Chapter 281: Chapter281-Did He Clear the Trial Just by Taking a Nap?

Outside the competition grounds, discussion erupted one after another.

"Isn’t Samuel Starfield going a little too far?! Elysi clearly possesses nine-star strength, yet you forcibly disguised him as an eight-star contestant..."

Chanelle, the Oracle-grade of Canaan Starfield, let out a cold laugh, her voice filled with undisguised mockery.

"How could an eight-star powerhouse possibly slay a mid-grade Divine-grade magical beast alone? You hid him so deeply. Just what exactly were you plotting?"

"Samuel Starfield is truly shameless."

The Oracle-grades of the other Starfields chimed in one after another, showering them with sarcastic remarks.

"In my opinion, they were originally planning to play dirty. They simply never expected Faustus to instantly slaughter thirty thousand low-grade Divine-grade magical beasts, forcing Elysi to expose his true strength."

Someone quietly analyzed the situation.

"Elysi truly does possess the strength to single-handedly kill mid-grade Divine-grade magical beasts. He is in no way inferior to any of the nine-star powerhouses present."

"Hmph. Why should I explain myself to any of you?"

The Oracle-grade of Samuel Starfield wore an indifferent expression, though inwardly, he was extremely displeased with Canaan Starfield.

Canaan Starfield already possesses three nine-star contestants, making them the strongest force among all the Starfields in the heavens. So what if my Samuel Starfield concealed a single nine-star contestant?

Although the Oracle-grades of the various Starfields were dissatisfied, there was nothing they could do about it.

Now that all the nine-star powerhouses had arrived, the contestants who came afterward began pouring into the second layer batch by batch.

Unlike the nine-star powerhouses, these contestants were far from composed. Every single one was either wounded or visibly exhausted.

Clearly, they had gone all out when hunting magical beasts.

After arriving in scattered groups, a total of four thousand contestants finally gathered within the second layer.

There were only two thousand advancement slots available in the second stage of the elimination round.

In other words, half of them would see their journeys end here!

... 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Whew—!"

Daniel leisurely opened his eyes.

He looked around and discovered that the second-layer space was now completely packed with contestants. Moreover, he was the first person to awaken.

"Strange... Why don’t I feel like I entered an illusion at all?"

He frowned, unable to understand what had happened.

According to the rules, the Dreamscape Platform was supposed to drag a person into an illusory realm.

Yet for some unknown reason, he had simply fallen asleep.

It had been an exceptionally deep sleep too. He had not even had a single dream.

"Could it be because I’m a player?"

Unable to figure out the answer, he could only attribute it to the fact that the advancement system of players was entirely different from that of NPCs.

In the spectator arena, the instant Daniel awakened, every powerhouse present saw it clearly.

At this point, the thousands of contestants who had already been eliminated were also able to watch the events unfolding within the second layer through the celestial screen.

All the other powerhouses were still immersed in their illusions. Only Daniel had awakened early, his expression as calm as ever.

"It’s Faustus again!"

The contestants eliminated from Warzone 1 felt their teeth itch with resentment.

"He’s first again? Don’t tell me he intends to take first place in every single stage of the trial?"

"That’s hard to say. The rules of the third stage haven’t been revealed yet, so no one knows."

"This is getting ridiculous! Will someone please deal with that Faustus fellow already?"

The contestants from Warzone 1 had absolutely no favorable feelings toward Daniel. After all, he had thoroughly ruined them during the first stage.

"You have to be kidding me. The time he took to awaken was far too short, wasn’t it?"

An Oracle-grade looked astonished.

"Something seems a little off."

The other Oracle-grades also turned their attention toward Daniel’s figure.

How could the legendary Dreamscape Platforms possibly be so simple?

The stronger someone was, the more easily they could become immersed within the illusion. Divine-grade powerhouses, in particular, found it extraordinarily difficult to break free.

Unless one had some degree of mastery over the Laws of Illusion, escaping from the illusory realm was nearly impossible.

Yet Daniel’s performance was simply too strange.

When he sank into the illusion, he looked as though he was merely falling asleep.

When he woke up, he looked as though he had simply finished taking a pleasant nap.

Then, looking at the other contestants, the difference was even more striking.

Their facial expressions varied wildly.

