Chapter 107 - 102: Reward!

Chapter 107: Chapter 102: Reward!

Wang Dazhi’s story was utterly absurd.

If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, who would have thought a person on the battlefield could encounter such bizarre events? No one would believe it if they were told. He was truly unlucky. Having done absolutely nothing, he encountered a ton of messy situations and finally walked right into his own demise. It was embarrassing enough.

Games inherently required entertainment value. Even in a blood-pumping war game, this kind of comic relief was indispensable. That was why Su Tan had specifically set up this award. The response was predictably fantastic.

The old man subsequently replayed many more awkward clips, much to the players’ delight. Their nerves, stretched taut for an entire day, were soothed by the hilarious misfortunes of others. The game had passion, combat, competition, trash-talking, and comedy... They could grow stronger, the main storyline was full of twists and turns, and the dungeons were thrilling. Players increasingly realized that they had genuinely fallen in love with this game. Divine War 1.0 was simply too fun. The game content, settings, main quests, and NPC characters were all excellent.

The amiable and mysterious old man was beloved by many. Especially Qing, who had become the ideal partner for countless people. Before this, they had no idea that a so-called game could be like this.

...

The playback of the Awkward Rankings concluded. After seeing the contents of the rankings, those who thought they were goofy and embarrassing enough could only hide their faces in shame and admit defeat. The atmosphere was relaxed and joyful.

Upon learning of this, Su Tan was very satisfied.

The players had fought with their lives on the line for a full day and night; it was time for some entertainment. A good balance of tension and relaxation would keep people engaged and excited without getting bored. Su Tan didn’t want the players to find it tedious after just one battle and refuse to participate again in the future. Although this possibility was almost nonexistent... because the trials on the Marching Battlefield were vastly superior to those in the real world. They would rather spend a few Spirit Stones to enter the Marching Battlefield than try to survive in dark, damp jungles. Even so, Su Tan didn’t want the players to feel bored. He wanted to keep them—or rather, get them hooked—and then... attract even more players.

Next up, there would be even more battles requiring the players’ strength. How could he burn them out all at once?

"It’s a pity... those geniuses, and the experts of the various races, are still observing from the sidelines," Su Tan said. "The geniuses on the Void God Realm era rankings, such as Chen Huangbei, [One], and Peach Branch Lanlan, as well as many experts... none of them have entered the Marching Battlefield."

Su Tan knew what those people were thinking. With a mysterious place offering free benefits appearing out of nowhere, who wouldn’t be wary? They were just afraid of falling into traps and conspiracies. It wasn’t just the geniuses; the powerful older generation of cultivators were also watching from the sidelines. The only ones truly without reservations were those ordinary cultivators who felt they didn’t have much of a future and wanted to gamble for one, as well as the truly bold ones like Liu Rushi, Fu Jian, and Fu Ling’Er. Only they had entered the Marching Battlefield.

Su Tan still had to find a way to attract more players. However, he wouldn’t deliberately go out of his way to invite those geniuses. That would make it seem like he had ulterior motives. He would let nature take its course. True gold fears no fire. Su Tan believed that one day, those observant geniuses would enter on their own.

Currently, Divine War 1.0 still needed a massive influx of players. The Yin Demon Army had merely been temporarily repelled. Once the holes in the barrier holding back the Yin Demon Prison stabilized a bit more, they would send even more powerful Yin Demons over. The reason the powerful Yin Demons weren’t coming over right now was that the prison barrier was still effective against them. Those holes could only let weak Yin Demons pass. If a powerful Yin Demon tried to force their way through, it would still trigger lethal counterattacks. The stronger they were... the greater the killing intent, and the more severe the damage they would suffer. They might not die, but they would definitely be left half-dead. The powerful Yin Demons wanted to wait for those counterattacks to weaken before coming over. Otherwise, forcing their way through would cost more than it was worth.

How long could that final barrier hold off the Yin Demons? Su Tan didn’t know. Even the Fat Monk didn’t know. It all depended on the situation with the Strongest Yin Demon. If that Strongest awakened early, the barrier would be destroyed sooner. If he awakened late, the barrier would last a bit longer. The crisis was still looming. They couldn’t afford to let their guard down. Right now, all Su Tan could do was cultivate more experts and defend the Marching Battlefield well. As for the future... he would take it one step at a time.

