Twin Stars Bar.
"Twelve crystals, a total of six thousand Mind Power, all fully charged."
Upon seeing Guan Tong arrive, Black Star imdiately handed over the items.
Guan Tong checked them. All the crystals were indeed fully charged with Mind Power, so he paid the agreed-upion price in Ascension Coins.
After storing the crystals, Guan Tong asked, "Was the collection process smooth?"
"Not just smooth, it was *too* smooth!" Black Star laughed. "Once the word got out, many people were scrambling to sell
their Mind Power."
Guan Tong nodded.
This was within his expectations.
Trading their daily, automatically replenishing flow Mind Power for a generous 1:1 exchange of Ascension Coins was a great deal for the vast majority of Ascendants.
"However..."
"However?"
"Collecting Mind Power on this scale will definitely cause the news to spread far and wide. It would be impossible to keep it secret." Black Star reminded him. "I accepted this commission, so I certainly won't leak any related intelligence, but I can't guarantee that so people won't start eyeing you, the employer."
Guan Tong understood Black Star's aning.
Massively purchasing Mind Power would definitely attract the attention of observant individuals.
These people would wonder what soone buying so much Mind Power intends to do, and they might even set their sights on the buyer themselves. After all, such a generous offer suggests considerable wealth.
But this was unavoidable.
Guan Tong could try to collect secretly, which might avoid drawing attention, but the efficiency would be far too low.
In the era of the Doomsday Rules, with rules appearing one after another without interruption, ti is extrely precious for anyone determined to survive until the end. There's no room for slow-paced developnt.
"Thanks for the reminder, I'll be careful. I'll bring the crystals back in a bit, and pick them up again tonight for a second round."
"Alright, take care!"
Watching Guan Tong leave, Black Star glanced at the Ascension Coins in his panel.
"Did he pay up?" White Star asked, walking over from the back.
"Of course. Every collection involves over ten thousand in turnover. Even if he's a world-class big shot, I wouldn't agree to front the money for him."
White Star pursed her lips. "Soone like him definitely wouldn't default."
Black Star looked at her. "White Star, you didn't want
to cooperate with him before. What, changed your mind?"
"...I was worried about the danger before. But after these two interactions, I feel like this person is actually quite reasonable, not as cold-blooded and terrifying as the rumors say."
"Can't bla you for the preconception. Who wouldn't be scared after the way this big shot first made a na for himself?"
"Shadow" first gained fa seemingly during the Marathon Rule, securing first place with an incomprehensibly exaggerated score, but that didn't cause much of a stir.
What truly made his reputation explode was the subsequent First Ascendant Challenge Tournant.
During that tournant, "Shadow" killed countless competitors in the Holy Grail defense battle... Even though death on Holy Grail Island ant elimination, not actual death, those he eliminated still personally experienced the agony of being pierced by shadow spikes.
From that mont on, the word "ruthless" beca inseparable from "Shadow's" image, and subsequent events like the assassination further solidified this impression. Even though evidence later erged suggesting his actions had reasons, once a stereotype forms, it's not easy to overturn.
White Star's wariness, even fear, stemd not just from these rumors, but also from personal experience. After Black Star accepted the commission to sell Guan Tong intelligence on Lijeka, Lijeka was assassinated within two days... When she learned of Lijeka's death, she couldn't help but worry that "Shadow" would co to silence Black Star.
Even though that didn't happen, she didn't want to accept commissions from such a dangerous person again. But Black Star convinced her, and after this interaction, she also felt the other party wasn't as frightening as she imagined.
"Still, don't get too relaxed." Black Star didn't forget to admonish his sister, who had acted on her own before. "A big shot is still a big shot. Who knows what taboos they might have. We just do the commission properly. If we don't ddle or ask about other things, we won't offend them, understand?"
"Mm."
"Alright, once he brings the crystals back, we'll need to charge them again. Let's go contact so more Ascendants, alternating with the last batch."
"Okay, I understand."
The two went off to contact Ascendants they knew for Guan Tong's commission. anwhile, Guan Tong, having left the Twin Stars Bar, used Body Swap to reach a safe location and took out the [Wordless Book].
Flipping to the page with "Mind Power" written on it, he took out the Mind Power Crystals and began the conversion using the book's power.
