["Holographic Strategy at your service, student Gu Yue. Please select your test difficulty,"] a slightly mechanical voice rang in her mind as a softly glowing floating screen appeared before her, listing the difficulty options from one star to six.
Gu Yue curiously examined the screen, her eyes shining with the urge to explore.
Interested in this new assessment system, she thought briefly, then tapped the one-star difficulty.
["Holographic Strategy is generating your opponent, please wait,"] the mechanical voice said.
As soon as it finished, a pinkish-white light appeared in the center of the square, gathering quickly.
Before Gu Yue stood an extremely peculiar mosquito.
This mosquito was huge—about a meter long, with a smooth, jade-like white shell that gleamed faintly and was covered in strange, pinkish-purple patterns, making it look mysterious and dangerous.
Above its head floated a pink-purple halo, like a crown, adding to its eerie aura.
Gu Yue, who had never seen such a soul beast, was puzzled.
As the soul beast lord, she was confident she knew every soul beast on Douluo Dalu, but this bizarre mosquito was beyond her knowledge.
As she pondered, a sudden sharp buzzing broke the silence.
Gu Yue instinctively sensed a surge of danger and reflexively dodged aside.
Almost simultaneously, a fierce blast of wind whooshed past where she had stood, the strange mosquito streaking by like a white flash—its sharp horn nearly impaling her.
"So fast!" Gu Yue was secretly amazed, her gaze suddenly sharp.
She realized she could no longer underestimate this seemingly lowest-level opponent. Though she still didn't recognize the species, she had no hesitation.
A ball of intense fire formed in her palm, spinning and condensing, radiating heat.
With a light shout, she hurled the fireball at the white mosquito like a mini cannonball.
But the mosquito showed astonishing agility and strange abilities.
It darted forward, leaving afterimages, seeming to ignore the flames' heat, directly colliding with the fireball.
With a muffled "bang," the fireball shattered, scattering sparks, but the mosquito's white shell was unscathed.
Gu Yue frowned. "Looks like it has strong elemental resistance. How about this?"
She stomped her foot, and the ground shook. Several hard spikes shot up at the mosquito.
Caught off guard, the mosquito was pierced by the spikes.
With a shrill screech, its body dissolved into countless pink-white light spots, vanishing.
To Gu Yue's surprise, the light spots didn't disappear but quickly merged into her body.
She felt her body change, her spirit and soul power slowly rising, and even her physical strength increased slightly.
"What's this? Such high-level energy!" Gu Yue's pupils shrank in shock. She could feel the energy merging into her body was extremely refined, far superior to normal soul power.
Moreover, the simulated universe only enhanced spirit power, but this Holographic Strategy improved her in every way.
But more than this strength gain, Gu Yue was most curious about the mysterious energy.
She had a vague sense—if she could obtain more of it, her real body's injuries might soon heal.
With mounting eagerness, she immediately selected a higher difficulty.
As pink-white light gathered again, three identical white mosquitoes appeared.
Gu Yue now understood their combat power: very fast, very tough, with some elemental immunity—but their tactics were simple. A typical two-ring Soul Grandmaster could handle one with skill, but three at once would be tough.
But Gu Yue didn't take them seriously.
She smiled confidently, her aura surging.
With a wave, she unleashed sharp wind blades at the mosquitoes.
With crisp slicing sounds, the wind blades cut through the mosquitoes' shells, their bodies turning into pink-white light and merging into Gu Yue, further strengthening her.
After clearing two-star difficulty, Gu Yue wasted no time and went straight to three stars.
This time, as the light faded, the opponent was no longer a mosquito but a huge, intimidating monster.
It looked like a three-meter-tall knight riding a warhorse, holding a white lance, its body covered in the same white shell and pink-purple patterns, exuding a chilling aura.
As soon as it appeared, the knight raised its lance and charged at Gu Yue.
Its warhorse thundered forward, kicking up dust.
The three-meter-tall, six-meter-long knight charged like a heavy tank.
At the same time, purple energy gathered on its lance, and a purple shield covered its body—it clearly had strong offense and defense.
Facing this formidable foe, Gu Yue felt no fear.
She quickly noticed its only flaw—its relatively slow speed.
At least, given her agility, she had enough time to react.