# Chapter 1140: The Strange Person
"Mei Yin, that person named Yun Che... what's so special about him?"
Flying off not too far, the blue-clad young woman asked the girl beside her in a cautious tone, because she knew very well that the girl she was holding would never do anything without reason. And for her to actively approach someone was extremely rare.
"Big brother Yun Che, he's very powerful. And... a little strange," the little girl replied.
"Powerful? Strange?"
"I should put it this way — he's more powerful than big sister thinks he is... a lot more." The little girl tilted her head slightly, as if thinking, but her tone was very certain.
These words from the girl were not only baffling but also went against common sense. Normally, one would just laugh them off. But the blue-clad woman furrowed her brows slightly, showing no doubt: "It seems that either his talent is extraordinary, or the profound art he cultivates is special."
"Mm... but there's no need to worry. His profound strength is really too weak. Even though his actual strength seems quite formidable, it's impossible for him to threaten someone at the Divine Spirit Realm, let alone threaten big sister. It's just that his strangeness... is hard to put into words. That's exactly why I find it so strange."
The little girl thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "Oh right! He kept staring into my eyes just now, and for a long time."
"He dared to look directly into your eyes?"
This time, the blue-clad woman's face showed several times more shock than before: "Could he be a spiritual power expert? Yun Che... we should probably keep an eye on him for now."
"No!" The little girl shook her head instead: "Big sister needs to pay more attention to that person named Huo Poyun."
"Him? Why?"
"Because his bloodline, profound veins, and soul are all very strange. In terms of intensity, he's at Divine Spirit Realm Level 7, but the level is much higher. He's definitely not just an ordinary divine blood inheritor. He should have been infused with a lot of divine 'components', and there's also some dragon 'components' mixed in. So he's much more powerful than big sister thinks. He might even pose a slight threat to big sister." The little girl said very seriously.
Divine Spirit Realm Level 7 and Divine Spirit Realm Level 10 — in anyone's eyes, even if not worlds apart, it's an insurmountable gap. Especially when these words came from the mouth of a fifteen-year-old girl, they would only be dismissed as a joke.
But the blue-clad woman fell silent, then slightly nodded: "I understand. It seems that this Profound God Convention truly has hidden dragons and crouching tigers."
If these words of the little girl fell into the ears of Huo Poyun, Huo Rulie, Yan Wancang, and others, they would surely be horrified.
The things on Huo Poyun were the greatest secrets of him and even the entire Flame God Realm. Yet under this little girl's gaze, they were as clear as if carved directly on his face.
Time slowly passed, drawing closer and closer to the Profound God Convention. The Eastern Divine Region grew quieter and quieter. Nine thousand star realms, countless profound practitioners, all waited eagerly. Because this was the highest specification, highest level profound gathering in the Eastern Divine Region. And this session was the most special in history. Simply being qualified to participate was a great honor for the vast majority of profound practitioners and sects. And if one could achieve a decent rank, even just a good ranking in the preliminaries, it would be an unparalleled glory to shine for a lifetime.
It could even elevate the status of one's star realm within its layer.
Finally, that day arrived.
As the heavens trembled, the sound of Zhou Tian rang through the sky, resounding across the preliminary battlefield and every corner of the Eastern Divine Region.
"After a mere seven hundred years, the time of the Profound God Convention has come again. This session is different from previous ones. Not only will it showcase the talent of the current young generation of the Eastern Divine Region, it may also determine the future of the Eastern Divine Region."
"This session of the Profound God Convention is bounded by the Divine Tribulation Realm. There are a total of 51,320,000 participants entering the preliminary battlefield, gathering all the outstanding young profound practitioners of the Eastern Divine Region outside the King Realms."
Over fifty million — that number might sound huge, but compared to the Eastern Divine Region's nine thousand realms and countless trillions of profound practitioners, it's actually a very small proportion. And these fifty million qualified to participate in the Profound God Convention — every single one of them is an undeniable genius, especially in the lower and middle-rank star realms, where they would be famous in their regions.
For example, in the Yin Xue Realm, achieving the Divine Tribulation Realm in less than sixty years would qualify one to enter the highest-level Ice Phoenix Temple.
"This session of the Profound God Convention is on an unprecedented scale, and the competition structure is also different. The preliminaries will take place within the Zhou Tian Pearl as the battlefield..."
Although "using the Zhou Tian Pearl as the battlefield" had been known for three years, hearing it again now still stirred excitement in all participating profound practitioners. And this was undoubtedly one of the most important reasons why countless profound practitioners had trained desperately over the past three years, sparing no cost to achieve the Divine Tribulation Realm just to attend the Profound God Convention. They didn't seek rankings; they only sought to be touched by the aura and laws of the Zhou Tian Pearl. Because this was a great fortune rare in ten thousand generations.
After all, in ancient times, the Zhou Tian Pearl belonged to the realm of gods... or even something beyond the realm of true gods.
But what followed was like a basin of cold water mercilessly poured over them.
"...All participating profound practitioners will be projected into the world of the Zhou Tian Pearl. Everything they carry will be projected in full. The only difference from their true bodies is that they will not truly die."
The participating profound practitioners were all dumbfounded. "Using the Zhou Tian Pearl as the battlefield" — it turned out to mean being projected into the internal world of the Zhou Tian Pearl, not physically entering... And since it was just a projection, how could they perceive any damn aura or laws?
