163: Chapter 163 The Hunter

With the duel between Tuoba Ye and Lei Potian—a battle that tore through the firmament and shattered the stars—ending in a draw, the aftershocks of the second round of arena matches still echoed between heaven and earth, yet they were now like fireflies beneath the scorching sun.

Before the magnificent celestial might birthed from the collision of the "War God Bloodline" and the "Nine Heavens Thunder Prison," all sword light, energy strikes, and Divine Ability paled in comparison; it was as if dust were facing the blazing sun, making even a struggle seem futile.

The remaining battles had long since devolved into one-sided crushings.

Some could break all their opponent's life-long learning with a single flip of their palm, their every movement accompanied by the thunderous roar of the Dao.

Others, relying solely on vast Spiritual Pressure, left their opponents without even a chance to reveal their trump cards, forcing them to concede in gloom, their Dao Heart tarnished, perhaps never to recover.

Having weathered two rounds of tempering by blood and fire, the true top Prodigy had already grasped the greater trend—they no longer lingered in battle, nor did they show off their skills, seeking only to end fights swiftly, keeping their true killing moves hidden deep within their sheaths, waiting silently for the final storm to descend.

Everyone knew clearly: the true life-and-death struggle had yet to begin.

When the final ripples of Spiritual Qi collision slowly dissipated into the Void Realm, the second round finally settled.

The tens of thousands of contestants that had initially surged like a vast tide, blocking out the sky, were now reduced by eighty or ninety percent, with only a few thousand figures remaining, standing upon the arena like solitary Peaks—like pine trees still standing tall after a violent storm, like the lingering shadows of eternal stars.

These few thousand people, each with distinct Auras, were all, without exception, dragons and phoenixes among men, the chosen Prodigy:

Some were as steady as ancient mountains, their mere presence radiating an unshakeable might, as if not even the collapse of heaven and earth could move them a single inch;

Some were as sharp as a divine sword unsheathed, the rustling of their robes faintly sounding like the tearing of the Void Realm, and wherever their gaze fell, the air trembled;

Still others possessed Auras as vast as an endless sea of stars, their surrounding Spiritual Qi frozen like ice, as if with a single thought, they could reverse the universe and throw the sun and moon into Chaos.

They were all peerless Prodigy who had fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, the Qilin children whom various Dynasty had poured their national fortune into forging and whom countless Sect regarded as treasures.

Every name symbolized a legend in its homeland, bearing the expectations and glory of billions of the Human Race.

In the air, the invisible Evil Qi left behind by countless fierce battles remained—blood, destruction, unwillingness, anger... all woven into an invisible giant net that shrouded the entire square, pressing down on people until they could barely breathe.

The clamor, discussion, and exclamations that had existed before had now completely turned into dead silence.

This was the most heart-palpitating silence before the coming storm.

On the spectator stands, hundreds of thousands of Cultivator held their breath, silent as the grave.

Only those thousands of silent figures were accumulating earth-shattering power in the silence—beneath this stillness surged a burning anticipation for the unknown battle, and even deeper, a profound reverence for the impermanence of life and death.

Everyone understood: every upcoming battle could determine the life or death of a Prodigy, the rise or fall of a faction, or even the trajectory of an era.

The top ten existences on the Heaven's Choice Ranking were also quietly revealing themselves now, like the most dazzling stars in the night sky.

Except for Nangong Tianlong, who had unfortunately encountered Chu Zhanxiao early and was ferociously blasted off the arena by his move "Tyrant's Wrath," causing damage to his Dao foundation, the other eight were all present, their Aura like a rainbow, suppressing the entire venue.

There were also a few dark horses who had remained low-key until now, like hidden dragons in the abyss, who had quietly appeared in this final sequence—their eyes contained restrained brilliance, their Auras were unfathomable, yet they were highly regarded within their Sect.

They were the bright moons surrounded by a multitude of stars.

Even when just standing quietly in the corner of the arena, they seemed to be shrouded in an invisible halo, attracting more than ninety percent of the gazes in the venue.

Everyone knew clearly: the stage ahead was destined to be dominated by these people. Every clash of theirs would shake the heavens and be inscribed in history.

Undercurrents surged, rules changed abruptly.

