50: Chapter 50: The City League Begins

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The Cangnan City Divine Godhood City Tournament opened on schedule, with the venue set up in the government office hall at the city center.

Today, the government office hall abandoned its usual solemn and orderly appearance; everywhere was decorated with spiritual energy banners exclusive to the tournament, and floating spiritual lamps hovered around, with light and shadow flowing, creating a grand and solemn atmosphere.

This tournament had long ceased to be merely a genius showdown among students; it was a battle for the face and pride of the entire Cangnan City.

Not only were the principals and team-leading mentors of the dozen or so high schools across the city present, but a large portion of the Cangnan City government's leadership team had also arrived at the scene, sitting squarely in the VIP seats and gazing intently at the arena with heavy eyes.

Everyone knew full well that the City Tournament linked to the Nantan Prefecture grand competition three days later; if the talented contestants from Cangnan City could win outstanding rankings in the State Competition, the top cultivation resources and Divine Kingdom nurturing support policies within the prefecture would heavily tilt toward Cangnan City.

With the blessing of high-tier resources, the major high schools in the city would be able to cultivate more high-quality demigod talents, forming a virtuous cycle that would not only enhance the city's foundation but also steadily elevate Cangnan City's status throughout Nantan Prefecture—this was concrete political achievement and long-term dividends.

Because of this, the weight of this City Tournament far exceeded ordinary campus competitions.

Apart from Cangnan No. 3 High School, the remaining fifteen participating high schools were all long-established key institutions in the city, and each of them had spent years deeply cultivating divine godhood, boasting a profound foundation.

The participating contestants representing their respective schools this time were uniformly elite geniuses, and the threshold was ridiculously high.

Looking across the entire waiting area, the lowest Divine Kingdom rating of the students from other schools was Grade A, and Grade A+ and Grade S geniuses were everywhere. Each of them had a steady aura, restrained and heavy Divine Kingdom coercion, and sharp gazes with hidden edges, fully displaying the confidence of top geniuses.

Pick out any one of them, and they were seed players carefully polished and cultivated with exhausted resources by their respective schools; not a single one was a mediocre placeholder meant to make up the numbers.

At first, the geniuses from various schools looked at each other and secretly sounded each other out, with undercurrents surging in the atmosphere. But when everyone's gaze swept over the competition slots, a subtle commotion instantly arose across the audience.

Countless gazes focused in unison, falling upon Lin Ye and Wang Hu, filled with bewilderment and disbelief.

On the electronic public display screen in the waiting area, the basic information and initial Divine Kingdom rating of every contestant were clearly displayed, and the glaring rating characters were exceptionally eye-catching.

Lin Ye — — Grade F- Divine Kingdom.

Wang Hu — — Grade B Divine Kingdom.

Among a crowd of geniuses with a minimum rating of Grade A, these two ratings, which could be called rock-bottom, appeared completely out of place and extremely abrupt.

"Did I read that wrong? Why did Cangnan No. 3 High School send two low-rated contestants to participate?"

"Grade F- trash god, Grade B ordinary Divine Kingdom???"

"All fifteen high schools start at Grade A, and only their two ratings have fallen below the baseline. Are they here just to make up the numbers?"

Fragmented sounds of doubt and surprise quietly spread among the crowd, but soon, all the teachers and students from other schools reined in their contemptuous feelings, and their expressions all turned solemn.

Able to stand in the arena of the City Tournament, not a single person was simple.

Every school's competition slots were extremely precious, concerning the school's annual resource allocation and rating promotions; no school would waste a slot to send ordinary people to make a fool of themselves in the arena.

Since Cangnan No. 3 High School dared to send these two students with seemingly rock-bottom ratings over, they definitely weren't letting them make up the numbers.

Either the two of them were hiding their abilities to the extreme and deliberately suppressed their own Divine Kingdom ratings, or they possessed heaven-defying special abilities whose strength completely transcended the constraints of ratings.