A 10:1 conversion ratio ant only 1/10 remained, with the other 9/10 being wasted. It was undeniably wasteful.
But Guan Tong had no choice; this was his current conversion limit. He had tried to improve the storage ratio but failed. It seed he would have to wait until his Mind Power Upper Limit broke through to the next stage before any improvent in this area might be possible.
Soon, six thousand points of Mind Power were converted into 600 reserve Mind Power, displayed on his terminal panel.
Later, when he returned the crystals and absorbed another batch tonight, he would gain an additional 1200 reserve Mind Power for the day. 1200 per day ant 36,000 per month.
"The efficiency is still a bit low..."
Guan Tong sighed.
"My plan is to spend a total of seven million Ascension Coins to purchase Mind Power. After full conversion, that's seven hundred thousand reserve. At only thirty-six thousand per month, it would take nearly 20 months to complete the conversion."
Twenty months was almost two years. Guan Tong couldn't afford to wait that long.
Therefore, he decided that during this period, he would also need to obtain so other items capable of storing and transmitting Mind Power to speed up the conversion process.
Relying on himself to compete against the professional bidders from major organizations in the terminal market... he felt he was no match.
But today, the Counterasures Research Office had contacted him, wanting to cooperate. Guan Tong thought that after finishing his business in Xisiya, when cooperation began, he could request so Mind Power transmission items as paynt in advance.
After all, Gao Liangwei had explicitly stated during the video call that they would provide all necessary materials for the operation. What exactly was needed would naturally be up to him, the team leader.
After thinking for a while, Guan Tong sent the crystals back to the Twin Stars Bar and then returned to Yelanka's estate.
When he returned, Yelanka had just finished her office work and erged from the study.
"Teacher, I need to go to the competition venue later. Please accompany ."
"Are you going to watch the matches? That's rather..."
Even though Xisiya's Competition Arena wasn't open to the public, operating in a closed competition mode, watching people fight to the death on-site was hardly a pleasant experience.
Yelanka's expression was complicated. "Regardless, those who signed up to participate are strong individuals confident in their abilities. Yet these strong individuals have to face such brutal competition... As the Administrator, making an appearance at the venue can also show that I value them..."
Seeing her less decisive than usual, Guan Tong felt she might also be uncertain whether the decision to establish an official competition arena was right or wrong.
...
Unlike other countries that established competition arenas while trying to hide them, the Suroma Empire, from the mont it announced on-site ticket sales for spectators, saw all tickets sell out within seconds despite a wave of criticism.
Whether it was the cheapest tickets at 50 Ascension Coins or the expensive ones at 600, they were all sold out in a flash.
Many who managed to buy tickets could even resell them for double the profit. So scalped tickets with better seats could sell for several tis the original price.
This high demand left many people utterly astonished.
Judging from the overwhelmingly negative public opinion, many thought no one would go to watch the competition live.
But in the end, human nature prevailed.
Now, after a full day of preparation yesterday and this morning, in the afternoon, the Suroma Competition Arena was officially put into use.
It was a venue remodeled from a large basketball stadium for competitions. After removing the hoops and other equipnt, the entire spacious area was used as the competition zone.
The spectator area didn't change much, though so front-row seats were removed for fear of accidental injury from the contestants.
The first match was about to begin. Ticket-holding spectators had taken their seats, discussing excitedly.
"Is it starting soon? I can't wait!"
"Yeah, I had a hard ti snagging a ticket."
"You're lucky you got one! I bought mine from a scalper for double the price!"
"The contestants aren't entering yet, hurry up!"
"I hope they have several matches, that would be more satisfying to watch!"
In the high-up private boxes, so well-dressed dignitaries looked down at the expectant crowd below, chatting and joking among themselves.
Soone said disdainfully, "People's bodies are always more honest than their mouths. They protest wildly online, yet the venue is packed. How laughable."
"Perfectly normal." The person next to him said calmly. "What people love to watch most is conflict. Otherwise, where did the fans and profits for those old boxing and martial arts matches co from... You must rember, many spectators back then knew the matches were just scripted performances, yet they still enjoyed them imnsely."
"Haha, this competition won't have any script, nor will there be countouts or surrenders."
