Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

Chapter 113 Grand Martial Arts Festival, Members of the Knight Family

With the arrival of the ten-year anniversary celebration, even the war between the two royal families in the Abyss Battlefield has been temporarily suspended during this 10-year celebration period.

Within this central city, there was an atmosphere of universal celebration and festivities.

A wide variety of park activities keep visitors entertained, and every day a different grand performance is held in the city center square to proclaim the power of the royal family and the blessings of the gods.

Major shopping centers are also offering a wide variety of preferential policies to fleece consumers, and even those who are usually frugal are opening their wallets during this period.

But the abyss is ultimately not a peaceful and tranquil place.

The inhabitants of the abyss are always bound to struggle against nature, wage war against another royal family that rules over them, and compete with other inferior races for more and better resources for survival.

In such a social climate, those who possess power are naturally highly respected.

In this world that worships the strong, the most watched place in the city is undoubtedly the Grand Martial Arts Arena.

As the celebrations drew to a close, all activities came to an end, and a massive arena rose into the city center.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

"This is a grand martial arts festival that happens once every ten thousand years, determining the true champions!"

"It has nothing to do with race, gender, or age!"

"As long as you are strong, you can shine on this stage!"

"From this moment on, I will rise to the heavens and become a servant of the gods!"

In the waiting room, listening to the host's eloquent speech, Hunzhen felt as if he had returned to the beginning of the Genius Battle and the day he witnessed the suspended list.

However, they are ultimately different.

The Genius Battle and the Martial Arts Festival are fundamentally different.

One seeks a higher and greater stage and personal transcendence, while the other seeks false glory and to become a loyal servant of "gods."

The winners of the Minor Martial Arts Festival, 99 out of 99 Domain Lord-level and 99 out of 99 Universe-level players, were the first to enter the arena.

As one of them, Hunzhen was naturally among them.

When the host introduced them, and the audience gave them a warm round of applause, Hunzhen looked around.

I saw that the stands in the arena were filled with extremely excited faces.

They are all audience members, and they are all excited, but there are differences.

The audience of the Genius Battle will feel proud of the geniuses in their respective regions and excited about the future of humanity.

These viewers, however, had much more complex thoughts.

There are contestants or bettors who are nervous about placing their own bets.

Some came to cheer on their relatives who were going to compete.

Some also hope to learn a move or two by observing the battles of the strong.

Of course, there are also those who simply enjoy watching monkey shows.

However, those who can come here to watch the battle directly, without needing external broadcasts, are mostly from the upper class of Axis City.

Only a very small number of people obtain tickets through a lucky draw within the city or by spending an enormous sum of money to snag one.

However, those in the stands were all of inferior races.

Moving the gaze upwards, into those individual silver crystal chambers, each with transparent, vein-like patterns, raised using special spatial technology, it's easy to imagine the abyss nobles' condescending gaze.

No further investigation is needed to know that the number of nobles watching this year's Grand Martial Arts Festival is significantly higher than in previous years.

Hunzhen could even directly sense more than a hundred undisguised probing mental forces.

To prevent the battle from spreading, there is a very strong protective barrier between the arena and the stands. Anyone who can break through the protective barrier and conduct investigations must be a powerful expert.

Being stared at by hundreds of such aggressive and malicious mental forces would likely shatter the psychological defenses of most people if they even slightly considered the implications.

But Hunzhen merely frowned, let out a cold snort, and directly shattered these mental powers.

"He is certainly unruly."

"Hmph! Arrogant? Mere ants, it's already a blessing that we can even observe them! This brat is truly rebellious, ungrateful!"

"Oh? What do you mean, sir...?"

"Let's join forces now to kill him and establish our authority!"

Hunzhen's actions naturally aroused the dissatisfaction and anger of the nobles.

But when someone mentioned "taking direct action," they all fell silent.

Who doesn't know that this lowly race has caught the eye of that princess?

Being defeated and killed in the martial arts festival is fine, but any other actions will undoubtedly be seen as a direct provocation by that prince!

The consequences of this are not something an ordinary family can afford.

While the nobles were exchanging ideas, the host also finished introducing the usual rules.

In short, the cosmic-level event and the domain-master-level event are held simultaneously, one taking up the morning time and the other taking up the afternoon time.

The competition format is slightly different.

