Chapter 159: The Cruelty of the Preliminaries

Translator: CKtalon

The vast land was divided into more than 10,000 grids, each of which was 20 meters by 20 meters.

Xu Jingming and the other experts stood in the center of the grid.

Huh? Xu Jingming could see that there was a translucent barrier around his grid, preventing the contestants from interfering with each other.

“The preliminaries will be divided into two rounds.” A mighty voice boomed across the vast land. “In the first round, you have to face arrows! The arrows will appear from the barrier and aim for your heads! The arrows will become faster and faster, and you will be eliminated if you are killed! The first round begins!”

Xu Jingming immediately saw a translucent arrow condense on the translucent barrier and shoot at his head.

How slow. Xu Jingming watched.

This arrow was ten meters away from him! Its flight speed was probably only 100 meters per second; it was too slow.

Even if such a slow arrow hits my face, it probably won’t pierce through my facial muscles. Xu Jingming knew very well how powerful a Perfected planetary lifeform’s body was, but he wouldn’t foolishly tank the arrow with his face. With a step, he moved faster than the arrow!

The arrow slowly flew past him.

With Xu Jingming’s reaction speed, looking at an arrow moving at 100 meters per second was like an ordinary person watching ants crawl. It was too slow.

An arrow that moved at 100 meters per second didn’t pose a threat to the 10,000 contestants present, much less Xu Jingming.

Li Miaomiao also easily dodged.

Swish!

The speed at which the second translucent arrow condensed became faster, and its flying speed increased.

Seconds and minutes passed.

“These arrows are condensing faster and faster, and there’s no pattern to them. Many of them are shot from the back.” Grandpa Xu had long taken off his light armor because the arrows were aimed at the head. The armor wasn’t of much use; instead, it affected speed and agility.

There was only one arrow every time, but it might appear in front of him, above him, and behind him. It might even shoot over the moment it appeared! The firing speed became faster and faster.

I can’t hold on anymore. Grandpa Xu felt a fluctuation behind him, and he tried his best to dodge, but the arrow still shot diagonally from the back and entered from below his jaw. Grandpa Xu’s body then turned ethereal.

Ordinary Lv. 3 contestants were eliminated one after another.

As Li Miaomiao practiced swordsmanship, she placed great importance on movement techniques. With Xu Jingming’s guidance, she could last longer. But as many advanced Lv. 3 contestants were eliminated, she was also dispatched by an arrow.

…

“A large number of contestants have been eliminated.” The female host watched the figures in the livestream turn ethereal.

“Even when standing in the center, the arrows are only ten meters away! The distance of ten meters is too close, and the arrows are getting faster and faster. Moreover, many of them are shot from the side or even from the back; it’s impossible to see them with the naked eye! Sensing the fluctuations in the air is too high a requirement.” The male guest, Owen, sighed. “There are fewer and fewer contestants on the field. I reckon those on the field are at least Lv. 4.”

1201… 1156… 1083… 988… The displayed number of contestants kept decreasing.

This arrow is too difficult to dodge. Xu Hong felt a pain in his ears before his body began to turn ethereal.

…

I’m very good at movement, but I can’t hold on much longer. Dai Xiaoqing relied on her senses to sense the fluctuations in the air and block the increasingly terrifying dark arrow. Finally, the arrow finished her.

…

It’s too difficult. Yang Qingshuo found it harder and harder. He felt that he might make a mistake at any moment, but the arrows suddenly stopped.

Yang Qingshuo was a little stunned.

“Congratulations to the 500 contestants for clearing the first round of the preliminaries.” The mighty voice echoed across the vast land. “Of course, the first round is only a warm-up. The second round of the preliminaries is the cruelest to eventually select the strongest 32.”

2

“In the second round, assassins will appear around you. They will either appear individually or in groups! The assassins will attack you with all their might. What you need to do… is live as long as possible.”

“The second round ends when there are 32 people left.”

“A friendly reminder: Don’t think about defending. Try your best to kill the enemy; otherwise, the threat will only increase with the number of assassins!”

“Second round, begin!”

