I’m a Max-Level Taoist Master, and You’re Throwing Me Into a Rules-Based Horror Game?! - Chapter 178

Chapter 178: Because I’ve Never Even Used My Full Power!

Witnessing the Elf Queen’s fall, not to mention the Beastkin brothers, even the somewhat experienced Black Bear Girl was utterly shocked.

Before her transformation, the Black Bear Girl had indeed been a local overlord.

She had also lived for many years and traveled across this continent.

Yet, she still wasn’t on the same level as the Elf Queen. No matter how arrogant she was, she wouldn’t dare cause trouble in the Land of Divine Source.

A long time ago, she had been defeated by the evil dragon guarding the Land of Divine Source.

Legend had it that evil dragon was even the Elf Queen’s pet.

If the evil dragon was that powerful, she couldn’t even imagine what tier the Elf Queen belonged to.

But even the Elf Queen, who had shown her full power, was casually and effortlessly killed by her boss.

How could the Black Bear Girl not be astonished? She even started to think her boss couldn’t really be called human anymore, could he?

No wonder the two Beastkin kept calling the boss ‘God-man’ all day long; the Black Bear Girl finally understood what a god was.

Actually, the Beastkin brothers had initially called Zhang Yangqing that out of flattery.

Who knew he would actually turn out to be a god!

It wasn’t just those on the scene who were unsettled; even the audience was in an uproar.

“That Elf Queen was so beautiful, I forgot to take a screenshot.”

“Celestial Master Zhang really treats everyone equally, doesn’t he? Killed her without a moment’s hesitation.”

“When the Elf Queen appeared, I already guessed the outcome. What a pity.”

“Is that the point? Didn’t you hear Celestial Master Zhang say it was only three percent? That’s already a level many Transcendents can’t reach in their entire lifetimes.”

“I think Celestial Master Zhang might be exaggerating a bit.”

“I’m not so sure. Why don’t you ask him to hit you with it after he comes out and see for yourself?”

“Good grief, just say you want me dead. But then again, I probably don’t even qualify to challenge Celestial Master Zhang.”

Regarding Zhang Yangqing’s power, the audience had a vague feeling.

After watching a Strange Tales run, they always thought they were close to understanding Zhang Yangqing’s limits, or had a rough idea of his strength.

Then, in the next run, he would perform even more spectacularly and tell you that still wasn’t his full power.

The audience even began to wonder if there was any anomaly in the Strange Tales world capable of withstanding a full-power strike from Celestial Master Zhang.

Those inside the world, the natives, were equally curious.

After continuing to follow Zhang Yangqing deeper, the older Beastkin warrior cautiously asked, “God-man, earlier… you didn’t really use three percent of your power, did you?”

Seeing Zhang Yangqing shake his head, the older Beastkin warrior breathed a sigh of relief.

If such immense power was only three percent, then if the God-man used his full power, wouldn’t this world be directly destroyed?
Since the God-man denied it, he felt much more relieved.

It seemed the God-man had just been intimidating the Elf Queen earlier.

But still, the God-man’s power was already peerless.

However, Zhang Yangqing’s next words filled him with fear.

“To be precise, it was less than three percent, because I have never even used my full power.”

You thought that level of power reached my three percent?

Bet you didn’t expect that, I was just saying random numbers.

No one has ever made me use my full power, so I don’t even know what my one percent is.

As soon as Zhang Yangqing finished speaking, the older Beastkin warrior stood frozen in place.

As if struck by lightning, he didn’t move a muscle.

If you said the God-man was being boastful, there was certainly that suspicion.

But if you asked him to demonstrate the ‘boastful’ claim… well, don’t put it past him, he might just do it for you.

This was the terrifying thing about Zhang Yangqing. When he told the truth, it always sounded like he was showing off.

Zhang Yangqing didn’t care whether others believed him or not. After all, what did it matter if they believed? If they dared, they could stand in front of him and ask.

Hadn’t someone who didn’t believe just died?

While Zhang Yangqing was advancing towards the deepest parts, other Chosen Ones were encountering their own difficulties one after another.

The Elf race in this Land of Divine Source was giving them a hard time.

The Turban Kingdom’s Chosen One this round had particularly bad luck. While evading an attack, he accidentally fell into a valley.

