Chapter 1143: Stranger

The area you are currently in is the “main city” of each preliminary battle zone, and it is also an absolute safe zone. There will be no profound beasts appearing or intruding here, and everyone’s profound energy will be sealed within their bodies, preventing them from attacking others.

However, once you leave the main city area, it becomes your battlefield.

The battlefield environment is incredibly harsh, with extreme weather, ubiquitous natural disasters, powerful profound beasts, and opponents even more formidable than the beasts. For every profound beast you kill, you will acquire a certain number of “Soul Pearls.” The stronger the profound beast killed, the more Soul Pearls you will obtain.

Killing a Soul Realm profound beast yields one to five Soul Pearls.

Killing a Divine Tribulation Realm profound beast yields ten to thirty Soul Pearls.

And killing a Divine Spirit Realm profound beast yields one hundred to three hundred Soul Pearls.

If a kill is achieved through combined effort, Soul Pearls will be distributed proportionally based on the damage inflicted upon the profound beast.

If you are killed, you will not be disqualified. Instead, you will revive in the main city, but you will lose thirty percent of all the Soul Pearls you possess! If you are killed by another participant, the lost Soul Pearls will be transferred to them.

The rules announced by the Voice of the Heaven Profound were heard not only by the participating profound practitioners but clearly throughout the entire Eastern Divine Region. This unique competition format, made possible by the Heaven Profound Pearl, exuded an intense, brutal aura just by listening to it.

Evidently, the outcome of the preliminary battle would be determined by the number of Soul Pearls obtained. Soul Pearls could be acquired from profound beasts or from other profound practitioners. Killing higher-level profound beasts yielded more Soul Pearls but also posed greater danger. While death would not result in disqualification and allowed for infinite revival, there would be a harsh penalty…

Losing a full thirty percent of all Soul Pearls!

If killed by another participating profound practitioner, these thirty percent of Soul Pearls would be directly acquired by them.

In the early stages, collecting Soul Pearls by killing powerful profound beasts would be difficult. However, in the mid to late stages… killing other practitioners would undoubtedly be faster!

However, the rules were not that simple:

“When killing another profound practitioner, you can only acquire their lost Soul Pearls the first time. Subsequent kills will only cause them to lose Soul Pearls but will not result in you gaining any.”

“The main city is also not an absolutely safe place. For every half an hour accumulated staying in the main city, you will lose ten percent of the Soul Pearls on your person. To achieve a better ranking, you must constantly face brutal challenges.”

On the battlefield, one can only plunder Soul Pearls from the same profound practitioner once. Subsequent kills, even if repeated, would only cause the opponent to lose Soul Pearls but would not allow for further acquisition. This was clearly a balancing measure, preventing “cheating” by unscrupulous individuals. The loss of Soul Pearls for staying in the safe zone over time made the battlefield even more brutal, turning the desire to return to the main city for “refuge” after acquiring seemingly sufficient Soul Pearls into a luxury.

“In the preliminary battlefield, all items carried on your person will be fully projected. There are absolutely no restrictions on the use of any profound artifacts, rare treasures, or profound formations, nor are there any limitations on any form of methods or means.”

“The first round of the preliminary battle will last for one month. After one month, rankings will be determined by the number of Soul Pearls held. Participating profound practitioners can use their consciousness at any time to check their own Soul Pearl count and ranking, as well as those of other practitioners. Major star realms can also view any practitioner’s Soul Pearls and ranking at any time via the Heaven Profound Projection.”

Rumble—

The sky seemed to tremble at this moment, and the Voice of the Heaven Profound grew heavier and more profound: “The time has come! I hereby announce that the first round of preliminary battles for the Profound God Convention has officially begun!”

“Young powerhouses of the Eastern Divine Region, hasten to the battlefield that belongs only to you!”

Boom—

Within the mysterious world inside the Heaven Profound Pearl, one thousand distinct battlefields simultaneously emitted a dull roar, enveloping the major “main city” areas. The barriers separating the main cities from the battlefields also shattered at the same time.

