The Slaughter Arena, an endless grassland.
On the lush green grassland, countless black spheres floated about. Each was about the size of an adult's palm, darting around the field at random and at high speed, like a swarm of black locusts.
Ding—failure!
(Record this time: 5 minutes 23 seconds, personal best: 6 minutes 56 seconds)
Chen Beixun scratched his ear, looking disgruntled.
"This is nowhere near the twenty minutes Qishan wants."
"Again!" Chen Beixun clapped his hands.
Loading... 90%... 100%...
Chen Beixun appeared on the verdant grass. He suddenly leaned to one side, then leaped backward to avoid an incoming black sphere. With a thought, he plummeted to the ground, slamming into it and sending dust billowing into the air.
A streak of blue light shot out from the curtain of dust, weaving and dodging among the black spheres like a carp swimming effortlessly through a stream.
Ding, ding—
(Ten minutes have passed!)
Chen Beixun's gaze burned with intensity. The system's notification sent his fighting spirit surging, and his speed suddenly soared. The blue light transformed into a dazzling white streak, which split into ten Phantom Bodies. Every one of them was Chen Beixun.
The world changed abruptly. White ice crystals howled toward him like a dust storm. His Extreme Cold Domain even stirred a trace of the laws of space!
Ding, ding—
(Twenty minutes have passed!)
(Mission complete!)
Whoosh—
The grassland vanished, replaced by a vast plaza.
Chen Beixun rubbed the back of his neck, then spoke.
"Chunqiu, what's the next task?"
The little snail Chunqiu appeared out of thin air before Chen Beixun and said,
"Win one thousand consecutive close-combat matches in the Slaughter Arena. Your opponents must have crossed the threshold of the laws."
Chen Beixun's body jolted, and the corner of his mouth twitched. "What? Close combat?"
"I'm really not good at close-quarters fighting. I only know a little about using weapons like blades and spears." Chen Beixun scratched his head and asked,
"Have you prepared any close-combat techniques for me?"
"No." Chunqiu replied coolly, "Heh... I'm kidding. There are some!"
Chen Beixun: "..."
Meanwhile, in the real world...
Qishan appeared above Center Island, hovering with his hands clasped behind his back as he surveyed everything below. "The space tunnel will open in one month."
His voice echoed through the dark, silent sky and reached into the distance.
As if imbued with some kind of magic,
the ground rumbled violently.
Several black stones burst from the slippery, yellow-brown earth, sprouting up like bamboo shoots after rain. They floated into the air, forming a flight of steps. At the top stood a portal shaped like an arched bridge. Black particles periodically flew out of thin air between its frame.
Seeing this, Qishan left without lingering.
A strange, eerie song echoed through the Linkong. It sounded at once like a lament and a tale being passed down, then stopped after a brief moment.
In the silent spaceship, the clop of footsteps drew closer. A tall, upright figure approached: Qishan. He was inspecting the ship to prevent any unnecessary trouble.
At that moment, in the Virtual Universe, Chen Beixun was at the Slaughter Arena.
"Why are there so many people at the Slaughter Arena?" Chen Beixun had just completed his 364th consecutive victory. Looking at the bustling crowd before him, he couldn't help but feel surprised.
Ding—
(Email from the Virtual Universe Company)
Chen Beixun's eyes lit up. He immediately opened the email.
The Universe Powerhouse Battle...
Chen Beixun read through it carefully, then muttered,
"Eligibility requirements... Universe Level, ninth rank." As he read further, his expression grew grave, and he froze in place.
"The first round will take place within the various Universe Countries... Between ten million and one hundred million Universe Level contestants will compete in an elimination round inside a miniature artificial secret realm. Contestants aren't allowed to bring their own weapons. The various Universe Countries will be entirely responsible for everything."
"Each Universe Country will select only one thousand contestants?!"
"Real combat?"
"If you stay in one place too long, you'll be wanted?"
