As for the specific locations of the other contestants, there were no markings on the map.
This undoubtedly added more unknowns and variables to the brutal preliminary round.
Just as Qin Feng was carefully studying the map and planning his route, that authoritative and cold synthetic voice once again echoed through the sky above the entire arena.
[The competition arena is now shrinking—]
[Current shrinkage phase: One.]
The announcement was short and forceful.
Upon hearing this, Qin Feng immediately raised his head and looked toward the far side of the forest.
Through the dense, overlapping layers of leaves and branches, he could clearly see a towering, semi-transparent, pale blue curtain of light on the distant horizon. It was slowly shrinking, advancing toward the center of the arena at a speed visible to the naked eye.
That was the Spiritual Barrier, the "poison circle" of this battle royale.
’So there’s a mechanic like this.’
Qin Feng’s gaze sharpened. ’This means our room to maneuver will be continuously compressed over time. Hiding can only be temporary. In the end, this ever-shrinking barrier will force everyone into the same area. At that point, large-scale battles will be inevitable.’
’And with the resource packs in play, all it will take is one person losing their patience and striking first for the entire arena to descend into chaos.’
Having figured this out, Qin Feng knew he couldn’t rely on luck.
He had to seize as many useful resources as possible before the chaos fully erupted, and he also needed to adapt to the rhythm of this competition quickly.
His gaze fell back on the map.
’My assets were almost completely depleted during my previous training. For me, these resource packs are something I must fight for.’
Qin Feng quickly began searching the map.
His objective was clear: find the nearest, lowest-level resource pack to scout things out and assess the situation.
Soon, he locked onto a tiny red dot, the size of a dust mote, just over ten kilometers from his position.
This level of resource pack was the most numerous on the map, so the competition for them was presumably less intense. It was the perfect "appetizer" for him.
’As long as I don’t run into a top-tier expert who has cultivated a Fourth-level Killing Technique to the Control Realm, with my current strength, there should be no risk of defeat.’
With his mind made up, Qin Feng no longer hesitated.
He pushed off forcefully from his feet, his whole body shooting forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. His figure left a trail of afterimages in the dim forest as he tore toward the marked location on the map with astonishing speed.
...
Qin Feng arrived at his destination without a sound.
It was a valley with treacherous terrain.
The lowest-level resource pack was floating silently halfway up one of the mountain peaks, emitting a faint glow.
It was a standard, silver-white alloy case, about half a meter long.
And at the foot of that peak, a small-scale melee had already erupted.
About ten Sixth-level Martial Artists were paired off, fighting and keeping each other in check.
They wielded a variety of weapons, and the glint of flashing blades and the roar of exploding Spiritual Energy echoed through the valley from time to time.
Qin Feng’s figure, like a phantom, was hidden behind a large boulder on a distant cliff, calmly observing the situation on the battlefield.
These ten Martial Artists were all of similar strength.
Their life force indexes were all slightly above Ten Thousand Points, far from reaching the bottleneck of the "First Great Limit."
As for the Fourth-level Killing Techniques they were using, most were only at the "Minor Accomplishment" stage. Though their Techniques were powerful, they still contained a hint of awkwardness, clearly not yet fully mastered.
None of them knew each other.
Therefore, the state of the battle was exceptionally chaotic and delicate.
Everyone was wary of everyone else. They wanted to defeat their opponents and seize the resource pack, yet they feared expending too much energy and allowing someone else to take advantage of their weakness, playing the part of the oriole stalking the mantis.
For a time, the fighting was lively, but no one could truly break away from the pack and gain an absolute advantage.
Qin Feng had only been watching for less than five seconds, but he had already analyzed the ten individuals’ skill levels, combat styles, and even their personalities and habits, getting it almost perfectly right.
The moment had come.
Just at the instant when a Blade Master and a Swordsman on the field clashed violently and both retreated, exposing a brief opening—
Qin Feng moved!
The boulder beneath his feet instantly shattered, and he shot into the sky like a cannonball!
His body traced a stunning arc through the air. Though he moved last, he arrived first, soaring directly over the ten fiercely battling Martial Artists below and landing with pinpoint precision on the protruding rock halfway up the mountain!
In one swift motion, he snatched the floating silver-white alloy case out of the air.
It felt slightly heavy, with the cold texture of metal.
Qin Feng casually opened the case to find two neat rows of injectors, shimmering with different lights, arranged tidily inside.
Ten vials of Enhanced Type-III Super-Concentrated Spiritual Energy Recovery Potion.
Ten vials of Enhanced Type-III High-Efficiency Mental Power Recovery Potion.
HISS...
Even with all his worldliness, Qin Feng couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath the moment he saw these two rows of potions.
Each of these two types of potions had an exchange price of a whopping five hundred Contribution Points!
The total value of this tiny, lowest-level resource pack was roughly equivalent to Ten Thousand Contribution Points!