Translator: CinderTL
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two streaks of flowing light streaked across the heavens and earth, each moving at speeds exceeding a hundred kilometers per second.
These were Jiang Ye and Song Xuan, racing at full speed toward the inner perimeter of the civilization ruins.
Time flowed onward.
Along the way, Jiang Ye encountered several more combatants, each of whom he easily defeated. His ranking steadily climbed to sixty-fifth place.
With less than five thousand kilometers remaining to the inner perimeter, Jiang Ye and Song Xuan encountered a powerful opponent at the mid-stage of the seventh breakthrough realm.
"Jiang Ye, ranked sixty-fifth?"
"I don't want to fight you. Don't chase me," the blue-robed strongman said, retreating without a fight and immediately fleeing toward the inner perimeter.
But Jiang Ye, having encountered him, had no intention of letting him escape.
In an instant, he closed the distance.
"Jiang Ye, don't push your luck! I'm not afraid of you!" the blue-robed strongman roared, channeling the mysteries of gold to conjure a colossal sword over a hundred meters long, which he thrust at Jiang Ye.
Though only at the mid-stage of the seventh breakthrough realm, his mastery of the mysteries of gold had already reached the threshold of the late-stage seventh breakthrough, placing him among the top three hundred combatants on the leaderboard.
It was a pity.
Such power was utterly insignificant to Jiang Ye.
Whoosh! Jiang Ye raised his hand and pointed, instantly conjuring a long spear of fire that shot forth with explosive force.
With a deafening boom, the fiery spear shattered the giant sword, continuing its relentless trajectory toward the blue-robed strongman.
"What?!"
"This power..." The blue-robed strongman was horrified. He frantically activated the mysteries of gold, channeling vast amounts of stellar energy to form an impenetrable golden shield before him.
The mysteries of gold were renowned for their unbreakable defenses, impervious to all techniques!
Boom!
The fiery spear slammed into the massive golden shield with devastating force.
"It held!" The blue-robed strongman stared intently, his face lighting up with relief.
But his expression quickly shifted back to shock.
Crack!
In the very next instant, cracks spiderwebbed across the golden shield. Unable to withstand the spear's assault, it shattered into a shower of golden sparks.
The spear pierced through!
Psh! The fiery spear tore through the blue-robed strongman's arm, the surging stellar energy causing half his limb to explode on the spot.
"This..." The blue-robed strongman was utterly terrified.
One spear!
It had shattered all his defenses.
Seeing this, the blue-robed strongman dared not hesitate any longer.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Streams of civilization fire erupted, converging toward Jiang Ye.
"Thank you for showing mercy, Excellency," the blue-robed strongman sighed. "I hereby withdraw from the tournament!"
He had no doubt that if Jiang Ye had intended to kill him, a single spear strike would have annihilated him.
In that case, losing an arm would have been the least of his worries.
"The tournament rules compel me to act," Jiang Ye said with a faint smile. "I hope Senior will not take offense. I deliberately held back."
These seventh breakthrough experts were the backbone of the Blue Star Civilization's resistance against the Shadow Calamity.
Unless faced with particularly malicious opponents, Jiang Ye always stopped short of inflicting grievous wounds, aiming only to make his point.
This approach had earned him considerable goodwill among the seventh breakthrough experts.
"Haha, you truly have a noble spirit, Excellency!" the blue-robed strongman chuckled. "I am Qi Qing of the Qi Clan. Seek me out another day for a spar and discussion of techniques!"
With that, the blue-robed strongman's figure slowly dissipated, withdrawing from the tournament.
"Jiang Ye, you're truly remarkable," Song Xuan said as she flew over, her expression complex.
Earlier, she had been about to intervene.
Who could have imagined that Jiang Ye would utterly defeat a mid-stage seventh breakthrough expert with a single spear strike?
"One-shot kill on a mid-stage seventh breakthrough expert," Song Xuan murmured, unable to contain her astonishment. "Jiang Ye, how can your mysteries of fire be so powerful?"
"Qi Qing's metal law just happened to be countered by my fire," Jiang Ye replied with a faint smile.
Jiang Ye wasn't surprised by the outcome of the battle.
The universe operates according to the five fundamental elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. These elements correspond to the five viscera in the human body.
These elements are interconnected through cycles of creation and destruction, such as water extinguishing fire and fire melting metal.
"My mysteries of fire already surpass the level of most late-stage seventh breakthrough experts," Jiang Ye thought to himself. "Combined with the principle of fire countering metal, it would have been strange if I couldn't achieve a one-shot kill."
Before his secluded cultivation, Jiang Ye could defeat mid-stage seventh breakthrough experts. However, he had to activate domains like the Blood Sea and Martial Saint, unleashing nearly his full power to overcome his opponents.
But now? A single spear strike sufficed.
"Only twenty strands of civilization fire? That's quite meager," Jiang Ye said, waving his hand. "Song Xuan, take ten."
"Huh?"
"That wouldn't be right," Song Xuan quickly shook her head. "I didn't contribute to the battle."
"We're about to enter the inner perimeter. I hope you can protect yourself," Jiang Ye said, looking at her.
"I..." Song Xuan's face flushed crimson.
She knew exactly what Jiang Ye meant: her strength was too weak.
The Top 100 Battle was about to begin.
With her current abilities, she would only be a burden to Jiang Ye.
"I won't hold you back!" Song Xuan said through gritted teeth.
She puffed out her cheeks slightly as she accepted the ten civilization fires.
Hmph, underestimating me? Just wait, I'll show you my true power soon enough, Song Xuan thought to herself.
Her secluded cultivation had yielded significant gains.
Jiang Ye remained oblivious to Song Xuan's thoughts.
Whoosh!
With a wave of his hand, he collected the remaining ten civilization fires and continued flying toward the inner perimeter of the civilization ruins.
Buzz!
At Jiang Ye's mental command, a psychic wave instantly enveloped a thousand-mile radius.
Simultaneously, he split off a portion of his consciousness to check the leaderboard.
"The difference in civilization fire counts between the 200th and 1000th ranks isn't significant."
"The vast majority in this range are peak sixth-tier powerhouses or higher," Jiang Ye observed, his gaze sweeping across the list. He now had a rough understanding of the upcoming Top 100 Battle.
Someone like him...
It was exceedingly rare for someone who had only reached the fifth breakthrough realm to make it into the top thousand.
The vast majority of experts below the sixth breakthrough realm had already been eliminated.
Even powerful figures like Song Xuan, who had reached the early sixth breakthrough realm, were rarely seen.
"The top hundred? Apart from Senior Sister and me, almost all the others are at least mid-stage seventh breakthrough realm experts," Jiang Ye thought, his mind filled with doubt.
He had secured his place in the top hundred thanks to the numerous advantages granted by the system.
But Chen Zilu? Could she really have made it into the top hundred solely with her invincible dao bone? That seemed impossible.
"Could it be...?"
"Does Senior Sister also possess astonishing innate talent for comprehending the mysteries of heaven and earth?" Jiang Ye mused.
The two flew at breakneck speed.
As Jiang Ye pondered, they had already entered the inner region of the civilization ruins.
Just then, an ancient voice echoed in their minds:
"Trial-takers, you have entered the inner region of the civilization ruins. Prepare yourselves."
"The inner region selection phase is about to begin."
"This phase will select one hundred individuals to advance to the core region."
The ancient voice faded away.
Simultaneously, the map projections for Jiang Ye and Song Xuan underwent a transformation.
(End of the Chapter)
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