take my… challenge… to inherit… the Great… Serpent Ascendant… Transformation…" The Great Serpent spoke in a mysterious tone.
Hearing this, Apollo clenched his fists in excitement. Finally!