“Awesome!!!”
“We won, we won!”
“We finally got a victory! It wasn’t easy!”
That’s what happens when Dean Shi steps in!”
Shi Jingyi’s victory instantly set the human spectators’ enthusiasm ablaze.
The pent-up frustration from the first two losses was finally released, and many people couldn’t help cheering.
At that moment, people’s joy wasn’t just about winning a match. It was also pride in Tianshui Star, their human civilization.
And this victory was a powerful rebuttal to the commentator, who had been consistently biased in favor of humanity’s opponents. It was like a slap across its face, giving the human spectators a much-needed chance to vent their anger.
“Congratulations to the competitor from Tianshui Star Civilization, ‘Shi Jingyi.’ You will receive a beautiful gift provided by the organizers.”
Shi Jingyi had only just won, but the commentator’s announcement already sounded rather feeble, nothing like the passionate delivery of the previous two matches.
The difference all but confirmed that it was indeed prejudiced against Tianshui Star Civilization.
The human spectators, however, had no idea where this prejudice came from.
But that didn’t matter.
They felt that as long as the participants weren’t affected, they could win more matches and complete the rule challenge in the end.
One match had ended, and there was still some time before the next began. Quite a few spectators returned to reality and started discussing things on the forum.
“Good thing Shi Jingyi got a victory. That should ease the pressure on everyone else.”
“Yeah. If she’d lost, I bet the remaining contestants would’ve completely lost it.”
“It’s one win, one loss, and one draw so far. There are still six matches. We only need four more wins to clinch it!”
“I don’t think it’ll be that easy...”
“I was wondering, if we win three and lose three, that’d make four wins, four losses, and one draw. Would that count as passing or failing the rule challenge?”
“Not sure. I guess it’d count as neither a win nor a loss, so the Mind Power upper limit wouldn’t go up or down.”
“I wonder what kind of gift the winner gets. It should be something good, right?”
“Even if it’s a great prize, you have to survive to claim it... Anyway, after watching these three matches, I’m honestly a little scared. They’re way too brutal. There’s no way I’d dare go in there myself.”
Online, the Ascendants’ discussions revolved around the matches. Since ordinary people couldn’t watch, all they could see were the results announced by the authorities.
Some ordinary people saw the results of the first two matches and, instead of feeling upset, were actually a little gleeful. They thought it would be better if some of those swaggering Ascendants died.
But most ordinary people were still sensible enough to hope the participants would win. They knew what it meant to stand together against outsiders, and that when one person prospered, all prospered, while one person suffered, all suffered.
Even if there were beings among the alien races like Mr. Ga, who didn’t consider anyone but the Awakened worthy of being treated as human, that didn’t mean humanity had to imitate them. Humanity still had to preserve the unity of the majority.
Meanwhile, at the Countermeasures Research Office, in Zhang Minglu’s office.
During the intermission, Sandro and Han Qiu both exited Spectator Mode and returned to reality.
“That was no easy win,” Zhang Minglu said with a sigh. “If Dean Shi hadn’t won this match, the people after her probably wouldn’t have had any confidence left.”
Zhao Ming nodded. “Doctor, you noticed too, right? Her strength is several levels above Tasitado’s and Lovska’s.”
“Indeed.”
For Zhang Minglu, these matches were also an opportunity to observe combat strength and collect data.
From the battle between Shi Jingyi and the Face-Seeking Owl, it was clear that although the fight had lasted only a few minutes, it had fully demonstrated Shi Jingyi’s formidable abilities.
Her control over her body, her ability to seize opportunities, her defenses, and her ability to attack at both close and long range... Every aspect showed that she truly deserved her status as a top-tier Ascendant.
“I wonder if she was already this powerful, or if she became this powerful after becoming an Awakened One, with the support of her Authority,” Zhao Ming said.
“Even before she became an Awakened One, she was already a top-tier Ascendant. That’s recognized by both the authorities and the public,” Zhang Minglu replied.
He paused, then continued, “I’m actually looking forward to seeing Guan Tong compete next. If he can ride this momentum and win twice in a row, that’ll ease the psychological pressure on the people after him.”
Zhao Ming thought about it, then said, “I’m more interested in seeing Han Qiu compete. It’d be a good chance to learn about his ability.”
Zhang Minglu nodded at that.
He had the same idea. After all, the authorities’ current understanding of Han Qiu’s ability was limited to one thing: “He comes back to life somewhere else after dying.”
