169: Chapter 169 36 into 18

Global League · Round Robin, Round 1

Before the Crystal Monument · Drawing Ceremony

Thirty-six golden lights shot out from the crystal monument, like thirty-six golden dragons diving into the drawing box.

The box slowly rotated, and the ancient runes on its surface flickered with blood-colored light. Tens of thousands of spectators in the stands held their breath, waiting for the first round's matchup list to be revealed.

When the first name appeared, the entire arena erupted.

“Third Arena — Dragon Country · Xiao Zhan versus Eagle Country · Arthur!”

In the stands, the Dragon Country viewing area was deathly silent. Arthur, the number one War God of Eagle Country, the wielder of the star realm battle axe, his Law of Space had yet to be broken by anyone; drawing him was practically equivalent to being eliminated early.

Xiao Zhan sat in the contestant's seat and slowly stood up, flexing his fists, his knuckles popping with a crackling sound.

“Bad luck.” He grinned, the Qi and blood of his Overlord Body surging like a tide, golden patterns faintly visible flowing beneath his skin, “But with hard fists, I'm not afraid of these flashy tricks.”

On the opposite stand, Arthur leaned back in his seat, the star realm battle axe resting across his lap.

The silver light of the axe blade reflected in his deep blue eyes; he tilted his head slightly, his gaze colliding with Xiao Zhan's in the air. “Your fists,” Arthur's voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears, “cannot split space.”

Xiao Zhan stood up, releasing the pressure of his Overlord Body without reservation as a response.

First Arena · Xiao Zhan VS Arthur

The moment the whistle blew, the rocks beneath Xiao Zhan's feet exploded, and his entire body transformed into a red light as he rushed out.

There were no flashy Moves, just a simple and direct straight punch, but the force of this punch was enough to shatter mountains and split rocks.

The air was torn apart, emitting a shrill whistle.

Arthur stood still until the punch wind hit his face, then he tilted his body slightly.

With a light wave of the star realm battle axe, the space in front of him suddenly rippled — just like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.

Xiao Zhan's fist passed through Arthur's body.

No, it passed through that phantom image. The fist struck empty air, the violent force bombarding the arena's barrier, causing the transparent shield to hum and develop spiderweb-like cracks.

The staff hurried to reinforce the barrier, their faces filled with shock.

“This is... spatial displacement?” Xiao Zhan retracted his fist, his brows furrowed.

Arthur's figure appeared ten meters away, the battle axe pointing diagonally at the ground: “I told you, your fists cannot hit me.”

Xiao Zhan snorted coldly, stepping repeatedly, his figure leaving a trail of afterimages on the arena floor.

Both fists struck out, the fist shadows like mountains, each punch enough to blast through steel plates. But Arthur's figure was like a ghost, always disappearing the moment before the fist touched him, appearing in another location.

What was more troublesome was that Arthur began to counterattack. His counterattack was not a frontal assault, but rather waving the battle axe to carve cracks into the ground.

Those cracks emitted a faint silver light, like wounds in space; Xiao Zhan had to detour, his offensive greatly restricted.

“Only know how to hide?” Xiao Zhan stopped, his Qi and blood surging more violently, the golden patterns on his skin glowing brighter, “If you have the guts, take one of my punches head-on!”

Arthur's figure appeared in the center of the arena, the battle axe held horizontally in front of him: “You think I'm hiding? I'm waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

“Waiting for you to exhaust your strength.”

Xiao Zhan didn't waste any more words, his legs slightly bent, his whole body like a fully drawn bow.

The power of his SSS-rank Overlord Body erupted completely at this moment, a layer of golden halo condensing on the surface of his fists — this was the manifestation of Qi and blood being released externally, the peak of Physical Body strength.

“Overlord · Star Shatterer!”

As this punch was thrown, the air in the arena was drained; where the fist force passed, a deep trench was plowed into the ground. Arthur still didn't dodge, holding the battle axe vertically in front of him, the silver light flaring brilliantly.

The fist force slammed into an invisible wall.

That was the spatial barrier. The spatial barrier Arthur constructed in front of him with the battle axe forcibly blocked Xiao Zhan's fist force.

But the power of the Star Shatterer punch far exceeded his expectations; cracks appeared on the spatial barrier, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of Arthur's mouth.

“I told you,” Xiao Zhan threw another punch, “hard fists are not afraid of these flashy tricks!”

Arthur wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a hint of gravity flashing in his eyes. He suddenly put away the battle axe, formed seals with his hands, and the space around him began to twist.

“Star Realm · Cage.”

The space in the arena suddenly solidified. Those cracks previously carved by the battle axe lit up simultaneously, connecting to each other to form a huge cage.

Xiao Zhan only felt his body stall, as if pressed by countless invisible hands.

Arthur waved the battle axe again, and the space within the cage began to shrink, squeezing towards Xiao Zhan's right arm.

Xiao Zhan roared, the power of his Overlord Body exploding with full force, muscles bulging and veins popping, but the spatial cage remained unmoved.

