Chapter 108
Chapter 108
He hadn’t fallen that far behind!
At those words, the nearby contestants’ expressions became more colorful than the last.
Everyone had been leveling as hard as they could, yet they still had not caught Zhouyou Shijie after he spent twenty days doing nothing!
That did not feel good at all!
“Once the difference is only a few levels, your level advantage becomes useless!” Bawang sneered. “You won’t be able to win Pinnacle Showdown by relying on level suppression!”
Zhou Ming could not help asking, “You think I can’t beat you without a level advantage?”
“…At the very least, victory won’t be guaranteed!” Bawang stubbornly insisted.
“Zhouyou Shijie, I look forward to seeing just how high your ceiling truly is!”
Submit and Perish, who had encountered him in the first round and voluntarily forfeited, spoke up. Faced with the player most likely to be number one in Destiny, he showed no fear whatsoever.
Zhou Ming glanced at him. “I’m also curious whether beating me truly isn’t difficult, as you claimed!”
“You’ll find out when we enter the arena,” Submit and Perish shot back. Then he looked toward a man nearby. “Rule by Inaction, don’t you have anything to say about facing Zhouyou Shijie?”
By now, any player worth the name should want to defeat Zhouyou Shijie.
The second-ranked expert on the Level Rankings was far too low-key.
“He’s very strong. You may not be able to defeat him.” The man he had singled out wore green robes and had handsome features, sharp brows, and bright eyes. He was also a man of few words who rarely spoke.
Submit and Perish frowned slightly at the assessment, clearly dissatisfied. “If I use my full strength, what do you think my odds are?”
“Fifty-fifty,” Rule by Inaction answered after some thought.
“Only fifty-fifty?”
Submit and Perish’s expression darkened.
“…”
Listening to them trade opinions as though he were not standing there, Zhou Ming nearly laughed.
This was ridiculous!
They had actually underestimated him this badly.
After a moment’s thought, Zhou Ming opened his system messages and confirmed the earlier announcement.
Ding!
[Server Announcement: Congratulations to Flame Venerable · Zhouyou Shijie for becoming the first player to create an SSS-Rank skill!]
Ding!
[Server Announcement: Congratulations to Flame Venerable · Zhouyou Shijie for becoming the first player to create an SSS-Rank skill!]
…
The server announcement played three times in succession, drawing everyone’s attention.
“What the fuck? He created an SSS-Rank skill?”
“Is this some kind of international joke?!”
Every player, including the contestants who had yet to be eliminated, stared in disbelief.
Zhouyou Shijie had accumulated extraordinary achievements!
He had swept up nearly every first-kill reward, like a walking cheat code!
Even so, all of those previous announcements combined carried nowhere near as much weight as this one.
“Rule by Inaction, if I use my full strength, what do you think the odds between us would be?” Zhou Ming asked with interest.
Rule by Inaction’s expression turned solemn. “We’ve never fought, so it’s difficult to judge. But your achievement… is rather heaven-defying!”
“Wait, you’re really rating everyone now?”
Tingfeng Xiyu could not resist mocking them from the side. “Even the gods don’t dare underestimate Brother Zhou. What gives you the right to pass judgment?”
“My mouth belongs to me. We can say whatever we want. What’s it to you?” Die Beneath the Peonies shot back.
“You!”
“Enough. There is no need for more words!”
Fierce battle intent burned in Zhou Ming’s eyes. “Today, in Pinnacle Showdown, I will personally test what every one of you can do!”
He suddenly felt that temporarily losing his level advantage was a good thing.
Otherwise, another crowd would inevitably jump out afterward and claim he had won entirely by relying on his level.
“…”
The others fell silent and took their seats in the contestants’ section, the air thick with hostility.
Ding!
[System: The thirty-two remaining contestants will undergo a total of three random matchups. Victors will receive points, and the top sixteen contestants by points will advance to the fifth round! (Note: Points earned are positively correlated with remaining HP, damage dealt, and other match performance metrics.)]
Just over ten minutes later, the fourth round officially began.
“Here we go!”
Rows of seats encircled the enormous arena, rising tier after tier like a colossal colosseum.
