Bitter Realm: My Feet Step Through the Flames of War

"Ok?"

"Ha, after all, we are competitors of Universal Douqi."

Sui Wuduan was taken aback: "I don't understand what you mean?"

Recalling the unfathomable gaze of Xian Zong Wuming, Yue Xunyuan cautiously said, "Many people will stop at nothing for their own selfish desires. As one of the contestants, we may become someone else's target even before the competition begins."

"You're telling us to be more cautious."

"Your personality is so unpredictable. As long as someone shows you a little kindness, you won't be on guard, like with that young master."

"I understand."

Le Xunyuan didn't know why he reminded Sui Wuduan of these things. In fact, the relationship between Tiandu and Defeng Ancient Path could not be considered friendly. Defeng Ancient Path was currently losing power, but Xuehai Wuyan was sprouting new green leaves. With the support of Wujun, it was about to lead the Confucian school again.

Just as Yue Xunyuan was pondering, he suddenly heard Sui Wuduan ask, "Is the Holy Master alright?"

Not long ago, Shao Hao got married, and Mo Qingchi also came to Tiandu to offer his congratulations. Yue Xunyuan saw that he looked serene and composed, like a bright and clear moon.

"Saint Seiya looks very well."

After chatting for a while, a messenger from the City Lord's Mansion came to deliver a message: the Universal Battle of Wonders would officially begin at the North Sea Divine Palace the next evening.

Chapter 445 Three wishes aren't enough? The City Lord's mansion treasure must be taken in one fell swoop.

At dusk, the mountains stand tall, and snow falls like waterfalls.

Before the North Sea Divine Palace, heroes gathered, good and evil stood side by side, and a great storm was about to rise.

Le Xunyuan turned around and looked around. Finally, he saw Liao Tian and Ji Wuxia walking slowly towards him. The two of them gestured to Le Xunyuan with their eyes and greeted him.

At this moment, the two guardians of the Universe Battle descended from the sky in the form of golden and silver mirrors, announcing the start of the grand event.

"The world is in turmoil, and heroes rival the heavens in stature."

"The universe is full of wonders, let's see who will lead the way."

"The grand event is about to begin. Participants are to enter the Forest of Opportunities one by one and must not travel together."

"After entering the forest, those who pass the selection process according to their chosen path will naturally be led to the four battlefields of earth, water, fire, and wind, becoming the chosen ones. The group assignment depends on each person's own fate."

One contestant immediately asked, "Since we're divided into four groups, is there a limit to the number of participants in each group?"

"There will be four people in one group, and sixteen people in four groups. The first round of the competition will be held."

Le Xunyuan looked around again. There were many contestants. Even after the selection by City Lord Haotian, the list still had as many as thirty people.

He asked, "Who are these sixteen contestants?"

"There is a strange array within the Forest of Opportunities that will automatically select those who are not capable enough. They will head towards the exit and be teleported out by the array. Those who do not pass through the Forest of Opportunities before sunset, even if they are highly skilled in martial arts, will be considered as having failed to register and will be disqualified from the competition."

It was already dusk, with only half an hour left until sunset.

Time is of the essence.

Le Xunyuan thought to himself that after learning that his master had arranged for Liao Tian and Ji Wuxia to come to Beihai Lingzhou, he also requested to come, because he was certain that Beihai Lingzhou would be profitable.

Although the rules of the Battle of the Universe only state that the winner can ask the city lord Haotian for three wishes, without specifying what the rare treasures are, the city lord's mansion is rich in treasures, and it is rumored that it also has a method to slay gods, which makes heroes of the martial arts world flock to it.

Influenced by Tian Du's habits, Le Xun never thought about what the three wishes were. Instead, he decided to take over the City Lord's collection in one fell swoop. He remained silent and listened to the rules of the game.

The gatekeeper then said, "Only the sixteen official contestants are qualified to know the detailed rules. The time has come; please enter the Forest of Opportunities."

