Unexpected information

"Didn't you see me take down the Beast King Anye? Compared to the Beast King Anye, these students are nothing. Even if they all attacked me together, they wouldn't be a match for me."

Murong Wu scratched his head sheepishly. "The feeling is a bit different. I can't really tell how strong the Beast King Anye is, but I've heard of Sun Wu University since I was very young. It's definitely one of the top five universities in the world. The students who can get into this university are all the pride of heaven, and the martial artists who graduate from this university have a very high chance of becoming Spirit Transformation."

Si Ming, "Your perception needs to be corrected. As a disciple of Spirit Transformation Grandmaster, you are more powerful than the students of Sun Wu University. Sun Wu University enrolls several thousand students every year, and the number of surviving graduates is definitely more than 100,000. However, there are less than a thousand Nascent Spirit Transformation in the entire world, and the number of disciples is estimated to be no more than two thousand. Your status is more precious. Furthermore, from a probability perspective, the probability of Spirit Transformation Grandmaster's disciple advancing to the Spirit Transformation stage is much higher than that of a martial arts graduate from Sun Wu University. Therefore, you should have confidence in yourself."

"Oh... oh." Murong Wu looked thoughtful, probably because it was the first time someone had said something like that to him.

"But your sister actually agreed to let you travel abroad..."

Si Ming suddenly remembered that Murong Qing was currently in Guan Chong, attempting to break through to the Spirit Transformation, and probably couldn't take care of his younger brother.

"Oh, by the way, I also ran into one of your classmates on the way," Ying Zhou said with a strange expression.

"Who is my classmate?"

Ying Zhou couldn't possibly know his university classmates, so it could only be his high school classmates. But Si Ming really couldn't think of any of his classmates who would qualify for the Martial King Cup. It couldn't possibly be Liu Qingqing, could it?

He followed Ying Zhou's gaze and discovered that the person he was referring to was none other than Xia Guanxue.

"He actually came to participate in the Martial King Cup too. Who recommended him for the Spirit Transformation?"

"The old woman once mentioned that it seemed to be someone she knew, but who exactly that person was remains unknown."

At this moment, Xia Guanxue sensed the gaze, turned her head to make eye contact, then frowned and turned her head back, showing no intention of coming over to greet her.

Ying Zhou said with displeasure, "Tch, what a reclusive fellow."

Si Ming quickly retorted, "Hey, what right do you have to judge others as aloof? You talk as if you have many friends."

"It's different. He can't find friends, but I don't want to find friends. Once I have too many friends, my strength as a human being decreases."

I have no interest in your fallacies.

After a round of mutual insults and nonsense, the Nation of Valor organizers finally appeared, standing on a high platform and speaking in a clear voice, "Please be quiet, everyone. I am about to introduce the new rules of the Martial King Cup tournament."

Although most of the martial artists were unruly, they quickly quieted down with their teachers present.

"Just as many people guessed, the new competition will abolish the arena system and will no longer be a one-on-one format. Instead, it will adopt an all-out free-for-all format. The official competition venue will be this Smokeless Island beneath your feet. We will divide this island, which covers an area of 1,200 square kilometers, into sixteen areas, and then randomly select which area each person will be assigned to. The rules of the competition are very simple. Apart from not being allowed to kill, you can use any method you can think of to defeat your opponent. The person who wins in the end will be this year's Martial King."

Soon someone asked, "Since killing is forbidden, how should the outcome of a battle be judged?"

The organizers produced a metal bracelet, explaining, "This bracelet has a positioning system and a real-time voice system. If the bracelet is damaged or the wearer voluntarily concedes, they will be disqualified from the competition. Also, the bracelet will automatically shut down if it is removed from the body for too long, so please don't even think about burying it somewhere hidden."

"A battlefield of 1,200 square kilometers is simply too vast. If someone is determined to hide and refuses to engage in direct combat, how can we possibly find them?"

"It's very simple. The competition lasts for five days. Every day, half of the area becomes a dead zone, and players still within the dead zone are automatically considered to have forfeited. By the last day, only one area will remain, and the area will continue to shrink, forcing players to engage in combat."

Si Ming thought to himself, "Isn't this just a martial arts version of PUBG: Battlegrounds?"

Unfortunately, he hadn't played this game much in his previous life, only hearing terms like "Voldemort" and "cunning old fox." After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Wouldn't this kind of competition be very advantageous to those who deliberately avoid battle, only thinking about conserving their energy and waiting for their enemies to kill each other? Doesn't this contradict the martial arts spirit pursued by the Martial King Cup?"

Chapter 651 Unexpected Intelligence

"Avoiding battle and seeking stability is also a tactic. Of course, we still encourage everyone to actively engage in combat. Therefore, we have formulated two preventative measures. The first is a points-based elimination system. Each person wears a bracelet containing a portion of divinity. Whenever a bracelet is destroyed, the divinity is absorbed by the nearest bracelet. If, by the second day, the bracelet does not contain two portions of divinity, the participant is automatically disqualified. On the third day, at least four portions of divinity are required, on the fourth day eight portions, and on the fifth day sixteen portions. As an additional reminder, if someone voluntarily withdraws, their divinity will automatically dissipate and will not be taken away."

After this rule was announced, many people's eyes lit up, and they immediately thought of corresponding tactics.

