Answering the Challenge

Luo Feng felt his token continuing to vibrate incessantly and could not help but be stunned.

Were Eternal True Gods this outrageous too?

Then again, over the endless years, those who had long since broken through to become Eternal True Gods would have already registered if they wanted to join the Azure City War Zone. They already had a clear understanding of which noteworthy experts in the other regions of the Azure Domain had reached the Eternal level. Yet they had never heard the name Galaxy. There was a ninety-nine percent chance that he had only recently broken through from the Void True God stage.

Most Void True Gods could not attract their attention anyway, so it was perfectly normal for them not to have heard of Galaxy. Most veterans assumed he was merely some newly advanced Eternal True God.

Inside an exceptionally luxurious tavern in Azure City.

Members of all sorts of races came here to spend money. With their long lifespans, drinking was one way to pass the boring hours.

At this moment.

One figure was burly, with two pairs of arms and one pair of legs, his entire body covered in silver fur like a savage. The other was slightly thin and humanoid, his entire body—including his head and face—covered in dark-gold scales, strange yet full of beauty. The two alien experts chatted and drank merrily.

"Barbarian, have you heard of the newcomer Galaxy?" The thin dark-gold alien was named Kadisen. He was from the Three-Handed Race and was one of Azure City's 283 Eternal True Gods. Although the Three-Handed Race appeared humanoid and possessed only two arms, he had a hidden arm on his back, which he used only when unleashing certain innate secret techniques.

"He should just be some newcomer who recently broke through. Do you, Three Hands, really need to be so cautious? You don't dare challenge him?" The savage called Barbarian grinned, utterly unconcerned. "He's only a newcomer. I'm not afraid of him. I'm more afraid that he won't dare accept. You're still as cautious as you were back then. When you first joined, you fought me, the weakest one, first. After losing, you turned down everyone else. So many years have passed, and you're still afraid of a newcomer?"

The savage Barbarian's real name was Di Man. He and Three Hands Kadisen had become acquainted through battle. Several reincarnation eras ago, when Kadisen had just registered for the Azure City Eternal True God War Zone as a newcomer, he too had received many challenges. Yet he chose only Di Man, who was publicly acknowledged as the easiest to bully at the time. Even so, he still lost that battle.

Di Man's understanding of laws was very weak, and his techniques were publicly acknowledged as the worst. He relied entirely on brute force. Others could easily toy with him, but his defense was absurdly strong. Those newly advanced to Eternal True God simply could not break through his defenses. Kadisen's defense was strong as well, but Di Man's was even stronger. Kadisen's attacks could not hurt Di Man at all, and he simply could not kill him. In the end, Kadisen was worn down until he lost.

Their battle became the longest in Azure City's history, and they eventually became close friends.

"If I hadn't been cautious, I probably wouldn't have lived until today," Kadisen muttered. "If I had your defenses, I wouldn't be afraid either. My scales clearly look stronger, yet they're nowhere near as good as your fur."

Kadisen sighed. His defenses were considered top-tier, and the scales on his body were comparable to Void-level armor. Yet compared with Di Man's, they were far inferior. Di Man's defenses were the truly monstrous kind. With that defense alone, probably few outside the rankings could do anything to him. That was why he was so fearless.

"My fur can be hard as armor or soft as water. Your scales are too rigid. Their defense is strong, but they're poor at dispersing force. You don't know illusion techniques, so physical attacks on me are just scratches. But when I hit you, I can make you cough blood." Di Man stuffed meat into his mouth and glanced at Kadisen. "If you're scared, I'll feel embarrassed for you."

"You barbarian, would I, Three Hands, be afraid of a newcomer?" Kadisen glared and immediately sent a challenge request. "Just wait and see how I crush him. He probably won't even be able to break my scales..."

Elsewhere.

Luo Feng's identity token continued vibrating without pause while he leisurely drank in a tavern.

More than a hundred people had already challenged him, and new challenge requests arrived from time to time.

The vast majority of challenges had low stakes, only 10 Qiankun Units. A small number reached 20 Qiankun Units or more, while the highest was 50 Qiankun Units. Only one person had proposed stakes of 50 Qiankun Units.

"That's at least a thousand Qiankun Units guaranteed. Heh, they really are crazy." Luo Feng smiled.

He did not care much about this. His target was the Evil Eye Domain Lord.

Luo Feng knew that among the You Mountain Empire's nine great domains, anyone who became a domain lord did not need to go through any procedures. They were equivalent to high-ranking officials directly appointed by the empire and could receive the empire's corresponding cultivation. As long as one defeated the previous domain lord and seized the domain lord token, one became the new domain lord and governed an entire domain.

The You Mountain Empire had an incomparably brutal system of competition, which was why it had always retained the mechanism for challenging domain lords. As long as one met certain conditions, one could challenge a domain lord. The You Mountain Empire would not interfere regardless of who lived or died. In their eyes, only experts who continuously grew stronger deserved power and resources.

