# Chapter 3: Round Battle
...
Three types of competition appeared before Su Xiao. The first type was a total of fourteen participants from both sides fighting in a single arena. The second type had each side sending one person to the arena platform. As long as one was strong enough to keep winning consecutively, they could fight through the entire opposing team.
The third type was round battle, where both sides selected opponents for one-on-one matches. With fourteen participants, there would be a total of seven rounds. The side that won four of these rounds would claim victory in this round.
[Random drawing complete. Drawn: Round Battle.]
Seeing this result, Su Xiao felt somewhat disappointed. For his side's lineup, team battle or platform battle would have been more advantageous.
Since round battle had been drawn, he naturally needed to find a way to deal with it. Not bringing Amu into the Watcher Tower this time had proven quite wise.
If Amu had come, it would have occupied one slot, making the round battle eight rounds instead. Knowing this beforehand, he shouldn't have brought Bubu Wang and Baha either. The reason was that they were all Su Xiao's followers. In this type of trial, as long as Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha were within 50 kilometers of Su Xiao, he could summon them.
Thus, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha counted as one competition slot. This was only natural. Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha would be summoned by Su Xiao after the competition began, just as a summoner wouldn't be judged as multiple competition individuals for summoning their summons.
Su Xiao crouched down, pressing his index finger against the ground. Azure Song crystals formed a summoning array. After sensing for a moment, Amu was indeed not far away, having already returned from Black Iron City and was waiting at the No. 15 Train Station on the edge of the Corrosion Rain Region.
With a booming explosion, the summoning began. Yes, to avoid the summoning being interrupted, Su Xiao's summoning array was an improved version, modified based on the principles of the [Demon Teleportation Array].
Although the Watcher Tower had layers of spatial seals, summoning followers was certified by Reincarnation Paradise, so it could naturally be accomplished. The summoning array flashed, and Amu shot out, spinning rapidly a few times before landing with a splat.
"Moo?"
Amu stood up and shook his head, not feeling any discomfort from the summoning force. He was long accustomed to it. Ordinary summoning arrays actually made Amu uncomfortable. He always felt the tugging force was too soft, as if it might be interrupted at any moment, causing him to fall into the endless spatial mist.
Conversely, the Law Destruction characteristic summoning was like sitting on an already-launched missile. As long as this thing itself didn't explode, spatial mist or spatial vortices were nothing to worry about.
With Amu present, his side's advantage increased significantly. First was the matchup situation for his side's seven members.
Wood: His abilities were bizarre. As long as his opponent wasn't Absolute Strength level, their chances of defeating him were very low.
Zuiyasi: A shameless guy with Time System + Ancient God Undying System. Almost one of his side's guaranteed victory slots.
Dark Devourer: His side's guaranteed victory slot.
Kaisa: His side's forfeit slot.
Bubu Wang: Originally his side's surrender slot. But since Bubu and Amu were both Su Xiao's followers, when Bubu's round began, Bubu Wang and Amu would appear together. Since Amu couldn't trigger the Lone War Bull ability, their win rate was moderate.
Baha: As an assassination type, Baha wasn't suited for this kind of competition. Additionally, several of Baha's powerful abilities and ultimate moves were important trump cards for his side's team. They couldn't be used here, as that would be wasteful. They should be saved for more critical moments later. Therefore, Baha just needed to maintain his condition. If necessary, he could forfeit, preserving the team's killer moves.
Su Xiao: Shadow of Law Destruction + Three Technique Grandmasters. He was at the Ninth Rank peak because the Ninth Rank peak could only reach this level, not because he personally had reached his limit. Absolute Strength level cultivators who hadn't used [Primordial Fragment] to advance might not be his match even in the early to mid Absolute Strength stage. As long as he didn't encounter Fierce Brother or the Masked Woman, these other powerhouses also stuck at the Ninth Rank peak limit, this was his side's guaranteed victory slot.
This lineup meant that as long as any one of Wood, Bubu Wang, or Baha won their match, his side would be victorious.
On the open ground, Su Xiao walked toward the central spiral staircase. While the round battle hadn't started yet, he tried to check the Watcher Tower rankings. These were all the people who had ever challenged this trial. The person at the top was called the Puppet Master, who had challenged up to the twelfth floor but failed on the final floor.
