"Prepare for the third round!"
At the same time, in the fortress, Gu Zheng was already standing below. He controlled his cultivation to be at the early stage of Jin Xian and looked at the opponent in front of him.
Gu Zheng didn't know if it was an illusion or something else, but he felt that there was something wrong with the way his opponent looked at him. It was as if he had a grudge against him. However, he didn't care. Even if his opponent wanted to kill him, it was impossible for him to do it in front of so many people. Unless he had already reached the final step and shed all pretense of cordiality, he wouldn't be able to kill him.
It was obvious that it was still too early for the situation to change. If it came now, there wouldn't be any competition.
Gu Zheng's opponent was a burly man. However, his short stature made him look like he was going to grow horizontally. His body was constantly jumping, and his eyes were fixed on Gu Zheng, constantly sizing him up.
After the order was given, the man roared and took a big step forward, leaving a deep footprint on the ground. At the same time, there was a crackling sound coming from his body. As he moved forward, the surface of his body was shining with a crystal light. His height increased abruptly, and he was even taller than Gu Zheng by a head. It was as if he had become a different person.
The opponent's speed wasn't fast. Every step he took would cause the ground to tremble three times. A huge force could be felt in the surroundings.
In particular, with every step he took, the aura outside his body condensed and turned into a layer of golden light that covered his body. In almost a few breaths, he had covered more than half the distance. The surface of his body was even more golden. His arm seemed to have expanded several times. A huge arm with an indomitable aura smashed towards Gu Zheng.
When Gu Zheng saw the action, he understood his opponent's plan. In the previous two rounds, he had been wandering and probing to find an opportunity to attack. However, he didn't seem to be very agile. From the beginning, he was prepared to defeat Gu Zheng with a thunderous blow. He didn't want to wander around with his opponent, which was exactly what he wanted. He allowed his opponent's aura to lock onto him.
"How arrogant!"
When the short man saw that Gu Zheng had not moved from his original position, a fierce glint flashed across his eyes. Although his attack had landed on his opponent, even if his opponent did not defend himself, the short man would at most feel a slight pain in his chest. After all, his opponent's foundation was still there. Moreover, his attack was a genuine Jin Xian's initial stage attack. However, his opponent had still lost, because a normal opponent would not be able to withstand this attack.
At this time, the short man had already arrived in front of Gu Zheng. When he took the last step, he once again stomped on the ground. His body suddenly soared into the air, waving his fist, and bombarding Gu Zheng's shoulder.
Gu Zheng knew that this was the time to make a move. Looking at his opponent's victorious eyes, his eyes narrowed slightly. His whole body retreated to the side like a ghost. It was as if he had teleported a little distance away, just enough to escape the attack range of his opponent's arm.
Immediately after, Gu Zheng's body rose, and his posture was like an iron bridge. Both of his hands supported himself on the ground, and with a sudden force, his whole body flew forward in such a strange posture, and just happened to arrive under the short man's body. His eyes could see through the dazzling golden light, and saw the shock in his opponent's eyes. Then, without any hesitation, he bent his leg and suddenly kicked.
"Bang!"
A loud collision sound, accompanied by the light of the golden light breaking, Gu Zheng's foot and the short man's abdomen made intimate contact.
In just an instant, the seemingly aggressive golden light suddenly collapsed from his body, and his body flew into the air as if he had lost control, and directly crashed into the layer of protective shield, sticking to it like a meat patty.
The short man's heart was filled with anger. This little bit of attack power, to him, was like scratching an itch. However, just as he was about to counterattack, he saw that Gu Zheng had already retracted his aura, and raised a fist high, as if he was celebrating. This made him almost explode in anger.
Just as he was about to give the other party a look, he found that the protective shield behind him had disappeared, and the Heavenly King above had already announced Gu Zheng's victory.
Although he was not injured now, in that blow, he had already lost.
