The Blue Star Deathmatch had finally come to an end.
All fifty contestants who had secured entry into the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone were now seated in their assigned places.
From Miracle Nation: Venom, Joker, Deadpool, Magneto, and Adam.
From Eastern Isles: Sword Saint Ashina Isshin, Kishou Arima, Tsukiyama Shuu, and Kamen Rider.
From Dragon Nation: Wuxian, Zhang Zhiwei, Zhang Qilin, Fahai, Wu Liuqi, Wang Ye, Feng Baobao, and three members of the Dragon Group.
The remaining thirty-one slots were taken by contestants from other countries.
And in the end, the greatest winner was, without question, Dragon Nation.
All ten of Dragon Nation's selected contestants had successfully earned the right to enter the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone.
That result alone sent Dragon Nation's people into a frenzy of celebration.
"This is Dragon Nation! Every single one of our contestants made it to the end!"
"Sure, the process was rough. A few of the Dragon Group members nearly got knocked out along the way, but they still pulled through!"
"As long as they make it into the Divine Domain, with Lord Wuxian and the others protecting them, Dragon Nation will definitely secure huge amounts of resources!"
"What other country can compare to us? Ten contestants entering the Divine Domain together—who else can do that?"
"Exactly! Even Miracle Nation only got five slots!"
"What really shocked me was Eastern Isles. I didn't think they'd manage to send four contestants in."
That was the truth.
Miracle Nation was powerful enough that five qualifiers felt natural.
But the fact that Eastern Isles had managed to secure four places of its own genuinely surprised many people.
As for the other thirty-one contestants, they came from a patchwork of smaller countries.
All fifty contestants sat in silence, their expressions solemn.
Because each of them knew what came next.
From this moment on, every battle they fought would be for their countries.
And there would be no room left for retreat.
At that moment, the voice of the Will of Blue Star rang out once more.
[Congratulations to the above fifty contestants for obtaining their seats. Please prepare yourselves. In one minute, all contestants will enter the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone.]
The moment they heard that, all fifty contestants visibly tensed.
For them, stepping into the Divine Domain meant stepping into an entirely new chapter.
Contestants from the same country had already planned to regroup and move as teams once they arrived.
But just then, the Will of Blue Star spoke again.
[In consideration of the differing levels of strength among each nation's contestants, and in order to ensure fairness, every contestant will be randomly teleported to a different location within the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone.]
[Teleportation begins in 3… 2… 1…]
Whoosh!
Brilliant white light erupted from all fifty seats at once.
The contestants vanished.
At the same time, the entire Deathmatch arena began to collapse.
Smoke and dust swept across the field as the seats and stone floor rapidly crumbled into fine white powder.
In the blink of an eye, the arena that had hosted the Blue Star Deathmatch ceased to exist.
Then the Deathmatch livestream disappeared.
In its place, the Divine Domain livestream reopened.
A new screen appeared, then split at once into dozens of smaller windows.
All fifty contestants were shown at the same time.
Each had arrived in a unique location.
And for the moment, no Divine Domain creatures were visible around any of them.
A pillar of green light still enveloped each contestant.
Then the Will of Blue Star explained:
[All fifty contestants have now arrived within the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone. Within one kilometer of your current location, there are no hostile Divine Domain creatures. Once you leave that one-kilometer safe zone, how you survive will depend entirely on yourselves.]
[Contestants, good luck.]
Shhh!
The green pillars vanished.
At that same instant, Wuxian slowly floated upward until he hovered about thirty centimeters above the ground.
Dressed in white robes, his expression remained calm as he swept his gaze across the area.
Then he said lightly,
"It seems I'll have to gather Dragon Nation's contestants as quickly as possible. Moving as a team will let us bring out our full strength more easily."
Elsewhere, Fahai pressed his palms together and spoke with a solemn expression,
"Amitābha. This humble monk has opened the livestream comments. If any viewers obtain useful information, please relay it to me at once."
"And if any viewers wish to observe certain creatures up close, you may also make requests through the comments. Each day, this humble monk will choose several Dragon Nation viewers and do his best to fulfill their requests."
The moment he said that, Dragon Nation's viewers went wild.
"Fahai! Pick me! I want to admire your muscles up close!"
"Master Fahai, can you pluck one of your chest hairs and bring it back to Dragon Nation after you return?"
"Master Fahai, I already mailed a bar of soap to Jinshan Temple!"
"Fahai! I run a fight club! I'm planning to hold a real bare-knuckle tournament after this—are you interested?"
Dragon Nation's viewers were incredibly excited.
After all, Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw had never shown the slightest intention of opening the comments.
That meant the audience had been unable to communicate with them at all.
Meanwhile, viewers from other nations had already been doing that with their own contestants.
Dragon Nation's audience had been jealous for a long time.
Now at last, some of their newly entered contestants had finally "woken up."
On another side, Wu Liuqi had opened his comments as well.
Standing within his personal one-kilometer safe zone, he waved cheerfully and shouted:
"Hahaha! I'm finally in! This time a lot of Dragon Nation viewers must be watching me!"
"I've got good news for everyone! My Scissor Assassin Barbershop is opening its biggest branch yet in Magic City! When the time comes, everyone in Dragon Nation is welcome to come check it out!"
"I guarantee an eighty percent discount!"
"And after I return from here, I'll personally choose ten lucky viewers every day and cut their hair myself!"
A flood of ridiculous replies appeared instantly.
"No way am I letting you cut my hair. I'm scared my head won't still be attached by the end of it."
