Chapter 649: Complications in the Round of 16

In the preliminary rounds, out of ten thousand arenas, one hundred contestants advanced to the second round of the competition from each arena. Those who made it through from over 300 million people were all highly skilled.
Still, there were still one million people left. If they fought one by one, it would take a long time to select the final hundred. Thus, those who entered the round of 16 guessed that it would be a fierce battle, though they didn’t know what form it would take or what rules would apply.
After a day’s rest, the organizers finally brought the one million contestants into the competition venue.
“Today, we will hold a round of 16. All one million contestants who passed the preliminary rounds must participate. Those who don’t will be considered to have forfeited,” announced the chief referee, a middle-aged man around forty years old. Though unremarkable in appearance, Ye Feng could sense that he was a peak expert at the pseudo-elite level.
“The round of 16 will reduce the previous ten thousand arenas to one hundred. Ten thousand contestants will compete in each arena. The rules are the same as those in the preliminary rounds. The final hundred will advance to the next round of 16,” the referee said. This rule was within many people’s expectations, as there were still one million people left, and this was undoubtedly the fastest way to eliminate them. From over 300 million to one million in just one day—this method was highly efficient and a true test of strength.
“As for the competition numbers, they will be determined by drawing lots, just like in the preliminary rounds. Numbers 1 to 10,000 will be in Arena 1, numbers 10,001 to 20,000 in Arena 2, and so on.”
After the chief referee finished speaking, everyone started lining up to draw their numbers.
This time, Ye Feng drew a very high number—23—placing him in Arena 1. Long Tian and the others also quickly got their numbers. Pearl drew 8,641, ending up in Arena 1 with Ye Feng. The other six were in different arenas.
In fact, Pearl’s strength had improved rapidly recently. Ye Feng wanted to see to what extent her actual combat skills had reached. Since they were both in the same arena this time, Ye Feng was eager to see her performance.
“I’ll show you how your sister handles those disgusting men!” Pearl said with a smile.
“Uh, I guess I’m also a man…” Ye Feng was a bit speechless.
After everyone finished drawing their numbers, the eight of them stepped onto their respective arenas.

Upon stepping onto the arena, almost everyone’s first reaction was to use their soul power to investigate their opponents in the same ring. Ye Feng and Pearl were no exception. After scanning with their soul power, Ye Feng was shocked to discover that that swordsmanship genius named Qiu Duanhun was also in this arena. In the Star Realm, even among those at the Star Universe level, only a few possessed divine techniques. Although Ye Feng and the others could use divine techniques, and the ones practiced by people like Pearl were all above the sixth rank, on this arena they could only unleash the power of third-rank divine techniques, otherwise they would attract others’ attention. Though Ye Feng wasn’t afraid of the eight pseudo-void level strongmen present as guests, if people from intermediate or advanced main planes found out, it would be a serious problem. This was because divine techniques allowed to circulate in the Star Realm could not exceed the third rank. Ye Feng had already discussed this matter with Long Tian and others earlier—during the competition, they could use their divine techniques at most up to the third rank, beyond that they were not allowed to use them. This was also why Ye Feng had previously inferred that this talented swordmaster had the strength to rival Long Tian. It wasn’t that this person’s true strength was comparable to Long Tian’s, but rather that Long Tian and the others had to suppress their strength on this arena. However, Long Tian already possessed a domain, and if he unleashed it, this swordmaster would surely not be a match. But Pearl and the others were far weaker than Long Tian. If Pearl fought against this person, Ye Feng wasn’t optimistic about her chances. After all, swordmasters had extremely powerful attacks, and swordsmanship divine powers were a special type of divine power—combining both divine powers and techniques—with fewer restrictions in the arena. Pearl clearly noticed this guy as well. She had previously focused on eleven people, whose information Ye Feng and Long Tian had also reviewed. Their consensus was that this guy named Qiu Duanhun was likely the strongest among them. “If he attacks you, I don’t mind taking him out,” Ye Feng transmitted to Pearl, telling her to focus on dealing with the others. But Pearl had a competitive personality. “If he really comes after me, don’t intervene. I want to see how strong I really am.” Ye Feng frowned slightly, but since Pearl was determined, he could only nod in agreement. After the referee outside the arena rang the start bell, all the fighters immediately plunged into battle.

Ye Feng remained motionless in his place. Soon, people attacked him, but their attacks were still ineffective. One after another, they tried to attack Ye Feng, but after several failed attempts, they gave up on this tough opponent and turned to fight with the others.

On the other hand, Pearl displayed true regal demeanor. She transformed her peak-level defensive armor into a form of form-fitting black leather attire, and the offensive peak-level spiritual treasure she had taken from Ye Feng was a black long whip. With one hand on her hip and the other wielding the black whip, screams filled the crowd instantly. Even Ye Feng found it hard to look away from this scene.