"Exactly. Once you step onto the stage, you either win or die. A match where death is inevitable is precisely what creates this sea of spectators."
Soone rubbed their hands together, unable to hide the excitent on their face. "I'm starting to understand why ancient people enjoyed watching slaves fight in the arena. Without bloodshed, it really isn't interesting!"
"I wonder if any true powerhouses will erge here. I'm looking forward to it."
"Hehe~ A true powerhouse wouldn't perform like a clown in front of countless spectators~"
After this sowhat sickly-sweet voice sounded, everyone in the box looked over. Seeing the woman who entered, they all showed surprise.
"Miss Yishan is here."
"Please, have a seat, Miss Yishan!"
The more perceptive individuals in the group stepped forward to initiate conversation, their words and expressions full of flattery.
Even though everyone present was from noble families, compared to this blonde, blue-eyed woman, their statuses all paled in comparison.
Facing their flattery, Yishan sat down on the central sofa in the box with righteous confidence, as if it were the most natural thing. Looking down at the competition field below, she said, "What I just said, do you think it's right?"
"Of course it's right! Others buy tickets to watch them perform, they're practically clowns!"
"The true powerhouses should be us, no, the true powerhouse is Miss Yishan."
"Yes, yes."
Everyone chid in agreent. The woman nad Yishan smiled and said, "I'm very interested in the rewards for this rule, so my goal is to be in the top three."
Top three?!
Everyone exchanged glances. Securing a top three position among all Ascendants worldwide was no easy feat.
Especially...
They looked at the number above Yishan's head. The "1" was particularly conspicuous.
"Think I'm talking nonsense because I only have 1 point now?" Yishan saw through their thoughts. "But why should I rush? Once these people participating in the matches accumulate plenty of points, I'll just take them in the end."
"...!"
Yishan's words caused a slight shock in everyone's hearts, though not too much surprise.
Killing a high-point holder to seize all the points they had accumulated so far was indeed a fast-track thod for ranking up.
But the prerequisite for this condition was—you had to be able to kill the high-point holder.
This seed contradictory, because if an Ascendant wasn't strong, how would they have high points? If they were strong, how could killing them to steal their points be so easy?
But everyone in the box knew that if it was this woman nad Yishan before them, it would be all too easy.
As the biological daughter of the King of the Suroma Empire, she undoubtedly wielded imnse power. Perhaps she herself lacked skill, but with a single word, countless skilled individuals would be willing to handle matters for her.
To seize points, she wouldn't need to personally fight strong opponents. She just needed to order others to beat a high-point holder to near death, and then she could elegantly deliver the final blow herself.
The power brought by this status and position was mightier than the strength of any powerhouse, sothing all the noble youths in the box understood perfectly well.
"Hasn't the match started yet? With so many people, it's so noisy and chaotic. I don't want to wait too long." Yishan said unhappily. "I have a beauty appointnt to get to later."
"Don't worry, Miss Yishan, I'll have soone go urge the staff imdiately."
"I'll go down personally!"
" too."
Everyone wanted to leave a good impression on Yishan. They just couldn't see that Yishan, with her back to them, was filled with disgust at their flattery.
Seven or eight minutes later, the match was finally ready.
A television host, famous throughout Suroma, took the stage first and said passionately, "Ladies and gentlen, today is the first match day of the 'Death Race'! Our Suroma warriors will fight for victory and honor! Now, let's all cheer together and welco our first group of contestants!"
"Oh!!!"
Amidst the cheers, over a dozen people ascended to the competition field, further igniting the excitent in the venue.
"It's not a one-on-one duel!"
"Is it a multi-person lee? That's fantastic! This must be even more thrilling to watch than a duel!"
"Kill, kill, kill! I want to see people die!"
The roaring in the venue didn't cease. The host shouted several tis before barely suppressing it, then explained, "As you all know, this Rule Period is only seven days. One day has already passed, leaving six. Given the large number of participants, one-on-one battles would take too much ti. Therefore, the competition will adopt a free-for-all format."
"Each round of the competition will have fifteen Ascendants participating. They will fight and battle together within the arena. The last contestant standing will be the winner of that round and will advance to the next stage of the competition!"
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