Chapter 374 - 366: 10-Win Streak Tribulation, High-Priced Bounty, You Dare to Snipe Me?

In reality, the officials were deliberately building hype. To emphasize the unique status of Arena 10086, they had specifically scheduled all of Jiang Qiu’s matches there.

Of course, the matchmaking was still time-based. When Jiang Qiu wasn’t present, other contestants’ fights still took place. It wasn’t as if only he could use the arena.

This time, Jiang Qiu’s opponent was from the Birdman Race. He boasted that he had already watched Jiang Qiu’s livestreams, but this was just posturing. As a genius himself, he was certain that someone in the Spirit Body Realm could never possess such abilities. He was going to be the one to expose Jiang Qiu.

SWOOSH—

A flash of black light later, the challenge was over, and Jiang Qiu had left the arena.

"???"

"???"

"???"

The chat feed was flooded with question marks. The many fans drawn by his reputation were stunned. Even the voices of the Fishman Race and other groups, who had repeatedly hoped to snipe Jiang Qiu, gradually died down. "How is it another instant kill?"

"A newcomer with a five-win streak, all by instant kill."

"Awesome! A record like this isn’t something just anyone can achieve. I hereby declare Jiang Qiu my new idol! He’s the True God of the Spirit Body Realm bracket!"

"Damn, this time he leaped over four minor realms to instantly kill a fifth-layer Spirit Body Realm genius! If that’s not a genius, what is?"

"Jiang Qiu is a beast!"

"The Human Race is really something else, to produce a genius like Jiang Qiu!"

"I’m starting to think all those legends about the Human Race weren’t made up. His Talent is insane!"

"You can say that again."

With a flurry of comments, public opinion gradually began to shift. People grew curious about how long Jiang Qiu’s win streak could last. An increasing number believed that perhaps he possessed some extraordinary Talent—for example, one that caused any opponent he faced to simply drop dead.

But undeniably, most people were beginning to believe Jiang Qiu must possess considerable strength. A single win might be normal, a two-win streak is commonplace, and three in a row isn’t unheard of. A four-win streak requires some luck, but a five-win streak? That means you have real skill.

What’s more, Jiang Qiu’s wins were all instant kills. He never had an evenly matched opponent; no one could even last a single exchange against him. This was more than enough to prove his incredible strength, and it was possible he still wasn’t using his full power.

Although some still suspected Jiang Qiu of cheating, their voices grew fainter. The tide had turned. More and more neutral observers were supporting him, and his follower count had already reached 500,000. How could the haters possibly compete?

However, this didn’t mean they would give up. On the clandestine Dark Web, a bounty for sniping Jiang Qiu had been posted. The races backing the many contestants he had instantly killed began to make their move.

Any expert willing to accept the contract and instantly kill Jiang Qiu in a challenge would receive tens of millions of Primordial Basic Coins, along with other generous, though unstated, rewards.

The situation quickly became a storm of activity, and Jiang Qiu became the most talked-about contestant among the Spirit Body Realm members.

As his winning streak grew, the hype intensified. More races contributed to the bounty, all searching for an expert capable of taking Jiang Qiu down.

Ten million Primordial Basic Coins.

Twenty million Primordial Basic Coins.

Thirty million Primordial Basic Coins.

Fifty million Primordial Basic Coins.

Seventy million Primordial Basic Coins.

One hundred million Primordial Basic Coins!

By the third day, Jiang Qiu was on a nine-win streak, and his personal popularity had completely dominated all discussion about the Spirit Body Realm challenges. It was then that someone finally accepted the bounty. Jiang Qiu was now facing the great trial for his tenth consecutive win, and his opponent would be at least a first-layer Bright Soul Realm expert!

"Holy shit! I have no words to describe how I’m feeling right now! Jiang Qiu is too damn good! He’s already on a nine-win streak! Ever since his debut, he’s been instantly killing his opponents. Four matches a day, and now he’s at nine wins, about to hit his tenth!"

"Ten-win streak? Are you blind? Take a good look at who his opponent is!"

