The charming widow of the Marquis's mansion: The stable boy carries the flag and raises the dra

The leader of the Western Regions Serpent Bone Sect also stood up, his face solemn, staring intently at the deer-shaped spirit beast.

"The Eternal Emperor... wants us all to attack this spirit beast? This is insane!"

The spectator area in the central region was also in an uproar.

The elder from the Qian Yuan Sect, dressed in a dark gold robe, put down his teacup, his gaze fixed on the deer-shaped spirit beast, his voice slightly hoarse.

"A spirit beast at the peak of the Heavenly Sovereign realm... Even if the sect leaders of the four major sects joined forces, they might not be able to gain an advantage against it. Sending these holy sons and daughters to attack it? Isn't that just suicide?"

The leader of the Tianlan Sect narrowed his eyes and whispered.

"However, although that spirit beast possessed a powerful aura, it showed no aggression whatsoever; it was more like a moving wall... The Eternal Emperor probably didn't intend for us to defeat it."

An elder from the Kunyin Sect chimed in.

"Testing attack power?"

"Possibly."

The Eternal Emperor stood in mid-air, looking down at the various faces below, a faint smile on his lips, as if he were looking at a group of juniors trying to understand his test.

He spoke, his voice still gentle and unhurried.

"You've all guessed correctly. This spirit beast is called the Haotian Divine Deer, and it was formed by me using the power of laws; it is not a true physical being."

"It won't attack anyone first; it will just stand there and endure all of your attacks."

"Each major region will send all its participants to attack the Haotian Divine Deer in turn. Don't worry about hurting it; the stronger your attacks, the more resilient it will be."

"Points will be awarded based on the amount of damage dealt."

These words caused a brief moment of silence in the square, before it erupted into chaos once more.

"Does defeating spirit beasts earn points?"

"Isn't it a battle between people?"

"That's great! As long as our attacks are strong enough, we don't need to risk our lives fighting those holy sons and daughters!"

"With the defense of a peak Heavenly Supreme, how much damage can our attacks possibly inflict?"

The Eternal Emperor raised his hand and gently pressed it down, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"Now comes the important part."

He raised his hand and waved it again, and a huge bronze mirror appeared from the void, hovering in mid-air. The mirror surface was as smooth as water, and it shone with a warm, light golden luster.

On the mirror, a clear number is displayed: 0.

"This bronze mirror, called the Heaven-Slaying Mirror, will display the damage value suffered by the Haotian Divine Deer in real time. Every attack you make will leave a corresponding number on this mirror."

The higher the damage dealt, the higher the score.

"If the total damage of a round of attacks reaches a certain threshold, there will be additional rewards."

Everyone looked up at the huge bronze mirror floating in the air. The number 0 on the mirror surface shone with a warm light in the sunlight, as if waiting to be filled with a certain number.

Someone muttered to themselves.

"Raiding? Showing off health bars?"

Wang Long stood in the center of the crowd, looking up at the bronze mirror. He was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Is this... a raid? The boss's health bar is showing?"

He recalled the scenes of teaming up to run dungeons in online games before he transmigrated. When the boss's health bar lit up, the whole team would maximize their damage output and get rewards based on damage ranking.

He never expected that the "All-Area Selection" he participated in in another world would have such a "modern" component.

Hearing his laughter, Ye Niannu turned her head and looked at him curiously.

"My lord, what are you laughing at?"

"Nothing much, I just think this competition format...is quite interesting."

Wang Long shook his head, his gaze returning to the Haotian Divine Deer, then glancing at the Lutian Mirror floating in the air, his mind already rapidly calculating.

Although this spirit beast possessed a powerful and profound aura, since the Longevity Emperor said it would not retaliate, it was essentially a stationary target.

Moreover, the system of awarding points based on damage output means that individual damage output will be maximized. There is no need to consider teamwork, tactics, or numbers; you just need to unleash your strongest attack.

Isn't this just... a gamble on explosive power?

Ye Niannu also thought of this. She turned her head, her gaze falling on Wang Long's face, and whispered.

"My lord, this competition format... seems to be more advantageous to us?"

Wang Long nodded, a bright light shining in his eyes.

"Yes, we don't need to worry about resource consumption or numerical disadvantage; we just need to deal the highest possible damage."

"As long as our output is high enough, we can get a high score."

As soon as he finished speaking, some of the people from the Eastern Region realized what was happening.

Zhou Yanzhi slapped his thigh hard, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"That's right! This competition isn't about numbers, it's about damage! Although we from the Eastern Region have fewer people, the attack power of Saint Wang and Saintess Ye is absolutely top-tier in the entire arena!"

Chen Yuanzhi nodded repeatedly, and the worry on his face finally dissipated.

"As long as Saint Wang and Saintess Ye deal enough damage, our Eastern Region's score won't be bad!"

"Besides, this spirit beast won't fight back, so you can just go all out!"

The disciples from the surrounding Eastern Region all showed expressions of realization and excitement, and some couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Those who said our Eastern Region was going to suffer a setback are probably going to be proven wrong again."

"A gauntlet battle? That does seem like a lot of back and forth, but it's a gauntlet battle against the boss!"

"Hahaha! The Eternal Emperor's competition format is absolutely brilliant!"

Meanwhile, the contestants from the other major domains had also realized what was happening. Some had slightly changed their expressions, some had their eyes flashing, and some muttered under their breath, "Those two monsters from the Eastern Domain are probably playing right into our hands."

Wang Qingyan stood among the crowd of Qian Yuan Sect members, looking up at the Heaven-Slaying Mirror and then at the Haotian Divine Deer, her expression shifting repeatedly.

After a moment, she bit her lip and whispered.

"Even if we focus on damage output, our Qian Yuan Sect has the numerical advantage, so our total damage won't be inferior."

She spoke with some hesitation, but she said it anyway.

Zhao Heng stood beside her, neither refuting nor agreeing, but simply looking at the Haotian Divine Deer and then at Wang Long in the distance, remaining silent.

The Eternal Emperor stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the faces below—some excited, some tense, some thoughtful—with a faint smile on his lips, as if he had already foreseen everything.

"So——"

His voice echoed above the square, clear and composed.

"The second round of the competition officially begins."

"In the first round, the Eastern Region will attack first, and the other four regions will take turns in the order drawn."

"Gentlemen, please give it your all."