"That figure is so fast. I didn't even see it clearly, and the other party directly flew up. Just now, I thought that the other party was going to take it head-on, and was sighing. I didn't expect that the other party would be shaken." This was a spectator with a slightly weaker cultivation base. He had only been paying attention to the short man, and hadn't paid attention to Gu Zheng.
"I saw it clearly. The other party's grasp of time and distance was too accurate. There was almost no error. If he had been a little slower, the astral wind outside his body would have interfered with him, and he would have lost his chance. If he had been a little faster, the other party's strength would not have been fully released, and he could have withdrawn it in time to block that attack." Another spectator watched as Gu Zheng returned, clicking his tongue in praise.
Most of the spectators knew what was good for them. This battle had been very short, so short that at the beginning, some of them were still discussing the previous battle, and hadn't even had time to pay attention to what was going on below. They were still looking down in shock, and when they heard the praises, they hurriedly asked for more details, and were annoyed that they hadn't seen such an exciting scene.
"You've worked hard!"
Madam Xue didn't know much from Pan Xuan, but the other party was full of praise. Pan Xuan was a mysterious person who was good at creating miracles, and it was normal for her to win this battle.
As for Pan Xuan, as soon as he arrived, he sat down and pretended to be asleep, as if he didn't care about what was going on outside. Gu Zheng naturally knew that Pan Xuan was controlling his aura, so that he wouldn't accidentally erupt his cultivation base and cause a huge commotion.
Gu Zheng only smiled. Then, he sat down at the side and watched the fourth match.
"How is it? Did you see anything? "On the other side, City Lord Bo glanced over, and then whispered to Kikyo.
"The other party is very strong, and I may not be his match." Kikyo said with a serious face.
Even though it had only been a short battle, she could see something. If it had been her, she would have been able to dodge the other party's attack, but she wouldn't be able to take advantage of the opportunity to strike back and eliminate the other party.
"Then what about using weapons?" City Lord Bo asked.
"I have a thirty percent chance."
"That's too low." City Lord Bo looked at Kikyo, seemingly disappointed, and didn't say anything else.
Kikyo bit her lip, and didn't say anything else. Her cultivation base was only at the peak of Jin Xian, and even if it was lowered to the early stage of Jin Xian, her upper limit was still relatively low. However, she was the only one in the Jin Xian stage here, and the weakest one.
"I can definitely do it!" Kikyo said confidently.
"It doesn't matter if you can do it or not. We'll arrange for you to enter the top four, but by then, you won't be under our control. The other party seems to have some kind of relationship with that girl. If you have the chance, injure him. Don't worry about being punished. Because of his good relationship with Madam Xue, City Lord Bo knew a little bit about it. He could feel it with his intuition.
No one was paying attention to their conversation, as they were all watching the battle below or chatting with the people next to them. It was as if everyone had something to do. Gu Zheng was also paying attention to Pan Xuan, so that he could help her in case she couldn't control herself.
Pan Xuan was forcefully suppressing her breakthrough, and she had to hide herself. It took a lot of energy for her to do so.
However, the following matches weren't very exciting. Almost everyone began to use guerilla tactics in order to win. Even if the other party came at them head-on, they would dodge as much as they could. In order to win, they weren't afraid of losing face, as if they were protecting the City Lord's reputation.
By the time the eight matches were over, almost a full day had passed. After a simple rest, the second round of the competition began.
In the huge arena below, the protective shield that originally covered the outside began to shrink a little, and the restrictions on the arena became smaller. This meant that there wasn't enough space to rely on agility to stall for time. Moreover, because everyone had been instructed to fight bare-handed in the first round, they could obviously use ordinary weapons now. Although the most they could do was scratch the skin of their opponents, it was much more effective in terms of tactics.
If they could pierce your chest or slash your neck, they wouldn't be able to quickly counterattack. In short, the situation was much more complicated than before.
The selection for the top eight was completed very quickly. Gu Zheng glanced at his opponent, who was coincidentally one of his own. He subconsciously looked over at his opponent, who was also looking over at him and smiling at him. There was no need to say what he meant.
