Chapter 456 - 438: Rising to Prominence

Chapter 456: Chapter 438: Rising to Prominence

The first round of the main competition was divided into ten sessions, each lasting thirty minutes.

At six hours in total, it could all be completed in a single day.

May 4th. The weather was clear and sunny.

「In Villa 36 of the Star Residence」

Inside the Martial Arts Room, the tall and statuesque Lin Qi had his eyes shut tight. A blue scroll lay before him.

The air was utterly silent, but his Consciousness Space was a scene of chaos.

"AWOOOO~"

A giant wolf threw its head back and roared. It stood over six meters tall at the shoulder, measured more than ten meters long, and its entire body was covered in muscles as hard as steel.

Its fur was dark gray with a metallic sheen.

This was a Sixth-Level Calamity Beast—a Steel-Boned Giant Wolf.

It had been brought forth by Lin Qi’s visualization. Inside the void of his Consciousness Space, besides the Steel-Boned Giant Wolf, there were also the Sixth-Level Calamity Beasts: an Iron-Backed War Bear, a Tyrant Tiger, an Iron Armor Rhinoceros...

Ten Calamity Beasts, each as massive as a small hill, surrounded the Steel-Boned Giant Wolf, closing in for the kill.

"AWOOOO~"

Lin Qi controlled the Steel-Boned Giant Wolf, pitting it in a desperate battle against the ten other Sixth-Level Calamity Beasts as his spirit trembled.

His Spiritual Power underwent Refinement and grew stronger amidst the brutal fight. Lin Qi could feel his own Perception constantly sharpening.

「Half an hour later」

"AWOOOO~"

The Steel-Boned Giant Wolf had slaughtered all ten of the other Sixth-Level Calamity Beasts. Its body trembled, and a cool, refreshing sensation washed over Lin Qi’s mind.

Lin Qi opened his eyes. A majestic surge of Spiritual Power erupted from his body, spreading out in all directions.

[Your Spiritual Power Technique, the Thousand Calamities Atlas, has achieved a breakthrough. Your Spiritual Power has increased. Spiritual Power +15]

[Spiritual Power: 3185 → 3200]

...

"Hooo~"

He exhaled a turbid breath, which stirred up a faint breeze within the Martial Arts Room.

Lin Qi slowly rose to his feet, full of vigor, his gaze deep and bright.

His mind felt refreshed, his thoughts moved faster and faster, and his awareness of his surroundings had become even more acute.

He looked at the increase in his Spiritual Power on the panel. It was already higher than his Qi and Blood Value, now by nearly two hundred points.

The higher his Spiritual Power, the better, as it provided a stronger supportive effect for his cultivation.

It would also make it easier for him to achieve breakthroughs.

Next, he entered his Virtual Cabin, logged into the Red Realm, and joined the Global Martial Arts Tournament.

BUZZ!!

A moment later, he materialized in the spectator stands, the familiar roar of the crowd filling his ears.

"Brother Qi!"

Jiangtao and the others greeted each other after coming online and began to chat idly.

Jiangtao couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.

"Getting into the second round of the main competition is really tough."

"There are only a thousand spots. Once they’re distributed among all the countries, there are hardly any left for each one."

"I think our Xia Country only has a little over two hundred spots."

"Aside from the Awakened geniuses, most of them are former fourth-year prodigies."

Guo Heng and the others nodded. They had been eliminated early on in the preliminaries.

Even S-class geniuses like Ao Feng and Duan Chuchu had met the same fate.

They would probably have to wait until their fourth year to have a chance at reaching the second round.

Lin Qi’s gaze also fell upon the points leaderboard.

[Second Place: Chu Yu (Xia Country), Points: 312]

[Third Place: Trish Campbell (White Eagle Federation), Points: 308]

[Fourth Place: Du Shanyan (Xia Country), Points: 306]

[Fifth Place: Andre (Bear Country), Points: 303]

...

These few were the ones in the top five.