"Excuse me, do you use those giant scissors in your hand to cut hair? Is it fast? Will I feel anything?"
"For the sake of seeing tomorrow's sunrise, I absolutely refuse to visit your shop."
"Public service announcement: if you haven't watched Wu Liuqi fight, never casually enter his barbershop. Losing hair is one thing. Losing your head is another."
At the same time, Zhang Zhiwei had opened his comments as well.
His side was even more unusual, because most of the messages came from Daoist practitioners all across Dragon Nation.
"May the Three Pure Ones bless the old Heavenly Master and keep him safe!"
"Grandmaster, we have been praying for you before the Three Pure Ones. You will definitely return safely!"
"Grandmaster, this is a perfect opportunity to promote Longhu Mountain. You must seize it!"
"Grandmaster, Eat-Stream Adrian Vale said Divine Domain creatures taste amazing roasted. Can you sample some on our behalf?"
Seeing the messages, Zhang Zhiwei smiled with gentle kindness.
Wearing his Daoist robe, he looked exactly like an ordinary elderly cultivator, with none of the terrifying edge he displayed in battle.
Out of combat, Zhang Zhiwei looked more like a kindly grandfather next door.
"Boundless Heavenly Worthy," he said with a warm smile. "All of you should continue your cultivation properly. Once I return, I will personally inspect your progress."
"And to my junior brothers—guard Longhu Mountain well. Also, keep a closer eye on my grand-disciple Zhang Chulan. That brat's temperament is far too unruly."
He calmly arranged the affairs of Longhu Mountain one after another.
Ever since entering the Blue Star Deathmatch, he had worried about Longhu Mountain constantly.
As one of the world's truly supreme figures, Zhang Zhiwei naturally understood how easily trouble could arise if he were absent.
Fortunately, under Dragon Nation's current conditions, the state had already applied overwhelming pressure.
The country was stable.
Anyone who dared stir chaos at a time like this would be crushed immediately.
Elsewhere, Miracle Nation's contestants were also receiving wild cheers from their viewers.
Among them, Eddie Brock had found the perfect outlet for his energy.
The moment he opened the comments, he started talking nonstop.
"Hahaha! To be honest, I really didn't expect to survive after running into Wuxian."
"Looking back, surrendering immediately was absolutely the right choice."
"Next, I'm going to seize a huge amount of resources for Miracle Nation!"
"So, viewers, just watch carefully!"
"I'll become Miracle Nation's greatest hope!"
Miracle Nation's viewers instantly responded with eager support.
"The fact that he survived Wuxian at all is already a miracle. Venom's future is definitely bright!"
"Thank God he chose the right moment to back down. Otherwise Miracle Nation would've lost another powerful contestant."
"So what if Venom lost once? From the very beginning, no one's been able to stand against Wuxian anyway."
"Exactly. At least he's smart."
Another contestant who drew enormous attention was Eastern Isles' Sword Saint, Ashina Isshin.
At that moment, Isshin stood quietly in place, one hand resting on his slender blade, his expression solemn.
"Since I have already obtained this opportunity," he said, "I hope I can use it to share the spirit of my sword."
"You do not all need to become swordsmen yourselves. I only hope that through my words, more people can better understand those who walk the path of the sword."
"A true swordsman is one who can cast aside fame, wealth, and all worldly distractions. Our path lies only in the sword."
"I know none of you want to hear an old man ramble."
"So I will prove everything with my strength."
Hum—
Isshin placed his left hand on the sheath and his right hand on the hilt.
A razor-sharp aura instantly swept through the surroundings.
A gust of wind stirred out of nowhere.
Then he said softly,
"Ashina Cross Slash."
Shing!
Two brilliant white sword arcs, each five meters across, flew forward at terrifying speed and crossed together in midair.
Deep trenches instantly split open in the earth.
The two glowing slashes continued forward without slowing.
A hundred meters ahead, a boulder the size of a house blocked their path.
Under countless tense eyes, the two white sword arcs passed through it as effortlessly as if they were cutting tofu.
Crack!
With a deafening roar, the enormous boulder shattered into fragments and exploded in every direction.
Only then did the twin arcs finally fade.
Ashina Isshin lowered his hands and slowly stood upright again.
"This," he said calmly, "is the Ashina-style sword art I created myself. It is far from my strongest move."
"It is only a simple demonstration."
"I hope it allows everyone to better understand my path."
"And anyone who wishes to train at my dojo is welcome. I will treat all equally, regardless of skin color or nationality."
"In my eyes, anyone who wishes to walk the path of the sword is worthy of cultivation."
For a long moment, the world could only stare in silence.
Then everything exploded.
"How is that even possible?! Can a modern human really produce that kind of attack?!"
"And unlike Eddie Brock, he isn't relying on some monster! That's pure sword skill!"
"So normal humans can really become that strong just through cultivation?"
"So this is a true sword path…"
"I swear, if you gave that man a sword and drove a truck at him, he'd probably cut the whole vehicle in half."
"At this point, can he even still be considered an ordinary human?"
Eastern Isles' people, meanwhile, had already erupted in wild cheers.
"This is our Sword Saint!"
"With a blade in his hand, he will lead Eastern Isles into a brilliant future!"
"Hahaha! If Zhang Qilin ever meets our Sword Saint, he'll definitely lose!"
"Exactly! Whether it's Miracle Nation's Deadpool or Dragon Nation's Zhang Qilin, none of them could ever be a match for Lord Isshin!"
Then—
"ROAR—!!!"
A colossal dragon's roar suddenly rolled across the sky.
In an instant, everyone's attention was yanked away.
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