Heroes' Prison

Chapter 404 - 394 Martial Arts Tournament

"Another year has passed, and this winter is even colder than the last," Thunder God took a deep drag on his cigarette, exhaling a smoke ring slowly, and continued solemnly, "I wonder if next winter will be warmer. But I won’t see it, by this time next year, I’ll have been executed." Thunder God’s voice was calm, yet that calmness made one feel an almost suffocating pressure.

In The Second World, death was terrifying because Reincarnation was a possibility.

In the real world, death was even more terrifying because Reincarnation was impossible.

This was true death, where once you die, there’s nothing left; you just vanish from this world forever.

Huang Yi’s movements paused slightly as he was eating, and he turned to look at Thunder God, saying, "Don’t rush to conclusions, maybe by this time next year, the World Federation will have fallen."

"I hope so!" Thunder God flicked the ash off his cigarette and said, "Our thousands of brothers are all working hard toward this, and at least our Sun Guild has caught up and is about to reach the milestone of going public. It’s an extraordinary feat, our dream and a sharp tool that can influence The Second World. To achieve this in such a short time, sometimes I can’t even believe it myself."

As he spoke, Thunder God turned to look at Huang Yi with a smile, "Your escape from Barbarian Tian’s pursuit this time indirectly helped our Sun Guild. We’ll go public next Monday, and with the Hall of Famous Generals taking a hit because of you, our market value should soar, easily breaking the trillion-dollar mark! Then, all those overseas islands we’ve been eyeing will be ours."

"That would be for the best. I’ll check your situation, and if you have good momentum, I’ll consider taking the Hero Guild public too. The way things are progressing now is still too slow; just one port has cost us most of our funds."

The two men chatted calmly as if they were discussing ordinary family matters, with two of The Second World’s most powerful guilds planning their future blueprints amid their casual conversations, their strategy clear and their steps well-defined.

Their conversation spread through the darkness to each and every cell, to every person lying in bed with eyes tightly closed. At this moment, thousands of criminals in The Second World were working hard; each one was a seed, carrying the hope of Huang Yi and Thunder God, rapidly growing into trees, eventually forming a vast forest.

...

The next day, after finishing breakfast, Huang Yi logged in early. He first went to check the forums; yesterday’s events were likely causing an uproar.

"Incredible! God of Slaughter continues the legend, Half-Beastmen expert Barbarian Tian suffers a counter-hunt!"

"God of Slaughter escapes pursuit, Hall of Famous Generals suffers a blow, public listing uncertain!"

Sure enough, the top hot post for the last 24 hours was about Barbarian Tian’s pursuit of Huang Yi!

This highly anticipated hunt, featuring a Celestial Realm Expert for the first time in this fashion, had for now, come to a temporary close. Unlike previous hunts with clear video broadcasts and earth-shattering carnage, all there was this time was the brief scene of two shooting stars over Apocalypse City.

"The Story Behind It, Who Saved God of Slaughter?" Just then, Huang Yi noticed an interesting post written by the famous forum member Heartless Reminiscence, which was getting a lot of attention, and Huang Yi clicked to read it.

"I believe that after watching the footage of those two shooting stars over Apocalypse City, everyone is very curious as to why a Celestial Realm Expert like Barbarian Tian would so disgracefully be hunted down by someone even stronger. Who could be after him? Instakill is only a Level 90 player, so how could he have such a powerful ally? Let me give a simple analysis and see who could be backing Instakill."

"Firstly, everyone knows that on the Mainland China Zone, oh, I mean, now known as the Hero’s Continent, there are no Celestial Realm Experts, the strongest being those of the Holy Domain Rank. Therefore, Instakill’s Celestial Realm helper couldn’t possibly be from the continent itself but must be from elsewhere. Many might speculate if this Celestial Realm Expert comes from a foreign power, like the Central Continent. I think the chances of that are slim to none, as Instakill has never left this continent, so it’s unlikely he has connections with the power players of the Central Continent. If it were Thunder God, then maybe it could be possible since he owns a Deep Sea Battleship, capable of leaving the continent and traversing the world. However, Instakill and Thunder God are archenemies, so even if Thunder God has a Deep Sea Battleship, it’s improbable he would offer a ride to Instakill. All in all, Instakill couldn’t leave the continent."