The Cosmic Level uses a group elimination tournament format, while the Domain Lord Level uses a single-elimination format, with 128 participants from each level advancing to the finals. This format is chosen to ensure that both levels of competitions have more participants in the Cosmic Level, guaranteeing that both levels can simultaneously reach the finals. (Nobles hold more slots in the Cosmic Level than in the Domain Lord Level.)

As for the finals, there is only one winner at the Cosmic level, but ten winners at the Domain Lord level, and the rules are quite different.

Hunzhen only participates in Domain Lord-level competitions, so naturally he only pays attention to the rules of Domain Lord-level competitions.

First, tens of thousands of participants were divided into 128 groups for a total of nine rounds of group elimination matches. (Different groups had different numbers of byes.)

The subsequent Domain Lord-level finals were a single-elimination tournament with a loser's round-robin format.

First, three rounds of elimination matches will be held to determine eight people. These eight people will then join the top eight in the losers' round-robin matches to compete in the final round-robin matches to determine the final ten winners.

Those who participate by virtue of winning the Small Martial Arts Festival, as seeded players, can be exempted from the first three matches of the group elimination rounds.

In other words, excluding byes, to secure a winning spot, it would take as little as nine rounds of single-elimination tournaments and one round-robin tournament.

The arena has always consisted of only one huge ring.

Each knockout match will be held there.

When the host announced the names of the participants in the opening match, the entire audience fell silent.

This was because, when he read out one of their names, he used a respectful title.

"Mr. Ronaldo, match!"

As the host finished speaking, a handsome, gray-skinned young man, seven meters tall, opened the crystal chamber and headed straight for the center of the arena.

Such a divine act naturally attracted everyone's attention.

Many discerning viewers have already expressed their shock.

The bloodline of the Abyss royal family is basically linked to altitude.

Under the mimicry of seven meters, he is undoubtedly a first-class noble!

"How long has it been? There are actually high-ranking nobles participating!?"

"What kind of wind is blowing?"

"Is something big about to happen?"

Most viewers were unaware of Hunzhen's existence, and even less aware that countless nobles had set their sights on Hunzhen for this year's Grand Martial Arts Festival.

Lacking intelligence sources, they could sense the undercurrents even from the mere appearance of a high-ranking nobleman.

Ignoring the many astonished and awe-inspiring gazes, and even turning a blind eye to his formidable opponent, Ronaldo's gaze fell directly on Hunzhen.

Though no words were spoken, his cold gaze said it all.

Suddenly, the area around Hunzhen was empty.

A group of mocking eyes looked him up and down.

But Hunzhen's expression remained unchanged.

It was as if the one staring at him, regarding him as a thorn in his side, was not a great nobleman, but merely a fearless ant on the ground.

"The match begins—"

This nonchalant look instantly enraged Tronaldo, and before the announcer could even announce the start of the match, he suddenly threw a punch, turning his opponent into dust.

The vast arena fell silent instantly.

Both the audience and the participants were shocked, terrified, and in awe by the overwhelming strength that Tronaldo displayed in the match.

The latest novel is first published here!

Those who are qualified to participate in the Grand Martial Arts Festival are at least at the fifth level of combat power.

Even when facing a Limit Breaker (Level 6 combat power), they wouldn't be instantly killed; they could at least hold their own for a while.

Moreover... the side chosen for the opening match is naturally not an ordinary player, that is, a sixth-level combatant.

For most viewers, such a powerful figure, even with a social status far exceeding that of ordinary people, still needs to be cautious in his words and actions and act humbly in his daily life.

But he was easily killed by Ronaldo in the match, as if he were crushing an insect.

It can instantly kill a level 6 combatant, or even someone who is not level 8, but very close.

After a brief silence, thunderous praise and cheers erupted.

At the same time, a sense of mockery and sympathy lingered among the crowd for the contestant who was being ostracized by the first-class nobleman.

It's pitiful and lamentable that someone who was clearly a seeded player is already a dead man.

"He can only pretend to be calm for now."

"Hopefully he won't be so scared that he'll just withdraw from the competition."

"Hey, how about we open a betting line right now, on whether this kid will withdraw from the competition?"

As if to transfer their fear, the crowd spoke extremely derogatory words about Hunzhen Ziran.

It was as if only in this way could the fact that they were so scared they almost peed their pants disappear.

Hunzhen took in everyone's reactions, and when he met Ronaldo's cold and violent gaze, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

The first few rounds of the knockout stage were the longest, lasting a total of three months before the first three rounds of elimination were finally completed.

The remaining six rounds will likely be completed in about half a month.

