Death... and me

In the end, Rean was right. This strategy game wasn't anything more than using Roan to bully everyone else. He and the others were simply not in the same league.

Of course, it wasn't as if everyone lost to Roan so brutally. Roan encountered a few guys who had a better grasp of the game and strategy than the majority. Once those rounds arrived, he would take over 100 turns to win, with the hardest fight taking 213 turns. In any case, compared to the first game where he was reading the rules, none of the matches after that got even close to reaching 300 turns.

"Roan Larks from Lukimira Sect wins the Strategy Competition!"

Roan nodded and made his way out of the testing room. As always, he simply ignored all the shocked eyes. Stealth and Strategy were a given in his eyes as they relied way too much on abilities where Roan was unbeatable.

Kayla, Cynthia, and the other elders of the Lukimira Sect didn't even think of celebrating anymore. She didn't want the other powers to lose their patience and attack them, even if it meant going against the Royal Family. That's how irritated everyone was feeling.

Fabio couldn't care less, though. He was excited because all the side occupations and odd tests were finally over. The moment he had been waiting for so long has finally arrived. "Enough with the low-quality Divine Vein prizes and all the boring stuff. The battle-related competitions are finally starting."

Soon after, another spatial door appeared for everyone. "The first one is for physical-based one-on-one fights. In this category, Divine Energy, Soul Power, or any other type of energy is prohibited. You can only rely on your own body's reaction and the weapons you're holding. Now then, those who'll take part in it can come inside. Just remember, there are no rules. Everyone will strike to kill. If you aren't confident in your survival ability, stay outside."

Rean stretched his arms as he moved towards the spatial door's direction, telling the others, "Well, that's my spatial door."

Wamil and the others couldn't help but ask, "You were behind in the strength test. Are you sure you want to take part in this competition? After all, you were planning to use that enhancement ability or whatever of yours, right?"

Rean nodded, replying, "That's true. However, it's not like I'll stay put like the strength test. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Roan glanced at him and asked, "Since Divine Energy can't be used, isn't it better for me to go? Your main advantage in this physical test was indeed the Enhancement Skill, after all."

Rean agreed with Roan but decided to go anyway. "It's fine. Since you're the best of the two of us in battles, I would rather leave you to take care of the other three categories. Besides, I followed your training schedule up to now, didn't I? Do you think I would lose that easily?"

Roan had to admit Rean was true. No one knew better about Rean's progress than himself, who molded it. "So be it."

Rean didn't think he was at a disadvantage, though. The rules were very clear. No Divine Energy or Soul Power could be used. That meant that the difference between his Soul Transformation Realm cultivation and the Saint Realm contenders wouldn't be as big. Sure, the higher one's realm, the stronger one's body became, even if you didn't use Divine Energy to strengthen it. However, not only did Rean survive Roan's hellish training up to today, but he also had two more tricks up his sleeve.

First, everyone could use their own weapons. That meant Rean was able to use his Black Star. Rean has already tested it out. Thanks to the methods he created because of his past-life job as a metallurgist, his Black Star was still much better than any other weapon at the same level. He was confident it wasn't any worse than the weapons used by the Saint Realm cultivators taking part in this test.

The second one was obviously the Soul Gem System's reward! One must not forget that Rean and Roan already got all the Bone Enhancement Upgrades, having the Dragon Bones at the moment.

If anything, Rean was happy that Divine Energy and Soul Power couldn't be used. Sure, he couldn't use his Enhancement skill. However, he still had Roan's training, Dragon Bones, and his own weapon. In a battle where Divine Energy and Soul Power were prohibited, they were far more than enough to cover the gap of cultivation. Rean had all the reasons to feel confident. Raw strength was far from being enough to defeat Rean.

Once inside, Rean immediately saw the many arenas spread in the giant spatial room. Many elders were present to act as the judges of the battles and formations to prevent the fighting from going out of the arenas. However, what caught Rean's eyes was the number of participants. 'As expected of the battle-related categories. This is just the first one, but I can already see at least ten thousand participants. Cultivators might not be good at side occupations and odd tests, but they will always focus on combat strength.'

One must remember that 3889 organizations were taking part in the assembly, each one being allowed to bring up to ten participants. There wasn't a single one of them who didn't bring the maximum number possible. Over ten thousand proved how popular battles were compared to the other contests. And this one relied only on physical strength, which was the most unpopular among all battle-related categories.

As always, an elder of the City Lord's mansion was appointed as the person responsible for the competition. "Welcome. My name is Ravio Dnil. As you can imagine, I will preside over the physical strength battles. Each area has one elder to act as the judge. If someone says 'I give up,' they will immediately act to stop the fight. However, don't forget what Senior Fabio said. Your opponents won't hold back. So if you die before uttering those words, then too bad for you. The judges are there basically for that. Now, let me explain the other rules."

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Author's note: Nine chapters mass release, enjoy!