Just as the voice faded—

Xu Jingming saw a translucent assassin begin to condense at the barrier ten meters away. The translucent assassin held a single saber and lunged at Xu Jingming the moment he appeared.

Xu Jingming held a shield in each hand. He didn’t plan on using his spear! These challenges posed no threat to his spearmanship.

I’ll spend more time practicing my shield techniques. Moreover, shield techniques are more suitable for dealing with unexpected situations. Xu Jingming didn’t dodge when he saw the assassin approaching and smashed his shield over.

Boom!

The shield struck the assassin’s saber like a bolt of lightning, but it didn’t slow down at all. It crashed into the assassin, causing him to dissipate.

Xu Jingming’s shield technique was learned from the Lv. 10 expert he had possessed—Ambro! Ambro’s shield technique was flawless while defending, but his attacks were extremely domineering. It was as if he carried the might of the entire spacetime when he smashed his enemy.

This extremely ferocious shield technique was very suitable for Xu Jingming’s character; his shield technique was also known as fierce. According to the virtual world’s judgment, Xu Jingming and Ambro’s compatibility was 99.9321%.

The combat range is 20 by 20 meters. This range is considered small for experts, and it’s even more dangerous when surrounded by assassins, Xu Jingming thought. Of course, it wasn’t dangerous for him at all.

The two shields struck the enemies on all sides ferociously.

He killed one whenever one appeared, and all of them turned ethereal! When a handful appeared, he consecutively smacked them to death like a tiger’s paws.

“According to the information provided, these assassins are all Lv. 4! Moreover, their strength will keep increasing over time,” the female host said. “There are only about 300 experts left on the battlefield; they are all famous top experts from all over the world. The elimination speed is very fast.”

“The assassins are coming fast and furious.” Although Wang Yi had reached the limit of Lv. 4 and was capable of swift archery, allowing her to kill the assassins repeatedly, these assassins were equipped with shields and heavy armor. Their heads were the only flaw.

The range was too small! A slight mistake, and she was cornered.

Pu.

A saber beam flashed past Wang Yi’s body.

Wang Yi was eliminated.

…

Not good. Yang Qingshuo—who was in the midst of an intense battle—found it harder and harder to defend against the five assassins. However, three new assassins appeared. Of the eight assassins… some were good at concealed weapons, some were good at heavy weapons, and some were good at assassination.

When the group attacked, Yang Qingshuo was instantly overwhelmed.

…

There were only 103 people left on the field, and as time passed, it decreased. Xiong Tianshan, Gao Chong, and the other top experts from China collapsed one after another.

I have to hold on. I have to hold on. Lee Moonsoo held the Eight Trigrams Twin Battleaxes and used his ghostly movement to kill the enemy with all his might.

Only by killing more could the number of enemies decrease, but the assassins that appeared were getting stronger and stronger! They were at least at intermediate Lv. 4, and there were many of them. They posed a huge threat when working as a team.

Bam! Bam!

The two shield-wielding assassins collided with Lee Moonsoo, affecting his movement technique. At the same time, two assassins released concealed weapons.

Lee Moonsoo dodged in horror, only to have three assassins close in and attack!

Lee Moonsoo’s Eight Trigrams Battleaxe swiped across the necks of the two assassins, but he felt pain in his chest! A spear had stabbed through his chest.

“No—” Lee Moonsoo was very indignant, but his body still turned ethereal.

The moment he was eliminated, the number changed from 93 to 92. The weakest person still persisting was at the limit of Lv. 4!

“Lee Moonsoo!”

“No—”

“How is that possible?”

Countless people in Korea held their heads and watched this scene in disbelief.

Their country’s number one expert who had lasted the longest in the preliminaries had finally collapsed. He was still far from entering the top 32.

Many top experts around the world were stuck at the limit of Lv. 4. At this moment, they were competing with their actual combat strength! At the same limit of Lv. 4, the strength displayed by different people was also different.

“There are still 100 people left. Is Miyagawa Meishin and Kiyori Toichi the only ones left in Japan?”

“The competition for these 32 spots is too cruel.”

Every nation’s citizens were nervous.