"Apart from foreign regions, how could Instakill find a Celestial Realm Expert within the local area? As we know, during his time in Dragon City, Instakill once single-handedly slew over three hundred thousand players, an act that attracted the attention of the leader of The Seven Archdemons, the King of Hell, Yanmo, who then bestowed upon Instakill the title of The Eighth Great Demon King. Recently, there have been frequent reports of the imminent reality of The Seven Archdemons and the appearance of Demonic Creatures all over the world, and the Hero’s Continent is no exception. Thirty years ago, Dark King Uk’ar led the Undead Army out of the Abyss of the Undead, invading Hero’s Continent. The passage from that Abyss was later destroyed by Divine Marksman Ica, temporarily severing the continent’s connection to the space where The Seven Archdemons dwell."

"At present, it seems likely that The Seven Archdemons still have a passage in the Abyss, and the reason why Instakill went to the Abyss to avoid Man Tian’s pursuit could very well be due to this fact. He used the identity of The Eighth Great Demon King to gain access to the entrance of the Abyss and went to the space where The Seven Archdemons are located, seeking help from a Celestial Realm Expert."

"This is very disturbing news. Instakill’s close relationship with The Seven Archdemons, his rapidly increasing strength which has always been a mystery, and his unusual ability to frequently summon Holy Domain Warriors are all very abnormal. If we consider him as an affiliate of The Seven Archdemons, then everything makes sense. I venture to guess that Instakill has probably joined the forces of The Seven Archdemons..."

Seeing this, Huang Yi felt a sinking feeling in his heart. The post by Heartless Reminiscence was essentially pushing him into a pit of fire, positioning him against the entire Second World.

There had been similar assertions before, claiming that Huang Yi was affiliated with The Seven Archdemons, but they subsided due to a lack of evidence. Now, by repelling Man Tian using the Fallen Messenger, he had inadvertently planted another hidden danger, reigniting these speculations. Once misunderstandings take shape, they become very hard to dispel.

However, Huang Yi didn’t care about others’ opinions. The truth would eventually come to light, and misunderstandings on the forum would not affect his actions in the Second World.

He logged off, ready to leave the forum and enter the Second World.

Just then, a new pinned post suddenly appeared in the most prominent position, and it was highlighted in red and bold—

The Era Corporation is about to host the inaugural Martial Arts Tournament, where experts from countries around the world will directly compete! God of Slaughter, Thunder God, Heavenly Emperor, Pope, Dragon Emperor—experts from all walks will meet on narrow paths, but who will claim the crown of Martial Emperor!

The Martial Arts Tournament!

These striking words instantly captured Huang Yi’s attention!

Moreover, the headline directly named five characters, including himself. These were the only five players in the world who had received Name Bestowing, symbolizing a particular status.

Other experts were not mentioned, the most notable absentees being Sharp Sword, who had won last year’s Best Individual Award, and Dao Feng, who had been out of the public eye for a long time.

Huang Yi was very interested in this announcement and immediately clicked to read more.

"Over the two years since the Second World’s launch, a multitude of experts have emerged and been the subject of endless discussion. However, the best players from hundreds of nations have always been confined to their own continents and have never competed together on the same platform. Since Thunder God built the world’s first Deep Sea Battleship, the continents of the Second World have started interconnecting; led by God of Slaughter, a group of top Level players is now approaching the Holy Domain Rank, indicating significant advancement in average player strength; and guilds like the Hall of Famous Generals are on the verge of going public, soon facing a space development era... All of these acts of players are signaling that a brand new era is coming. To welcome this new era, Era Corporation has decided to host an unprecedented Martial Arts Tournament. This competition is open to everyone, with rich prizes, and should not be missed!"

Huang Yi then carefully reviewed the rules of the Martial Arts Tournament.

The tournament had two formats: individual and 500-person team matches, but the competition structure was the same for both, featuring a mix of knockout and point-based rounds.

For the individual competition, it began with an open selection process using a knockout system, with five rounds in total. Successively, it would screen for the top 1 billion, top 100 million, top 1 million, top 1024, and the last round, selecting the top 64 participants—the round allowing for byes. After each victory, participants would receive a varying number of Stone Exchanges to redeem rewards from the prize warehouse.

After the knockout stage, the top 64 players in the world would be selected for the point-based competition, also called round-robin. The 64 players were divided into Group A and Group B, with 32 players in each. Everyone in a group had to compete against the other 31 members, with a win earning one point and no points for a loss. Ultimately, the top four from each group would be decided based on their scores. This stage too awarded Stone Exchanges for each victory, and the amount was substantial.

Subsequently, there were the quarterfinals using a knockout system, with the top four players from each group crossing over for battles: Group A’s 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place would face off against Group B’s 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place respectively, with the losers eliminated. This phase would determine the top four players. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote with your Recommendation Ticket and Monthly Tickets on Starting Point (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read on m.qidian.com.)