Low roars immediately echoed from afar, and an aura of mystery and danger surged from all directions, stimulating the blood and nerves of every participating profound practitioner. The brief calm was utterly broken at this moment…

Because everyone around them would be an opponent… kill or be killed, plunder or be plundered!

Each battlefield held over fifty thousand profound practitioners, yet only ten would remain in the end!

Combat was impossible within the main city, and this phase was also the least suitable time to kill and plunder other profound practitioners. As the barriers shattered, the tense profound practitioners immediately soared into the sky, transforming into streaks of lightning, rushing en masse towards the unknown, dangerous world outside the main city.

This extraordinary Profound God Convention, which captivated the entire Eastern Divine Region, finally commenced at this moment.

The preliminary battlefields were now ignited. Above the sky of the Eastern Divine Region, countless starlights rained down from the major star realms. Upon touching the ground, they formed small profound formations, and as these formations rotated, luminous monuments, ten feet tall, rose from them, emitting starlike brilliance.

These were the Starlight Monuments, jointly cast by the Heaven Profound God Realm and the Star God Realm. They were scattered throughout the Eastern Divine Region and would remain until the end of the Profound God Convention.

The Starlight Monuments were connected to the Heaven Profound Pearl’s energy and could reflect projections from it. By injecting one’s consciousness, one could ascertain the Profound God Convention’s rankings at any time via the Starlight Monuments. It was rumored that in later stages, it would even be possible to directly view images of the Profound God Convention’s arenas through the monuments’ refraction.

Soon after the Starlight Monuments appeared, a large number of profound practitioners arrived, including many realm kings and sect masters from various star realms. It was only the first day of the first preliminary battle, yet they were already impatient.

In Yun Che’s battlefield, figures scattered in all directions. Under this undoubtedly cruel and fierce competition, even a moment’s delay could result in a drop in rank. However, a few individuals were in no hurry to rush to the battlefield, instead remaining calmly and peacefully in the distance.

As the profound practitioners rushed into the battlefield, the few figures who remained in the main city appeared particularly conspicuous.

One of them was Yun Che.

“Heh, I thought there’d be some tension and excitement, but it’s just a bunch of useless trash after all. It seems my expectations for this Profound God Convention were far too high.”

Behind Yun Che, an incredibly arrogant and disdainful voice suddenly rang out.

Yun Che turned around and instantly saw a man in golden robes standing less than a hundred steps away from him. His long golden robe shimmered brilliantly, making it impossible not to notice him.

Yun Che knew very few people in the God Realm, and it was exceptionally rare to encounter acquaintances on this battlefield. Yet, he happened to know this person.

Divine Martial Realm — Wu Guike!!

“What a damn coincidence,” Yun Che thought to himself. He had met him three days ago, and now they were assigned to the same battlefield.

It was practically fate!

Even though the other party had no idea who he was.

Unlike the imposing nobility Yun Che had witnessed last time, a deep arrogance was now plastered across his face. Those who could enter the preliminary battlefield were all profound genius practitioners from various realms of the Eastern Divine Region, yet they seemed to be entirely beneath his notice.

Every word of his previous statement was filled with condescending disdain.

Yun Che recalled what Huo Poyun had said earlier: Wu Guike’s profound strength cultivation surpassed even Huo Poyun’s! At such a level, perhaps there truly was no one on this battlefield whose cultivation could exceed his.

He certainly had the right to utter those words.

With a soft snort, Wu Guike finally took a step, slowly and unhurriedly walking towards the city outskirts, as leisurely as if taking a stroll.

Given his strength, he could naturally easily sense Yun Che’s presence, yet he never once glanced in Yun Che’s direction.

“Fighting continuously for an entire month, without a moment’s rest or slack, with all profound beasts and people as enemies… that truly is brutal enough.”

Yun Che muttered to himself, glanced around, then found a quiet corner to sit down, closing his eyes in thought.

Although the competition format was vastly different from what he had imagined, it actually made things more convenient for him. He could simply remain in the safe main city, without even needing to engage in combat with others.

