Chapter 349: Chapter 349: Phase Two, The Fight of the Cornered Beast, Begins

Hoooo—!

Hoooooo—!!!

At first, the horn’s call was a low wail, like the guttural roar of an ancient behemoth waking in the abyss.

Then,

The sound suddenly soared, becoming rousing and fierce, filled with the grim, murderous air of clashing steel and charging steeds!

Wave after wave of sound echoed not only through the sky above the International Youth Martial Arts Center,

but also carried on the air, spreading throughout the bustling city of Newark!

Inside the open-air stadium, all three hundred thousand seats were filled. Not a single one was empty.

The holographic projection technology here was pushed to its limits. Inside the stadium, the audience felt as if they were in a real, ancient Beast Fighting Arena.

Their hearts thrummed violently along with the horn’s call.

The atmosphere in the arena was electric.

And online... in the major live streams broadcasting simultaneously across the globe, the number of viewers had broken the astonishing one billion mark!

Inside the stadium.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH...

Nine enormous battle flags rose slowly around the stadium, snapping in the wind.

The nine national teams that had passed the first round’s life-or-death test were all present!

Under the gazes of the countless spectators,

The head referee, Alexander Pierce, dressed in his signature platinum formal suit, trod on empty air as he slowly made his way to the space above the stadium’s center.

As he released the aura of an Emperor Realm Powerhouse, the originally raucous three-hundred-thousand-person stadium instantly fell silent.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

Pierce’s voice, amplified by an Array, drilled clearly into everyone’s ears.

"Welcome to the second stage of the International Youth Martial Arts Tournament: Caged Beast Battle!"

"The second stage will be divided into three rounds, and each round will be more brutal than the last!"

"And now, I declare the first round—the Duo Battle Royale—officially open!"

BOOM—!

As his voice fell, the entire stadium erupted.

From below the White Eagle Empire’s camp, two figures were the first to step into the arena.

Leading the way was none other than the man with fiery red hair and arrogant eyes, William Smith.

The teammate following him, however, was even more of a spectacle.

The man was completely encased in a set of silver-gray exoskeletal armor that looked straight out of science fiction. The armor’s joints weren’t mechanical bearings, but some kind of Crystal Stone nodes engraved with runes.

This was... Spiritual Martial Technology!

In this world, not all nations followed a pure path of Ancient Martial Arts or Beast Taming like Great Xia.

Spiritual Martial Technology was the perfect fusion of modern science and the extraordinary materials brought about by the Spiritual Energy Awakening, even going so far as to modify the human body.

In fact, Great Xia also possessed Spiritual Martial Technology, such as various detection instruments, but combat equipment had not become popular.

The White Eagle Empire, however, was completely different.

Their Cultivation style was extremely aggressive, and they vigorously promoted Spiritual Martial Technology.

Take the fully-armored team member, for instance. The suit of armor he wore could allow an ordinary Seventh-Grade Middle Stage Martial Artist to unleash combat power comparable to the Peak of Seventh-Grade!

Or take William, for example. That madman had a living, Emperor-Realm, Fire-type Demon Beast Crystal Core implanted in his body!

This was trading life for power, but in the eyes of the White Eagle Empire, it was called "evolution."

"William! William!"

"White Eagle is invincible!"

The home-field advantage was on full display. The White Eagle spectators in the crowd were roaring, red-faced and necks bulging, as if they were on steroids.

Next, the other national teams took the stage one by one.

Judging from the two contestants each nation sent out, their strategies varied.

The Rose Kingdom, the so-called Fighting Race, for example, directly sent out two bear-like, defensive Martial Artists, clearly adopting a defensive strategy.

The European Union, on the other hand, sent a young man dressed as a Holy Knight accompanied by a Spiritual Mind Master—a classic offense-and-defense pairing.

As for the Nanzhou Empire...

They had no choice; they only had two people left.

Overall, however, aside from Great Xia and White Eagle, the other teams had chosen a more conservative approach for this first round, not sending out their strongest members.

It seemed they were tactically avoiding a direct confrontation with Great Xia and White Eagle.

After all, this round would end as soon as three teams were eliminated.

...

Over at the Great Xia camp.

Two figures soared directly into the air and flew into the Beast Fighting Arena.

One of them was Shen Yixuan.

And beside him,

a girl in robes whiter than snow, her hair as black as ink, drew the gazes of countless people.

Gu Yuexi descended slowly, drifting on the wind without the help of any external object, simply treading on air.

Her expression was cold and detached, her gaze as tranquil as an ancient, rippleless well, as if the clamorous hundreds of thousands of people and this brutal Beast Fighting Arena were nothing more than passing smoke and clouds.

Her aura was peerless!

Even the Western spectators, who were used to seeing blond hair and blue eyes, found their eyes lighting up at this moment.

"Oh my god! Is that girl from Great Xia an angel?"

"She’s too beautiful, but I love it! That Eastern mystique is simply mesmerizing!"

...

Meanwhile.

In Great Xia’s major live streams, things were just as lively. Countless bullet comments and reviews were passionately discussing the grand event.

This was especially true when the Great Xia contestants made their appearance.

"Here we go, here we go, the first match is starting."

"Who is Great Xia sending?"

"Shen Yixuan! Nice, nice! They sent out the captain. Looks like Great Xia isn’t holding back this round."

"Huh, who’s the other one? She has a great aura, but I’ve never heard of her."

"I know. She’s a freshman from Jing University, Gu Yuexi, the one they call the Future Empress."

"Future Empress? How come I’ve never heard of her? Future Empress or not, she’s still a freshman. They’re sending a first-year into the first match?"

"Yeah, that’s weird. If they aren’t holding back, why would the higher-ups send a freshman to compete?"

Because Gu Yuexi wasn’t very famous on the Great Xia Continent, everyone was confused.

Some of the more radical "angry youths" and "keyboard warriors" had even started flaming:

"What a muddle-headed decision!"

"What kind of bullshit decision is this!"

"Damn it, are we going to be disgraced in the very first match?!"

The internet has never been short of these "know-it-all kings" who love to "give pointers to the nation."

At the same time.

In the exclusive live stream for another region of Great Xia—Hong Kong Island—the mood was completely different.

The moment Gu Yuexi appeared, the entire screen of bullet comments was flooded with two phrases:

Future Empress!

Lord Divine Mosquito!

The comment section was also incredibly excited:

"With Empress Gu here, Great Xia’s got this in the bag."

"Huh? Where’s the Divine Locust... oh, I mean, Lord Divine Mosquito? Why isn’t he on Empress Gu?"

"Sob, sob, I haven’t seen Lord Divine Mosquito in so long. When is Lord Divine Mosquito coming back to visit Hong Kong Island University..."

...

In the center of the stadium.

After all eighteen contestants from the nine nations had taken their positions, Pierce’s majestic voice rang out once more:

"Before the match begins, I will reiterate the rules one last time!"

"First, this battle royale has no rules or restrictions! You may use any weapon, any method, and even... lethal attacks!"

"Second, to concede, a contestant must personally shout the word ’surrender’!"

"Third, when both contestants from a team have been eliminated (either by death or surrender), that nation is out of this round! This round will not end until three teams have been completely eliminated!"

"Then..."

With a grand wave of his hand, Pierce’s figure shot upward, exiting the battle ring.

"Let the match... begin!"