Chapter 1147: ATM
"~!#$%..." At least ten billion alpacas were stampeding wildly through Yun Che's mind. (T/N: "Alpacas" is a Chinese internet meme meaning "what the f*ck.")
The voice of Zhou Tian had stated it clearly: only the thousand profound practitioners who prevailed in the upcoming second preliminary round would be sent to the Zhou Tian God Realm.
The other nine thousand who were eliminated would be expelled, just like the fifty million eliminated in the first preliminary round!
He had only just barely, and disgracefully, used a method that could only be called cheating, to pass the first preliminary round. He had thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, but he never expected that the voice of Zhou Tian would deliver another crushing blow.
For Yun Che, this was utterly fucking ridiculous!
It was one thing that the fifty-plus million profound practitioners weren't allowed into the Zhou Tian Realm… after all, it was a lofty, supreme king realm, not so easy to enter.
But even breaking into the top ten thousand, even being personally hailed by the voice of Zhou Tian as the "pride of the Eastern Divine Region" and the "future of the Eastern Divine Region" — and still not be allowed in!
At this moment, if someone from the Zhou Tian God Realm were standing in front of him, even if it were Zhou Tian Shen Di himself, Yun Che might not be able to resist smearing a pile of dog shit all over his face.
It had long been announced that the battlefield was within the Zhou Tian Pearl, but in the end, what entered wasn't their true bodies, but projections… Why didn't they say that earlier!
That after being eliminated from the first preliminary round, they would be expelled from the Zhou Tian Realm… Why not say it sooner!!
That being eliminated from the second preliminary round would also result in being thrown out…
Why didn't they say so earlier!!!
If he had known this, he would have directly and decisively ignored the Profound God Convention and grandly entered the Zhou Tian Realm with Mu Bingyun. Then none of these damn problems would exist!
Just as Yun Che was cursing inwardly, a beam of light descended from the heavens, and his vision went white, before he found himself in an entirely new world.
The ground here was flat and parched, with vast open spaces, and only a few low hills visible in the distance. The air was calm and windless, and there was no trace of the presence or roars of profound beasts, whether near or far.
"Young powerhouses, welcome to the second battlefield." The voice of Zhou Tian, which made Yun Che gnash his teeth in hatred, slowly rang out. "Let me reiterate: the rules here are identical to those of the first battlefield. Your initial soul beads are the results you achieved in the first battlefield."
"However, you only have three days here. The final number of soul beads after three days will determine your ranking in the second battlefield."
The time limit of "three days" caused many profound practitioners to either frown deeply or tighten their heartstrings. This time was too short, and it would undoubtedly lead to battles of extreme ferocity. In a mere thirty-six hours, almost every passing instant would be a moment of contest, every fleeting second a time to snatch and seize.
"The battlefield is now open. Young powerhouses bearing the future of the Eastern Divine Region, use everything you have to decide your ultimate fate!"
The voice was vast and indistinct, lingering beneath the sky for a long time before gradually fading.
And the second preliminary round officially began from this moment.
Compared to the fifty million participants in the first preliminary round, this battlefield of only ten thousand seemed exceptionally small. However, no one would doubt that the structure of this battlefield was incomparable to any of the first battlefields.
Unlike the first battlefield, where all participating profound practitioners initially appeared in a safe main city, here the practitioners seemed to be randomly teleported to different locations across the battlefield.
The moment the opening of the battlefield was announced, countless profound auras exploded across the field, and in the very first instant, they began searching for and locking onto prey. Only Yun Che stood there blankly, motionless for a long time.
Because here, he was the lowest of the low. More accurately, he was someone who had no right to be here at all. In this battlefield, it was absolutely impossible for him to be a hunter.
But anyone could regard him as prey, and hunting him would require no effort at all.
"What do I do now…" Yun Che ground his teeth. Having come this far, how could he be willing to end up with nothing but empty fantasy?
