196: Business Alliance

The System chose to remain silent regarding Lin Chuan's question; no matter how he called out, it didn't respond.

Helpless, Lin Chuan could only descend from Jin Jian Peak with a resigned look on his face.

Seeing Lin Chuan return, Peak Master Jin Jian asked, "How is it? Is it finished?"

Lin Chuan nodded, indicating that it was a success.

Peak Master Jin Jian laughed and said, "That's good. I'll go call the Sect Head now, and we'll corner that Demonic Path person together!"

Lin Chuan quickly stopped Peak Master Jin Jian and said helplessly, "Although the upgrade was successful, I still can't lock onto that person."

"Huh?" Peak Master Jin Jian was stunned. "Then what should we do now?"

Lin Chuan said, "It's fine. While I was in the Secret Realm, I had Number 28 keep watch at the entrance. If that person comes out, they'll be captured."

"If I'm not in the Secret Realm, I'll talk to Kelli in a bit; she should be able to help as well."

Seeing Lin Chuan say this, Peak Master Jin Jian could only nod. "That's all we can do for now."

Lin Chuan went to Kelli's place and informed her. Kelli was a bit dissatisfied. "Then what about my enhancement machine business?"

Lin Chuan said, "Put it aside for now. Besides, business has been slow lately, hasn't it?"

After hearing this, Keli said unhappily, "Isn't that the truth? I don't know where those suckers have gone lately."

Lin Chuan smiled. "Help me keep watch for a while first, and when I get back, I'll introduce some customers to you."

Keli's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "Then no problem!"

After dealing with Kelli, Lin Chuan looked at the late sky, sighed, and returned to his residence with Number 28.

At dawn the next day, Er Gou called Lin Chuan to get up as usual.

Lin Chuan opened his bleary eyes and sighed, "I really don't know how those people who don't sleep manage. Even though I'm at the Golden Core stage, why am I still so sleepy every day?"

After washing up, Lin Chuan went to the Secret Realm entrance. He let Kelli head back first, instructed Number 28 to keep watch at the door, and then entered the Secret Realm himself.

Just as he entered the Secret Realm, he heard the System's notification.

[PK event in progress. Implementation of upgrade content failed. Please try again after the event ends.]

Lin Chuan shook his head indifferently. It was just a new character anyway; it wouldn't hurt to wait a bit.

He went to the passionate commentary booth and checked the progress of the competition.

The top 16 for the Guild War had been selected yesterday. The individual battles were still in the process of selecting the top 64, but the list for the top 64 in the team battles was already out.

Lin Chuan thought for a moment and decided to finish the Guild War in the morning and handle the team battles in the afternoon.

After closing the battle replays, Lin Chuan's image appeared on the screen.

"Hello everyone, I'm Lin Chuan. The top 16 for the Guild War were selected yesterday. Now, the round of 16 will begin. Please get ready, contestants!"

After Lin Chuan finished speaking, the list of the top 16 appeared on the screen.

Lin Chuan continued, "The Guild War round of 16 will officially start in five minutes. At the same time, the betting event will also begin at the Moonlight Tavern. Please actively place your bets on your favorite guilds!"

As the live broadcast began, crowds gathered to watch not only within the Secret Realm but also in the squares of the four major Imperial Cities.

Many keen-eyed Mortal vendors began hawking their homemade snacks.

Even the spectating Cultivators were happy to buy a portion, eating while discussing the event together.

Many Cultivators who weren't in the Secret Realm directly started external betting pools in the Imperial City squares, and many people used Spirit Stones to place their bets.

After waiting for a while, Lin Chuan checked the support levels. Since the Royal Family Guild's footage had been broadcast yesterday, their popularity remained high today. Lin Chuan looked it over and decided to switch to the second most popular guild for the broadcast.

Looking at the guild's name, Lin Chuan smiled. No need to ask; this must be the Divine Sword Sect's guild because the name was 'Divine Sword Peerless'.

When the time was up, the match list for the 16 guilds came out. Lin Chuan took a look and thought to himself: What kind of guild is this Shanghai Alliance? From the name, it seems to have been formed by merchants?

Lin Chuan set aside his curiosity, displayed the match list on the big screen, and said, "Alright, today's match list is out. Next, let's enjoy the exciting battle between Divine Sword Peerless and the Shanghai Alliance!"

The screen showed a scene inside a dojo, with contestants on both sides making preparations.

Lin Chuan said, "The audience from the Southern Border should be familiar with the Divine Sword Peerless guild. This is the guild of the Southern Border's number one Sect, the Divine Sword Sect, and it contains many experts."

As soon as Lin Chuan finished speaking, cheers and encouragement from Divine Sword Sect Disciples erupted everywhere.

"Alright, their opponent guild is called the Shanghai Alliance. It doesn't look like an affiliate of any Sect, but being able to reach the top 16 means their strength is definitely not weak. Let's look forward to their performance!"

After Lin Chuan finished speaking, the countdown also happened to end, and both sides sent out their first contestant.

Lin Chuan introduced, "Alright, the match starts now. Let's look at the information for the first contestants from both sides."

"The contestant sent by the Divine Sword Peerless guild is named Bai Huan, a level 29 Sword Soul."

"The contestant from the Shanghai Alliance is named Jin Dafu, a level 29 Mechanic."

"Good, as you can see, both contestants are level 29. This means neither side has learned level 35 skills, making it quite fair."

As the match began, Bai Huan took the initiative, attacking the opposing Jin Dafu with a Five-Stage Slash.

On the other hand, Jin Dafu smiled slightly as he faced his opponent's direct attack. Instead of dodging, he even started running toward Bai Huan.

Just as the two were about to clash, Jin Dafu dropped to the ground and performed a Sliding Tackle forward.

Bai Huan reacted very quickly, immediately backstepping to interrupt his charge and stepping up to avoid Jin Dafu's Sliding Tackle.

Although he wasn't hit by Jin Dafu's Sliding Tackle, the distance between them widened once again.

Jin Dafu looked at Bai Huan, who had swapped positions with him, smiled slightly, and applied a buff to himself.

Seeing that the first wave of attack hadn't worked, Bai Huan also activated Overdrive.

Jin Dafu squatted on the ground, and a small robot appeared, making a chirping noise as it approached Bai Huan.

Bai Huan was very cautious. He first avoided the robot's path and immediately used Flowing Heart Leap to continue chasing Jin Dafu.

As if he had expected this, Jin Dafu squatted again and released a larger robot with a countdown timer over its head.

After releasing the robot, Jin Dafu immediately ran backward.

Bai Huan's Flowing Heart Leap happened to land right next to the robot. Seeing the countdown on its head, he knew there was danger and immediately wanted to retreat.

But at that moment, Jin Dafu stood in the distance, smiled slightly, and snapped his fingers.

The robot, whose countdown hadn't even finished, exploded instantly, knocking Bai Huan down.

What bothered Bai Huan the most was that the robot's damage wasn't low; it actually took away a tenth of his health in one hit.