361: Invite, reject (two in one)

Inside the arena space of the Eighth Sector.

Lin Yang did not know that representatives from various top universes were now coming for him from different sectors, gathering in the Eighth Sector, quietly waiting for the sector's competition to end.

Only to be able to communicate with him at the first moment the competition concluded.

At this time, Lin Yang was still quietly integrating that Life extraordinary characteristic material.

Although White Fatty Old Man said that integrating up to 30% was sufficient, he still wanted to try and get the integration of this Life characteristic material to 50% before the top 100 ranking competition.

Time flew by.

Twenty-two days passed in a flash.

“Congratulations, the number of competitors in this sector has been reduced to one hundred. The competition for this stage in this sector has ended. Congratulations to all the advanced competitors. Please report on time for the next stage of the competition.”

The announcement of the competition's end echoed through the arena.

“It's finally over.”

Lin Yang opened his eyes and slowly stood up.

The competition ending in twenty-two days was roughly the same as his previous estimation.

“Fortunately, I acted decisively before, or else I really wouldn't have had enough time to integrate the Life characteristic material.”

Lin Yang muttered to himself, feeling a slight sense of relief.

The integration of the Life characteristic material had already reached 30%; there was no need to rush too much for the rest.

As for whether he could integrate it to 50% before the crucial decisive battle, he would just let nature take its course.

“Lin Yang, thank you for your protection, which allowed us to successfully advance as well.”

Time and the other person promptly expressed their gratitude.

To be honest, both of them were very curious as they watched Lin Yang sitting cross-legged for so many days, completely motionless.

Because even if he was resting, he wouldn't be in a state of meditation for so many days.

However, despite their curiosity, they didn't dare to ask too many questions. After thanking him, they were teleported out of the arena space.

Your Excellency Lin Yang also followed closely, leaving the arena space… “Your Excellency Lin Yang, hello, I am the person in charge of Universe No. 87 for this competition. May I have a word with you?”

“Lin Yang, we are from Universe No. 128. We would like to discuss a collaboration with you.”

“Lin Yang…”

“…”

Outside the arena space, as soon as Lin Yang was teleported out, a cacophony of voices immediately rang out in his ears.

Almost all of them were representatives from other universes eagerly vying to speak with him.

Lin Yang paused for a moment.

He was somewhat astonished, looking at the dozens of universe representatives who had gathered around him.

But he quickly reacted.

These universe representatives must have learned about his previous actions, and now they all wanted to invite him to cooperate.

However, for the Third Stage of the competition, Lin Yang did not intend to cooperate with any other universe.

The Third Stage of the competition would only have one hundred participants, and only ten would be able to advance.

The qualifiers would be the top one hundred.

To guarantee one person a spot in the top one hundred would be quite difficult.

This wasn't to say he couldn't achieve it, but for the top one hundred spots, all participants would undoubtedly fight with all their might.

If he were to protect another competitor, then the people in the arena space would definitely unite and attack him en masse.

The number of advancement spots for the top one hundred was not as numerous as in the Second Stage, where everyone could afford to give up a few.

Each sector only had ten advancement spots. Once he cooperated with any universe, he feared that as soon as he entered the arena, he would immediately be besieged by other competitors.

If he were to forcefully protect someone, he could still guarantee one more person's advancement, but he did not want to fully expose all his trump cards and strength so early, to avoid any accidents or intense targeting in the top 100 ranking competition.

Cooperating with Black Le in the First Stage and Second Stage to earn some extra resources was just a convenient side task.

In the Third Stage, he would prioritize stability.

Even if the prices offered by these top universes were very generous, even exaggerated, to be honest, he wasn't particularly lacking in these resources.

He could directly ask White Fatty Old Man for any resources he lacked!

Therefore, compared to the final ranking of the competition, there was no need to earn resources in the Third Stage.

Looking at the eager representatives from various universes who were continuously speaking, Lin Yang's lips moved slightly, preparing to refuse them.

However, before he could speak, he suddenly heard a sentence that made him pause.

“Lin Yang, hello, I am a competitor from Yu Xia Universe. May I have the honor of speaking with you?”

Lin Yang instantly turned to look at the speaker.

Yu Xia Universe!

Isn't that his Home Universe?!

Before participating in the competition, White Fatty Old Man had told him the basic situation of his Home Universe!

