Chapter 273: Kun Tribe! Kun Peng!

Second Stage, the battle zone.

The scene is not much different from Stage One, still a vast, boundless ancient region, though the terrain has changed slightly.

The sky remains an odd pale violet, with several differently colored suns hanging overhead.

As the cold, majestic voice of will from the Great Thousand Divine Universe reverberates through the mind again, it declares the rules of this stage.

It is still a brutal free‑for‑all, ultimately selecting only one hundred who advance.

Swish swish swish!

Thousands of guiding light beams, like dense raindrops, descend from the sky, striking every corner of the battle zone.

When the light fades, a host of powerful‑aura, uniquely formed young Saint Kings are revealed.

These Heavenly Prouds, clearly the winners who emerged from their respective Stage One battle zones, have sharper gazes, more refined auras, and the Primordial Force swirling around them is noticeably stronger than that of the Stage One Heavenly Prouds.

Many figures are enveloped in dazzling radiance, some with bloodline anomalies, some with divine rune sigils; their edges fully exposed, confidence soaring, bearing a killing aura that seems to have burst from the Corpse Mountain Blood Sea.

"Hmph, Stage One was just an appetizer; this Stage Two is the real beginning!"

"One hundred slots? That's enough! I will claim one!"

"I wonder what interesting opponents this stage will bring?"

Their gazes flash like lightning as they swiftly scan the surroundings, assessing potential opponents, their battle intent burning like tangible flame.

Yet, among the glittering stars, a figure stands out, completely out of place with the tense, intense atmosphere.

Ye Wuque stands calmly on a slightly elevated slope, his Black Robe gently fluttering in the breeze.

He watches the thousands of eager, fierce Heavenly Prouds below, his gaze ancient and still as a well, as if observing a drama unrelated to himself.

These geniuses, each at the pinnacle of their own Star Domain, are, in his eyes, no fundamentally different from the beings of Stage One.

He has neither interest nor need to waste any time on them.

Just before the melee erupts, Ye Wuque slightly shakes his head, silently murmuring, "Force, contract ten thousandfold..."

Immediately, his thought flickers, and once again... a strand of oppressive pressure silently spreads.

This time, he deliberately limits the power to the edge of his own perception, fearing to repeat the mistake of Stage One.

Buzz—!

An invisible, formless yet seemingly emanating from the Nine Heavens Divine Peaks, a heavy pressure of the vast star sea, instantly envelops the entire Stage Two battle zone!

The Heavenly Prouds poised to roar and charge find the battle intent and confidence on their faces instantly frozen, replaced by boundless horror and bewilderment!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

As if struck by an invisible giant hammer, thousands of figures—regardless of their strong clan, secret arts, or whether they are a few‑step Saint King—collapse uniformly to the ground like harvested stalks of rice.

Even more decisive and swift than Stage One!

Not even a ripple of resistance arose!

The entire battle zone once again falls into Dead Silence.

Only the countless wide eyes, filled with extreme shock, incomprehension, even collapse, stare fixedly at that Black Robe Figure.

"Who is this?!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!"

"Who on earth is he?! Why is he so overwhelmingly powerful?!"

"Aaaah... Wo Ni Ma!!"

The silent scream echoes in their minds, yet cannot alter any outcome.

The light flickers; aside from Ye Wuque, all the other Heavenly Prouds are bewildered and incredulous as they are teleported away.

Stage Two ends.

Ye Wuque advances.

Stage Three, the battle zone.

The rules remain simple and brutal—free‑for‑all, keep a hundred.

This time the descending Heavenly Prouds exude even more domineering auras; among them appear the top few‑step Saint Kings, their killing aura soaring, gazes disdainful, clearly veterans of bloodshed with absolute confidence in their strength.

Ye Wuque again employs his old technique, letting that barely perceptible strand of oppressive pressure spread once more.

Thump thump…

Almost every Heavenly Pride, just like in the previous two stages, is unambiguously suppressed in an instant, collapsing, eyes filled with shock and horror.

Yet among the fallen figures, there is one silhouette; although his body also convulses violently, his face turns deathly pale, spitting blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, he... somehow does not immediately lose consciousness or get eliminated like the others!

He kneels on one knee, a hand pressed firmly against the ground, veins bulging on his arm, his entire skeleton emitting continuous creaking sounds, as if bearing the weight of the whole world!

He jerks his head up, eyes as sharp as a hawk's, filled with extreme shock and horror, yet deeper lies an indomitable, sky‑piercing... defiant battle will!

He is actually trying... to resist this oppressive pressure!

"Hm?"

Ye Wuque lets out a light exclamation, his gaze for the first time bearing a hint of genuine scrutiny, landing on that figure.

It is a seemingly young teenager, with a resolute face, bronze‑colored skin, clad in simple sturdy attire, his aura immensely dense, and his cultivation astonishingly reaches... five‑step Saint King!

In this Stage where two‑step and three‑step Saint Kings dominate, a five‑step Saint King is truly a crane standing among chickens!

No wonder he can, under Ye Wuque's strand of pressure, barely sustain the instant, and even spark battle will.

Even though this is merely one hundred‑quadrillionth of Ye Wuque's own pressure!

But!

That alone suffices to prove this child's extraordinary nature!

"Not bad."

Ye Wuque speaks lightly, his voice calm yet tinged with appreciation.

"Tell me your name."

The boy stared intently at Ye Wuque, as if he wanted to carve that face into his soul.

He gasped violently, then spat out a large mouthful of clotted blood; his voice was hoarse, yet carried an unyielding, dignified vigor:

"Kun Clan… Kun Peng!"

"Kun Clan?" Ye Wuque's Dark Eye narrowed slightly.

That name evoked a distant memory for him.

It was back when he was still in the Human Realm that he once met a woman from the Kun Clan named Kun Chan.

That woman left an extremely deep impression on him; her brilliance and strength remain vivid in his mind even now.

He did not expect that, in this Great Thousand Divine Universe trial, he would encounter another person from the Kun Clan, and likewise extraordinary.

Watching Kun Peng struggle to hold on, his fighting spirit unyielding, a hint of admiration for his talent rose in his heart.

This youth's temperament is resilient, his talent superb; his future achievements are boundless, and it would indeed be a pity if he stopped here.

Ye Wuque's thoughts shifted, and the oppressive pressure surrounding Kun Peng vanished instantly like a receding tide.