As dawn broke, the main city of Stele Forest Imperial City became increasingly bustling. A vast flow of people surged toward the central event area like countless galaxies converging. Qin Yu and Shen Qingchen's group walked forward along the huge main street and soon arrived at the registration area for the martial arts competition.
Compared to the near-impossible crowds outside, the order here is noticeably more rigorous.
The entire registration plaza is extremely vast, stretching for dozens of miles. The ground is paved with dark gold boundary-patterned stone slabs, each with extremely faint yet stable ripples of order flowing within it, used to maintain spatial stability and the flow of order.
Although tens of thousands of people were gathered in the vast square, the atmosphere was orderly.
At this moment, a fellow Daoist who was traveling with him couldn't help but laugh at the situation before him:
"I knew it; the registration area wouldn't be as crowded as usual."
The other person shook his head and laughed:
"I'm not planning to participate at all, hahaha. I heard the rules have been completely changed this year, totally different from before. And—the minimum cultivation level must be the Realm Breaking Realm Initial Stage."
Hearing this, another cultivator nearby couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. "Tsk tsk tsk, this year's competition is expected to be extremely brutal."
Shen Qingchen turned to look at the crowd. "Fellow Daoists, are none of you planning to sign up? Or are you just here to watch the fun like the others?"
The group exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. "Brother Shen, I think we should play it safe this year."
"Yeah, after all, we still don't know what rules have changed this year."
After listening, Shen Qingchen looked at Qin Yu. "Brother Qin, what's your opinion?"
Qin Yu gazed calmly at the massive registration hall in the distance and said indifferently:
"I don't care." "But I'm still quite interested." "Not in order to join Lineage."
"I wanted to challenge myself."
Shen Qingchen laughed immediately after hearing this. "Ah, yes, yes!" "Brother Qin and I think the same thing!" "I also want to use this martial arts competition to hone my skills."
He then turned to the six fellow Daoists. "Fellow Daoists, I'll go register with Brother Qin."
The six men immediately smiled and clasped their hands in greeting. "Good!" "Then we wish Brother Qin and Brother Shen a resounding victory!"
"You've returned safely!" "Good." After a brief farewell, Qin Yu and Shen Qingchen headed together towards the registration hall.
Soon after, an extremely magnificent hall appeared before them.
The registration hall stands in the center of the square like a suspended palace. It is made of deep silver boundary stone and is thousands of feet high. A huge array of order runes is inlaid on the hall door. The runes rotate slowly, flowing with a complex and ancient structure like the orbit of stars.
The hall was brightly lit but not glaringly so, with beams of orderly light hanging down from the dome, illuminating the entire hall in a clear and solemn manner.
All the administrators maintaining order in the hall were members of the Chi Lineage.
They were dressed in matching dark blue robes embroidered with the Chi Family Lineage crest, and each of them exuded an extremely powerful aura.
Qin Yu sensed it briefly and discovered that the lowest cultivation level among the administrators responsible for registration was the Mystic Void Realm · Middle Stage.
Moreover, on each of the four high platforms in the main hall sat an elderly man with an aura as deep and profound as a mountain.
The four people sat motionless, yet seemed to be integrated into the orderly structure of the entire hall; they were the elders of the Chi Lineage responsible for maintaining order.
Cultivation level: Eternal Silence Realm · Middle Stage.
Under their intimidating presence, the entire registration hall was eerily quiet, and no one dared to cause trouble.
The cultivators who came to register lined up to receive the participation tokens issued by the Chi Lineage; only those who held the tokens were allowed to participate.
Only those qualified to enter the inner hall at the back were allowed to do so, and Qin Yu and Shen Qingchen quickly lined up at the front.
One of the Chi Lineage managers glanced at the two of them, then gently waved his hand, and two tokens slowly flew out.
The token was about the size of a palm, dark silver in color, made of a material that resembled both gold and stone, and its surface was covered with extremely fine, orderly patterns.
The token bears two ancient characters in the center: "Boundary War". Surrounding the characters are four clan emblems.
They represent the Chi Lineage, the Ju Lineage, the Shangguan Lineage, and the Hua Lineage, respectively.
The moment Qin Yu grasped the token, the orderly patterns inside the token glowed faintly.
An extremely subtle mark of his Fate Soul was recorded within it, and from this moment on, this token belonged only to him.
