Chapter 556: Beginning to Cast the Spell

Xiao Yulv spoke up, "In this regard, I believe Mr. Mu still possesses far more authority to speak than I do. From what I understand, Mr. Mu's ladder rank in StarCraft is at the Master level, possessing incredibly unique insights into both strategy and tactics. Furthermore, in Dungeon & Fighter, he just managed to surpass the Supreme level yesterday."

Mr. Mu smiled knowingly, "As for that... Young Master Xiao's contributions regarding strategy guides are something I believe everyone is already well aware of."

The customary commercial flattery commenced.

Inside the Hidden Heaven Hall.

"What exactly do these two people do?! They sound like they might be somewhat formidable?" This crowd clearly understood nothing, catching only the terms Master and Supreme.

"It is said that Mr. Mu has traded blows with quite a few of these contestants himself, so I imagine Mr. Mu's judgment is relatively authoritative," Xiao Yulv remarked. "What I wish to ask is, when Mr. Mu was climbing to the Supreme rank, did you feel that any particular individual was stronger, or who might hold the greatest promise of claiming the championship?"

"Judging by the current outlook, this 'Frantic Slaughter' and 'Zhu Yanxiao' should be the weakest in Group A. This is not for any other reason, but simply because I have encountered them while grinding ranks, and that was the impression they gave."

"Those three?" Xiao Yulv said, "Then what of the Eldest Young Master Song, Song Qingfeng? He happens to be in this very group stage as well."

"Young Master Song's tournament experience might be a trifle richer than theirs," Mu Donglai spoke with fluent ease.

"True, Young Master Song has already secured quite a few rankings previously."

"Ah me." Mu Donglai glanced at the time, noting that the hour for the match to commence drew incredibly near. "Let me tell you, the fiercest competitors in the tournament right now are the Old Prince Nalan; whether in swordsmanship or the Dao of the sword, he stands entirely above the rest. Among the mages, there is Elder Qingfeng of the Xuanyuan family, Xuanyuan Changqing, and additionally, Wang Xie can be considered a young genius."

"Is there not also Vice Principal Zhang of the Haotian Academy? And the Eldest Miss Sprite, are these not masters as well?"

"The champion will most certainly emerge from among these few individuals." Mu Donglai nodded. "Had Senior Gu Tingyun not chosen to participate in the StarCraft World Championship instead, he might have claimed a place among them."

Xiao Yulv said, "Then everyone must bear this well in mind, Mr. Mu has already named the five strongest individuals. The champion will definitively come from these five."

"Ah, right, there is one more." Mr. Mu struck his forehead as recollection dawned, speaking up, "Nalan Mingxue, this young lady is truly formidable."

"Indeed, a perennial champion of past iterations, so that makes six."

Boss Fang was currently watching the live broadcast as well, taking a sip of Cola, when he suddenly caught sight of this scene out of the blue, "Pfft—!"

"Are these the six supreme powerhouses among them?!" Several foreigners from the outer realms had, by now, deeply engraved the names of these six people into their hearts.

"Then next, our tournament shall also officially begin!" Xiao Yulv checked the time and announced, "Now, please direct our camera to the contestants taking the stage."

"The first battle, from the Nanhua Sect of the Morning Star Sea, the Battle Mage Bellatrix Liu Ningyun, against the genius Gunner youth from Half City, the King of Rangers!"

...

At this moment, in the spectator stands of "My Space."

Daoist Qingyun continued to hum under her breath, "The witch lifts her scepter, leaving a frost flower by the window..."

Cradled in her arms was a large bag of the "My Space" version of potato chips gifted by Boss Fang; before she could even begin to eat, her little disciple beside her, Zhuge Yu, snatched a large handful.

"Crunch crunch, munch munch." More than half of the large handful of chips was consumed in moments.

"Yu'er!" In a short while, a pair of beautiful eyes glared over, "How did your master instruct you before we left the house? You must wash your hands before eating! You must chew carefully and swallow slowly when eating."

"Furthermore, no stealing food without your master's permission! Have you remembered?"