Su Xiao naturally knew who this was. In the previous world progress, he had cooperated with this person. The other party wore a fox mask, with a Gothic doll pendant hanging beneath it. No one knew their real name, only that this person was female. One of her identities was No. 2 of the Traveling Group.
This time, Gulu came to the Eternal Light World, not to seek death, but to accompany her big sister. The Puppet Master came here to take this opportunity for a highest-difficulty advancement. She had been waiting for this chance for a long time.
Following the central spiral staircase, Su Xiao arrived at the first floor of the Watcher Tower. This place was an arena. The central area had a yellow sand field of over a thousand square meters, surrounded by rings of circular spectator seats.
At this moment, seven violators were on the yellow sand field. Su Xiao recognized two of them: Bephry and Little Ge.
Seeing that it was Su Xiao who had arrived, Bephry's eyes narrowed slightly. Her black-gloved fists clenched with cracking sounds. Wearing a black vest, Bephry had a hot figure. Her fishtail braid that reached past her waist and her dark red pupils gave her an exceptionally sharp aura.
The other five violators were also no small fry. They were the Black Hunter, Bone Man, Insect Tamer, Soul Ghost, and Moon Witch.
Among these five, the Moon Witch, wearing a light purple long dress with a head full of silver long hair, was the most eye-catching. Especially her gentle temperament would make those with weak willpower subconsciously doubt: was this really a violator? Perhaps, no, it must be a judgment error.
Yes, the Moon Witch was a top-tier Charm System ability user. She didn't charm others through active abilities. Truly powerful Charm System users didn't deliberately enhance their charm; instead, they would intentionally reduce it. The truly terrifying Charm System users were those who made people subconsciously develop goodwill upon meeting them.
Consider this: when two people meet, developing some goodwill and fantasies toward someone like the Moon Witch with her gentle temperament and heaven-defying appearance is very normal. No one would be on guard against this inner goodwill.
The problem lay here. The Moon Witch could make that bit of goodwill others felt toward her unknowingly become a seed. Then this seed would gradually take root and sprout, finally growing robustly in a person's consciousness and judgment. By then, that person would obey the Moon Witch's every word.
If Gray Gentleman hadn't died, then now Priest, Gray Gentleman, and Moon Witch would be the ceiling among violators below Absolute Strength level. It was worth mentioning that the Moon Witch came from Holy Light Paradise.
Besides the Moon Witch, the other four violators were: Black Hunter, Bone Man, Insect Tamer, and Soul Ghost. Among them, Soul Ghost had already fallen victim. He was floating behind the Moon Witch. From the look in his eyes, it was impossible for him to break free from this state through his own abilities.
Bephry warily glanced at the Moon Witch. She knew that the other party's ability was never specifically targeted at the opposite sex. As long as one had a bit of goodwill toward the Moon Witch, they would fall victim. Being so vigilant, Bephry examined the Moon Witch's dress. The style of this dress made her feel it was quite impressive.
Thinking this, Bephry shifted her gaze. But somehow, her mind kept thinking about that dress. Then her brain automatically filled in the Moon Witch's appearance. The other party's gentle, affable temperament made her find the Moon Witch increasingly agreeable. Perhaps she could cooperate with the other party later. She subconsciously looked toward the Moon Witch again.
Slap~!
A small hand struck Bephry's face. It was Little Ge who had slapped her. Bephry immediately snapped out of it. She had already been mentally on guard, yet she had still nearly been affected by the Moon Witch's ability. The other party's methods were too subtle and caught one off guard.
Little Ge spoke in the team channel that only he and Bephry could hear: "Big Sis, what are you doing? Were you almost affected?"
"Bull|shit. How could your big sis be so easily corrupted in mind?"
"I just took a photo of your expression. Do you want to see it yourself?"
"Delete it."
"No way."
Little Ge smiled, revealing a mouthful of neat white teeth. But his sister just stared at him and sent in the team channel:
"Three."
"Two."
"Already deleted."
Due to bloodline suppression, Little Ge obediently deleted the photo. Bephry's gaze began to assess the few people opposite. She suddenly felt that this competition wasn't looking too optimistic.