Even more eye-catching than Pearl was the sword practitioner. On the arena, he showed no mercy at all. With his first move being a thunderous strike, he slaughtered everyone within his line of sight without even frowning.

Ye Feng frowned slightly. He recognized the sword art this guy practiced—Slaughter Sword Art, an extreme form of sword art that enhanced one’s skills through killing. The more people he killed, the higher his sword art proficiency would become. Among the several sword art techniques Ye Feng had acquired, there was also Slaughter Sword Art. Thanks to his previous research on martial arts techniques, he had some understanding of this kind of sword art.

“Don’t approach that sword practitioner. He practices Slaughter Sword Art, a very sinister sword art technique. Once he draws his sword, he will kill all his targets without stopping, otherwise his sword art skills won’t improve at all,” Ye Feng transmitted to Pearl. “If he targets you, he will use every means to kill you. Stay as far away from him as possible and hold on until this competition ends.”

Upon hearing Ye Feng’s message, Pearl also frowned deeply. She had expected her opponent to be strong, but not to the point of being desperate. Hearing Ye Feng’s words, her initial enthusiasm for the battle vanished. Although she drew her whip, appearing fierce, its strikes were not lethal—only used to knock people out of the arena without causing serious harm. But her opponent was a bloodthirsty killer; everything within his line of sight seemed to be a target, with only one outcome: death.

Just as Pearl was distracted, a tall, muscular man suddenly lunged at her in a surprise attack, swinging a giant hammer at her back and sending her flying.

Thanks to the protection of her peak-level spiritual treasure, the hammer didn’t cause much damage to Pearl, but the impact knocked her off balance. She watched helplessly as she fell to the ground and rolled several times, ending up right within Qiu Duanhun’s attack range.

In fact, the entire area within Qiu Duanhun’s attack range was already filled with corpses. Pearl happened to roll a few times and end up inside this range. Only after getting up did she realize that Qiu Duanhun was standing not far away from her, his blood-red eyes fixed intently on her.

Ye Feng, who had been standing still until then, suddenly moved, appearing between Pearl and Qiu Duanhun in an instant. His action immediately drew gasps of surprise from many powerful figures in the guest seats.

“So fast! Is it some spatial ability?” Even a powerful warrior like Yun Zhonglong hesitated to confirm.

“That’s right. It’s a spatial transmission ability, a legendary seventh-grade divine skill,” replied Bai Lao, the most experienced warrior among them, affirmatively.

“Who exactly is this kid?” Gu Tianan was also filled with astonishment. “Even in the Virtual Realm, few people can master such a skill. If he acquired it through self-practice, his talent must be absolutely extraordinary.”

“Even if he knows spatial transmission, he might not necessarily win,” Huo Zhenren remained skeptical about Ye Feng. “At least the two abilities I’ve seen so far are for self-preservation. On the other hand, that sword cultivator kid can kill people with just one move. I like that kind of attitude. Gu, that sword cultivator kid has quite good talent, right? He’s already mastered a sword art divine skill at such a young age.”

“The Art of Killing is an extreme form of sword art. Practicing this art allows for much faster progress compared to other sword arts, but it also makes it easy to go astray. In my opinion, this kid has an excessive desire for killing. It will be hard for him to maintain balance, so I’m not optimistic about him.” Gu Tianan glanced at Qiu Duanhun and shook his head. “With the Art of Killing, if one fails to uphold their true self and gets overwhelmed by killing, they will eventually become slaves to the sword, turning into sword demons. At that point, they will only bring disaster upon the world.”

“Yes, among martial arts divine skills, the Path of Killing is both the simplest and the hardest to practice,” Bai Lao agreed, stroking his white beard. “It’s simple because advancing early on is easy, and it requires the least amount of talent. But it’s difficult because the more one progresses, the stronger the desire for killing becomes, and the greater its impact on one’s true self. A single mistake can lead to irreversible consequences, causing one to lose their true nature and descend into darkness. Moreover, the Path of Killing has a fatal flaw: once a target is chosen, if the opponent cannot be killed, the path ends forever, with no chance of progress. So, the outcome of this battle will surely be brutal—either that kid using defensive principles is killed, or this young genius sword cultivator’s journey in the Art of Killing comes to an end.”

Ye Feng naturally had no way of knowing that a fierce debate between him and that kendo genius was underway in the guest seats. He turned his head slightly and said, “Let me do it. I’ll replicate his fighting style in the training hall of Absolute Weapon Ark, and then you can give it a try.” Although Zhenzhu was reluctant, knowing that she could only use a third-tier divine skill at the moment, she realized she was no match for him. She understood this as soon as his blood-red eyes fixed on her—compared to him, she lacked the confidence to win and the determination to fight to the death.