Chapter 627: The group competition has ended, but the true danger has only just begun

But it won't be like this anymore!

Gu Ling had already secretly made up their mind: they would start with the Ancestral Sacrifice God, gradually weaken the opponent's combat power, and then completely slay the opponent!

Having thought that, they began to circulate their qi with both hands; a faint spiritual power surged around their body, flowing along the meridians to the palm.

It's almost here……

Just a little more!

This primordial qi and primordial purple qi must belong to the Nine Provinces World!

The one standing at the pinnacle of the myriad worlds must be the Nine Provinces World!

……

"Found it!"

Just then, the Ancestral Sacrifice God suddenly opened their eyes.

A pair of lively eyes stared fixedly at the distant sky.

"Above?"

The spectators outside the venue also followed the Ancestral Sacrifice God's gaze, but to them nothing seemed unusual.

Although the sky was already a sheet of blood-red, space did not undergo any disturbance.

"What did they discover?"

The Black Emperor frowned, arms crossed, staring solemnly at the firmament.

He constantly reminded himself not to miss any detail!

But now, he actually couldn't synchronize with the Ancestral Sacrifice God inside!

Perhaps the opponent had already discovered Gu Ling's trail, but to the Black Emperor everything seemed normal!

Inside the arena, a low roar from the Ancestral Sacrifice God also caught the Talented Empress's attention.

Only saw the Talented Empress's mouth curl slightly, her hand movement following the Ancestral Sacrifice God's gaze as she unleashed a palm strike!

Boom!!

In the palm, a dazzling light shot straight toward the heavens!

For a moment, that beam of light shooting toward the heavens swept across the entire sky, directly piercing the far end!

The blinding light bursting forth made everyone present unable to open their eyes.

"Ah!"

"What kind of divine ability technique is this?!"

"Have they found any clues?"

Rumble—

Immediately followed by a deafening explosion, the void above burst open, and the blood-red sky was instantly covered by golden light!

Relying solely on her own strength, the Talented Empress reversed the heavenly rhythm!

At that moment, bathed in golden light, Gu Ling, hidden in the folded space, had nowhere to hide!

That frail figure appeared in the void.

"Sure enough, there they are!"

The Ancestral Sacrifice God smiled confidently, stepped into the air, formed a seal with one hand, and released a streak of black-purple aura from the chest!

"Gu Ling, where do you think you can run now?!"

Before the words even faded, the vortex in their hand shot out like an arrow from a bow!

Gu Ling, who had been seeking an opportunity to ambush in midair, was now frightened pale as ash!

"How could this happen? … How could my spatial formation be seen through?!"

This is simply inconceivable!

Gu Ling was terrified beyond measure, seeing the Ancestral Sacrifice God pounce like a tiger descending the mountain; he hurriedly mobilized all his spiritual power, trying to block this fatal strike!

However, his speed could not compare to the Ancestral Sacrifice God's heart-piercing strike!

Before Gu Ling could set up a defensive formation, the Ancestral Sacrifice God's heaven-shaking vortex pierced his chest.

Heaven-breaking strike!

Whoosh—

A beam of light shot straight into the clouds; after a brief blinding flash, it gradually faded……

"Mmm……"

Gu Ling stared wide-eyed, looking far down at the Talented Empress and the Ancestral Sacrifice God, unable to believe they would end up like this.

He had once imagined how he would celebrate the Nine Provinces World's victory in the first round, planning to lead the glory and everyone's expectations of the Nine Provinces World to the peak, seizing the primordial qi and primordial purple qi.

He even dreamed of joining the Sect of the Cutting and receiving a personal audience from the great Ye Qin.

These scenes, however, now flickered before his eyes like a slideshow……

At this moment, he spat black blood.

His chest was torn open in a huge wound, his five viscera and six bowels shattered, black blood pouring forth like a spring.

Finally, he collapsed beneath this heaven-shaking strike.

Falling from the high sky, he dropped into the molten lava he himself had created, turning to ash.

"Hah……"

The Ancestral Sacrifice God gathered in all their strength and let out a long breath.

"Looks like we won……"

……

The Chaos World, utterly silent.

Countless people stared at the sky, stood frozen in place, their faces filled with disbelief. They didn't understand how Zuji Shen and Caiqing Nüdi had created this miracle that everyone thought impossible.

Moreover, how could the final golden light illuminate the ancient ling within the folded space? This question lingered in everyone's mind.