The impact of the landing left him briefly dazed. Before he could even get up, he felt scorching energy all around him.

A massive Infernal Demon grabbed hold of his body.

The metal body was strong, but under the Infernal Demon’s intense heat, it melted into a puddle of molten iron.

The Turban Kingdom’s screen went black. Chosen One eliminated.

The Pyramid Kingdom’s Chosen One felt terribly unlucky this stage. He found himself inexplicably attacked by a squad of Elves all alone.

When he finally managed to evade the attack, he discovered a two-winged Evil Dragon appearing before him.

This was a creature capable of driving away even the Black Bear. The Pyramid Kingdom’s Chosen One instinctively started to run.

He tried to use the large tree trunks for cover against the dragon’s assault.

But that’s how luck goes when you’re unlucky. The tree he relied on happened to be a Treant.

Facing an intruder, the Treant and the Evil Dragon attacked together.

The Pyramid Kingdom’s Chosen One received a double beating.

Facing the dragon alone, relying on the strength of his mechanical body and the enhancements from previous stages, he might have had a slim chance of survival.

But now? There was simply no hope of living.

The dragon’s tearing bites combined with the Treant’s constricting vines.

The Pyramid Kingdom’s screen went black. Chosen One eliminated.

Bizarre incidents continued to occur within this blood mist.

Some Chosen Ones, upon seeing strangely shaped, terrifying creatures in this dark red environment, instinctively ran. Unfortunately, they ran into fire from other mechanical legions and were blown up on the spot.

Other Chosen Ones, seeing no escape, picked up their weapons and fought back, chasing after the strange entities.

As a result, whether by accident or deliberate lure, they were drawn into certain areas.

These Chosen Ones, with their powerful firepower, accidentally killed lone Green Skins and were instantly erased by the rules.

In the Land of Divine Source, miserable screams rose and fell intermittently.

It was extremely difficult for the Chosen Ones to distinguish between mechanical creatures turned human, or Elves disguised as mechanical beings.

In such a bizarre environment, once fear took hold, the Chosen Ones’ combat effectiveness plummeted.

The audience seemed to notice a pattern.

“I feel the Elves’ combat power isn’t actually that great. They just use their ability to see through the blood mist to create fear, driving the Chosen Ones into wrong areas. These wrong areas probably contain the truly dangerous phenomena.”

“I remember Rule 3 said sometimes running isn’t the correct choice. And Rule 4 also mentioned when you fear them, they might also fear you. Actually, the Chosen Ones shouldn’t run. Sometimes fighting back bravely might be a better option.”

“Absolutely right. Overcoming fear might be the correct strategy for this stage. If you despair, you simply can’t get out.”

“Easier said than done. What if you attack the wrong target? Didn’t we just see a Chosen One get erased by the rules for killing a Green Skin?”

“But it’s still better than running, isn’t it? Rule 2 also said to be careful when shooting.”

“No helping it. The Chosen Ones got used to running in the previous stages. This stage is the hardest one, so they run at the sight of anything.”

It had to be admitted that calmly observing audiences could indeed spot some things.

But once inside, who could make the correct judgment in such a strange place?

And just as the audience said, the Chosen Ones who were still surviving in this stage seemed to have overcome their fear. Some had even found clues and started hunting the Elf race.

The first to realize this was the Polar Bear Kingdom’s Chosen One. He noticed a problem.

Mechanical guards were generally very heavy, while Elves were very light.

You could judge by observing the footprints left by the ‘mechanical guards’ and ‘bizarre creatures’ emerging from the blood mist.

Because the Elves only used disguise magic, not curses.

Disguise only changed the appearance, the core remained themselves.

Mechanical creatures generally had a certain weight.

So, if the footprints weren’t very deep, you could basically open fire.

But if you encounter a High Elf, run if you can!

Besides that, other Chosen Ones, after immense hardship, had discovered the weakness of the Elf race.

But the Chosen One who discovered this weakness was now facing a test of humanity.

The Bullfighting Country’s Chosen One, Braden, was the strongest lone operator among the ordinary Chosen Ones.

He tried his best to leap through the trees, but still encountered dangers.

His agile body allowed him to dodge danger again and again.

Then, up in the trees, he found the soft spot of the Elf race.

During the last preparation period, he had gathered some information from the Elves.