Shen Qingchen looked at the token in his hand and couldn't help but sigh, "Tsk tsk. This martial arts competition seems to be no simple matter."
The two then entered the inner sanctum at the back, and the moment they truly stepped into the inner sanctum's plaza...
The scene before them startled them slightly; the entire inner hall plaza was enormous, resembling an independent realm.
Looking around, the area was filled with cultivators, numbering at least tens of thousands, and the aura emanating from these people was extremely astonishing.
The lowest level is the Realm Breaking Realm Initial Stage, and many have even reached the Realm Breaking Realm · Supreme.
A few of the strongest individuals have already entered the Mystic Void Realm Initial Stage, but there are almost no cultivators above the Mystic Void Realm.
Because most of the true Mystic Void Realm experts had already entered the Lineage in previous years' martial arts competitions.
Those who did not join the Lineage rarely participated in such selections anymore. Qin Yu slowly raised his gaze.
Looking towards the very top of this plaza, there are four enormous main thrones suspended in mid-air.
Each main seat was like a throne of order, and at this moment, Shen Qingchen said to Qin Yu, "Brother Qin, look, the main seat in the very center..."
The organizers of this grand event are the Chi Lineage.
At the head of the table sat a middle-aged man dressed in a dark blue robe, sitting quietly.
His aura was as deep as the sea, as if the order of the entire space revolved around him.
This person was none other than Chi Boqian, the patriarch of the Chi Family Lineage, whose cultivation was at the Wuji Realm. Behind him, five elderly men with even more profound auras sat side by side.
They were all elders of the Eternal Silence Realm. On the other side was the head of the Ju Lineage, the patriarch Ju Jinyu.
Also Wuji Realm expert, he was accompanied by five Eternal Silence Realm elders.
To the left is the Shangguan Lineage, headed by Shangguan Lingxiao, whose cultivation level is also at the Wuji Realm.
Behind him, five elders of the Eternal Silence Realm stood solemnly, while to his right stood the most mysterious of the Lineage.
In the main seat of the Hua Lineage, a woman with an extremely alluring and aloof demeanor sat quietly.
She wore a long black and red dress, and her eyes exuded a sense of oppression that made people afraid to look directly at her.
She was Hua Nongrui, the head of the Hua Family Lineage, with a cultivation level of the Wuji Realm. Behind her stood five elders of the Eternal Silence Realm.
With all Lineage present, the atmosphere in the inner palace square became extremely solemn at that moment.
Qin Yu and Shen Qingchen stood quietly in the crowd, watching the grand event about to begin.
Time passed slowly as everyone waited.
In the inner hall plaza, tens of thousands of cultivators stood silently, and despite the large number of people, the space remained remarkably quiet.
The main seats of the Lineage hung high in the sky, and their powerful aura, like an invisible dome of order, covered the entire square, making no one dare to make a sound.
The time it takes for an incense stick to burn passes quickly, and just then—"Boom—"
A deep, resonant sound came from outside the main hall.
The towering outer hall gate, thousands of feet high, slowly closed. The massive gate released a stable ripple of order the instant it closed, and the entire hall was immediately sealed off.
All eyes immediately turned to the center of the square, and the next moment a figure slowly emerged from the sky.
It was a middle-aged man wearing a dark blue robe from the Chi Lineage. His figure was steadily suspended in the void, his aura calm and profound, as if he were one with the order of heaven and earth.
The moment his aura appeared, the entire square instantly became even quieter, as everyone felt that suffocating pressure.
--The True Annihilation Realm · Supreme.
The powerful member of the Chi Lineage slowly surveyed the tens of thousands of contestants below, his voice steady yet clear, echoing throughout the entire space.
"Welcome, fellow Daoists, to the Stele Forest Imperial City." "To participate in the grand martial arts tournament hosted by my Chi Lineage."
His voice carried a strange, resonant power; every word seemed to resonate directly within everyone's consciousness.
"I'm sure everyone has already heard at least a little about it." "This year's martial arts tournament" "has different rules from previous years."
A slight commotion broke out in the square as countless people pricked up their ears, and the True Annihilation Realm expert slightly raised his hand.
The next moment, a soft glow spread from his fingertips, and then the space in the center of the square suddenly began to distort.
A massive structure slowly unfolded; it was no ordinary barrier, but a Contemplating the Realm Mirror Domain composed of an ordered structure.
It was a huge interface suspended in mid-air.
