Chapter 1274: The Third Layer
For the next elimination round, everybody was required to participate, even the gatekeepers. There were no exceptions.
Shang Qing continued to quietly float in the sky as he looked down at the four people below him.
Lu Yin turned around and started walking towards the central checkpoint. At the same time, Bu Kong, Zhi Yi, and Yao Xuan also began moving towards the upper mountain pass.
Everyone anxiously watched the five gatekeepers; would a huge battle break out between them?
The audience had clearly been overthinking things, as the four were not dumb enough to start fighting each other at this time.
The four arrived at the central checkpoint at around the same time, and they were all quite close to Shang Qing.
Yao Xuan observed Lu Yin with fascination. His master wanted Lu Yin’s tamed beast. Initially, Yao Xuan had thought that this mission would be an easy task, but he had come to discover that Lu Yin’s spiritual force was surprisingly strong. Although Yao Xuan was still confident that his own spiritual force was stronger, it would not be an easy battle.
Bu Kong’s eyes were fixed upon Shang Qing. The Daosource Three Skies were still young and arrogant, and not even the monsters’ invasion had changed him. He had complete confidence that he would become a Progenitor in the future.
Shang Qing was the opponent that Bu Kong was the most interested in, as he wanted to fight against Progenitor Chen.
“I hope that your Tri-Yang Technique is truly as powerful as the rumors claim,” Bu Kong told Shang Qing.
Shang Qing’s eyes moved from Yao Xuan to Bu Kong. “I hope that you guys can force me to use my third qi strand.”
“You’re saying the same thing over and over again. You’ll be humiliated if you end up defeated. You’ll be an embarrassment to your Hall of Honor,” Yao Xuan replied with a smile. He had an exotic handsomeness to him, and this unique charm was deadly to many girls.
Shang Qing looked at the Celestial Beast Empire’s crown prince. “Why are you helping the Sixth Mainland?’
Yao Xuan’s gaze grew sharp; Shang Qing truly believed that Yao Xuan had been the one to attack him.
Bu Kong arched a brow and curiously looked at Yao Xuan. Had this guy helped the Sixth Mainland? Was that statement just now supposed to be helpful in some way? Shang Qing was too petty and would never be able to climb to the true heights of power.
Zhi Yi kept an eye on Lu Yin. She had never forgotten about how Lu Yin had ignored her Vitality Qi. “You’ve improved tremendously. If you’re willing, I still can ask the Progenitor of Bloodlines to take you in as his disciple.”
Shang Qing and the rest stared at Zhi Yi and Lu Yin in shock.
Lu Yin shrugged. “I’ll have to refuse your kind offer. I know myself best, and I’m not fated to be a Progenitor’s disciple.”
“How dare you,” Zhi Yi replied coldly.
Shang Qing looked at Lu Yin. “With your strength, you can get into the top ten. Do your best. You’re also one of the Hall of Honor’s Honor Chosen.”
Lu Yin frowned. He found Shang Qing’s overt arrogance quite annoying.
Yao Xuan laughed. “First Honor Chosen, is that how you judge people? Be careful, as your plans might backfire on you.”
Shang Qing remained calm. “I’m just being honest. All of you will learn what true desperation is in due time.”
“Nonsense. Your cultivation system isn’t even complete. What desperation?” Bu Kong sneered as he walked past Shang Qing.
Lu Yin shook his head and rushed by as well.
Zhi Yi had always been watching Lu Yin. To her, Lu Yin was the most important person here, and so, she followed him through the checkpoint.
Yao Xuan smirked and moved closer to Shang Qing. “Let me let you in on a secret—I didn’t attack you.”
Shang Qing was stunned. “That wasn’t you?”
Yao Xuan laughed and ran through the pass.
Shang Qing stared at Yao Xuan’s back in shock; had it not been him? Then who could it be? Who else was capable of creating an illusion that he, Shang Qing, could not resist? Illusory battle techniques had always been the forte of the Celestial Demons, so who else could have been behind that attack?
Shang Qing suddenly thought of the Daynight clan. In the Fifth Mainland’s Human Domain, they were the best at utilizing spiritual force, just as the Sword Sect was the best at swordsmanship.
Night’s End, Daybreak had been the Dayking’s signature battle technique.
Could it have been someone from the Daynight clan?
Shang Qing looked at the third layer, searching for the Dayking descendant who had comprehended Night’s End, Daybreak. Could it have been her?
At this moment, the competitors already on the third layer were terribly nervous; the five gatekeepers were about to join them. All of the competitors in whichever arena a gatekeeper appeared in were guaranteed to be eliminated.
Everyone held their breath.
Bu Kong disappeared, and when he reappeared, he was standing above a sea and surrounded by a hundred people.
This particular arena was a sea, and there was no land nearby. There were a few other arenas separated by the barriers of light that were also above the sea.
The hundred competitors groaned when they saw Bu Kong appear in their midst. This was the end for them, as Bu Kong would definitely be the final victor in this arena.
Lulu Mavis covered her face. The competition was over for her. This meant that Grandini would definitely surpass her. How unlucky.
Lu Yin disappeared and reappeared within a dark cave, surrounded by a hundred people.
The people in the cave were all left speechless when they saw Lu Yin. The competition was over for them as well.
A stone in the middle of the crowd wobbled and fell to the ground after seeing Lu Yin appear. “Master, it’s not my fault! The enemy is just too cunning!”
This stone was Little Mountain God. He had thought that he was guaranteed to win this round since the arena was so well suited for him. However, he knew that everything was over for him, as he did not believe that he had any possibility of defeating Lu Yin.