Once the first round of preliminaries concluded in a month, he, being eliminated, would naturally find himself in the Heaven Profound God Realm, where he could use various pre-planned methods to seek an opportunity to meet Jasmine.

Although Mu Xuanyin had chosen for him to participate in the Profound God Convention rather than accompanying Mu Bingyun directly into the Heaven Profound Realm as an invited spectator, one reason was to ensure he didn’t miss this incredibly rare opportunity for experience.

However, now that he was here, all he could think of was Jasmine, and he had no mind for “experience” whatsoever.

Moreover, if he had known earlier that the first round of preliminaries would last this long, he might have chosen to disobey his master’s orders and enter the Heaven Profound Realm directly with Mu Bingyun.

He sat for a long time, and the surroundings remained quiet. No one had been sent back to the main city due to death. After all, in the early stage, the primary goal was to kill beasts to accumulate Soul Pearls, which carried significantly lower risk. No one would waste time at this point, or take enormous risks to plunder other profound practitioners—it simply wasn’t worth it.

The quiet and absolutely safe environment should have allowed for complete relaxation and peace of mind. But for some reason, Yun Che felt a wave of inexplicable irritation, and later, his eyebrow began to twitch wildly.

“In another month, I’ll have a chance to see Jasmine again… Then, I can return to the Profound Sky Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm… I’ve always been favored by fate, and even Jasmine said I’m someone blessed with great luck. This time, it will definitely go smoothly.”

“Definitely…”

Yun Che opened his eyes, stood up, chose a random direction, and slowly walked while observing the surrounding scenery.

This abandoned ancient city was the inner world of the Heaven Profound Pearl. He wondered if it truly existed within the Heaven Profound Pearl or if it was also an illusory construct.

The abandoned ancient city was not large; Yun Che took less than an hour to walk from the center to near its edge. At this point, he halted, frowning as he looked ahead… because he actually saw someone!

The person had their back to him, standing at the edge of the ancient city, hands clasped behind their back, quietly gazing at the distant battlefield.

More than an hour had passed since the battlefield opened, and all participating profound practitioners had eagerly and enthusiastically delved deep into the fray. Yet, this person was standing there quietly, and it appeared they had been there for a long time. There was no restless aura about them, making it entirely unlike someone who had been teleported back after dying.

Could this person… also be like him, not intending to enter the battlefield?

Yun Che swept his consciousness, and the person’s information immediately appeared in his mind:

Xiao Mo, Age: 39, Origin: Earth, Soul Pearls: 0, Ninth Battle Zone Ranking: 51302.

Within the battlefield, anyone could freely check others’ information, including their Soul Pearl count and ranking. Of course, the name and origin might not necessarily be genuine, as they were imprinted by individuals before entering the battlefield and could be entirely faked.

Evidently, the Heaven Profound Realm didn’t care at all if one faked their information.

After all, the Profound God Convention was the prime battlefield for gaining fame and establishing oneself. Using a fake name and origin… wouldn’t that be foolish?

However, the Soul Pearl count and ranking were absolutely impossible to fake. This man named Xiao Mo had zero Soul Pearls and was ranked at the very bottom, just like Yun Che. He clearly had not stepped out of the main city area at all, just like Yun Che.

Furthermore, his aura exerted no pressure on Yun Che, indicating that his profound strength cultivation was not high. Although it surpassed Yun Che’s, it was likely only at the early Divine Tribulation Realm.

Could it be that he knew his cultivation was at the bottom, so he simply chose not to enter the battlefield?

Yun Che had a special reason, but normal profound practitioners who had gone through immense hardship to get here, for a peak profound dao event that happened at most once in a lifetime, should not have come for nothing.

And this fellow’s origin… Earth?

A very strange name, probably made up on a whim.

Although it surprised Yun Che slightly, he naturally had no interest in approaching and striking up a conversation with him. He was about to turn and leave when he suddenly saw the person slowly tilt their head back, sigh softly, and then begin to sing in a long, drawn-out voice:

“The vast expanse of the horizon is my love, and flowers are blooming at the foot of the continuous green mountains.”

Yun Che glanced sideways: “This person… could he be a poet?”...