A Head Falls

[Ding! The orthodox faction is victorious. 24 hours have been deducted from the duration of the evil faction's array!] [Ding! Please submit the roster of combatants within fifteen minutes.] The restriction blanketing the arena slowly dissipated. Stowing his crystal ball and staff, the Taiyi Sect Master took a step forward, returning to the orthodox camp. Watching his figure, the demigods of the evil faction fell silent. Evidently, the Lord of the Stars' combat prowess exceeded everyone's expectations. Having remained in seclusion for sixty years, this demigod rarely made a move, and accounts of his past battles were practically unheard of. Even the demigods present only knew of two occasions. One was when Asura had blocked the gates of the capital, and the Lord of the Stars had confronted him in person alongside the Fire God. That clash had caused little commotion, and the true details remained unknown. The other was the battle for the Compass of Light, where the Lord of the Stars had put up a mediocre performance. All the world knew that the Lord of the Stars excelled at deduction and was peerless in games of strategy—and that deduction and strategy were all he excelled at. Who would have thought he would display such astonishing combat power today? Bacchus had perished as a result. Ling Tuo suddenly raised his head, revealing a pale, handsome face. His pitch-black eye sockets gazed deeply into the distance, lost in unknown thoughts. In contrast, the orthodox demigods beamed with joy. In truth, they hadn't been certain the Lord of the Stars would win. While solar divine power countered chaotic abilities, the Lord of the Stars was not, after all, a demigod focused on the sun; what he wielded was the Star Origin. And the stars were not adept at direct combat. It was just that no one was better suited than the Taiyi Sect Master, which was why they had sent him out. Had he lost, it would at most have cost them one point. Never did they expect the Lord of the Stars to crush Bacchus with overwhelming dominance, revealing shocking combat strength. Even as the orthodox demigods were stunned by his might, they began calculating silently. The strongest in the evil faction was Asura. In single combat, only the Void could stand against him, and even then, merely contend; the odds of victory were exceedingly slim. Outside of Asura, there were Bacchus, the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, and Ling Tuo. The former two were both Level 11 powerhouses whom no one could match aside from the slumbering Wind and Thunder Twin Gods. The latter was the Lord of Taiyin. In terms of level, Ling Tuo, having just completed the taiyin, was at Level 10, but his status was higher than that of ordinary demigods. Now that Bacchus was dead, only these three posed an overwhelming threat to the orthodox demigods. The remaining evil demigods, though superior to their orthodox counterparts by virtue of their class traits, were also Level 10. Their advantage was limited and insufficient to crush anyone outright. Fu Qingxuan studied the Lord of the Stars for a moment before retracting her gaze. "In the second match, the evil faction will likely deploy one among Ling Tuo, Asura, and the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons. Although Ling Tuo has only just become the Lord of Taiyin, a complete taiyin possesses a status higher than ours. Which of you will take on the second match?" The Void demigod crossed his arms. "Clearly, sending me out would be the safest bet. Whether against Ling Tuo or the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, I can suppress either of them. But this time, we have to submit our combatant first. If I step up and they send Asura... I'll most likely be deleting my account and rerolling. "Yet if I don't go, whoever among you steps up will face either Ling Tuo or the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, and they'll take the victory." Stroking the tortoiseshell in his hand, the Liu family demigod said, "We can concede the second match to the evil faction. We happen to have two points, which we can use to burn through two of those three. The remaining one can be handled by the Void demigod. That would leave us tied at two to two. After that, as long as we win a single match, we can seize an array core. "Following that, if everyone has to fight once before the tournament concludes, there will still be five matches left, corresponding to the Fear Heavenly King, two Illusion Gods, and two Torch Dragons. "Out of those five fights, we only need to win two. Once the arena matches conclude, the evil faction will have only five demigods left, while we will still have twelve. Even if we win only one of the five, we'll still have eleven demigods and can easily overwhelm the evil faction with numbers in the contest for the array cores." The Liu family demigod continued: "The worst-case scenario is losing all five subsequent matches. Even if the five Guild Masters combine to tie down Asura, we would still have five demigods against the evil faction's four. Factoring in their class advantages, the sides would be evenly matched. But losing all five is impossible. We also have the Goddess of Beauty on our side. Given her unique nature, as long as she doesn't run into an Illusion God, Asura, or Ling Tuo, she is invincible." The Lord of the Stars had opened up a vast strategic landscape for the orthodox faction. The Liu family demigod concluded with absolute finality, "In this arena tournament, the orthodox faction's odds of winning are at least eighty percent." Yet right at that moment, the Spirit Realm's notification chimed in everyone's ears: [Ding! Rule update: The restriction that each person may only compete once is revoked...] [Ding! The above rule update is canceled...] [Ding! Rule update: The point exemption mechanism is revoked...] [Ding! The above rule update is canceled...] [Ding! Rule update: Whichever side wins three matches will conclude the arena tournament!] Listening to the notifications chiming in their ears, the demigods felt like they had stumbled into a women's bathhouse—one wave swelling before another could settle. They realized this was the Spirit Realm clashing with the Invaders. After Bacchus's demise, the situation had shifted in favor of the orthodox faction, so the Invaders had tried to interfere with the Spirit Realm to establish new rules favoring the evil faction—such as lifting the limit on appearances per