Some were grinning foolishly. Some wore worried frowns. Some looked furious. Others appeared overcome with wild joy.

As for Daniel?

He looked as though he had taken a wonderfully comfortable nap and awakened feeling completely refreshed.

It was simply outrageous!

"This young man is anything but ordinary. He is a rare and outstanding seedling of my Canaan Starfield."

"As expected of the Starchosen who reached the summit of Cloudcrest Peak!"

Oracle-grade Chanelle looked at Daniel with a smile while seemingly unintentionally releasing a trace of her aura.

She was making her stance clear to the Oracle-grades of every other Starfield.

Anyone who dared harbor designs on Faustus would become an enemy of Gold Mountain.

This man was under Gold Mountain’s protection!

...

Within the second-layer space.

Daniel glanced at James and Mosi beside him.

At this moment, James wore an excited expression, constantly smacking his lips as saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth.

Mosi, on the other hand, remained as steady as ever, still wearing that same expressionless face of his.

Daniel swept his gaze across the other contestants as well. Every one of them displayed a different abnormal reaction, presenting all manner of bizarre appearances.

"Is it really that interesting?"

Daniel blinked.

"Why do I feel like I just missed out on a fortune worth ten billion?"

Still, given the current situation, since the illusion seemed to have nothing to do with him, he might as well head directly to the final stage of the elimination round and wait there.

Once he passed the final trial, he would obtain his qualification for the advancement competition, along with the mission rewards.

Without the slightest hesitation, he chose to end the second-stage trial.

...

Third-Layer Space.

A towering pagoda stood majestically within the space, piercing straight through the clouds as though it connected the earth to the very end of the heavens.

This tower was known as the Spirit Tower!

The rules for the third stage of the competition poured into Daniel’s mind.

[Spirit Tower — Final Stage of the Elimination Round]

The detailed rules are as follows:

First: The Spirit Tower consists of nine floors. The strength of the guardian on each floor will increase progressively. After slaying a guardian, the challenger will obtain a reward corresponding to that floor.

Second: The first three floors are individual secret realms, and all challengers must fight alone. Starting from the fourth floor, challengers may form alliances and advance together. However, after slaying the guardian, the entire alliance will receive only one share of the reward!

Third: Advancement will be determined according to the highest floor ultimately reached by each challenger. Only the top twenty contestants may enter the advancement competition. All remaining challengers will be eliminated.

Special Note: The combat power of the Spirit Tower’s guardians ranges from peak quasi-Sage at the lowest level to Oracle-grade at the highest!

Once one thousand challengers have gathered in the third layer, the Spirit Tower will automatically open.

...

After reading through the rules, Daniel frowned slightly.

"The format of this competition... is rather brutal!"

There were actually only twenty slots available for the advancement competition!

In other words, out of two thousand contestants, one thousand nine hundred and eighty would be mercilessly eliminated.

"There are even rewards for killing the guardians."

Daniel felt his heart stir.

Once a reward entered his hands, it could trigger his Millionfold Boost. Even if he obtained the exact same spoils as the other contestants, the items he received would still be a million times superior to theirs!

"However, the third stage cannot begin just yet."

He drew in a deep breath.

"At least one thousand contestants need to arrive here before it can be activated."

Daniel was not in any hurry. The rewards were not going anywhere.

...

Within the second-layer space.

A female powerhouse suddenly opened her eyes.

Had anyone been paying close attention to her the entire time, they would have discovered that she had taken even less time to awaken than Faustus!

Faustus had at least taken a nap.

As for her, she had awakened almost instantly, as though she had never fallen into the illusion at all.

In the spectator arena, astonished cries immediately rang out.

"Who is that powerhouse? How did she awaken so quickly?!"

"The nine-star powerhouse of Lumina Starfield—Eris!"

"So it’s her! If I remember correctly, she was the fifth contestant to arrive in the second-layer space."

"Eris... She is incredibly powerful. Back in Warzone 7, no one dared approach within ten thousand meters of her."

"Nonsense. How could there possibly be a weakling among nine-star powerhouses?"

"Eris has entered the third layer..."

The eliminated contestants watched as Eris’s figure vanished through the exit of the second-layer space.

However, less than a moment after Eris departed, another powerhouse awakened.

Unexpectedly, it was Elysi, the contestant from Samuel Starfield!