Within the Treasure Hunting Dimension, the intensity of battle suddenly rose by several levels.
Lu Jun was on the move—like a fierce tiger breaking free from its cage. Along the way, he seemed to "luckily" encounter one National Institute contestant after another, each of whom he severely injured before suppressing them inside the Hell Furnace.
At the same time, he could sense that Jiang Yu, Ai Jiangtu, Zhao Manyan, Mo Fan, and Mu Ningxue had managed to escape pursuit and hide themselves. These five ranked among the top in strength within the China National Institute Team, so there was little need to worry about them.
Especially Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue—both had already reacted quickly and begun their joint counterattack, ruthlessly hunting down other foreign participants and repeatedly seizing their treasures.
As for Nan Jue and Jiang Shaoxu, they were protected by the Nightmare Thunder Dream Beast at the peak Commander level. No one dared to provoke them—after all, even the Mind Stone from thirty-two years ago had been guarded by a single peak Commander venomous insect that nearly killed Mo Fan in an instant.
Moreover, while hunting down the National Institute contestants, Lu Jun never forgot to command the Nightmare Thunder Dream Beast to search for this year's Battlefield Relic Treasure.
In the original timeline, no one had ever unearthed that ultimate treasure.
Fortunately, through his terrifying mastery of Psychic Magic, Lu Jun used the Eagle Eye Familiar as a medium to infiltrate the staff of the tournament organizers and extract certain bits of information.
Of course, that was all secondary. Inside the Treasure Hunting Dimension, he had begun what could only be described as a massacre. Each time he suppressed a contestant from another nation, he obtained various valuable treasures—each one worth a fortune.
Gradually, the National Institute participants within the independent space began to notice something was wrong. More and more familiar faces failed to appear again.
It was as if a terrifying monster prowled this region, devouring lives one by one.
Outside, the audience—especially those from Western nations—watched in panic.
"Run! Run, Heberle! That monster is coming!" they screamed in despair, nearly tearing their throats apart, wishing they could swap places with their contestants to help them escape.
The Western viewers watched one familiar contestant after another get effortlessly subdued into the furnace, and their complaints grew louder.
"This is unfair! The China team's Lu Jun can interrupt life-saving teleportation! Oh my god, this is completely irresponsible toward the contestants' safety!"
"We strongly demand that the organizers ban Lu Jun's ability to disrupt spatial teleportation!"
This group of Westerners truly demonstrated double standards to perfection.
In response, the Jiuzhou netizens sneered, "Fair competition means anything goes. If Lu Jun can interrupt spatial teleportation, why can't you? Maybe reflect on whether you're just too weak!"
A perfect counterattack—using their own logic against them. The Chinese audience felt immensely proud and vindicated.
People across Jiuzhou were thrilled, watching Lu Jun's relentless hunt and Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue's daring plunder. The three's heroic figures burned into their hearts as they shouted praises:
"Well done! Why should these Western barbarians trample on us?!"
The Western viewers, seeing the barrage of mocking comments flooding the live feed, were so enraged that smoke nearly poured from their ears.
"Fine, fine, fine! Hahaha!"
Inside Huaxia's VIP suite, Shao Zheng burst into hearty laughter, seemingly fully immersed in the spectacle. With a low chuckle, he said, "The traditional powerhouses—America, Italy, Germany, Greece, and Canada—must be panicking right about now."
And indeed, his words soon came true.
In several neighboring VIP rooms, the upper brass of those nations could no longer sit still. They stood up and began negotiating with the tournament organizers, claiming that Lu Jun's methods violated the rules and endangered contestants' lives. They demanded that the Treasure Hunting Battle be ended immediately.
However, the proposal was firmly rejected by the Five Continental Magic Associations.
When Shao Zheng heard that his old acquaintances had personally come to complain, his expression remained unfazed. He raised an eyebrow and said coldly, "Tell them we will not agree to any conditions. This is an advantage earned by our young men through strength—we elders must not hold them back."
Within the Treasure Hunting Dimension, Lu Jun soared across the sky amidst a roaring storm of yellow sand.
Below, Angelo of the Italian team turned pale and stumbled backward, exclaiming, "Lu Jun?!"
He was about to flee with wind magic when the cyan-and-yellow whirlwind in the sky suddenly curved, descending in an overwhelming surge that churned up mountains of air currents.
Boom—!
Lu Jun's face was cold as he traced a Stars with his finger, pointing forward.
In an instant, countless cursed spider threads spread behind Angelo, hoisting him into the air and dragging him into a vast Abyssal Black Hole above.
"No! Don't! My treasure chance—!" Angelo struggled frantically, but a stabbing pain tore through his mind. He couldn't release any magic at all. Despair filled his eyes.
A second later, the white-robed female ghost appeared behind him, swinging her heavy staff and slamming it hard onto his head.
Bang!
He was knocked unconscious and tossed into the Hell Furnace like the others.
Lu Jun's actions were fluid and precise—as if he had practiced this sequence countless times.
However, he didn't leave immediately. Remaining in place, he muttered softly to himself, "The Eagle Eye is seeing fewer and fewer people… where did they all go?"
After half a day of relentless pursuit and hunting, he had already suppressed over forty National Institute contestants inside the Hell Furnace—nearly one-fourth of the total participants from sixteen national teams.
It was nothing short of astonishing.
The total value of the resources Lu Jun plundered had reached four billion, which was twice as much as what Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue had gathered together in the original work and that was even before the national participants had enough time to fully scavenge treasures.
Even so, with a total of one hundred and sixty participants, this dimensional battlefield should not have become so desolate.
Suddenly, his heart stirred. Through his True Name Foresight combined with the Egale Eye surveillance, a set of images was transmitted to his mind. After browsing them within a few breaths, he let out a cold sneer. "So that's how it is… they've joined forces?"
Meanwhile, on the other side of the dimension, near the edge of the battlefield—
Within a dark grand formation, members from various national teams were continuously arriving from all directions. Their movements were hurried and weary, their appearances disheveled and anxious.
In the midst of the black mist, Asharuiya watched this scene with a solemn expression. Taking a deep breath, she understood that with the summoning signal sent out, this region had now gathered dozens of participants.
All of them were once considered prodigies among the younger generations of their own nations. Yet at this moment, they looked utterly unsettled, devoid of the composure of High-level Mages — instead huddling together for safety.
Among the one hundred and sixty national team members, every single one had already stepped into the realm of magic transformation. Along with their diverse innate talents and enchanted equipment, though they lacked Lu Jun's clarity of the Egale Eye and Marking combination, they still had ways to communicate with each other.
As word spread, they gradually learned who was hunting the national team members. When they discovered that it was Lu Jun alone, countless people trembled in fear.
It wasn't that no one had tried to challenge him teams of seven or eight had gone after Lu Jun yet all were easily slaughtered, not lasting even a few minutes.
"F*ck! Our plan's been exposed. Lu Jun is taking revenge! Those national instructors are liars they said teams of five or more could resist him! What a joke that monster!"
Inside the temporary camp, as everyone quietly rested, someone suddenly cursed in a low voice.
Once those words were spoken, dozens of people fell silent. Then, a wave of arguments broke out.
"Exactly! I told you we shouldn't have provoked the Chinese team!"
Asharuiya's face remained indifferent — she had nothing to do with this. After all, this assembly wasn't convened by her; she had merely provided the location.
"Everyone, silence!"
From deep within the black mist, a figure slowly walked out, speaking in a voice filled with authority.