Beside them, Boss Fang's face twitched for a spell, "I say, this must be your daughter..."

...

To speak of it, this was actually the very first time this band of foreigners from the outer realms had witnessed an esports tournament.

Over here Jessica munched on a melon, while over there Carl poured himself another cup of fine wine.

"In this round, it seems those six great powerhouses mentioned by those two earlier have not yet taken the field?" Carl spoke as he imbibed his wine, "Though these natives are somewhat more formidable than we imagined, looking at the situation, the strength among them appears rather uneven."

Jessica, chewing her melon, remarked, "The age of this woman does not appear much older than our own. From the looks of it, these people likely intend to let the ordinary masters of the younger generation contend first, while the grand finale emerges later."

Kelvin said, "Mmh, precisely, if I remember correctly, Jessica is also held in quite high regard within your esteemed family, correct?"

"The title of Shadow Spirit was not obtained in vain," Carl beside him raised his cup and laughed in spite of himself.

"I wonder if I might trade blows with this woman," Jessica licked her vermilion lips, revealing an expression of intense interest.

Previously they had harbored thoughts of crushing everyone here, yet now they had clearly lowered their standards, beginning to draw comparisons with the geniuses of the younger generation.

Though everyone appeared exceedingly formidable, one had to realize that the match before their eyes, in their sight, encompassed the majority of masters across the entire world.

As several outer realm individuals who had arrived here due to a mission, though they were shaken by the previous cinematic trailer, they would hardly do nothing and investigate nothing before journeying back home.

At the very least, they had to examine and contrast the strength of both sides.

As for how to investigate...

Watching the tournament was the first step.

Though it was merely a remote viewing, they were by no means foolish; if the techniques and combat experience were entirely substandard, possessing only a bit of grand spectacle and gorgeous explosion effects, there was no way they would fail to perceive it.

Yet from the previous cinematic snippets, it could be discerned that every single move and stance of these people was exceedingly rigorous; even every spell, so long as they could comprehend it, conformed entirely to the inherent rules and might of said spell.

This point could absolutely not be faked.

As the saying goes, the layman looks at the spectacle while the expert looks at the craft; they were true experts, which allowed them to perceive the essence contained within, which was indeed incomparably powerful.

In truth, even many cultivators of Lingzhou, after learning their awakening skills, did not themselves know how terrifying these skills were; they knew only that they were far more potent than what they had previously learned, but as for the specific measure, there was no object of comparison.

If one must say there was, perhaps it was only those illusory ruins of immortals and a few great clans that had conducted research into these ruins that might know a thing or two.

Yet these outer realm individuals possessed the most direct perception, able even to connect and compare exactly how much stronger the things these people manifested and employed were than their own, and what realm they had attained.

"The opponent is actually a mere child of twelve or thirteen," Carl shook his head, "I imagine their younger generation is still inferior to ours."

The words had barely left his lips when the scene before their eyes seemed to shift as abruptly as the clouds and wind; holding her battle spear, Liu Ningyun burst forth with a great radiance of golden light, resembling nothing less than a solemn and majestic statue of a deity!

Her entire being seemed to disregard gravity completely, floating upward, as terrifying magical energy transformed into armor around her form, and a colossal battle spear coalesced into shape within her hand; her entire body flashed with golden light, like unto a god!

A tremendous wave of magical power detonated, and everything in the surroundings was reduced to fine powder!

"Heavens! Contestant Liu Ningyun has actually successfully transformed into the Battle Mage Bellatrix! Contestant King of Rangers is in grave danger!" The two commentators had already shouted themselves hoarse.

"Battle Mage... Bellatrix?!"

"Are these not two young people?!" Beholding that terrifying aura sweeping through heaven and earth before them, a single slash delivered, and the golden blade instantly severed everything in sight into two halves, the wine cup in Carl's hand fell with a clatter.

"My wine spilled again! My wine spilled again!" He saw his trousers were completely drenched.

"My melon!" With an exclamation of alarm, it fell once more.