Chapter 3: Grand Spectacle
Competing for world ownership wasn’t something Su Xiao was new to, but this was the first time he saw void races participating in such matters.
This time around, the battle was likely special—not a large-scale world war. If it were an official one, Su Xiao would have received a summons first, but he hadn’t this time.
Thinking about it, this should just be a main quest centered on vying for the world, not an eighth-rank world war.
Whether it was Su Xiao’s imagination or not, he had won many world wars in his earlier ranks. By the mid-to-late stages, Reincarnation Paradise always sent him into tough battles. In his fifth, sixth, and seventh-rank world wars, weren’t they all chaotic clashes of gods and immortals?
If Su Xiao seized this world, Reincarnation Paradise would grant him resources. What puzzled him was how the void races would gain benefits after winning. Occupying the World of Paintings?
Su Xiao felt that was unlikely. If the void forces dared to do that, contractors from various paradises would come to stir up trouble while they garrisoned the World of Paintings.
Conversely, if a paradise obtained ownership of the World of Paintings, it would be hard for other parties to enter.
Analyzing it this way, the void races coming to seize the World of Paintings probably meant they could transfer its ownership to the Void Tree through some method, then receive equivalent rewards from the Void Tree.
What could a world bring in exchange? The answer was that, given the Void Tree’s absolute neutrality, the resources it offered back would make major powers like Arcane Eternal Star, the Demon Race, and the Feather Race so tempted they’d pay a heavy price.
There was no need to envy this transaction method. If Su Xiao obtained the World of Paintings, he wouldn’t get such exaggerated resources, but what he could gain from Reincarnation Paradise was something the great void races lacked. Just in terms of channels for acquiring Soul Crystals, the two sides weren’t on the same level.
Su Xiao checked his task list. No main quests or war-type tasks had appeared yet, likely because other participants hadn’t arrived.
[Tip: The Void Tree is the notary for this ‘Scroll Fragment Battle.’ When all participants have gathered, the Void Tree will open the Scroll Fragment Ranking. Only the top five will be ranked based on the number of ‘Scroll Fragments’ handed over to the Young Miss.]
[Tip: The resources rewarded by this ranking are provided by Reincarnation Paradise, Apocalypse Paradise, Holy Light Paradise, Sanctuary Paradise, Watchful Paradise, Death Paradise, Arcane Eternal Star, the Devil Race, the Demon Race, Doom Star, the Feather Race… and other factions. The amount of resources provided will determine the entry order into this world.]
[First Batch Entry Factions: Reincarnation Paradise, Arcane Eternal Star, Devil Race, Demon Race, Doom Star, Apocalypse Paradise, Feather Race.]
[Tip: When all participants from a faction die or leave this world, that faction will be eliminated.]
[Tip: A maximum of seven factions can stay in this world simultaneously. When a faction from the first batch is eliminated, participants from Holy Light Paradise, the Star Clan, Death Paradise, and other factions will enter this world to fill the faction slots (currently, participants from Holy Light Paradise, the Star Clan, Death Paradise, and other factions are waiting in the space transfer station).]
[Tip: This battle is semi-public. Participants are allowed to feed back battle footage, battle conditions, casualty numbers, and real-time images to the factions involved in this battle (no intelligence may be disclosed to factions unrelated to this battle).]
Seeing these prompts, Su Xiao was looking forward to this ranking. The rewards this time came from all participating factions pooling resources, which the Void Tree would notarize and convert into equivalent items for the ranking.
Simply put, to gain entry to the Scroll Fragment Battle, factions had to put up resources first. The top seven factions with the most resources got first-batch entry. Clearly, Reincarnation Paradise had contributed a lot, since Su Xiao was in the first batch.
None of the seven first-batch factions were easy to mess with. Every time one was wiped out, participants from other factions waiting at the ‘Star Space Transfer Station’ would immediately fill in, giving the feeling of ‘next victim, please.’
…
Void Platform, West Ring, Mou Arena.
A layer of light film enveloped the surrounding area. This place had been notarized by the Void Tree, allowing only factions participating in this battle to enter. For example, if the Demon Race was involved, other Demon Race members could enter the ‘Mou Arena.’ This wasn’t the battlefield but a viewing area. The outcome of the battle affected everyone here’s interests.
Not only void races could come here; high-rank workers from Reincarnation Paradise and professional miners from Apocalypse Paradise could also teleport directly from their paradises.
