42: Chapter 42 Preliminary Rounds Begin

The countdown hit zero.

Beams of brilliant white light shot into the sky from the massive training grounds of Jiangcheng No. 3 High School. Nearly a hundred students, representing Jiangcheng's top new-generation gods, instantly dissolved into data streams and were simultaneously teleported into the preliminary battlefield.

This was an ancient jungle perfectly simulated by data streams.

The air was damp and sweltering, leaving a sticky film on the skin. Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, leaving only dappled light and shadows. From the depths of the dense forest, the muffled roars of unknown behemoths echoed from time to time, adding an endless sense of danger to this primitive and wild land.

Inside the spectator hall of the Jiangcheng Deity Center, a massive light screen was divided into over a hundred small sections, tracking every participant's initial movements and Divine Kingdom status in real-time.

Almost everyone's gaze immediately bypassed the crowded screens and collectively locked onto Jiang Xun's feed.

But immediately following that, they saw a scene that made their eyelids twitch wildly.

The signal for the start of the match had just sounded when, on the map, at least a dozen participant light points completely abandoned the conventional opening of exploring resource points or hunting neutral creatures. Instead, like a pack of sharks smelling blood, they simultaneously changed direction and moved at high speed toward the same set of coordinates.

Their common target was Jiang Xun!

"What's going on? Forming an alliance to surround and suppress him right at the start? This is a solo survival match!"

"My god, look at their movement trajectories; their goal is too clear! They're definitely going for Jiang Xun!"

"That's too dirty! How is he supposed to fight this? Over a dozen people against one—this isn't a match anymore, it's an outright hunt!"

The hall instantly erupted into an uproar, with discussions spreading like a tidal wave.

Xu Qingran's heart instantly leaped into her throat. Looking at that solitary coordinate being rapidly surrounded by a dozen red dots, fine beads of cold sweat seeped from her fair palms.

Director Li Jianguo's methods were even more shameless and direct than she had imagined. This gave him no room to breathe at all.

Within the battlefield.

In a communication channel of the temporary alliance formed by over a dozen geniuses, an arrogant voice rang out through the Divine Kingdom terminals.

"Hahaha, the 'God-Binding Compass' Director Li gave us is really useful! We can see that kid's coordinates clearly. He's like a firefly in the night; he can't run even if he wants to!"

In the channel, Brother Feng's avatar was lit up, but he didn't say a word.

He looked at the light point representing Jiang Xun on the map, his emotions incredibly complex.

He hated Jiang Xun; he hated how this person had crushed his pride in front of the entire school.

But he also feared Jiang Xun. That fear, which reached into his very bones, made him feel an involuntary pang of palpitations whenever he thought of that army of stitched-together monsters that defied all logic.

Now, he had been given a death order by his family to lead the team, forcing him to come and besiege the person he least wanted to face in the depths of his heart.

"Brother Feng, stop spacing out and give the order!" a scion of a prominent family named Wang Tao urged from beside him. He was the legitimate son of the Jiangcheng Wang family, one of the core figures of this alliance, and the person to whom Director Li Jianguo had promised the most benefits.

"With over a dozen of us, we could drown him with just our spit! This time, we have to beat him back to his original form and show everyone what happens when you offend the Li family!"

Brother Feng looked up at the map. Jiang Xun wasn't running around like a headless fly; instead, he was moving steadily toward a very specific direction.

"He's going to Yixiantian Canyon," Brother Feng's voice was a bit dry.

"Yixiantian?" Wang Tao paused, then burst into wild laughter in the channel as if he had heard the world's biggest joke. "He knows he can't escape, so he's actively looking for a scenic spot to die! That ghost of a place is surrounded by ten-thousand-foot cliffs on three sides with only one narrow entrance. There's not even room to run!"

"Pass down my order! Everyone, accelerate! Surround Yixiantian Canyon immediately and don't let him get away! Today, we're going to catch a turtle in a jar!"

