As Qin Feng’s feet touched solid ground, his eyes fell upon a building so magnificent it defied description.
This was the main venue for the Qimingxing Inter-School League—the "Crown of the North Pole."
The entire structure was a massive ring, built from a pure white, jade-like composite material that radiated a sacred glow in the gentle sunlight of Qimingxing.
It resembled a gigantic crown, inverted and placed upon the ground, exuding an air of solemn dignity.
Following the crowd through a massive arched gallery, the sight inside was enough to leave one speechless.
The circular stands rose tier after tier, extending upward like a mountain range until they disappeared from view.
The densely packed seats stretched out as far as the eye could see, capable of holding hundreds of thousands of spectators at once.
And in the center of the abyss-like arena floor, hundreds of square platforms were arranged in neat rows, like pieces on a chessboard.
Each platform was enveloped in a high-intensity Energy Shield, semi-transparent and flickering with pale blue arcs of electricity.
Around the platforms, professional referees in uniform and medical teams pushing hovering medical pods were already standing by, fully prepared.
Despite the stringent security measures, everyone was well aware that in the Martial Dao, fists and feet have no eyes.
In the annual league, incidents of serious injury, and even death, were not uncommon.
This was the stage where geniuses could make their names in a single battle, but it could also be the battlefield where they were buried.
Led by Professor Gu Yue, the several thousand students from Qiming First High School arrived at their exclusive section on the east side of the stands.
Their seats were in an excellent location, offering a bird’s-eye view of most of the platforms below.
In front of every seat was an exquisitely designed Holographic Spectator Device.
The students began to take their seats, and Qian Duoduo curiously put on the spectator device.
"Whoa! This is sick!"
He exclaimed softly.
The moment he put on the device, a massive, fully controllable virtual screen appeared in his field of vision.
Through this screen, he could freely select one or more platforms to watch from a 3D holographic perspective, and could even zoom, pan, and rotate the view, making it feel as if he were right there.
Just as the students were curiously adjusting their devices, Professor Gu Yue and a dozen other supervising instructors began distributing documents to every participating student.
One was a standard "Life and Death Agreement."
The other was a high-value personal accident insurance policy.
"The school has purchased this insurance for all of you. The beneficiary has already been defaulted to your immediate family."
Professor Gu Yue’s voice rang out from the front of the group. "Read the terms carefully, then sign your names."
Qin Feng picked up the electronic pen and solemnly signed his name on both documents.
The moment he signed his name, he was willingly accepting all possible consequences of the competition.
After all the students finished signing, the documents were collected.
Professor Gu Yue glanced at the time and addressed the crowd, "The system is conducting the final random draw. The matches will officially begin in one hour. At that time, your match information will be sent directly to your personal terminals via the Holographic Spectator Device in front of you."
"The notification will clearly state your school, name, ID, the number of the platform you are to report to, and all of your opponent’s information. Read it carefully so you don’t go to the wrong platform."
He paused before adding,
"Although it’s a random draw, the system is programmed to avoid matching you against opponents from the same school in the early rounds."
Finally, his usually gentle gaze sharpened, sweeping over every student present.
"All of you, get your minds right."
"Remember, on the platform, fists and feet have no eyes. If—and I mean if—it really comes to that, a matter of life and death, then don’t be afraid of injuring your opponent. And certainly don’t be afraid of accidentally killing them."
"You are all students of Qiming First High School. Compared to seeing you accidentally kill someone else, what I want to see even less is one of you being killed. Do you all understand?"
His words were filled with undisguised favoritism and brutal realism.
"Understood!"
Hundreds of new students responded in unison.
Their voices burned with a newly ignited will to fight.
"Good."
Professor Gu Yue nodded. "Now, rest well and get yourselves in the right state of mind."
With that, he said no more, standing silently at the head of the group with his eyes closed to rest his mind.
The entire Qiming First High School section fell silent.
All the students began their final pre-match preparations. Some closed their eyes for Meditation, some stretched their limbs, and others mentally rehearsed their killing moves.
As for Qin Feng, he immersed his consciousness in the Imperial Arena, choosing to play a few ranked matches to warm up.
