Chapter 353: Two New Lands, The Throat of Defying Fate

As the news of the qualification distribution spread throughout the various races of the Earth Alliance.

The long-silent qualification distribution page on the official Monster World website instantly became the focus of attention.

Countless players without qualifications froze their computer screens on this page, watching the countdown tick away second by second as if each moment were a year.

In the final hour of the countdown, the major cities of Earth seemed to have had a mute button pressed upon them.

The streets of various cities, usually bustling with traffic, became deserted; only automated cleaning robots spun lonely circles on the roads, collecting non-existent trash.

Shops with staff on duty had entered a state of suspended business.

Only unmanned stores remained open under the watch of robots, yet not a single customer arrived.

The fountains in city parks continued to operate according to their programs, water droplets tracing elegant arcs in the air, yet there was not a single spectator to admire them.

At intersections, traffic lights changed colors mechanically; when the red light shone, the empty crosswalks cast long shadows in the sunlight, and when the green light jumped on, still no vehicle or pedestrian broke this eerie silence.

Even the usually popular mainstream forums saw few netizens continuing to post, and the analysis of qualification numbers on live streaming programs had ended ahead of schedule.

The experts who had just been holding forth on the programs were now, like other netizens, back in their rooms.

Waiting for fate's favor.

In contrast to the silence outside, inside every room, a pair of eyes stared intently at a screen.

The official Monster World website also underwent a change at this moment.

A ball of burning scarlet flame appeared on the main page of the qualification distribution section.

When the flames dissipated, what was presented before the players' eyes was:

[Number of qualifications distributed this time: 50 million.]

At this moment, it was as if the entire Earth trembled; players of all races roared with ecstatic joy at this number.

The previously silent world instantly became noisy.

For instance, in a certain residential building, it was as if a thunderclap had been thrown into dead water; windows throughout the building were pushed open one after another, men in pajamas leaning out with clenched fists to roar and shout, while women with disheveled hair rushed to balconies clutching tablets and screaming... such scenes unfolded in cities of all races.

Although the number of qualifications distributed had been increasing, players habitually believed that this round would again be a difficult struggle of "fighting against the world."

Relying on luck to draw a qualification was harder than winning the lottery, with a probability that was negligible.

Yet they never expected that the number of qualifications announced for this round would actually be 50 million player slots.

This meant their probability of obtaining a qualification had successfully broken through the 0.1% barrier, and it also meant that every subsequent round of qualification distribution would not be lower than 50 million.

Within their lifetimes, there was finally hope of entering the Monster World.

For players outside without qualifications, this was an opportunity sufficient to change their destiny.

The Monster World was long no longer merely an entertainment game; after the launch of the Evolution Shop, it had become a ladder to the heavens capable of rewriting reality.

Players could use Sacrificial Power earned within the game to exchange for lifespan and extraordinary power, enough to drive anyone mad.

Meanwhile, within Fate City, thirty thousand pairs of silver eyes simultaneously locked onto the jumping numbers on the screens.

Ming Hou stood at the center of the Fate Tower, using his spiritual power to levitate the portable computer gifted by the Star Net, which displayed the countdown on the qualification draw page.

His slender fingers tapped meaninglessly in the void.

Although he was a Demigod, before the High-Dimensional Gods, his value was clearly no different from that of any other ordinary living being on Earth.

Although they had conducted sacrificial prayers in the most solemn manner.

Whether the Emperor Omen God would respond remained completely unknown.

Perhaps the Emperor Omen God did not care at all.

It was like a group of ants holding a ceremony in what they considered a solemn manner, yet in the eyes of the High-Dimensional Gods, it was merely a meaningless, farcical act.

He had once studied in detail the power structure of the Monster World during ancient times.

At that time, every living being in the entire Monster World was a believer of the Emperor Omen God, including the current God of Reverse Black Tide, as well as the Four Supreme Gods who appeared during the stage of the Calamity War, and so on.

The entire Fate Race, placed before these top-tier beings or even top-tier powers, was undoubtedly nothing more than mortal dust.

So how could the Emperor Omen God care about a sacrificial prayer ceremony led by him with thirty thousand clansmen?

But the reason he still chose to do this was that even if the High-Dimensional Gods did not care.

This was still a way for them to express their respect to the High-Dimensional Gods.

Ten minutes remained on the countdown.

Ming Hou's mood instantly became tense.

He had never been this nervous even when encountering powerful enemies in the Monster World in the past.

Ten minutes was very short, merely the span of time it takes to blink.

But whether or not they drew a qualification meant a gap as vast as that between heaven and earth.

