Chapter 3459: The Second Round Begins
In fact, those who did have strength comparable to a t.i.tled Celestial Emperor were already mentally prepared to be eliminated. They partic.i.p.ated only to gain experience and also to meet other young geniuses. Some also partic.i.p.ated in hopes that the tests would help stimulate them and help them break through. A breakthrough was a good enough reward for them even if they could not rank in the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses.
Those who were eliminated looked enviously at w.a.n.g Ting and the two young men who had a breakthrough and now possessed the strength of an ordinary t.i.tled Celestial Emperor.
“I thought I could break through here… In the end, I still failed.”
“Me too. I was so close to breaking through, but I couldn’t hold on any longer.”
“Those three are really lucky to be able to break through at such a critical moment. Now they’re as powerful as an ordinary t.i.tled Celestial Emperor. Perhaps, if it weren’t for the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses, it would be difficult for them to have another breakthrough before reaching 1,000 years old…”
There were naturally a small number of partic.i.p.ants who were jealous and unresigned.
“So what if they had a breakthrough? Even if they pa.s.s the first round, they won’t be able to pa.s.s the second round…”
Most people did not bother responding to comments like this. After all, given a choice, they would also like to have a breakthrough.
At this time, Xu Kong Hai, the Vice Temple Master of the main t.i.tle Temple, said again, “The first round of the Devata Realms’ Battle of Geniuses has come to an end… The partic.i.p.ants who pa.s.sed the first round have two hours to recuperate before the commencement of the second round…”
As soon as Xu Kong Hai’s voice fell, the partic.i.p.ants descended to the ground and returned to their seats.
Those who were eliminated were not separated from those who pa.s.sed the first round. With so many powerhouses around, no one would dare to cheat. Those who did such a thing were only seeking death. After all, there were so many powerhouses around. It would be easy for them to single out cheaters. In the past, there were partic.i.p.ants who tried to cheat during the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses. Those who cheated were all killed without any exception. Even true disciples of Heavenly Emperors were not spared. Cheating was a challenge to the t.i.tle Temple’s honor, after all.
Apart from that, the Temple Masters or representatives of the t.i.tle Temple branches would record the names of all the partic.i.p.ants from their respective Devata Realms, regardless if they were representing the t.i.tle Temple or a Heavenly Palace, every time they pa.s.sed a test.
…
At this time, the Vice Temple Master of the t.i.tle Temple in the Solitary Destructive Heaven, who was recording the names of partic.i.p.ants who would advance to the next round, said with a smile, “In addition the four from the Heavenly Palace, our t.i.tle Temple brought nineteen partic.i.p.ants here. Out of 23 partic.i.p.ants from the Solitary Destructive Heaven, 13 managed to pa.s.s the first round. This number is quite good…”
The Temple Master of the t.i.tle Temple in the Solitary Destructive Heaven nodded in agreement. “You’re right; the number is quite good. Out of those who made it to the next round, I’m most surprised that the true disciple of Heavenly Emperor Feng Qing Yang managed to pa.s.s the test due to his age. Moreover, even when the pressure intensified the fifth time, he was clearly unaffected. This isn’t possible for someone with only the strength of an ordinary t.i.tled Celestial Emperor…”
Upon hearing these words, the expressions of the Vice Temple Master of the t.i.tle Temple in the Solitary Destructive Heaven turned solemn. “Heavenly Emperor Feng Qing Yang’s only true disciple has strength comparable to a Two Star G.o.d of War at least…”
“He’s truly talented. He’s only a little over 600 years ago, but he already possesses strength comparable to a Two Star G.o.d of War or stronger,” the Temple Master of the t.i.tle Temple in the Solitary Destructive Heaven said. When his gaze s.h.i.+fted to the young man standing next to Duan Ling Tian, he continued to say, “That young man next to Duan Ling Tian is Su Li; he’s from the Jade Emperor Heaven is called Su Li. He’s about the same age as Duan Ling Tian, and his strength should also be that of a Two Star G.o.d of War at least.”
“These two young men should have the biggest potential and highest innate talent among the partic.i.p.ants of this time’s Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses.
…
Two hours flew by quickly.
