135: Chapter 135 The Great Summer Talent Championship, Black Abyss, 1 Billion Battle Power
After Lin Yuan slew the Ninth Order initial stage Tyrannosaurus, the golden light on his body slowly retracted, and the Slaughter Domain beneath his feet also receded into his body.
The swimming dragon sword was sheathed, and Lin Yuan looked around at the tens of thousands of soldiers standing frozen in shock, unsure of what to say.
He knew Commander Zhao could not defeat that Ninth-Rank Ferocious Beast, so he chose to act decisively to prevent more people from being injured or killed in action.
Moreover, his action was in his strongest state; he not only activated Heavenly God Descends and the Slaughter Domain but also used Carefree Break to attack the Tyrannosaurus's Sea of Consciousness the instant he launched his assault.
This caused the Tyrannosaurus to enter a brief daze, after which Lin Yuan allowed Space Dimensional Slash to adhere to his blade, then utilized his own powerful momentum to unleash his ultimate sword strike.
Only then was it possible to instantly kill the Ninth Order initial stage Tyrannosaurus Ferocious Beast with the might to cleave mountains and shatter stones.
The scene fell silent for a moment before the crowd finally recovered from their shock, and immediately, noisy discussions erupted.
"Holy crap! A Ninth-Rank Ferocious Beast was just slain? Who is this young man? He’s too fierce! He’s even more awesome than Commander Zhao!"
"This is Ninth-Rank, not some common beast. He killed it in one sword strike?"
"He’s a monstrous genius. Judging by his looks, he can’t be twenty yet. Even if he started cultivating from the womb, he couldn't be this strong..."
"I originally thought Lü Bu was unrivaled under heaven, but I didn't expect someone even braver. Whose subordinate is this?"
...
Commander Zhao slowly walked up to Lin Yuan, smiled kindly, saluted him, and asked,
"Little Brother, what is your name? Are you from the Southern Theater Command? That sword strike of yours truly shocked me."
Seeing this, Lin Yuan also returned the salute with a slight smile and replied, "Greetings, Commander. You flatter me. I am Lin Yuan, from the Southern Theater Command."
"Good! Good! Our military actually produced a monstrous genius like you, yet I haven't heard a single whisper about it!"
Just as Commander Zhao was puzzled, Yu Zhenguang hurried back, quickly speaking up:
"Commander Zhao, he is a soldier from the Third Regiment, Seventh Battalion, Second Division of our Southern Theater Command. He hasn't been enlisted for more than a few days. He was previously a student at Qing University. However, he has already made several great merits. I just submitted a document yesterday applying for the rank of Special Sergeant Major, and it was for him."
"Just enlisted? Special Sergeant Major? Nonsense! You are burying talent!" Commander Zhao was instantly enraged.
"Yes! I accept your reprimand, Commander! But this was Lin Yuan's own request. In his words, the martial artists of our generation should take saving the common people as our own responsibility," Yu Zhenguang explained hurriedly.
Upon hearing this, Commander Zhao immediately burst into laughter: "Hahahaha... I see. It seems I misunderstood you. I didn't expect Little Brother Lin to possess such great righteousness and concern for the world."
"I dare not accept such praise. I just happen to prefer killing Ferocious Beasts," Lin Yuan said somewhat awkwardly.
"Little Brother Lin, may I ask presumptuously, what is your actual strength? I observe your aura doesn't seem like that of a Ninth-Rank Expert," Commander Zhao asked in a lowered voice.
"My actual combat power is just entering the Seventh-Rank. I used a secret technique just now to achieve a successful sneak attack."
Lin Yuan deliberately told a lie. If he told the truth—that he possessed this strength at only the Sixth-Rank initial stage—it would inevitably attract unnecessary trouble.
"I see. But at such a young age, to reach the Seventh-Rank and be able to unleash temporary Ninth-Rank combat power—that is truly remarkable! Your future is limitless! I wonder if you are willing to participate in the Great Xia Genius Competition in half a month?" Commander Zhao asked.
"The Genius Competition?" Lin Yuan had never heard of this competition.
"The Great Xia Genius Competition is held once every five years. Anyone under the age of 35 can participate. It is a grand event for Great Xia."