Everyone arrived at the yellow sand field. The next second, both sides were teleported to the spectator seats on either side. A virtual light screen appeared above the field. After random drawing, the violators would send out their participant first.
The round battle method was simple. After one side sent out a participant, the other side could have any participant respond. In the next round, the winning side would send out their participant first, and the other side would choose who to face them. Being the side that acted second undoubtedly had the advantage.
The seven violators on the opposite side discussed for a moment and decided to send the Black Hunter.
The Black Hunter flashed onto the yellow sand field. He wore a short windbreaker and a hood. His hands were pitch black, with viscous liquid seeping from them. When it dripped onto the yellow sand, it made a sizzling corrosion sound.
Dark liquid floated around him, distorting the air over the entire yellow sand field.
Su Xiao entered the field through the opened gate on the yellow sand field. As soon as he stepped onto the yellow sand field, a countdown appeared above.
"I've heard of the Night of Decapitation for a long time. I didn't expect to cross paths today. Don't say my abilities are underhanded."
The Black Hunter's hands continuously oozed liquid, covering a large area of ground around him. At that moment, the countdown ended, and the battle began.
The Demon Spirit was released from Dragon-Slaying Flash. Almost simultaneously, a Blood Qi phantom appeared behind Su Xiao, pulling a Soul Great Bow to full draw and shooting the Demon Spirit, which had turned into a black smoke arrow.
Boom!
The Demon Spirit arrow was blocked by the hardened black liquid, exploding like iron sand. This made the Black Hunter behind the barrier feel puzzled. This Night of Decapitation, who had quite a reputation, had very fast attack speed, but his attack power really wasn't that impressive.
But in the next instant, the Black Hunter noticed that the Demon Spirit in front of the barrier suddenly disappeared. Su Xiao, who had been dozens of meters away, suddenly appeared here. He didn't draw his blade but instead delivered a simple, unadorned straight kick.
This made the Black Hunter feel somewhat angry. The Night of Decapitation had always been famous as a Blade Grandmaster. Now, facing him in battle, he didn't even draw his blade. This was too disrespectful.
Though thinking this in his heart, the Black Hunter still strengthened the defense of the liquid barrier in front of him. Then, in his energy perception, this barrier suddenly disappeared. A fierce gust of wind came head-on, blowing his hair into an upright style with a whoosh. The Origin-level cloth armor on his body actually made tearing sounds like cloth being ripped, cracking open with fine lines.
The Black Hunter's pupils had shrunk to the extreme. He immediately activated his life-saving equipment, preparing to teleport a hundred meters away. But unfortunately, under this "Flying Upgrade" level attack judgment straight kick, the life-saving ring shattered with a crack.
Splat~
A golden-tinted invincible barrier appeared in front of Bephry, Little Ge, Insect Tamer, and the others. Evenly distributed on this invincible barrier was the Black Hunter.
Bephry, Little Ge, Bone Man, Insect Tamer, and Soul Ghost looked at each other. In their hearts, they actually felt somewhat fortunate. Fortunately, this wasn't a platform battle. Otherwise, there might have been the horrifying scene of one kick per person.
"Question... no big deal. Each person can only fight one round."
Little Ge spoke. Hearing this, Bone Man, Insect Tamer, and Soul Ghost all chimed in agreement. Since the competition had already started, directly surrendering was truly unwilling. This opportunity to be summoned by the Watcher Tower was hard to come by.
[Prompt: You have killed Violator 18***50. You receive Honor Medal ×2.]
No Scarlet Card dropped. Su Xiao turned and walked toward his side's spectator seats. This round, his faction had won. Now it was his side's turn to send out the competitor first.
Although Su Xiao, Zuiyasi, Wood, and Kaisa all knew the subsequent plan, they still briefly discussed it and decided to let Zuiyasi go up.
"Cough!"
Zuiyasi coughed dryly, meaning that Su Xiao and Wood were blocking the passage to the yellow sand field. It seemed like this, but the real meaning was: 'Move aside, I'm going to show off.'
Zuiyasi walked onto the competition field. The person who came out from the opposite side was Bephry. The moment the battle began, Bephry had already appeared in front of Zuiyasi, grabbing his head with one hand.