Ming Hou's fingers unconsciously rubbed the rough texture of the "Fate Calamity" scroll tightly gripped in his left hand, which at this moment felt like a red-hot branding iron, scalding his palm until it went numb.

He could clearly hear the suppressed breathing and heavy heartbeats of the thirty thousand clansmen within the city; all clansmen, like him, had fallen into the most anxious waiting.

Ten minutes of time remained.

Such a brief duration, placed within his long lifespan, was nothing more than a flash of light between a snap of the fingers.

Yet now, every second seemed stretched a thousandfold.

Emotions of anticipation and worry intertwined repeatedly.

Their generation was born in the Monster World, burdened from birth with the destiny of climbing to the peak of the world.

This was not a fate one could avoid simply by wanting to give up.

In the cruel laws of survival of the Monster World, there had never been a middle path to choose.

The way of survival there was very simple.

Either step over the corpses of countless living beings to climb to the peak, becoming an existence capable of sitting in the main seat at the "dining table" and using power to formulate one's own rules of the game.

Or become the residue stuck between the teeth of the strong, completely annihilated before even having time to let out a cry of anguish.

The Monster World was not a tender cradle, but an arena paved with skeletons.

He had seen too many races march toward destruction during their development; the tragedy of their final moments received no sympathy.

In such a world, giving up was equivalent to suicide.

If you did not wish to climb, naturally, other races would step on your spine to climb upward.

If you wished to remain safely in a corner, sooner or later you would become an ant casually crushed when others expanded their territories.

The fact that the Fate Race had managed to linger on until today relied never on luck, but on the obsession carved into the bones and blood of every generation.

They must become stronger, they must stand higher, they must become the existence capable of sitting at the table to eat.

Clansmen from various branches roamed throughout the Monster World, earning rule-derived energy through equivalent exchanges, all for the future of their race.

That was why he was so desperate for these player qualifications.

This was mere entertainment and pastime in the eyes of Earth players, yet in his eyes, it was an entry ticket to transform from food into a diner.

It was the opportunity to leap out of the barbaric survival rules of the Monster World.

As long as the Emperor Omen God bestowed grace, they could completely break free from their struggle and embark on a road leading straight to the peak battlefield.

These final ten minutes were the fork in the road that would turn fate toward the light.

If they drew the qualification, the Fate Race could step upon this thread to climb toward the High-Dimensional Gods and touch the hem of the supreme.

"Five minutes remaining."

Just then, the voice of Ming Yun rang out in the spiritual communication channel, interrupting Ming Hou's thoughts.

This follower, who had once doubted his decision to descend upon Earth, now spoke with a tremor in his voice, unable to hide his excitement.

Only when he came to his senses did Ming Hou realize that his silver robe had long been soaked through with cold sweat.

He had long forgotten when he last sweated due to nervousness.

He raised his head to gaze at the sky, his vision piercing through the transparent barrier of the Fate Tower to sweep across the cloud layers.

It was as if he could penetrate the clouds to see the indifferent eyes of the High-Dimensional Gods; the emotions rising in his heart contained both fear of the unknown and the determination of an all-or-nothing gamble.

This was like a gamble unlike any before, yet it was not an equivalent gamble.

The odds of victory were not fifty percent.

Whether they won or lost depended entirely on a single thought of the High-Dimensional Gods.

He took a deep breath, pressing the "Fate Calamity" scroll tightly against his chest, as if doing so could draw power from the flowing incantations within.

Tension wrapped around his core like vines, tightening ever more.

Yet even if his core would leap from his chest the next second, he had to stand here, waiting for the moment that would decide fate to arrive.

The countdown entered its final minute.

"Prepare."

The simple command spread throughout Fate City via the spiritual network.

All clansmen simultaneously took a deep breath, their hands gripping the mice connected to the terminals, trembling uncontrollably.

Ming Hou also slowly closed his eyes at this moment.

At this instant, he was no longer the high-and-mighty Fate Lord of the Fate Race, but merely an ordinary living being waiting alongside his clansmen for the favor of the gods.

All longing would be resolved within these short few seconds.

"Begin."

When the countdown reached zero, following his order, all members of the Fate Race completed their clicks with the utmost speed.

Not counting network transmission speed, the drawing speed of the thirty thousand Fate Race members could rank among the very fastest.

Instantly, identical prompts popped up on all monitors:

[Identity-bound account has applied for qualification acquisition; please wait patiently: The qualification draw will open after 59 minutes and 59 seconds.]

Amidst the countdown, the moonlight had somehow become obscured by dark clouds.

