268: Chapter 268 The Fallen Dragon Abyss! The Ultimate Cradle of Blue Star Martial Arts!

The entire venue once again fell into a state of utterly baffling silence.

"Th-this is Qin Zhuo?"

"Is she cosplaying as a hardened criminal?"

"Could this be some new tactic from Imperial Capital Martial Arts University?"

It wasn't just the audience; even the team members from Imperial Capital Martial Arts University kept a wide distance from their own captain, their faces clearly saying, "I don't know this lunatic."

Meanwhile, hidden beneath her sunglasses and mask, Qin Zhuo...

Her delicate body was trembling slightly!

The gaze hidden behind her sunglasses didn't even dare to glance toward the preparation area of Magic City Martial Arts University!

She was scared!

She was genuinely terrified!

Thinking back to the night before last, when she snuck into Jiang You's room in the middle of the night, only to end up inexplicably crammed like sardines into a boy's bathroom with a lady of the night in black stockings and two top-tier beauties from Magic City Martial Arts University, and then getting cornered at the door by the anti-vice squad...

Qin Zhuo's toes curled furiously inside her shoes, wishing she could dig an underground shelter on the spot!

"They can't see me... They won't recognize me..."

Behind her sunglasses, Qin Zhuo squeezed her eyes shut, frantically self-hypnotizing:

"That experience was just a nightmare! Yes! Everything was an illusion! I, Qin Zhuo, have lived a pure and pristine life; it's absolutely impossible that I played a game of 'catching a cheater' in a pervert's bathroom in the middle of the night with three other women! Absolutely impossible!"

To prevent being recognized on the competition field by the few "insiders" like Jiang You, Qiu Yunan, and Senior Ji Youyou, which would lead to instant social death, Qin Zhuo had spent the morning rummaging through her things to find this ultimate stealth outfit that rivaled a Counter-Strike kit, and she was absolutely refusing to take it off.

The two official commentators at the commentary desk were currently sweating profusely.

In all their years in the industry, they had commentated on countless prodigies, but this year's students were truly more abstract than the last!

One had a chuunibyou episode, another was as sleazy as a groundhog, and now even the star player from Imperial Capital was dressed like a wanted criminal!

However, out of high professional ethics, the commentator forced a couple of coughs and began to smooth things over with a straight face:

"Ahem! Everyone, look! This is the composure and low-profile nature of a top-tier powerhouse!"

"Captain Qin Zhuo's attire today may seem strange, but it actually holds deep significance!"

"This is clearly to hide the terrifying aura of her SSS-Rank Divine Phoenix Fire, and it is a declaration to all opponents: to deal with you, I don't even need to show my face! What an overbearing tactical display of contempt!!"

The entire audience: "..."

Commentator, blink if you're being held hostage.

Following the final entry of Imperial Capital Martial Arts University, all the competing teams for this Hundred Schools League had assembled on the vast preparation grounds in front of the light gate.

"Boom!"

The four massive screens directly above the light gate instantly lit up, transforming into a highly detailed map of the secret realm and a rules panel.

President Xia Yun's aged yet highly penetrating voice echoed from the high platform across the entire arena, which held one hundred thousand people:

"Silence!"

"All contestants, prepare yourselves!"

"Next, I will reiterate the ultimate competition format for this melee!"

President Xia Yun's aged yet piercing voice, like a tangible wave of sound, instantly swept across the entire circular arena of one hundred thousand people.

The stands, which had been as noisy as a vegetable market, instantly fell silent under the pressure of a Tier 6 Grandmaster.

Everyone's gaze was fanatically fixed on the white-haired old man at the center of the high platform.

Xia Yun swept his gaze over the "variously shaped" prodigies from the various schools below, who were rubbing their hands in anticipation, and slowly stroked his snow-white beard, his tone becoming unprecedentedly solemn and deep.

"Before I announce the specific competition format, I, this old man, have a question for you all."

"Why did this year's opening battle of the Hundred Schools League completely abolish the arena duel format that has been passed down for decades, and change it to this extremely cruel, and even uncertainty-filled, melee mode?"

The prodigies below looked at each other in confusion.

