At this moment, Yang Zicang from the Lost Illusion Company sat cross-legged inside the cube, meditating with his eyes closed and his mind at peace.
Suddenly, a fleeting, shimmering scene materialized on the transparent wall before him.
He opened his eyes to look, and there appeared the current scene of City 41.
“So this is the Devil Alliance Arena we created… It’s already manifested in the city now.”
Yang Zicang gazed at the magnificent, towering, mysterious structure that had appeared at the center of the desolate city, where broken walls and rubble lay everywhere — like a demon king’s palace rising from the midst of ruins.
A voice sounded.
{This is a view of your city. You have five days and twelve hours left before you depart from here.}
Yang Zicang quickly said, “Sir, I still haven’t completed my resignation procedures. Could I perhaps come out first to handle some personal matters?”
The moment he finished speaking, with a soft clatter a small crystal — resembling a model of Amnesia — dropped to his side and rolled all the way to his hand.
{This is the reward promised to you. Additionally, it seems there’s nothing left to pack in your room. Even if there were, it will be given to your friend to bring back.}
“Friend?” Yang Zicang immediately thought of that certain blonde guy who had Jiaoma completely smitten these past two days. “Did Boboli join the Starlight Illusion?”
{Indeed, it’s precisely such talent that the Starlight Illusion needs.}
The voice vanished entirely.
Yang Zicang suddenly felt elated, the depression in his heart swept away completely.
On the illusory screen, countless exclamations from the city rose faintly toward the clouds.
At this moment, before everyone in both cities, the pocket watch illusion had disappeared and was replaced by something else.
{Ranking Battle of Demon Heroes: All participants who have collected five-colored tags are awarded an item: [Radiance of Reason]}
“Wow, there’s a reward too?”
Everyone gazed at the phantom of this item, and likewise, information emerged upon sight.
[Radiance of Reason]
[Radiance of Reason (Basic Effect): Grants the power to obtain a resonance psionic force field.]
[Radiance of Reason (Intermediate Effect): Upgrades the rank of the psionic force field by one level.]
[Radiance of Reason (Advanced Effect): Enables an active defense force field against mental or psionic attacks, usable once daily.]
Once daily!
Countless pairs of eyes stared intently at this pendant-like phantom.
“I wonder what ‘basic,’ ‘intermediate,’ and ‘advanced’ actually mean.”
“There’s no explanation, huh.”
Some were puzzled, but others were utterly astounded.
At the Monster Hunter Alliance headquarters, several directors stared fixedly at the item’s information before them.
“This! This is a treasure capable of resisting psychic attacks! It can automatically deploy a psychic force field upon encountering an attack.”
“From now on, when we run into a killer like Yang Zicang, we won’t be left completely defenseless!”
“Too bad it only has one passive defense per day.”
“Better to have it than not.”
The crowd suddenly ignited with excitement, and some spoke up:
“Great stuff, I want in—even just standing at the entrance won’t be a loss. As long as I can hold out till the end!”
“You misread it. Take a closer look—that’s not the first reward.”
“That voice said the second reward doesn’t care if a city wins or loses, but we need to collect label tags of five colors.”
Everyone buzzed with discussion. Yang Zicang, seeing this spectacle and these two items through the light screen, took a deep breath.
As expected, this really is the Demon-class reward from the Holy Ring Council!
……
The Xiongying Group was shrouded in gloom.
“What the hell—such amazing treasures right in front of us, yet it’s a ranking match for those on the Silver and White side…”
A stunningly beautiful woman lounged back in her chair, pouting: “I want my family here. I want my mommy.”
“I want my important people to come too. This thing only transfers them after they naturally pass away on Earth, which… amounts to a second life!”
Seated, even someone like Lü Bu couldn’t help but reveal the deepest warmth in his eyes. They all had people they couldn’t let go of, people they wanted to see again.
“What a shame—it’s the ranking match for that Silver and White side…”
“I really don’t know how they managed to produce a battlefield like this.”
Someone pondered and looked up, Zhou Yu tentatively said, “I suspect it might be Yang Zicang’s doing again.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because he has been quiet for several months.”
“Cut it out~” The originally expectant members of the Xiongying Group curled their lips dismissively.
Lü Bu leaned back in his chair.
“I’ll ask the vice town chief later to see if he knows what this Elite-class Arena (Elite-class Arena) means. But, speaking of which…”
Some people looked towards Lü Bu. That young man sat up seriously and looked at these Red Model members in the room.
“President, what do you want to say?”
“I’m thinking of something. I’ve heard that our group’s name, Xiongying, seems to come from an old-world message a senior obtained. Could this be the Elite Group Hall (Elite Group Hall)?”
Everyone looked at each other, uncertain whether this was the case.
At the same time, the 23rd City was in an uproar of excitement.
Screams rang out as many people believed they were sure to receive the rewards, especially the “Impression Revival,” which allows reviving the deceased in their moment of death right by one’s side.
If they could just enter and stay in the venue until the end, they could obtain this treasure!
