197: Chapter 198 This is a good thing!

On the viewing stands, Lin Muyang's gaze calmly swept across the martial arena.

"Too weak," he shook his head slightly in his heart.

The weakness here didn't mean that these top Summoners from all over the country lacked strength. On the contrary, whether it was Hao Qingshan's Infernal Flame Demon Lord, Wang Meng's Divine Stride Titan, or the various rare summons sent out by Zhao Man and others, their levels, skills, and combat awareness were all considered outstanding among those of the same rank. They represented the peak level of the younger generation of Summoners in the Xia Country.

However, they were facing Alice—a Vampire True Ancestor who had undergone Gui Wanwan's strengthening and received a terrifying boost from his own attributes! Under the atmosphere of internal competition, Alice and the others' cultivation within the portable space could be described as frantic. Their basic attributes, especially their spirit attribute, had long surpassed the conventional understanding of Class Transferees.

"For these summons, having around a hundred thousand points in spirit would probably be considered top-tier; most likely hover between seventy to eighty thousand," Lin Muyang silently assessed. This judgment was based on his understanding of the mainstream Summoner system in the Xia Country. The attribute growth of a summon depended not only on level and rank but was also closely related to the Summoner's own spirit attribute, skill bonuses, equipment, and the investment of various rare resources. Being able to stack a main summon's spirit attribute to over a hundred thousand at this level was already as rare as a phoenix feather or a unicorn horn, requiring staggering resources and luck.

"But Alice's spirit attribute..." A profound look that others couldn't understand flashed in Lin Muyang's eyes. After her upgrades, combined with the terrifying boost from the Aura and the tapping of her own bloodline's potential, Alice's spirit attribute had long since broken the two-hundred-thousand mark and was still steadily rising! This was a number that the vast majority of current Class Transferees in the world, and even some veteran powerhouses, could never hope to reach! A massive spirit attribute didn't just bring huge reserves of mana and mental energy; it also meant unparalleled control over one's own abilities, a deeper understanding and leverage of rules, and super-strong resistance to mental attacks and control.

Those crimson blood threads entwined around the enemy summons were the external manifestation of the "Blood Reversal" skill. Its essence was Alice using her highly condensed mental power and bloodline authority to forcibly distort and override the underlying rules of "damage" and "healing" within a small area. Under this rule coverage, the "intent to damage" and "result of damage" directed at her and her marked targets would have their nature forcibly inverted.

This wasn't simple negation or defense, but an alteration at the conceptual level! To break this effect, one either needed a spirit attribute far exceeding Alice's to break skill with brute force, master a higher-tier rule power to forcibly correct the distorted rules, or possess an ability like the "Eye of Creation" that could perceive the essence and point directly to the source to dismantle it from the rule connection.

Clearly, neither the summons on the field nor their masters possessed any of the aforementioned conditions. They couldn't even accurately determine the specific effect of "Blood Reversal"; they could only vaguely feel that their blood flow was abnormal and that all attacks landing on Alice weirdly failed. This unknown deepened their fear and sense of powerlessness.

"A pity. In her original world, Alice never had the chance to fight against those true powerhouses who had developed for hundreds of years," a trace of regret passed through Lin Muyang's heart. The time flow in the Atlantis World was different from here, and Alice had been trapped in the ancient castle for a long time, lacking a direct perception of the strength of that world's top powerhouses. Otherwise, through her battles, he might have been able to get a clearer positioning of the combat power levels of that high-dimensional world. However, this didn't stop him from judging that even if a same-level existence from that world faced the current Alice, they likely wouldn't fare well.

His thoughts returned as the cleanup on the field neared its end. Alice simply repeated the simplest movements—raising her hand, fingers slightly spread, mind locked on, and activating "Life Drain." This basic skill, under the enhancement of her over two-hundred-thousand spirit attribute, combined with the terrifying CD reduction of "Infinite Firepower" and the absolute safety created by "Blood Reversal," had already turned into the most efficient scythe for harvesting life.

As for the area-of-effect killing skill "Blood Explosion," there was no need to use it for the time being in this chaotic battle where allies and enemies needed to be distinguished. After all, there were still "our people" on the field who needed to be "looked after"—Gu Shuanglin's Highly Venomous Snake Vine and Wang Meng's silly Divine Stride Titan. He had to wait until the very end to send them off the field.

As Alice went through the enemy summons on the field one by one like the Grim Reaper calling names, the audience stands had long since fallen silent. Everyone was intimidated by this completely one-sided slaughter that also possessed a strange beauty. Meanwhile, the contestants' seats were filled with gloom and even a pervasive sense of despair.

"How are we supposed to fight this?"

"Attacks are ineffective, and her attacks can't be dodged or blocked..."

"What on earth are those blood threads? They can't be dispelled or purified!"