They were also all SSS-level geniuses. This year’s class had a full five SSS-level geniuses.

That in itself was already a record.

Xia Country, in particular, had a whopping three SSS-level geniuses.

As for the other countries, they had no SSS-level geniuses in this class.

An SSS-level genius, on average, only appeared once every two years. They were the seeds of future Ninth Realm powerhouses.

However, with three different academic years competing together, the total number of SSS-level geniuses gathered here was not small—nearly twenty in all.

All of them were seeded contestants for the top 32.

"Contestants!"

Above the arena, the King of Mountains and Rivers, clad in a silver robe, materialized as a projection formed from a convergence of red light particles.

He surveyed the surroundings and began to speak slowly.

"The first round of the main competition has officially concluded. Let us congratulate the one thousand contestants who have successfully advanced to the second round."

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

After the thunderous applause died down, the King of Mountains and Rivers continued.

"For the second round of the main competition, one thousand seeded contestants will now join the fray."

"According to the rules, the two thousand contestants will be randomly matched for this round. Only the one thousand stronger contestants will advance to the third round."

"The one thousand contestants who make it to the third round will receive one hundred million Xia Country Coins and 500 kilograms of Level 7 Disaster Beast Flesh and Blood."

As soon as these words were spoken, the spectator stands erupted.

"Hiss~"

"Did I hear that right? Level 7 Disaster Beast Flesh and Blood!"

"Isn’t that something only High Realm Martial Artists are qualified to consume?"

"We can actually consume it too?"

"In past Global Martial Arts Tournaments, the prizes were generous at best, but they never included something like Level 7 Disaster Beast Flesh and Blood."

Most of the people in the stands were in an uproar. Though they had never eaten Level 7 Disaster Beast Flesh and Blood, they knew it was exceptionally precious.

But a reward like this had nothing to do with them.

However, for many of the Unawakened fourth-years, as well as the geniuses from Small Countries, this was an incredibly generous reward.

Hearing this, Lin Qi was inwardly delighted. ’To think there’s Level 7 Disaster Beast Flesh and Blood as a reward in just the second round.’

’I can’t even imagine what I’d get for reaching the top 32, or even the top 16. Maybe I could get the flesh and blood of an Eighth-Level Calamity Beast.’

He had already experienced the effects of Eighth-Level Calamity Beast flesh and blood before.

’If I could get a few hundred more kilograms, I could reach the Peak of the Sixth Realm much faster.’

’Of course, the flesh and blood of a Ninth-Level Calamity Beast would be even better.’

The King of Mountains and Rivers, still standing above the arena, continued to speak.

"Now, the second round of the main competition will officially begin."

With a grand wave of his hand, the Mountain and River Realm from his body manifested.

Majestic, heavy mountains and long, flowing rivers converged, like a Tai Chi Diagram ink wash painting, and two thousand names materialized within it.

It coalesced into a matchup bracket with mountains and rivers as its backdrop.

BZZT!

As the bracket finished forming, tens of millions of pairs of eyes locked onto it in unison.

Lin Qi looked as well.

Two thousand contestants, one thousand matches. His gaze swept over it like radar, and he quickly found his own name.

[Match 10: Lin Qi (Xia Country) VS Song Zhengzai (Silla)]

...

Lin Qi paused for a moment when he saw the name.

Song Zhengzai. He racked his brain for a moment before finally remembering.

Song Zhengzai was an SS-level genius from the Silla Kingdom.

His strength was considerable; he ranked within the top 15 among all SS-level geniuses.

Meanwhile, in the Silla Kingdom’s spectator section, Song Zhengzai—a burly man with rough features—saw that his opponent was Lin Qi.

His expression immediately turned grim.

His goal had been to break into the top 500.

But he never expected to run into Lin Qi in the very first match of this round.

Last year, he had witnessed with his own eyes how Lin Qi had defeated every single SS-level genius, one by one, to take the championship.

’Now that I’m matched against him, it’s basically impossible for me to win.’