Yu Shuying analyzed, "There are nearly two hundred participants, and theoretically 12 people will be able to enter the final day. However, considering that some people will voluntarily admit defeat, and some people will adopt a tactic of reaping a large amount of divine essence, the number of participants entering the final day will only be less."

Si Huaruo said, "The stronger the contestants are, the more they can persist. Therefore, it's advisable to quickly accumulate divinity by defeating weaker competitors in the first two days. Once you reach the minimum requirement, you can sit back and watch the show, find a place to hide and wait patiently. This is the safest method."

Yu Shuying continued, "This is the choice for mid-level martial artists. If they are strong enough, they might as well defeat as many opponents as possible in the first three days, so that other powerful competitors will lose because they cannot collect enough divinity. Also, did you notice that after the bracelet is destroyed, the divinity will automatically go into the nearest bracelet, instead of into the bracelet of the destroyer? This means that stealing other people's achievements is possible. Hmm... this one rule alone has created many variations."

At this point, the spokesperson added, "The second precautionary measure is that participants in this competition are not allowed to bring any weapons or food. All supplies must be found on the island. We will have supplies hidden throughout the battlefield beforehand, including weapons, pills, and so on. These include low-quality Qi-Replenishing Pills, common swords and ironware, as well as top-grade Xiantian Limit-Breaking Pills, and divine weapons such as the Vermilion Phoenix Sword and the Abyss-Slaying Demonic Saber Demon Blade. Finding these items in advance will undoubtedly be of great help in the upcoming battles."

These words immediately caused a stir. Everyone lamented that Nation of Valor had suffered a huge loss this time. The powerful weapons were one thing—they would certainly be taken back afterward—but if those top-grade pills had been swallowed, could the enemy possibly cut open their stomachs to find them?

However, the martial arts system of the Sea Continent is ultimately not a resource-based cultivation system. The effect of pills is so-so, especially after reaching the eighth level. At most, it can only increase one level of power, and it can only advance from an odd level to an even level, saving time. There are pills that can help you break through from an even level to an odd level, but they all have side effects, such as depleting potential or causing long-term stagnation. The geniuses present would definitely not give them a second glance.

Then, the spokesperson's next statement provoked an even stronger reaction. "I would like to reveal that, in addition to weapons and elixirs, the island's supplies also include two sets of specially crafted Profound Armor, which we have hidden in an extremely secret location. You won't find them by luck; you'll need to find the relevant clues and solve the mystery to locate them. You are all welcome to give it a try."

Military School Profound Armor!

Many people immediately became interested. You should know that so far, only two countries in the Sea Continent can manufacture Profound Armor: Suguo and Su State Nation of Valor. Don't be fooled by the fact that Si Ming doesn't use Profound Armor much now and thinks it's dispensable. This thing is a rare commodity for most people. Among the people present, no more than ten have worn Profound Armor, and no more than three have their own exclusive Profound Armor.

A piece of Profound Armor can give a top expert the strength to fight against a Spirit Transformation, raising them to a whole level; its effect is even greater than that of divine weapons.

Of course, the Profound Armor here refers to specially made Profound Armor. Many countries are still able to manufacture the mass-produced Profound Armor. The technological gap between the two is like that between nuclear fusion and controlled nuclear fusion.

The mass-produced Profound Armors are all enormous, usually over three meters tall, and move clumsily. Si Ming always felt that these things were more like humanoid armor vehicles than Profound Armor. They were generally suitable for large-scale military operations. In one-on-one combat, they would be easily defeated by opponents wielding divine weapons. However, they could be used to bully unarmed enemies.

The specially made Profound Armor is a national strategic weapon. It is useless for non-citizens, no matter how high their status is. On the contrary, the higher the status, the more precautions should be taken to avoid having secrets stolen. Not to mention the Spirit Transformation disciples present, even among the Spirit Transformation Grandmasters, very few have worn the specially made Profound Armor.

If Si Ming hadn't been Yan Jinghong's apprentice, he wouldn't have been chosen as a trial participant. After all, he was an orphan and didn't meet the requirement of having a clean family background for three generations.

Now that a free trial opportunity is available, many people are naturally tempted and are eager to participate.

Some people cautiously inquired, "The Profound Armor you're talking about isn't the mass-produced Profound Armor, is it?"

The spokesperson replied, "Of course not. We wouldn't stoop to playing word games to fool everyone. We are prepared to mass-produce Profound Armor, but it is fundamentally different from the real Profound Armor, which is obvious at a glance. As for its actual performance, everyone can experience it for themselves."

"Could you tell me what the Profound Armor you provided looks like?"

"Sorry, please treat this as a cliffhanger and stay tuned."

This piqued Si Ming's interest as well. The Profound Armor made by the Mohist School was closer to a special armor, not very large, and served to amplify the effect. At most, it could be equipped with one or two Primal Qi cannons to compensate for ranged attack methods. He wondered what the Profound Armor made by the Military School would be like, since the two families had different manufacturing philosophies. Even a slight difference could result in completely different outcomes.

Aside from these two "promotional measures," the rest are just details. For example, participants don't need to bring anything, including clothing, which will be provided by the Nation of Valor and changed before entering the island. If any foreign items are found, it will be considered cheating. Finally, the organizers also gave each person a "New Rules Introduction," which details all the rules of the competition and even provides tactical advice. The last page also includes a thumbnail of the island.