Sui Wuduan stood beside Le Xunyuan and walked inside with him.

Le Xunyuan hesitated for a moment, then said, "I hope we won't become enemies. Take care first."

"Ah."

On the other side, Qing Gongzi and Miaomiao meet again and walk side by side.

Young Master Qing said with longing, "I need to think carefully about which three wishes I should ask the city lord for."

Miaomiao disagreed: "You should become one of the sixteen first."

After most people had entered, Liaotian led Qiushui toward the Forest of Opportunities, while Ji Wuxia showed a nervous expression.

"Don't worry, I will come back safely."

"Liaotian, never forget what your father said: you can only contribute if you are alive."

Qiu Shui asked, puzzled, "What is output?"

"Uh... I'll explain later. Let's go in first."

Just after the thirty-odd handpicked contestants entered the Forest of Opportunities, a sudden disturbance occurred in the forest. Instantly, the formation was activated, the scene changed drastically, and the contestants were naturally divided into four areas.

Each area boasts stunning scenery, yet each is unique in its own way.

Le Xunyuan and Sui Wuduan were walking together, but as the formation shifted and the scenery changed, the two were instantly separated.

Before Le Xunyuan appeared a bamboo forest. Passing through the winding path of the bamboo forest, he entered an elegant house, where he saw the young master Qing leisurely fanning himself.

"We weren't teleported out, so we've officially become the sixteen? It seems our luck is truly remarkable."

"Tsk tsk tsk, I'm really unlucky to be in the same group as you."

"Young Master Qing, what do you mean by this?"

Young Master Qing looked unwilling: "Who doesn't know that your master is protective of his own? If I were to defeat you, I would inevitably be hunted down by the Heavenly Capital. At that time, there would be no place for me, Young Master Qing, to hide in the Bitter Realm."

"My master is the fairest person. In the battle, strength is paramount."

"Then please show mercy, Young Master Yue."

"Ha, young master, you are too modest."

After the polite words were finished, a third person quickly entered the room, who turned out to be Huo Qingyun.

The three of them met by chance.

Young Master Qing suggested, "We're only one person short, why don't we guess who it is?"

"For sixty years I have come to seek the swordsman, and the time will come when the dust of the Buddha will settle. I seek the Way and search for my heart but cannot find it, but I am certain that I will see the sharpness of Zen directly."

As the deep chanting of the poem began, an old monk with an unusually aged face and white hair and beard entered and bowed to the three of them.

"Huh, even monks can have greedy thoughts?"

Young Master Qing asked without any politeness.

“Amitabha, I have heard of some unusual events in the Spirit Continent of the North Sea, so I have come to investigate. It is fate that we are grouped together.”

"Heh, that makes sense."

With the team's four-person roster finalized, Yue Xunyuan lowered his head and pondered. Since Young Master Qing had intentionally mentioned his master's name, the duel would likely be a life-or-death struggle. Although Huo Qingyun belonged to the Holy Dragon's Mouth, Tiandu had been kind to Daowu King Valley, so he would surely face no danger even when facing Huo Qingyun.

However, this seemingly frail old monk, whose sword intent was restrained and deeply hidden, was far more advanced than that of an ordinary innate master, making Le Xunyuan secretly wary.

I wonder who the group on Liaotian's side is?

When Liao Tian entered the house, there were already two people inside: Sui Wuduan of Defeng Ancient Path and Yi Qingtian, the swordsman from Beihai Lingzhou. None of the three were talkative. They nodded to each other and sat down to wait for the arrival of the fourth person.

After a long time, only a sliver of the setting sun remained, and the fourth person still hadn't entered.

Liao Tian frowned slightly and carefully examined everything in the room. Suddenly, he noticed that there were only three bamboo sticks in the divination tube, which were red, white, and black.

"It seems this person arrived before us, took the slip, and left."

