Novels2Search

Chapter 474

As the world faded away and returned, he found himself standing in the middle of a vast grove, filled with other E Rankers. All around, various arenas and other competition venues jostled for attention, each glowing with a faint aura that seemed to hint at their nature if one gazed at it for long enough. Mile high trees surrounded the area, creating a dome that blocked out much of the sky. A notification appeared, and judging by the looks on the other climbers’ faces, it appeared for everyone at the same time.

You have entered the first competition floor(Challenge Mode)!

This floor is different from the others in purpose. It is a place to make new allies and enemies, and to test one’s power against that of their peers. The objectives are fittingly different, depending on which mode you are one. Basic climbers are required to place in the top 2500 in three main competitions to progress. Challenge Mode climbers must place in the top 5 in three main competitions. Everyone must compete in at least three of the various competitions. There will be five main events, and many smaller competitions scattered across the floor. Killing of other fighters outside of events is allowed, but only with prior provocation of the most egregious sort, or with an expressed desire by both for a battle to the death. If you do not fulfill these objectives and follow the rules, you will be expelled from the Tower.

Sam closed the notification, and started to scan the area around him. There were far fewer E Rankers here than he had seen entering the Tower. If the System was to be believed, exactly 100,000. He teleported up into the air, searching for the Overlord.

He spotted the man about half a mile away, already in an altercation with another climber. They were seemingly arguing over who was stronger. Sam raised an eyebrow. He had thought that the Overlord had gotten over his Dao enhanced foibles. Then he realized that the man he was arguing with also had a Dao related to Supremacy. With a sigh, Sam realized that it was about to come to blows.

He wasn’t afraid for the safety of his father, but he was a bit apprehensive about who the other climber might be. If the man had backing from some great sect in the outside world, it might be a poor idea to kill him simply because of a matter of ego. Then again, people had been killed for less in the wider Multiverse.

“Let’s take it to the arena then! If you do not fight me to the death, you are a true coward, unfit for your Dao.” The unfamiliar cultivator roared, his body starting to glow with red light.

He cocked back his fist, and punched, knocking the Overlord back a few steps. A droplet of blood ran down his face, and he wiped at it, an inscrutable look on his face. Sam sighed. It was too late to save the brash cultivator now. In insulting the Overlord’s strength, he had ensured that the only way out of this was death. A circle was beginning to clear around the two men, as the wiser among them realized just how strong the Overlord was.

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“I tire of this,” he said. “Someone as pathetic as you is not worthy of my fist. Here, I will give you a taste of my real power.”

Before Sam could intervene, a dome of red light erupted out of the Overlord, crushing his challenger down into the ground. For the first time, Sam realized the difference between himself and the Overlord, and average cultivators. Blood sprayed out of the man’s eyes and ears, and his bones snapped as the ground beneath him cratered.

“Stop!” Sam shouted, but the Overlord ignored him.

With a snap of his fingers, a plane of force dropped down on the other fighters, flattening him into the ground. A shudder rang out through the clearing, and when the Overlord banished his attack, there was nothing left of the other fighter save for a smear of blood.

“Ah, there you are, Sam,” the man said. “If this is the sort of trash we have to deal with, this floor will be easy in the extreme.”

Sam buried his face in his hands. In one fell swoop, the Overlord had ruined both their reputations, and ensured that everyone else on the floor would see them as enemies. However, there had only been one option there. His Dao would have broken had he done anything else.

He turned, but the nearest cultivator was now hundreds of feet away, and upon locking eyes with Sam, she hurriedly increased the distance between them.

“Great job,” he said sarcastically. “Now everyone will hate us.”

“The hatred of ants is nothing to gods,” the Overlord replied. “Nothing but a sign of power.”

Sam sighed again, even louder, and started to walk towards the nearest of the competition venues. It looked like a standard test of strength, with a pillar of crystal sticking up from the ground and a meter next to it. There were different numbers on the meter, clearly corresponding to power. It was as good a place as any to start.

There were already hundreds of E Rankers surrounding it, watching as the strongest of their number tried their hand. At the moment, a man clad in the robes of a martial artist sent a powerful palm strike slamming into the crystal, imbuing it with his Dao. The pillar flashed a faint yellow in color, and the meter lit up about a quarter of the way. All of the power of the man’s strike had been absorbed into the crystal, ensuring that there was no danger to the spectators.

A leaderboard lit up above the pillar, and the man’s name climbed up, stopping at the ninth spot. Next to it was a number. 172. As Sam read through the other numbers, he realized what they signified. It was the effective level of the strike. Considering the man clad in the martial robes was only level 151, it was impressive that he could strike at a significantly higher level of power.