Age of Evolution#

Chapter 966: Chapter 969: The Final Battle_1 Chapter 966: Chapter 969: The Final Battle_1 This challenge involves each group playing a total of ten rounds.

So far, eight rounds have been completed, leaving only the last two rounds for the competition to conclude.

Every group has two rounds, the second tier battles the third tier, and the second tier battles the fifth tier.

In the first group, An Luoqi, being the fourth-ranked member of the Ground Clan, has already finished two rounds – losing to Dong Xuehan but winning over the Giant Dragon King.

However, An Luoqi isn’t overly concerned about his ability to advance as he still has two matches left, one against Augustine and one against India.

He doesn’t foresee any problems with the battle against India and believes he can also best Augustine.

In his estimation, Augustine is somewhat less powerful, so he should choose to lose willingly avoiding pointless struggle that would end in failure.

…

But the unexpected happened.

After Augustine started fighting An Luoqi, he pulled out his ace in the hole right off the bat!

The Eight-Laceration Blade!

This is an extremely physically demanding move.

Each strike imposes such a strain on the body that it can’t use this technique again for a full year.

With Augustine’s current physical condition, barring this single application, he would have to wait eight more years before being able to use the technique again.

Due to his arrogance, An Luoqi underestimated his opponent.

He assumed Augustine would be content with his current standing given their good relationship.

Moreover, Augustine had even indirectly hinted that he would concede, causing An Luoqi to let his guard completely down!

Outmatched and unprepared, An Luoqi was severely injured by the Eight-Laceration Blade, and lost all ability to fight.

“Augustine…

you…

you’re so despicable!”

“Sorry, brother An Luoqi.

The spot in the Hall of Fame is important to me.

As for today’s events, I’ll compensate you in the future.

But for today…

please step aside!”

The light of the sword cut through from all sides, eliminating An Luoqi from the competition.

An Luoqi’s loss to Augustine means that even if he beats India in the end, he can only earn two points.

A spot in the top four is impossible, and his best possible outcome is battling for fifth place.

This is the first unexpected loss among the second tier participants from both clans, and quite a shocker indeed!

Meanwhile, Augustine has become the fifth member from both clans to secure his advancement to the Hall of Fame, after Dong Xuehan, Ye Xingcai, Tiannie, and Qiong Jing.

This was a development that caught many by surprise.

With clear visibility of the stage, many people criticized Augustine’s actions, accusing him of deceiving An Luoqi due to their close relationship.

However, Augustine, not deterred by gossip, was in a much stronger position after defeating An Luoqi.

Though he used his strongest move, the Eight-Laceration Blade, he secured a place in the top four.

Lin Zhen wants to challenge him?

Let Lin Zhen defeat the Yama, third place of Endless Species, first.

Yama and Lin Zhen are from rival clans, and there’s no question of throwing the match.

Lin Zhen can’t possibly be as lucky as he has been.

With Augustine’s advancement, the ninth round of competition continues.

In the second group, He Ying steps onstage, and after defeating the Dark Phoenix, he also scores two points.

He is sure to advance directly as long as he defeats Tian Zhuo in the final round.

The Dark Phoenix didn’t give it his all and gave up this match to conserve He Ying’s strength.

The third group starts their match next.

Edward beats the Mixed World Demon King and is set to advance if he wins the next round.

The fourth group continues uneventfully, with Red Widow automatically conceding the match, giving Yama a no-contest win.

This move conserves Yama’s strength for his confrontation with Lin Zhen.

********

After the ninth round, the final round of the challenge is all that remains.

Lin Zhen sits there, knowing he’s reached the edge of the cliff.

In the eyes of others, if Lin Zhen can compete for fifth or sixth place, it is already a great success.

However, Lin Zhen knows that if he cannot win the final round, everything he has done so far will have been in vain.

Because if he can’t make it to the top four, then even if he loses to Augustine, he won’t be able to rescue his son Lin An.

His arduous journey to Skyfire City to take part in this challenge would be for naught.

But defeating Yama, how easy can that be?

Yama is King of the Ghost Clan, among the top three of the Endless Species, and ranks in the top five in the Hall of Fame of both clans!

If Lin Zhen still had the Destructive Atom Divine Thunder, he would have some confidence.

But now, it can only be said that his chances are slim.

But Lin Zhen has no choice; he has to take this step.

*********

After the ninth round, the final round of fighting finally begins.

The first group to fight are An Luoqi against India.

After losing one match, An Luoqi can’t afford to lose this one, or he wouldn’t even be able to maintain his position in the fifth or sixth place competition.

Carrying his rage from his previous loss to Augustine, An Luoqi gives it his all, defeating India and saving face.

At this point, people assumed this round of group fights would proceed without further surprises, until an unexpected turn in the second match.

The battle between Tian Zhuo and He Ying resulted in the most exciting duel since the competition began.

He Ying, whose true form is a giant crane, fights Tian Zhuo, who is also a bird.