On this day, Hunzhen finally got his chance to make his appearance.

"The red team is none other than the champion of the most recent Small Martial Arts Festival, a young genius from humble beginnings who joined the army a century ago, rose directly to the rank of colonel, and overcame countless obstacles to become the first participant in the Grand Martial Arts Festival—the Hunzhen contestant!"

Under the spotlight, scattered cheers rose from the audience, interspersed with numerous cryptic jeers.

Tens of thousands of participants, very few of whom were unknown, and more than half of them had previous experience participating in competitions.

To enhance the excitement and competitiveness of the competition, the host will introduce each contestant's identity.

In previous years, newcomers like Hunzhen were often seen as dark horses and easily amassed a large following.

But after the opening match, Hunzhen, who was already considered a dead man by most people, naturally found it difficult to gain fans.

Only a very small number of people are excited and enthusiastic about the plot of a comeback and the underdog overthrowing the superior, but the hope is too small, so such people are only a minority and cannot make much of a splash.

Unlike Hunzhen, when the spotlight fell on another person, there was a burst of cheers.

"Blue Fang, born into a knightly family, has won the Small Martial Arts Festival at the young age of nine thousand. He has participated many times, but unfortunately lost in the final battle of the last Grand Martial Arts Festival. Now, he is participating for the tenth time and is considered a favorite to win—Valent Schneider!"

Valente wore full silver armor, which was decorated with beautiful openwork lace.

He casually removed his helmet, revealing honey-colored golden curly hair and an elegant, composed smile on his face.

All of this highlights his "aristocratic temperament".

The title of knight cannot be inherited, and Valent is actually no different from other lower races. However, he is arrogant and, coupled with his great strength and outstanding talent, he has attracted many mindless followers.

Having won the championship at the Lesser Martial Arts Festival at the age of nine thousand, he is now participating in the Greater Martial Arts Festival for the tenth time. At most, he is eleven eras old, which is indeed extremely young compared to other participants.

At such a young age, to possess top-tier sixth-level combat power is absolutely a super genius, even in the universe.

Given his talent and ability alone, it's no wonder he's so popular.

"Now it's time for the pre-match Q&A session! Countdown, three minutes!" The host announced and then stepped down.

With more time available for the competition, a dialogue segment was added starting from the fourth round in order to intensify the conflict between the two sides.

Like I said, it's all about finding interesting content.

Wow.

As soon as the host stepped back, Valente brandished his lance and pointed it at Hunzhen.

"Hunzhen, I know you."

The so-called dialogue session was designed to encourage the two sides to hurl insults at each other.

However, most people see each other all the time, and unless there is a real conflict or someone is eager to win, they generally won't go too far.

Therefore, when Valente made such a sharp provocation, the whole stadium cheered.

Moreover, many people are indeed curious about how Hunzhen, being so gullible, could have offended a high-ranking nobleman.

They were very curious, but nowadays most of the information about Hunzhen was blocked and protected, and ordinary so-called upper classes had no right to know it.

Only someone like Valente, who came from a knightly family, could know a thing or two.

Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd and with Hunzhen's encouraging look, Valente feigned nonchalance and said, "Where did this so-called century of military merit come from? Your lord sincerely invited you to join his ranks, yet you betrayed him, stole his military merit, and only then did you climb to your current position, allowing you to participate in such a sacred competition! Otherwise, why would you be the only one from the Master Noh Legion to return it? If you know shame, commit suicide before me now to atone for your sins, and you'll still have a shred of dignity!"

Such a revelation sparked a flurry of discussion in the audience, who looked at Hunzhen as if he were a piece of filthy trash.

"A century-old veteran, turned out to be a traitor?"

"How can someone like that be qualified to step onto this sacred stage?"

"Withdraw from the competition! Withdraw from the competition! Withdraw from the competition!"

Hearing the audience's protests, Valente smiled smugly, then quietly looked up at the crystal chamber in the sky, revealing a smile he thought was elegant but was actually full of ingratiation.

Yes, he knew that Hunzhen had angered the nobles, so he saw this match against Hunzhen as the best opportunity to curry favor.

He proclaimed himself to be close to the nobility, but in reality, it was only to catch their eye and become their loyal servant.

After all, he, born into a knightly family, never thought of risking his life to become a knight. His greatest ambition was to have the status of a royal bodyguard and to better associate with nobles.

Little did they know that this move would cause the nobles to burst into laughter.

(End of this chapter)