Nearby, Qian Duoduo saw Qin Feng spaced out and looking completely unconcerned, and immediately guessed what he was up to.
"Old Stone, Old Qin is playing ranked again,"
Qian Duoduo whispered.
Shi Potian turned to look and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "That freak can easily place in the top three. Of course he doesn’t feel any pressure."
After saying this, Shi Potian took several deep breaths.
For him, the pressure of this competition was immense.
...
「At the same time.」
Hundreds of kilometers away from the "Crown of the North Pole" arena, in the Hongye Commercial District of the Qiming Metropolitan Area.
In front of a skyscraper a thousand meters tall, its exterior walls made entirely of dynamic light screens, crowds of people and streams of vehicles bustled about.
This was the largest event broadcasting organization on all of Qimingxing—"Qiming Spectator."
Qin Dahai’s and Wang Ming’s families were currently standing at the building’s entrance, looking a little out of place as they shuffled along with the crowd to get inside.
They hadn’t chosen to watch the live broadcast from home on a regular terminal.
To get the best viewing experience, they had come here specifically.
"Good heavens, look at all these people!"
Wang Ming couldn’t help but exclaim as he looked at the bustling crowd around them.
Upon entering the central hall of "Qiming Spectator," the first thing that caught their eye was a colossal event wall that covered an entire side of the room, composed of tens of thousands of smaller screens.
Each screen was broadcasting a different competition.
[All-Stars Cup · Seventh Sector · Qualifiers]
[Cosmic Genius Battle · Qinghe Star Realm · Auditions]
[Sacred Star Gladiator League]
[Carl Jungle Trial]
[Valhalla Icefield Trial]
...
There was a dazzling, countless array of competitions.
The Empire’s territory was too vast; every second of every minute, countless events were taking place in every corner of the Endless Star River.
And through a professional organization like "Qiming Spectator," viewers could even watch a rookie tournament happening in real-time on some remote Educational Planet, billions of light-years away.
Not only did this place offer live broadcasts of top-tier events, but it also featured commentary from professional Martial Artists, an experience far beyond what a home terminal could provide.
Qin Dahai fumbled with the service terminal at the information desk for a good while before he finally found [Qimingxing Events] under the [Local Star System Events] category, then selected the exclusive viewing area for the [Qimingxing Inter-School League].
"Come on, this way!"
He called to his family and followed the signs into another equally enormous viewing hall.
The layout here was very similar to the "Crown of the North Pole," with tiered, circular seating and a professional-grade Holographic Spectator Device at every seat.
By now, the viewing hall was already quite full.
Clearly, as the planet’s annual grand event, the Qimingxing Inter-School League attracted a great deal of attention.
"Let’s sit here, Dahai."
After the family sat down, they were all a little excited and nervous.
"Dahai, what place do you think Feng will get this time?"
His aunt couldn’t help but ask.
Qin Dahai pondered for a moment before saying conservatively, "The freshman tournament is full of experts. Even though Feng is skilled, he’s only been enrolled for a little over two months. I think getting into the top one hundred would already be a great achievement."
"Top one hundred? You’re underestimating my nephew!"
His uncle, Wang Ming, waved his hand dismissively, sounding much more confident than Qin Dahai. "Feng is a Second Level Martial Artist! I say he’ll make the top fifty at least, maybe even the top thirty!"
Hearing this, the aunt was even more confident than the two men. She smiled and said, "If you ask me, Feng will definitely make the top ten! That kid has always been steady and sure of himself. If he said he’s aiming for the top ten, then he’s definitely got a shot!"
And the two little male cousins and one little female cousin sitting beside them all shouted in unison, their clear, childish voices ringing out:
"Brother Feng for number one!"
"Brother Qin Feng will definitely be number one!"
In their hearts, the older brother who always encouraged them with a smile and had worked miracles at school was invincible.
The family’s discussion drew some good-natured laughter from the other spectators around them.
Qin Dahai and Wang Ming smiled, a little embarrassed, then they both put on their Holographic Spectator Devices.
"The matches are about to start."
The light screen came to life, presenting a clear, panoramic view of the massive arena before their eyes.