Chapter 482 – World Creation, Second Form

“What? That’s it?”

“Can someone tell me what’s going on?”

“Wasn’t the Eternal Chamber of Commerce supposed to deal with Xia Qingying’s group? Why didn’t the three Elders just stand there without doing anything? Or are they planning to let Abyss Water handle them personally?”

“There’s no way, right? No matter how I look at it, I feel like the treatment Xia Qingying’s group received from the three Elders is much better than that of Abyss Water’s group. They didn’t even make a single move… ”

!!

Everyone was stunned when they saw how Xia Qingying’s group got through the first round.

Previously, everyone thought Xia Qingying’s group was doomed, and the group’s four members would have to be revived. But now, not to mention being revived, they didn’t even have to lift a finger. The three Elders simply stood still and did nothing until the end of the match…

At this point, even Wu Duanhen, who had been brimming with confidence less than a minute ago, was dumbfounded.

Could the three Elders really be planning to let Abyss Water take care of matters personally? Confusion and disbelief filled Wu Duanhen as he looked at the three Elders on the stage.

It was obvious to all that the Eternal Chamber of Commerce valued Abyss Water very highly. After all, the Chamber of Commerce had gone as far as to increase the number of advanced partnership slots in the test this time.

It should be known that the annual basic partnership test would usually only offer one advanced partnership slot. It had been the case for many years now. Yet, this time around, two advanced partnership slots were offered. This just goes to show how much the Eternal Chamber of Commerce’s higher-ups valued Abyss Water.

Given how highly the higher-ups regarded Abyss Water, the three Elders could not possibly be unaware of this.

Now that Abyss Water was looking to establish his authority by taking down Xia Qingying’s group, this was a great opportunity for the three Elders to do Abyss Water a big favor. Meanwhile, this favor would be especially valuable if Abyss Water could recruit sufficient experts and win sufficient support to become the next Guild Leader of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance. Logically, the three Elders should be more aware of this than Wu Duanhen.

Yet, now, not only did they let Xia Qingying’s group pass the preliminaries, but they had even done so by literally doing nothing. What exactly were they trying to achieve here?

At this point, Abyss Water, who is standing nearby, also looks a bit solemn as he stares at Wu Duanhen and says in a slightly cold tone: “Administrator Wu! Did you really inform the three Elders properly? Are you playing me?”

“Lord Abyss Water, I really did tell the three Elders everything,” Wu Duanhen said. Although he was filled with doubts, he still hurriedly tried to devise an excuse. “It’s possible that the higher-ups want you to personally handle this matter in front of everyone, which is why the three Elders let them pass the first round.”

“Fine, I’ll deal with it myself.” Abyss Water didn’t say anything else. After all, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce was still an apex power. It had a lot of influence, even in the Twelve Sanctuaries. Moreover, he wasn’t the only peerless paragon to have come out of the Twelve Sanctuaries. Many others had done so as well. “It just so happens that I’m looking to let the geniuses and paragons here know what kind of gap exists between them and me!”

Wu Duanhen breathed a sigh of relief at this. He was truly afraid Abyss Water would dig deeper. After all, he was only expressing his own thoughts, and he honestly had no idea what the three Elders were thinking.

…

On the other side, Xia Qingying and the others walked down from the battle stage, full of doubts, as they quietly waited for the three Elders to announce the start of the second and final round. Of the group of four, only Shi Feng faintly felt the three Elders’ attention focusing on him for a moment.

After a while…

“Everyone! The preliminaries are over! Up next will be the finals!” said the oldest Elder, a Level 219, Tier 6 Berserker, as he swept his gaze across the groups below the stage. “For the finals, all groups that have passed the preliminaries will be teleported to random locations on a battlefield. Your job is to fight and survive, and groups will be ranked based on the order they are eliminated.

“There are two advanced partnership slots and eight basic partnership slots available in this test, and they will be given out to the top ten groups in order of ranking. That means the last two groups standing will receive the advanced partnership slot. The round will last for half an hour, and the battlefield will continuously shrink throughout the round, so you won’t have to worry about finding opponents.

“Now, let the final round begin!”

As the Level 219, Tier 6 Berserker Elder declared the start of the finals, over thirty qualified groups were forcibly teleported to a vast arena below the platform.

The entire battlefield had a radius of two thousand yards. For players with Physiques and Basic Attributes at the Level 120, Tier 4 standard, this size was neither too big nor too small. It was enough for 30-plus groups to fight without affecting other groups, but it also allowed other groups to quickly gather and fight in bigger groups. This setting made it so that players weren’t tested just for their combat capabilities but also for other factors, such as situational awareness.

…

“What a small world. You guys killed Solitary Madness at the city gate before, right?” Looking at Xia Qingying’s group standing less than a hundred yards from him, Abyss Water calmly said as if passing judgment, “Now, I’ll give you three seconds to consider. Submit to me, apologize to my friend when you leave, and I’ll let bygones be bygones. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you’re the first to be eliminated from the test!”

“In your dreams!” Without hesitation, Invincible Swallow swung his wand and summoned four magic arrays for four Tier 4 Curses under his feet.

Seeing this, Xuanwu Chisha promptly charged toward Abyss Water, her body transforming like a moving streak of light as she closed in on the Assassin. She did not intend to give the other party any opportunities to set up a sneak attack.

At the same time, Xia Qingying raised her hand and created a Holy Barrier on all four members of their group. After doing so, she cast the Tier 4 Hypersensitivity State and the Tier 4 Divine Reflection for Xuanwu Chisha, the former greatly enhancing the target’s perception and the latter having the ability to reflect one magical attack. This left Abyss Water, who was just an Assassin, with only the option of close combat against Xuanwu Chisha, a Shield Warrior.

As a Shield Warrior, Xuanwu Chisha was naturally much stronger in terms of Strength, Endurance, and Defense than an Assassin of the same level. An Assassin of the same tier would be committing suicide if they tried to face her in direct combat.

“Not a bad response.” Even when Abyss Water saw Invincible Swallow, Xuanwu Chisha, and Xia Qingying attacking him together, he simply sneered in disdain. “It’s a pity none of you understand mana!”

As soon as Abyss Water finished speaking, terrifying mana erupted from his body, instantly causing everyone within a 200-yard radius to feel as if their bodies had been submerged in a swamp. At the same time, a faint, illusory miniature world appeared, inhibiting the flow of mana in Invincible Swallow’s four magic arrays and drastically reducing Xuanwu Chisha’s speed.

Subsequently, Abyss Wate swung the dagger in his right hand in the direction of Xuanwu Chisha, who was still over thirty yards away. When Xuanwu Chisha saw this, she instinctively raised her sword and shield to cover her front.

Boom!

Following a loud bang, Xuanwu Chisha was lifted off her feet and sent flying backward by several yards. Even when she landed and stabilized her posture, the sword and shield she wielded continued trembling uncontrollably.

After just one exchange, it became apparent that Abyss Water was not at all inferior to Xuanwu Chisha in terms of Strength. On the contrary, he was even leagues above her, and if Xuanwu Chisha had not used an Absolute Technique to deflect some of the force, her flight backward would have covered a minimum of twenty yards.

Miniature World?! How can he use World Creation’s second form at Tier 4?! Xia Qingying was greatly shocked as she looked at the illusory world that had formed around them.

For players to use World Creation’s first form at Tier 4, they would need to be at the standard of Saints at the very minimum. As for World Creation’s second form, it was simply unheard of for players to use it at Tier 4. After all, even Tier 5 Saints had difficulty using it.