"My Molten Giant was sucked dry... it didn't even last three seconds."

"My Shadow Demon Leopard too, gone the moment they met..."

Many contestants had already given up on commanding, leaving their summons on the field to "fend for themselves," their faces full of numbness. They had tried focused fire on Alice, to no avail; they tried using control skills to restrict her, only to have them distorted by "Blood Reversal" or directly ignored by Alice's absurdly high mental resistance; they tried dispelling the blood thread status on themselves, but whether it was a universal dispel skill or a purification ability unique to certain summons, all were like stones sinking into the sea. Those blood threads seemed branded into the depths of their souls, remaining unmoved. This was a battle where no hope could be seen, a pure crushing of attributes and rules.

Hao Qingshan's face was ashen, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white. The tactics and trump cards he took pride in were as fragile as a joke before the opponent's completely illogical abilities. Wang Meng scratched his head, looking at his Divine Stride Titan which was still foolishly standing in front of Alice, appearing somewhat redundant. He then looked at Lin Muyang's calm profile, and in his heart, besides shock, there was more of a feeling of "The Boss is indeed awesome, I followed the right person," a sense of luck and determination. Zhao Man's beautiful eyes sparkled as she looked back and forth between Lin Muyang and Alice, who was elegantly harvesting on the field, not knowing what she was plotting.

Gu Shuanglin patted her chest gently, breathing a sigh of relief while her gaze toward Lin Muyang became increasingly complex. She knew Lin Muyang was strong, but she didn't expect him to be strong to this extent—strong enough to make the top peers in the country feel despair.

At the same time, on the high platform of the organizers, the atmosphere was somewhat subtle.

Seven Nation-Guarding Level Experts sat in a circle. On the magic water mirror before them, slow-motion replays of Alice releasing "Blood Reversal" and "Life Drain" were being played repeatedly. The more they analyzed, the deeper the gravity on their faces became.

"Rule distortion... involving the domain of the essence of life and damage," the old man in military uniform spoke slowly, his voice low. "This little Vampire's potential is likely not below that Nine-Tailed Fox. Where did this kid Lin Muyang find so many monsters?"

"The key is, this doesn't seem to be a simple skill effect, but more like a... talent authority?" another old man skilled in energy analysis stroked his beard, his brow furrowed. "Deeply bound to her bloodline, difficult to replicate, and difficult to counter by conventional means. Unless one's spirit attribute or rule comprehension far exceeds hers, she's almost invincible at the same rank."

Xu Ruohan listened quietly, light flowing in her beautiful eyes, thinking who knows what. She knew more about Lin Muyang's uniqueness than the others; whether it was Su Daji or Alice, neither could be obtained through ordinary summoning methods. This young man was shrouded in too much mist.

Just then, one of the organizers' officials, a white-haired, energetic old man, cleared his throat, breaking the brief silence. He looked at the seven Nation-Guarding Level Experts present and asked in an inquiring tone: "Everyone, you've seen the situation. In this tournament, because of the sudden emergence of the contestant Lin Muyang, the strength he has displayed has already far exceeded the level of the other contestants. The first two chaotic battles have almost become his personal performance shows. While this is exciting, for the tournament itself, it seems to have lost the meaning of 'competition' and makes it difficult to truly reflect the rankings of the other contestants."

He paused, and seeing that several Nation-Guarding Level Experts showed expressions of contemplation, he continued: "According to the original schedule, there is still a third chaotic battle and subsequent elimination rounds. But given the current situation, there probably won't be much suspense in the results. Lin Muyang is almost certain to clinch the championship. However, directly awarding the championship would be against the rules and wouldn't convince the public, and it might even dampen the enthusiasm of other excellent contestants."

"So, after discussion, our committee has a preliminary idea." The old man's gaze swept over everyone, finally landing on Xu Ruohan, as if knowing she had had contact with Lin Muyang. "Could we temporarily change the rules for the third match? Let Lin Muyang, alone, face the combined forces of all the remaining thirty-one contestants!"

As soon as these words came out, even though the Nation-Guarding Level Experts were well-traveled and knowledgeable, they were slightly moved.

"One person against thirty-one? And in a combined state?" Zhou Wenyuan raised an eyebrow. "Old Li, your idea... is bold enough."

"Indeed," the official called Old Li nodded, a glint flashing in his eyes. "If we are to witness the true 'number one,' then we must set the most difficult conditions for him! The other thirty-one can form a temporary team, sharing statuses, buffing each other, and being unable to attack each other. Furthermore, each Summoner is allowed to send three summons into battle!"

"Three?" Xu Ruohan's red lips parted slightly, showing surprise. "That means Lin Muyang needs to face ninety-three summons with the power of three? And these ninety-three summons come from the top thirty-one young Summoners in the country, who can form a complete tactical system with tanks, damage dealers, supports, and controls..."

