315: Chapter 309 The Finals Begin

A few days later.

On Morning Star, inside Song Yang's estate.

A ship from Earth arrived and docked on the estate's massive landing pad.

The hatch opened, and robots began to continuously move containers off the ship.

"Song Yang, did you empty out the entire Earth?"

Bai Jie looked at the mountain of supplies before her, ranging from top-tier ingredients to unheard-of folk crafts and entertainment equipment; it was practically a condensed museum of Earth civilization.

"Just some little trinkets."

Song Yang walked off the ship with a smile.

Li Zhenguo's efficiency was incredibly high; he had packed up and sent over everything that could be called a "specialty."

"Alright, let the robots handle the stuff."

Song Yang clapped his hands. "I need to prepare; I'm going into seclusion."

"Going into seclusion again?"

Zhang Xinmei looked at him with some concern. "Is the ranking tournament that important?"

"It's very important."

Song Yang nodded. "It determines Earth's future position in the universe."

His goal was to enter the grand finals of the cosmic war, and this ranking tournament was the first hurdle.

Seeing his serious expression, the women said no more and only urged him to take care of his health.

They all knew that the level Song Yang was at far exceeded their imagination; all they could do was give him the greatest support so he wouldn't have any worries.

Song Yang gave them a few brief instructions, then walked alone into the training room deep within the estate.

The heavy alloy doors slowly closed, cutting off everything inside from the outside.

Time passed slowly during the tedious cultivation.

Outside the training room, the sun rose and set on Morning Star.

Inside the training room, there was only Song Yang.

Until The Authorities sent a notification: only one hour remained before the official start of the ranking tournament.

Song Yang did not immediately go to the virtual access device; instead, he sank his consciousness into the world ring.

That was the Star Beast's exclusive territory.

As soon as he stepped into the ring, a massive white shadow loomed over him.

"Roar-woo~"

A low, joyful roar echoed, carrying a hint of playfulness.

Song Yang looked up at the colossal creature before him and couldn't help but feel moved.

The Star Beast's body length now exceeded six hundred meters, like a moving white mountain range.

Its silhouette, resembling a male lion, was full of explosive power.

Its four limbs were thick like pillars supporting the sky, and every breath caused the surrounding space to tremble slightly.

Especially the magnificent metal wings on its back; when fully spread, the wingspan exceeded a thousand meters.

This was the terrifying existence he had spent several hundred million star coins to create.

This amount of money was enough to buy hundreds of life-bearing planets like Earth.

The Star Beast lowered its massive head and nuzzled against Song Yang affectionately, its movements careful for fear of accidentally blowing its master away.

Song Yang reached out and stroked the soft fur under the Star Beast's chin.

He could clearly feel the vast, abyss-like energy within the Star Beast, especially its control over spatial power, which had reached an inconceivable level.

According to Zeus's assessment, the Star Beast's current flight speed had reached a terrifying eighty kilometers per second.

What kind of concept was this?

Earth's equatorial circumference is about forty thousand kilometers; it only needed a little over eight minutes to fly around the Earth once.

This speed, combined with its innate ability to traverse space, was almost unsolvable in battle.

Song Yang had no doubt that if the current Star Beast faced any number of Stellar Rank powerhouses, it would be a complete slaughter.

"Stay here and wait for me to come back."

Song Yang patted its massive nose tip.

The Star Beast let out a low whimper, appearing somewhat reluctant.

Song Yang's consciousness withdrew, and he lay down in the consciousness connection pod.

Cool life-support fluid slowly injected, completely enveloping him.

A notification sound rang in his consciousness.

[The ranking tournament is about to begin. Countdown: 10, 9, 8...]

[Connecting to the virtual universe...]

[Connection successful.]

[Welcome to The Arena!]

Song Yang's consciousness solidified in an instant, and everything around him turned from blurry to clear.

The deafening roar of the crowd was the first sensory experience that washed over him.