And the next words sent a chill through the hearts of countless profound practitioners.
"First round of preliminaries: all participating profound practitioners will be randomly projected into one thousand preliminary battlefields. Each battlefield will have an equal number of participants. In the end, only ten people from each battlefield will advance; the rest will all be eliminated!"
Boom——
Like a thunderbolt striking down, the entire Eastern Divine Region erupted in agitation.
One thousand preliminary battle zones, each advancing only ten people, the rest eliminated... That meant in this preliminary round, on average, only one out of every five thousand people would advance!
In the end, across all ten battle zones, only ten thousand profound practitioners would advance. The remaining fifty million plus would all be eliminated!
This elimination ratio was not just exaggerated; it was utterly inhumane.
In previous Profound God Conventions, the elimination ratio for the first preliminary round was also large, but at most it was one in a hundred, never this extreme.
"This session of the Profound God Convention, due to the Divine Tribulation Realm restriction, only fifty million profound practitioners are qualified to participate. Every single one of them is a genius... and yet the first round eliminates five thousand to one? That's too brutal!"
"One round and it cuts straight down to only ten thousand. This this this..."
"This Profound God Convention is indeed not for the strong, but for the very peak of the young generation across the entire Eastern Divine Region. The rest, though undeniable geniuses, can only serve as foils." An old man who had experienced several Profound God Conventions sighed.
"It seems we'll all be eliminated in the very first preliminary round." Mu Hanyu looked at his junior brothers and sisters and sighed.
He wasn't belittling himself. Among the Bing Huang Divine Sect disciples participating this time, he and Mu Feixue had the highest profound strength, at Divine Tribulation Realm Level 8. Such cultivation was top-tier in the Yin Xue Realm, but in this Profound God Convention, let alone the top ten thousand, even the top hundred thousand was nearly impossible.
"This Profound God Convention is really strange. It's completely different from what I've heard about previous sessions. Only ten thousand advance in the first round... I feel like we're just here to make up the numbers." A Bing Huang disciple laughed bitterly.
"Don't overthink it. The Profound God Convention used to be held once every three thousand years. Being fortunate enough to participate is already a great opportunity. Think of it as the highest-level trial in our lives. Although we're destined to be eliminated in the first round, we'll still get ranked... Don't embarrass yourselves or the sect! Give it your all!" Mu Hanyu said solemnly.
"Yes! Senior brother is right!" The Bing Huang disciples responded in unison, their fighting spirit blazing as they awaited the brutal preliminary battle that was imminent.
"It's finally about to begin." Huo Poyun looked up at the sky, his eyes burning with fire and his fighting spirit soaring. His goal was the top one thousand. The elimination ratio of the preliminaries was extremely harsh for others, but for him, it was far from his target.
"Brother Poyun, do your best." Yun Che said sincerely. As for himself, it didn't matter what the battlefield was or what the rules were. Not to mention five thousand to one, even five to one, he would be eliminated in the first round.
As the Eastern Divine Region stirred, the voice of Zhou Tian paused briefly, and countless beams of white light descended from the sky, covering the participating profound practitioners.
The surrounding world turned pale white. Soon, the white light completely dissipated, and the aura around them changed subtly. Clearly, they had arrived in another world.
And what arrived was not their true bodies, but complete projections.
In their minds, a thought appeared on its own:
"Battle Zone Nine."
Yun Che opened his eyes and looked around. This place looked like an ancient city, with broken walls and ruins everywhere. The sky was gray, and the ground was parched — a ruined dead city. It was different from where he had been before, but very similar.
He looked into the distance. Dozens of miles away, there was clearly a massive barrier. This barrier seemed to cover the entire ruined city, preventing anyone from leaving this area.
This was the internal world of the Zhou Tian Pearl... Battle Zone Nine, one of the one thousand preliminary battlefields!
And since he was here, this was no longer his true body, but a projection.
Yun Che sensed his body and the flow of his profound strength. There was no difference, and he couldn't even tell that he was in a projected state. He extended his left hand, clearly feeling the existence of the Heavenly Poison Pearl and the Heaven-Defying Sword. Even the contents within the Heavenly Poison Pearl could be freely taken out.
As expected of a projection from the Zhou Tian Pearl — it was unbelievably perfect.
Around Yun Che, groups of figures appeared in the dissipating white light. They too surveyed their surroundings and their upcoming opponents. Some had solemn expressions, some were full of confusion, some were confident. But no one made a reckless move.
Yun Che scanned his surroundings. All unfamiliar faces. One thousand battle zones, all randomly teleported. He knew very few people, so it was indeed not easy to see a familiar face.
Moreover, he couldn't find a single aura weaker than his own.
After all, Divine Tribulation Realm Level 1 was the baseline for qualification... and at the very bottom of all fifty million participating profound practitioners, it was the lowest of the low.
So, unsurprisingly, when the gazes sweeping the surroundings landed on him, they all turned into disdain and contempt. Some even smiled a little more.
Before long, the vast voice of Zhou Tian came from above:
"The area you are currently in is the 'main city' of each preliminary battle zone, and also an absolutely safe zone. No profound beasts will appear or invade here, and everyone's profound strength will be suppressed within their bodies, unable to attack others."
"Once you leave the main city area, that will be your battlefield."