Age of Evolution#

Chapter 960: Chapter 963: Strategizing Against_1 Chapter 960: Chapter 963: Strategizing Against_1 Returning to his seat, India was left in shock by the experience.

For a moment, the normally robust man was trembling as he wept openly.

This nightmarish ordeal was sure to haunt him for the rest of his life.

At this moment, Splitting Tiger King, who should have been on his side, was nowhere to be found, having slipped away unnoticed.

Who would have known what India did to offend Dong Xuehan, to warrant such brutal treatment.

The Splitting Tiger King didn’t dare to linger around him for too long, fearing Dong Xuehan might mistake him for being an accomplice.

Not only the Splitting Tiger King, but nobody in the entire field wanted to deal with India now.

…

India could barely comprehend what had happened.

He insisted he had never met Dong Xuehan before, so there was no way he could have offended him.

He had been so polite and respectful, so why had this happened to him?

He wanted to speak to someone about this, but everyone kept their distance from him as though he were plagued.

This made him feel terrible inside.

At this moment, someone from the opposite side cast him a sympathetic look.

Amidst a sea of cold stares, India could clearly sense this wave of sympathy and kindness.

He looked up and saw Lin Zhen looking at him.

Upon realizing that India had noticed him, Lin Zhen gave him a thumbs-up, signaling him to cheer up.

Like a warm spring breeze warming his heart, India began to feel a bit better.

For the first time, he realized that not all the Martial Artists from the Ground Clan were evil.

There actually were kind-hearted people in this world!

*********

Han Xuan, temporarily taking Bai Xue’s place, was left stunned for a while before finally announcing Dong Xuehan’s victory and the start of the second set of matches.

The second set began with the second group, the first match being between Ye Xingcai and Tian Zhuo.

Ye Xingcai was the second-ranked fighter from the Ground Clan, while Tian Zhuo was the newly promoted one among the top ten, having defeated the 10th rank from the Ground Clan.

Most people didn’t think there would be any suspense for this match.

As the match commenced, everyone was still a bit out of it, unable to fully recover from the shock of seeing Dong Xuehan’s brutal treatment of India.

The battle had been too thrilling and shocking.

Everyone now knew that Dong Xuehan was someone they could never afford to provoke; otherwise, they were sure to meet a tragic end.

But the second match was a total surprise to everyone.

The strength of Tian Zhuo was shocking.

With his double guns, he was able to suppress Ye Xingcai for a while!

Ye Xingcai was ranked second in the Ground Clan, and to think that he was suppressed by Tian Zhuo, who only recently made it to the top ten, was something nobody could have predicted.

Lin Zhen squinted his eyes to watch Tian Zhuo’s fight.

Strictly speaking, Ye Xingcai was definitely stronger than him, at the very least in terms of Star Power; Ye Xingcai had a billion more than Tian Zhuo.

However, with his sophisticated gunplay and the ingenious use of his double guns, Tian Zhuo kept Ye Xingcai from gaining any advantage.

Tian Zhuo’s gunplay was the best Lin Zhen had ever seen, bar none.

If Tian Zhuo had a little more Star Power, he could definitely defeat Ye Xingcai.

Seeing Tian Zhuo’s strength, Ye Xingcai dropped his underestimation for his opponent and began to fight seriously, using his significant Star Power to hold on, waiting for Tian Zhuo to exhaust his strength.

In this prolonged battle, Ye Xingcai had the upper hand.

Although Tian Zhuo was able to suppress him, the massive gap between their Star Powers was an insurmountable hurdle.

After a while, Tian Zhuo chose to give up voluntarily.

“Ye Xingcai, your Star Power is indeed strong, but that’s it.

Once my Star Power increases, your second place in the Ground Clan’s Hall of Fame will be definitely at risk.

See you in the Skyfire War!”

Ye Xingcai won the match, but he felt no joy in victory.

The victory was not honorable at all.

Although Tian Zhuo lost, people were still impressed by his style, and some even started to call him the Gun God.

********

With the conclusion of this match, battle five of the third group commenced.

Just like the previous two groups, the first match was between Tiannie, ranked second in the Endless Species, and Sky Patroller, also from the Endless Species.

Sky Patroller’s strength was well known, as he had defeated Bai Yunyan to secure his place in the top ten.

He was indeed very strong.

However, his match with Tiannie wasn’t as exciting as the one between Ye Xingcai and Tian Zhuo.

Although Sky Patroller tried his best to contend with Tiannie, the enormous gap between their strengths couldn’t be bridged.

After ten minutes of fighting, Sky Patroller conceded.

Of course, this was under the circumstance that Tiannie didn’t give it his all.

Otherwise, Sky Patroller’s endurance might have been even shorter.

Both players were from the same species, so it was only normal that Tiannie wouldn’t be too harsh, unlike Dong Xuehan who seemed to show no mercy to anyone.

Such ruthless people were quite rare.

********

After this match, the fourth group’s match began.

The first match was between Qiong Jing, the top-ranked player in the Ground Clan, and Lin Zhen.

There wasn’t much suspense about this match either.

Qiong Jing was the top-ranked player in the Ground Clan, a rank even Dong Xuehan recognized.

Although Lin Zhen had come out of the blue, nobody believed he could give Qiong Jing a run for his money.

Lin Zhen’s action was even more surprising than his result.

He surrendered directly, giving up the first match without putting up a fight.