The one who ultimately became the domain lord would definitely be the stronger expert!

Once a domain lord became a Saint while in office, he would directly become a core member of the You Mountain Empire, be summoned to the imperial capital, and receive the empire's protection.

Becoming the domain lord of the Azure Domain would bring Luo Feng nothing but benefits.

The powers of the Origin Continent were intricately intertwined. Without sufficient backing, obtaining resources was extremely difficult. During the Primal Universe era, there were struggles between races. During the Universe Ocean era, there were struggles between clans. On the even vaster Origin Continent, there were struggles between races, between nations, and between factions. Yet the ultimate root of all of it was the struggle for resources.

The You Mountain Empire was a highly renowned God King kingdom even within the Origin Continent. According to Luo Feng's understanding, it was at least a level higher than his teacher Mountain Guest's Jin Kingdom.

If he could have the You Mountain Empire backing him, he would have much greater confidence when competing for resources in the future.

For now, these Eternal True Gods challenging him were merely stepping stones for Luo Feng to build his reputation before challenging Evil Eye, nothing more than foils.

"142 requests. Time to accept the challenges." Luo Feng clearly saw the number on the application list. The incoming requests seemed to have gradually slowed down.

"Accept."

"Accept."

Luo Feng accepted them all, rejecting none.

In the tavern, Di Man and Kadisen were leisurely drinking when they suddenly felt their tokens vibrate.

"Oh, he accepted." Di Man grinned.

"He accepted mine too. Is this newcomer Galaxy ignorant, or does he truly have that kind of strength?" Three Hands Kadisen frowned.

"You regret it?" Di Man laughed. "He's just a newcomer. There's nothing to fear. I was only worried he wouldn't have money, so I set the stake at 20 Qiankun Units. If he accepts too many challenges and loses everything, he'll have no choice but to risk his life. Such a young little fellow."

However, if they knew that Luo Feng had accepted every challenge, they might not think that way. A newcomer was still a newcomer, but newcomers knew the others' strengths. Since a newcomer dared accept everyone's challenges, he naturally had his own confidence.

"I wouldn't call it regret. It's only 10 Qiankun Units. Even if I run into an expert, it'll be worth it as practice." Kadisen shook his head. If he could not win, he could simply concede.

Inside the official work area of the Eternal War Zone.

The staff expected Luo Feng to receive challenge requests one after another. After all, every newcomer went through such a thing.

However, when that newcomer named Galaxy began accepting the challenges one after another, they were all stunned.

"He accepted all hundred-plus requests. Is this newcomer stupid, or is he really that strong?" one staff member wondered inwardly.

"Stupid? You, a Lord of Laws, are judging an Eternal True God as stupid? I think you're the stupid one." Someone beside him immediately laughed.

"Tani, you only know how to bully me." The staff member snapped.

"Reaching the Eternal True God realm is beyond the imagination of people like us. Since he dares accept, he naturally has his own confidence. Looks like a ruthless figure is about to arrive in the Eternal True God War Zone. Hurry up and promote this."

Thus, news that the Eternal True God War Zone newcomer Galaxy had accepted more than 140 challenges rapidly spread throughout Azure City.

In less than a day, circles from all three war zones were discussing the matter.

The veterans registered in the war zones were not fools. They knew nothing about the newcomer and merely assumed he was a newly advanced Eternal True God, so it was normal for most of them to issue challenges. But the newcomer was not a fool either, and he practically knew the registered veterans inside out. Galaxy daring to accept every challenger also showed that he had his own confidence.

As a result, quite a few people began eagerly anticipating newcomer Galaxy's performance.

Unlike the Void True God District and the True God District, where battles could be watched almost every day, the Eternal True God District had relatively few registered members, so battles were naturally pitifully rare. Sometimes there would not be a single battle for centuries. Galaxy's arrival had brought life to the deserted Eternal True God War Zone.

The matter spread too quickly. Many of the Eternal True Gods who had proactively issued challenges secretly felt that something was wrong, especially those near the bottom in strength. They began regretting it, feeling that they were about to pay money to get beaten up.

Of course, those who considered themselves reasonably strong had confidence in their own abilities and naturally were not afraid. Instead, they looked forward to it. After living for such long years, if they wanted to make a breakthrough, they still had to improve through battle. Hiring those powerful old fellows as sparring partners was extremely expensive. If the stakes were not high enough, they would not accept. As for seeking out weaker opponents, winning would be meaningless, and challenging the weak would only invite ridicule.

If they could challenge a strong expert with only a few dozen Qiankun Units, they would be making a profit instead.

The official promotion did not lessen, and the excitement continued rising. Luo Feng's number of challenges actually began increasing again.

In an instant, it rose from 142 battles to 162 battles. Of the 182 people, 162 had submitted challenge requests to Luo Feng.

"After the promotion, the number of challengers is actually still increasing?" Luo Feng could not help but laugh. He shook his head.