Multiverse Skill System

"Because there are 43 participants, there will be byes in the first and third rounds, and the byes will be determined by drawing lots."

"Furthermore, the battle is decided by victory or defeat, not by life or death. Violation of this rule will result in disqualification from the competition. Of course, if a life-or-death battle is absolutely necessary, it can be proposed before the competition begins."

"Finally, let me say that friendship comes first and competition second. As the organizer, the Temple of Myriad Realms hopes that this competition will be a complete success until the end."

The actors are in place; now it's time for the party!

Chapter 201, Scene Selection

"Now, please welcome the referee to the stage."

Amidst the attention of the crowd, Yi Shuihan, dressed casually, strolled into the venue.

"It's him? Isn't he the Fleet Admiral? How come he's a referee?"

"Don't forget, besides being the Fleet Admiral, he is also one of the guardians of the Temple of All Worlds, so it's not surprising that he's here."

The appearance of Yi Shuihan elicited various reactions from the crowd. Everyone acknowledged Yi Shuihan's strength, so no one jumped out to say that Yi Shuihan was not qualified.

On the arena, Kaido saw Yi Shuihan, and a flash of cold light appeared in his eyes, clearly indicating that he still harbored resentment towards Yi Shuihan.

Whitebeard, Rayleigh, and Shanks all smiled. Shanks didn't say anything, but Yi Shuihan directly gave Rayleigh dragon blood. Although Whitebeard didn't give it directly, it wasn't far off.

"Yi kid is actually a referee!" Karp was also a little surprised to see Yi Shuihan, because even he didn't know about this before. He couldn't help but glance at Sengoku beside him and saw that Sengoku was also stunned, which made him feel a lot better.

"Yi Shuihan?" Hawkeye, who had once fought Yi Shuihan, gave Yi Shuihan a deep look.

"Tsk tsk, how impressive!" Next to Hawkeye was Doflamingo, also a Shichibukai, a middleman in the underworld, nicknamed the Joker.

Having murdered his father and brother, Doflamingo was indeed a complete tyrant.

Only two of the Seven Warlords of the Sea are participating in this tournament: Hawkeye and Doflamingo. As for the other Seven Warlords, Boa Hancock is naturally qualified to participate, but there is no need for her to participate. It's just a matter of a word for others to ask for Dragon Blood.

Kuma's strength actually met the standard, but he clearly knew that even if he participated, it would probably be of little use. Only the top three had dragon blood. According to this standard, anyone who was not at the level of the Four Emperors was simply making up the numbers.

In fact, despite the current number of 43 people, most of those previously unknown but suddenly emerging powerhouses have no chance of truly competing for the top three. Only the Four Emperors, Garp, Sengoku, and Dragon are qualified to compete for the rewards. To be honest, Sengoku's strength is not actually enough to compete for the rewards, but he drank Dragon's blood and his strength has increased significantly, which is why he has a slight chance.

"Hawkeye probably came here with the goal of honing his swordsmanship, so why did Doflamingo participate?" In Yi Shuihan's opinion, Doflamingo was actually in the lower middle tier among these 43 people, not even ranking in the top 20, so he had no chance at all. Doflamingo himself should be able to see this.

"Hmm, Whitebeard is a strong contender for first place. It seems the dragon blood has a significant effect on him!" Yi Shuihan could sense the immense energy within Whitebeard's body.

After the draw, Garp was the first to receive a bye, which surprised many people.

"Then let's begin the first round of the competition!"

"The first match is between Red-Haired Shanks and Hawkeye."

Upon hearing the broadcast, Redhead gave a wry smile, but still stepped onto the arena.

"I didn't expect to run into him so soon!" Red Hair looked at the blazing fire in his friend's eyes and his body also became excited. Although it wasn't their first time fighting, and they often sparred, today was different. On this stage, there were many spectators and opponents of similar strength. Whether it was for the dragon blood or for the opportunity to fight other strong people, the two of them had to go all out.

“It’s always about swordsmanship. This time, let’s really see who’s stronger. Besides, you’re no match for me in swordsmanship with only one hand.” Hawkeye said calmly, his hand already gripping the black sword, Yoru.

"Would you two like to choose the battlefield?" Just as Shanks was about to draw his sword and begin the fight, a sudden voice rang out, startling not only Shanks but also everyone else.