"Anyone who kills a wanted contestant gets to keep all of their belongings, including their Galaxy Bank or Universe First Bank accounts!"
Chen Beixun frowned, his thoughts roiling. How ruthless.
People judged heroes by victory and defeat. The victor became king, while the defeated were branded villains. That was the iron rule.
"It'll be held in five thousand years." Chen Beixun saw the date at the bottom and breathed a sigh of relief. "There's plenty of time."
"And contestants aren't allowed to bring their own weapons." Chen Beixun also thought of Qishan's emphasis on training him in movement techniques, Soul Attacks, and other skills. He began to piece things together.
"This Warrior Tournament doesn't seem very friendly to Controllers, illusionists, and the like."
The news that the Warrior Tournament was about to begin spread rapidly.
The Qiongkong Universe Kingdom, Li Di Star Sector.
Above a colossal castle 5,210 meters tall, snow swirled through the air. A figure hovered above, looking down at the 105 Universe Level powerhouses below.
"Ancestor!" the 105 Universe Level fighters called in unison, their voices ringing through the clouds.
The figure stopped concealing his aura. He was an Immortal God, a thunder-type Immortal. The Immortal was named Li Di. He wore a black robe, beneath which strange scales seemed embedded in his flesh. He had a hooked nose, a long beard, purple hair, and crimson eyes.
"For this Warrior Tournament, a supreme powerhouse will be overseeing the competition. Give it your all. You might catch the eye of one of them and be taken on as an apprentice." Li Di's voice was calm as he looked down at the crowd. Each Universe Level fighter was pressed to the ground, their faces contorted in pain.
Seeing this, Li Di closed his eyes and withdrew his aura, sighing inwardly.
"I went looking for the surviving members of Brother Murong's clan again, but came back empty-handed."
"Why, Brother Murong? If you'd joined the Virtual Universe Company back then, you could have avoided this disaster."
Li Di was one of Marquis of Fate Murong Shujia's few friends. He had taken it upon himself to search for and shelter the members of Murong's clan who had fled.
At the time, Murong Shujia had been wary of his powerful enemies and the forces behind them. He hadn't asked Li Di to protect his clan; he had only sent word to his home planet, telling his people to flee.
Inside Center Island.
The Linkong shuddered slightly, then vanished from the spot. It had entered spatial travel. A closer look at its hull revealed dense rows of obscure runes etched across its surface, giving off a faint trace of the laws of space.
"We'll cultivate here for thirty years first!"
"To be safe, we'll take the Universe One-Star Mercenary exam afterward!" Qishan said, then piloted the spaceship toward the star that Tianwen Planet orbited.
The star was clearly aging. In about a hundred years, it would become a red giant.
Chen Beixun walked over to Qishan. After several months of systematic training, he was now a far cry from who he had been before.
Ten Soul Crystals floated quietly in his sea of consciousness.
He had crossed the threshold of the water laws and had also gained a trace of insight into the laws of space.
The Demon Island Vine had advanced to Domain Lord, second rank.
"Whew..." Chen Beixun let out a long breath, then looked at Qishan. "How powerful is that Starry Sky Behemoth, roughly?"
Qishan's gaze was distant as he slowly pointed straight ahead.
"He's right in front of us."
Chen Beixun couldn't help but freeze. He looked in the direction Qishan was pointing.
In the darkness of space, a pair of eyes like stars stared intently at the tiny spaceship before them. Its form seemed illusory, but its outline was visible. An imperious pressure radiated from it. It was one of the twelve peak bloodlines: the Flame Star Behemoth!
Countless tiny, crimson tendrils spread from Chen Beixun and wrapped around him completely, forming a blood-red battle robe. Then he left the spaceship.
He appeared before the Flame Star Behemoth and faced it head-on. The beast gradually shifted from a translucent phantom into a solid form, its entire body covered in purple scales. Even the slightest movement unleashed a terrifying heatwave capable of incinerating the world.
"Demon Island Vine!"