[Elves generally live in trees.]

So, for this stage, the soft spot of the Elf race was their children.

And Braden happened to find an Elf settlement.

The children here, upon seeing Braden’s dark killing machine form, hid in their rooms in fear.

But simple wooden huts were no match for the Green Skins’ heavy industry firepower.

If Braden wanted, he could break down the door in minutes.

The children knew some magic, but it was useless against the mechanical body.

Not just the children; even the average Elf’s magic wasn’t very effective against mechanical guards.

Otherwise, why would they keep scaring the Chosen Ones, making the various mechanical legions fight each other, and need to rely on High Elves, Treants, Evil Dragons, and Infernal Demons to kill the mechanical legions?

The Elf race already had difficulty reproducing. Children were precious and cherished as life itself.

“What a shitty rule. So the thing the Elf race fears, mentioned in the rules, is this.”

This Strange Tales run, from beginning to end, inflicted psychological torment on people.

First, slaughtering the Beastkin, then watching the Beastkin blood relatives turn on each other, had already made many Chosen Ones uncomfortable.

Although they later slaughtered the Half-Beastmen and Dwarves too…

The Half-Beastmen and Dwarves were strong in combat, so the Chosen Ones felt less guilt.

Now, to capture an Elf, they had to use these defenseless children as leverage.

Or simply capture the Elves present.

Otherwise, it was very difficult for Chosen Ones to capture Elves, who knew the terrain and had Treants helping them, in this blood mist-filled forest.

Even knowing the answer, wasn’t this yet another form of psychological torture for the Chosen Ones?

Such was the Strange Tales world. There were many ways to clear it; the rules only told the Chosen Ones one method.

Whether the Chosen Ones executed it or not was their own choice.

Using the children to make the capture significantly reduced the risk and allowed for a safe escape.

Trying to chase them down alone carried a certain probability of returning empty-handed, or even being killed instead.

Because the minimum rule for Chosen Ones was to capture one Elf. Failure to do so could mean execution by the Green Skins.

The Bullfighting Country’s live stream chat was in an uproar, as such situations always sparked debate.

Like Braden, many Chosen Ones faced this dilemma.

Finding even one Elf settlement was already quite an achievement.

If discovered by a patrolling High Elf, the Chosen One would rarely get such a good opportunity and might even be attacked by the High Elf.

At this point, it came down to whether the Chosen Ones prioritized clearing the stage or staying true to their humanity.

Back on the Dragon Kingdom’s live stream, the four continued advancing deeper into the forest.

The two Beastkin brothers remained cautious, expecting more attacks the deeper they went.

But after walking for a while, they didn’t encounter any attacks, not even any signs of people.

This puzzled the Beastkin brothers somewhat.

So, the younger Beastkin brother approached the Black Bear Girl and asked quietly, “Weren’t there supposed to be Evil Dragons and Infernal Demons in this Land of Divine Source? Why haven’t I seen any?”

Since the brothers had rarely left their living area before, they were full of curiosity about the outside world.

But such a minor question certainly shouldn’t bother the God-man, so they asked the well-traveled Black Bear.

The Black Bear Girl rolled her eyes at him and replied, “They’re definitely lurking nearby, just too scared to come out.”

If even the Elf Queen had fallen, how would the other creatures dare to show themselves?

Just sensing the fluctuations from the earlier fight was enough to know how terrifying this person’s power was.

Actually, Evil Dragons and Infernal Demons were only slightly stronger than High Elves.

Just like the Treants, after Zhang Yangqing instantly killed the High Elves, creatures like Treants and Evil Dragons no longer dared to provoke him.

Even if Zhang Yangqing stepped right over their heads, they wouldn’t dare move an inch.

The Elf Queen was just confident, which is why she came to punish Zhang Yangqing.

The Black Bear Girl’s words made the brothers thoughtful. So this was what it meant to be powerful.

Where the powerful passed, there were truly no obstacles.

This ignited a certain desire for strength within them.

After all, the God-man currently had a human body, yet he rivaled a deity.

The group walked for some time and arrived near two Sacred Trees.

These two Sacred Trees stood apart from the rest of the forest, on a small hillside.

The two trees were shrouded in red and blue light respectively, containing immense energy.

The Elf race relied on forming pacts with the Sacred Trees to use magic.

