Chapter 780 – Gathering of Monsters

So, he’s the Divine Fist?Shi Feng couldn’t help but scrutinize the four-armed young man when he heard Verdant Rainbow’s whispered introduction.

Divine Fist Garuda was a name known by all among the Holy Race and the human race in Shi Feng’s previous life. However, few people had ever seen Garuda in person. Most people had only ever heard of his terror.

Garuda was the strongest chosen one of the Thunder Empire, a royal power of the Holy Race. He had strictly limited his sphere of activity to the Western Continent and never participated in the war between the Holy Race and the human race. Yet, human players still felt that Garuda was extremely powerful.

This was due to the rumor that even the Eternal Realm’s Three Absolutes were defeated by Garuda. However, as nobody had any evidence showing Garuda and the Three Absolutes clashing, many people speculated that their encounter occurred during the Continental Championship and that Garuda was the reason the Three Absolutes failed to progress beyond the top 4.

Originally, Shi Feng thought Garuda should be relatively old, considering that the other party could defeat the Three Absolutes in his previous life. However, now that he was seeing Garuda in person, he doubted the other party was even twenty years old.

An Unthinking Realm expert who wasn’t even twenty years of age!

It should be known that most fifth-floor experts could only dream of achieving the Unthinking Realm. Although many peerless paragons had tried, most had failed to reach it within their lifetimes. But for those few who could reach the Unthinking Realm before the age of thirty, they would be considered once-in-a-century monsters and prodigies who defied common sense.

After reaching the Extrasensory Realm, players could start to use their sixth sense to predict their opponent’s attacks and execute counterattacks. However, this didn’t mean that players would become invincible once they reached this realm.

As living creatures, humans needed time to think. No matter how quick a person’s reaction speed was, their body would still need some time to make a response. Thus, when players at the Extrasensory Realm fought each other, the fight would turn into a competition of speed.

However, that would only be the case for players in the Extrasensory Realm’s first stage.

Upon reaching the Unthinking Realm, players would no longer need to rely on their brain’s thoughts to carry out actions. Instead, their bodies would move automatically, akin to moving entirely based on instincts. This, in turn, allowed players to execute actions at unbelievable speeds.

Normally, though, if players wanted to reach the Unthinking Realm, they would need to invest a significant amount of time in harsh training and combat. This was so that they could develop their body’s instincts. Hence, players who could reach the Unthinking Realm were typically old monsters of advanced age. Yet, Garuda had reached this realm despite being younger than twenty. His talent for combat was so out of this world that even the Three Absolutes could never hope to match him. He even had the Thunder Empire, a royal power no weaker than the Sun Dynasty, to back him. With such talent and backing, his future would be limitless.

Aside from Garuda, Shi Feng also spotted a familiar lithe figure among Garuda’s party.

Angel of Death, Extreme Feather!

Since they last met outside the Nameless City’s treasury, Extreme Feather had become considerably stronger. Not only was she currently at Level 192, Tier 6, but she was also fully equipped with Legendary Equipment and wielded two crescent blades that were clearly Divine Weapons.

At the same time as Shi Feng noticed Extreme Feather, the Angel of Death similarly noticed him.

“Do you know that human Swordsman, Feather?” Noticing that Extreme Feather was looking at Shi Feng specifically, Garuda curiously asked, “Is he strong?”

Extreme Feather was the most recent addition to the Thunder Empire’s chosen ones. She had an aloof personality, and she rarely showed interest outside of developing her combat skills. So, it was a rare sight for her to give anyone more than a glance.

“It’s nothing.” Retracting her gaze from Shi Feng, Extreme Feather said, “He’s just a little thief with higher-than-normal Concentration standards.”

The last time they met, Extreme Feather had watched Shi Feng resist a mental attack from a Tier 6 Gorgon Queen, and she had to admit that it was indeed a surprising sight. However, that was the only remarkable trait Shi Feng possessed. Nothing else about him stood out. And if Concentration was the only thing he had going on for him, he’d remain insignificant in front of true experts.

When Garuda heard Extreme Feather’s evaluation, he stopped paying attention to Shi Feng and the human race in general. Of the three races participating in the Continental Championship, the human race was the weakest. Even their strongest party had failed to enter the top eight in the last championship, ending with only a tenth-place placement. Rather than waste his time on such a harmless opponent, it would be better if he focused on his strongest competition for today.

Subsequently, Garuda turned his gaze toward a particular party from the Crystallians standing in the middle of the plaza.

The members of this party looked virtually the same as humans. Only, they were five to six meters tall, and they each had a crystal the size of their eyeballs growing out of their foreheads. They all wore robe-like clothing and carried various staffs on their backs. They neither radiated Mana nor Holy Power. In fact, they did not radiate any sort of energy from their bodies. Yet, whenever they moved, it felt like the space around them was having difficulties supporting their existence.

Regarding the Crystallians, many human players all looked toward them with eyes full of curiosity.

Unlike the Holy Race, the Crystallians were never seen even once on the Eternal Continent, much less engage the human race in territorial battles like the Holy Race. Most human players operating in the Eternal Realm didn’t even know a third race of players existed.

However, for human players who had participated in the Continental Championship, they knew that there were indeed three races of players in the Eternal Realm. Only, the Crystallians did not operate on the Eternal Continent or the Western Continent. Instead, their operations were limited to a mysterious continent that neither the human race nor the Holy Race had come in touch with thus far.

Meanwhile, in terms of overall strength, the Crystallians were slightly weaker than the Holy Race but were still considerably stronger than the human race. As evidence, the Crystallians had six royal powers.

As for the Crystallian party Garuda was looking at, it was none other than the party that came in second place in the last Continental Championship. The party was led by Earthen Princess Rin, the Crystallians’ strongest representative and someone who nearly defeated Garuda in battle in the last championship.

While Garuda was looking at Rin, the latter also turned to look at him, their gazes clearly indicating that they regarded each other as their strongest opponent in this championship.

…

“No wonder Miss Rainbow thinks it will be a challenge to even get through the preliminaries.” When Gentle Snow saw the three races of players gathered in the plaza, she couldn’t help but grow a little excited. “Every player here is at the fifth-floor standard and fully equipped with Legendary Equipment. Even if put in the Sun Dynasty’s Holy Guard, they can become vice commanders at the very least.”

“It’s not surprising. Only 420 parties can participate in each championship. Even if all 420 slots are filled, that only translates to 2,520 players. That is nothing compared to the player base of the three races that number in the quadrillions,” Shi Feng said as he calmly swept his gaze across the players in the plaza.action

It should be known that the participants of the current Continental Championship were limited to only the players operating in the Eternal Realm. Once the three races located the Eternal Realm’s entrance, the intensity of the Continental Championship would skyrocket to unimaginable heights. It would become so intense that even the top 20 experts on the current Divine Glory List might not make it past the preliminaries.

This was also why many experts in his previous life sought to participate in the Continental Championship. Simply being able to participate in the championship’s preliminaries was a priceless learning opportunity for many players. Not to mention, should one successfully get through the preliminaries, one would get the opportunity to trade blows with the apex existences of the three races.

Shortly after Shi Feng finished speaking, a deafening voice sounded across the plaza.

“Congratulations, all ye Heaven’s Blessed! Welcome to the Crucible of the Ancients!”

…