He Ying represents the third-place contender from the Ground Clan, and Tian Zhuo is an underdog from the Endless Species.

Their fight was truly earth-shattering.

Both of them fought with all they had, using their last bit of strength, until at the very end, they simultaneously fell on the stage in a mutual knockout!

A dramatic turn of events changed the outcome.

According to the Dimensional Universe analysis, Tian Zhuo stopped breathing 0.1 second later than He Ying.

Therefore, the system deemed Tian Zhuo the winner!

Like An Luoqi, He Ying, another second-tier competitor, was squeezed out of the top four.

However, while An Luoqi was outwitted, He Ying was genuinely bested by a powerful adversary.

Tian Zhuo’s performance dazzled the two major clans.

His miraculous refined spear technique compensated for his lack of Star Power, enabling him to challenge one formidable opponent after another.

Defeating the top three of the Ground Clan using only his spear skills could only be described as a miracle.

The Endless Species erupted into unprecedented cheers, celebrating the entry of another top class warrior into the top four.

If nothing went awry, the Endless Species would maintain the 5-to-3 majority in the final top four.

This was their great victory.

Meanwhile, He Ying, frustrated, hammered the ground with his hand.

However, he had to admit defeat and acknowledge Tian Zhuo’s rapid rise.

********

In the third round, Edward faced off against the Sky Patroller.

This battle ended without suspense.

The Sky Patroller put up a nominal resistance before surrendering, considering his mission accomplished.

By this time, the knockout situation was basically clear.

In group one, Dong Xuehan and Augustine claimed direct advancement, while An Luoqi secured the right to compete for the fifth place.

In group two, Ye Xingcai and Tian Zhuo secured direct advancement, while He Ying won the right to compete for the fifth place.

In group three, Tiannie and Edward secured direct advancement, while the Mixed World Demon King won the right to vie for the fifth place.

In group four, Qiong Jing secured direct advancement, whereas the second to advance would be determined between Yama and Lin Zhen.

The victor would advance, while the loser would compete for the fifth place.

The final battle between Lin Zhen and Yama would determine the outcome for both parties.

However, almost no one was optimistic about Lin Zhen.

Throughout Lin Zhen’s journey, he’d had one tough match after another.

The group he was placed in made things even tougher.

Both the Red Widow and the Elemental Controller posed significant challenges for Lin Zhen.

Even Moro had previously worn down Lin Zhen’s trump cards.

By contrast, Yama had smooth sailing all along and faced virtually no resistance, which allowed him to preserve all his strength.

Even if they’d been on an equal footing, people believed Yama would’ve won.

Situations being as they were, they were even more certain.

The Ground Clan’s people were pretty much too worn out to cheer Lin Zhen on.

They remained silent, watching as Lin Zhen ascended the platform for his final battle.

Lin Zhen climbed onto the stage and looked down.

He looked at everyone there.

And everyone was looking at him.

At that moment, Lin Zhen felt he could see into everyone’s hearts and understand their thoughts.

For the Ground Clan, Qiong Jing frowned slightly, apparently unsanguine about Lin Zhen’s upcoming battle.

Ye Xingcai also had a stern look on his face.

With so many strong competitors emerging in this tournament, retaining his second place was becoming very difficult.

Then there was Augustine who had already advanced.

A mocking smile lingered on his face; he thought Lin Zhen stood no chance and was just waiting to see him humiliated.

On the Endless Species’ side, Tiannie, Edward and the others were laughing, very optimistic about the outcome of the battle.

Dark horse Tian Zhuo, however, had his eyes burning with battle spirit.

He was eager to have another contest with Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen barely passed in their last fight, and this irked Tian Zhuo.

After defeating He Ying, Tian Zhuo was brimming with confidence, akin to a fearless conqueror.

As Lin Zhen’s gaze fell on Dong Xuehan, his encouragement caused her white cloak to retract slightly.

Behind her fox mask, her vibrant eyes were watching him, a kaleidoscope of emotions flickering through them.

Lin Zhen winked at Dong Xuehan.

Not only did she see this, but the others from the Endless Species also took note.

“This bastard!

How dare he provoke Lady Dong Xuehan!”

“Yama, don’t hold back when you get up there.

Tear this kid to pieces!”

“He doesn’t know how high the sky is or how deep the earth runs.

I’d love to teach him a lesson myself.”

They all said this, but they were all looking at Dong Xuehan, wondering if she would say a few words.

However, surprisingly, Dong Xuehan simply turned her head slightly, ignoring both Lin Zhen and them, which was somewhat strange.

Not far away, Tiannie pondered thoughtfully.

The others, however, didn’t have so much on their minds.

Yama soon ascended the platform.

Dressed in the black robe of the Ghost Clan kings, the towering figure reaching nearly three meters tall, he climbed onto the stage with his arms behind his back, appearing as unshakeable as a high mountain.

When he ascended the platform, the entire venue quieted down.

Yama raised his hand, and a five-meter-long Grim Reaper Scythe appeared in his hand.

A High Grade Treasure!