Whichever situation it was, they must absolutely not be underestimated.

In an instant, the gazes that originally carried mockery and surprise entirely turned into scrutiny, dread, and solemnity.

Countless lines of sight firmly locked onto Lin Ye and Wang Hu, silently engraving the figures of the two in their hearts, listing them as the unknown dark horses that required the most vigilance in this tournament.

The city leaders in the VIP seats also noticed these two special youths, talking in low voices with the principals beside them, their eyes filled with inquiry.

The principal of Cangnan No. 3 High School sat squarely in his seat with a calm expression. Facing everyone's inquiring gazes, he neither explained nor defended himself, yet a trace of confidence was hidden deep within his eyes.

Others did not know of Lin Ye's terror, but he was crystal clear about it in his heart.

Today's arena was destined to completely subvert everyone's cognition because of this Grade F- rated youth.

In the corner of the arena, Ye Feng looked on coldly at all this. Watching the countless people staring intently at Lin Ye and feeling secret dread, the jealousy and ferocity in the depths of his heart surged once again.

It's like this again!

Clearly holding the lowest Grade F- rating, yet he forcefully snatched away all the focus, making the top geniuses of the whole audience feel dread toward him!

He clenched his palms tightly, his Thunder Divine Kingdom trembling slightly within his body, with his killing intent lying dormant deep in his heart.

Time reached nine o'clock sharp. The arena broadcast sounded on time, and a steady mechanical voice resounded through the entire government office hall, officially announcing the complete competition rules of this City Tournament and clarifying the advancement rights and responsibilities of all participating contestants.

This Cangnan City Divine Godhood Tournament had a total of 150 participating geniuses. The competition format adopted a winner advancement and loser-challenge-supplement mechanism, and its fault tolerance far exceeded intra-school competitions.

After being defeated in the first round, all contestants would not be directly eliminated; instead, they would obtain an exclusive challenge quota, allowing them to challenge any first-round winner. If the challenge succeeded, they could replace the opponent's ranking and continue fighting in subsequent schedules; however, if the challenge failed, they would be directly and completely eliminated, with no further chance of a comeback.

The entire schedule went through layers of screening, selecting the best among the best. After multiple rounds of bloody battles, only the top five of the entire city would eventually be decided. Only these five people would be able to obtain the ultimate admission ticket leading to the Nantan Prefecture State Competition.

At the same time, the referee smoothly announced a heavyweight rule sufficient to change everyone's cognition, instantly making the atmosphere of the entire audience a few points more solemn again.

"Special declaration: The City Tournament uses soul-linked simulated battles throughout. Dependent race damage and destruction are all virtual data, with no real losses and no origin backlash. Contestants can go all out and fight without holding back."

"Starting from the Nantan Prefecture State Competition, the tournament will be comprehensively upgraded, canceling the soul simulation mechanism and opening real Divine Kingdom duels!"

"The true form of the Divine Kingdom enters the arena, the life and death of dependent races are real, origin losses are real, and the defeated party's Divine Kingdom will suffer damage. This is a true life-and-death game belonging to the geniuses of Quanzhou, and also a true top-tier stage!"

As the words fell, all participating contestants in the audience were shaken to their core.

Only then did everyone completely understand that the City Tournament had always been just a warm-up screening, a foreshadowing level for all geniuses to adapt to the arena and polish their tactics. The real slaughter, the real resource contention, and the real strength suppression only officially began starting from the State Competition.

Simulated battles allowed wanton trial and error without counting losses, but the real Divine Kingdom duels in the State Competition meant that one careless move would result in Divine Kingdom damage and the fall of dependent races, carrying an incomparably heavy price.

The brief rule presentation ended, and the first-round drawing ceremony of the City Tournament officially began.

The 150 contestants stepped forward one by one to draw their battle lot numbers. The light screen synchronized the matchup list in real time, and the audience's gazes tightly locked onto the rolling drawing sequence as undercurrents surged.