Just as all the Prodigy were closing their eyes to adjust their breathing, silently circulating their Spiritual Qi to meet the third round of draws at their Peak state—

The massive scoreboard floating above the main arena suddenly bloomed with light once more!

This time, it was not soft white light, but golden divine radiance carrying ancient will and supreme majesty—like the rising sun, shining upon the eight wildernesses, illuminating every young and determined face as if they were cast in gold.

That radiance flowed with the vicissitudes of time and contained the will of heaven and earth, causing people to involuntarily feel reverence, their knees trembling slightly.

Immediately after, the space rippled like the surface of water.

A figure clad in a golden Dragon robe appeared silently above the Martial Arts Arena—it was the host of this Hundred Dynasties War, a Middle Stage Mahayana titan, Emperor Wu Tianba.

The majestic pressure around his body was released without reservation, like the Nine Heavens galaxy overturning, like an eternal divine mountain pressing down—the thousands of Prodigy below were all shaken to their core, their Soul trembling, and the Spiritual Qi within their bodies actually stagnated for a moment!

Emperor Wu Tianba's gaze was like lightning, slowly sweeping across every young face stained with wind and frost and filled with ambition.

His voice was calm, yet every word was like a Nine Heavens thunderclap, striking directly into the depths of the Soul, branded upon the Dao Heart:

"Congratulations to you Prodigy, having gone through two rounds of fierce battles, you have stood out from among the tens of thousands. To be able to stand here, you are already the elites of the current young generation, the dragons and phoenixes among men."

"And you have the qualifications to participate in the final—"

He paused. The world seemed to freeze along with him.

The next instant, that voice boomed like the first bell toll of creation: " 'The Struggle for Destiny'!"

He raised his hand and pointed at the golden radiance circulating on the scoreboard—within that radiance, the sun and moon were born and died, stars evolved, and the Dao flowed, as if billions of years of time were floating within it.

"However, the struggle of the Dao has never been limited to just arena competitions."

"True experts must undergo the baptism of blood and fire, temper their Dao Heart on the edge of life and death, and seize a glimmer of Opportunity in desperate situations!"

"If you cannot even withstand the test of life and death, how can you speak of grasping Destiny? How can you speak of achieving the supreme Dao fruit?!"

His voice suddenly rose, like a heavenly blade unsheathed, severing all Luck and fantasy: "Therefore—the third round of the assessment will not be held here!"

As soon as these words were spoken, it was earth-shattering!

Thousands of Prodigy opened their eyes abruptly, their eyes exploding with suspicion, shock, solemnity, and uncontrollable burning Battle Intent!

On the spectator stands, there was an uproar, like a meteorite thrown into a calm lake, stirring up monstrous waves!

Everyone looked at each other, whispering, the look of shock overflowing from their expressions—what did this unprecedented rule change actually mean?

Emperor Wu Tianba's expression remained unchanged, his sleeves waving lightly, as if brushing away dust.

In an instant, the golden light on the scoreboard surged like a river flowing backward, actually condensing into an ancient and broken Star Domain phantom above the firmament—grand, desolate, dead silent, yet hiding endless danger.

It could be seen: huge continental fragments floated in the endless Void Realm, their surfaces covered in cracks, deep and bottomless, as if split by a divine axe; broken star rivers were like dying silver Dragon, winding around remnant stars, their starlight nearly extinguished; countless blurry corpses of gods and demons floated among them—

Some held broken war halberds, still maintaining a charging posture; some had their bodies split in two, their divine blood seemingly still flowing; some knelt on the ground, roaring up at the sky, even as phantoms, they emitted a sorrow and unwillingness that made the Soul tremble!

A vast Aura originating from the primordial era swept across the venue, the temperature of the square plummeting, as if falling into an icy cavern of the Nine Netherworlds.

Many spectators with weaker cultivation were trembling all over, their Divine Soul nearly collapsing.

Emperor Wu Tianba's voice now carried an unprecedented solemnity and vicissitude, as if uncovering a page of an ancient epic soaked in the blood of gods and demons:

"This place is named— 'Eternal Graveyard'!"

"It is a fragment of the site of the final battle of the ancient gods and demons. Because the power of that great battle was too terrifying, tearing space-time and shattering the Dao, it has drifted in the space-time rift for eternity."

