142: The Final Challenge

"Mhm..." As soon as Shen Guyan saw Shen Yue, images of last night uncontrollably flooded his mind. Even though his Soul was as experienced as an old fox, he couldn't suppress the throbbing excitement natural to a young boy's body.

"Come over, lie down and rest. From now on, we sleep together," Shen Yue said in a commanding tone, patting the large bed beside her as she spoke.

Together? Shen Guyan's lips twitched slightly, but before he could refuse, Shen Yue reached out and pulled him into her embrace.

"You have a woman's scent on you. Heavenly Phoenix Douluo?" Shen Yue's delicate nose twitched slightly, immediately sniffing out Leng Yaozhu's scent.

"Yes." Shen Guyan rubbed his nose; the force of crashing into those "mountains" almost made his nose bleed.

Hearing this, Shen Yue's bright eyes dimmed. Indeed, no matter how one looked at it, Heavenly Phoenix Douluo Leng Yaozhu was the continent's number one beauty. Even if Holy Spirit Douluo had higher fame and prestige, in terms of pure appearance, Leng Yaozhu was still a cut above.

"Is Heavenly Phoenix Douluo very beautiful?" Shen Yue asked out of the blue, hugging Shen Guyan tightly.

"No, not at all." As someone with experience, how could Shen Guyan not guess that Shen Yue was jealous? At a time like this, the more decisive the denial, the better it would be for him.

"What about Sister, then?"

"Uh... Sister is the most beautiful girl in the World."

"That's more like it..."

—

The next morning, sunlight fell upon Shrek City like a golden veil. The city seemed to wake from its slumber, radiating a unique vitality and an atmosphere of tension, for today would witness the most crucial stage of the Youth Genius Competition.

At this moment, the stands were already packed with people. Spectators from every corner of the Douluo Continent had arrived early at their designated seats, filled with excitement and anticipation as they prepared to watch the competition.

Above the arena, Spirit Masters occasionally flew past, either controlling flight-type Spirits or riding spirit tool flying devices. Some were staff members conducting final inspections of the grounds, leaving behind colorful trails that complemented the bustling scene below, creating a grand and vivid picture.

In the arena's staff passage, a group of Spirit Pagoda staff members in uniform busily moved back and forth. They were responsible for maintaining order, checking the facilities, and preparing various items needed for the competition. Everyone was focused, meticulously carrying out their tasks to ensure the competition ran smoothly.

As time passed, the start of the competition drew closer. The crowd's emotions in the stands rose higher and higher, their cheers and discussions intertwining like a surging tide. The various leaders in the VIP seats also turned their gazes toward the center of the arena, waiting for the Spirit Pagoda's representative to announce the start.

As if sensing the fervent atmosphere of the entire venue, Qiangu Dongfeng, after many days, reappeared before the public alongside numerous high-ranking Spirit Pagoda officials, drawing everyone's attention.

He slowly raised his hands, and the arena instantly fell silent. Everyone's eyes focused on him. "Elites from across the Douluo Continent, distinguished guests, and passionate spectators!"

"First, on behalf of the Spirit Pagoda, I would like to congratulate the top one hundred contestants. The final stage of the competition will take place right here. Reaching this point is a full testament to your strength. You are all the cream of the crop of the Federation's younger generation. At the same time, the Spirit Pagoda will provide generous rewards to every participant based on their scores, which will be distributed to each of you following the conclusion of this Youth Genius Competition."

Qiangu Dongfeng's voice spread throughout the arena via a special spirit tool amplification device. "The Youth Genius Competition, after many trials, has finally reached its ultimate Peak showdown! Next, we invite the top one hundred contestants to enter the arena."

Top one hundred? Many contestants with lower scores felt a bit bitter. After the previous four rounds, the comprehensive level of most people was already reflected in their total scores.

This brought to light the importance of the qualification spots; perfect scores in the first two rounds were enough to leave most contestants far behind.

Then came the survival race in the Death Forest, the Sub-profession competition... Out of a total of five hundred and fifty possible points, scoring over four hundred and fifty was enough to secure a spot in the top one hundred.

The one hundred contestants entered one after another, stepping onto this World-renowned arena.

They were all true Geniuses who had withstood the tests and emerged from among thousands!

According to statistics, among them were fifty-nine Three-Ring Soul Elders, thirty-four Fourth Ring Spirit Ancestors, five five-ring Spirit Kings, and two six-ring Spirit Emperors.

"Now, I will explain the rules of this random challenge tournament in detail," Qiangu Dongfeng announced, his gaze sweeping over the hundred people below with satisfaction.

"The final stage is set as a challenge tournament with a total of two hundred points, designed to comprehensively and fairly evaluate each contestant's strength and adaptability. The core mechanism of the competition is the random assignment of opponents. This randomness will test your on-the-spot strategies and true strength to the greatest extent."

"The scoring rules are based on the difference in strength between the challenger and the opponent. Our spirit power detection system will accurately assess comprehensive factors such as each contestant's Soul Power intensity, Spirit characteristics, and actual combat ability before the match, using this as a basis to determine the strength gap. If you successfully challenge an opponent stronger than yourself, your score will increase accordingly based on the degree of the gap. This is a reward for those brave enough to challenge the strong."

"For example, if an opponent's comprehensive strength assessment is one major Realm higher than yours and you successfully defeat them, you will receive a higher score. The specific points will fluctuate between one hundred and one hundred and fifty based on the actual gap."

"If the opponent's strength is two major Realms higher than yours, the score after a successful challenge will be between one hundred and fifty and two hundred, and so on. Conversely, if you challenge an opponent of equal or lower strength, the score will be relatively lower, between fifty and one hundred. This is also to encourage contestants to challenge stronger opponents rather than picking weaker ones just to gain points."

"To accommodate support system and food system Spirit Masters, teaming up is allowed for higher-level challenges. The team limit is seven people, fighting cooperatively, and judges will score based on each person's performance during the match."

"The challenged party has the right to recruit other contestants to face the challenge together, depending on the number of challengers. Furthermore, successfully defending against a challenge will also earn the challenged party a certain amount of points... regardless of the situation, every contestant has the chance to earn points based on their performance."

"Each person has only one chance to challenge and one chance to be challenged; I hope you use these two opportunities flexibly. Meanwhile, to ensure the safety of all contestants, powerful defensive spirit tools and a team of healing Spirit Masters have been deployed around the arena. In case of an emergency, we will launch a rescue immediately..."

Before Qiangu Dongfeng could finish his sentence, two figures quietly appeared in the air above the massive venue.

"Hehe, Pagoda Master Qiangu, you can leave the matter of treating the wounded to me."