The entire Fate City was shrouded in a peculiar atmosphere; thirty thousand extraordinary beings sat restlessly, like mortal students waiting for the release of college entrance examination results.

His emotions were completely out of control.

They even felt restless and uneasy.

Just recently, a special Fate Soul that sent them into ecstasy had been added to the Fate Soul Vault: Strong Luck.

Bad Luck plus Strong Luck—if they could enter the Monster World, they dared not imagine how happy they would be.

But before obtaining qualification, everything imagined in their minds was merely an illusory bubble.

The final thirty minutes of the countdown.

The young clansmen, unable to contain their impatience, began pacing unconsciously within the room.

The final minute of the countdown.

The crystal stones of the Fate Tower suddenly ignited with a blinding light.

Ming Hou took a deep breath and slowly raised his right hand.

The spiritual networks of thirty thousand clansmen synchronized completely in this instant; like a bowstring drawn to its limit, they began reciting the prayer oath of the Fate Clan.

The moment the countdown hit zero, the hearts of all Fate Clan members tightened to the extreme.

Their gazes remained fixed on the screen without blinking, daring not to relax even slightly.

At this moment, Ming Hou, just like his clansmen, clenched his fists tightly, staring straight at the screen.

In the center of the brilliant radiance blooming on the screen, a line of scarlet characters leaped out:

[Congratulations, you have successfully obtained player qualification. Identity information has been bound. Please enter the Monster World within one hour to activate and use it.]

"Hahaha."

Laughter burst forth from his throat, uncontrollable.

Identical laughter echoed across different regions of the clan lands, accompanied by sighs of disappointment.

"How many clansmen obtained qualification?" Ming Hou suppressed his joy and asked excitedly.

Facing the inquiry, the clansmen who had drawn qualification spoke up one after another within the spiritual network.

After tallying the results, Ming Hou discovered with delight that a total of thirty-two clansmen had obtained player qualification in this round of distribution.

Although the number was small, this already proved that they could obtain qualification from every round of distribution.

This news made him unable to resist clenching his fist in excitement.

As for time.

They had plenty of time; they could wait through long years on Earth.

Those clansmen who did not obtain qualification could also assist their kin in growing within the Monster World by watching the livestreams.

Providing assistance on the level of knowledge.

"Members who obtained qualification, enter the game. For now, develop freely; when the time is ripe, I will summon you."

Having spoken, Ming Hou decisively approached the game pod.

He reached out to press the 'Start' button, waved his hand to shed his silver robes, and climbed into the game pod to lie flat.

The game pod was specially designed by the Eclipse Clan after collecting data from Fate Clan members, making its size perfectly suitable.

As for the nutrient fluid, it was optional and utterly meaningless.

Their bodies, even after death, could remain incorruptible and undecayed on Earth for long years.

After the neural tubes connected to various parts of his body, Ming Hou decisively relaxed his mental defenses.

Otherwise, relying solely on the game pod's built-in mental connection function, it would be impossible to breach the barriers of his spiritual sea.

After a wait of several seconds, his vision gradually sank into darkness.

When clarity returned, he was already at the virtual desktop, with a background showing a dynamic image of Earth filmed from space.

Apart from the 'Virtual Functions' icon, there was only a burning scarlet flame icon, labeled below with four characters: Monster World.

Upon his consciousness touching it, a powerful suction force attacked.

His consciousness instantly fell into a confused state, half-dreaming and half-awake.

When his consciousness returned to its place, what appeared before his eyes was the opening scene demonstration.

Each scene had its corresponding features, with representative factions displayed within the visuals.

Apart from the Earthshaker Continent region, Ming Hou was familiar with the environments and regions of the Pale Continent.

Returning once again to the cruel Monster World, yet his mindset was entirely different.

He was now a player; he could play however he wished without any restrictions, backed by an infinite margin for error.

Admiring the opening scenes, Ming Hou suddenly felt high-spirited and vigorous.

The magnificent rivers and mountains of this Monster World were originally so beautiful; with a player's mindset, he completely filtered out the hidden danger factors within the different scenes.

When the demonstration of all scenes ended, a blue crystal wall containment barrier appeared before Ming Hou.

Upon it were selectable Fate Souls, which were the Rules.

Even within the Monster World, Rules were the rarest strategic-level resources.

Ming Hou's fingertips hovered before the crystal wall, trembling slightly.

The power of Rules that required his entire clan to fight bloody battles to seize in the Monster World was now listed before his eyes like commodities.

Within each crystal wall, the Primordial Monsters radiated a tempting aura in his eyes.

"Truly... stimulating." His voice was so dry it did not sound like his own.