Perhaps even Bephry herself didn't notice that a few drops of dark red blood had stained the skin of her arm. The two had almost brushed past each other. Zuiyasi's headless body stood there, as if it hadn't yet reacted to having its head taken.
Strangely, Bephry, who had taken the enemy's head, remained in the posture of holding the head with one hand, poised to take a step forward. Looking closely at her pupils, one could see them moving rapidly, indicating that her mind was in a highly active state. It was very much like she was in a fantasy, fighting a powerful enemy. In reality, she was completely motionless.
Click-clack, click-clack~
The sound of a clock ticking came. A few seconds later, blood marks suddenly appeared all over Bephry's body, and these blood marks became increasingly dense. The head of Zuiyasi in her hand turned into black tentacles, floating back to Zuiyasi's severed neck, gradually forming his head.
Zuiyasi walked toward his side's spectator seats. Just as he was about to step out of the yellow sand field, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. With a pop, Bephry, who had been standing like a sculpture dozens of meters behind him, had all the blood marks on her body explode like a detonation, scattering large amounts of blood droplets around. Triggering her life-saving item and timely surrender, Bephry was instantly teleported back to the spectator seats on the other side.
Su Xiao, Wood, Bubu Wang, Kaisa, and Baha all didn't speak. But their looks at Zuiyasi on the field below were remarkably unanimous, which was: 'Let this bastard successfully show off.'
He didn't know which genius on the other side had suggested letting Bephry face Zuiyasi. In fact, Bephry's strength wasn't weak. But Zuiyasi naturally countered this type of melee combatant.
Su Xiao and Zuiyasi had appeared consecutively, aiming to secure the first two rounds. There were only seven rounds total. After taking two rounds, the other side would inevitably think about turning the situation around. Thus, they would definitely send their strongest person to recover one round. Otherwise, if they lost three in a row, the margin for error later would be too low.
Kaisa put the Abyssal Jar on his head and stepped into the yellow sand field. As Kaisa advanced, darkness like the abyss pushed forward.
When the few people on the opposite side saw this formation, their heads were buzzing. Law Destruction and Ancient God System were already ridiculous enough. Now came someone with even more deterrent power. The few violators all looked at the Moon Witch. As someone who could be in the same tier as Priest, at this critical moment, the Moon Witch would definitely go up.
"Alright, but don't blame me if I lose. I just happen to want to experience the methods of the Fraudster Kaisa."
The Moon Witch, sitting on the long bench, interlaced her ten fingers and stretched with a hint of laziness. Bone Man, Insect Tamer, and Bephry all turned their heads to avoid looking. Soul Ghost, who had just escaped from the Moon Witch, immediately looked away as well.
"I'm not as terrible as you all think. If you don't believe me, you can ask Soul Ghost if I was the one who actively released the ability. Although we're temporary teammates, I also cherish this connection."
Hearing the Moon Witch's words, Soul Ghost remained silent. He just looked at his empty storage space. But the equipment in his equipment slot hadn't been touched at all. This was quite mysterious. Although Soul Ghost hated the Moon Witch to the bone in his heart, he still felt that risking his life to try to retaliate wasn't worth it. It was better to stay far away from her, since his carefully crafted equipment and abilities were still intact.
The Moon Witch walked onto the competition field. Looking at Kaisa opposite her, who had the Abyssal Jar on his head, although she still maintained her elegant temperament, her heart was on high alert.
But who would have thought that the next second, the black mist behind Kaisa would deflate like air, quickly dissipating into the air. The Abyssal Jar on Kaisa's head also disappeared, revealing his shifty-eyed and somewhat lecherous expression.
Such a contrast made the Moon Witch stunned for a moment. Then, her complexion turned somewhat pale, and she immediately said, "I forfeit."
Due to the Moon Witch's forfeit, Kaisa, who had just prepared to take off his shoes to try to turn the tables, was teleported to his side's spectator seats. This made Kaisa laugh extremely slyly. If the Moon Witch on the opposite side had made a move, Kaisa would have immediately forfeited. Combat was not his forte.