So, hearing the words “Yu Xia Universe,” Lin Yang immediately felt a sense of emotion.

People from his Home Universe had actually come to find him!

He pretended to look casually, taking another glance at the speaker.

It was Time!

Time was also very apprehensive at this moment.

Earlier, when he told Yu Meng he wanted to go for a walk, he actually wanted to see if he could try to speak with Lin Yang.

Yu Meng thought there was no chance, but he didn't want to give up without even trying.

Although, the chances of inviting Lin Yang were indeed extremely slim.

Especially after seeing so many representatives from top universes inviting Lin Yang without hesitation, Time became even more nervous.

Even in the second before he spoke, he was in an internal struggle, wondering if he should just give up.

In this situation, even speaking required great courage.

The others were all representatives of top universes, and the conditions they offered were ridiculously exaggerated.

On their side, Yu Meng hadn't even come, let alone the fact that the conditions they could offer were indeed far inferior compared to these top universes.

If he spoke, it would seem disrespectful to Lin Yang just based on his identity.

However, in the end, Time still chose to speak.

He had already come this far!

It was just one sentence. If he didn't say it now, he would definitely regret it later.

And as soon as his words came out, it immediately drew the attention of representatives from other universes.

Universes not named by numbers usually represented Universe Countries or Universe Civilizations with extraordinary status within the Universe Alliance!

Naturally, they could not be ignored.

However, upon hearing the name “Yu Xia Universe,” the representatives all dismissed it again.

As the chief representatives of the top universes in the competition, they naturally possessed extremely detailed intelligence.

Yu Xia Universe, including this time, had not produced a top 100 competitor for ten consecutive competition years, and the universe itself had encountered some problems, no longer deserving to be a named universe.

Therefore, everyone stopped paying attention to Time and refocused their gaze and attention on Your Excellency Lin Yang.

Only the people from Universe No. 364 looked at Time and sneered:

“Time, you really have no self-awareness. Given the current state of your universe, do you even deserve to invite Your Excellency Lin Yang? It's utterly ridiculous?!”

Time immediately clenched his fists and glared back.

However, the guy from Universe No. 364 completely ignored Time's anger and sneered:

“Get lost quickly. Your standing here is an insult to Your Excellency Lin Yang!”

“How dare you even open your mouth to invite Your Excellency Lin Yang? You're simply ignorant!”

Time's eyes blazed with fire, but he still forcefully restrained himself from engaging in a verbal conflict with the guy from Universe No. 364. Instead, he stubbornly turned his head away, looked back at Lin Yang, and bowed, saying:

“Your Excellency Lin Yang, I apologize. I know that with my status, I am not worthy of speaking with you. I have offended you, please forgive me!”

“…”

Lin Yang's gaze lingered on the guy from Universe No. 364.

Among those who had spoken to invite him amidst the chaos earlier, this person was also one of them!

To be honest, he hadn't expected the hostile relationship between Universe No. 364 and his Home Universe to be so severe.

They were directly tearing off their masks and openly attacking each other in such a public setting.

Looking at the arrogant demeanor of that guy, and then at Time's angry yet suppressed expression, Lin Yang gained a preliminary, intuitive understanding of the situation between his Home Universe and Universe No. 364.

“It seems my Home Universe is truly weak, only able to endure the mockery of Universe No. 364.”

Lin Yang sighed inwardly.

Although White Fatty Old Man had mentioned before that his Home Universe had some problems, its strength was far from what it used to be, and it was now constantly being bullied by Universe No. 364, he hadn't expected the bullying to be this severe.

At that time, White Fatty Old Man had only mentioned it casually, without going into too much detail.

Now, seeing it with his own eyes, Lin Yang finally understood.

To be honest, he really wanted to slap that guy twice, but he held back.

He looked back at Time, scrutinizing him carefully.

Seeing someone from his Home Universe in the universe arena brought an indescribable sense of familiarity.

This seemed to be the feeling of being of the same origin that his Home Universe brought.

Time looked like a young man, appearing quite delicate.

However, he had some visible injuries on his body, especially on his face. The left side of his face showed clear signs of being beaten, making his somewhat delicate face appear a bit swollen and red.

Upon seeing this, Lin Yang instantly understood that this must have been intentionally inflicted during the competition.

In the competition arena, although no lives would be lost, injuries could occur.

However, under normal circumstances, the arena's protection mechanism would immediately teleport a competitor out if it detected an injury that could potentially harm their body.