Could he choose where he would revive? What would his condition be after reviving? Did this ability have any limitations?
The authorities knew nothing about any of that.
If they could use the competition to figure out the details of Han Qiu’s ability, and he won a match, they would be better prepared to deal with him in the future.
That was right. Both Zhang Minglu and Zhao Ming understood perfectly well that even if Han Qiu won a match for Tianshui Star Civilization, he couldn’t simply “clear his name and walk away.”
The Beixing authorities wouldn’t agree to it, and Guan Tong certainly wouldn’t either.
After all, not every mistake could be forgiven just because someone admitted fault and earned merit.
The Qingmei Society incident involving Han Qiu had caused consequences that were far too severe. Directly or indirectly, it had ruined thousands upon thousands of promising Ascendant candidates.
It had enriched the interests of the Qingmei Society, a small clique, while seriously harming the interests of all Beixing’s citizens.
And that was without even mentioning the series of other heinous deeds Han Qiu had committed afterward. Taken together, they were no less serious than the Qingmei Society incident. He had to be held accountable.
After the intermission ended, the fourth match was about to begin.
Standing in the Myriad Sense Net Bubble, Guan Tong thought about the remaining participants from Tianshui Star Civilization.
Going by their rankings, they were Guan Tong himself, Han Qiu, Dragon Soul, Satan, Sandro, and Gilal.
Honestly, of all of them, he only wanted to watch Han Qiu’s match. Like Zhang Minglu and the others, he wanted to study his ability and plan for the future.
Of course, that was assuming there would be a future. If Han Qiu or Guan Tong himself died right there in the Arena, there wouldn’t be anything more to discuss.
As for the others, Satan, Han Qiu’s subordinate, was also worth keeping an eye on.
Of Dragon Soul, Sandro, and Gilal, he had a general understanding of Dragon Soul’s ability, so there would be fewer surprises there.
He had never met or spoken with the other two, but he was still curious. At the very least, he wanted to see what their abilities or exclusive items could do.
“Generating the Sandbox Arena now!”
The commentator’s voice rang out. Its tone seemed to have recovered somewhat; it no longer sounded half-dead, as it had when Shi Jingyi won.
A new environment quickly took shape. Unlike the previous matches, this time the scene was indoors.
Metallic silver-gray walls, a spacious hall and a podium, a bright interior with no visible lights, and the unfathomable depths of space beyond the portholes... It looked exactly like the inside of a spaceship.
“Hm? This time, the Arena scene is... a Koral meeting room.” The commentator seemed a little surprised too.
“This is where the Koral people hold meetings aboard their spacecraft. As for the Koral people themselves, their circumstances probably aren’t important, right?”
Unlike last time, the commentator didn’t explain the background. After a hurried introduction, it began announcing the participants’ teleportation.
The beams of light once again jumped randomly from one person to another.
When the teleportation light pillar landed on Guan Tong, he wasn’t expecting much anymore. He’d hoped to be chosen the last few times, and it hadn’t worked out once.
Whoosh!
The teleportation light pillar moved away, and Guan Tong wore an expression that said, “I knew it.”
A few seconds later, the selected participant from Tianshui Star appeared in the spacecraft’s meeting room.
He was a young man with a head of curly hair. He looked a little dull and introverted. There was neither excitement nor fear on his face, and no one knew what he was thinking.
“It’s... Sandro, Lury’s ‘apostle.’”
Guan Tong didn’t know Sandro personally. Among the remaining few, he knew Dragon Soul and Han Qiu well, while Satan’s body, weighing over four hundred jin, was impossible to mistake.
As for Gilal, the “Blood Mage,” she was the only woman among the nine besides Shi Jingyi. He couldn’t possibly mistake her either.
As for Sandro, all he knew was that he was a product of Lury’s “Blueprint Project,” an individual whose genetic optimization had been relatively successful. He knew nothing else.
He did wonder whether genetic editing and optimization as a means of gaining strength was like forcing seedlings to grow, or whether it came with some kind of side effects. But since Lury was pushing Sandro to enter the top nine of the overall rankings and become a participant, it meant he had to have some real ability.
“Sandro, a competitor from Tianshui Star Civilization, has entered the Arena. Let’s see who his opponent will be!”
Once the commentator finished speaking, another teleportation light pillar lit up.
When the light faded and the other competitor appeared, the spectators were all dumbstruck with disbelief.
The person who had appeared inside the spacecraft looked seven or eight tenths like Sandro, both in appearance and build. It was another “Sandro”!