The young geniuses managed to recover some of their energies. After all, they were not engaged in intense battles earlier and had only used their Celestial Origin Energies to withstand the pressure. Most of them would be able to fully recover their energies in an hour. Two hours were more than enough time. In fact, many of them had begun to chat after the one-hour mark.
At this time, Xu Kong Hai’s voice rang in the venue again. “Those who pa.s.sed the first round, please enter the ring.”
The 1,000 young geniuses did not waste time and did as they were told and flew into the heart of the venue.
When the 1,000 young geniuses were gathered, Xu Kong Hai lifted his hand and sent a ball of energy into the ground. Following that, a pillar of light shot into the air before it formed a light s.h.i.+eld around the ring, keeping the partic.i.p.ants inside the ring.
Since the battle ring was quite s.p.a.cious, it was not crowded even though there were 1,000 people gathered in the ring.
Subsequently, Xu Kong Hai continued to say, “I believe most of you are aware of the specifics of the second round. Nevertheless, I’ll explain the second round to those who might be unaware. For the second round, the 1,000 partic.i.p.ants will engage in a battle royale. The 300 partic.i.p.ants who remain standing at the end will then advance to the third round… All of you will be given a jade token. If you decide to surrender, you can crush the jade token, and it’ll transport you out of the battle ring.”
After Xu Kong Hai finished speaking, with just a wave of his hand, he distributed the jade tokens to all the partic.i.p.ants.
The jade token was like a life-saving token. Although the battle was not a fight to the death, accidents might happen.
“Once you crush your jade token, you’re considered eliminated. Apart from that, leaving the light s.h.i.+eld, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, will also cause you to be eliminated.”
All the partic.i.p.ants, including Duan Ling Tian, surveyed their surroundings immediately, gauging the size of the ring to make sure they did not accidentally leave the range of the light s.h.i.+eld.
With this, there were quite a few people who complained about the size of the battle ring.
“The s.p.a.ce is quite small.”
“Isn’t it too restrictive for 1,000 of us to fight in such a small s.p.a.ce?”
Regardless, the complaints were useless and did not change anything.
“You have 15 minutes before the battle starts…” Xu Kong Hai said again, pulling the partic.i.p.ants back to their senses, “I will tell you when 15 minutes are up.”
Following that, many of the young geniuses sprung into action. Many of them looked for people to team up with. Some teamed up with friends while some teamed up with strangers.
“No matter what, I must advance to the third round! I don’t care if I get eliminated in the third round, but I can’t get eliminated in the second round.”
A young man dressed in fine robes said, “I’m looking to team up with those who possess the strength of a t.i.tled Celestial Emperor to get me through this round. Even if I get eliminated during the third round, I can still boast about pa.s.sing the second round…”
“Well, it’s true that there’s a huge difference between being eliminated in the second round and being eliminated in the third round…”
Many partic.i.p.ants shared similar thoughts. Most of these partic.i.p.ants looked for people to team up with to increase the chances of them advancing to the third round.
At the same time, Duan Ling Tian felt slightly puzzled. Not a single person had approached him to team up. Even Dong Tu, the fourth disciple of the Heavenly Emperor of Pavilion Shaft Heaven, who had lost to him was approached by multiple people to team up. Whether he agreed to it or not, should there not be people asking to team up with him?
Naturally, there were some people who only approached Dong Tu because of his Third Senior Brother, Yu Dong Fang, since his Third Senior Brother would make sure he advanced to the third round.
“Duan Ling Tian, it seems most people think we don’t stand a chance of advancing to the third round.” Su Lu shook his head and smiled wryly.
At this point, it was clear that n.o.body wanted to team up with them. Perhaps, they thought teaming up with Duan Ling Tian and friends would attract danger.
In the end, someone did approach the trio, but that person only wanted to team up with Ling Jue Yun. Since he came with the Wind Prop Heaven’s t.i.tle Temple, he knew about Ling Jue Yun’s strength. However, Ling Jue Yun had rejected his request.
After that, no one else approached Duan Ling Tian and the others.
After fifteen minutes, Xu Kong Hai’s voice rang thunderously. “The second round of the Devata Realms’ Battle of Geniuses starts now!”