Chapter 125

September 23, 2062, China Time.

In the virtual universe, within a vast palace in the Secret Realm of Dry Witch, nearly a thousand Stellar level geniuses had gathered. In front of them stood a tall, muscular man with a single eye and blue horns, glaring coldly at the group.

"I'll keep it brief. In the first round of this year's qualifying competition, each of you will be randomly matched with 100 opponents. You will earn 1 point for each victory, and no points for a draw or loss. After 100 matches, we move to the second round. Rankings will be based on your total score. Those ranked 1st to 100th, 101st to 200th, and so on will engage in another set of 100 duels to finalize specific placements."

"For those ranked beyond 900,000th place, you'll have to battle 100 opponents in the second tier. Similarly, those ranked after 101st will be relegated to the second tier!"

"Now, the games begin!"

Wang Yi, wearing a dark red shirt, was among the nearly 1,000 students. Compared to a year ago, he now wore a colder expression and exuded a more restrained aura, like a volcano on the verge of erupting—a force that commanded attention.

After the blue-horned, one-eyed man announced the start of the elimination round, the geniuses in the palace were teleported to their duel arena spaces.

The one-eyed man looked around at the now-empty palace, rubbed his chin, and raised his head as a massive screen appeared in front of him, displaying hundreds of densely packed video feeds.

"Let's see if these kids can surprise me," he muttered.

On a boundless turquoise prairie, a silver-white metal arena appeared. Two figures materialized out of thin air. Wang Yi, in his dark red shirt, carried twin blades, with a red disc hovering at his feet and two more weapons of power floating around him. Opposite him stood a petite red-haired girl with a seductive appearance and sharp eyes.

Wang Yi had never seen this girl before.

They stared at each other coldly, with no intention of speaking.

"The match begins!" a mechanical voice announced from above.

The red-haired girl immediately exploded into action. Hot red energy surged from her body, and twin swords appeared in her hands. She kicked off the ground, sending a shockwave through the air, and charged at Wang Yi like a flash of lightning.

At the same time, the mental-powered weapon, shaped like a red crescent moon, shot three beams towards the red-haired girl.

In the virtual universe, both combatants had equal physical strength and mental power, so the match tested their mastery of secrets, technique, experience, willpower, domain skills, and more.

"Clang!"

The red-haired girl's swords moved as fast as lightning, guided by the red energy surrounding her. Her defenses were flawless, blocking all three beams while continuing her assault on Wang Yi.

The metal arena, ten kilometers long and wide, felt almost negligible to warriors at the ninth rank of Stellar level power, who could traverse it in the blink of an eye.

Wang Yi deftly controlled his mind-powered weapons and maneuvered swiftly around the ring, evading the red-haired girl's attacks.

Simultaneously, he sent more of his mental-powered weapons to surround and attack her.

"His evasion speed is faster than my sprint!" the red-haired girl thought, shocked by the challenge.

She had always prided herself on her speed, her explosive power surpassing that of her peers, but she hadn't expected this newcomer to effortlessly dodge her assaults.

Wang Yi glanced at her with a calm expression. With a flick of his finger, the eight red beams of light, controlled by his mind, shot out like lightning. They were as agile as swallows in flight, surrounding her from all directions.

The red-haired girl's swordsmanship was impeccable, her defense nearly impenetrable. Yet, one beam slipped through her guard, severing her head.

As her blood sprayed into the sky and her body collapsed, Wang Yi's face remained expressionless.

Wang Yi had won his first match.

In the next moment, Wang Yi reappeared in the palace, where hundreds of students had already returned. The red-haired girl stood among them, glaring at him with bitter eyes.

These students were all those who had finished their matches quickly, some as victors, some as losers.

On the giant screen, one-third of the students were still engaged in their duels.

Wang Yi didn't have to wait long for his next match. He was soon teleported back into the arena. This time, his opponent was a tall, muscular young man with a crocodile tail.

The young man sneered at Wang Yi, "Rookie, you're unlucky to face me."

Wang Yi raised an eyebrow. "Sdaru, ranked 131st last year?"

"The match begins!" The mechanical voice rang out again.

"Hahaha... You're dead!" the towering young man roared as he charged, wielding a massive bronze axe, surrounded by flickering purple lightning.

In terms of raw strength, this opponent was far superior to the red-haired girl from Wang Yi's previous match.

Wang Yi observed the charging Sdaru calmly, then swiftly drew his blade from his back, holding it with one hand.

He stood still, quietly waiting for his opponent to approach.

"Huh?" Sdaru hesitated upon seeing Wang Yi's stillness but then grew furious.

"You're underestimating me?"

With a roar, Sdaru raised his massive axe high, lightning crackling around it. He swung it down viciously, aiming for Wang Yi's head.

Wang Yi met the blow with his blade.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of repeated, heavy weapon clashes echoed through the arena.

Sdaru swung his axe countless times in just a few seconds, but Wang Yi blocked every strike effortlessly with one hand, his feet never moving.

"What?!" Sdaru was shocked, and so was the blue-horned, one-eyed man watching from the palace.

"How is this possible?" Sdaru snarled, enraged by Wang Yi's relaxed demeanor. Gathering all his strength, he raised his axe for one final blow. Purple lightning erupted from the axe, which seemed to weigh like a mountain, ready to crush everything in its path.

But this time, Wang Yi didn't stand still. He moved, avoiding Sdaru's full-power strike with a swift, fluid motion. At the same time, his blade gleamed, slipping past the edge of Sdaru's axe like smoke. Silently, it sliced across Sdaru's neck.

Sdaru's eyes widened in shock as he looked at Wang Yi one last time.

"Wang Yi, wins!" boomed the mechanical voice, as Sdaru's body fell.

Back in the palace...

"That guy's sword skills are insane!"

"I thought he was a rookie competing for the first time!"

"Sdaru actually lost? To a newcomer?"

"His sword technique and movement could easily rank in the top ten among all of us!"

"And isn't he supposed to be a psychic user? How can his sword skills be this powerful? This is too insane!"

The students who had finished their matches were in an uproar, their attention now firmly fixed on Wang Yi.

Wang Yi had just made a stunning entrance into the Secret Realm of Dry Witch.