And to protect the Sacred Trees, the Elves needed to live nearby.

The Black Bear and the Beastkin brothers felt an urge to worship upon seeing these two Sacred Trees.

They had heard that if one was devout enough, they would receive the Sacred Trees’ blessing.

Like that Beastkin ancestor, they would gain incredibly powerful magic.

The brothers also wanted to become stronger. They didn’t aspire to reach the God-man’s level, just hoped not to be so useless.

So, they expressed their desire to ‘seclude’ themselves here for training, hoping to one day be of help to Zhang Yangqing.

Zhang Yangqing shook his head and said, “I appreciate the sentiment, but these things aren’t actually that miraculous. It’s all about how you perceive them.”

While the brothers were confused, Zhang Yangqing continued to explain.

While ostensibly explaining to those present, he was also educating everyone on Earth about certain concepts.

From Zhang Yangqing’s perspective, one could understand it this way:

The Elf race wasn’t originally very powerful, but they formed certain pacts with these two trees, thus gaining great strength.

However, this power came with restrictions; they couldn’t stray too far, or they would become ordinary Elves.

That’s why most Elves had to guard the Sacred Trees here. This was the cause and effect.

This was viewing it from a lower-level perspective.

From Zhang Yangqing’s perspective, these were just two utilizable energy bodies, similar to power banks. As long as you found a way to create an ‘interface’ and make a ‘data cable,’ you could utilize the Sacred Trees’ power.

The weak considered receiving blessings; the strong considered seizing control.

Zhang Yangqing then gave the Black Bear trio a live demonstration.

He raised a finger glowing with golden light and wrote some characters on each Sacred Tree.

Then, he wrote some characters on the hands of the Black Bear Girl and the Beastkin brothers.

The moment the characters were completed, the Black Bear Girl and the Beastkin brothers felt immense energy within them, ready to be expended.

With a mere wave of their hands, they could reduce nearby large rocks to fragments and collapse the几十-meter-tall trees around them.

The Black Bear Girl even felt immensely powerful, capable of tearing an Evil Dragon apart with her bare hands now.

This miraculous scene astounded all three of them. So this was the feeling of possessing power?

“This is the so-called pact. However, it’s a one-sided pact I’ve imposed. You can use the power freely until you drain these two Sacred Trees to death.”

Hearing Zhang Yangqing’s words, the audience broke out in a cold sweat.

What kind of contract is this? It’s full of unfair terms.

Freely expending the power of two Sacred Trees without paying any price?
If Zhang Yangqing knew what they were thinking, he would explain: Not chopping these two trees down to use as stools is me sparing their lives.

No being could negotiate terms with Zhang Yangqing.

His lifetime of cultivation allowed him to act this way.

If you didn’t believe it, just ask the two Sacred Trees if they dared to resist.

As Zhang Yangqing’s followers, these three also received a massive upgrade.

They leaped to become top-tier combatants in this world.

So, those who followed Zhang Yangqing naturally rose along with him.

But Zhang Yangqing did this with a purpose. To make his underlings work better, he naturally had to give them some abilities.

This place was the final stage for other Chosen Ones, but for Zhang Yangqing, it was just the beginning.

Watching the two Beastkin brothers waste energy recklessly, Zhang Yangqing didn’t intervene, but the Black Bear Girl reminded them, “Your medium is this blue Sacred Tree. The Sacred Tree can slowly recover energy, but if you two overuse it and the tree withers and dies, don’t blame me for not warning you when you lose your power.”

The Black Bear Girl was advising them that to use the power for a longer time, they couldn’t exceed the Sacred Tree’s recovery rate.

Having lived for a considerable time, she had some understanding of power usage, which surprised Zhang Yangqing a little.

But on second thought, it made sense. To survive to this point and possess great power, one had to be intelligent.

The Black Bear Girl also knew the boss favored her; she had a whole Sacred Tree’s energy to herself, while the two brothers shared one.

Even if the brothers played around and killed their tree, it wouldn’t affect her.

Hearing this, the Beastkin brothers also toned it down a bit.

While other Chosen Ones were hiding from the two big bosses, the Evil Dragon and the Infernal Demon, Zhang Yangqing started his capture spree.

He had a new idea: in the Strange Tales world, weren’t the bosses the best possible workforce?