As long as they could fight quickly, they would definitely fight quickly. It was just that last time, their luck was very bad and they were almost not grouped together. This time, they finally had fate. Although they were eliminated, compared to the situation of two out of three, they could use more time to fight.
"How boring!" Ruo Chen looked around, then shook her head and said.
"Compared to these battles, they are a little boring. It's a pity that we have to wait for them to finish." Next to her, another City Lord echoed. It wasn't clear whether it was the other side or the City Lord.
His people were also eliminated in the first round, and it was the kind that was determined to lose when time was up. However, he didn't take it too seriously. After all, he was just killing time to ease their conflicts.
"Yeah, if I knew this, I would've just gone back after the mediation. I'd better rest for a while." Ruo Chen agreed. Then, she lay down on the side, closed her eyes, and began to take a nap.
The City Lord saw that Ruo Chen didn't want to talk, so he didn't disturb her rest. Instead, he began to discuss with the other eliminated person.
To be honest, they rarely gathered together like this in recent years. They were all old friends, and it felt good to talk to each other about their own matters.
Ruo Chen's subordinates also sat on the side. Their arms were close to hers, and their eyes were looking down with interest.
A faintly discernible black fog emerged from the Ruo Chen, and without anyone noticing, it fell to the ground below and disappeared.
At the same time, a black array flashed in her resting place on the third floor. Ruo Chen's figure appeared there again.
"City Lord! They're here! "
The trusted subordinate who stayed at the side immediately came forward and said.
"Take them and follow me!"
At this time, the third floor was empty. It could be said that there was almost no one in this space. However, Ruo Chen led the people behind her and rushed to the place where City Lord Luo lived.
"Who is it!"
There were still some people who stayed at City Lord Luo's place. When the group of people came, they had already activated the defensive array. At the same time, they shouted outside.
"Don't worry about them. Take them under control for me."
The array had already been set up. They couldn't send a message over even if they wanted to. Behind her was the team put together by the City Lords. There were more than a hundred people. If it weren't for the fact that most of them went up to watch the show for cover, there would be many more.
However, these people were definitely the most trusted subordinates. They didn't have any objections to the orders of their respective City Lords. When they heard Ruo Chen's order, they immediately rushed up.
With the help of the City Lord who was in charge of protecting them, all the weaknesses here were no problem in front of them. City Lord Luo didn't agree to the other party's protection. He was the only one who came here and set up a temporary defense. It couldn't withstand a single blow.
Originally, she didn't want to use such a ruthless method. However, when she was above, she deliberately observed the few people that Gu Zheng mentioned. She did indeed feel a trace of the same kind of aura from them. What was even stronger than Gu Zheng's was that she actually felt a strange Demon Soul aura from City Lord Luo's body. It seemed like a Demon Soul, but it wasn't a Demon Soul. No matter what, it was definitely recent.
Even if it had been specially processed, for Demon Souls, that aura couldn't escape their observation no matter what. She believed that City Lord Liu had also seen it. In the previous conversation, he had already relayed his opinion to everyone to deal with it with the highest level of vigilance.
This meant that City Lord Luo's side would be eliminated regardless of the reason. The others were prepared for the worst, so she had to act early.
Originally, she was prepared to leave in the third phase. At that time, she could make further judgments based on the situation. However, there was no need for that now. An inexplicable sense of danger in her heart told her that Gu Zheng was right. The Demon Souls were probably already moving here.
After subduing City Lord Luo, she directly tied him up and locked him up in a house. Ruo Chen came to a special room.
The entire room was very spacious. There was only a thick black metal pillar erected in the middle. One could see deep inscriptions carved on it.
This was the main control center of Thunder Sound City. If it wasn't activated, the other areas couldn't be opened at all. Of course, if it was fully activated, it would mean that Thunder Sound City had completely turned into a battle fortress. The commotion would be huge and everyone would know.