The interface has a semi-transparent galaxy color, with countless tiny, orderly textures flowing slowly inside, like a universe in motion.
At the core of the Contemplating the Realm Mirror Domain is a huge circular Realm Mirror, the surface of Realm Mirror is as calm as water.
But when someone observes it, they can see images of another world within it—an extremely ancient observational instrument.
--The Myriad Realms Observation Domain Mirror can simultaneously observe all events occurring within an entire world.
Any being that enters that world will have their actions, trajectory, battles, and opportunities reflected in this Observation Domain Mirror.
The True Annihilation Realm expert slowly said, "In previous years, the martial arts competitions were all conducted through one-on-one duels."
"Finally, sixteen winners will be selected." "They will then join the Lineage." He paused slightly at this point.
"But the number of participants in previous years was far greater than this year." Therefore, this method is not only time-consuming.
"They even extended the entire martial arts tournament to a full month." "So—"
His gaze sharpened. "To save time," and "to avoid lengthy matches," "this year's rules" will be completely changed.
As soon as he finished speaking, a huge world scene suddenly appeared in the Myriad Realms Observation Domain Mirror.
It was an extremely vast area, with countless abyssal cracks between heaven and earth, as if the entire world had been torn apart by some terrifying force.
Countless pitch-black abysses pierce through the chaotic structure of space, while at the center of the world, a vast cluster of abysses stretches out like an endless Black Sea.
The True Annihilation Realm expert slowly spoke. "This year's rules—" "First point," "All participants," "will be randomly teleported to the east of the Stele Forest Imperial City— "
"Within the Endless Abyss Forbidden Zone World." The plaza trembled instantly; many people had clearly heard of this place.
That's a truly perilous place. The powerful figure continued, "All participants must complete the task within one month."
"In the Endless Abyss World— " "I obtained the Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal." At this point, four ancient seals suddenly appeared in the Realm Mirror Observation.
The four marks emanated extremely profound power ripples. "There are only four," the powerful figure continued.
"Remember," "There are only four Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal in the entire Endless Abyss World."
"The four fellow Daoists who ultimately obtain the Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal within a month—" "will directly gain the qualification to enter the Lineage."
The plaza trembled, but the powerful figure continued, "Moreover—" "It's not a selection process," "but direct enlistment."
Those who obtain the Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal can freely choose to join any of the Lineage.
"And they will directly become disciples." "Moreover, each of the four Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal can be obtained by one person at a time."
"If one of you obtains these four Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal, then he/she will be able to directly choose to go to Lineage in the Supreme Transformation Primordial Domain."
These words caused an instant uproar in the square. The rules were simpler than in previous years, but also infinitely more brutal.
The powerful figure added, "Furthermore, the first person to obtain the Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal and successfully leave the Endless Abyss World— "
"You will receive a 'mysterious reward' prepared by my Chi Lineage."
The crowd immediately began to murmur amongst themselves. However, the True Annihilation Realm expert raised his hand, signaling for silence.
"Secondly," "The rules are the same as in previous years," "Anyone who becomes a disciple of Lineage..."
"Their surname must be changed to that of their Lineage." "This point," I believe everyone is aware of.
Many people nodded slightly; this rule had existed for many years, the powerful figure continued.
"Thirdly," his gaze turned slightly cold, "after entering the Endless Abyss World," "there are no restrictions or rules."
The square fell silent instantly; everyone understood what those words meant. It meant—
"You can kill, you can seize, you can fight—everything is unrestrained," the powerful figure said calmly. "Furthermore..."
"All the opportunities and treasures obtained in the Endless Abyss belong to all fellow cultivators."
Hearing this, many people's eyes lit up, and the True Annihilation Realm expert spoke last.
"Finally, a reminder to everyone: You only have one month." "When the one-month deadline is up..."
"My Chi Lineage will completely shut down the Endless Abyss World." His voice became extremely serious.
"Therefore, please remember this: Regardless of whether you obtain the Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal, you must leave within one month."
"Otherwise—" He paused for a moment. "You'll bear the consequences." The entire square fell silent, and countless people's gazes turned serious.
This time, the competition was no longer a contest, but a true battle for survival, and Qin Yu stood among the crowd.
His gaze slowly fell upon the Myriad Realms Observation Domain Mirror, upon that Endless Abyss World.
In his eyes, it seemed to have become a hunting ground about to unleash a storm.