It wasn't the shouting of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people, but a torrent formed by the will of billions of beings, almost overturning the entire space.

He found himself standing in the center of a circular venue so huge it couldn't be described in words.

Beneath his feet was a mirror-smooth, silvery-white metal floor, and looking up, the dome was a simulated deep starry sky with countless stars slowly rotating.

Around him were layers upon layers of infinitely extending spectator seats.

Those seats were filled with virtual avatars of various forms: humans, soft-bodied creatures with tentacles, insectoid races covered in crystal carapaces, and light-shadow lifeforms composed purely of energy.

Over three-fifths of the civilizations in the entire Milky Way Galaxy were watching this moment.

"Welcome, everyone! Welcome to the scene of the Milky Way Galaxy grand ranking tournament!"

A loud, passionate voice echoed throughout the venue.

A peculiar creature over five meters tall, wearing gorgeous formal attire and having three eyes, appeared out of thin air in the middle of the venue.

He was the official Host for this ranking tournament and enjoyed a high reputation throughout the entire Milky Way Galaxy.

"After layers of selection and crossing countless star sectors, we have finally arrived at the most exciting moment!"

"Four of the top geniuses will determine the sole king here!"

"He will represent our great Milky Way Galaxy to face challengers from other galaxies!"

The Host's voice was highly inciting, and the cheers from the spectator seats rose wave after wave.

"Now, let us use the warmest cheers to invite our first contestant!"

A beam of light descended from the sky, precisely covering Song Yang.

"He comes from a nascent civilization that has just stepped onto the cosmic stage—Earth!"

"He swept through his sub-division in a way we have never seen before!"

"He is, Song Yang!"

All eyes instantly focused on Song Yang.

As soon as the Host finished speaking, another beam of light descended, landing at the other end of the field.

As the light faded, a girl who looked only seventeen or eighteen appeared there.

She seemed to have stage fright; facing the scene with billions of spectators, she subconsciously clutched the hem of her skirt.

"The second contestant, 'Ling' from the Lyra alpha star sector!"

"Don't let her young age fool you; in the previous matches, her opponents couldn't even see how she made her move! What a terrifying little girl!"

The girl "Ling" waved shyly toward the spectator seats, drawing a wave of good-natured laughter and whistles.

But Song Yang sensed an extremely dangerous aura from her.

It was a pure mental power, condensed to the extreme, contained within her seemingly harmless body.

Immediately after, the third beam of light fell.

A tall, upright man walked out of the light beam.

He wore a silver-gray tight combat suit, had a stern face, and his short silver hair stood up straight.

The moment he appeared, the temperature in the venue seemed to drop a few degrees.

"The third one! 'Kai' from the Andromeda Galaxy, the Karl civilization!"

"His sword is said to be colder than absolute zero!"

"He is the strongest contender for the championship in this tournament!"

Kai showed no reaction to the Host's introduction.

He just scanned the area, finally letting his gaze linger briefly on Song Yang and the girl before closing his eyes, as if nothing present could pique his interest.

Song Yang could feel that the energy fluctuations within this man named Kai were like a dormant volcano—seemingly calm, but actually harboring earth-shattering power.

"The last one! Let us welcome a true behemoth!"

Boom!

The fourth beam of light descended.

Accompanied by a heavy crash, the entire metal floor trembled.

A giant over three meters tall appeared before everyone.

He was bare-chested, his bronze skin covered in strange patterns, his muscles knotted and full of explosive power.

Just by standing there, he brought a strong sense of oppression.

"The Titan warrior from the Orion Arm, 'Taishan'! I truly feel worried for his opponents!"

The giant Taishan grinned and let out a low roar; the sound waves turned into visible ripples that spread out, responding to the audience's cheers.

Song Yang, Ling, Kai, Taishan.

The four strongest of the younger generation in the Milky Way Galaxy were gathered here.

The atmosphere in the venue was pushed to its peak.

