542: Chapter 542 Ascension Arena

Time passed.

Half an hour went by.

The aircraft slowed down.

"Look quickly!"

Someone exclaimed, pointing outside the porthole.

In the distance.

A boundless ring-shaped continent floated silently in the starry sky, with the main body of the Holy Land in the center.

"So the Fourth Heaven is that far away from the main body of the Holy Land."

The entire ring-shaped continent of the Fourth Heaven looked like a star ring surrounding the main body of the Holy Land.

There was still a great distance between the two; Xiao Weiqing estimated it to be over one astronomical unit.

"What do you all think that main body of the Holy Land actually is?"

"A star?"

"How is that possible? Where would you find a star shaped like that?"

"I guess it is a special celestial body in the Universe."

"If it were just a celestial body, how could the Holy Land be here?"

"That is why I said it is special."

"I do not think so either; I guess it is a mountain of Source Stones."

"Are you crazy? Where would you find such a huge mountain of Source Stones?"

"Alright, you do not need to know about these things." Yan Yu shouted, stopping the crowd's commotion.

Soon.

The aircraft stopped at a star port, but the cabin door had not opened yet as it was undergoing inspection.

"See that? That is the Ascension Battle Arena. You will have to go over there yourselves; I will not be accompanying you."

Everyone looked in the direction Yan Yu was pointing.

A few kilometers away.

A massive arena floated there, over ten kilometers in diameter. The arena was connected to the edge of the ring-shaped continent by white jade stairs, symbolizing the ascent to the heavens.

"Click~"

The inspection was complete, and the cabin door opened.

"Go on, give it your all."

More than 20 contestants for the Ascension Battle walked out of the aircraft one by one.

"Let us go, everyone."

The group walked together toward the arena.

When they reached the white jade stairs connecting to the arena, the group had already grown to a hundred people.

"Everyone, you are all here to participate in the Ascension Battle, right?" A young man walked over and said to the group.

Ji Yu stepped forward and replied, "Yes, may I ask who you are?"

"My name is Zhou Yi, and I am your opponent for the Ascension Battle, or in other words, your examiner."

"Opponent?"

The crowd was stunned, and some even began to radiate hostility.

"Eh... eh?"

"What are you doing?" Zhou Yan said, somewhat speechless. "We are not enemies. Most of you here will become my Junior Brothers, so do not go around radiating hostility."

"Greetings, Senior Brother Zhou. May I ask what we should do next?" Ji Yu asked.

Zhou Yi said, "You do not have to do anything, just follow me."

After speaking, Zhou Yi stepped onto the white jade stairs and walked toward the arena.

Everyone looked at each other, then followed Zhou Yi and began to climb the stairs.

"Senior Brother Zhou, you just said our opponent is you?" someone asked.

"Mhm."

"Just you? Are we 300 people fighting you alone?"

Zhou Yi twitched the corner of his mouth and said irritably, "You are so young, yet so vicious? 300 of you against one of me?"

"Uh... I did not mean that, it is just, 300 people taking turns..." The person speaking saw Zhou Yi's expression change and shut their mouth.

Zhou Yi explained, "There are 499 other members of the Fourth Heaven up there with strength similar to mine; adding me makes 500."

"In a moment, there will be random matching. If you defeat any one of us, you can enter the Ascension Battle."

"You should know about the Ascension Battle for the Fourth Heaven, right?"

"Yes, the opponents are the top 500 contestants in the Fourth Heaven."

Zhou Yi nodded. "Correct."

"Senior Brother Zhou, is it convenient to ask about your strength? Is there any information we can look up?"

"It is not."

"In fact, a month ago, after we 500 examiners were selected, recent combat videos, data, and the like were blocked by the Holy Land. You will not be able to find anything."

"Yes, I am talking about you, fatty. Stop taking pictures of me."

"The Ascension Battle has existed for who knows how many years; it will not let you exploit loopholes. In fact, true Geniuses would not bother exploiting such loopholes." Zhou Yi said seriously.

"Understood, Senior Brother Zhou."

Ji Yu took two large strides forward, getting close to Zhou Yi. "Senior Brother, you say, how many of us will be able to enter the Fifth Heaven?"

Zhou Yi glanced at Ji Yu and smiled.

"Well, that is hard to say."

"I have watched your round-robin tournament. Based on the strength you have shown, fewer than one in ten will be able to enter the Fifth Heaven."

"One in ten?"

Ji Yu was shocked. Wouldn't that mean only the top 30 could enter the Fifth Heaven?

Those ranked outside the top 100 began to discuss in hushed tones; the gap between this and their expectations was just too large.

"Senior Brother Zhou, can only 30 out of 300 people enter the Fifth Heaven?" a contestant asked, unwilling to accept it. They had stood out from three hundred million Geniuses just to get this far.

Who would not want to go a step further and ascend to the Fifth Heaven?

"This is not something I decide; it is determined by your own strength. Although I know some of you have hidden your strength, even then, no more than 40 people will ascend to the Fifth Heaven."

"My eyes see very clearly." Zhou Yi was extremely certain.

"Also, what makes you think you can defeat us members who have been Cultivating in the Holy Land for years, or even over a decade?"

"Talent? Hard work?"

Zhou Yi sneered. "Three years ago, I was also a one-in-ten-thousand Genius. I came to the Holy Land carrying the expectations of an entire planet, passed a series of assessments, and struggled my way to the Ascension Battle."

"It was these very stairs." Zhou Yi pointed to his feet. "Before I even stepped onto the arena, I told myself that I absolutely had to reach the Fifth Heaven. But what was the result?"

"One move."

Zhou Yi held up one finger.

"With just one move, I was taken down."

Everyone gasped upon hearing this.

Someone asked, "Senior Brother Zhou, I wonder if your current strength ranks in the middle tier of the Fourth Heaven?"

"Mhm. Regardless of which Heaven it is in the Holy Land, there is no explicit ranking among members. We rarely have large-scale arena tournaments. Rankings are given directly by the Holy Land based on performance and updated every few months."

"I am ranked 14,302nd in the Fourth Heaven."

"The other 499 examiners up there are also around my level."

During the conversation, the group finally stepped onto the arena.

The entire arena was monolithic, forged from Mysterious Steel, and mixed with some special substances. It possessed a certain ability to recover and was capable of withstanding battles of the Star Lord Realm.

Xiao Weiqing remembered that this material seemed the same as the floor of the Training Room on the Grade A-3 spaceship.

However, that Training Room was tiny compared to this massive arena; they simply could not be compared.

"Truly extravagant." Xiao Weiqing sighed inwardly.

"Assemble."

A voice rang out, instantly bringing Xiao Weiqing back to his senses. He was shocked; the voice clearly was not loud, yet it sounded as if it were echoing inside his mind.

Zhou Yi said, "Move quickly. The person in charge of the Ascension Battle is an expert of the Undying Realm; do not anger him."

Undying Realm?

Xiao Weiqing scanned the arena without leaving a trace. His gaze swept across the entire arena, but apart from the 499 examiners in front, he did not see anyone else.