More importantly, once it was activated, no one could shut it down within seven days. After seven days, it wouldn't automatically shut down. Instead, it would continue to operate. Moreover, as long as it was activated according to the method, it could be maintained for another seven days. Unless a pinnacle Grand Luo was determined to die, it couldn't be stopped.
At that time, there weren't enough people. In order to prevent it from being shut down, it was specially set up like this.
This black pillar looked inconspicuous, but in fact, only a small part of it was exposed. Everything inside was sealed within a special layer. However, after so many years, its power had decreased somewhat. This was something that the City Lord, who was always in charge of protecting it, regretfully told everyone.
Of course, if he didn't maintain it on time, it probably wouldn't even have one-third of its power left.
"The first Alliance Master is too noble."
Thinking of the Thunder Sound Fortress' power, Ruo Chen's eyes lost focus. It was as if she had returned to those days of fighting. Back then, she was still in Demon Soul's territory and was just a normal Demon Soul. In the end, Demon Soul's army had mobilized, but they still returned in defeat. Only then did Soul Alliance become.
Of course, back then, Wen Tianhou was still fighting Gu Feng to the death. He wanted to chase Gu Feng out in one go. Unfortunately, he also failed.
Now, Demon Soul's strength was much stronger than before. Even if Soul Alliance had grown, they might not be their opponent. The prerequisite was that they had to mobilize all their elites.
Of course, if Demon Soul didn't have to make a trip there every once in a while, they would have already occupied Black Prison. However, that place would probably be completely destroyed.
After being lost in thought for a moment, Ruo Chen still remembered what she was here for. She took out a small black ball and approached the edge of the black pillar. Strands of black Qi were emitted from the black pillar and merged into the black ball.
The originally dim black ball quickly became dark and shiny.
This was a temporary pass. Only by relying on this could they completely pass through the core region's seal.
"Shi Xiao, guard here. The moment anyone wants to enter, activate this black pillar. Even I am no exception. If there are no enemies, wait for my order. Or if there is a huge change, you can make your own decision." Putting away the black ball, Ruo Chen said to a Demon Soul she brought in.
"Yes, City Master!"
This Demon Soul naturally had its own mission. It could be said that the chances of survival were slim. Once enemies came here, it meant that the outside world was already in chaos. What he had to do was activate the defense. However, he didn't hesitate to receive them.
Ruo Chen patted the other's shoulder and walked out. A black light flashed at the entrance and disappeared. A simple barrier would help him prevent others from entering.
The Demon Soul that was left behind was standing solemnly beside the black pillar. It pressed one hand on the black pillar and stared at the only entrance. Once someone approached, it would immediately activate the stone pillar.
After hurrying outside, Ruo Chen led the remaining people in another direction. That was one of the passageways into the core region. Only from here could they reach the area where the others were pulled in. Moreover, there was a very important function behind this area. That was to station and activate the detection spell formation outside. At the same time, a huge defensive barrier was raised to protect the outside world.
This area was very important. It could be said to be the command center of the entire stronghold. From here, they could control the defense mechanisms everywhere.
This path didn't turn dark just because no one came here. Other than the walls on both sides that were sealed off, there didn't seem to be much of a difference.
However, when the group approached this area, they gradually slowed down until they came to a complete stop.
In front of them, a red-haired man stood there alone, blocking their only way forward.
Ruo Chen took a step forward, looked at the red-haired man, and said, "Group Blue, I didn't see you up there. I didn't see you in City Master Luo's house, so I guessed that you would be here."
"How did you find out? It seems that you've already sensed that something is wrong."
Group Blue looked at Ruo Chen with a hint of fear in his eyes. However, he still stood where he was.
Since the other party was already here, there were some things that didn't need to be said. Although he wasn't a match for the other party, he could still buy some time to warn the higher-ups.
"What a pity. It seems that it must be true. You should know that when you came here, I was the one who personally recommended you to City Master Luo. I didn't expect …"
Ruo Chen sighed and took another step forward. At the edge of his right hand, a black light began to rise.
"Then don't blame me for being rude."
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