Xia Yun didn't let them guess for long; he extended his finger and pointed at the [Forbidden Zone No. 009] teleportation light gate in front of him.

"Because true martial arts are never decided on a square arena, relying on a referee to shout 'start' and 'stop'!"

"The foundation of martial arts lies in the secret realms! In those unknown, dangerous places that could take your lives at any moment!"

Xia Yun's voice suddenly rose, carrying a thick sense of history that made one's blood boil:

"Children, you must remember! Where exactly did the path of cultivation for us humans on Blue Star begin?"

"During the early stages of the spiritual energy resurgence, it was those spatial rifts and dungeon secret realms that suddenly descended upon various places on Blue Star that gave us humans the hope to break free from the shackles of fate!"

"The cultivation techniques we practice now, the top-tier spiritual artifacts we hold in our hands, and even the ferocious beasts ravaging outside the cities... the origin of all this comes from various secret realms!"

"Even the 'Rank 1 to Rank 9' blood energy classification system that we, Great Xia, use now was deciphered by the first generation of Martial Sages from otherworldly relics brought back from an ancient secret realm!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the one hundred thousand audience members were filled with solemn respect.

Secret realms are the origin and cradle of Great Xia martial arts!

They are the ultimate code for human evolution!

"But!"

Xia Yun changed the subject, his tone revealing a hint of vicissitudes and helplessness:

"After hundreds of years of mining, the resources of most known secret realms on Blue Star are on the verge of exhaustion."

"Take this [Forbidden Zone No. 009] for example; it was once an extremely dangerous S-Rank Dungeon! But now, it has been mined by our predecessors in Great Xia by over 90%, its core resources have long been hollowed out, and now it can only be relegated to a gladiatorial arena for you little brats to hold competitions!"

Speaking up to this point, President Xia Yun took another long, deep breath, his eyes bursting with an extremely piercing brilliance as he directly dropped today's most heavyweight, ultimate bombshell!

"Although old secret realms are drying up, Great Xia's martial fortune is flourishing! Just this year, new spatial rifts have appeared all over Blue Star once again!"

"And within the territory of Great Xia, a total of 6 brand-new secret realm dungeons above B-Rank have been discovered!"

"Among them, 3 are B-Rank, 1 is A-Rank, and..."

Xia Yun paused, his voice exploding like a thunderclap:

"Two brand-new, never-before-developed S-Rank Dungeon secret realms!!!"

Boom!!!

The one hundred thousand audience members at the venue, as well as the hundreds of millions of netizens in front of their screens, instantly fell into extreme madness!

A brand-new S-Rank Dungeon!

What does this mean?

It means countless heavenly treasures, ancient cultivation techniques that have never appeared in the world, and even the creation divine sources that can allow one to reach the sky in a single step!!!

"And one of these, an S-Rank new dungeon named [Dragon Fall Abyss]!"

Xia Yun waved his hand, pointing at the groups of representatives from the major universities below, whose eyes were already as red as rabbits:

"The Great Xia Martial Arts General Bureau has decided to allocate it to Great Xia's universities as a training resource!"

"The academy to which the final champion team of this Hundred Schools League belongs will receive priority exploration rights for [Dragon Fall Abyss] for a full year!!!"

Although it wasn't the first time they had heard this news, the principals leading the various universities, including the usually stingy Principal Pang Ban, had eyes glowing green at this moment!

One year of priority exploration rights!

This was equivalent to moving an entire unmined gold mine directly into the school's backyard!

As long as they took this championship, the academy wouldn't have to worry about resources for the next ten years!

"Therefore!"

Xia Yun looked down at the entire venue with extreme majesty:

"Because of the special nature of [Dragon Fall Abyss], you can treat this preliminary selection competition as a preliminary practical exercise for exploring the new dungeon!"

"All of you will be randomly teleported to various corners of [Forbidden Zone No. 009]!"

"It will all depend on your free play! Only the teams that can quickly find teammates in desperate situations, establish team combat advantages in the secret realm, or even rely on personal social skills to quickly form alliances with other teams will be able to have the last laugh!"

"Survive! Hunt! Plunder! The contestants who can eliminate all opponents in this forbidden zone and survive to the end will lead their academy to victory in this competition!"