"Those without great Divine Ability cannot find it, and those without great Opportunity cannot enter."

His gaze was like a torch, sweeping across every face that was gradually turning pale: "Within it, are sealed countless ancient Legacy, immortal divine materials, Innate spiritual objects..."

"It also buries endless danger—" "There are silent demonic Souls that have slept for eternity, their resentment undissipated;" "There are spatial traps formed due to the collapse of the Law, where one wrong step leads to being shredded into nothingness by turbulence;" "There are eerie existences formed by the lingering thoughts of gods and demons;" "And even more, primordial remnants that have mutated due to the great battle, incomparably ferocious..."

"Every step is a killing Opportunity, everywhere is a dead zone!" "One wrong step, and it is the destruction of both body and Soul, never to be reborn for eternity!"

Before the voice fell, in the center of the scoreboard phantom, a crystal the size of a fist slowly emerged—turning from virtual to real, dark purple throughout, containing Chaos currents, countless divine and demonic runes flowing like ant colonies, emitting the most primitive and pure Law fluctuations!

Just a phantom was enough to make the Spiritual Qi within all the Prodigy restless, their Dao Heart roaring, giving birth to an instinctive desire and trembling!

"This object is named— 'God-Demon Origin Crystal'!"

"It is formed by the intertwining of god and demon remains, immortal obsessions, and broken heaven and earth Law in the Eternal Graveyard over billions of years, containing the most refined Origin power and supreme Dao rhyme!"

"It is not only the sole basis for your final ranking, but also the greatest Opportunity of this trip!"

"Refining the Origin Crystal can help you break through Realm barriers, comprehend the true meaning of the Dao, and consolidate your supreme Dao foundation..." "Even—have a chance to obtain the incomplete Legacy of ancient gods and demons, and glimpse the shocking secrets of that lost era!"

His gaze suddenly became as sharp as a heavenly blade, every word heavy as a ten-thousand-jun divine mountain: "In one month, the teleportation array will open again."

"At that time, the final ranking of this Hundred Dynasties War will be decided based on the quantity and quality of the Origin Crystal you have obtained!"

"Those with high rankings will receive the blessing of supreme Luck, and their Sect and Dynasty will enjoy the blessings of heaven and earth;" "Those with low rankings will have a dim Dao path, and their future will be worrying."

He paused, his voice suddenly rising, like a funeral bell ringing for all living beings: "Furthermore—" "Inside the graveyard, killing is not forbidden!" "Seize the Origin Crystal, fight for Opportunity, each by your own means—" "Life and death..." "—all depend on your own destiny!"

"Killing is not forbidden! Life and death all depend on your own destiny!"

These eight words were like a chain of Nine Heavens divine thunder exploding, each one more violent than the last, each one tearing at the Divine Soul more than the last!

The spectator stands instantly fell into dead silence—a pin drop could be heard, and breaths could be distinguished.

Hundreds of thousands of Cultivator turned pale, cold sweat dripping.

This meant: what came next was no longer a sparring session that stopped at a point, no longer a friendly exchange of techniques between fellow disciples, but the naked Law of the jungle, the most cruel and bloody survival trial!

For the Origin Crystal, comrades of the past could turn into enemies; for Opportunity, best friends could stab you in the back; every step could lead into the netherworld; every encounter could be a final farewell; every gain could be stained with blood!

Opportunity and slaughter were like twin shadows, accompanying each other. Survival and destruction were only a thought away.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the square changed completely—murderous, cold, and undercurrents surging.

The camaraderie among peers, the sentiments of the Sect, and the righteousness of old friendships that had existed before were at this moment completely replaced by vigilance, calculation, and naked competitive consciousness.

The gentle veil of warmth had been torn to shreds.

Gazes became as sharp as hawks, as cold as cold blades, and as they sized each other up, they were filled with undisguised scrutiny, evaluation, killing intent, and a biting chill—

Everyone understood in an instant: from the moment they stepped into the Eternal Graveyard, they were no longer just "fellow competitors." But each other's—prey. And—hunters.

A bloody hunt that would sweep through thousands of Prodigy and span across the God-Demon Graveyard was about to begin.

And those who could finally walk out alive and return with the Origin Crystal would be the true—favored by Destiny!