Sovereign of Stars

Chapter 40 – First battle

The Royal Hunting Ground is an expansive, independent space.

Within this space, there are mountains and rivers, much like the outside world.

Nearly a hundred thousand geniuses participating in the hunt have simultaneously appeared in the hunting ground.

"Hmm?"

As soon as Su Xin appeared, he scanned his surroundings. Although he could see some people nearby, the companions who had stood with him, like Dragon Blade and Qiu Ze, were nowhere to be seen.

"Has everyone been scattered?" Su Xin murmured to himself.

"Young ones."

A grand voice echoed from the void above the hunting ground, resonating in every corner.

All the geniuses in the hunting ground listened intently.

"The rules for the first stage of the hunt are simple!"

"When you registered your identity at the camp, each of you received a token representing your identity. Your task is to do whatever it takes to kill the people you encounter and seize the tokens in their possession!"

"After five days, the thousand people with the most tokens will pass."

"Additionally, the identity token contains a special restriction that can protect your life at the brink of death. Therefore, you can attack freely. Even if you kill someone, they won't truly die; they will just be eliminated."

"Young ones, go wild!"

The grand voice gradually faded away.

The geniuses in the hunting ground immediately understood the rules of the hunt.

This is a free-for-all!

A slaughter feast gathering nearly a hundred thousand geniuses!!

"Nearly a hundred thousand geniuses, and only a thousand can remain?"

Su Xin squinted his eyes. Upon entering the hunting ground, he realized that he could sense the exact location of nearby geniuses through the token in his hand.

This means that as long as someone is around him, no matter how well they hide, he can detect them immediately.

This leads to a situation where, after five days of fighting, even if someone has collected enough tokens, they can't hide.

"They're forcing us into a frenzied battle," Su Xin thought with a frown.

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And at the moment he understood the rules.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Through the token, Su Xin immediately sensed several geniuses nearby, who launched a swift attack toward him.

Among them, four were the fastest.

"All coming to kill me?"

"Do they see me as an easy target because I'm only at the Sea Transformation level?"

Su Xin's eyes turned cold, and he drew his longsword instantly.

The first four to reach Su Xin were three men and one woman, with a sinister-looking young man in purple directly in front of Su Xin.

He held a battle axe in both hands, spiritual power surging around him, and a hint of excitement in his eyes. "A mere Sea Transformation level dares to participate in the Imperial Capital Hunt? If I don't kill you, who will?"

Out of nearly a hundred thousand people, only a thousand will remain.

In other words, killing one person means one less competitor.

And even if 'killed,' the presence of the token ensures they won't truly die, so these geniuses naturally have no mercy.

"Die!"

The sinister-looking young man in purple was the first to attack, swinging his battle axe like a hurricane, aiming at Su Xin.

Su Xin held his sword with one hand and thrust it forward.

It seemed casual, yet it carried sword intent that immediately deflected the battle axe. The longsword then traced through the air, slicing toward the young man's throat.

"What?" The young man in purple was still in shock.

But the restriction in his token had already activated, enveloping him in white light and sending him out of the hunting ground, while the token floated in the air.

With a wave of his hand, Su Xin collected the token.

Just as he finished, the attacks from the other three arrived.

"Get lost!"

Su Xin shouted angrily, his sword turning into lightning.

Phantom Volume, First Form: Dark Light!

Like the last remaining light in endless darkness, the profound concept within the swordsmanship was beyond the imagination of the three geniuses.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

With the sound of metal clashing, the attacks of the three geniuses were not only immediately neutralized, but the weakest among them, a woman, was instantly slain by Su Xin.

"How is this possible?"

"So strong?"

The two remaining geniuses were shocked and immediately turned to flee without hesitation.

Su Xin didn't pursue them but instead collected the token left by the woman.

"These four should barely have the strength to pass the first level of the Dragon-Seeking Tower," Su Xin murmured.

Being able to pass the first level of the Dragon-Seeking Tower... truly a genius. Under normal circumstances, one person could easily kill several at the peak of the Sea Transformation Realm. In a prefecture, they would be among the top experts. Yet two months ago, when Su Xin was only at the initial stage of Sea Transformation, he could easily pass the first level of the Dragon-Seeking Tower.

After two months of training, not only had his cultivation reached the Sea Transformation level, but his swordsmanship and comprehension of sword intent had also improved significantly.

Now, he was confident he could rank in the top ten of this hunt.

Dealing with geniuses who could barely pass the first level of the Dragon-Seeking Tower... was too easy.

He hadn't even fully unleashed his bloodline power.

And he hadn't fully utilized his swordsmanship.

...

While Su Xin was lamenting the weakness of these four geniuses, other geniuses nearby, who had initially rushed toward him, had seen the scene from afar. They had been too far away to arrive immediately.

But on their way, they saw that four geniuses at the peak of the Sea Transformation Realm had gone to kill someone at the Sea Transformation level, only for two of them to be killed in an instant, and the other two to flee in panic...

