But the path out of the maze hadn’t changed. As long as you could figure out the maze’s direction, the path ahead was the same. You just needed to explore the routes to the rooms on the later floors.
With this discovery, continuing to find the way was much easier.
Accompanied by Ah Fei and Sha Chu, they passed through room after room. Although they encountered some traps and beasts, they managed to escape unharmed. It took less than half an hour to reach the exit.
By the time the countdown ended, Ye Yuzhen was the only person to come out. None of the other Trial Takers emerged.
Ye Yuzhen glared venomously upon seeing that Li Xiu and the others were still alive.
After claiming his rewards, Ye Yuzhen decided to give up. Even he was unwilling to easily risk an A-grade trial again.
"The second round only lasts for half an hour. Are we continuing?" Sha Chu looked to Li Xiu.
"Of course." Li Xiu had already figured out the map of the A-grade Dark Maze. Clearing it in half an hour would be no problem.
The three of them entered the second round of the trial. Under Li Xiu’s guidance, they reached the exit without incident and claimed their rewards once more.
The third time became the final trial, with only fifteen minutes, but it was still not a problem for Li Xiu.
This time, under Li Xiu’s leadership, they bypassed all the traps, poisonous insects, and fierce beasts, and rushed out of the exit within fifteen minutes.
"Final trial completed. Rewards are being randomly generated... each Trial Taker can choose two rewards..."
Soon, four rewards appeared in front of Li Xiu. He immediately spotted the admission ticket.
"Finally, another admission ticket." Li Xiu was delighted and chose the attribute reward first, then the admission ticket.
Skills and talents were important, but what Li Xiu needed more at the moment was attributes.
After the attributes were injected, Li Xiu felt a significant improvement in his physical fitness. If he were to try to wield the Fire Lotus Sword now, with the Blood Boiling Skill and Super Exciting boost, it should be much easier to lift.
The black admission ticket turned into a black hole, sucking Li Xiu inside.
Dim copper lamp, ancient stone table, everything was still just as familiar, but the things on the stone table were different this time.
"What’s this?" Li Xiu moved closer to examine the black object on the table, and it turned out to be a pair of sunglasses.
"This contract really has everything; a pair of sunglasses, why not give me a pair of underwear?" Li Xiu internally mocked, but didn’t stop his feet, walking to the front of the table. He activated the S-grade Blood Boiling Skill and reached out with both hands to lift the sunglasses.
After so many enhancements, Li Xiu’s strength was now much greater than before. Combined with the double strength boost of the S-grade Blood Boiling, the pair of sunglasses that was extremely heavy to hold was lifted up bit by bit.
It still felt heavy, but unlike before, it could be lifted.
The moment the sunglasses left the tabletop, an eerie voice sounded: "Congratulations, insignificant carbon-based lifeform, you have obtained the qualification to become a life entity with the advanced lifeform ’Contract’. It is called the Dark Mirror. Use your blood to complete the life pact with it. From now on, you will be inseparable. It will be the foundation of your growth..."
With his previous experience of the Fire Lotus, Li Xiu knew that this voice could converse, so he asked, "What rank is this Dark Mirror contract?"
"Radiant." The eerie voice indeed answered Li Xiu’s question.
"This thing is of a higher quality than the Fire Lotus Sword?" Li Xiu looked at the sunglasses in his hand, surprised.
"Would you like to complete the life pact with the Dark Mirror?" The eerie voice continued to ask.
"Yes." Li Xiu didn’t hesitate and made his decision immediately.
If his previous speculation wasn’t wrong, it would be impossible to make the Dark Mirror his Symbiotic Contract even if he wished to complete the life pact.
Even if his speculation was wrong, having a Radiant Contract as a Symbiotic Contract was a good choice, given how rare something of this quality was, whether it was a contract or a magic item.
Of course, the likelihood of that possibility was very low.
"Use your blood to forge the life agreement; from now on, the Dark Mirror will become a part of your life, growing with you..."
As the eerie voice spoke, Li Xiu felt a pain in his finger as if the Dark Mirror had pricked him. There was a new wound on his finger, and blood dripped onto the Dark Mirror.
After absorbing Li Xiu’s blood, the Dark Mirror emitted an eerie black light and automatically flew up, attaching to Li Xiu’s face.
In the next second, Li Xiu felt a heaviness all over his body. Even though the Dark Mirror was on his face, it felt like his whole body was pressed down by a heavy object, almost causing him to stumble to the ground.
"Symbiotic agreement failed, Dark Mirror converted to Parasitic Contract... Land of Trial opening... when the Longevity Lamp extinguishes... it will be the moment you leave the Land of Trial..." the eerie voice grew quieter.
The copper lamp on the stone table suddenly floated up eerily, and slowly drifted into the darkness behind the stone table.
Li Xiu quickly followed. He wanted to see what the Land of Trial that Sha Chu had mentioned was like.
If Sha Chu could survive, Li Xiu, who had several magic items, should find survival not too difficult.
Initially, he only had the Fire Lotus Sword as a burden, but now with the additional weight of the Dark Mirror, fortunately, his physique had become much stronger than before, allowing him to still move under the boost of Blood Boiling.