"Ahaha! Jiang Qiu is definitely done for this time. His opponent is a high-level member, a first-layer Bright Soul Realm expert—Ah Gui of the Wandering Soul Race, also known as the ’Win-Streak Killer.’ In a previous Bright Soul Realm battle, even a nineteen-win-streak contestant at the Ninth-Layer of the Bright Soul Realm lost to him!"

"Holy shit, it’s him! Dammit, that guy loves nothing more than sniping people’s win streaks. His strength is ridiculous—he’s also an instant-kill level fighter. His enemies are often dead before they can even move."

"Now this is going to be a good show. I bet he was hired by the races whose geniuses lost to Jiang Qiu, like the Fishman Race and the Birdman Race, who posted the bounty."

"Definitely. Why else would he show up here? He only ever fights opponents with high rewards. He normally wouldn’t even glance at a Spirit Body Realm promotion match."

"Jiang Qiu is really done for this time. This Ah Gui is another one of those geniuses who only deals in instant kills."

"..."

When the information on his tenth opponent was sent to his account, Jiang Qiu raised an eyebrow. ’So he’s this impressive?’

He briefly glanced at his opponent’s recent challenge history. Without exception, all his victories were instant kills. He currently held a twenty-three-win streak and was known as the Win-Streak Killer.

This guy’s method of instant-killing was unusual. He used Soul attacks, often catching his opponents off guard and striking their Soul at the very start of the match, causing them to drop dead. It was an almost indefensible tactic.

Even those who prepared treasures specifically to defend against Soul-based abilities seemed to have little success; they were still instantly killed.

As for his first-layer Bright Soul Realm Cultivation, it was a full High Realm above Jiang Qiu’s own "first-layer Spirit Body Realm" Cultivation. For most people, this was a heavenly chasm, an insurmountable abyss.

Focusing his thoughts for a moment, Jiang Qiu murmured to himself, ’I really do need to be careful this time. If his Soul attack forces me to reveal my true strength, that would be bad. I’ll just have to end it even faster.’

’Soul attack techniques have always been difficult to defend against. Although I can’t discern his specific methods from the past broadcast replays, an attack of this level is often accompanied by fluctuations. The Celestial Star Arena officials might detect them and discover my true strength.’

’The only reason my real strength hasn’t been exposed so far is because I haven’t used any Spirit Charm or Secret Techniques, leaving no flaws for the officials to find.’

’If a fight with this Ah Gui from the Wandering Soul Race exposes my abilities, it’ll be a problem. Maintaining the win streak after that would be incredibly difficult. The main issue is that stringing together a long streak is hard enough as it is; it only gets harder the further you go.’

「Soon, in Arena 10086」

Jiang Qiu met his opponent, Ah Gui. He was from a race that resembled Ghosts. He didn’t seem to have a solid physical body, yet he wasn’t completely intangible either. He looked like a wisp of pitch-black smoke.

"JIE JIE JIE... So, you’re Jiang Qiu?" Ah Gui cackled, his voice surrounding Jiang Qiu from all sides like a Fierce Ghost. "You don’t look all that strong. Why are you only in the Spirit Body Realm?"

His smoky form seemed to lack substance. Jiang Qiu saw through this and frowned. "You don’t have a physical body? You only exist as a Soul?"

"Of course! This is the ultimate Talent Secret Technique of our Wandering Soul Race. How could a lowly member of the Human Race like you possibly understand?" Ah Gui flew into the air and spun. "Without the limitations of a physical body, I am invincible! You will die by my hand."

’Ever since he came to the Celestial Star Arena, his only losses were because his Soul techniques couldn’t harm races with special Talents or those at a much higher Realm. He himself had never once been injured.’

’It was a given that he was invincible among those in the same Realm. As for a Low Realm nobody like Jiang Qiu at the first layer of the Spirit Body Realm... if it weren’t for the high bounty, he wouldn’t have even given him a second glance.’

’Sniping win streaks really was a great way to get rich.’

Thinking this, he hovered high in the air, looking down on Jiang Qiu.

"But then again, you’ve got some tricks up your sleeve, kid. Before you die, tell me: how did you make those last nine opponents die instantly?"