When the space completely closed, Xiao Zhan's right arm was tightly locked and unable to Move.

Arthur walked over slowly, holding the battle axe, the blade pressing against Xiao Zhan's chest: “No matter how hard your fists are, you cannot break free from the shackles of space. Concede.”

Xiao Zhan stared at the axe blade on his chest, then looked at his locked right arm, and gave a muffled grunt: “I lost.”

In the stands, the Dragon Country audience was silent. The Eagle Country audience erupted in cheers.

But Xiao Zhan raised his head, looking directly at Arthur: “I lost, but Dragon Country will not lose.”

After Xiao Zhan finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the contestant passage. His right arm was still trembling slightly, but his footsteps remained steady.

Third Arena · Su Qing VS Elsa

When Xiao Zhan's battle came to an end, the battle in the third arena had just begun.

Su Qing, dressed in green, held the Thunder Fire sword and stood in the center of the arena.

Her opponent was the Aurora Messenger from Iceland, Elsa, one of the biggest dark horses of this league. In the previous qualifiers, Elsa defeated a strong enemy with her Aurora illusion; her aurora could not only confuse vision but also turn into ice cones to attack, making it impossible to guard against.

But Su Qing was well-prepared.

As soon as the whistle blew, Elsa immediately released the aurora. Seven-colored light permeated the arena, the temperature plummeted, and the ground began to freeze.

But Su Qing's Thunder Fire sword was already ignited, the tip of the sword spewing scorching flames mixed with purple Lightning Radiance.

Wherever the Thunder Fire passed, the aurora melted rapidly like mist encountering the scorching sun.

Elsa's expression changed, her hands waving repeatedly, the aurora condensing into dozens of ice cones, whistling towards Su Qing.

Su Qing lightly flicked the tip of her sword, and the Thunder Fire wove into a wall of fire in the air.

When the ice cones passed through the wall of fire, they not only didn't extinguish the flames, but were instead enveloped by the Thunder Fire and instantly vaporized.

Even more terrifying was that those vaporized ice mists actually carried Lightning Radiance, rolling back along the trajectory of the aurora.

Elsa hurriedly withdrew the aurora, but it was too late. The Thunder Fire spread along her spiritual energy trajectory, igniting a wall of fire around her feet.

The scorching high temperature instantly evaporated the ice mist around her, revealing her pale face.

“Your ice cannot protect you.” Su Qing's sword tip pointed at Elsa, the Thunder Fire dancing on the sword body, “Concede.”

Elsa looked at the wall of fire around her, feeling the heat that restrained all ice, and finally lowered her head: “I concede.”

Su Qing put away her sword, and the wall of fire extinguished. She nodded slightly to Elsa and turned to walk off the arena. In the stands, the Dragon Country audience erupted in warm applause — this was Dragon Country's first victory of the day.

Fifth Arena · Chu Yao VS Ajit

Chu Yao's battle was much tougher.

Her opponent was the ascetic monk from Nepal, Ajit, also a dark horse of this year.

Ajit's “Immovable Zen” was said to have been cultivated for many years, his Physical Body as solid as a rock, his spirit as steady as Mount Tai, and ordinary attacks could not shake him in the slightest.

The whistle sounded, and Chu Yao immediately released the purple-gold vines. Countless vines spread from beneath her feet like a group of purple snakes, winding towards Ajit.

Ajit clasped his hands together, standing motionless, letting the vines wrap around his body.

The vines tightened, but emitted a harsh friction sound. Chu Yao felt the counter-shock force from the vines, which made her palms numb.

A layer of faint golden light appeared on the surface of Ajit's skin; that was the protective divine light of “Immovable Zen,” and any physical attack would be rebounded.

But Chu Yao did not let go. She gritted her teeth, letting the vines continue to wrap, while secretly channeling the power of the Thunder Flood Dragon within her. The purple Lightning Radiance quietly seeped in along the vines, bit by bit eroding Ajit's protective divine light.

Ajit sensed something was wrong. Although his “Immovable Zen” could resist physical attacks, its defensive power was greatly reduced against this kind of penetrative lightning.

He tried to shake off the vines, but Chu Yao's vines wrapped tighter and tighter, and the Lightning Radiance seeped deeper and deeper.

When the Lightning Radiance exploded inside Ajit's body, he finally swayed, and cracks appeared in his protective divine light.

Chu Yao seized the opportunity, all the vines exerted force simultaneously, and the Lightning Radiance drilled into Ajit's Meridians like thousands of little snakes.

“Your Zen cannot stop the lightning.” Chu Yao's voice was very soft, but every word clearly reached Ajit's ears.

Ajit's face turned blue and white, and finally he clasped his hands together and lowered his head slightly: “I concede.”

Chu Yao withdrew the vines and returned the salute with clasped hands. In the stands, the cheers of the Dragon Country audience rang out again.

Nineteenth Arena · Murong Wu VS Colin

Murong Wu's battle was more like a dance.