"Choose a battlefield? What the hell?" Everyone was confused.

"Look up there! What's that?"

A gasp rang out, and everyone looked up, their expressions showing surprise.

Above the arena, more than ten virtual images had appeared, showing various scenes: deserts, ordinary arenas, oceans, cities, islands, and even outer space.

"Ahem, let me explain. The images above represent the battle scenarios you can choose. Let me demonstrate first, for example, if you want to fight in the desert." Yi Shuihan appeared on the arena in a flash.

Starting from the center of the arena, a dreamlike scene unfolds: the arena has transformed into a desert, and even more astonishingly, the size of the arena has increased a hundredfold.

"What's going on? This is amazing! Is this magic?"

It was clearly an arena, but in the blink of an eye, it seemed to have transformed into another world.

Eagle Eye and Red Hair, deep in the desert, were the ones who felt the changes most deeply. In their perception, whether visually, physically, or mentally, they believed this was the real desert, and they could even clearly feel the heat in the air.

"To prevent a single battle from lasting 10 days and 10 nights, the default gravity for each scene will be 10 times. Of course, you can try adjusting it higher. By the way, the maximum gravity here is 100 times."

As soon as Yi Shuihan finished speaking, Hawkeye and Redhead felt their bodies sink. Fortunately, they reacted quickly, or they would have made a fool of themselves.

"Just as I expected!" At this moment, the white-bearded man sitting in the player area showed an expression that said, "I knew it would happen."

"Alright, that's about it. You can try other scenes, but I suggest you choose this one." Yi Shuihan pointed to a picture with a bright moon and palaces below.

Looking at the image Yi Shuihan pointed out, the red-haired man asked curiously, "Why do you think we should choose it?"

Hawkeye was also drawn to the attention and awaited Yi Shuihan's answer.

"On a full moon night, on the top of the Forbidden City, a sword comes from the west, and a fairy flies from the sky."

A soft voice rang out on the arena, but Yi Shuihan had already returned to the referee's seat.

Red-Haired Shanks and Hawkeye were silent for a moment, then smiled at each other and said at the same time, "I think his suggestion is good." "I agree with his suggestion."

Chapter 202, Slaying Thunder

With the scene selected, when everyone saw the two figures at the top of the Forbidden City, they suddenly had an indescribable feeling, as if they vaguely saw the two figures overlapping with the other two peerless swordsmen across endless years and time.

The countdown appeared between Shanks and Hawkeye, but both of them stopped talking, staring intently at each other, their hands gripping their sword hilts, ready to strike at any moment.

The moment the countdown ended, the two attacked almost simultaneously, their movements as fast as lightning. Even under 10 times the gravity, only faint afterimages could be seen.

"So fast!"

The speed here is not just the movement speed, but also the speed at which the two people attack. It is almost impossible to see where their swords are; one can only infer their speed from the constantly flashing sword light.

"Is this a battle between the world's top swordsmen? It's terrifying to watch!"

"Both of them are very strong, but Shanks has lost an arm, so he'll probably be the first to give up!"

"That's not necessarily true. So what if he lost an arm? Even so, he still became one of the Four Emperors. He would never fail for such a ridiculous reason as losing an arm."

In the audience, countless sword masters stared intently at the two peerless figures, unwilling to miss a single moment, even if their eyes couldn't keep up.

The battle between Hawkeye and Shanks was undoubtedly a feast for the eyes in the world of swordsmanship. As one of the three major systems in this world, swordsmanship has many masters who study swordsmanship. Even some Devil Fruit users or Haki masters also practice swordsmanship, which makes their battle all the more attractive.

With 10 times the gravity, only a few spectators could clearly see the two fighting, but that's precisely why they became even more frenzied.

"What terrifying guys! They can unleash hundreds of sword strikes in a second, and with different forces at that."

An elderly man in the contestants' area, who was also a Kendo master, looked on with admiration.

"Brother Rayleigh, what do you think of those two kids compared to you?" Whitebeard's tone was somewhat serious.

Rayleigh was silent for a moment after hearing this, then slowly said, "They were stronger at the same age, but now, I might not necessarily lose."

Even after regaining his youth and becoming even stronger than at his peak, Rayleigh only said that he wouldn't lose, which shows how terrifying Hawkeye and Shanks are.