Without caring about the crowd’s surprise, Lin Zhen knew exactly where his own strength lay.

If he fought Qiong Jing directly, he stood no chance of winning.

Even if he used all his tricks, he wasn’t certain about the outcome.

Rather than doing so, it would be better to keep these trump cards for when they’re needed, the thought resonated in Lin Zhen’s mind.

If steel must be used, it should be wielded wisely on the blade; Lin Zhen understood this principle very well.

Lin Zhen conceded, marking the end of the first round of fighting across the four groups.

Dong Xuehan, Ye Xingcai, Tiannie, and Qiong Jing each gained a point, while the four who lost had zero points.

After a brief rest, the second round of battles began.

The first match once again featured Group One, this time it was An Luoqi versus the Giant Dragon King.

An Luoqi ranks fourth amongst the Ground Clan, whereas the Giant Dragon King is ranked seventh.

An upset was possible in this matchup, but the odds were slim.

The Giant Dragon King was a mutation of the Dragon Clan, possessing strong talent, but An Luoqi was no lesser; the offspring of deities blessed with the best resources and supreme martial techniques, he was even more formidable.

The battle between the two lasted twenty minutes, with An Luoqi emerging victorious in the end.

Being of the same Ground Clan, An Luoqi didn’t go all out.

In his mind, his main competitor in this group was Augustine, the rest were inconsequential.

After Group One’s battle, Group Two saw He Ying facing off against the Sky Tiger King.

He Ying ranked third among the Ground Clan, while the Sky Tiger King was ranked seventh among the Endless Species, making the possibility of a surprise upset quite slim in this match too.

However, this battle was the most intense one since the beginning of the tournament.

Combat between the same clan usually ends once power ranking is determined.

No one goes all out, but it’s entirely different when rival species compete.

Facing He Ying, the Sky Tiger King unleashed all his strength, resorting to desperate moves.

Despite He Ying’s superior power, he had paid a hefty price to claim victory over the desperate Sky Tiger King.

He was forced to use several critical moves he had held in reserve to ward off the frenzied attack from the Sky Tiger King.

He won, but at the cost of his potential.

A clear disadvantage for his future battles.

The Sky Tiger King’s tactics were warmly received by the Endless Species.

Even when facing a superior enemy, it’s crucial to exhaust their warfare potential, laying a solid foundation for their fellow kinsmen.

It was only then that the crowd realized how wise Lin Zhen’s decision to forfeit was.

*********

Next began the second round of Group Three, with the Machinery Clan’s Edward from the Endless Species facing off against the ninth-ranked Sky Swordsman of the Ground Clan.

This battle differed from the previous one.

The Sky Swordsman didn’t unleash wild attacks as everyone had expected.

Instead, he fought Edward carefully and conceded as soon as it seemed he was losing.

The five warriors from his group were Tiannie, Edward, Mixed World Demon King, Sky Swordsman, and Sky Patroller.

The Sky Swordsman acknowledged he was no match for Tiannie.

However, he believed he could beat the Sky Patroller.

Therefore, he chose to aim at the Mixed World Demon King between Edward and the Mixed World Demon King and strategically gave up on Edward.

It seemed his goal was to strive for the fifth or sixth position.

The crowd agreed with the Sky Swordsman’s decisions, praising him for his choice.

********

The fourth matchup of Group Four was between the third-ranked Yama of the Endless Species and the ninth-ranked Element Controller of the Endless Species.

The battle was simplistic; the Element Controller decided to forfeit directly without fighting.

He derisively pointed towards Lin Zhen while forfeiting note, saying, “I am not the only one who strategically forfeits.

Now, I, too, am done fighting with others.

I will aim solely at you.

Your dream of advancing from Group Four is ludicrous!”

Seeing this scene, Lin Zhen couldn’t help but feel an ominous chill.

He realized that the three in his group might opt out mutually and even intentionally give up in the skirmish against Qiong Jing, thereby ensuring that Yama and Red Widow advance.

As for him?

He would likely be completely eliminated.

Indeed, the nickname ‘Group of Death’ for Group Four was no joke.

After the second round ended, the third round of the contest began immediately.

The first matchup was Augustine against India in Group One.

India fought desperately, but after being defeated in the previous round by Dong Xuehan he had lost confidence.

Augustine triumphed with ease, preserving a considerable amount of stamina.

In Group Two, Ground Clan’s fifth-ranked Dark Phoenix faced off against the Endless Species’ tenth-ranked Tian Zhuo.

Before the match, people believed the Dark Phoenix would win.

But after witnessing Tian Zhuo’s performance in his previous fight, they weren’t so certain anymore.

Indeed, Tian Zhuo brought out the moves that he hadn’t used in the battle against Ye Xingcai.

He pulled off a last-minute fatal blow on the Dark Phoenix, causing the first upset of the tournament!

After this loss, the future prospects of the Dark Phoenix looked grim!

Next in Group Three, the Mixed World Demon King faced Sky Patroller.

Sky Patroller opted to forfeit again, strategically, knowing it was pointless to hope for an advancement to the next round.

Instead, he decided to reserve his strength for a full-fledged showdown with the Sky Swordsman, inadvertently ensuring Edward and the Mixed World Demon King move to the next round.

By this point, everyone had mostly locked in on their strategic targets and was charging forward resolutely.

Those resolved to fight did so unambiguously, while those uninterested just gave up.

However, the next battle wouldn’t feature any mercy.