After obtaining the method to enter the Hell Gladiator Arena, professional players from all over the world scrambled to begin preparations.
Not only for the priceless ranking rewards of the Hell Gladiator Arena, but also to prevent the disaster from a hundred years ago from descending once again.
If the Hell Gladiator Arena cannot be broken through within ten days, endless monsters will invade the real world through spatial rifts, the consequences are unimaginable.
And after professionals everywhere began to move, the number of people worldwide qualified to enter the Hell Gladiator Arena grew more and more.
However, those who failed the challenge were far more than those who succeeded.
On average, only one person out of every ten thousand could pass the challenge, one can imagine how low the pass rate was.
And the ones who failed, faced death penalties of -1 level and -1 revival count during the cycle.
Those who passed the challenge took pride in it.
One in ten thousand, they could be called the Chosen Ones, the shining light in the eyes of the world.
In the end, in less than a day, 100,000 contestants successfully emerged across the globe.
And according to statistics:
Among them, Dragon Nation's representatives numbered 4,358, ranking first.
Beacon Nation followed with 3,882 representatives.
Cold Nation was third with 2,926 representatives.
Bear Nation ranked fourth with 2,559 representatives…
The facts proved that the average strength of Dragon Nation's professionals far surpassed those of other nations, truly deserving the title of the world's number one professional powerhouse.
The only reason the world rankings had always placed Dragon Nation behind the Beacon Nation was because the Beacon Nation had Myth-grade professionals, Dragon Nation did not.
That was the only difference between the two.
On the second day of the appearance of the Hell Gladiator Arena rift in the King-level secret realm.
At 10 a.m., a loud system notification descended from the sky—
[[System Announcement] (Worldwide): "Ding~ The King-level Secret Realm Hell Gladiator Arena has officially opened. All contestants, please prepare to enter."]
At this moment, a panel popped up in front of everyone holding a Starshine Card:
["Ding~ Would you like to enter the Hell Gladiator Arena now? (Failure to choose entry within three minutes will be considered a forfeit.)"]
"Mom, I'm going to win glory for the nation!"
"I'm going to protect the world now!"
"Brothers, watch me! When I return in triumph, I will be the world's fourth Myth-grade professional!"
"I don't ask for the championship, if I can get the unique skill book from third place, I'll be satisfied!"
Under the eyes of the world, contestants from every country all clicked the confirmation option on the panel before them.
The next moment—
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Countless white lights lit up across the world, flooding into the spatial rift in the sky.
———
On Zhang Yue's side, he almost carried the hopes of all of Dragon Nation.
As requested, all contestants activated their livestream functions, broadcasting the real-time footage of the Hell Gladiator Arena to the world, so everyone could observe the dynamics of the Hell Gladiator Arena.
Thus, in the national broadcast feed, among all viewers sending off contestants, at least 70% focused on Zhang Yue's livestream room.
They were all people who did not obtain the qualification to enter the Hell Gladiator Arena and could not participate.
Among them were countless familiar figures.
[Liu Yao: "Big bro, good luck! I don't know what else to do, I'll just send you a hundred rockets!"]
[Su Jinyan: "Zhang Yue, you're definitely going to succeed!"]
[Tian Xiner: "I wanted to fight alongside you, but I didn't have the qualification… take my strength and charge forward!"]
On Zhang Yue's side, he had already finished preparing together with Wolong, Hidden Dragon, and Xuanlan.
At this moment, Hidden Dragon suddenly turned to Zhang Yue, turned off the mic, and said, "Don't worry, Master, it won't be like a hundred years ago again, letting you face the disaster alone. This time, we'll fight side by side. We'll head toward victory together."
Wolong glanced at Hidden Dragon, "Don't be the first one eliminated."
As Zhang Yue selected "Enter"—
His vision shifted, and darkness fell before his eyes.
———
He was now in a pitch-black space where he couldn't see his hand in front of him, silent all around.
Zhang Yue understood: this was the entry phase waiting for contestants.
Clearly, the competition would officially begin only when all contestants had arrived.
The entry time was set at three minutes.
Eventually, among the 100,000 contestants from all over the world, a competition would take place in the Hell Gladiator Arena.
Taking advantage of this time, Zhang Yue checked the rules and settings of the Hell Gladiator Arena.
Currently, only the rules of the Level 1 Arena had been announced.
The Hell Gladiator Arena was divided into levels: Level 1 to Level 9, corresponding to Star Rank 1 to Star Rank 9.
The Level 1 Arena corresponded to contestants with the [1-Star Arena Novice] rank.
All contestants started at 1-Star Arena Novice, with an initial point total of 10 points.
By consuming points, one could increase their rank.
Consuming 100 points allowed promotion to [2-Star Duel Expert], and one could then enter the Level 2 Arena to begin higher-level challenges.
Rules of the Level 1 Arena were relatively simple:
All contestants would be randomly assigned to one of 100 arenas. Each arena's map was very vast. Inside the arena, professionals could gain points by killing monsters or killing other contestants.
Killing 100 normal monsters grants 1 point.
Killing 1 elite monster grants 1 point.
Killing 1 BOSS-level monster grants 10 points.
Killing 1 contestant grants 1 point.
If killed by a contestant or monster, 1 point is deducted, and the contestant respawns at a random location.
If a contestant dies when they have 0 remaining points, they are immediately eliminated and can no longer participate.
After seeing the competition rules, before Zhang Yue could react, the billions of viewers in the livestream chat room were already getting hyped.
On the scrolling bullet chat, countless messages flew wildly, ["Pure monster hunting to farm points? For our Zero God, isn't that just free points?"]
["Farming monsters for points is too slow. 100 monsters only gets you 1 point. That'd take forever to farm 100 points. I think killing players is faster. 1 kill is 1 point. If Zero God kills 90 players, he'll immediately reach 2-Star rank."]
["Yeah yeah yeah, just target the pros from Eastern. Zero God, go get 'em! Kill one pro and I'll gift you a carnival, no cap. Everyone in the chat bear witness, I'll sell my pots and pans to support you! For patriotism!"]
Although the ultimate goal was still unclear, roughly, it could be guessed that the final outcome would depend on who had the highest rank or highest number of points for the ranking.
———
Meanwhile, in Eastern Nation, Level 500, Tier 9 Ghost Blade Dancer Inoue Amano, who was preparing for battle, had a fierce glint in his eyes.
In his mind was the scene of his only son, Inoue Kojiro, being executed by Zhang Yue in the Pro Tournament.
Gripping the Death Mark in his hand—
"Zero, you better hope we don't meet. Otherwise, I will tear you to pieces."
Just as his words fell, suddenly, a system prompt descended.
["Ding~ All contestants are in position. Total number of contestants: 99,528! Contestant [Inoue Amano] is in position!"]
["Ding~ Attention, professionals: According to the level requirements of the Hell Gladiator Arena, all contestants' levels are being reset. Your level has been reset to the Hell Gladiator Arena's standard: Level 175!"]
Inoue Amano's pupils instantly dilated.
"Nani?"
[T/N: Well now we will see who's the strongest fairly.]
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