"It's truly spectacular…"

Duobao Daoist stood up smiling and nodded toward several Sect of the Cutting disciples in the rear of the Chaotic World.

This meant that the third round of the team competition had ended.

"The match is over; the winners are Zuji Shen and Caiqing Nüdi from the Flawless Heaven and Earth. Let's give them a warm round of applause!"

This battle was not only the debut of Zuji Shen and Caiqing Nüdi, but also a magnificent feat in which they turned the tables despite being outnumbered.

Despite everyone doubting them, they faced four opponents with just two of them and ended with a stunning, heaven‑shaking blow.

It simply stunned the entire audience.

Soon, the formation of the one world was withdrawn, and Zuji Shen and the other were sent back to the Chaotic World.

At that moment, everyone spontaneously cheered, offering them a warm round of applause.

In the crowd, Hei Di also expressed his respect without reservation.

"What a wonderful match… it got my blood boiling."

Duan Di stood aside, clicking his tongue in amazement, already eager to give it a try.

He kept wanting to spar with Zuji Shen and her companions more and more.

Facing the crowd's enthusiasm, Zuji Shen and Caiqing Nüdi merely nodded slightly, showing no excessive joy. However, after winning the first 749 Bureau, the stone in their hearts finally fell.

Looking back, it still felt perilous.

"Zuji Shen, your performance just now was amazing."

Bixiao rushed through the crowd to the two of them, shouting excitedly.

"Sister Bixiao, you're overpraising us; we merely performed at our normal level."

"Whether it's overpraise or not, your performance just now was indeed impressive. I even saw many people at the scene stunned by you. Speaking of which, how did you later find the location of the ancient ling? I don't have a single clue."

Bixiao asked curiously.

Given her strength, she should have been able to see through the ancient ling's little tricks… but in fact, she noticed nothing at all.

Even though she projected herself into one world to experience it firsthand, she still sensed no abnormality.

Conversely, after some discussion, Zuji Shen and Caiqing Nüdi suddenly felt enlightened and quickly came up with a countermeasure.

No mistake, one poem, one launch, one internal, one tolerance, at one one look!

Zuji Shen smiled faintly and said softly: "Actually it's not difficult; this is just a little trick of ours……"

"A little trick?" Bixiao became even more puzzled.

"Yeah, we initially couldn't find where the ancient ling was hiding. But later, Sister Caiqing Nüdi suddenly realized that the opponent had to completely defeat us to win this match, so they would inevitably launch another attack……"

"Based on this, we only need to lie in wait, mobilize our full Spiritual Power to prepare. When the opponent launches an attack, we will release an aura to shock them; it takes just a short second to pull them out of the folded space."

Bixiao, although she still only half‑understood, managed to grasp some of the reasoning.

However, such combat techniques are meaningless if discussed only on paper.

……

Soon, the third round of the team competition ended, and then came the fourth round, fifth round……

Powerhouses from all heavens and myriad worlds entered one after another, exerting their utmost and displaying their bottom‑box techniques to complete this challenge.

In the end, more than half of the competitors were eliminated.

Those who advanced would proceed directly to the second type of competition.

At this moment, in the Chaotic World, everyone's excitement had vanished, replaced by tension and anxiety……

The competition became harder as it went on, and moreover, no mistake could be afforded.

Nobody wants to be eliminated just as they are about to reach the finish line.

Nor does anyone want to wear the label of a loser.

Facing the crowd, Duobao Daoist cleared his throat, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and spoke passionately:

"Congratulations on making it through the first round; then, without further delay, let's jump straight into the second round challenge!"

After the ordeal and challenge of the first-round team competition, most people felt the competition mechanism was somewhat cruel and ruthless. Initially, perhaps many had joined with the mindset of enjoying the fun of battling strong opponents.

However, as time passed, this mindset gradually changed. Now, almost everyone has fallen into an almost "frenzied" state, swearing to claim first place before they will rest!

"Next, I will give everyone a detailed explanation of the process and rules of the second competition." Duobao Daoist said calmly from his elevated position.

"The second round will use an individual format—no teams, no grouping, with each person's score calculated independently." He continued, "We will have the disciples of the Sect of Cutting conjure ferocious beasts and release them into a realm. You must break out of the encirclement from this perilous realm and strive to obtain the highest score."

After hearing this set of rules, everyone's faces showed a complex expression. To them, the teams formed in the first round now have to disband directly, which is indeed somewhat cruel!