"Commander Zhao, I apologize. I am not interested in competitions. I prefer killing Ferocious Beasts more."
Lin Yuan rejected it outright. What good was a competition? Even if there were rare rewards, Lin Yuan didn't care. Grinding monsters to level up was the most important thing right now; everything else was useless.
"Heh heh... Little Brother Lin, the Void Rifts in our Great Xia are basically stable now. If you like killing Ferocious Beasts, then you absolutely must participate in this competition. Because this competition will determine the top thirty, and these thirty people will receive an entry ticket to the Black Abyss," Commander Zhao said with a smile.
After Commander Zhao's explanation, Lin Yuan finally understood. The Black Abyss was a location on Blue Star where the space between it and the Fierce Beast World was the thinnest. Large numbers of Ferocious Beasts would periodically surge out from there, and their ranks were very high, especially the Ninth-Rank Ferocious Beasts, which only originated from the Black Abyss.
Therefore, the Black Abyss had gathered high-level martial artists from around the globe, creating a place akin to a massive secret realm. It was also a gathering place for geniuses.
Not only were the best cultivation resources available there, but there were also countless materials from Ferocious Beasts and heavenly treasures produced in the Fierce Beast World.
However, the Black Abyss was also an extremely dangerous place where the geniuses of various nations competed fiercely, with no rules whatsoever—it was a world where the strong reigned supreme.
Since the beast tides were no longer easy to come by, in order to quickly enhance his strength, this place called the Black Abyss was somewhere Lin Yuan absolutely had to go.
"Fine! Commander Zhao, count me in for the Great Xia Genius Competition," Lin Yuan made his decision immediately.
"Good! With you participating, our military will truly shine this time! Wait for my news. Alright, with you guarding this place, it's very safe. I'll head back first to handle the matters regarding your participation," Commander Zhao patted Lin Yuan's shoulder, then turned and sped toward the exit.
...
When everyone saw Commander Zhao leave, the crowd immediately became noisy again, their discussions ceaseless. They all looked at Lin Yuan with extremely fanatical eyes, becoming somewhat distracted even from resisting the Ferocious Beasts.
Although the military officers responsible for managing the various areas repeatedly reminded them, everyone was too excited to listen.
Seeing this, Lin Yuan's expression darkened, and he shouted sternly, "Silence! Focus on fighting the Ferocious Beasts! Anyone else caught daydreaming will be dealt with according to military law!"
With Lin Yuan's loud shout, the soldiers present were suddenly jolted awake. Not a single person maintained a lazy attitude again; everyone applied twelve parts of their spirit.
Lin Yuan sighed inwardly. Prestige, as expected, was entirely built upon the foundation of strength.
...
This beast tide lasted for another two days before finally ending. However, the rank of the Ferocious Beasts decreased in the later stages, and towards the end, only some Third and Fourth-Rank Ferocious Beasts surged out.
During these two days, the ability points Lin Yuan gained could be described as terrifying.
A Seventh-rank Ferocious Beast yielded over 20,000 ability points on average. Including the Sixth-Rank beasts and the later, lower-ranked ones, the system panel held a staggering 250 million ability points.
Lin Yuan looked at the data on the panel with disbelief. If he used this to increase his Martial Arts Level, wouldn't it be like riding a rocket?
Without any hesitation, Lin Yuan directly chose to upgrade.
Sixth-Rank Mid stage...
Sixth-Rank Peak...
Seventh-Rank Initial stage...
...
His cultivation continued to rise until it stopped at Seventh-Rank Peak, consuming a total of 210 million ability points. His combat power directly reached 980 million. Lin Yuan then spent another 10 million ability points to slightly increase his combat power, rounding it off to a neat figure.
[Martial Arts]: Martial Artist Seventh-Rank Peak
[Combat Power]: 1 Billion
[ability points]: 39 Million
"I am now considered a true Peak Grandmaster. My foundational combat power has reached the standard of 1 billion combat power for the Ninth Order initial stage. Finally, I have some confidence to enter the Black Abyss."
Lin Yuan clenched his fists and showed a slight smile. He would test the waters first at the Great Xia Genius Competition...