Chapter 719 - 228: Ascension to Stellar Rank! The 999-Story Immortal Tower! Clash of the Titans! Target: Champion

Chapter 719: Chapter 228: Ascension to Stellar Rank! The 999-Story Immortal Tower! Clash of the Titans! Target: Champion

A hint of an admiring smile touched Caesar’s impossibly handsome face.

"Qin Feng, the legends about the Extreme Warband’s Ten-Complete Hand are true. Its terrifying power is far beyond what I imagined."

"I was just lucky."

Qin Feng’s expression remained placid. He shook his head slightly, his deep gaze locked onto Caesar’s as he asked in a level tone, "I just don’t understand why you initiated this meaningless ’Forced Duel Order.’"

We both know full well that as Stellar-level combatants, it’s impossible to settle things in a short amount of time unless one of us has a completely overwhelming advantage.

Isn’t this just a complete waste of our time?"

"Hahahahaha—"

Caesar let out another great laugh.

"Well said! As you pointed out, it’s nearly impossible for two Stellar-level combatants to settle things! And that... is the very reason I’m here."

A glint of wisdom shone in his golden eyes as his tone shifted. "Qin Feng, from the very beginning, I’ve had no ill will toward you."

My goal is the same as yours: I just want to make it into the top 100 of this war zone.

"So, at this point, you should understand my true intentions."

"..."

Qin Feng fell silent.

His brows knitted slightly, but his mind was racing at an unprecedented speed.

Caesar’s words were like a bolt of lightning, cleaving through the fog in his mind and instantly connecting all the seemingly unrelated clues!

’...nearly impossible to settle things... no ill will... goal is the top 100...’

The keywords collided and reassembled in his mind.

A strange smile, tinged with self-mockery and sudden understanding, slowly spread across his face.

He had clearly figured it out—the truly earth-shattering scheme Caesar had hidden beneath all his arrogant posturing.

Qin Feng chuckled in disbelief. He looked up at Caesar and said slowly, "So, you’ve had your eye on me ever since I laid the first Brick Stone of the Immortal Tower in the Subspace Pure Land?"

"That’s right."

Caesar nodded frankly, making no attempt to hide his admiration.

"Otherwise, why would I have taken such a huge risk to activate the Betting Order and launch a forced assault on your five star systems?"

"With my power, wouldn’t it have been far easier and safer to just pick off a few weaker star systems one by one?"

"..."

Qin Feng nodded slightly, and the last wisp of doubt in his mind dissipated completely.

He understood everything.

’From the very beginning, Caesar had been watching me from the core region of the Subspace Golden Throne.’

’He saw through the true nature of the Cosmic Genius Battle long before anyone else. Once the competition reached its middle and late stages and more and more top prodigies ascended to the ’immortal’ Stellar-level, individual combat would become meaningless.’

’A single battle could drag on for centuries, even millennia, without a decisive outcome. Trying to plunder resources and climb the ranks simply by killing others would become inefficient—an impossible task, even.’

’The entire competition was only a thousand years long, and three hundred and ninety of those had already passed.’

’At that point, the only way to stand out from the tens, even hundreds of millions of geniuses and break into the final top 100 would be through unity!’

’Only by completely integrating the top powers of a star system—or even several star systems—into an efficient war machine could one hope to conquer and plunder with unstoppable force in the coming inter-system conflicts, seizing vast amounts of resources!’

’And all of Caesar’s previous actions, which seemed to be for the rewards of the Betting Order, were merely a facade.’

’His true purpose was to use a brutal external war to forcibly forge cohesion and loyalty among the unruly prodigies under his command!’

Just like what was happening now.

’Although he had failed the Betting Order, he had immediately followed up by initiating the ’Forced Duel Order,’ once again shouldering everyone’s hopes.’

’This series of actions had long since established him as a god-like figure among the Martial Artists of star system #99, his prestige at its zenith. Everyone was filled with gratitude and admiration for him. He had won their hearts and minds; the momentum was his.’

’Qin Feng even suspected Caesar had lost to him on purpose.’

’And as for myself? After this series of trials, I had likewise become a Savior in the eyes of the survivors from the five star systems—their one and only hope.’

’No one wanted the fruits of their hard-won victory to turn to dust, only to be saddled with a crushing debt.’

’Everything hinged on my battle with Caesar.’

’Without even realizing it, my own prestige had also reached an unparalleled peak.’

’It had all been part of Caesar’s plan.’

"So? What do you say, Qin Feng?"

Caesar’s voice was laced with infinite temptation as he extended an olive branch to Qin Feng.

"Work with me."

"We were the first in this entire war zone to reach the Stellar-level, and the first to see the true nature of this competition."

"If you and I join forces, with us at the core, we can integrate the full power of all six star systems. We’ll use that as our starting point to conquer outward, sweeping everything before us!"

"At that point, what’s to stop us from taking first and second place in the entire war zone?"

"We could even carry several, or even dozens, of other powerhouses into the top 100. We could sweep the top thousand, even the top ten thousand!"

"This will be a supreme achievement—unprecedented and unrepeatable!"

The fires of ambition burned brightly in Caesar’s eyes, and his impossibly handsome face was alight with a near-fanatical fervor.

"Hahahahaha—"

Qin Feng’s own wild laughter was his response.

As his laughter subsided, Qin Feng’s gaze grew as sharp as a spear, piercing straight to Caesar’s soul. "Work with you? It sounds appealing, I’ll admit. But as equals, or... with me serving under you?!"

"That... is something we’ll have to settle with our fists."

The smile on Caesar’s face remained, but the admiration in his eyes had completely transformed into a towering battle intent.

Leadership of an alliance is never won with words, but with fists!

"Then let’s fight!!"

Qin Feng wasted no more words. In that instant, the battle intent raging within him surged to its absolute peak!