Chapter 62: The Ancient God's Evolution Path
Chapter 62: The Ancient God's Evolution Path
Rest Area.
Lin Yuan sat cross-legged, a holographic screen appearing before him, flashing through the profiles of numerous evolvers.
These evolvers had all made it into the top fifty of the arena tournament.
Even if they weren't Tier 3, they weren't far off, each with their own secret tricks up their sleeves.
Lin Yuan scrutinized them carefully, even pulling up combat videos of their previous matches.
With Lin Yuan's heaven-defying comprehension, he could gain a certain degree of enlightenment just by watching these videos.
Of course, compared to actual combat, these videos were merely appetizers. They were like the NPCs in old games, their techniques and strategies fixed and unchanging. They couldn't compare to the insights gained from real-time battles and the need to adapt and respond to an opponent's moves.
"Fang Qing," Lin Yuan murmured, his expression turning slightly solemn as he gazed at the profile before him.
The owner of the profile was a young man who looked gentle and harmless. Yet, he was one of the favorites to win this tournament. Thus far, no one knew what evolution path Fang Qing had taken. However, he always ended his battles within a move or two, even against Tier 3 evolvers.
This was in stark contrast to Lin Yuan, who, in the eyes of most spectators, loved to 'toy' with his opponents. Even when facing a Tier 1 evolver, he would drag the match to overtime. This instilled a primal fear in a significant portion of the evolvers towards Lin Yuan.
Aside from Fang Qing, there were a few other evolvers who caught Lin Yuan's attention. For instance, there was the one nicknamed Thunder God, who could summon and control thunder. Lin Yuan wasn't too concerned about him, though; his ability to transform into lightning meant that his body was energy-based, granting him immunity to most physical attacks.
Then, there was a Tier 3 evolver who had taken the poison evolution path, a very niche path with only a handful of practitioners. Those who succeeded in this path gained abilities that could give even higher-tier evolvers a headache. Poison wasn't merely damaging to the body; it could also affect and suppress one's soul and spirit. A Tier 3 evolver of the poison evolution path could easily wipe out millions of citizens in a city if they so desired.
Time passed, and half a day soon went by.
Lin Yuan received an invitation from the Virtual World Arena to participate in the next match.
The tournament had now reached the top fifty evolvers. Each competitor was either a Tier 3 evolver or a Tier 2 peak evolver with unique abilities. Ordinary Tier 2 peak evolvers had long been eliminated. Among the current top fifty, nineteen were confirmed Tier 3 evolvers.
Rest Area, Lin Yuan agreed to the official invitation from the arena.
Whoosh! Lin Yuan's figure appeared in the center of the arena. The instant he appeared, deafening cheers erupted from the audience like a tsunami, coming from all directions.
"So many people?" Lin Yuan looked around and saw that the nearly ten million seats in the arena were packed with spectators.
The tournament had now progressed to the point where the matches were held in the most prosperous city arena in the central continent. As for the number of matches, it had decreased from eight thousand a day at the start of the tournament to just five.
This led to a convergence of spectators, with almost ten million viewers for this match alone. And these were just the ones who could afford to enter the Virtual World. The number of regular citizens watching through 'live broadcasts' was probably over a hundred billion.
There was no other choice. With only two matches a day and at different times, viewers who wanted to watch the tournament had no other option but to tune into this match.
Lin Yuan's appearance on the arena sparked enthusiastic cheers from the audience.
"Lin Yuan!"
"Lin Yuan is here!"
"The Tormentor, Lin Yuan!"
The cheers rang out.
Although it wasn't a live match, the Virtual World simulated everything with a hundred percent accuracy. Every voice carried through the air, deafening Lin Yuan.
Before long, Lin Yuan's opponent also appeared. He was a tall and slender man with icy cold eyes. A chill emanated from where he stood, spreading out in all directions.
He was Bing Yan, a Tier 3 evolver who had taken the ice evolution path, one of the special elemental evolution paths. Previous evolvers who had faced Bing Yan ended up as ice sculptures nine times out of ten.
Bing Yan's presence further excited the audience.
Lin Yuan had indeed broken through to Tier 3, but until now, he had never displayed the full extent of his Tier 3 power. His previous opponents had mostly conceded defeat, and those who hadn't been all that strong, not even forcing Lin Yuan to go all out.
Thus, in the eyes of the spectators, Lin Yuan was still seen as a special Tier 2 peak evolver. On the other hand, Bing Yan was an undisputed Tier 3 evolver. In the Canglan Star, there were no more than twenty individuals who could reach Tier 3 within a hundred years.
Bing Yan was one of them.
"I've watched your match videos," Lin Yuan said.