But using normal, legitimate methods, it was absolutely impossible for him to break into the top thousand in this battlefield for top-tier powerhouses.
Unless he used the same method as before!
But Wu Guike… according to the rules, you could only plunder soul beads from the same person the first time you killed them. Even if he could force Wu Guike to comply once more, it would already be useless.
Just then, Yun Che's eyes suddenly lit up. He thought of another person…
Huo Poyun!
Huo Poyun's ranking in the first preliminary round had reached an astonishing height within the top hundred. If he could maintain that performance in this battlefield, then in the final stages, when he had the most soul beads, having Yun Che kill him once… losing thirty percent wouldn't affect his position within the top thousand, and would very likely pull Yun Che into the top thousand as well.
But immediately, he shook his head, and the light in his eyes faded.
Although Huo Poyun appeared gentle and easygoing on the surface, Yun Che knew well that buried deep in his bones was an immense sense of dignity and pride, especially when it came to the profound way.
If Yun Che asked for his help with something, he would not hesitate to give it his all.
But if it involved this kind of shameless cheating, he would absolutely never accept it.
Especially since Huo Poyun regarded him as a friend; he would never allow Yun Che to use such methods to win. He would only be disappointed, pained, and would rebuke him.
And Yun Che simply had no way to explain the real reason to him.
Wait!
Yun Che's eyes lit up again…
He suddenly realized that this was the second battlefield, an entirely different world from the one where he had killed Wu Guike before! If he killed Wu Guike again, it would be the *first* time in this world!
The voice of Zhou Tian had even specifically mentioned that the rules of this world were the same as before, but had been "reset"!
That meant that the "established fact" of having killed Wu Guike once in the previous battlefield simply did not exist in this new battlefield!
Therefore, if he killed Wu Guike again in this battlefield, there was no reason he wouldn't obtain his soul beads!
Wu Guike's profound strength and ranking were both above Huo Poyun's. Although thirty percent of his soul beads had been stripped away, with his absolute strength, he would surely climb back to the top ranks quickly in this battlefield. If he could later plunder another thirty percent of his soul beads, it would be highly likely to push him into the top thousand.
"Good!" With the target set, Yun Che finally began to move.
In this battlefield, encountering any single person would be a fatal situation for Yun Che. The nearly two million soul beads he currently possessed would quickly be lost, and even hiding in a main city would see them dwindle rapidly. But he was not worried in the least.
"Moon-Breaking Shadow Flick!"
As Yun Che advanced unhurriedly, his figure silently vanished into thin air, and even his aura completely dissipated.
Although his profound strength was currently only at the first level of the Divine Tribulation Realm, he was extremely confident. As long as he didn't foolishly get right in someone's face, not even a late-stage Divine Spirit Realm practitioner would find it easy to detect his presence.
"Although moving in stealth mode is slow, this battlefield only has ten thousand people. To facilitate slaughter, it probably isn't too large. Three days… I'm sure to find him."
However, reality turned out to be far more fortunate than he had expected.
Because only three hours had passed when he spotted Wu Guike's figure at a glance.
His dazzling, gold-embroidered luxurious attire was exceptionally radiant even from over a dozen miles away.
Yun Che almost suspected that Wu Guike wore such a set of profound garments specifically to attract and taunt others.
Boom!! Rumble!!
The boundless fury and resentment in his heart were fiercely vented through the profound force he released. With a wave of his hand, the ground split apart and mountains shifted. Three temporary allies of the Divine Spirit realm were brutally slaughtered by him simultaneously. A large number of beams of light fell from the sky, transforming into Wu Guike's soul beads.
His soul bead count soared, but Wu Guike's face remained dark and gloomy. The pent-up hatred in his heart, Yun Che estimated, would take years or even decades of wanton slaughter in this battlefield to vent.
They often said that after great misfortune came great fortune, but for some reason, since stepping into the second battlefield, Wu Guike felt like his eyelids had been twitching wildly.