The final ownership of the World of Paintings affected their immediate interests, so of course they’d come.
Inside the Mou Arena, ring-shaped spectator seats surrounded the venue. Looking around, every seat was filled. Stone golems made entirely of rock, the ‘Manga Clan’ with semi-fluid bodies, and Feather Race members in feathered robes—many void races were present.
“What a lively scene.”
Dressed in beachwear and wearing sunglasses, the Wind Prince leaned back in his seat, arms draped over the armrests on both sides, looking relaxed. Behind him sat the Fierce Wind King in a mage robe. The father and son were like two different worlds.
This was understandable. The Fierce Wind King was from the era of the Law Annihilation. In his lifetime, he had to wear a mage robe whenever he went out. Back then, he might be sleeping at Arcane Eternal Star when Law Destroyers would descend from the sky. It was a 24/7 combat state, for both Law Destroyers and Spellcasters. As the saying went, life and death were trivial; if you disagreed, you fought.
“Dad, if you hadn’t forced me out, I’d never have come. Ooh, the Feather Race girls are gorgeous.”
The homebody Wind Prince eyed a few passing female Feather Race members, his eyes lighting up. Seeing this, the Fierce Wind King showed a barely perceptible smile, almost praising the Wind Prince with, ‘That’s my boy.’
“Dad, who from our Eternal Star is entering the World of Paintings this time? Mage Mentor Helos? Or Bone Elder?”
The Wind Prince took off his sunglasses and casually placed a hand on the head of the girl next to him—his sister, an even bigger homebody.
“Flame Igniter·Soyeg, and Loshi. Those two represent our Eternal Star.”
“Soyeg going is normal, but why is Loshi going? Her life is precious. This time in the World of Paintings, there are people from Reincarnation Paradise, the Devil Race, and Doom Star. Having her compete with them is fine in terms of combat power, but…”
The Wind Prince didn’t finish, and his father, the Fierce Wind King, said nothing. Arcane Eternal Star had its internal school rivalries.
“Shang Yu, over here.”
As soon as the Wind Prince called out, he felt a poke in his waist—from his sister.
Hearing the Wind Prince’s shout, a female Feather Race member walked over and sat next to him. She had black feathered wings and blue eyeshadow, looking cold and glamorous, but that wasn’t the case. Those who knew her understood that Shang Yu was a decent person.
“Shang Yu, I remember you participated in the last Strongest Warrior Tournament.”
“Yeah, I did.”
Shang Yu smiled faintly. She had a good impression of the Wind Prince.
“Seeing you reminds me of Bai Ye. He also joined that tournament. I wonder how that guy’s doing lately. By the way, you fought Bai Ye last time, right? Did you get cut? Let me tell you… Hey? Why are you leaving? Shang Yu, sis, stay a bit longer.”
Watching Shang Yu’s receding figure, the Wind Prince scratched his head in confusion. Having a beauty sit beside him was fine, but unfortunately, she left.
“Ahem.”
The Fierce Wind King behind him coughed lightly, seemingly understanding his intent. A stern woman beside him stood up, raised her right hand, and with a textbook-perfect motion, smacked the back of the Wind Prince’s head.
Bang!
When the Wind Prince came to, he was already sitting under the front railing. Clearly, there was a reason he was still single.
The circular spectator seats numbered at least 100,000. The central arena, usually used for combat, now had over a dozen massive screens hanging, allowing every angle of the audience to see them. Unfortunately, the screens were pitch black. The Void Tree didn’t provide such broadcasts; participants needed special means to transmit real-time footage.
“Start already! Lilim! Kill them all!!”
The shout of the straightforward Lide rang out. The Demon Race members near him silently moved away, not wanting to be associated with the embarrassment.
In reality, what happened at the Mou Arena had no effect on the World of Paintings. In fact, no information could be transmitted from here to the World of Paintings—a restriction imposed by the Void Tree.
Worth noting was that the [Insight Eye] used to transmit footage this time was held by the female Spellcaster Loshi of Arcane Eternal Star. That meant until she entered the Treeborn World, the arena would stay on a black screen.
No one could have imagined that two people unrelated to the void factions were about to become a ‘live-streaming sister duo,’ broadcasting to the 100,000-plus spectators in the arena an unforgettable escape journey through the World of Paintings.