At 7 o’clock in the evening.
The lights in the Tian Qin National Stadium simultaneously dimd.
After a few seconds of waiting, a spotlight shone on the stage rising in the center of the field, revealing several dancers dressed in gorgeous costus.
The opening act was a dance performance.
The dancers were Mutants, capable of doing movents ordinary people couldn’t manage—leaping, spinning, and even flying. Their dance movents were graceful yet filled with a sense of strength, and when combined with the backdrop and projection effects, they delivered a spectacular audio-visual feast to the audience.
This was just the start, and the viewership numbers on the live stream and the Virtual Platform had already surpassed 1.5 billion!
After the dancers exited, a deafening, grandiose music filled the stadium, and two hosts, a man and a woman, made their entrance.
Both were top global presenters.
During their introduction, two teams composed of celebrities, famous personages, and retired competitive Mutants entered the field.
A total of sixteen players, a mix of handso n, beautiful won, and Mutants—each a household na—made their appearances with individual introductions that incited cheers from their fans, creating an incredibly enthusiastic atmosphere.
All these people were chosen by Li Xuan.
Rumor had it that many celebrities wanted to participate so badly that they used their connections, mobilized their resources, and even bid high prices to secure a spot.
Ultimately, with Li Xuan’s final decision, these sixteen were chosen, divided into two teams.
Each team consisted of five starters and three substitutes, had a team na, ford a temporary club, designed their uniforms and slogans, and even hired coaching teams from the Super League. They started training on tactics a month in advance, their professionalism rivaled that of the professional leagues.
Their team training was also broadcast from start to finish, turned into a variety show with very high viewership.
Fans of each player argued, trashed each other, and cursed online; the drama was at an all-ti high, making it quite the spectacle.
Today was the day they would discern the victors from the vanquished.
A best-of-three-out-of-five system.
Shortly after the two teams made their appearance, the first match began imdiately.
Players from both teams walked onto platforms at both ends of the stadium, where there were soundproof glass pods. The audience could see the inside clearly.
All the procedures followed those of the Super League.
A five-minute preparation countdown began, and players huddled around the team coach, their expressions serious as they received their final tactical deploynt and psychological preparation.
Those who regularly watched matches were no strangers to this scene.
On the live broadcast screen, the comntators also started analyzing the situation of the two teams eloquently, ensuring that the audience wouldn’t feel bored while waiting.
In the vip box.
Zhao Manying watched the scene with a light laugh, "They’ve made it quite professional."
As the number one active competitive Mutant and on her own turf, she had fought several hundred matches here and knew it all too well, yet today was the first ti she watched a match as an audience mber, which inevitably felt novel.
"It’s all arranged by Li Xuan’s team," Ji Xinghuo nodded in agreent, "This is his strength."
Li Xuan’s rise to the status of Heavenly King relied on his top-notch marketing skills, which were no less impressive than his cultivation talent, and maybe even stronger.
Wang Yinlong also remarked, "If Thousand Illusion Swordsman were dedicated to starting a business, he could definitely create a huge comrcial empire."
"How much money could that make?" Liangqiu Feiyan couldn’t help but daydream.
Ye Dongyun had so understanding of the matter, "Not to brag about being the world’s richest, but hitting the trillions is definitely no issue. He would rank among the top few in the national wealth rankings."
The expressions of everyone in the vip box varied.
So aspired, so were shocked, while others remained unmoved, quite composed.
With a sigh, An Yitian said, "If given a choice between a trillion and being a Heavenly King, I would definitely choose being a Heavenly King."
"Sa here," Su Ziyou spoke.
Everyone beca interested, and they each responded to the hypothetical scenario.
The vast majority chose to beco a Heavenly King, which was obvious, for the world has more than a hundred individuals and families with trillions in wealth, yet there are only 49 Heavenly Kings. Moreover, a few Heavenly Kings possess trillions in assets as well.
Strength and wealth do not conflict.
Sotis they are closely connected. Once a Mutant gains great Strength, wealth naturally follows.
"It’s starting."
All five starting players from each team lay down in the projection pods, entering the Spirit Realm World.
A gigantic screen projected in the middle of the stadium displayed the scenes within the Spirit Realm World; three-dinsionally vivid, it allowed the on-site audience to see clearly as if they were part of the action, which was also simultaneously broadcast to the whole world via the internet.
The first match was thrilling.
The two teams were well-matched, and the players were individually strong with appropriate tactics. The match was closely contested, with the outco only decided towards the very end.
Ji Xinghuo thoroughly enjoyed watching, and the audience was left wanting more.
During each intermission between matches, a performance act took to the stage.
Appearing was a long-famous diva, who received a warm welco from the audience. Ji Xinghuo also frequently listened to her music. She perford three songs in a row, turning the competition arena into her own concert.
Then ca the second match.
And so the cycle continued.
Was it the script or tactical arrangents that were well done? The two teams took turns winning. If one team lost, they imdiately ca back in the next match.
The first four matches ended in a draw.
Not only was there an act perford in every intermission, but each match also lasted to the maximum allowable ti, with no swift victories, while ensuring a high level of excitent.
The audience enjoyed it, the players thrived on it, and it was extrely stimulating.
The online popularity had already exploded.
dia from every country around the globe reported the match in real ti, with related topics flooding social platforms.
By the ti of the fifth match, the number of live viewers had broken through 4 billion.
This is nearly one tenth of the global population!
Just from selling broadcasting rights and online tickets, the revenue from tonight’s showdown far exceeded expectations.
