Chapter 549 - 338: The Third Stage

Chapter 549: Chapter 338: The Third Stage

SHLICK SHLICK SHLICK SHLICK—!

A series of scalp-numbing sounds of tearing flesh rang out almost simultaneously.

The blood-red blade of light moved as if it had a life of its own, weaving and darting bizarrely between the seven or eight people charging at it.

It ignored the sturdy man’s seemingly indestructible tower shield defense.

It pierced through like a hot knife through butter, slicing both him and his shield in half.

It skirted around a blazing spear of fire and silently lopped off the caster’s head.

It penetrated layer after layer of ice shields, precisely shattering the heart of the caster at their core...

Utterly devastating!

A true display of overwhelming force!

Those seven or eight Saint Realm geniuses who had answered the call to resist, regardless of what Law they wielded or what defensive treasures or bloodline Divine Techniques they unleashed, were as fragile as paper before that blood-red blade of light.

Their teamwork, their courage.

Their desperate struggle seemed so pale and laughable in the face of absolute, crushing power.

In a single exchange, they couldn’t even touch the hem of Barton’s clothes.

Then they all fell in unison, dissolving into motes of white light.

The entire process was suffocatingly fast.

There wasn’t even much of an aftershock from exploding energy, only the thick stench of blood that began to fill the air.

"HISS—!"

This scene terrified the remaining contestants on the platform to their very souls.

The small flame of resistance, just ignited by the sturdy man, was instantly and completely extinguished.

The remaining geniuses completely broke down, utterly dominated by fear.

They screamed, scrambling madly toward the edges of the platform.

Cursing their parents for not giving them two more legs, their only thought was to get as far away as possible from the god of death in the center of the arena.

However, this was only the beginning.

Barton’s figure finally moved.

He moved across the platform as if taking a leisurely stroll. With every step, one or more flashes of blood-red light appeared.

Each blade of light locked precisely onto a target.

No matter how fast those fleeing geniuses were, how bizarre their Body Techniques, or how strong their defenses...

...it was all meaningless before the blood-red glint that seemed to contain the Laws of spatial severing and death itself.

Screams rose and fell one after another as the points of light, each representing a powerful life force, vanished rapidly.

In an instant, the entire hundred-li platform had become Barton’s personal slaughterhouse!

He silently wielded an invisible butcher’s knife, clearing the field of life with efficiency, precision, and cold-blooded ruthlessness.

There were no flashy moves, no unnecessary words—only the purest, most efficient form of slaughter.

By the time only ten people remained on the platform, less than a minute had passed.

The hundred-li platform was now empty, with only the thick, lingering, blood-soaked killing intent serving as proof of what had just occurred.

The spectator stands fell into a brief, dead silence, which was then shattered by an even more frenzied, almost insane roar of cheers!

"Blood Slaughter! Blood Slaughter! Blood Slaughter!"

The system notification sounded at the perfect moment: "Best Performer of this Match: Blood Slaughter Barton."

The result was never in doubt.

After the first match ended, the number of spectators decreased at a visible rate.

This was especially true for the contestants in the preparation area, most of whom had come specifically to watch Blood Slaughter Barton.

Having witnessed the crushing massacre firsthand, they left one after another, either satisfied or with lingering fear in their hearts.

Li Wen took a long, deep look at Barton’s solitary, aloof figure on the platform.

Without a word, he turned and left as well, preparing to continue his own training.

A day passed in the blink of an eye.

When the tenth battle royale finally concluded, it marked the complete end of the second stage of the Cosmic Peak Genius Battle’s Alka District—the Thousand-Man Cage Match.

From one hundred thousand qualifiers, after ten days of brutal elimination, one thousand top prodigies had finally been decided upon, earning the right to compete for the final rankings.

...

「Meanwhile.」

Inside a luxurious cultivation villa provided by the Source Net’s Alka branch.

Li Wen slowly opened his eyes, ending his brief period of meditation.

The second stage was over. As usual, the system should be distributing the experience point rewards.

With a hint of anticipation, he mentally opened the system panel that only he could see.

However, in the experience point column on the panel, the number hadn’t moved at all. There was no notification of any increase.

Li Wen couldn’t help but freeze for a moment. ’What’s going on? It wasn’t distributed?’

He checked again; the panel truly hadn’t changed.

He frowned in thought for a moment but quickly figured out the problem.

’I see... It’s probably because even though I made it into the top one thousand, my final rank hasn’t been officially determined yet.

The third stage is the true ranking battle. According to the system’s rules, this second stage and the upcoming third stage...

...are probably considered a single, combined event. The experience points will likely be calculated and distributed all at once after the final rankings are set.’

Once he understood, the trace of doubt in Li Wen’s mind vanished.

He didn’t feel much disappointment. Instead, he became even more focused on the final showdown to come.

He stopped worrying about the panel, calmed his mind, and slowly closed his eyes, once again immersing himself in his comprehension of the Time Law.

Void Energy flowed gently with his breaths, and the entire cultivation room fell silent once more.

Only the silver Dao Seed within him flickered with a deep and mysterious luster.

...

As the intense competition of the second stage’s main event came to a close, the revival matches began in quick succession.

This supplementary tournament was the last chance the Source Net offered to those who were powerful but unlucky.

After all, during the hundred battle royales over the past ten days, some matches had featured absolute powerhouses who far surpassed their peers, like Blood Slaughter Barton, Mo Shou Hua Sha, and Killing God Li Wen.

This caused many contestants who had the strength to advance to be unfortunately reduced to background characters and eliminated early.