As soon as Duobao Daoist finished speaking, an uproar erupted below.

"How did we suddenly switch to an individual format?"

"Moreover, we have to face the ferocious beasts conjured by the Sect of Cutting disciples—this is too hard!"

"Whether it's Cultivation Level or strength, we basically can't match up to the Sect of Cutting disciples!"

"This isn't deliberately making things difficult for us, is it?"

Some people, upon hearing the rules, already felt timid, worrying that facing the Sect of Cutting disciples' ferocious beasts alone would be horrific; but most people were filled with fighting spirit!

After experiencing the first round, they all steadfastly held the same belief: they would not rest until they achieved their goal!

"Great! If there are no objections, we will now jointly activate the spatial formation to send everyone to an independent world. I hope you all achieve good results!" After saying this, Duobao Daoist gave a glance to his fellow disciples behind him.

Several Sect of Cutting disciples understood instantly and exerted force together. In an instant, spiritual energy surged in the chaotic world, and a powerful current instantly enveloped all the participants ahead. In the blink of an eye, everyone vanished into thin air.

"Phew... Although I already knew this would happen, seeing it again still feels quite shocking." Bixiao stood in place, gazing at the empty expanse ahead, and remarked emotionally.

The competition venue is set in an independent space, a world that no one can interfere with; whatever happens inside will have no effect on the outside world. Here, one can revel to one's heart's content, or wreak wanton destruction!

On this vast, boundless wasteland, the mighty of all heavens are scattered everywhere, each harboring the same goal: to break out of the encirclement from this perilous savage land, slay as many ferocious beasts as possible, and earn high scores.

Black Emperor, Lord of the Great Wilderness, and Chu Emperor were sent to the edge of an ant nest; nearby was a barren wasteland, empty of anything. The ground was littered with the carcasses and shattered bones of wild beasts, making Black Emperor feel a creepy sensation.

Although they knew these bones might just be illusory phantoms, they looked extraordinarily real, making it hard for them to believe they were actually in a virtual space!

"Sigh..." Black Emperor looked ahead at Lord of the Great Wilderness and Chu Emperor, sighed, and said, "To be honest, I really don't want to compete separately from you; it feels like I'm bullying you."

"Cut it out! I still don't know your weight!" Chu Emperor scratched his head and complained, "All I can say is that this second round of the competition is clearly meant to toy with us; the team we painstakingly formed now has to be split up."

"So are we considered opponents now?" Black Emperor pointed at Chu Emperor and asked Lord of the Great Wilderness.

"In theory, yes." Lord of the Great Wilderness answered without hesitation, "So you can now start killing each other; eliminating an opponent means one less competitor."

Black Emperor and Chu Emperor exchanged a glance, and an invisible pressure instantly enveloped them. Just as they were about to attack, Lord of the Great Wilderness interrupted them.

"Or... we could cooperate."

"Huh?" Chu Emperor looked bewildered, "Didn't Senior Brother Duobao say this is an individual competition format? Points are calculated based on the number of ferocious beasts each person kills, and only those with high points can advance to the next round!"

"That's indeed what was said... but did Senior Brother Duobao ever say we can't team up privately?" Lord of the Great Wilderness's words left Chu Emperor speechless.

"Yeah! Indeed, it wasn't said! Maybe the rule of this second round is to let us secretly find partners to team up and then crush the opponents!" Black Emperor slapped his forehead, thinking he'd come up with a clever idea no one else had, only to receive a contemptuous look from Lord of the Great Wilderness.

"Your idea comes from a good place, but I suggest you not overthink it... teaming up is allowed, but probably not too openly. To win, following the rules is indeed the way. After all, in this created independent world, although we are opponents, we also share a common enemy."

"Ferocious beasts!" Black Emperor and Chu Emperor said in unison.

"That's right... but besides that, our greater threat comes from all directions... In this second round of the competition, it's not just about who kills more ferocious beasts, but also about who can survive to the end with the most points!"

There is a clause in the rules that left everyone silent: no matter how many points one has, upon death the points are reset to zero. If killed by another, the points go to the killer.

This rule, like a heavy cloud of gloom, hangs over everyone's heart.

"Tsk..." Black Emperor stroked his chin, thinking carefully, "If Lao Huang is right, then this competition is basically a battle royale."

The contest is no longer just about the number of ferocious beasts killed, but about who can survive longer. Killing ferocious beasts is secondary; the key is how to stay alive after killing them, which is of utmost importance! (End of chapter)