Directly above the Furnace Arena, high above the clouds, a number of golden bubbles hung suspended, isolated from the trillions of white bubbles below.
Unlike those uniform white bubbles, these golden bubbles came in all manner of bizarre shapes, some even interconnected, much like the "VIP seats" of a human sporting event.
Streams of information wove between these golden bubbles.
"How many matches are there in the Furnace this time?"
"About eighty-seven million."
"That's far fewer than before. In the past, several billion matches were common."
"It'll only get fewer from now on. Don't forget, the Death God keeps accelerating."
After one individual mentioned the "Death God," the flow of information between the bubbles stalled for a moment.
Then, by unspoken agreement, none of the individuals spoke of it again.
"Oh? Look at Sector Three. The leader of the Lightseeker civilization has actually been annihilated."
"A pity. The Lightseeker civilization had shown promise of advancing to a level-9 civilization."
"Where's Xian? Not here to spectate?"
"Xian seems to have gone down to the lower levels."
"What's there to see in the lower levels? It's all low-level civilizations."
"Xian seems interested in a low-level civilization."
"How boring."
......
Lovska's sudden death caught every Tianshui Star human spectator completely off guard.
The Xisiya people, who understood his strength best, from Administrator Yelanka to other Ascendants who had personal ties with Lovska, were all shocked beyond measure.
"How could this happen? How could Lovska be instantly killed?!"
"Didn't the commentator say that Bihui Stone civilization on the other side is also a level-1 civilization? The gap couldn't possibly be this huge..."
"A loss already, this fast? If we lose four more matches, this rule challenge will fail!"
"My god... why didn't anyone stop it? That alien monster actually devoured Lovska!!!"
"Urgh-"
The spectators weren't merely shocked and disappointed. After witnessing the gruesome sight of Lovska being consumed, many were so horrified and disgusted that they retched.
The remaining eight human competitors who had witnessed it all firsthand felt their hearts grow even heavier.
Guan Tong looked at that "Guguka" on the arena platform, still replaying in his mind what had happened in that instant.
This creature undoubtedly possessed some kind of earth-burrowing ability, and not ordinary burrowing at that. It was more like an advanced burrowing technique, allowing it to teleport underground after burrowing.
And just as the commentator had said, those six long limbs were the key.
They looked slender, yet their strength was absurdly exaggerated. Lovska's various defensive items didn't even hold out for two seconds before being pulverized by that tremendous force.
There may have been some element of luck in that instant kill, but even if Lovska had dodged the first strike, winning afterward would have been very difficult.
With this, humanity had already lost one match. They would now need to win at least five more to complete the rule challenge.
Guan Tong felt a trace of anxiety. He knew Lovska's rough start would inevitably place a heavier burden on the other competitors.
"Let us cheer for the victor from the Bihui Stone civilization, 'Gugula'! Congratulations, you will receive a fine gift provided by the organizers!"
As the commentator finished, a teleportation light pillar enveloped Gugula and transported it away, leaving only a mangled corpse on the arena platform.
"I'm sure the vast audience finds this thoroughly unsatisfying! Ah, I also didn't expect this match to end right after it began."
In the commentator's voice there was no trace of regret over Lovska's death. The only thing audible was disappointment that the match hadn't been more exciting.
This made many human spectators unable to accept it. Quite a few even cursed aloud inside their Myriad Sense Net Bubbles.
Yet these curses seemed unable to affect this commentator, whom they could only hear but never see.
"Perhaps we shouldn't be too demanding of the Tianshui Star civilization, newly joined to the Star Sea Court. Let's hope the competitor in the next match can bring us some surprises! Now then, let the sandbox begin generating again!"
The moment the commentator finished, the Electric Cage Beast Trap platform vanished along with Lovska's corpse upon it, and the scene began shifting once more.
Several seconds later, the environment locked into place.
A city full of towering skyscrapers had actually materialized out of thin air.
"Oh? This match's arena is the 'Urban Labyrinth'!"
The commentator began introducing it.
"This is an endlessly extending city with no end and no exit. The two competitors will be randomly placed somewhere within it, and whoever finds the other first gains the advantage!"