And obvious superficial injuries like these were usually intentionally caused by opponents holding back.

Because such superficial injuries would not trigger the arena's protection mechanism.

This usually only happened when one deliberately tormented the other party.

And in the arena space, especially during the chaotic free-for-all stage, with competitors from various universes participating, they usually had no interaction with each other, and one could even say they didn't know each other.

Thus, situations where someone deliberately tormented a particular competitor would almost never occur.

Because such behavior, tormenting an opponent before eliminating them in the arena, was very malicious.

Unless there was a significant grudge between two universes, doing so would be akin to inciting a war between them.

Therefore, it could be said with 100% certainty that once such a situation occurred, it meant that the person was definitely targeted.

And to be able to specifically target Time in the universe arena space and beat him into such a state, one didn't even need to think to know that it was definitely done by the people from Universe No. 364!

This was humiliation!

It was an insult to Time and the entire Yu Xia Universe!

“Damn it!”

Lin Yang cursed inwardly, and then glanced at the guy from Universe No. 364 again!

He made up his mind that if any competitors from Universe No. 364 were matched with him in subsequent competitions, he would definitely humiliate them severely!

Afterward, he withdrew his gaze from Time, and at the same time, adjusted his emotions.

Being watched by so many people now, he couldn't let anyone see that he had any special treatment for Time and Yu Xia Universe.

The guys from Universe No. 364 dared to be so arrogant, which indicated that the Universe Alliance higher-ups they cooperated with behind the scenes must also hold a significant position.

It wasn't yet the top 100 competition, so he needed to endure a little longer.

However, seeing Time's somewhat timid appearance, Lin Yang still couldn't help but sigh softly and say:

“It's alright, you don't need to apologize. I know the purpose of your and all the representatives present here.”

Saying that, he looked at the representatives from other universes and directly stated:

“Everyone, I apologize, but I must disappoint you. In the Third Stage, I do not intend to cooperate with any universe.”

“At the same time, I am still unable to accept your invitations for me to fight for your universes. My apologies!”

After saying that, without giving the other universe representatives a chance to speak, Lin Yang continued: “The competition has just ended, and I need to rest and prepare for the Third Stage. I will take my leave now.”

After speaking, Lin Yang turned around and walked away with large strides.

He didn't go to trouble the guy from Universe No. 364, nor did he say another word to Time.

It wasn't the right time yet.

Watching Lin Yang leave so decisively and reject all universes' invitations, the representatives from various universes present all felt a sense of regret.

However, the regret did not last too long, and the representatives from the major universes dispersed.

Before coming, they had already gathered a lot of intelligence and knew that Lin Yang had not accepted any universe's invitation from the beginning.

Being rejected again now was not unexpected.

However, there were still some universe representatives who believed that Lin Yang would eventually choose to accept an invitation from a certain universe.

After all, with Lin Yang's strength, he could achieve a high ranking even in the top 100 competition.

If he participated as a Neutral Universe free agent throughout, it would be extremely disadvantageous!

As long as Lin Yang wasn't foolish, he would never participate as a free agent after the top 100 competition began.

Therefore, they believed that Lin Yang was still holding out for a better price, preparing to further increase his value after entering the top 100.

Thus, no universe representatives continued to pester him and go to the competitor rest villa area where Lin Yang was to continue inviting him.

Instead, they all began to prepare for the Third Stage of the competition.

The Third Stage of the competition was the prelude to the real show!

Anyone who advanced would be among the top 100!

Every advancing universe was seriously preparing.

Only Time returned to Yu Meng, feeling somewhat lost and disheartened.

Although he had known he would be rejected, at this moment, he still couldn't help but feel a little upset… Eight days later.

“Attention, all competitors, the Third Stage of the competition is about to begin. All advanced competitors, please proceed immediately to your respective sectors for the Third Stage competition!”

The announcement of the competition's start once again echoed through the villa.

Lin Yang stopped integrating the extraordinary characteristic material and rushed to his assigned sector.

This time, his sector was assigned to the Sixth Sector.

In the Third Stage, there were only one hundred people in the sector, significantly reducing the level of chaos compared to the previous two times, but the difficulty of advancing was doubled!

Of course, this was irrelevant to Lin Yang. As soon as he entered the arena, he began to search for his target.

And his target was the competitor from Universe No. 364!

—

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