Of course, if it really came down to a fight, Rayleigh would probably have a better chance of winning. Having been baptized by the dragon's blood, he would have a great physical advantage. The name Hades is not just for show.

"I didn't expect your swordsmanship to be so powerful even with only one hand." Hawkeye looked at Shanks, whose sleeve was missing, as was Shanks'.

“I’m no worse with one hand than with two. I’m not as good as you in swordsmanship.” The red-haired man took a deep breath. “The swordsmanship competition ends here. I’m going to go all out from here on out.”

"Come on, otherwise there's no point."

Hawkeye only used 8% of his strength. I thought he would win easily in terms of swordsmanship alone, but he didn't expect them to be evenly matched.

"The main event is about to begin!"

As the red-haired man's aura shifted, an unparalleled domineering aura surged into the sky, as if he had suddenly transformed from a peerless swordsman into a king whose words could decide the fate of the world.

The aura of the arena couldn't be transmitted beyond it, but many spectators in the stands were still awestruck by Shanks' presence, and subconsciously felt a desire to worship him.

"This kid's Conqueror's Haki is almost on par with Roger's. I always thought he was Roger's successor." Rayleigh's face was full of satisfaction.

"Roger? He died too young. His illness, if he had dragon blood," Whitebeard sighed.

The real power that supports Shanks' position as one of the Four Emperors is not his swordsmanship, but his Haki. In terms of Haki mastery, his talent far surpasses that of his swordsmanship.

To put it simply, without using Haki, Shanks' strength level would drop by one level.

"Alright, alright, alright, take this, Lightning Slash!" Hawkeye lived up to his name, he wasn't intimidated by Shanks, and decisively chose to attack, timing it perfectly.

All the crowd saw was a purple sword light appear without warning, and they seemed to see a figure facing the sky full of lightning, drawing his sword without hesitation and slashing out. Instantly, the lightning in the sky dissipated, as if he had been killed.

Thunder Slash was created by Hawkeye on an isolated island where thunderstorms were common. To create this move, he swung his sword 1 times a day on that island. After half a year, he finally created this powerful move. On the day he mastered the move, the island, which was never sunny, suddenly had a bright sunny day. The sword not only cut through the lightning but also cleaved through countless dark clouds, allowing the blue sky to return to the earth.

Hawkeye's strength is extremely powerful even among admirals, and he can be said to be at the peak of the 7th level of the Black Iron rank. Because of his strong swordsmanship, he can fight against half of the 8th level Black Iron rank. However, the power of this Thunder Slash allows him to truly kill the 8th level Black Iron rank and even poses a certain threat to the 9th level Black Iron rank.

Of course, such a powerful move is not easy to use. Even Hawkeye can only use it as a trump card. With his stamina, he can only use it once. If he uses it twice in a row, his body will fall into a deep sleep. Therefore, he must wait until his stamina is fully recovered before he can use it again.

"Lightning Slash? It truly lives up to its name. I, Enel, am impressed."

"What a terrifying sword strike! Did Hawkeye win?"

"No, no, look."

Redhead remained standing in his previous position, seemingly unharmed. Of course, this was only an appearance; upon closer inspection, one could see that his aura had weakened considerably, and blood was faintly dripping from his sword-wielding hand.

"What a powerful lightning strike! If you could unleash another strike, I might be the one to lose." The red-haired man's voice was weak, a consequence of overexerting himself to block the lightning strike, but he still had the strength to fight again.

"No need, you won this time, but I'll be the winner next time." Hawkeye shook his head and conceded defeat.

With Hawkeye's concesion, the first match came to an end. Although the battle only lasted for a dozen minutes, it still thrilled the audience, making the ticket price well worth it.

The end of the first match did not mean the game would stop; on the contrary, the second match began just 10 minutes later.

Chapter 203, A Bountiful Harvest

The second match was a battle between two old monsters who were not famous in the world and belonged to the hermits. One was a sword master known as Sword Master, and the other was Kent, a Devil Fruit user.

The match was played in a very strange way. They did not choose a venue. The choice of venue requires the agreement of both parties, and if they disagree, they can only use the default arena.

At the start of the battle, Sword Master displayed astonishing swordsmanship. Although he was not as good as Shanks and Hawkeye in the first match, he was not much weaker.