...

His attention returned to the players. The entertainment was perfectly timed, but the rewards were the main event. The moment players received their rewards was when they were happiest, feeling that their day and night of hard work hadn’t been in vain. In this event, two people reaped the biggest and most unexpected rewards. One was Li Mubai, and the other was Wang Dazhi. The rewards these two received made others green with envy.

Li Mubai’s inherent strength wasn’t great, but a single bold ambush allowed him to consecutively place on several rankings. He rose like a dark horse, becoming the winner of this event. While this made other players envious, it also gave them a deeper understanding of the game. Getting on the rankings didn’t necessarily require high combat strength; playing this game also required a certain amount of brains.

And what about Wang Dazhi? He never expected that being sufficiently goofy could also yield unexpected gains. Wang Dazhi thought he was dead in the water for this event, expecting at most to scrape by with a "gangster" reward. Who knew it would end up like this? A pleasant surprise! Initially, seeing himself listed at the top of the Ten Awkward Moments and broadcast on the public screen for the whole server to watch was quite embarrassing. But the moment the reward fell into his hands, he didn’t feel embarrassed at all. He even secretly rejoiced.

He thought to himself, "Hehe... that’s right, I’m the most awkward one."

Not only did he get a reward, but he also successfully made the entire server remember him. As the saying goes, he gained both fame and fortune. Anyone else would have woken up laughing in their sleep.

...

In the Void God Realm management room.

After dealing with the two hundred thousand Yin Demons, Su Tan finally enjoyed a rare moment of relaxation. His thoughts began to wander.

He thought, "Sigh... the pacing doesn’t seem right.

"In the novels I’ve read, when other protagonists are at my realm, they’re probably still bitterly grinding for equipment and diligently cultivating. How come for me... I’m already involved in the grand affair of saving the world?

"Why do I have to defend an entire realm by myself?

"I’m still just a small cultivator at the Body Refinement... no, the Qi Cultivation Stage.

"It’s not scientific at all.

"According to the plots in those novels, I should be looking for gear right now. After equipping numerous treasures, various brain-dead villains would step up to provoke me, allowing me to properly show off, slap their faces, and crush the little geniuses of the Ten Thousand Races. I should be accumulating experience, growing stronger step by step... and hammering all sorts of humans, gods, and ghosts into the ground."

Su Tan felt he was bearing a pressure he shouldn’t have to bear at his age.

...

As Su Tan’s imagination ran wild, his expression suddenly changed. He gave a violent shudder and shot up from his stool, overwhelmingly excited. By chance... he had obtained the very thing he needed the most.

"DING~ Congratulations to the host for completing the ’Pit and Slaughter Ten Thousand Living Beings’ title. Reward: 18,888 Energy Value points.

"DING~ Congratulations to the host for completing the ’Pit and Slaughter Fifty Thousand Living Beings’ title. Reward: 188,888 Energy Value points.

"DING~ Congratulations to the host for completing the ’Pit and Slaughter One Hundred Thousand Living Beings’ title. Reward: 388,888 Energy Value points."

It truly was a case of searching high and low in vain, only to find it without... wait, no, he had worked painstakingly to get it. He had expended a massive amount of effort.

"Huh? I can get rewards for harming living beings?" Su Tan asked in surprise.

"This is not a reward from the system itself, but a gift from the 7th host. The 7th host was a Deceitful Demon Slayer God who once trapped and killed trillions of living beings. Before his imminent fall, seeing his unconsumed energy, he felt it was a pity. Therefore, he set it up as a separate set of rewards to gift to his successors. As long as a successor triggers and passes his plot settings, they can obtain the corresponding rewards!" the system replied.

"You can do that? Leave unused energy for your successors?" Su Tan was stunned.

"Of course. The host simply needs to set up the trigger plot according to the prompts. The first step..."

"Stop... stop right there... you don’t need to teach me," Su Tan shrugged and said. "I don’t even have enough for myself; why would I leave any for a successor? I’m not crazy. Besides, why does what you just said sound a bit ominous...

"But speaking of which... if the 7th host could trap and kill trillions of living beings, his strength must not have been low. How could he have fallen? Also... why did he have so much energy? How did he get it..."

...

...