Her opponent was Colin from Kangaroo Country, a warrior known for his violent strength.

But facing Murong Wu, his fists felt like hitting cotton.

Murong Wu's Star Orbit transformed into light points filling the sky, weaving into a huge star net around her.

Every time Colin's punch landed, it would be buffered and unloaded by the star net, the violent power weakened layer by layer within the star net, and by the time it landed on Murong Wu, it was as light as a breeze.

Colin became more irritable the more he fought, his spiritual energy consumption extremely fast. While Murong Wu always wore a smile, the star net tightened, like a huge spider web, firmly entangling Colin.

When Colin fell to the ground due to exhaustion, the star net tightened just right, binding him tightly.

“I concede.” Colin lay on the ground, gasping for air.

Murong Wu put away the star net, bowed slightly to him, and left gracefully.

Tenth Arena · Zhang Wen VS Viking Country · Olaf

This was the match with the least suspense today.

Olaf, a descendant of the berserkers of Viking Country, was famous in the North as “Blood Axe.”

Once his berserk Bloodline was triggered, his strength would triple.

The whistle blew, Olaf charged in a berserk state, and the battle axe slashed towards Zhang Wen with a blood-colored glow.

And then there was no then.

No one saw how Zhang Wen struck with his spear. They only heard a muffled “bang,” and Olaf's huge body flew backward, crashing heavily into the barrier and sliding to the ground.

The battle axe in his hand snapped in two, his berserk state was instantly lifted, and he lay on the ground unable to Move.

Zhang Wen retracted his sky-splitting startling thunder spear, the tip of the spear still pointing diagonally at the ground, his clothes not even ruffled.

“Concede?” he asked.

Olaf struggled to stand up, but his arms were sore and weak, so he could only lower his head unwillingly: “I concede.”

Zhang Wen nodded, turned, and left with his spear. From the whistle to the end, it was no more than three breaths of time.

In the stands, the Dragon Country audience hadn't even had time to cheer before the battle ended. Xiao Zhan was stunned for a long time before he squeezed out a sentence: “This... this is over?”

Su Qing chuckled: “It's over. What else?”

Chu Yao shook her head: “Poor Olaf, he didn't even force out half of Zhang Wen's strength.”

Tenth Arena, Zhang Wen advanced easily.

Twenty-first Arena · Andrei VS Hassan

When the Dragon Country's battles came to an end, battles in other arenas were still ongoing.

In the twenty-first arena, Andrei of Polar Bear Country faced Hassan of Persia Country.

Hassan was a fire envoy from Persia Country, his fire techniques were superb, and in previous matches, his flames burned through all of his opponents' defenses.

But Andrei was a descendant of the frost giants of Polar Bear Country.

As soon as the whistle blew, Hassan immediately released flames, and the entire arena turned into a sea of fire.

But Andrei just stood there, letting the flames burn his body. A layer of frost condensed on his skin, and the flames made sizzling sounds upon touching the frost, but they could never harm him in the slightest.

“My turn.” Andrei grinned, his huge fist smashing towards Hassan with biting cold air.

Hassan hurriedly dodged, but the cold air was too overbearing; even without being hit directly by the fist, his movements began to slow down. Frost spread from the soles of his feet, freezing his body bit by bit.

When Andrei's second punch landed, Hassan had already become an ice sculpture.

“Concede?” Andrei stood in front of the ice sculpture, his fist suspended in mid-air.

A weak voice came from the ice sculpture: “I concede.”

After the first round, when the last battle ended, the sky had already darkened. On the crystal monument, the list of those who advanced slowly appeared:

Dragon Country (4 people): Su Qing, Chu Yao, Murong Wu, Zhang Wen.

Eagle Country (3 people): Arthur, Catherine, Yadon.

Polar Bear Country (2 people): Andrei, Ivan.

Kangaroo Country (1 person): Korona.

Pharaoh Country (1 person): Nafis.

Sakura Country (1 person): Chiyo.

Persia Country (1 person): Alman.

Goryeo Country (1 person): Park Ji-yeon.

Tairo Country (1 person): Chachai.

Maya Country (1 person): Erkan.

Tianzhu Country (1 person): Amir.

Rome Country (1 person): Caesar.

A total of eighteen people advanced to the second round.

In the stands, the Dragon Country audience cheered. Four people advanced; this was the best result for Dragon Country since participating in the Global League.

In the distance, Arthur stood at the Eagle Country viewing area, his gaze passing through the crowd and landing on Zhang Wen. Zhang Wen seemed to sense it, looked up, and their gazes collided in the air again.

They knew that only this person in front of them was the biggest stumbling block on their path to winning the championship.

He withdrew his gaze and turned to leave. The silver light of the star realm battle axe flashed and vanished in the night.

The first round ended, and the real battle had just begun.

(The year is changing, and the Year of the Horse is approaching. May everyone use this beautiful time as a prelude to stride forward on a new journey. May the wind and snow stay outside the door, and may only warmth and love reside in your hearts. Happy New Year, may your family be prosperous.)