In Yelena's manor.
Guan Tong stayed in his room and silently listened to the rules.
"This time's rules... really are a Death Race, just as the name suggests."
This also confirmed the speculation he had previously shared with Shangyuan Zi. Rule Sixteen was indeed related to the second Ascendant Challenge.
He just hadn't expected this rule to be so blatant.
Most previous rules had covertly provoked humans into fighting one another. This time, it was laid out in the open: a pure zero-sum competition where people killed each other for ranking rewards.
And unlike Holy Grail Island in the first Challenge, the entire Tianshui Star was the arena this time. Once a "competitor" died, they were truly dead.
However, this rule included a withdrawal mechanism.
Guan Tong raised his hand, and the Challenge invitation appeared in his palm.
As long as one discarded or destroyed this item, it counted as forfeiting. Those who forfeited would not receive the special title of "competitor," and killing others would not earn them points. Naturally, that was equivalent to withdrawing from the competition.
But the price of withdrawal was a reduction to one's Mind Power Cap.
"The rules mention that, during this Challenge, people with the title of 'competitor' can see one another's nicknames and points above their heads... like 'Red Name' players in a PK Game."
This meant that anyone whose nickname and points you could see above their head was a potential enemy. If you didn't attack them, they might attack you to seize your points.
This mechanism placed certain limits even on the strong.
Once a powerful person accumulated too many points, everyone else could see it and would join forces to target that person.
...Under these rules, the authorities of every country will definitely impose strict control, Guan Tong thought.