Meanwhile, the people of the City Red Model watched the blurry figure before them in sadness. Some had already started crying.
“Dad… Mom…”
“Why the hell am I not with Silverwhite…”
“If only we could participate too.”
“It’s Silverwhite’s ranking battle… Maybe it’s better that our relatives can’t come through.”
Near a ruin, Hong Haocheng stood gazing blankly at the floating phantom information before him. The three people near him jumped up as if they were having a seizure.
“Hong Ge, you should go join the Four-Phase Team for the competition. With prizes this good, you’ll never find another chance like this if you miss it!”
Hong Haocheng’s first thought went to his parents, but then immediately shifted to that graceful figure.
……
Cheng Yunze was already stunned. The two items before him truly lived up to the reputation of being from a demon-grade battle palace.
“Boss, you… said to pick the hardest one. If we can’t pass it, they definitely can’t either.”
“But these rewards are better than anything we’ve gotten before.”
“I really want them. I want both of these things so badly!”
Chen Yunze collapsed back into his chair’s backrest.
“This is practically begging us to go all out and participate.”
……
The thought of having to wait another five days had Yang Zicang scratching his head and tugging at his ears in impatience.
“The final reward item actually lets someone appear by your side the moment they die and grants you a hundred more years of life.”
His first thought was of Morrie.
As long as he had it, even if Morrie died once, he could still come back!
“Awesome, Boboli! We did great this time! But… five daaaays!”
He flopped onto the ground, then twitched spastically after a few seconds. But when he suddenly heard the endless cheers, he sat up sharply.
In the fervent atmosphere, the majestic voice sounded again.
{Those eligible to enter: As of noon today, all Electors from City 23 and City 41, as well as their teammates from other cities.}
{The Ranking Battle concerns honor, and lives are your own responsibility.}
“So everyone can go in—I got that—but even the teammates of this city’s people from other cities can enter too?!”
Yang Zicang’s eyes widened.
Then he quickly figured it out: for groups like his, if someone had a dedicated investor or a peculiar supporter always stationed in the Hub Town, then this restriction was actually a loosening for them.
……
Morrie was going crazy.
Of course, he learned about this news immediately.
“This is the chance to meet, the last… after many years!”
Not just him—the entire Hub Town was in an uproar.
Countless people in the town rushed to spread the word, and live broadcast links containing the arena scenes spread everywhere. Now, everyone knew about the emergence of the “Demon Sovereign Hall, Demon Gear Millwheel” and the rewards it held.
Many people begged and pleaded, sending out countless useless financing requests just to get a glimpse of the live scene and broaden their horizons.
“An arena we’ve never even heard of has appeared, and it’s a competition where everyone from two cities can enter!”
“This is a city war!”
The 23rd City’s ranking battle had spawned an unheard-of Demon Sovereign-level arena city, and even introduced unimaginable tools—how could this not drive them wild?
Longing for their hometown, yearning for their loved ones, and the intense desire to grant one more life to those they cared about made them wish they could become residents of 23rd or 41st City right away.
Among them, some who had unintentionally added people from these two cities as teammates were so overjoyed they nearly blew the roof off, already pooling financing to prepare for battle hours later!
But more people were shouting in despair.
It was already past noon! Even if they joined the teams of these two cities now, they wouldn’t qualify to enter.
Zhu Yin’s hands tightly gripped the chair in front of him, his eyes wide open.
“Rewards have never been announced before a rank battle until now, but this time they’ve been made public—that’s the uniqueness of the Demonic Hero Hall.”
At Crimson Hub Town, Yao Tong’s fists were nearly worn out from pounding.
“Damn it! Why didn’t they say earlier there were arenas like this!”
“Deputy town lead, this stuff looks way too tough, doesn’t it? I mean, is this kind of reward something that could appear in a normal Crossroads?”
“Who’s afraid of that? You might be scared, but I’m not. Let me ask the town lead where this thing came from.”
The red halo on his chest lit up, and a few seconds later, Yao Tong let out a long gasp.
The people around him asked in unison, “Did you find out?”
Yao Tong’s mouth twitched: “Ten… from 11th City… bloodline-tier Spirit Binding Cores, and they all have to be the same color for one qualification exchange.”
The people around him gasped sharply.
“No wonder. Getting so many high-level cores from 11th City already proves they have what it takes to enter.”
“Holy crap! The top fighter from 23rd City is that ridiculous—Cheng Yunze?”
Yao Tong clenched his teeth: “Only a namekeeper is qualified for that. Who else could it be other than him?”
“That guy Cheng Yunze has definitely been hiding his true strength. Ten cores—I can’t even imagine it. You die just from touching that place, damn it!”
Everyone inside the two cities’ Red Model suddenly burst into cheers.
The moment Lü Bu and the others heard the news, they “flashed” with delight and stood up abruptly.
“Wow, the people over at Silverwhite are going crazy—everyone from both cities can join the battle.”
“Hahaha!” Lü Bu spread his arms wide and laughed wildly, “Heaven truly aids me!”
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