Just then, he sensed a gaze from behind. He spun around like lightning. As his pupils slightly dilated and his eyes narrowed, he saw at a glance the person he longed to personally break every bone, tear into pieces, and shred to bits.
Yun Che!
"It's… you!"
"Brother Wu, we meet again." Yun Che was still direct and to the point. "Since fate brings us together like this, how about we make another transaction?"
Wu Guike was no fool; he could guess with his ass what Yun Che meant by "transaction." Rage surged through him, but then he suddenly let out a cold laugh. "Yun Che, I gave you face once already. If you knew what was good for you, you'd leave well enough alone. But you insist on…"
"Brother Wu, don't be so quick to speak." Yun Che interrupted him, saying with a faint smile, "Threatening someone with the same thing… ahem, making the same transaction twice with Brother Wu — such an unprincipled thing is something I would never do. This time, of course, it's a brand new transaction."
As Yun Che finished speaking, he flicked his finger.
Wu Guike reached out and caught it. In his palm was, indeed, another Mysterious Shadow Stone.
Wu Guike's heart gave a violent lurch, and an extremely ominous premonition surged within him. He could sense that this Mysterious Shadow Stone was not the same as the previous one. He quickly swept his spiritual sense over it, and his face instantly turned as black as if it had been pressed into the bottom of a wok.
This was indeed not the Mysterious Shadow Stone Yun Che had thrown to Wu Guike before, but the other one of the two stones he had picked up back then at Lei Qianfeng.
The images imprinted inside it were far more explosive than the previous one.
The son of the great realm king of the Shenwu Realm, actually committing adultery with his own aunt by marriage, and having the entire process recorded — the image, the angle, the sound — Yun Che was absolutely certain that the person who recorded this was a master-level figure in the world of Mysterious Shadows.
(Cai Zhi: Ah-choo!)
If this image were spread, Wu Guike would absolutely become notorious, becoming the shame of the Shenwu Realm and a laughingstock of the Eastern Divine Region. All the glory he had accumulated in his life would turn into an everlasting, ineradicable brand of humiliation.
Especially that barely two-inch little worm — even men from the most lowly planets would feel an immense sense of superiority as men upon seeing it.
"The son of the Shenwu Realm King and the wife of the Heiya Realm King — hehehe, a perfect match made in heaven, truly enviable." Yun Che said with a beaming smile.
"…" Wu Guike's entire body shook like a sieve. Earlier, he could at least still curse and sneer, but now he couldn't utter a single word. Blood oozed from between his tightly clenched teeth.
"I believe you, Brother Wu, as such a clever man, can certainly guess what it is I want to transact."
If he had used the same Mysterious Shadow Stone to coerce him, it would have infuriated Wu Guike to the extreme, and might not have achieved the desired result. It might even have backfired.
But this second Mysterious Shadow Stone struck Wu Guike's vital weak point even more ruthlessly than the first.
"So, three days from now, one hour before the battlefield closes, at this very spot," Yun Che pointed at the ground beneath his feet, "I will be here awaiting Brother Wu's arrival. Of course, the choice is entirely yours, Brother Wu. As a small-time nobody like me, how could I possibly have the ability to force you, Brother Wu?"
With that, Yun Che smiled faintly, turned, and flew away.
"Oh, right." After flying not far, Yun Che suddenly stopped, turned his head, and said slowly, "I almost forgot to remind Brother Wu: work hard these three days. Don't slack off. Otherwise, if after three days, your thirty percent of soul beads still can't get me into the top thousand, wouldn't that be such a pity?"
As his voice faded, Yun Che flew far into the distance.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
Boom——
From behind him came Wu Guike's hoarse, desperate roar, along with the sound of the earth being violently overturned.
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[Next, a bunch of Star Gods, Moon Gods, Guardians, etc., will appear. To get familiar with their names in advance, take a look — though it's not really important, and it doesn't matter if you don't.]
[T/N: Search for "Mars Gravity".]