The Host floated in the center of the four, his three eyes flashing with excitement.

"All four contestants are in position! I believe everyone is already impatient to see their spectacular duel!"

"However, before the competition begins, I have one more bombshell to announce!"

The Host deliberately elongated his tone, keeping the audience in suspense.

"The final winner of this ranking tournament, in addition to obtaining the supreme honor of representing the Milky Way Galaxy and the massive resource rewards provided by the Milky Way Alliance, will also receive an unprecedented, one-of-a-kind super prize!"

He paused, scanning the entire venue, enjoying the feeling of whetting everyone's appetite.

Even Kai, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened his eyes.

Song Yang raised his head.

He was curious: what kind of reward could make a Host who had seen it all use a word like "unprecedented"?

"This reward is..."

The Host's voice suddenly rose, and every word clearly spread to every corner of the venue.

"The supreme supervisory power over any designated star sector within the Milky Way Galaxy!"

As the words fell, the entire venue first fell into three seconds of absolute silence.

Everyone thought they had misheard.

Immediately following, an unimaginable uproar, like a cosmic big bang, exploded!

"What? Supervisory power? Did I hear that right?"

"Supervisory power over a star sector? Are they crazy? Has the Milky Way Alliance gone mad this time?"

"My god! A star sector! That's a vast territory that easily contains hundreds of millions of planets!"

"What does supervisory power mean? It means all trade, military, and resource mobilization of all civilizations within this star sector will be under the supervision of the winner!"

"In some specific situations, they even have the power of direct intervention!"

"This is no longer just a local king! This is an emperor above emperors! The benefits gained are simply immeasurable!"

The spectator seats were completely boiling.

Countless leaders of civilizations, countless controllers of financial groups, could not remain calm at this moment.

The value of this reward already exceeded the scope of money and resources; it represented power and status!

Supervisory power over a star sector was enough to allow a nascent civilization to leap into becoming one of the top forces in the Milky Way Galaxy within just a few hundred years!

Even on Kai's eternal ice-mountain face, a trace of emotion appeared.

Although the Karl civilization he belonged to was powerful, it only controlled a part of the Andromeda Galaxy.

If he could obtain supervisory power over a star sector, his personal status would even surpass the leader of his civilization.

The girl Ling's big eyes flashed with a strange brilliance.

The giant Taishan was even more excited, pounding his chest with his fists, emitting a booming sound, his eyes turning blood-red with excitement.

Song Yang's heart skipped a beat.

He took a deep breath, forcing down the waves in his heart.

Supervisory power over a star sector... If he could get it, then the development of Earth civilization would instantly step onto the fast track, and no one would be able to hold it back anymore.

He would have nothing to fear from the Star Pirate Alliance's fleet.

He must get this reward.

"It seems our contestants have already understood the weight of this reward!"

The Host looked at the four's reactions with satisfaction.

"Then, the rules are simple!"

"Next, the system will perform random pairing to conduct two one-on-one elimination matches!"

"The two winners will enter the final, to determine the sole king of our Milky Way Galaxy!"

As soon as the Host finished speaking, the four people's avatars began to scroll rapidly on the huge holographic screen in the center of the venue.

Everyone held their breath.

The first duel would directly determine the fate of the two geniuses.

The scrolling speed of the screen became slower and slower.

Finally, the cursor slowly stopped on two avatars.

[First Duel]

[Ling vs Kai]

A huge roar erupted within the venue.

A duel between mental power and the ultimate sword!

This was definitely a battle like Mars colliding with Earth.

Kai slowly opened his eyes and looked at the girl in the pink dress, his stern face devoid of expression.

And the girl Ling smiled sweetly at Kai, only in that smile, there seemed to be something else hidden.

Immediately after, the avatars on the screen scrolled again.

Everyone's heart was in their throat.

The remaining two were undoubtedly the opponents for the second match.

The cursor finally locked in.

[Second Duel]

[Taishan vs Song Yang]