Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

Chapter 202 Please Guide Me

In their first encounter with aliens, Du Yi emerged victorious, at least for the time being.

Although Du Yi himself didn't know how he won.

However, since this alien canned food has already admitted defeat, then he must have won. Victory is always joyful, even if Du Yi is no longer human.

But soon, Du Yi's smile faded.

This alien tin can was simply too voracious. The whole cow that was originally enough to fill Du Yi halfway up was eaten by this giant. There wasn't even a remnant left on the ground. The giant even ate the bones.

Even after eating so much, the giant still looked like he hadn't had enough, and even raised his head with obvious longing in his eyes.

“Please guide me!”

The chosen champion, named Elias, bowed without hesitation.

"I will surpass you! I will become the strongest!"

"..."

Du Yi once again felt that abnormal thought process; he really had no idea what was going on with this alien tin can.

On the one hand, you ask him for guidance, and on the other hand, you say you want to surpass him. So, is this asking for guidance or not asking for guidance?

"You...forget it."

Although Du Yi also wanted to hear more things he didn't know from this alien tin can, considering that the tin can's brain seemed a bit abnormal, he decided to keep his distance.

"If that's what you think, then you've already won; you're the stronger one."

Du Yi didn't want to have anything to do with this alien canned food, at least not with the canned food that called itself Elias.

However, it was this obvious polite refusal that suddenly stunned Elias.

"This……"

Elias opened his mouth, but suddenly realized that he seemed to have nothing to say for the moment.

Issuing another challenge? It seems there's no point in competing anymore. On one hand, he's already lost, and on the other hand, the ancient serpent has already conceded defeat to him—especially after the ancient serpent conceded defeat, it seems he has no reason to challenge again.

Is he really going to challenge another opponent he lost to? Is there any point in doing that?

"This……"

Perhaps because he had eaten too much meat, Elias felt a little dizzy. It seemed like an easy question to answer, but he was having trouble thinking about it right now.

"So how much did I actually eat...?"

In a daze, Elias even fell asleep standing there.

When he woke up again, it was already midnight.

Gazing up at the bright moon and sparse stars in the sky, Elias was still somewhat dazed, the aroma of beef still lingering in his mouth—until the cold night wind swept over him, Elias suddenly realized that his armor had been removed at some point.

"You'll catch a cold if you wear these to bed, so I asked someone to help you take them off."

Just then, the voice of the ancient serpent rang out in mid-air.

"As for your armor, it was taken to the city for maintenance. They will return it to you after dawn."

The unfamiliar voices and language meant that, if the translation runes hadn't been solidified in his ears, he might not have even been able to understand what the ancient language was trying to say.

"call……"

With a long sigh, Elias gradually came to his senses.

This shouldn't be a warrior's reaction, much less a Chosen Champion's reaction. As a Chosen Champion, he should always be alert—but just now, when he first woke up, he even experienced a long-lost moment of confusion, just like when he was young.

Yes, a long, long time ago, when he was still a boy, he had such a large appetite, and could even eat a whole cow in one meal.

Unfortunately, although he had a huge appetite at that time, there wasn't enough food for him. Given his background, being able to eat half full was enough for him, and eating more would be a luxury.

That's why Elias wanted to become stronger, even if it was just to fill his stomach, he wanted to be stronger than anyone else.

So... when did it start?

When did he start to forget about filling his stomach?

It seems I've almost forgotten everything. Everything feels so natural. The obsession with becoming stronger to fill my stomach has somehow transformed into becoming stronger itself.

I must become stronger than anyone else; I must become the strongest.

And indeed he did achieve that. He grew stronger and stronger, even becoming the strongest in the true sense of the word. It was at that time that the God of Courage noticed his existence, and he became the God of Courage's chosen one.

This also gave him the opportunity to see a bigger world.

It was at that time that he realized he wasn't the strongest one, just like the other chosen ones who were watched by the God of Courage; they had all been considered the strongest.

When all the strongest come together, naturally a stronger one must be chosen.

Just like this trial right now.

On one hand, this is a hunting ground created for them by the God of Courage. The people here have already accepted the concepts of hierarchy and experience taught by the God of Courage, which makes it possible for strong individuals to emerge rapidly.

Since a new powerful figure has emerged, these chosen ones of the God of Courage will naturally not let him go. They gather here and fight here. Among the many champions chosen by the God of Courage, only the strongest one is qualified to leave this planet alive.

"Oh right, I was originally planning to settle my score here..."

As consciousness returned, Elias recalled more and more memories.

“I’ve already defeated five Chosen Champions, but that’s not enough. I need to defeat all the other Chosen Champions, and I also need to defeat the strongest person on this planet…”

Rubbing his somewhat drowsy head, Elias's memory became clearer.

He hadn't had such a sound sleep in a long time.

It was like returning to his teenage years, feeling the afternoon breeze. Although he was weak back then, he didn't have many worries. Occasionally, he could have a hearty meal, which was a great happiness for him at that time.

"Why did I suddenly think of that time..."

Elias shook his head; he wasn't one to dwell on the past.

However, just as Elias was sorting out his thoughts, the voice in mid-air rang out once again.

"For the sake of me getting someone to clean your armor, say a few nice words."

"What exactly are these 'Chosen Champions' and 'God of Courage'?"

Chapter 203 Those Ignivas

As Elias recounted his story, Du Yi gradually learned about some things he had never heard of before.

According to Elias, the so-called chosen ones are those watched over by the god of courage. They are all extraordinary strongmen, each of whom can be said to dominate their own territory. And the champion, literally, is the true number one, and no one can surpass him.

The term "Chosen Champions" is a collective name for these powerful individuals. As those watched over by the God of Courage, they have an extremely deep obsession with becoming stronger, and this obsession, in turn, makes them powerful.

