196: Chapter 196 They're all clowns

After a brief moment of shock, they almost simultaneously looked up at the progress bar.

Although it wasn't what they wanted to see...

That "Human" race had indeed advanced to the next Assessment before all of them.

Looking at this, Gray's head buzzed, and he was completely stunned.

What had he been thinking just moments ago when the opponent first entered this Sixth Assessment?

That the opponent was just here to make up the numbers?

That his only real competitor was the Star-Gazing Clan member on the right, who was somewhat evenly matched with him?

In an instant.

Gray felt like a clown... oh, no.

He looked to the right at Noel, who was equally shocked.

There were two clowns.

...

"Eh?"

On the other side.

Cui Jingming and the others were just as shocked; they had still been trying to deduce the rules.

How did the scene in front of them change so suddenly? Did they pass?

"It's finished?" someone asked in confusion.

"I didn't even realize what happened. Who did it?"

Everyone was puzzled.

"Eh?" Cui Jingming suddenly spoke up. "Was it that attempt I just made? Did it succeed?"

He had been looking at the dynamic graphics and, after some deep thought, had input a result.

As soon as he submitted it, the scene jumped and changed to this.

It was strange, though—shouldn't there be some kind of notification confirming success?

Gu Changming, standing to the side: "..."

His feelings were truly complicated.

Although he had no intention of revealing that he was the one who solved the Assessment...

You can't just take all the credit for yourself.

Is it because I pretended to be someone from your Stronghold when we came in that I have to be treated like this?

Well, Gu Changming was only grumbling in his heart.

He didn't really care.

Passing the Assessment just now had been very simple.

Because he knew the ten rules, as long as he continued the deduction according to those rules, he could obtain the complete graphic from thirty seconds later.

Since the graphic only required eighty percent accuracy, with just a few minor modifications, he was able to complete and pass it in less than a few minutes.

"The Alliance Leader is awesome!"

"So powerful!"

Hearing everyone's flattery, Cui Jingming felt a bit embarrassed.

"Luck, just luck," he waved his hand.

For some reason, after entering this Assessment, he felt things were going exceptionally smoothly.

Hiss... could it be that his era was finally coming?

After a brief moment of narcissism, a new change appeared before them.

Everyone looked up, thinking it was the new Assessment rules.

However, what appeared first was not any rules in white text.

Instead, a square platform hundreds of meters long and wide rose from the ground.

"An arena?" Gu Changming thought instinctively.

After he said that, the platform indeed changed, with invisible mirror-like barriers appearing at its edges... it looked even more like an arena now.

As the platform formed, the Assessment rules also manifested.

[Seventh Assessment: Arena Competition]

[Assessment Content: Participants will battle against other races. The final winner will advance to the final Assessment...]

Seeing this, Gu Changming was startled.

However, as he continued reading, he relaxed.

The final outcome was not decided by the number of victories.

He could guarantee he wouldn't lose, but if the winner were determined by the total number of wins, he couldn't guarantee the others would succeed.

In other words, he didn't need to worry about how others performed; as long as he could win, it would be fine.

He continued reading.

[Rule 1: Limited to three races. Those who fall behind will be eliminated from this Plane Competition.]

It was likely the two races they had encountered in the Sixth Assessment.

Gu Changming pondered; that Star-Gazing Clan member should be easy to deal with. As for the other group with tens of thousands of people, there might be a few exceptionally powerful individuals among them.

If he had to fight an A-rank as a B-rank like before, this Assessment would really be targeting him.

But upon seeing the next rule, Gu Changming's heart settled back down.

[Rule 2: During the arena match, the combat power of both sides will be maintained at the same level. A coin toss will allow the winner to choose to increase (or decrease) the opponent's combat power.]

This was good. Gu Changming loved "evenly matched" battles the most.

If his power was lowered, he could adapt; it had only been a few days since he leveled up to B-rank anyway.

If his combat power was increased... hmph hmph, that would be wonderful.

It had been a long time since he had experienced some of the powers from his previous life.

He continued reading.

[Rule 3: A total of ten contestants, chosen by yourselves.]

This was also fine.

Gu Changming glanced at Cui Jingming; if he didn't agree to let him onto the field, he would just give him a beating.

It was in the bag; everything was resolved.

Gu Changming showed a satisfied smile.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side.

The previous atmosphere of tense competition between the two sides was gone.

They were no longer racing to see who could deduce the tenth rule first.

It was as if they had all given up.

When they occasionally made eye contact, it was no longer filled with hostility; they would just glance and then quickly look away.

Both sides had lost their momentum.

Without the pressure of competition, both sides still progressed steadily and, in the end, completed the deduction of the tenth rule almost simultaneously.

The next instant.

They were similarly enveloped in a white light, which flashed, and when they regained their senses, they were already in a space completely different from the previous pure white one.

Only a square, pure white arena in front of them was brightly lit; everywhere else was only dimly lit.

After appearing, they also quickly noticed each other.

Then, they similarly noticed the Human race standing at the opposite corner.

The moment they saw them clearly, their emotions fluctuated uncontrollably.

But soon, the Assessment rules appearing before them drew their attention away.

Their eyes scanned through the text.

"An arena match..." A trace of a smile finally appeared on Horn's face.

He was finally in his area of expertise; in the previous Assessments, he had only been slightly useful during the second one.

Moreover, looking at the rule description, winning this Assessment meant the next one would be the final one.

That final Assessment would most likely be to select one of them to obtain ownership of the plane.

In other words: winning this round would lock in the final victory.

After reading the rules, Gray's eyes were also full of eagerness.

Although he was a member of the Think Tank, his strength was not weak; it could even be said to be top-tier.

And in those rules, the winner wasn't determined by the number of wins and losses.

So...

"Your Majesty," Gray spoke up, "I want to go up as well."

After speaking, Gray's gaze swept across the opposite corner, toward the Human race.

He also wanted to see what kind of background those people had, to be able to pass the previous Assessment so quickly and even give him such a hard slap in the face.