Swordsmanship is indeed adept at killing. Faced with the old swordsman's offensive, Kent seemed to be barely able to hold on, with more defense than offense. Not to mention a true master, even the audience thought that Kent would be the one to lose in the end.

The battle lasted for five minutes, and just as Sword Master was about to secure victory with a single strike, an unexpected incident occurred. The sword stopped 10cm from Kent's neck, and Sword Master inexplicably fell into a coma.

After the match was declared over, Sword Master suddenly snapped out of his daze, only to look around blankly, clearly not understanding what had happened.

The second battle was extremely strange, and probably only a few people present could see through its intricacies.

"Interesting. At the last moment, Kent's mental fluctuations were exceptionally strong, and something was off from the very beginning of the battle. He must have used an ability. This kind of ability is indeed difficult to defend against, but there must be some limitations. Otherwise, if he had used it directly from the start, the battle wouldn't have lasted this long."

The second match wasn't as exciting as the first, but it was still a high-level battle that didn't disappoint the audience, keeping the atmosphere at the venue very lively.

Just 10 minutes later, the third match began, with Whitebeard facing Doflamingo.

"I abstain!"

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Doflamingo spoke without hesitation, causing an uproar.

"Coward! He forfeited without even fighting. It's utterly shameful."

"Even if you're no match for Whitebeard, you should at least give it a try. Is this what they call a Shichibukai? You're far inferior to Mihawk."

"His actions were understandable! His opponent was the world's number one Whitebeard, and a Whitebeard who had regained his youth. Knowing that he was no match for him, fighting would only result in being tortured, so choosing to forfeit was only human nature."

"Heh, participating in the competition? Just here to make up the numbers, huh!"

"..."

The opinions were mixed, but overall, Ming Ge was somewhat shameful. If it were a real fight, it would be one thing to admit defeat like that, but this was a competition, and no one was going to die. He didn't even have the courage to put up a fight, which was really contemptible.

Doflamingo had no way to explain the discussions around him. In fact, he knew that his opponent was Whitebeard and planned to fight casually, at least to show his strength before admitting defeat. However, when he actually stood on the ring, he changed his mind.

The pressure from Whitebeard was immense; the difference was obvious without even comparing them. Moreover, the hostility Whitebeard exuded the moment he saw him made him realize that if they really fought, he wouldn't die, but he would at least be seriously injured. He had many enemies, and if he was seriously injured, he would likely be come after soon, and being killed was not out of the question.

"Damn it, why is he so hostile towards me?" Doflamingo cursed inwardly, but dared not look at Whitebeard, for fear of provoking him.

Regardless of what others said, the third match ended before it even started. Ten minutes later, the fourth match began, and the battle between Sengoku and Aokiji made people temporarily forget the frustration of the third match.

The power of the Logia-type Ice-Ice Fruit clashed with the Zoan-type Mythical Zoan-type Human-Human Fruit in its Buddha form, which is even rarer than Logia-type fruits. The scene was quite spectacular.

Whether it's the icy world that freezes the earth in an instant, or the giant Buddha's hand that descends from the sky, both are so exciting to behold.

Compared to the previous battles, this was a truly large-scale battle, with every move covering a huge area, making it seem like two armies were locked in a fierce battle.

The two chose a small island as their battleground, but in a short time, the island became pitted and uneven, with huge palm prints and footprints on the ground, as well as countless ice shards.

Whether it's physical skills, Haki, or Devil Fruit abilities, Sengoku is slightly better than Aokiji. If Aokiji could have fought Sengoku before he consumed the dragon's blood, he could have relied on his youth and energy. But now, it's completely impossible, because Sengoku looks much younger than Aokiji, and his recovery ability is far superior to Aokiji's.

Of course, both of them belonged to the Navy and had a good relationship. Although they both gave it their all, they didn't go too far.

The battle lasted for an hour and ended with a victory for Sengoku.

The matches continued one after another. For a whole day, everyone was in a state of extreme excitement. The exciting battles came one after another, and the use of various abilities and techniques was dazzling.

"The harvest is beyond my expectations. The tickets are enough for me to participate in 10 silver lottery draws. It's true that little by little, a little bit makes a mickle. The ancients were right." After a day of competition, Yi Shuihan was overjoyed as he looked at the luck that had been deposited into his account.