「Meanwhile, on the distant Planet Qiming.」
Inside a VIP suite on the top floor of the Qiming Spectator Tower.
As the dust settled on the earth-shattering battle on the holographic screen, and Qin Feng’s figure reappeared beside the brothers, Wang Hao and Wang Jie, the three who had been watching with bated breath—Qin Dahai, Wang Ming, and Li Juan—finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"This boy... this boy..."
Qin Dahai watched the screen, his eyes moistening as he looked at his son chatting and laughing cheerfully with his cousins, his face beaming with a radiant smile. He murmured the words, momentarily at a loss for what else to say.
All he knew was that his son had truly grown up.
He had grown into a towering tree.
"This is wonderful, so wonderful..."
Beside them, Li Juan dabbed at the tears in the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, her face filled with a gratified smile. "Look, Xiaofeng, Ahao, and Ah Jie get along so well. The gap in their strength hasn’t created any distance between them."
"You’re right."
Wang Ming was also overwhelmed with emotion. As he watched the scene of brotherly affection and harmony on the screen, a great weight was finally lifted from his heart.
"Our biggest worry was that as the children grew up and became successful, they’d grow arrogant and forget where they came from. It seems we were worrying for nothing."
As elders, what they wanted to see most was the younger generation getting along harmoniously and supporting one another.
And now, the scene on the screen had undoubtedly given them the best possible answer.
Qin Feng, Wang Hao, and Wang Jie—setting aside their dazzling talent in the Martial Dao, all three of them were fundamentally good kids who were sensible, knew right from wrong, and valued their relationships.
This was proof enough that the upbringing they had poured their hearts into during the boys’ early years had been a success, that they had done everything right.
For a parent, this was perhaps a greater source of pride than any world-shaking achievement their children could ever accomplish.
...
「Back in the Starry Sky Cup competition zone.」
All one hundred thousand victors who had successfully advanced appeared in a vast, boundless, pure-white recuperation zone.
A system notification chimed in right on cue.
[Congratulations, contestants, on successfully advancing to the round of 100,000.]
[You will have twenty-four hours of recuperation time to restore your stamina, treat your injuries, and sort through the resources you obtained during the month-long preliminary qualifiers.]
[After twenty-four hours, you will all be teleported to the venue for the next round.]
Qin Feng found a corner and sat down cross-legged. He began to take stock of his monstrous gains from the past month while silently recovering the energy he had expended in the successive battles.
「Time passed quickly.」
When the recuperation period ended, everyone was teleported once more.
This time, they appeared aboard massive passenger transport ships.
The transport ships passed through the clouds, finally landing upon another, even more magnificent arena hovering high in the planet’s atmosphere.
This was a colossal, ring-shaped coliseum capable of holding hundreds of millions of spectators.
In the center of the coliseum stood tens of thousands of densely packed fighting stages, all constructed from energy and glowing with a soft white light.
Surrounding the stages were tiered rows of spectator seats, towering into the clouds like mountain ranges.
The entire scene bore some resemblance to the finals venue of the Canaan Newcomer Cup that Qin Feng had once participated in, but the scale was over a hundred times grander.
’Finally... this is starting to look like a real tournament.’
Qin Feng thought to himself as he stepped off the transport ship, taking in the familiar yet spectacular scene before him.
He raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the towering spectator stands.
Soon, in one of the sections, he spotted several familiar figures.
Dragon Jade, Nissan, Ning Jing, as well as Wang Hao, Wang Jie, and Wu Yue... they were all sitting there. Clearly, they had unfortunately been eliminated during the preliminary qualifiers.
When their eyes met Qin Feng’s across the distance, they all gave him encouraging smiles and waved enthusiastically.
Qin Feng gave them a slight nod in return.
His gaze traveled further upward, and he discovered that in the VIP suites with higher positions and better views, there sat many terrifying presences with auras as deep and vast as the ocean.
There were supervising instructors from the various Starry Sky Martial Arts Universities, observers from major factions, and even a few figures whose mere presence caused the surrounding space to distort faintly.
Those were Black Hole Level Powerhouses—a tier of existence far beyond the Galactic level!
"The first round of the top 100,000 tournament will now begin!"
At the announcer’s command, a matchmaking window popped up simultaneously on every contestant’s personal terminal.
[Randomly selecting an opponent for you...]
[Selection complete.]
[Your opponent: Lei Qianjue (Linhe Star System - Thunder God Star Martial Arts University)]
[Your designated fighting stage: No. 7834]
Qin Feng glanced at his opponent’s information. Without the slightest hesitation, he moved, transforming into a streak of light that landed precisely on the designated stage, No. 7834.
Almost at the exact moment he landed, an equally swift figure appeared on the opposite end of the stage.
It was a young man with a slender build, a cold and stern expression, and he was dressed in a black Combat Suit.
In his hand, he gripped a jet-black Long Saber of antiquated design. His entire being radiated a terrifyingly sharp and unparalleled aura, like a newly drawn Divine Weapon.
’Top-grade Primordial Acupoints.’
Qin Feng discerned the foundation of his opponent’s power with a single glance.
However, what truly gave Qin Feng pause was the opponent’s Will of Slaughter. Though restrained, it felt as deep and unfathomable as a vast ocean!