Unexpectedly winning the third round, Su Xiao, Zuiyasi, and Wood all looked at the Dark Devourer. Although the Dark Devourer was still somewhat unhappy in his heart, he still stood up and walked toward the yellow sand field.
The battle quickly began. It was the Dark Devourer versus Little Ge. Little Ge was about to summon his combat mech when he suddenly felt something was wrong. The enemy opposite him didn't give him any sense of crisis.
Combined with the other party's strange smile full of shark-like teeth, Little Ge vaguely felt a touch of death. Then, thinking about the Moon Witch who had directly forfeited earlier, Little Ge made a decision. There was no need to be seriously injured for this challenge.
"Forfeit."
As soon as Little Ge forfeited, the six violators were simultaneously teleported away. Speaking of which, these few were quite lucky. Even with the Moon Witch present, if they had drawn a team battle, at least five of these seven violators would have been permanently left here.
[Prompt: Your team has won the first round challenge. Yes/No to settle challenge rewards?]
[If settlement is postponed, this reward settlement will accumulate. Each completed round will increase this reward by 1.5 times.]
No rush to settle. To obtain the most extreme reward cap, one needed to wait until successfully challenging the twelfth floor before making the final settlement.
As Su Xiao made his choice, the ceiling above opened. A metal spiral staircase with handrails descended with a clatter.
After ascending the metal spiral staircase for a hundred meters, a tempting aroma of delicious food drifted into his nostrils. This made his saliva secrete, and his stomach let out dissatisfied protests. Only a hearty meal could appease his stomach's complaints.
Arriving at the second floor, this place was a restaurant. Although not luxurious, the furnishings had a sense of age. In front was a long rectangular dining table, about two meters wide and eight meters long, with eight chairs placed in front.
Behind this dining table was a giant chef over five meters tall. Behind him were chopping boards, kitchen utensils, etc. The flames under the soup pot were burning, as if some delicacies had already been cooked, waiting for Su Xiao and the others to arrive.
[Tower Challenge Second Floor has been opened.]
[This challenge content: Endless Delicacies.]
[This round is a reward-type challenge level.]
...
After checking the content of this challenge, Su Xiao understood what was going on. First was this giant chef. On the second floor of the tower, this was the absolute ruler. If he wanted, he could even lift the Dark Devourer onto the chopping board and kill him with one kitchen knife.
This giant chef would, based on each guest's strength, determine the corresponding amount of food and use rare ingredients to cook delicious meals for the challengers present to taste. But there was one thing: this giant chef respected ingredients and even more so, food. He absolutely would not allow waste. Once the delicacies he cooked were left untouched, everyone present would be lifted onto the chopping board.
Determining the amount of food based on strength was not good news. Don't forget, the team had the Dark Devourer with Absolute Strength level strength. Even worse, the Dark Devourer showed little interest in these delicacies.
Eight seats. Amu sat facing the giant chef in the middle position, while the Dark Devourer sat at the far left.
The giant chef looked down at the few people sitting there. With his full beard, he ladled out several large bowls of meat soup. The dining table seemed to have its own consciousness, as each bowl of meat soup slid on its own to in front of each person.
Even more strange was that all kinds of tableware opened eyes one by one, looking on with malicious anticipation, anticipating that the people present would be killed on the spot by the giant chef.
Su Xiao picked up the meat soup and took a shallow sip. If he hadn't frequently enjoyed Xia's cooking, encountering cooking skills on par with Xia's now, he might not have been able to resist the temptation of this delicacy and would have drained the bowl of meat soup in one go.
Just as Su Xiao finished enjoying a bowl of meat soup, a large portion of seafood noodles had already appeared on the table in front of him. He hadn't eaten a single meal since entering this world, and he was quite hungry. So he simply picked up the utensils and began to enjoy the food.
After finishing the seafood noodles, a serving of grilled shrimp followed. Although he didn't know what kind of shrimp this was, the taste was excellent. Then came a serving of mushroom soup. After finishing this delicacy, Su Xiao felt a strong sense of fullness.
[Prompt: Your True Stamina attribute permanently +1 point.]
[Verification: You have not broken through the 300-point attribute barrier. Unable to increase your body attributes on this basis.]