"Li Xuan is truly a damn genius."
Chi Zhonglin looked at the live streaming data and couldn’t help but sigh; his words were t with unanimous agreent by everyone in the VIP area.
Ji Xinghuo also had to admire Li Xuan’s marketing abilities.
If in an era without Abilities, or in a world where strength did not overwhelm capital and power, soone like Li Xuan would certainly beco a person who could command the wind and rain, rather than just a celebrity Heavenly King.
Amidst the earth-shaking cheers, the two star teams erged with a victor, exiting the projection pods to accept the cheers and adulations from the audience and fans.
By then, the opening had already been going on for two hours.
Next was a singing and dancing performance put on by the star contestants, which brought the atmosphere to a climax.
After the performance, the stars retreated from the stage.
The entire Tian Qin stadium fell silent, with the hundreds of thousands of spectators holding their breath in anticipation.
Bang, bang.
Two spotlights ca down, each shining on one of the two VIP boxes at the top of the stadium, one south and one north, with the two protagonists of the day, Ji Xinghuo and Li Xuan, in the middle on the big screen.
Ji Xinghuo still maintained his privacy, with his face in the live broadcast replaced by a default "average male face," completely unremarkable.
But this face was perfectly synced with his real expressions, not missing a single detail.
Ji Xinghuo stood up and raised his right hand to signal to the audience.
By comparison, Li Xuan held nothing back, flaunting his handso features to the global audience. Wearing a flowing traditional robe, he maintained a splendid smile, frequently waving to the audience and caras, engendering a sense of goodwill.
In terms of making an entrance, Ji Xinghuo was clearly at a disadvantage.
But he did not care.
The host announced with an enthusiastic and resonant voice, "Dear audience, the next to take the stage are two heavyweight figures, adversaries tonight. First up, he reached the top of the ladder in just three years, a rising star who just turned 25 two months ago, the unparalleled genius of our ti, the brightest star of our era—Ji Xinghuo!"
The huge projection screen split in half.
One half played past footage of Ji Xinghuo.
Last year, slaying the Legendary in this very venue, breaking through the air defense system of the Indi Kingdom, sprinting in the Global Marathon, climbing hills and crossing ridges, and finally winning the championship by running backwards across the finish line in front of the Sun King.
The other half showed Ji Xinghuo in the live feed. As the host finished speaking, he was about to enter the stage when Zhao Manying beside him took hold of his hand.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, Zhao Manying planted a gentle kiss.
"Damn!"
"Holy shit..."
Witnessing the kiss between the man and woman on the screen, especially Zhao Manying’s stunning beauty and tall figure, in that instant, countless viewers burned with jealousy. Both the Virtual Platform and the live streaming rooms were overwheld by a tidal wave of comnts.
"Ji Xinghuo, let go of your filthy paws!"
"I’m just here to watch the ga, why do I have to be fed dog food? Damn it, let Thousand Illusion Swordsman finish him off for !"
Ji Xinghuo did not know what others thought, but he himself was very happy, lightly embracing Zhao Manying’s waist and savoring this mont in the lilight.
The two held the pose for a few seconds.
"Good luck."
Zhao Manying whispered encouragingly to Ji Xinghuo as they parted.
All n envied him, for having a girlfriend who was globally renowned for her talent, strength, fa, and unparalleled beauty—sothing they wouldn’t even dare to dream of.
Ji Xinghuo nodded at her, picked up the Black Constant Crystal Battle Bow and Electric Potential Battle Blade that were placed on the side, and flew out of the box.
Whoosh...
A soft whistling sound followed as Ji Xinghuo descended into the center of the arena.
The host then loudly continued, "Now, welco the world’s youngest Heavenly King, founder of ’Mystery’ studio, holder of multiple cultivation records, mber of the billion fans club..."
The introduction for Li Xuan was noticeably longer, covering all of his titles and honors, with even more personal videos.
"...ranked 45th on the Heavenly King list, ’Thousand Illusion Swordsman’, Li Xuan!"
A serene the of music full of celestial vibes began playing, complete with visual effects.
Li Xuan flew out from the opposite box, deliberately slowing down, descending majestically like a deity from the heavens, step by step to the ground.
As he landed in front of Ji Xinghuo, with the music’s beat coming to an end, it felt perfectly tid.
In contrast, Ji Xinghuo seed more plain. Were it not for Zhao Manying’s kiss, the two n’s presence wouldn’t even compare. From the grand entrance to appearance, popularity, Ji Xinghuo ranked far below Li Xuan, not seeming like soone in the sa league.
Li Xuan was all smiles.
All of this was within his plan, and now he was just missing a perfect victory. He was filled with ample confidence.
"Please enter the Spirit Realm World," the host said.
The two shook hands, without wasting any more words, and flew to their respective isolation booths at the ends of the platform. They lay down in the projection pods, equipped with their weaponry.
The duel was also a best-of-five.
There was a five-minute break between each round, but no performances were scheduled.
A countdown appeared before their eyes.
At zero, Ji Xinghuo’s view changed in an instant, and he found himself amidst an unending range of mountains.
At the sa ti, the Tian Qin stadium projected a three-dinsional image, real-ti synchronizing with the scenery in the Spirit Realm World, including the map, data, and various angles of cara shots, showcasing both participants’ locations and situations in multiple perspectives.
Tens of billions of viewers watched the two n on the screen, their hearts beating faster.
"It’s finally starting!"
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