Chapter 2216: Twilight Island

【Arrived at Void · Twilight Island.】

The weightlessness of the teleportation faded, and Su Xiao sat on a black stone step, a faint chill drifting from it.

Su Xiao scanned his surroundings. This was an abandoned hall of about a thousand square meters, full of historical atmosphere. Stone pillars stood in rows, and the marble floor was free of dust, clearly cleaned regularly.

Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang, Amu, Baja, and Beni were all near Su Xiao; this could be considered the most concentrated teleportation point yet.

The abandoned hall was not empty; more than a dozen men and women stood in the distance—no, that description wasn't quite accurate, as some were clearly not human.

Among them was a demi-human covered in scales with a head resembling a lizard. It would be a mistake to think his attire was primitive; he wore high-tech armor, with metal replacing scales on vital areas like his neck. At this moment, the demi-human was adjusting a terminal on his forearm.

Near this demi-human was a girl with pointed ears wearing a thin gauze dress. She occasionally bared her small tiger teeth, tapping her finger in front of her; she looked fierce yet cute. This was a girl from the Dream Spirit race.

These dozen or so people were likely representatives from over a dozen factions. They looked solemn and had clearly already formed alliances.

Spatial fluctuations appeared, and a few more arrived. They exchanged glances and then dispersed, standing or sitting in various places.

Aside from the small group whispering to each other, most remained silent.

Su Xiao sat on the innermost step of the abandoned hall, a position that offered a clear view of the entire hall.

Su Xiao hooked his fingers into the step beside him, pulled off a piece of black stone, clenched his fist, and pressed his thumb against it.

With a push of his thumb, the stone block was launched toward the window.

Crackle—

A blue energy grid surged, and the stone block instantly evaporated into gas, gradually dissipating in the air. Clearly, leaving here was not currently possible.

"Xiang Bubu."

"Woof."

Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang immediately understood Su Xiao's intent: find a way to scout the situation.

Spatial fluctuations appeared occasionally, and after about half an hour, no more appeared. Everyone had arrived.

There were about a hundred people in the abandoned hall. There were 56 factions in the Seventh Hegemony Zone, meaning an average of about two people per faction.

Su Xiao scanned the hall. Among the hundred, four had the strongest auras. One was a woman wearing black feather robes with blue eyeshadow. It was hard to judge the age of a Feather race member, but she looked to be between 20 and 30.

Besides this Feather race member, there were two identical-looking boys. Both were bald, their heads covered in barcodes, and on their foreheads were gray "£" symbols—the mark of the Death Paradise.

The last one wore full-body armor that didn't look cumbersome. Their head was also covered by a helmet, making it impossible to tell if they were male or female. Through elimination, Su Xiao judged this to be the representative of the "Transcendental · Native World · Meteorite Star."

Aside from these four, the others had weaker auras.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Hegemony of the Strong. I am the guide notarized by the Tree of the Void, Wago Mo."

A deep, rich, and androgynous voice echoed, drawing the gaze of nearly everyone.

"This round of the Hegemony of the Strong adopts an elimination system."

The man calling himself Wago pressed a hand to his chest and smiled. He wore small round sunglasses, attire resembling a tailcoat, and his hair, about the thickness of a pinky finger, was tied back.

"Devil race?"

The female Feather race member, leaning against a stone pillar with her arms crossed, spoke. She clearly belonged to the type who didn't joke around.

"Correct, friend from the Feather race. I have the honor of being the notary for this event. If you have any doubts, please submit them to the Tree of the Void."

Wago raised a hand to push up his small round sunglasses, his blood-red eyes narrowing beneath them.

"Elimination mechanism? You will know soon. During this process, if anyone violates the rules... apologies, a slip of the tongue. There are no rules in the elimination system. The strong live, the weak... die."

Wago let out a laugh unique to the Devil race; it wasn't exactly sinister, but it was unsettling to hear.

"No rules? Does that mean we can kill each other right now?"

The twin brothers from the Death Paradise stood up. As favorites to win, their words drew the vigilance of the crowd.

"I never said that."

The corners of Wago's mouth curled wider, clearly implying consent.

"In that case, let's begin. Let's take out... the people from the Reincarnation Paradise first."

The armored man from Meteorite Star spoke, and only then did the crowd judge his gender.

"Agreed."

A voice came from the crowd, from the group of nearly thirty people who had already gathered. They were mostly small and medium-sized races from the Void, and as the weaker side, they chose to unite temporarily.

No one could tell who had said "Agreed," only that the person was within that group.

Bang! A shockwave spread, and the twin brothers lunged out, their target being Wago of the Devil race.

Clang!

The slender arm blades were blocked by an invisible barrier, and the corners of Wago's eyes clearly twitched.

"Do we... look... that stupid?"

The twin brothers spoke in sequence. The two of them seemed to have no distinction between them, even finishing each other's sentences.

The slender arm blades began to dissolve, eventually clinging back onto the twin brothers' bodies.