[Certification clause triggered. This is your gain in this challenge. Due to unavoidable circumstances, you cannot obtain this gain. It will be provided in other forms to allow you to normally obtain this gain.]
[You receive 1 True Attribute Point.]
[You receive 2 True Attribute Points.]
[You receive 5 True Attribute Points.]
[You receive 3 True Attribute Points.]
[You receive 2 Golden Skill Points.]
...
A total of 11 True Attribute Points and 2 Golden Skill Points were obtained. Under normal circumstances, after eating these delicacies, his Strength, Agility, and Stamina attributes would increase by 11-12 points, and one or two skill levels would increase. But because he hadn't yet broken through the 300-point attribute barrier, this reward was converted into True Attribute Points and Golden Skill Points.
With Su Xiao's current physique, these delicacies could still improve his body attributes. One could imagine how rare the ingredients used were. Correspondingly, these ingredients provided a massive amount of body energy. Even for Su Xiao, he couldn't eat another bite of the delicacies at this point.
The Dark Devourer ate the least. Not only was he not interested in these delicacies, but he also became full the fastest.
Shifting his gaze to Amu, this simpleton swept his large hand, and the delicacies in front of the Dark Devourer came to him. The giant chef in front of the stove continued cooking various delicacies.
After Amu had a hearty feast, the giant chef in front of the stove slapped the stove off. He turned his head and looked at Amu, who, because the food couldn't keep up, had already licked the plate clean and eaten all the delicacies.
Amu was completely satisfied. With a swish, a screen was pulled down in front of the dining table. This round of reward challenge ended.
[Prompt: Your team has passed the Endless Delicacies challenge. Yes/No to settle challenge rewards?]
[If settlement is postponed, this reward settlement will accumulate. Each completed round will increase this reward by 1.6 times.]
After the prompt appeared, the ceiling at the center of the second floor opened. The metal spiral staircase descended with a clatter.
In this challenge, Amu had eaten so many delicacies that could improve body attributes. His Strength, Agility, and Stamina attributes would definitely have a significant increase.
Su Xiao walked up the spiral staircase to the third floor. Upon arriving at the third floor, a giant crystal door radiating soul-blue blocked the way. He raised his hand and pressed against it.
[Tower Challenge Third Floor has been opened.]
[This challenge content: Soul Victor.]
[This round of challenge can only be attempted by one person at a time.]
[A total of three consecutive victories equals challenge success.]
[You are about to face the first round's powerful enemy. Be prepared. In this battle, you can only use soul power as your combat method.]
...
After the prompt ended, the giant crystal door in front opened with a clatter. A gray mist wall appeared behind Su Xiao, isolating Zuiyasi, Wood, and the others.
From the soul mist ahead, several figures walked out. These were all his opponents for this round. But when Su Xiao clearly saw these figures, he stopped his forward pace. Because walking out of the soul mist were exactly the Soul Guards, Thorn Maiden, Soul Hunting Shadow, Soul Mage, Black Steel Knight, and the final boss Soul Lord, all of whom Su Xiao had beaten one by one in the Soul Arena.
These six appeared with different entrance poses. Combined with the soul mist, they had quite a presence. Especially the Soul Hunting Shadow, who was just as arrogant as in their previous two meetings.
"So you're the challenger? Don't blame us for being underhanded with six against one. This is the rule of certification..."
The Soul Hunting Shadow, carrying twin blades on his back and holding his arms, stopped mid-sentence. Behind him, the Soul Lord, who was looking upward at a 45-degree angle to the side, completely disdaining to look directly at the opponent, found that his subordinate had choked on his entrance lines.
The Soul Lord maintained his current pose but gently nudged the Soul Hunting Shadow's back with his hand. But this subordinate, who normally had no other faults besides liking to show off, was still stuck and still wouldn't continue the lines. This made the Soul Lord feel angry inside.
The Soul Lord turned his head with some anger to look forward, and then performed a facial expression performance. Upon seeing that the challenger was Su Xiao, the anger on the Soul Lord's face quickly turned to shock, then to forced smiles. But because it was too forced, even the forced smile couldn't be maintained. Finally, he directly put on a pain mask. Also putting on a pain mask were the Soul Lord's several subordinates.