These approaching geniuses immediately stopped in their tracks.

"This Sea Transformation level is so strong?"

"Four against one, and two were instantly killed. Such strength is definitely at the level of the second floor of the Crimson Dragon Tower!"

"Let's go!"

Without hesitation, these geniuses who had witnessed Su Xin's strength turned and fled, fearing Su Xin would pursue them.

Within the Royal Hunting Ground, due to the rules of the first stage of the hunt, battles were happening everywhere.

Nearly a hundred thousand geniuses participating in the hunt were engaged in frenzied battles to seize tokens from each other.

And as the battles continued, a large number of geniuses were eliminated and sent out of the hunting ground.

...

Outside the hunting ground, on the vast plains, one genius after another was being sent out through the space passage.

"Kang Jing, you were eliminated too, so quickly?"

Several geniuses from Yongning Prefecture, who had already been eliminated, gathered together.

"I couldn't help it. Although my strength is slightly better than yours, it's only barely at the level of the first floor of the Dragon-Seeking Tower. Among the many geniuses in this hunt, I'm still at the bottom. Just as I understood the rules in the hunting ground, a genius came at me and killed me in just two moves."

"That person must be a top genius who has passed the second floor of the Dragon-Seeking Tower. I had no power to resist in front of him."

Kang Jing's face was bitter.

He had hoped to make a name for himself in this hunt, but as soon as he understood the rules, he was 'killed' and eliminated.

In one corner of the plains.

"Brother Chu, how did you get eliminated so early? With your strength, you could have stayed in the hunting ground longer, killed a few geniuses, and seized some tokens," said a genius who had just been eliminated, looking at the somewhat dazed sinister-looking young man in purple.

After a while, the young man in purple came to his senses and replied, "Brother Ling, you might laugh, but I encountered someone at the Sea Transformation level in the hunting ground. I thought I could easily take a token from him, but he killed me in just one move."

"A Sea Transformation level killed you in one move?" The young man's words shocked the surrounding geniuses from the same prefecture.

"I didn't expect it either," the young man in purple said with a bitter smile.

As time passed, more and more geniuses were eliminated.

In just half a day, more than half of the nearly hundred thousand geniuses who had entered the hunting ground had been eliminated.

Soon, a day of slaughter passed.

At night, the geniuses in the hunting ground tacitly chose to cease fighting and rest, as they needed time to recover their spiritual power and eat.

It wasn't until the next morning that the slaughter resumed.

...

Inside the hunting ground.

Swish!

The sword light moved like a spirit snake, slicing along the opponent's weapon toward their neck.

The genius's eyes were filled with shock, but white light had already enveloped them.

"The fourteenth!"

Su Xin calmly watched as the genius was sent out of the hunting ground.

In terms of strength, this genius was close to the level of the second floor of the Dragon-Seeking Tower, but unfortunately, they still had no chance against him.

This was the fourteenth genius he had killed and eliminated in the hunt.

Of course, although he had personally killed and eliminated only fourteen geniuses, he had collected over thirty tokens.

After all, some of these geniuses had also killed and eliminated other geniuses, collecting their tokens. When Su Xin killed them, all the tokens were left behind.

"After a day of slaughter, I'm encountering fewer and fewer geniuses. After I killed the thirteenth genius, it took over an hour to encounter this fourteenth one," Su Xin murmured.

He knew that initially, nearly a hundred thousand geniuses appeared in the hunting ground at the same time, so they were densely packed.

Thus, the initial battles were the fiercest and most frenzied.

But as time passed and more geniuses were eliminated, fewer remained in the hunting ground, so the chances of encountering them decreased.

"However, those who have survived a whole day of fighting and are still in the hunting ground must be experts. They must have many tokens, so killing one of them is worth several of the earlier geniuses," Su Xin thought.

For example, the fourteenth genius he had just killed left behind eight tokens.

...

At noon, the scorching sun baked the earth.

Su Xin walked slowly through a forest, sword in hand.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Su Xin's expression changed. Through the token, he sensed three geniuses nearby.

And those three geniuses had clearly also discovered him through their tokens, rushing toward his location.

"Three acting together, teaming up?" Su Xin wasn't surprised.

After all, in the first stage of the hunt, only a thousand would remain.

And due to the rules, luck played almost no role in this hunt. To pass the first stage, one had to rely on strong abilities to kill other geniuses and seize their tokens.

Those at the very top, like Xia Mang, Duan Yunfeng, and Tu San, could easily kill geniuses and collect enough tokens with their strength.

But those slightly weaker, who weren't confident in passing the first stage alone, had to team up.

In just a moment, the three geniuses appeared before Su Xin.

"Only a Sea Transformation level?"

"Through the token, he should have sensed the three of us coming, yet he didn't flee?"

The three figures stood side by side in front of Su Xin.

Their eyes looked at Su Xin as if he were a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

...