Chapter 173: Ch 173 : Tournament of Gods

It was not a command, but an invitation whispered directly into their souls.Across a billion worlds, six billion Gods felt the gentle, irresistible pull.

Their spiritual forms dissolved from their private thrones and, in a blink of an eye, re-formed in a place of impossible grandeur.

"Isn’t this... the same place? The arena where Lord Adam summoned us?" one God whispered, his voice filled with awe as he gazed at the colossal structure.

"Yes, it looks the same," another replied, running an ethereal hand over the smooth, cosmic material of his new throne. "But is it the original, or just a perfect copy?"

Their hushed speculation was cut short as a single voice, calm and absolute, washed over them. It was Sunny, seated on the highest throne at the very pinnacle of the arena, a king looking down upon his court.

"First of all, welcome to the Arena of Epiphany," he said. "And please, take your seats."

The arena itself seemed to respond to his will. The vast, empty space contracted, the countless tiers of audience seating shrinking until only a single, grand circle of six billion thrones remained at the very top.

Below them, a new, even vaster set of stands unfolded, enough to seat trillions. Slowly, every God began to take their seat, friends and families grouping together, the air buzzing with an excited, festive energy.

"Ahem." Sunny cleared his throat, a simple sound that nonetheless commanded the absolute attention of every being present. "I hereby declare the start of the first grand contest of our new era. It shall be named... the Tournament of Gods."

The cheer that erupted was not a sound that traveled through air, but a psychic shockwave of pure joy, a thunderclap created by billions of minds celebrating in unison.

Across the new universe, on every one of the 6 billion worlds, every lifeform watching the live broadcast on their system panels roared with excitement.

In that single, joyous moment, a tidal wave of over five trillion faith points crashed into Sunny’s reserves.

"Before the tournament can officially begin," Sunny’s voice boomed, his words a sacred edict carried to every corner of his empire, "let me tell you the rules."

"There will be two separate tournaments: one for demigods, and one for lifeforms. Each will have three rounds."

"The first round is the Trial of Might. Each participant will be tested on their raw physical strength and their magical power. To pass, you need only meet the standard in one of the two trials."

"The second round is The Crucible. A mass elimination. One million participants will be placed into a single, massive battleground. The last one thousand left standing will advance. All others will be disqualified."

"The third and final round will be The Ascent of Champions. A series of one-on-one battles, with pairings chosen at random, to determine the ultimate victors."

A profound, focused silence fell over the universe. Not a single soul worried about the threat of demon invasions.

Sunny’s new universe was a sanctuary, disconnected from the demonic realm. And Veridia itself was now so thoroughly patrolled by Thea’s particles that any stray demon who appeared would be instantly annihilated by a targeted particle self-destruction.

They were safe. They could enjoy the show.

"The Gods may choose any number of their demigods to participate," Sunny declared. "However, for the lifeform tournament, you may only choose ten champions per race from your world."

With that single statement, the entire purpose of the tournament shifted. It was no longer just about winning a planet; it was about pride. It was a contest to prove the might of one’s entire race on a cosmic stage.

"You may choose your champions now," Sunny announced.

A wave of palpable excitement and anxiety washed over every demigod and lifeform.

In every city, in every village, every warrior, mage, and hero held their breath, praying their God would choose them.

The collective hope of trillions sent another, smaller, but still significant, surge of faith to every God, making them all smile in satisfaction.
work worked flawlessly, presenting each God with a detailed list of their strongest candidates, and one by one, the chosen were teleported directly into the grandstands of the arena.

"Who should I choose?" Sunny mused. He delegated the choice of mortal champions to the leaders of his races.

But for the demigods... ’Why choose a few, when you can choose all of them?’ he thought. With a single, silent command, his demigods began to appear in their designated stand.

The arena stands, each large enough to hold a small army, began to fill.

In the section designated for Sunny’s champions, a powerful, confident figure appeared.

He was a half-orc, radiating the immense, newly-ascended power of a demigod. Ragnok grinned. ’Am I the only demigod God Cosmos is entering in the lifeform tournament? Victory is surely mine.’

His confident thought was short-lived. As two more figures materialized beside him, their auras just as powerful.

The first was the ever-charming Gorgon queen, Medusa, who offered him a polite, serpentine smile. The other was a half-elf whose presence was a calm, deep ocean of wisdom, Light Celestine.

"Greetings, Ragnok and Medusa," he said with a polite smile. "I go by the name Light Celestine and known as a humble teacher."

As these three conversed, the attention of the entire universe focused on them.

Lifeform1029: "Wait... are those DEMIGODS?! How is this a fair tournament if God Cosmos is entering demigods in the lifeform competition?!"

Lifeform1823: "It’s not against the rules. Demigods created by a God are different from lifeforms who ascend naturally. Technically, they are still considered lifeforms, just at the peak of their evolution."

Lifeform1838: "Technically?! It’s still completely unfair! Our champions don’t stand a chance!"

A wave of unease and whispers of unfairness began to ripple through the quadrillions of watching lifeforms.

Sunny let the murmurs build for a moment. Then, his projection appeared on every screen in the universe. "I believe you have all misunderstood something," he said, his voice cutting through the chaos.

He gestured to the stand where the three powerful beings stood. "That is not the stand for my mortal champions. That," he declared, his voice ringing with power, "is the stand for my demigods."

As he spoke, the space above that stand did not just shimmer; it shattered.

A colossal, serpentine form of pure hope, Shenlong, glided through. He was followed by a hound of hellfire and shadow, Cerberus, whose three heads surveyed the crowd with burning menace.

Then came the angels of life, the guardians of the elements, the silent keepers of the world’s domains... They kept coming. Dozens. Then hundreds.

The stand, which had seemed so large just moments ago, was now overflowing with an impossible army of divine beings, their collective aura a crushing weight of absolute power.

The universe fell into a stunned, jaw-dropping silence.

Sunny’s voice was calm, almost casual, as he pointed to a much smaller, still-empty stand beside the divine army.

"That one," he said, "is the stand for my lifeforms."