Sui asked without warning, "Who could this person be? You should know, Yi Qingtian, right?"

"The most mysterious contestant is the nameless immortal. Judging from his demeanor, it might be him."

"The immortal's whereabouts are unknown..."

Liao Tian couldn't help but feel a mix of wariness and excitement.

Regarding his trip to Beihai Lingzhou, his father told him very little. Instead, it was the clues passed on by Le Xunyuan and the revelations by Yan Feihong that allowed Liaotian to piece together the general inside story.

However, there are many organizations behind the contestants, and Liaotian really can't tell who is friend and who is foe. Just like this mysterious Immortal Nameless, what exactly does he want to gain from this?

Liao Tian knew the importance of his identity. If he were used as a bargaining chip to threaten his father, the Martial Lord's wrath would engulf the Bitter Realm.

When the time came, Liao Tian and the other two walked out of the house and went another half a mile to the exit.

Upon seeing the three appear, the Gold and Silver Guardians announced that the list of sixteen people had been released, and the group duel would officially begin at noon tonight, with the four winners then fighting for the second round.

(My performance has been very poor since the Immortal Demon arc. This was purely out of love. My company is conducting performance reviews at the end of the year, and I'm facing the risk of layoffs. I can't slack off on writing anymore, but I promise I won't abandon the project or leave it unfinished.)

Chapter 446 The Bizarre Rules of the Game

At midnight, the Global Fighting Championship officially began.

Perhaps drawing on the experience of previous competitions in the history of Pili, the rules of this year's Universal Battle of Wonders are quite unusual, with three bizarre random swaps added during the preliminary rounds.

That is: the injuries are exchanged, the martial arts are exchanged, and the skills are exchanged.

In other words, having just dealt a fatal blow to the opponent, the injury suddenly reversed, and the person ended up injuring themselves.

In addition, no killing is allowed for the winner; killing is considered an unconditional forfeit. During the competition, any fights fought in private are also considered forfeit.

Within the same group, participants compete against each other. The winner of the preliminary round will receive a Silver Scale Key and advance to the semi-finals.

Two gatekeepers will join the competition among the eight players in the semi-finals with the Golden Scale Key. The player who obtains both Golden Scale Keys will be the ultimate winner.

The competition began, and the sixteen contestants were teleported to their respective group arenas.

Appearing before Le Xunyuan was Huo Qingyun. At this time, through the Tiandu Intelligence Network, Le Xunyuan learned that Huo Qingyun was the son of Mo Yangzi, the Xuan Tian Liu Yang of the He Xiu Hui. He not only inherited many martial arts of the He Xiu Hui, but also received guidance from Jian Zi Xian Ji. His Taoist skills were comparable to those of the Xiantian level.

Eternal Sky encouraged him: "Can a joint cultivation be compared to the complete 'Military Scripture of War'? Can Sword Immortal's Traces be compared to One Page Book and Mara?"

“Even if you can compare to Xun Yuan, you still have two secret techniques from the ‘Mysterious Vein Treasure Mirror’ that the Celestial One obtained.”

"Thank you, Brother Changkong and Brother Yahun. Xunyuan will work hard and not let everyone down."

Having absorbed the dragon energy of the northern corner, Yue Xunyuan had long since become a master of the innate realm, and in terms of foundation, he was even above Huo Qingyun.

What he was worried about was the three random transformations. If he were to switch martial arts techniques with Huo Qingyun, it would be disastrous.

Prioritize stability and ensure self-preservation.

On the other hand, Huo Qingyun seemed a little more relaxed when he saw Le Xunyuan. After all, among the four people in the group, the Qing Gongzi was of unknown strength, and the old monk was even more unpredictable.

Huo Qingyun was skilled in swordsmanship and was particularly sensitive to sword intent. His intuition told him that the old monk's sword had reached its peak, and he had long since merged with the sword intent, making it a sword without a sharp edge yet capable of breaking through all things.