"In other words, it's less of a race and more of an identity?"

Du Yi roughly understood what Elias was saying.

These so-called chosen champions are not from the same race, or even from different planets. The only reason they have come together is because of the God of Courage. They all want to prove their courage and strength to the God of Courage and prove that they are the true number one.

As for how they prove themselves...

That's how it is now.

"The chosen champions who can sense this fluctuation will all gather here, just to determine the strongest one."

This is Elias's statement.

In Du Yi's eyes, this was also easy to understand—according to Elias, as those hierarchical systems gradually unfolded, there would inevitably be high-level powerhouses, and the aura and fluctuations emanating from those newly emerging powerhouses would attract the attention of them, the chosen champions of the starry sky.

At this time, these chosen champions descended upon this place, each fighting for survival alone. Only the strongest could leave alive, while the weaker ones would become corpses, buried in the soil of this planet.

This made Du Yi's expression somewhat subtle.

If he were the chosen champion who parachuted onto this planet, this story might sound quite exciting. He could easily turn a planet into a training ground for his subordinates, a feat that would be awe-inspiring. But as the one who was parachuted into the planet, Du Yi was anything but happy.

"This god of courage is just too outrageous!"

Du Yi started scratching his head with his tail.

"So, what's this about the God of Courage?"

"About the god of courage..."

Elias continued.

As for the God of Courage, he didn't really know how to say it. After all, strictly speaking, no chosen champion had ever actually seen the God of Courage. All they could feel was the God of Courage's gaze and the encouragement from the bottom of his heart.

However, there is indeed a very simple and direct way to prove the existence of the god of courage.

"Experience and level, these are the divine spells of the God of Courage."

Elias began to explain.

Although experience and levels may seem unrelated to the so-called God of Courage, anyone who has experienced them knows that they can indeed make people infinitely stronger. After all, with experience and levels, people have at least a basic direction. Even if they didn't know how to become stronger before, after seeing the increase in experience, they can immediately find their own path to becoming stronger.

As their level increases and they become accustomed to growing stronger, their courage gradually emerges.

After all, the ways to gain experience are there, and the ways to level up are there. If you want to level up, you can only keep challenging stronger opponents and improving yourself again and again.

"So that's it..."

Du Yi roughly understood what was going on.

After that, Du Yi asked Elias about some things among the stars, such as what exactly happened in the starry sky and what things were there. Unfortunately, as the chosen champion, Elias had always been a martial arts fanatic and never thought about anything other than becoming stronger, so he didn't know much about the forces involved.

"As for the forces in the starry sky... it's impossible to count them all. After all, the starry sea is just too vast, and many new forces will always emerge. Large forces will occupy an entire star system, while small forces will occupy an entire planet. As for places like yours, where even the planet itself is not yet fully unified, that's even more common."

That's all Elias knew. After all, he never made a conscious effort to remember the names of those forces. As the chosen champion of the God of Courage, all he needed to know was where the strong were and where to prove his courage. That was enough.

However, it was clear that this answer was too vague, so Elias simply added some of his combat experience as a supplement—although he didn't deliberately remember the names of those forces, he did remember all the opponents he had fought.

"Like that time... in your timeline, it was probably eighty or ninety years ago?"

Elias tried hard to recall.

"At that time, I encountered an opponent who was skilled in using fire. Those people's application of consciousness was simply divine. My armor was almost burned through by those flames. Fortunately, I killed the long-haired demon elephant that he used as a mount with a single sword strike..."

"Wait a minute?"

Upon hearing this, Du Yi suddenly felt that the name sounded somewhat familiar.

Using the power of fire and riding elephants... and most importantly, these elephants are all hairy?

"Are these adversaries you're talking about called the Ignivas?"

"How do you know?"

Elias was taken aback.

Now that he thought about it, he did remember that the race was indeed called Ignivas—but how did this ancient serpent, who had clearly never even left the planet, know about the Ignivas?

It's important to know that the Ignivas are a typical interstellar race. They never stay on any planet for long, since the hairy elephants they ride will devour everything on that planet, making the Ignivas race infamous.

However, they were merely infamous; no one could truly wipe out the Ignivas. After all, the Ignivas' fighting prowess was simply outrageous. They not only thwarted the bloody sieges against them by other races on several occasions, but they even committed the insane act of burning the entire planet to the ground.

"I didn't ask you that."

Du Yi shook his head repeatedly, then stared intently at Ilias in front of him.

"I ask you, where are those Ignivas now?"

Chapter 204 Consciousness, Soul, and Body; The Theory of Mind, Skill, and Body

Elias naturally did not know where the Ignivas were, or rather, no one knew where the Ignivas would stay.

After all, once their location is known, there is a possibility of being besieged and killed. As a race that has been active in the Star Sea for a long time, the Ignivas would naturally not make such a low-level mistake.

"I was just lucky when I encountered them... If I could actually kill one or two Ignivas, not only would I be able to prove my courage to the God of Courage, but I could probably get a new set of armor and even a better sword."

Clearly, at least judging from Elias's tone, the bounty offered by the Ignivas was ridiculously high—after all, Elias's armor itself was quite remarkable.

It was only after hearing Elias's description that Du Yi realized that these aliens had come to parachute, not by plane. They had simply relied on their armor to traverse the galaxy and arrive here.

This was terrifyingly powerful in Du Yi's eyes, at least it was beyond his comprehension. After all, in his mind, space was just space, with no air at all, and even various kinds of radiation. Just relying on the physical body to stay in that environment, even wearing armor, was still no different from courting death.

"You mean those chaotic spiritual energy fields? That's true."

After hearing Du Yi's question, Elias nodded.