413: Chapter 413 A Chaotic Dance of Demons

Eight o'clock in the evening.

Cangxing City Central Square.

Dozens of spotlights driven by magic circles intertwined in the night sky, illuminating the four giant holographic words "Voice of Star Source" with dazzling brilliance.

Below the stage was a sea of people, a dense, dark mass.

Players of all races and NPCs were squeezed together, waving tree branches and bone clubs enchanted with Illumination.

Some even held burning torches; the atmosphere was so fanatical it felt like some sort of cult sacrificial ritual.

Chen You sat in the very center of the judges' panel.

To his left sat Horn, the owner of Horn's Magic BBQ Shop, and to his right was the Chamber of Commerce Manager, Three Waters.

In the air before him floated a translucent system panel that only he could see.

[Voice of Star Source Audition Scoring System Activated.]

[Judge Permissions: S (Stunning/Direct Advancement), A (Extraordinary Potential/Pending), F (Unbearable/Eliminated).]

"Ahem, respected Chief Judge, it's time." Three Waters rubbed his hands together and leaned in flatteringly.

Chen You leaned back in his chair, looking like he'd lost all will to live, and raised a hand to rub his brow. "Begin."

The first contestant took the stage.

It was an Orc player with bulging muscles, the ID above his head reading "Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon."

"Good evening, judges! The talent I've brought is... smashing a boulder on my chest!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he lay down directly on the stage.

Two teammates huffed and puffed as they carried up a piece of granite weighing several hundred pounds and pressed it onto his chest.

Then, a teammate raised a large steel hammer, swung it in a full circle, and brought it crashing down.

Boom!

The granite shattered into pieces, and stone fragments flew everywhere.

The Orc player spat out a mouthful of blood three meters high, staining the stage red.

"Good!" Horn suddenly stood up, eyes gleaming as he clapped.

"This primal sense of power! This unyielding will facing death! This is the purest art in the wasteland!"

Three Waters also nodded repeatedly from the side, quickly recording in his ledger.

"A hint of tragedy amidst the gore; it fits the aesthetic of the underground coliseum perfectly and has high commercial value!"

Chen You's mouth twitched violently.

This is the damn Source Realm!

Everyone here is a transcendent capable of tearing demonic beasts apart with their bare hands. Since when does smashing a rock on your chest count as a talent?

Is he here selling miracle tonics or something?

"Eliminated." Chen You pressed the red light button expressionlessly.

A giant red 'X' popped up on the light screen.

While the Orc player was still spitting blood, he was dragged away like a dead dog by several members of the City Guard.

The second contestant took the stage.

A muscular Berserker player strode onto the stage.

He was shirtless, with a giant heart drawn on his chest in low-quality red dye.

Chen You glanced at the ID above his head: [Zangai·Young Master Long].

"Hello judges, hello family in the audience!" Young Master Long grabbed the amplification magic stone, his voice as coarse as sandpaper.

"I've brought an original rap for everyone, 'Blade Angrily Slashes the Snow-Winged Eagle'!"

As soon as he finished, he suddenly pulled a door-sized greatsword out from his crotch area.

"Alone! I drink until I'm drunk!"

Young Master Long's eyes went wide as he activated the Berserker's signature skill, [Whirlwind Slash].

His massive body turned into a bloody tornado on the stage, the blade cutting through the air with a piercing whistle.

While spinning frantically like a top, he roared at the top of his lungs, spit flying everywhere under the effect of centrifugal force.

The players below the stage instantly went wild.

"Young Master Long is awesome!"

"Too hype! This is a man's romance!"

Chen You looked expressionlessly at the raving top on stage, his finger hovering over the 'F' key.

What even is this? An acrobatics show?

"So shocking!" Horn suddenly stood up beside him.

He clutched his heart, and tears actually welled up in his eyes. "Listen! Those roars mixed in the wind—it's an unyielding soul screaming at fate!"

"He's using his rotation to cut through the shackles of the mundane! What an avant-garde physical expression!"

Chen You turned his head and looked at him like he was a lunatic.

"Not only that." Three Waters pulled out an abacus and began clicking away.

"This kind of continuous and stable rotational output, if connected to gears and belts, could completely serve as a perpetual motion machine for the mills in Cangxing City's Southern District!"

Chen You took a deep breath and slammed his hand down on the 'F'.

The third group of contestants.

A boy band composed of five beast-eared players.

As soon as they stepped on stage, they directly crushed a high-level amplification talisman.

Deafening, tacky DJ dance music instantly shook the heavens.

The five of them lined up and began frantically performing 'Flower Hands' on stage.

"Spin those Flower Hands! The spirit boys are here!"

Several of them spun like helicopter propellers, the resulting wind blowing the hair of the front-row audience members straight up.

The NPCs below were all stunned.

After a brief dead silence, an unprecedented carnival erupted.

"This mysterious footwork! This unified frequency!" Three Waters pushed his monocle. "Could it be some lost group battle formation? Incredible!"

Chen You covered his face with both hands.

But he still gave them a pass.

Because he realized that this talent show didn't have a single normal performance.

Over the next hour, Chen You experienced repeated mental torture.

There was one who performed eating a Rank 3 demonic beast core raw.

There was one who performed shooting fireballs from his butt.

There was even an alchemist who performed a cauldron explosion on the spot, blowing himself up until only a pair of boxers remained, yet he actually won thunderous applause.

Worse yet, Horn and Three Waters, these two local judges, watched with rapt fascination, throwing out all sorts of inconceivable flattery as if it cost nothing.

Chen You slumped in his chair, feeling as if his soul had left his body.

Finally, the audition reached its grand finale.

The magical lights of the entire venue were extinguished instantly.

A dazzling spotlight hit the center of the stage with precision.

Two meters tall, with muscles bulging like rock, Sander stood with her back to the audience.

She was wearing grey overalls and had her hair meticulously parted down the middle.

The entire audience held their breath.

Sander slowly turned around and picked up the microphone.

"I am an individual trainee who has practiced for two and a half days, Sander."

"I like singing, dancing, RAP, and basketball."

Her coarse voice, bolstered by amplification magic, made people's eardrums ache.

Immediately after, a dynamic heavy metal rhythm boomed.

Sander pulled out a custom basketball from behind her back.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

She began to dribble.

Every strike was wrapped in a Berserker's battle qi.

The hard bluestone stage was smashed into spiderweb-like cracks.

Then, she suddenly jerked her shoulder.

"Sonic Vibration · Iron Mountain Lean!"

Boom!

A visible, violent shockwave swept outward with her as the center.

Hundreds of audience members in the front row were knocked flat on the ground.

But they weren't angry; instead, they rolled on the ground screaming with excitement.

"Those dance moves! This perfect combination of power and skill!" Horn was so excited he stood directly on the table. "Heavens! She's glowing! This is the future of Cangxing City!"

Three Waters knelt directly on his chair, hands clasped together. "A commercial miracle! This is an unrepeatable commercial miracle! The City Lord is going to be a hit!"

On stage, Sander dropped the basketball and began an extremely stiff RAP.

The lyrics were roughly along the lines of 'I'm the City Lord, I'm the best, whoever dares to disagree, I'll blow their head off.'

Coupled with her ferocious face, the scene was discordant to a heinous degree.

However, as the performance neared its end.

Sander suddenly remembered Chen You's teaching in the City Lord's Mansion—'Gap Moe'.

She abruptly restrained her violent killing intent and lowered her head slightly.

On her coarse face, she forced out a 'dreamy' look in her eyes.

Then, she bit down hard on her lower lip.