"Awesome, Xià Bǔlíng!"
"I never expected you to look so ordinary, but you're quite fierce when it comes to a fight."
"Are you teaming up for the group battle? I'm super sweet!"
After Xià Bǔlíng rejoined the team, Xiōng Chūmò, Zhōng Yǔ, and several other Kyoto ability users who were familiar with him came forward to praise him.
In response, Xià Bǔlíng's lips curved into a smile before his expression quickly returned to its usual calm.
Not far away, the high-ranking officials from the Demon, Monster, and Ghost factions had extremely grim expressions. Although the victors were only ability users from Zone B, and their victory had little impact on the overall battle, Dragon Country had ultimately gained the upper hand.
It was important to note that Dragon Country's ability users were the first to ascend the stage to accept challenges. It was akin to playing League of Legends with Dragon Country picking heroes first, and then their opponents, when choosing their counter-picks, selected powerful and targeted abilities, yet they still lost miserably.
Four battles, four defeats.
At this moment, there were four minutes remaining until the matching battles.
Challengers who won their matches could choose to rest for 1-2 hours or continue fighting. After the matching battles, they could then rest again before freely participating in the group battles.
Except for Xià Bǔlíng, the other three participants chose to forgo rest and continue fighting. Thus, four minutes later, the matching battles officially commenced.
Soon, the matching battles officially began. Sī Jūnfāng, Zhōng Yǔ, Lǐ Fàng, Zhūgě Qīng, as well as the three individuals who had just participated, Mù Yèwán, Léi Jūn, and Wáng Sēn, were all enveloped in a white light and randomly matched to various battlefields.
Immediately, the battlefield erupted with war cries, and various roars triggered by skills echoed across the different arenas. Monster blood, demon blood, and fresh blood splattered through the air, with extraordinary creatures falling every moment.
On Battlefield No. 24, Sī Jūnfāng faced a peak B-class Black Tortoise, whose defense was almost insurmountable among its peers. However, after fusing with the Frost Heart, Sī Jūnfāng's ice power was almost at its origin. He transformed into a blizzard of frost and snow that ravaged the arena, quickly freezing the Black Tortoise. Then, a massive ice pillar condensed in mid-air and smashed down, shattering it into countless sparkling fragments.
"Arena No. 24, Sī Jūnfāng wins!"
On Arena No. 53, Mù Yèwán fought against a Huangquan Ghost from the Ghost Country. This ghost flowed with pus, and its body could freely shift between corporeal and incorporeal states, making it incredibly bizarre. Mù Yèwán decided to forgo his Rasengan and unleashed his Lightning Style. Instantly, lightning descended upon the arena, cleaving the Huangquan Ghost's summoned domain into nothingness. The Huangquan Ghost itself, with a scream, had its soul annihilated.
Then there was Zhōng Yǔ on Arena No. 29, who encountered a demon general specializing in long-range attacks. With a raise of his hand, dense demon thorns rained down upon him. However, he enveloped himself with four walls of wind, placing himself in an invincible position. He then used his inherent puppet stacking ability, launching tornadoes that swept out in all directions.
On Arena No. 34, Lǐ Fàng activated his Psychic Echo for a full-screen attack while simultaneously teleporting and assassinating, leaving a ghoul with no ability to resist.
Among the over one hundred Dragon Country participants, in less than half an hour, over fifty enemy faction participants had been killed, achieving remarkable results.
More than twenty ability users were also killed by the ability users of the three factions. However, they had already lit their soul lamps in their respective Divine Radiance branches, allowing them to be reborn in the Source of Immortals and Demons using the residual souls in their lamps, starting anew.
Because of these resurrection coins, the Dragon Country participants fought with extreme ferocity. When facing opponents of comparable strength, they fought with a reckless abandon.
There were also instances of participants from the Demon, Monster, and Ghost countries fighting each other. However, they seemed to have pre-arranged a truce, as the arena battles were entirely focused on Dragon Country, and they held back against each other, never truly determining a winner.