"Exactly!" The light in the old man's eyes grew even brighter. "Only in this way, if Lin Muyang can still win, will the championship be truly well-deserved and indisputable! Only then will everyone be convinced! And only then can we, and even the country, truly see where his limit lies!"

"But isn't this too unfair to Lin Muyang? The conditions are too harsh," another more cautious Nation-Guarding Level Expert frowned. "Besides, according to the rules, the Nine-Tailed Fox and the Vampire who just fought cannot appear again. Lin Muyang would need to send out three other summons. Can he handle it?"

"That is exactly where the test lies," the old man said solemnly. "If he truly has an invincible posture, this will be a perfect opportunity to settle the matter in one battle and establish a legend! If he can't... then it also shows he is not invulnerable, and the competition can return to its normal process. Of course, the premise for all this is that Lin Muyang himself agrees, and it needs to be supported by more than half of the other thirty-one contestants."

The field fell into a temporary silence. Several Nation-Guarding Level Experts were weighing the pros and cons and the feasibility of this proposal. This was undoubtedly a crazy proposal never seen before in the history of the tournament, but given the current situation, it seemed that only such an extreme method could reignite the suspense of the competition and truly test Lin Muyang's depth.

Xu Ruohan was silent for a moment, then suddenly broke into a smile that was breathtakingly beautiful. "I think it's worth a try. However, we have to ask the person involved for his opinion first." She looked toward the martial stage, where Alice had just used her last Life Drain to "send" Wang Meng's Divine Stride Titan and Gu Shuanglin's Highly Venomous Snake Vine off the field. The second chaotic battle had come to an end in an almost absurd, crushing atmosphere.

Sparse applause rang out across the venue, followed mostly by uncontrollable murmurs. Everyone could see that because of one person's existence, this competition had completely changed its flavor.

Just then, Xu Ruohan's voice, through a secret mental link, directly entered Lin Muyang's mind. Her voice was clear and pleasant, carrying a hint of imperceptible testing and curiosity:

"Lin Muyang~ are you there? There's something I want to discuss with you."

Lin Muyang was watching Alice turn into light dots to return when he heard this sudden transmission and was slightly stunned. Xu Ruohan? What does she want with me? And using such a private method.

"Please speak, Senior Xu," Lin Muyang responded with a thought.

"We on the organizer side have an idea," Xu Ruohan's voice carried a smile as she detailed the proposal just discussed regarding the rule change for the third match. This included the conditions of one person against thirty-one, the other side forming a team to share statuses, each person being able to send three summons, and those who had already appeared being unable to appear again, all explained clearly.

After finishing, she paused, seemingly wanting to give Lin Muyang some time to digest it, then added: "Of course, this is just a proposal. If you feel it's inappropriate or you're not confident, you can completely refuse. The competition will still proceed according to the original process. We will also do our best to persuade the other contestants to agree to this plan, but we need your nod first. What do you think...?"

Although her tone was relaxed, her heart was actually not calm. This proposal was indeed crazy, and the conditions were extremely harsh for Lin Muyang. She was even prepared for Lin Muyang to hesitate, bargain, or directly refuse. After all, facing the full combined force of thirty-one top peers, including geniuses of the level of Hao Qingshan, Wang Meng, and Zhao Man, who could also send three summons to form a complete tactical system... how much more than a hundred times harder was this than the easy crushing of the first two matches? Had it been her back then, it would have been absolutely impossible.

However, Lin Muyang's reaction was completely beyond her expectations.

After a brief silence, Lin Muyang's calm voice, carrying a trace of... interest, rang out in her mind:

"There's such a good thing?"

Xu Ruohan: "...Huh?"

She almost thought she had heard wrong. A good thing? What kind of good thing was this?

Lin Muyang's voice continued, calm and steady, yet carrying a sense of taking it for granted: "If it can be settled all at once, why split it into several times? I agree. You set the rules; I have no objection. However, the other contestants need to agree, right?"

Xu Ruohan was completely stunned, a rare moment of blankness appearing on her exquisite face. This young man... he agreed without even thinking? His tone even sounded a bit eager to try?

Could it be that the other summons under him who hadn't appeared yet were all monsters of this level, just like Su Daji and Alice?!

This thought exploded in her heart like a thunderclap, making her gaze toward Lin Muyang even more profound and curious. Just how many secrets were still hidden within this young man?

"O... okay," Xu Ruohan composed herself, suppressing the stormy waves in her heart and trying to make her voice sound calmer. "Since you agree, I'll go communicate with the other contestants and will also formally announce this decision to the entire venue. You... can prepare first."

Ending the transmission, Xu Ruohan took a deep breath, looked at the other Nation-Guarding Level Experts beside her who were also watching her, nodded slowly, and parted her red lips to utter three words:

"He has agreed."