combatant or abolishing the life-or-death point exemption. But they hadn't succeeded. Judging from the outcome, both sides had reached a compromise. An additional victory condition had been introduced to the tournament, sparing the demigods from battling down to the very last man. Whether orthodox or evil, winning three matches was now enough to end the arena matches and transition directly into a new round of contesting array cores. The Void demigod looked toward the Liu family ancestor and asked, "What are the odds now?" The Liu family demigod choked for a long while before flicking his sleeve. "Less than fifty percent." Asura, the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, and Ling Tuo were virtually guaranteed two wins—after all, the orthodox faction still had the Void, the pay-to-win player reputed to take on three at once. As for the remaining two demigods of the Nihility Sect and the two of the Spirit Society, their class traits made them stronger than orthodox demigods of the same level, bringing the win rate below fifty percent. The Void demigod inhaled sharply. "We can't even get fifty-fifty? Aren't we screwed then?" "So who's going up for the second match?" Sect Master Jiang of the Red Fire Sect rubbed his hands eagerly. "In terms of destructive power, I'm stronger than all of you. What's more, I can undergo rebirth through fire indefinitely. Whether it's Ling Tuo or the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, if they can't kill me, they'll get blown to pieces by me." The demigods looked at each other, unable to refute him. The Grand Marshal's damage output was undeniably the greatest among the demigods. But her weaknesses were equally obvious: she lacked defense and self-healing. She was formidable in team fights, sweeping through all opposition so long as she had defensive and recovery support. Yet in an inescapable arena duel, she was too easily countered. A Fire God, on the other hand, packed an ultimate move—self-detonation—whose sheer power was not a bit inferior to the Grand Marshal's, and his passive skill, Rebirth Through Fire, allowed him to revive and detonate repeatedly until his spiritual energy ran dry. If he set his mind on taking an evil demigod down with him, he could certainly pull it off. Aside from Asura, every demigod in the evil faction faced the risk of dying. "Fu Qingxuan!" From several kilometers away, the voice of the Fear Heavenly King rang out. "Do you have the guts to fight a life-and-death duel with me? I'll wager my life, and you wager yours, just like back then. If you dare, step into the ring!" Fu Qingxuan turned her head to gaze from afar at the handsome young man clad in a black suit with a silver earring in his left ear, and replied placidly, "Fear, I will not wager the fate of the entire orthodox faction just to indulge in a petty grudge with you." The Fear Heavenly King raised an eyebrow. "I promise you, as long as you take the stage, your opponent will definitely be me. If anyone tries to play dirty and take my place, I'll turn on them—even if it's Asura." Hearing this, Fu Qingxuan pondered for a moment, then looked toward her companions. "I think it's viable. I'm confident I can defeat Fear. If he lies and Asura takes the stage instead, I can use a point for an exemption." The Lord of the Stars shook his head slightly. "What if it's a Torch Dragon from the Spirit Society?" The Torch Dragon's skills countered Scouts. If Fu Qingxuan fell to a Torch Dragon, Asura, Ling Tuo, and the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons would still secure two wins out of three, and the orthodox faction would lose the tournament. The subsequent outcome would be the evil faction controlling three arrays and the orthodox faction two. If another arena tournament were triggered later, the orthodox faction would have virtually no chance of winning, culminating in a total party wipe inside the dungeon. "Therefore, sending Sect Master Jiang is the safest move. Neither an Illusion God nor a Torch Dragon can counter him. Explosion is art," the Void demigod remarked. The Fire God's ultimate finishing move—self-detonation! Even an Illusion God's void powers could not completely neutralize the force of the blast, and a Torch Dragon had no choice but to endure the Fire God's self-destruction. Sect Master Jiang proudly touched down onto the arena. A look of disappointment crossed the Fear Heavenly King's face. His hair blazing red like fire, Sect Master Jiang glared disdainfully at the evil demigods. "Which of you will step forward?" Dark as an iron tower, Asura—with three heads and eight arms—silently descended onto the arena. Sect Master Jiang's expression darkened, but his battle intent instantly surged. "Asura! In our battle back then, you didn't go all out, and I didn't get my fill. Today we'll have another bloody showdown to see who's the real man—" Before the words had fully left his mouth, the orthodox demigods behind him raised their hands in unison: "We surrender. We claim an exemption for this match." Sect Master Jiang froze instantly. Only then did Asura seem to react, nodding at Sect Master Jiang. "Good!" "'Good,' my ass..." Veins bulging angrily on his forehead, Sect Master Jiang stormed off the stage. The barrier had barely descended before it receded once more. One day of duration was deducted from one of the orthodox faction's arrays. ... Mount Shu. After striking Ba, the brilliant golden arrow vanished without a sound, as if teleported into another dimension. Ba abruptly disappeared, flashing before Zhang Yuanqing in an instant. Her pale, slender right hand formed a blade with her fingers, sprouting pitch-black nails as she thrust it toward the young Day Wanderer's heart. Having long prepared for this, Zhang Yuanqing calmly produced the Purple Gold Shield and activated the second form of the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, erecting two layers of protection before him. *Creeeak!* Amidst an ear-piercing screech, the Purple Gold Shield was impaled straight through, and the illusion of the golden dragon coiled around his body shattered immediately after. Calmly snapping his fingers, Zhang Yuanqing used Star Escape to pull away. *Snap!* The instant the snap sounded, he saw the crown atop Ba's head flash with white light. Immediately after, the world began to spin in his vision. *Thud, roll, roll...* Zhang Yuanqing's head rolled off his neck, dropping onto the ground dripping with fresh blood.