The people next to him looked at Song Zhengzai with pity. They could clearly feel the confident aura he projected just moments ago completely vanish.

...

BUZZ!

As the matchup bracket appeared, the entire arena began to change.

The massive stage split, forming eight smaller arenas.

[Will the 16 contestants from the first 8 matches please come forward!]

An automated voice echoed from above the arena.

From the spectator stands, sixteen contestants descended into the arenas as crimson pillars of light.

Both male and female contestants were now clad in Combat Suits, wielding sharp Weapons and exuding powerful auras.

The weakest among them were at the Peak of the Fifth Realm. Their ability to reach the second round...

...proved that they possessed the strength to kill the Insect Race’s Modified Martial Artists—and not just a few, or else they wouldn’t have made it into the top thousand.

Only Awakened geniuses had that kind of capability.

The rest, and the majority, were geniuses at the Sixth Realm.

...

In an area hidden from public view, there was an exceptionally spacious, high-level spectator gallery.

It was also divided into sections for the 80 participating countries.

Notably, the sections for major powers like the Xia Country, the White Eagle Federation, and the Bear Country were placed together.

The Xia Country’s section was situated in the Central Region.

The King of Mountains and Rivers, his face resolute and his presence as immense as a mountain, couldn’t help but nod as he watched the competition.

"The quality of this year’s geniuses is quite good!"

Xu Wenji, who was beside him, also said with a chuckle:

"The current situation is dire, and with the establishment of the Celestial Vault Institute..."

"There’s pressure, so the competitive atmosphere is much stronger. Naturally, their strength is improving faster as well."

"Lin Qi is up!"

Suddenly, Dean Liu, who was not far away, spoke slowly.

Everyone’s gazes shifted to one of the arenas, where two crimson pillars of light descended and a pair of figures emerged from within.

The eyes of the various higher-ups also turned to look.

The tall and burly King of Mountains and Rivers also looked at Lin Qi with curiosity.

"So that’s Lin Qi?"

"I’ve heard you all mention him. An SS-level genius who only Awakened last year."

"And he already has the ability to defeat SSS-level geniuses?"

Xu Wenji began to explain.

"Lin Qi’s Talent is excellent. He was the champion of last year’s Global Freshman Tournament."

"He hadn’t even Awakened at that time."

"After Awakening last year, he successfully defeated an SSS-level genius during the Celestial Vault Competition and ultimately reached the top six. He even defeated third and fourth-year S-class geniuses."

"As of today, he is still ranked 5th in the Disaster Beast Trial Tower..."

After hearing about Lin Qi’s accomplishments, the King of Mountains and Rivers nodded.

"I never expected such a genius existed. I’ve certainly learned something new today."

With that, his gaze fell upon the tall, handsome figure of Lin Qi on the stage below.

...

「On the arena stage」

Song Zhengzai wore a gray Combat Suit and brandished a sharp, silver Horse-cutting Saber with one hand.

He was burly and strong, standing at a height of 2.1 meters.

His entire body exuded a heavy, mountain-like aura.

"Hooo~"

Song Zhengzai took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.

He was an SS-level genius, for crying out loud. He had never been this nervous, not even when facing the third-year Sixth Realm seniors from his own academy.

A suffocating pressure washed over him, sending a chill down his spine.

[Match 10 has officially begun!]

The automated voice instantly rang out above the arena.

"ROAR~"

The moment the battle started, Song Zhengzai unleashed a flood of light from his body as brown patterns appeared beneath his skin.

A large amount of golden sand materialized out of thin air, rapidly condensing to form an armor-like shell that enveloped him.

"HYAH!!"

He swung his Battle Saber, let out a furious roar, and took the initiative to attack Lin Qi.

He raised his Battle Saber high and slashed down as the mental realm of a mountain materialized above him.

From the very start of the fight, Song Zhengzai unleashed his full power.

He was already at the Fifth Realm of Refining Inner Organs, and he activated his Special Ability, [Heavy Earth].

It made him crash down with the force of a mountain.

...