In response, Qín Tiào, the referee from Zone B of Dragon Country, said with a grim expression to the referees of the other three countries, "The rules established at the beginning of the arena battles clearly stated that these arena battles would determine both skill and life and death. If your participants continue to be so amicable, I will have no choice but to judge the winners and losers based on their performance. If the losers do not die, then I will personally execute them!"
The referees of the three countries, with their dignity challenged, wore dark expressions. "How dare you!"
"These rules were only set by your Dragon Country; we did not agree to them!"
"Doesn't your Dragon Country love peace the most? What's wrong with participants stopping at a suitable point? This should be encouraged, not enforced as a matter of life and death!"
"What is there to not dare!" Qín Tiào's expression was cold, and a powerful mental storm erupted from him as the center point. "This is a battle of life and death. If our Dragon Country participants can die, why can't your participants? If you are not satisfied, you can have your respective country leaders battle my Dragon Country's Director Wáng in the outer space battlefield to make a decision!"
"Director Wáng, your subordinate referee is being a bit too arrogant. Aren't you going to do something about it?!"
The dispute between the Zone B referees attracted the attention of the Ghost Emperor. He spoke to Wáng Shǒuyí with a dark expression, inquiring about the situation.
He had originally hoped that Dragon Country would exhibit great power and magnanimity. He hadn't paid much attention when Qín Tiào initially declared the rules, but if Wáng Shǒuyí endorsed them, everything would be different.
"Our Dragon Country does not seek special privileges, only fairness. We were already willing to participate, which was giving you, Ghost Emperor, face. And you still want to wear down our participants? Do you really think I, Wáng Shǒuyí, have no temper?"
Wáng Shǒuyí spoke with a blank expression. His double pupils opened and closed, with stars flickering and vanishing, giving the impression that he was ready to fight if a single word was out of place.
The Queen of the Demon Country sighed softly, "A three-on-one is indeed inappropriate. Everything will proceed as Director Wáng has stated. Once they enter the arena, their fate is their own. The victor lives, and the loser dies!"
Dragon King Ào Liè's expression was unreadable. The national destiny of Dragon Country converged into one entity, making it the most powerful among the four countries. Their willingness to abide by fairness was already giving them face. Since the other party insisted on being serious, they had no grounds to object.
However...
Ào Liè cast a subtle glance at the grim-faced Ghost Emperor. This arena battle was initiated by him. Was the other party truly targeting Dragon Country?
The stakes of this arena battle were immortal qi and demonic qi, which were precisely the resources that the Monster and Demon countries desperately needed. They were of little use to the Ghost Country, which explained its eagerness for this arena battle.
Ào Liè snorted coldly, observing his own faction's participants in Zone B losing to Dragon Country's ability users. He instructed them to no longer hold back against the participants from the Demon and Monster countries.
The Ghost Emperor and the Demon Queen also issued their commands.
Instantly, the arenas, which had previously been in a state of harmony among the three factions, turned into a scene of frenzied combat.
Seeing this, Qín Tiào smiled slightly and retracted his imposing aura.
On the other side, Zone A also entered a white-hot stage of combat.
Yú Zhìbō had divided himself into five avatars this time. Besides Mù Yèwán in Zone B, there was also Jūn Mǎ Lǐ in Zone A1, who primarily used taijutsu, supplemented by the five basic elemental ninjutsu, greatly enhancing his original strength.
And then there was Chì Shā Zhī Xiē in Zone A2, who focused on puppet jutsu, supplemented by the five basic elemental ninjutsu.
The image of Dídálā, who loved explosive art, appeared in Zone A3, focusing on explosion style, supplemented by the five basic ninjutsu.
The last two were Gā Rō in Zone A4, primarily using sand manipulation; and Níng Cì, also in Zone A4, whose image was borrowed. His main abilities were the Byakugan and the Eight Trigrams Palms, supplemented by the five basic elemental ninjutsu.