Guan Tong looked at this new city arena. It was vastly larger than the electric cage from before. And everywhere there were skyscrapers that could be entered. If the two individuals placed inside deliberately avoided battle, finding each other would not be easy.
Seemingly having accounted for this, the commentator added.
"To give the audience a good viewing experience, thirty minutes after the match begins, the entire city will automatically detonate. So please find your opponent and eliminate them before then. Otherwise... heh heh, the result will probably be a draw!"
Thirty minutes?
Hearing this, Guan Tong immediately recognized the danger of this arena.
Such a vast city with no end and no exit, and two individuals had to find each other in so short a time. How easy could that be?
If both sides intended to meet and settle things as quickly as possible, there was a simple method, such as both tacitly heading to the tallest building in the city.
But if one side felt they were at a disadvantage and deliberately stalled for time, it would become very troublesome.
The city would detonate in half an hour. Based on the commentator's wording of "a draw," the explosion's power had to be terrifying, enough to level both the city and the competitors together.
Guan Tong thought to himself, "In this Meltstar Arena Competition, apart from the danger posed by opponents, even the arena itself can be highly dangerous."
The high-voltage electric cage last time, and this time-limited exploding city, had already made this trait abundantly clear.
"Now then, let's see who the competitors for this match will be!"
As the commentator finished speaking, light pillars pierced through the Myriad Sense Net Bubbles and began shifting across the competitors.
Let me go.
When the light pillar fell upon him, Guan Tong thought this.
His Shadow had an advantage in urban terrain. Even if the opponent deliberately hid, he could find them at the fastest possible speed.
Moreover, he also wanted to secure a win to offset the morale blow dealt by Lovska's defeat in the previous match.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as he wished. The teleportation light pillar only swept across him without stopping.
Several seconds later, the light pillar appeared within the city, and a figure landed first.
It's him?
That short young man wearing glasses was none other than Manchidon's "Mechanical Pioneer," Tasitado.
"It's one of ours!"
"It's Tasitado! Go! Go!!"
"So he's the one going up for the second match." Manchidon's Vice President Tilar, inside a Myriad Sense Net Bubble, wore a worried expression. "I wonder if this kid can hold up."
As the man overseeing Manchidon's affairs, Tasitado's ability to become sixth in the overall rankings was the result of his vigorous efforts to rally votes.
After the parasitized Prophet incident, Manchidon's domestic situation had remained rather depressed, and its performance in the several rules that followed had also been poor.
He knew well that a victory and honor were needed to lift the national spirit, so during this rule he had placed this heavy responsibility on Tasitado.
This Ascendant, whose Mind Power upper limit was unmatched in Manchidon and who possessed a wondrous ability, was the candidate he believed Manchidon could most proudly field.
"The 'Mechanical Pioneer' from the Tianshui Star civilization has entered the city!"
After the commentator's resounding voice rang out, another teleportation light pillar lit up within the city.
"And his opponent is..."
When the light dispersed, what appeared on the city street, exploding the eyeballs of human spectators, was actually a metal block!
"It's 'K-17739' from the *Intelligent Crystal Civilization!"
Intelligent Crystal Civilization? K-17739?
This opponent, from the civilization's name to the individual's designation, made humans associate it with a certain type of life form.
The next moment, that metal block flowed and spread like liquid, rapidly forming a wheel-type skeletal frame suited for navigating the city.
This scene made the human spectators cry out in unison.
"A silicon-based civilization!"
That's right, this "K-17739" was indeed a silicon-based civilization individual.
It was composed of a body of deformable liquid metal, with most likely a silicon-based processor crystal chip inside.
Many were surprised not only by the opponent's life form, but also by the fact that the opponent had changed.
Originally, many human spectators had assumed the Tianshui Star civilization would continue fighting that Bihui Stone civilization, so that the humans appearing later would have a chance to avenge Lovska and the entire human civilization.
Now it appeared that was not the case. Each match's opponent would be random. The next time they encountered the Bihui Stone civilization, who knew when that would be.