In an instant, over a dozen Divine Kingdom light orbs of various colors streaked across the sky above the jungle. Like a flock of scavenging vultures carrying an aura of slaughter, they pounced toward that long, narrow canyon.

People in the spectator hall cried out in confusion when they saw this scene.

"What is Jiang Xun doing? Why is he going to a deathtrap like Yixiantian?"

"Is he crazy? Faced with a siege, instead of using the complex terrain of the jungle to maneuver, he's blocking himself into a canyon?"

Sitting in a corner, Teacher Wu Jingguo had a gloating smile on his face. He adjusted his glasses and muttered to himself.

"Arrogant brat, you're finally going to pay the price for your stupidity. This is what you get for offending Director Li!"

Meanwhile, in the battlefield, Jiang Xun was currently flying at an unhurried pace.

He looked at the screenshot Lin Hao had risked sending him on his terminal, which was marked with over a dozen names. He then compared it to the light points rapidly closing in on him on the map; the data models of the two matched perfectly.

His face remained expressionless as he calmly issued a series of commands in his Divine Kingdom channel.

"Undead Musketeer Battalion, construct three layers of crossfire positions on the cliff walls on both sides of the canyon at fifty-meter intervals."

"Ghost Wolf Cavalry, carry all 'Elf Wind-Walking Scrolls' and stand by in concealment in the middle and rear sections of the canyon, awaiting the charge command."

"Dwarven Rune Heavy Infantry, organize into squads of thirty and set up three defensive lines respectively within the canyon entrance. Activate 'Steadfast Runes'."

"All units, do not fire without my command."

The orders were issued methodically.

Within his Divine Kingdom, his believers acted like the most precise machinery, executing every step efficiently and silently. The undead scaled the cliffs, the dwarves hammered in runic stakes, and the silhouettes of the wolf cavalry flashed through the trees and vanished. Everything proceeded in silence.

Soon, his Divine Kingdom's radiance slowly descended at the only entrance to Yixiantian Canyon. The massive Divine Kingdom phantom was like a giant cork, firmly plugging this strategic bottleneck.

This place was like the mouth of a giant bottle, completely isolating the vast jungle outside from the interior of the canyon.

From the outside, one could only see a pitch-black entrance that seemed bottomless, like the devouring maw of an ancient beast, quietly waiting for its prey to throw themselves into the trap.

"He's stopped! Right at the mouth of the canyon! He actually went in!"

"Hahaha, there's a road to heaven but he won't take it; there's no gate to hell yet he breaks in!"

"Brothers, charge! Don't give him a chance to catch his breath! The first one to eliminate Jiang Xun will get a heavy reward from Director Li!"

With Wang Tao's command, the dozen or so geniuses cast aside all hesitation and scrambled to project their Divine Kingdoms outside the canyon.

In an instant, various types of troops surged out like a dam breaking, rushing toward that seemingly incredibly weak canyon entrance.

Gryphon Knight Regiments circled in the sky, letting out sharp cries.

Heavy-Armored Land Dragons galloped on the ground, trampling the earth until it trembled.

Various elemental creatures were mixed among them, emitting multi-colored lights. The display was grand, as if it were a true army group.

In the spectator hall, everyone held their breath.

In their eyes, Jiang Xun had been driven into a corner. No matter how strange his small force was, facing an enemy more than ten times his size—especially while being blocked in a deathtrap—there could only be one outcome: being instantly crushed.

However, just when everyone thought a suspense-free crushing was about to occur.

Jiang Xun was standing at the center of his Divine Kingdom, calmly watching the enemy forces on the light screen, who were as dense as swarming ants.

His gaze seemed to pass over these greedy and foolish cannon fodder, seeing Director Li Jianguo's face, twisted with hatred, behind them.

He pushed up his thin-framed glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold glint.

He issued the final command to his Divine Kingdom.

His voice was calm, yet it carried a bone-chilling coldness.

"Prepare to close the net."

"Remember, our goal this time isn't points."

"It's evidence."