Chapter 1634 - 1634: Seven Day Tournament(1)

Time was like a clear stream that kept flowing, following its set path. Years passed in a flash, and the day Aakesh and others had been waiting for a couple of years had finally arrived.

With the first ray of sunlight tearing through the cover of darkness, the store opened its door to welcome countless people to the tournament.

It was a seven day tournament with several contests with several prizes, ranging from basic talent to Aakesh's inheritance.

Since Aakesh had decided to go all the way, the inside of the store looked completely different.

There were no counters or rooms, but just an endless hall with seas of comfortable chairs.

Cultivators didn't need to eat, but Aakesh had still hired the best of the chefs in the Sacred Dimension for the seven day feast, with no limit whatsoever.

The system was the source of the food ingredients and drinks, so Aakesh only needed to spend money and let the people enjoy.

The tournament's invitation had been sent to every single being in existence in the Sacred Dimension, ranging from a newborn to the Void Beasts.

The system was responsible for sending invitations, so just a day before the tournament, a card had appeared in everyone's hands with the details.

People only had to wait for the time, and when it was time, a portal would appear with the destination being an empty chair.

So when Aakesh opened the store, the outside that was always thronged with an endless sea of people was now empty, with no one in sight.

But not long after, people started appearing on chairs. The population of the dimension was endless, and so was the number of chairs.

Aakesh didn't try to count, as that was a meaningless task.

A few minutes later, for the first time in existence, no life existed outside the store. No being rejected entry into the store, so the entire population of the dimension was seated on their respective comfortable chairs.

Aakesh also silently waited while Lily and Khaval surveyed the endless crowd. They had finally made up with Aakesh after the latter kept apologizing and accepted many of their demands.

[Host, the entire population of the Sacred dimension is here!]

Aakesh finally stood up from his chair after the system's familiar emotionless voice rang in his ears.

He then looked at the crowd and nodded, anticipating what the next seven days would hold.

Everyone also understood the impact of the moment. Even though they were unaware of the rewards, they believed anything related to the store owner was extraordinary, so even the worst thing on offer would be extremely significant to them.

Many in the crowd had taken part in several tournaments as Aakesh regularly organized those in the Primal dimension.

Only in the Sacred Dimension did he stop or rarely organize tournaments. Despite there being more than several thousand years since the store opened, the number of such contests could be counted on one finger.

"Many of you have been waiting for this tournament, so without wasting much time, let's start."

The store's assistant was also in the crowd as Aakesh forbade him from working during those seven days of the tournament and told him to either become part of the crowd or a contestant, based on what he wanted.

"Since it is a seven day tournament, it will contain several contests, and the first contest is the Myriad Race.

In this contest, the contestants would compete in a race against each other, with the top ten receiving rewards."

He announced the first of several contests. It wasn't just a simple race where the contestants would only run.

During the race, they would be met with several challenges. They would either need to complete the challenge or bypass it to continue.

It seemed to be a simple format, but the designer of the challenge was Lily, so Aakesh was also eager to see how the contest would go.

"Anyone who wants to compete here, raise your hands."

He stated expressionlessly.

Since the tournament and rewards were out of his pocket, Aakesh decided not to charge anything as the entry fee.

Anyway, the more the contestants, the higher the competition level would be.

Other than the newborns and their mothers/fathers, everyone raised their hands, wanting to participate.

Aakesh wouldn't let the mothers/fathers not be able to participate, so he told them not to worry about their kids, as the store would take care of their needs.

Immediately after his statement, only the newborns were the ones who wouldn't participate.

Snap!

Aakesh nodded and snapped his fingers. Following that, before everyone, the space cracked open, forming a portal.

Without giving them a moment to think, it then sucked them inside, leaving only Aakesh, Lily, Khaval, and the countless newborns of different races in the store.

Beyond the portal lay a vast, endless world specially created by Aakesh for the race.

The contestants couldn't help but become surprised as they found their cultivation wasn't suppressed. How was a True God supposed to compete with a Sacred King?

With shocking expressions, they looked around and saw the endless crowd.

The next moment, an invisible force acted on them, separating them into a horizontal queue with an invisible barrier separating them from each other.

The contestants would run on their specific tracks and would face challenges based on their cultivation levels.

It was something Lily designed, so it was never going to be a fair competition for everyone.

Ritsi looked determined to make his mark in this competition. He was one of the many ascenders.

He was born long after Aakesh returned to the Sacred Dimension, so he had heard many stories about the contests and their prizes.

The people who made their mark on the first contest were each legendary beings, leaving an everlasting mark on the Primal Dimension.

Ritsi wanted to achieve the same through the tournament. He believed that he could win as the store's contests were designed to give everyone an equal chance.

Unfortunately for him, he wasn't aware of what awaited them in the competition.

Other than not dying, the race would be nothing but pure torture for many.

3,2,1.

After everyone was given their track, projections of numbers, and a sound narration that appeared.

Boom!

After the count of one, a blast rang, announcing the start of the competition.

Inside the store, the screens before each chair lit up with countless partitions.

Unfortunately, only the newborns were left to watch them.

With the system's efforts, they could also comprehend what was going on, so each one focused on their parents on the screen.

Lily and Khaval, on the other hand, set a betting table. Money wasn't on the table, but conditions were. Not long after, they started bickering.

Aakesh only smiled upon seeing them bicker and didn't stop it. He didn't need to choose anyone, as he could do infinite multitasking. Immediately, visuals of every contestant played out in his mind.

***

With a determined gaze, Ritsi started his run after the race began.

Splash!

The next moment, the ground beneath his feet transformed into a large lake.

The water tried to drag him inside, but he controlled and started swimming. He hadn't swum even a hundred meters when the lake turned into a puddle, causing the scene to become funny as he flapped like a fish on the small puddle.

His expression turned blank as he didn't expect the race to start that way. He stood up and ran again, only to find himself in the air.

He immediately started dropping at an unprecedented speed. If he crashed on the ground at that speed, even his bones would turn to ashes.

He slowed down his descent and then started flying.

Boom!

The next moment, a thunderous boom rang as a thunderbolt hit him.

His clothes immediately turned to ashes while his skin became charred.

"What is this competition?"

Ritsi exclaimed in shock as neither of the challenges he had faced was dangerous.

Even the thunderstrike didn't cause him any damage whatsoever. His rugged appearance just seemed to be an effect of it.

He then took a deep breath and continued flying.

After every two meters he flew, a thunderbolt would strike him. It wouldn't cause any pain, but just bothersome.

And no matter how fast he tried to fly, his speed remained the same.

"Pfft!"

Lily couldn't hold back any longer upon seeing the appearances of the contestants.

The track was the same for everyone, so whatever Ritsi was going through, others faced the same.

Aakesh could only smile wryly when he saw that. One of Lily's conditions to forgive him was that he wouldn't interfere in how she designed the competition, so he simply let her.

Anyway, he had designed many fair competitions for the people. It didn't matter if they went through torture in one.

***

A/N: We would be traveling to the third dimension after ten or so chapters.

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