...
Time flew by amidst the endless battles and hunts.
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
His name had become a terrifying legend, known by all in the Sixth-level Martial Artist division.
He was a walking "super treasure trove" and the "Mobile Calamity" that all contestants scrambled to avoid.
His gains over the past month were astonishing.
The various high-grade Spiritual Energy Potions, Mental Power recovery Potions, and other rare cultivation resources he had collected were cumulatively worth a terrifying five million Contribution Points!
It was a massive sum, enough to drive most students into a frenzy.
Meanwhile, the Spiritual Energy halo enveloping the entire arena had shrunk from the distant horizon to an extremely small area.
All surviving Martial Artists were driven into the same region by this merciless "poison circle," bringing them closer to each other than ever before.
The frequency of battles reached its peak.
However, as time went on, Qin Feng found it increasingly difficult to find anyone willing to fight him.
Whenever anyone saw his signature, enormous red dot approaching on the map, they would react as if they’d seen a ghost, immediately choosing to detour and giving him no chance to engage.
His fearsome reputation was well-established.
Of course, Qin Feng could also clearly sense that on this battlefield, now compressed to its limits, there still existed some extremely formidable and terrifying auras that made even his own heart palpitate.
Some of the masters of these auras had even cultivated several different Fourth-level Killing Techniques to the Perfection realm, able to use them at will and switch between them effortlessly.
Furthermore, Qin Feng had once sensed from a distance a powerful sword user whose killing moves, when fighting others, faintly showed the rudimentary form of "One Heart, Nine Uses." They were just a hair’s breadth away from a true Level 5 Killing Move!
These were the true monsters at the top of the pyramid in this qualifying competition.
They had snatched so many resources that their red dots were even larger than Qin Feng’s.
’Ning Jing and the others... they’ve probably been eliminated by now.’
Qin Feng sat alone atop a mountain peak, gazing down at the war-torn land below, a sigh escaping his heart.
He had tried to contact Dragon Jade, Nissan, and Ning Jing, but his personal terminal remained silent.
In this competition, that usually meant only one thing—they had been teleported out.
’Wang Jie and Wang Hao, too... I’m afraid it’s the same for them.’
This bloody qualifying round, with its billions of participants, was simply too cruel.
To carve a bloody path out of this meat grinder and secure a spot in the top 100,000, having a life force index of 18,000—the "first great limit"—and a Fourth-level Killing Technique at the Perfection realm had practically become mandatory requirements.
Failing to meet either of these standards made it highly likely one would be mercilessly eliminated in the increasingly frequent, high-intensity skirmishes of the later stages.
Just then, a majestic and cold synthesized voice finally echoed across the sky for the last time.
[Number of remaining contestants in the arena has reached 100,000.]
[The official match has ended.]
[Congratulations to all surviving contestants. You have successfully advanced to the next round.]
The moment the voice faded, pillars of soft white light descended from the sky, enveloping Qin Feng and all the other final 100,000 victors remaining on the battlefield.
In the next instant, a flash of light.
The entire bloody battlefield was instantly empty.
When he opened his eyes again, Qin Feng was back in the plains-like space.
[Please rest for three days, then proceed to the arena for the top 100,000 tournament.]
[Congratulations on receiving your competition reward: one month of comprehension time at the Extreme Enlightenment Stele.]
[...]