"I admit that you are strong, but meeting me will be the end of your journey," Bing Yan replied calmly, his tone devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
Thus far, Lin Yuan's most remarkable feat was enduring against a Tier 3 evolver for over half an hour.
However, that Tier 3 evolver was a rare Dream Evolver, specializing in soul and spiritual attacks.
The evolution path that Lin Yuan cultivated naturally had some achievements in the soul and spiritual aspects, so it wasn't surprising that he could hold out for so long.
But according to the normal analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of evolution paths, those who excelled in soul and spiritual attacks would inevitably have a weak physical body.
The Ice Evolution path, which Bing Yan cultivated, was exceptionally adept at freezing everything, including physical bodies.
This was why Bing Yan was so confident.
In the audience stands, near the center, sat a young man with a gentle and harmless appearance.
He gazed down at the battlefield below with a bored expression.
"Teacher, these two, one not yet Tier 3 and the other with an ordinary evolution path. Watching their match is less productive than cultivating in the rest area," the young man named Fang Qing remarked. He was one of the favorites to win the championship in this tournament.
"You fool," a tiny, white-bearded old man, who was perched on Fang Qing's shoulder, chastised him. This old man had a translucent body that only Fang Qing could see and sense.
"Haven't you realized the special trait of that evolver named Lin Yuan yet?" the white-bearded old man snapped as he glanced at Fang Qing.
"Special trait?" Fang Qing asked, slightly startled.
"A domain embryo?" Fang Qing ventured a guess.
The most powerful technique Lin Yuan had displayed so far was indeed the domain embryo.
This was a power that only fourth and fifth-tier evolvers could hope to attain.
However, a domain embryo was incredibly difficult for other evolvers to achieve.
But in the eyes of an ancient god lineage evolver like Fang Qing, it wasn't that impressive.
If Fang Qing wanted to, he could quickly master the domain embryo as well.
"It's not the domain embryo itself that's special, but the power that allowed him to evolve the domain embryo," the white-bearded old man explained, rolling his eyes.
"Also, the original master once roamed dozens of star domains, looking down on everything. In the end, he was plotted against and killed by foreign races. As his heir, you may be walking the 'Ancient God' evolution path, but if you continue to be arrogant and underestimate your enemies, you will eventually walk the same path as the original master," the old man admonished.
In the past, the original master was glorious, but his death extinguished all that he had built.
"I understand," Fang Qing said, his expression turning serious as he began to watch the battle below more intently.
"If I'm not mistaken, that Lin Yuan should already be Tier 3," the white-bearded old man continued.
"Already Tier 3?" Fang Qing exclaimed in surprise.
On the battlefield.
The moment the host announced the start of the match, Bing Yan immediately took action.
Although he was confident, he didn't dare to be the slightest bit careless and went all out from the start.
A terrifying icy aura spread wildly.
But the next moment.
An invisible wave enveloped the area.
The third-tier Taiji domain, even more refined, exerted an even greater restraining effect on the opponent.
Facing a third-tier opponent, Lin Yuan had no intention of holding back and used his Taiji domain to suppress Bing Yan.
"What is this?" Bing Yan's expression changed slightly.
Lin Yuan had indeed displayed the Taiji domain in his previous matches, but its power couldn't have been this great, or he wouldn't have been pressured by the Tier 3 Dream Evolver.
"You're already Tier 3?" Bing Yan asked, his expression turning solemn.
Only a third-tier domain embryo could achieve such a degree of suppression.
"However, it won't be that easy to defeat me," Bing Yan said as he charged towards Lin Yuan once more. His entire body seemed to transform into a millennium-old iceberg as he crashed down.
Even under the restraint of the Taiji domain, Bing Yan's speed was unbelievably fast, reaching thousands of meters per second.
Boom! The two clashed fiercely.
"Do you see it now?"
"That Lin Yuan is not simple, is he?"
The white-bearded old man sat on Fang Qing's shoulder, watching the battlefield below with great interest.
"Indeed, he's not simple," Fang Qing nodded slightly.
He could tell that Lin Yuan was drawing upon not one, but two completely opposite powers.
These two opposing powers had achieved a certain balance in Lin Yuan's control and were perfectly fused together.
"If I were to fight Lin Yuan, I would probably use the 'Ancient God' true body, suppress him in ten moves, and defeat him in two hundred moves," Fang Qing said.
The reason he needed two hundred moves was that he could see that the two powers Lin Yuan mastered were especially proficient in defense and could turn an opponent's attack into his own.
"Fusion of powers is something that only a sixth-tier can do. If you don't rely on the 'Ancient God' evolution path, you would be inferior to this Lin Yuan under the same conditions," the white-bearded old man said as he glanced at Fang Qing.
(End of Chapter)
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