Just as King Lanchen had analyzed, that was exactly what Qin Zhao had in mind. He knew full well that with his current strength, passing the preliminaries would be effortless. So why not make the most of the lengthy competition and maximize his gains? He could efficiently earn points without delaying his cultivation. Holding the central area would deter petty troublemakers and keep annoying interruptions from disrupting his training.
As word gradually spread that Qin Zhao had stopped moving and solidified that despair-inducing Death Domain in the center of the desert, the surviving competitors in World Zone 39 went from initial uncertainty to breathing sighs of relief, then to wild joy.
"The 'Black Prison Reaper' has stopped!"
"He's taken over Sky-Propping Rock Mountain in the central area. He's not actively hunting anymore!"
"Quick! Stay away from that area! We're safe!"
"Our chance is here! While he's not moving, let's hunt the others and rack up points!"
For a time, World Zone 39, which had fallen silent under Qin Zhao's terrifying threat, seemed to receive a shot in the arm. Countless geniuses who had been hiding in fear, afraid to show themselves, began to stir. Carefully avoiding the Death Domain marked as an "absolute forbidden zone," they launched into even fiercer and more frequent battles in other parts of the desert, and across the World Zone's other landscapes.
As the survivors passed along tales of Qin Zhao, the rumors about him grew ever more fantastical.
"Have you heard? The one at the center of the desert—once his domain opens, not a blade of grass grows for a thousand miles!"
"That's nothing! I saw it with my own eyes. Several experts who'd grasped a trace of the Laws attacked together, and before they could get within a hundred miles of that rock mountain, an invisible force crushed them!"
"It's terrifying. Even your soul trembles inside his domain!"
"That's not power a Star Level fighter could possess! He must be a secret weapon of some mighty faction!"
"He sits there like a Deity, looking down on us as we struggle like ants..."
Before long, the title "Black Prison Reaper" was gradually supplanted by one that inspired even greater awe: "Deity"!
With his unmatched strength and inscrutable decision to hold the central area, Qin Zhao had become an insurmountable idol in the hearts of every survivor in World Zone 39. Though he remained still, his might covered the entire competition zone, affecting everyone's actions and state of mind.
The man who had been given the title "Deity" paid no attention to anything happening outside. He was completely immersed in his profound comprehension of Ten Thousand Line Flow. His consciousness seemed to split into countless illusory bodies, weaving and darting through the patterns of space as he steadily advanced toward a higher level of Ten Thousand Line Flow.
At the summit of the rock mountain, wind and sand howled, but could not come within three feet of him. He sat there in silence, waiting for the "fat sheep" to fatten up—and for the chance to make another leap in strength.
Before long, ten days had passed.
At the summit of the rock mountain, Qin Zhao opened his eyes right on time. After ten days of quiet meditation, the spatial ripples that had once faintly stirred around him had completely subsided. His gaze, however, had grown even deeper, as if it held countless overlapping layers of space. His understanding of the Ten Thousand Line Flow movement technique had advanced. He was still a long way from mastering Ten Thousand Line Flow, but his use of Hundred Line Flow had become more fluent and precise, and his bursts of speed and shifts in trajectory had both improved by a level.
The data on his panel had also updated with his progress.
[Secret Techniques: 128 Martial Arts Secret Techniques (Perfect), Shockwave (Perfect), Earth Pulse Guard (Perfect), Ten Thousand Line Flow (Minor Achievement 75%), Black Stone Prison (Major Achievement 65%)] [Comprehension: Earth-style Laws (Earth Element 100%, Pulse of the Earth 100%, Gravity Space 100%, Vitality 25%), Law of Space (Teleportation 5.0%)]
"I've waited ten days. It's time to stretch my legs."
Qin Zhao glanced at the screen on his arm. After ten days of quiet cultivation, his ranking had fallen to 87th in World Zone 39. His points were still impressive, but clearly, the fighting in other areas had been exceptionally fierce, and the top geniuses' scores were climbing rapidly.
He wasn't bothered by his temporary drop in rank. Instead, a cold smile curled his lips. It was time to harvest the "fat sheep" he'd been fattening for ten days. He could sense that figures with fairly strong auras occasionally approached the edge of the Black Stone Prison below, which he had solidified, only to retreat at once. Clearly, not everyone had been willing to keep their distance over the past ten days. Some, confident in their strength or simply hoping for a lucky break, had come to test their chances.
With a thought, the Nine Black Stone Cores embedded in the rock mountain, which sustained the solidified domain, began to tremble faintly. The Black Stone Prison, which had been stably covering a radius of a thousand kilometers, began to contract like a receding tide. He wasn't withdrawing the domain; he was further concentrating its power. Its range shrank to a radius of around three hundred kilometers, but within that area, the chaotic gravity and pressure on the soul suddenly intensified severalfold. The core forbidden zone became even more dangerous—and deadly!
At the same time, Qin Zhao vanished from the summit of the rock mountain.
The next instant, he appeared like a wraith in the air above a sandy ravine near the newly contracted edge of the Black Stone Prison. Below him, a temporary squad of seven competitors gave off powerful energy fluctuations. All of them had at least touched the threshold of the Laws, and the burly man leading them even seemed to emanate the aura of a domain. They had apparently just joined forces to wipe out a small faction and were taking a break, while keeping their eyes fixed on the solidified Death Domain in the distance and quietly discussing something.
"...The rumors are right. That 'Deity' hasn't moved in ten days, and his points haven't gone up much, either."
"Hmph, all smoke and mirrors! Maybe he used up too much energy earlier and is recovering!"
"Exactly. There are seven of us, three of whom have comprehended the Laws, and our boss even has a domain. We might be able to get in there and take a look!"
"If we can catch him off guard and kill him... all those points will be ours!"
Just as they spoke, greed and wishful thinking taking hold of them—
"Oh? You want to kill me?"
A calm voice suddenly rang out above their heads.
The seven looked up in alarm. Qin Zhao was already hovering in the air, though no one knew when he had appeared. His black robe fluttered in the dry wind as he looked down at them with an indifferent gaze, as if they were nothing but ants.
"He's here! Form up!" The burly man reacted first and shouted. An ochre domain instantly spread from him. Though nowhere near as vast as the Black Stone Prison, it still covered a hundred meters, and he tried to brace for the attack that might come. The other six also unleashed their own abilities. Weapons flashed free and mental power surged as they formed an integrated offensive and defensive battle formation. They had reacted quickly, to say the least.
Yet in the face of their readiness, Qin Zhao simply raised his right hand and gently pressed down toward the area where they stood.
"Hum—!"
There was no earth-shattering boom, only a deep, mournful groan from space. Within a radius of several thousand meters, centered on the seven-man squad, space seemed to suddenly solidify, then cave sharply inward! This wasn't a simple increase in gravity. It was the compression and distortion of space itself!
The seven men went deathly pale. The burly man's ochre domain shattered inch by inch like fragile glass, and he himself spat out a mouthful of blood. The other six couldn't even scream. Under the irresistible crushing force of space, their bodies were instantly crushed like clay dolls in an invisible giant hand, becoming seven clouds of blood mist. Their weapons and everything else were annihilated along with them!
The points on Qin Zhao's arm screen jumped, increasing by seven hefty amounts. Those seven had clearly gained a lot over the past ten days, only to end up lining Qin Zhao's pockets.
He didn't spare the dissipating blood mist a glance. His figure blurred again, merging with the wind, and the next instant he appeared dozens of kilometers away, where another powerful aura was stirring.
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