89: Chapter 89 The Battle Begins

Tianyuan Arena, world pod No. 1987.

Su Bai opened his eyes.

On the light screen before him, the matchup information had been updated.

[Ninth Match]

[Su Bai VS Shen Zhao]

[Countdown: Three Minutes]

He didn't look at Shen Zhao's profile.

It wasn't out of arrogance, but because it was unnecessary.

He saw the message sent by Chu Kuangren, but he didn't open it.

Because after he awakened the Yin Qi World and began to conceptualize the Netherworld, he didn't believe he would lose.

Whether it was rank thirty-two or rank one.

Whether it was the Incense Divine Kingdom or the Mythology World.

It was all the same.

No matter how strong the worlds awakened and built by everyone else in this universe were, they could not possibly be stronger than the Netherworld from his previous life's world.

After all, the world-building of the Netherworld World was the accumulation of five thousand years of Great Xia's history from his previous life.

On the surface, Su Bai had no background or family, but in reality, his family had five thousand years of history!

He closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank into the Netherworld World.

The grayish-white Yin Qi surged like an ocean.

In front of Ghost Gate Pass, the Ghost King floated in mid-air, his golden vertical pupils gazing at him.

"My Lord," the Ghost King's voice was deep like a bell, "the opponent's world is the Incense Divine Kingdom; their Power Of Faith has a restraining effect on our Yin Qi."

"I know," Su Bai said.

"What does your subordinate need to do?"

The corners of Su Bai's mouth curled up slightly.

The smile was faint, but the Ghost King saw something in those eyes that he had never seen before.

It wasn't battle intent, nor was it killing intent.

It was a pure, almost obsessive curiosity.

"I need to test something," Su Bai said.

"Test what?"

Su Bai didn't answer.

His gaze moved past the Ghost King, falling upon the figures standing silently by the banks of the River of Oblivion.

Black and White Impermanence, one white and one black, one gentle and one fierce.

Ox-Head and Horse-Face, one burly and one slender, one blood-red and one pitch-black.

The Day Patrol Envoy, his golden robes snapping in the Yin Qi.

The Night Patrol Envoy, his silver robes fluttering softly in the Yin Qi.

Leopard Tail, Bird Beak, Fish Gills, and Wasp—the Four Great Demon Underworld Envoys were scattered in all directions.

The Ghost Bride floated in mid-air, her red wedding dress fluttering in the Yin Qi like blood.

Sadako stood by the well, her long hair flying, her pale face devoid of any expression.

The Slit-Mouthed Woman held her scissors, standing silently in the shadows.

Mushroom King, Shadow Blade, Frost King, Lan, and Chen Ming—the leaders of the five great races—each stood in the center of their own territory, awaiting orders.

The Ten Great Yin Marshals, the five great races, and 4.5 million units.

All assembled.

Su Bai withdrew his gaze, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"I hope the opponent is sturdy enough."

He whispered.

"Enough to let me test all ten of the Ghost Messengers."

...

Tianyuan Arena, Core Control Room.

Tian Heng raised his hand and made a light swipe in the void.

Fifteen hundred pillars of light lit up simultaneously, each corresponding to a world pod, with their brightness representing the intensity of the energy fluctuations within that pod.

And above world pod No. 1987, that grayish-white pillar of light was flashing at an extremely unstable frequency.

Tian Heng's brows furrowed slightly.

"eye of destiny," he said, "analyze the energy fluctuation patterns of world pod No. 1987."

The eye of destiny's computing core operated at high speed, giving the results three seconds later:

"Energy fluctuation frequency: belongs to the 'waiting to be unleashed' pattern. This pattern usually appears on the eve of a Creator's large-scale offensive. Unlike the conventional pattern, the energy fluctuations in this world pod are not growing linearly but are showing a stepwise jump. With each jump, the fluctuation frequency doubles and the energy density grows fourfold. Three jumps have occurred so far."

"Three jumps?" Tian Heng's gaze froze slightly. "What does that mean?"

"It means the Creator is activating Hero Units within the world layer by layer. Each jump corresponds to the activation of one Hero Unit. Three jumps correspond to three Hero Units." The eye of destiny paused. "However, based on the growth multiple of the energy density, the rank of the activated Hero Units is at least Rank 6."

Tian Heng fell silent.

Three seconds later, he looked at another light screen.

That screen displayed the data for world pod No. 1042.

That was Shen Zhao's world pod.

The golden pillar of light was stable and intense, with a constant energy fluctuation frequency, belonging to the 'conventional offensive' pattern.

One had stepwise jumps in energy fluctuations, while the other was stable and constant.

One was gathering momentum, while the other was going through the motions.

Tian Heng withdrew his gaze, the corners of his mouth curling into a barely perceptible arc.

"Interesting."

He whispered.

"This Yin Qi World might be more interesting than anyone imagined."

...

The final minute of the countdown.

In the void of the entire Tianyuan Arena, a solemn and cold voice rang out.

It was the voice of the eye of destiny.

"Creators, audience members, welcome to the final selection of the Great Xia Calendar Year 12187 National Zhuangyuan Hegemony Competition."

"The first round of the knockout matches, fifteen hundred duels, will take place simultaneously."

"The competition rules are as follows:"

"First, both worlds will be directly connected through a 'world bridge' constructed by the eye of destiny. The world bridge will continue to operate until one side's world core is breached or one Creator voluntarily surrenders."

"Second, during the competition, the death of any unit will result in a forced resurrection by the eye of destiny, without consuming the Creator's own resources. However, please note—resurrections will be carried out collectively after the competition ends; units that die during the match cannot participate again."

"Third, a surrender must be initiated voluntarily before one's own world core is breached. Once the world core is breached, a surrender will not be accepted."

"Fourth, it is forbidden to use any external items, forbidden techniques, or units that do not belong to one's own world. Violators will be disqualified and permanently stripped of their Creator status."

"Fifth..."

The rules were announced one by one, but no one was listening.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the upcoming ninth duel.

Ten seconds left.

Nine.

Eight.

...

Three.

Two.

One.

"The first round of the knockout matches officially begins."

Fifteen hundred world pods lit up simultaneously, and fifteen hundred world bridges unfolded in the void.

And on Battlefield No. 9, a golden light and a grayish-white light collided in the void.

Boom!!!

A violent shockwave spread in all directions, causing the outer walls of the Tianyuan Arena to tremble slightly.

world bridge connection complete.

Red Side World: Netherworld.

Blue Side World: Incense Divine Kingdom.

Battle, begin.