76: Chapter 76 An Experiment, A Brand New Model?

Accompanied by the announcement of the virtual assistant, a beam of heavenly light descended from the distant horizon like a giant sword, stabbing into the center of the earth.

"Not good, we haven't fully recovered yet." Li Baxian's heart tightened.

"We can't worry about that anymore. We don't know how many points this final one will give yet; I'm just afraid it might give Zhang Zhiyu a chance to turn the tables." Su He stood up.

"Shengyuan Academy... they stole several Challenge Beasts, and they're only at about eight million points right now, while we have over ten million. Can they really catch up?" Li Baxian couldn't help but ask.

"Won't we know once we go take a look?" Chen Xing said.

"Let's go together. This is already the final stage; there's no need to scout any further. We'll have to face them eventually anyway," Su He added.

"..."

After their discussion, the group packed up and rushed toward the Central City.

Meanwhile, Zhang Zhiyu's main force was also heading there, and they finally met at the edge of the city.

"The people from Niliu Academy are all dead. Do we have a chance of winning?" the leader of Zhenyan Academy asked.

"They should have just finished a big battle and must have used their Divine Abilities. It will be very difficult for them to recover. Perhaps now is the best time to strike?" Zhang Zhiyu mused.

"No, don't forget, although activating a Divine Ability a second time causes great damage to the body, this is the Virtual World." He shook his head slightly.

"I think there's a chance," the leader of Zhenyan Academy whispered.

"Our academy doesn't have any S-Ranks, but we have the most A-Ranks on the field. Among them are several at the ninth level of the Divine Sea Realm who can reach the next Realm after activating their Innate Divine Ability."

"You think we can win?"

"We can stall for time. If a few of us self-destruct and wear down their condition, won't the two of us working together be able to finish them off?"

"That makes some sense."

"..."

Although he didn't know what these guys were plotting, it certainly wasn't anything good. Li Baxian also intended to go all out against them.

"There's no need to be so impulsive. Why don't we just enter the arena and use that Challenge Beast to disrupt the battle, just like before?" Su He held him back.

"Who is inside? It hasn't been specified, and the System hasn't even said how many points can be earned." Li Baxian looked at the city in confusion.

In the distance, there seemed to be a giant sword. The sky had turned gloomy, faintly revealing a patch of starry sky, carrying an indescribable sense of oppression.

Just who could be the Final Gatekeeper? This was the question at the bottom of everyone's heart.

"Go!" The next moment, Zhang Zhiyu gave the order.

Their opponents hadn't recovered yet. If they didn't act now, were they supposed to wait for them to fully recover and then fight three-on-one?

As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot.

As long as several A-Rank Espers could activate their Divine Abilities and wear down the others' condition, they would have a chance of winning—it was their only current possibility.

"Let's go!"

Almost at the same time, Su He led her people into the city without hesitation.

"What?" Seeing this, Zhang Zhiyu immediately followed.

"The final challenge has begun. Contestants, please choose: solo combat or team combat?"

Never did they expect that the moment they entered the city, the System's judgment would be triggered, assuming they wanted to start the challenge.

At that moment, everyone felt a flash before their eyes, and they unexpectedly found themselves at the edge of the city.

This place was like a ring-shaped spectator gallery with seats, from which every corner of the city could be clearly seen.

"What is this?" Everyone looked around, knowing nothing about this new combat format.

Following that, a pop-up window from the Virtual World assistant appeared.

"Challenging the Final Gatekeeper will result in a score based on the challenger's performance in battle, but only the highest score will be taken. The best performer will receive extra points."

"For example: If the Zhenyan Academy team performs well and is judged to have a score of 10,000, all members will receive an additional 10,000 points after the challenge ends, with the leader receiving more."

"However, if a certain student from Zhenyan Academy is not good at team combat but performs excellently in solo combat, earning a score of 20,000, then after the challenge ends, the highest score will be prioritized."

Unexpectedly, the final battle was in this mode, giving everyone a brand-new perspective.

"Why do it this way? Was there something wrong with the previous mode?" Regarding this, the Deans also had some questions.

Elder Xuan, sitting in the main seat, spoke slowly: "The previous mode was fine. It's just that the higher-ups said recently that the prodigies in recent years have been a mixed bag—either too fierce or too weak, very inconsistent."

Yue Shanhai paused and said hesitantly, "Then what is the point of this brand-new mode?"

Elder Xuan smiled faintly. "The higher-ups said that for the next few years, we can ignore the ceiling; the main goal is to raise the floor, ensuring the gap is no longer so massive."

"After a meeting and discussion, we decided to conduct a trial. To raise everyone's floor, we must have them face different opponents within the same Realm."

"Everyone is in the same Realm. Aside from the Rank of their abilities, the gap in technique and Concept is the most obvious."

"But as you said, there is a gap in ability Ranks. How can a C-Rank in the same Realm fight an A-Rank?" Yue Shanhai argued.

"That's why I said this is a test," Elder Xuan laughed.

"This..." Yue Shanhai was speechless.

"Besides, encountering someone stronger than oneself in the same Realm, wouldn't that allow one to see their own shortcomings more clearly? If they know they can't make it up elsewhere, they will naturally go to Cultivate Concepts and techniques, thereby raising their floor," Elder Xuan added.

The four Deans fell silent. Concept was a very important thing. If they could use this opportunity to raise the overall level of comprehension, perhaps it would be a good thing?

"This is also a great step forward for the Virtual World. Once upon a time, it could only provide a visual experience. Now, with constant updates, it's almost the same as reality," Elder Xuan said.

"This is also another attempt of ours. If it runs stably, I believe it won't be long before it's rolled out in major regions."

Hearing this, the Dean of Shengyuan Academy hesitated. "Are you referring to same-Realm combat? This mode was rolled out long ago."

Elder Xuan gave a mysterious smile. "Let me ask you: in the earliest simulations, could you only suppress a person's Realm? Later, it was improved so that their combat experience and Concepts from that Realm could be retained."

The Dean of Shengyuan Academy nodded. "Indeed."

Elder Xuan's deep gaze fell onto the field, and he smiled faintly. "But what if I told you that after a person in the Tribulation Transformation Realm suppresses their cultivation, they also retain everything they had in the Divine Ability Realm, the Spirit Seed Realm, and even the Three Heavens Realm?"

"What?!"

Hearing this, everyone was greatly shocked.

You mean a person in the Divine Sea Realm simultaneously possesses the Divine Ability awakened during the Divine Ability Realm, the Perfect Seed from the Spirit Seed Realm, and even retains the transformation from Undergoing Tribulation in the Tribulation Transformation Realm?

Then how is anyone supposed to fight that?!