The venue was now packed shoulder to shoulder, its roar deafening. Bullet comments flooded every related livestream.
Almost every player in the Eastern Region who took the game seriously was watching this visual feast provided by its finest experts!
Whoosh!
At a certain moment, a translucent blue screen appeared above the arena. The game IDs of every remaining contestant scrolled rapidly across it.
Several seconds later, the names froze one after another from top to bottom.
Group A:
[Flame Venerable · Zhouyou Shijie] (Flame Demon Lord)
VS
[Fearless Spear · Bawang] (Dragon Warrior)
Group B:
[Barrier Breaker · Submit and Perish] (Dragon Soul Mage)
VS
[Star Sentinel · Gaibang Laoda] (Star Guardian)
…
The system’s matchups were displayed clearly for every player to see.
There were exactly sixteen groups. No one received a bye.
“Damn it!”
Bawang’s expression turned ugly.
Going first was bad enough. Did his opponent really have to be Zhouyou Shijie?
What rotten luck!
“Well, well!” Tingfeng Xiyu cried with exaggerated surprise. “Zhouyou Shijie has lost his level advantage, so victory isn’t guaranteed anymore. Bawang, looks like you’ve got this one!”
“You!”
Bawang ground his teeth in fury.
Zhou Ming slowly rose from the contestants’ section, his expression solemn. “Come on!”
Truthfully, this was his first time participating in such a formal tournament. Unlike the mass battles of the past, it brought him an indescribable trace of nerves and excitement.
Under the system’s teleportation, Zhou Ming and Bawang appeared on the arena at the same time, twenty meters apart.
“The show’s starting!”
“The president of the Myth Guild taking down Zhouyou Shijie? I doubt it!”
“Brothers, bet everything you own on Zhouyou Shijie with me! We’re going to make a fortune!”
…
Outside the arena, the crowd watched both men with rapt attention.
3!
2!
1!
[System: The match has begun!]
Ding!
[System: You are affected by Flame Venerable · Zhouyou Shijie’s command skill [Warlord]. All Attributes -24.9%!]
Bawang: “…”
Seriously? He lost a quarter of his strength the moment the match began?
“Roar!”
An azure dragon materialized from the void and coiled around Bawang.
Against such a powerful enemy, he had to open with his trump cards!
Ding!
[System: Fearless Spear · Bawang has used [War Dragon Art]. All Attributes +50% for 30 seconds!]
Ding!
[System: Fearless Spear · Bawang has used [Furious Dragon Strike]. His next attack deals 350% damage plus an additional 100% True Damage. Duration: 5 seconds!]
…
Bawang activated skill after skill in a single breath. Long spear in hand, he rapidly closed the distance and thrust with all his strength.
“So fast!”
The spectators’ hearts tightened.
The president of the Myth Guild had not earned his reputation for nothing!
Zhou Ming remained perfectly calm and sidestepped the thrust.
MISS!
Then Zhou Ming raised a hand and unleashed Wicked Combo!
-15,487!
-15,126!
-17,564!
-36,210! (Critical)
-16,552!
-16,125!
…
Six basic attacks landed on Bawang in less than two seconds, dealing a total of more than one hundred thousand damage.
“What the fuck?!”
Bawang’s expression changed drastically. Before he even had a chance to drink a potion, his body dissolved into white light.
The crowd: “???”
…
One combo killed him?
Ding!
[System: Congratulations! Flame Venerable · Zhouyou Shijie is victorious. Points Earned: 100!]
After winning, Zhou Ming returned to the spectators’ section. It was now time for Group B’s contestants to enter the arena.
“Let’s have a good match!”
Gaibang Laoda looked as though he were facing his greatest enemy.
Against the third-ranked expert on the Level Rankings, he had to give everything he had.
“Zhouyou Shijie, watch carefully!” Submit and Perish paid no attention to Gaibang Laoda. He turned toward Zhou Ming instead, raised his staff, and declared proudly, “This is why I dare challenge you!”
Zhou Ming ignored him. He silently opened his skill list and stared at the SSS-Rank skill, sinking into thought.
What should he name such a powerful skill?
…