"Just a bit of entertainment before we kill each other. No need to be so serious."

As Wago spoke, the clothing on her body surged, and in an instant, she transformed into the appearance of the Feather race woman.

"Little brothers, stay calm."

Wago winked her left eye. At that moment, a pair of cold eyes looked over—it was the female Feather race member. Black feathers drifted around her, and her sharp, black-blue fingertips seemed ready to tear Wago's throat open at any second.

Clearly, Wago was not the guide notarized by the Tree of the Void, but a participant in the Hegemony of the Strong. She had pulled off a perfect provocation. She could transform into anyone's appearance, even disguise her aura, and whether the name "Wago" was real or fake, only she knew. That was why she dared to provoke everyone; she wasn't participating in the Hegemony of the Strong to reach a high ranking, but to seek higher status and catch the attention of a major figure in the Void.

It was for this reason that Wago chose to expose her ability now.

Click, click—

Footsteps approached, and the main gate of the abandoned hall swung open. A figure stood outside, its aura nothing short of terrifying: a rat-headed human with sharp claws, dragging a long tail embedded with spiral metal patterns, and an energy shotgun that looked primitive but was actually highly advanced hanging at its waist.

This was the real guide. Due to the situation in the "Seventh Hegemony Zone," Master Rat had received the summons from the Tree of the Void to serve as the guide.

"All participants, follow behind me. Whoever dares to act out will have their skull blown off."

Master Rat left these words and walked out.

The abandoned hall was silent for a moment before Wago was the first to step out. On the way, she transformed into a leopard. She had already achieved half of her goal.

Soon, most of the participants in the abandoned hall had left. Su Xiao put away his tablet and also stood up to walk out.

Stepping out of the abandoned hall, Su Xiao arrived at an open space in front of a forest. Nearly a hundred participants were nearby, and Master Rat was rummaging through something in a mechanical combat vehicle.

"My little treasure, so you were here."

Master Rat dragged a metal box out of the combat vehicle and leaped lightly onto its top.

"The rules for the Seventh Hegemony Zone are very simple, that is..."

Under the gaze of all participants, Master Rat stalled. He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his bosom, read it carefully for a moment, cleared his throat, and continued:

"There are many participants in this Hegemony of the Strong, so it is divided into five stages. The first stage is an elimination system. You will spend the next three days on this island. Kill one person, get 1 point. After three days, the top 5 in points advance. As for those lucky ones who are still alive after the top 5, congratulations, you get a consolation prize. After being eliminated, you go back home—provided you managed to get 1 point. Otherwise, you won't even qualify to be eliminated; you will just be... bang!"

Master Rat spread its claws. As soon as these words were spoken, most participants looked worried. The Hegemony of the Strong was more brutal than they had imagined; it wasn't a tournament or arena battle, but a survival game, and this was only the first round.

"As for the second stage, that process is relatively long, and the third stage is very interesting..."

Master Rat did not elaborate on the second and third stages.

"By the fourth stage, an arena capable of holding 300,000 spectators will be ready. Don't worry, the spectators are all participants in the Hegemony of the Strong; no idlers have the qualification to watch."

Having said this, Master Rat's tone shifted.

"And the fifth stage, the final stage, is only open to those who reach the top ten in the fourth round. The final stage... is the place for the peak showdown. The prize for the final winner is enough to change anyone's destiny. That thing is something even I, or the old immortals in your races, would covet. So, make your deaths spectacular."

After saying this, Master Rat laughed wildly and arrogantly, but noticing no one else was laughing, it stomped on the metal box beneath its feet.

"Inside here are 50 complete Soul Crystals, an advanced Alchemy formula, two mechanical structure diagrams unique to the Bana Little People, and a certificate for a large high-vibration steel mine located in the Void. Who will be favored by luck and get these things?"

As soon as Master Rat said this, the gaze of nearly everyone focused on the metal box beneath its feet.

Complete Soul Crystals were a very scarce resource in the Void. It wasn't that the Void didn't produce them, but there were too many uses for them, and demand exceeded supply. As time went on, Soul Crystals became scarcer, leading to skyrocketing prices and even greater rarity.

The advanced Alchemy formula was something Su Xiao wanted. As for the "mechanical structure diagrams unique to the Bana Little People," Su Xiao had little interest in them; given Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang's relationship with the Bana Little People, he had no use for them. If he needed anything, he could just have the Bana Little People custom-make it.

And the "certificate for a large high-vibration steel mine" was a valuable mineral resource in the Void; its price was self-evident.

Master Rat scanned the surroundings, and finally, its gaze locked onto a bird-man, a bird-man with wings on his back.

"Kid, it's yours."

Master Rat kicked the metal box away. The box's size rapidly shrank, and by the time it floated beside the bird-man, it was only the size of a fist.

"Forgot to tell you, this thing can only be opened after three days, so take it and run. The Hegemony of the Strong, Seventh Hegemony Zone, first stage... begin!"