Little Mountain God might have had the courage to challenge Lu Yin before the start of ZENITH, but after seeing what had happened to Little Arrow Saint and Di Fa, he would be happy as long as he was not completely destroyed.
The arena where Zhi Yi appeared did not contain anybody particularly powerful or special.
Yao Xuan appeared in the same arena as Kuang Wang, who had been prepared to use his butterfly topgrass to eliminate the star energy in the area before using his azure dragon tamed beast to secure a victory. However, after seeing Yao Xuan appear, Kuang Want quietly put his butterfly topgrass away, as there was no longer any point in using it. It would be better to not wastefully use the butterfly topgrass and his azure dragon.
The unluckiest person was the Sixth Mainland’s Mojiang Xiao. This expert from the Mo family had been utterly confident in passing this round and continuing further on in the competition. However, the moment Shang Qing appeared, Mojiang Xiao knew that his journey was over.
The true ZENITH finally began after the section with the five checkpoints concluded. There were no judges here, nor anyone to maintain control of the competition. This gave off the impression that ZENITH was being run by Zenith Mountain itself.
Everyone waited silently.
It was not that people did not want to attack, but rather that they were unable to move. They were all being restricted by some invisible force, just like when they had been transferred into each arena.
When Shang Qing appeared in the third layer, everybody was suddenly able to move again. The stage had finally begun.
Many famous powerhouses were immediately attacked, especially anyone predicted to end up as a top ten finalist. Also, the five gatekeepers were attacked by hundreds of people at the same time.
Lu Yin was in that exact situation, as the hundreds of people around him simultaneously attacked him with a variety of battle techniques.
Despite that, the large number of people attacking meant nothing to Lu Yin. He simply unleashed his domain, causing half of the attackers to collapse. The others were barely able to stand, and they all soon stopped attacking.
A round stone quickly shot towards Lu Yin.
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. He had noticed this stone the moment he had arrived in the arena. It had not been because of the stone’s rune lines, but rather because it was simply a stone. Even an idiot could tell that a rock was not normal if it could participate in ZENITH. Also, the stone was actually quite famous. It was Little Mountain God, a genius from the Beast Tamers Flowzone who had been in cryostasis for a thousand years, someone who dared to challenge the Ten Arbiters.
Little Mountain God had not been affected by Lu Yin’s domain, and it shot towards Lu Yin. A cultivator shattered into pieces as the wind kicked up in the stone’s wake accidentally brushed by the person.
Although the stone was small, it had the same power as Bai Wanshan. This was the Mountain God’s heir, an elite who had been cultivated by Beast Tamers Flowzone.
Lu Yin was curious about Bai Wanshan, so he raised a hand and tried to grab the stone.
Just when Lu Yin was about to catch Little Mountain God, the stone suddenly transformed into a human covered in stone. The human was the size of a palm and had sharp, distinct facial features. He passed through the gaps between Lu Yin’s fingers and punched at Lu Yin with an enormous power that shattered the sky. “You’re careless!”
Little Mountain God had unleashed his full power in that punch, and the attack’s power level had gone over 300,000. No matter if it was Lu Yin or an Arbiter receiving this attack, they would not be able to endure it unprepared. Little Mountain God was confident that he could at least stun Lu Yin with this punch, which would give him a chance of defeating Lu Yin.
Lu Yin calmly observed Little Mountain God.
Little Mountain God grew uneasy, but he continued with his attack. The punch was supposed to hit Lu Yin’s nose, as Little Mountain God wanted to stun Lu Yin with this attack that contained Bai Wanshan’s power.
However, his punch stopped in front of Lu Yin. Little Mountain God was right next to Lu Yin, so his punch should have landed, but the distance between the two was insurmountable.
Little Mountain God had not noticed that 726 stars had already appeared around Lu Yin. To Lu Yin, speed was meaningless, and he simply stepped back as the punch neared him, maintaining a constant distance from Little Mountain God.
This was nothing more than a game to Lu Yin, but to Little Mountain God, that had been his sole chance of victory.
Lu Yin flicked a finger and sent Little Mountain God flying backwards as the stars around Lu Yin exploded with a bang.
The other competitors who had managed to remain standing all this time collapsed and lost their ability to continue fighting.
Lu Yin had deliberately not used much of his strength; otherwise, everyone would have died.
Little Mountain God crashed heavily against a wall of the cave, leaving a dent behind. He was covered in stone and had the power of Bai Wanshan, but Lu Yin’s attack had almost caused him to vomit blood.
Lu Yin was shocked that Little Mountain God was still conscious.
Little Mountain God pulled himself out of the wall and unsteadily floated in the air while keeping a wary eye on Lu Yin.
“What, do you still want to fight?” Lu Yin laughed. Little Mountain God was the heir of Beast Tamers Flowzone’s Divine Grade Hall, which was one of the eight great flowzones. He was an important person, so Lu Yin did not mind speaking with him a bit.
Little Mountain God gritted his teeth. “I still have a chance!”
The cave shook as bits of stone fell off of the walls and flew towards Little Mountain God.
This stone was all from Zenith Mountain itself, and it was extremely tough,
These stones quickly covered Little Mountain God’s body, and he grew visibly larger. One meter, ten meters, a hundred meters… He grew to a thousand meters, at which point he really was a stone giant looking down at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin’s brows quirked up. Judging by the number of rune lines, at this moment, Little Mountain God was comparable to Nightking Zhenwu. It was no wonder why he was confident in being able to fight against the Ten Arbiters.
Unfortunately, Little Mountain God was already too late. Judging by Nightking Zhenwu’s talent, he would have already become an Enlighter if he had been alive. Even without breaking through, he still would have been much stronger than before, just like Lan Si and Unseen Light.