Chapter 353: Chapter 353: The Grand Melee Ends, Great Xia Temporarily Ranks First

The Beast Fighting Arena.

After the deafening explosion, an eerie silence suddenly descended upon the arena.

The contestants from all nations, who had been locked in a frenzied battle just moments before, now seemed to be frozen in time, as if someone had pressed pause.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed in disbelief on the deep crater, and... on the mosquito beside her.

What just happened?

William Smith, the insufferably arrogant one who seemed like a Flame Demon God incarnate and had been overpowering the Great Xia Team’s captain, was just sent flying by a mosquito’s slap?

Not only was he sent flying, but the damn thing even created a sonic boom?

Is... is this... even possible?

Are all of Great Xia’s Demon Beasts this terrifying?

GULP... A contestant from Sakura Country swallowed nervously.

...

Meanwhile.

On Gu Yuexi’s shoulder.

Chu Sheng blew on his right foreleg in a very human-like gesture, then leisurely returned to Gu Yuexi’s shoulder.

’Not bad. The strength of this body is already quite impressive... It’s all thanks to me constantly eating until I’m stuffed.’

As for why he had passed through William’s flames completely unscathed?

’Heh, what a joke!’

’Playing with fire?’

’Playing with fire in front of this Lord Mosquito?’ 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’You have to understand, Chu Sheng’s Fire Realm has already reached the Origin Realm! It’s just that due to cultivation limitations, he can’t open his Fire Domain yet!’

’When it comes to playing with fire, Chu Sheng has never been afraid of anyone!’

Elsewhere.

As the smoke and dust gradually cleared, everyone looked over.

There, at the edge of the deep crater that had been blasted open by intense heat and impact, a hand suddenly appeared, clawing desperately at the ground.

The hand was covered in crimson magma-like patterns, its nails digging deep into the rock, creating a grating, teeth-cringing sound from the immense strain.

Then, William’s somewhat unsteady figure climbed out from the bottom of the crater.

His appearance could only be described as utterly wretched.

The pride he once held, like a king of flames, was completely gone. The left side of his face was completely caved in, his entire expression twisted like one of Picasso’s abstract paintings.

"HISS—"

The audience gasped.

A mosquito’s leg did that? It looked more like he’d been crushed by a hydraulic press!

However, in the next second, a horrifying scene unfolded.

Countless tiny tendrils of flesh suddenly writhed across William’s twisted face, as a dark red light weaved frantically over the wound.

In the span of just a few breaths, the collapsed facial bones reset themselves with a series of crisp "CRACK" sounds, the torn flesh re-formed, and the skin healed.

Aside from his slightly paler complexion, the previously fatal-looking injury had completely recovered!

This was the foundation of the White Eagle Empire!

This was the terrifying Life Force granted by an Emperor Realm Demon Beast’s Crystal Core, combined with the White Eagle Empire’s most advanced biological gene-repair technology!

"Damn you... Damn you, bug..."

William stared intently at Gu Yuexi—no, to be precise, he was staring at the inconspicuous little thing on her shoulder.

His eyes were bloodshot. The red glow deep within his pupils had not faded; instead, fueled by extreme rage and humiliation, it had grown deeper and more frenzied.

Killing intent!

Overwhelming killing intent!

He, the magnificent number-one seed of the White Eagle Empire, a future supreme expert, had been publicly slapped in the face by a mosquito?

That was even more unbearable than being killed!

"I’m going to... tear you to shreds!!!"

A beastly roar escaped William’s throat as the flames enveloping his body surged once more. He didn’t care what was so strange about this mosquito; all he knew was that it had to die today!

However, just as William was about to recklessly attack again, even preparing to use his trump card,

WOOO—!!!

A desolate and heavy horn blast echoed across the sky above the arena without any warning.

The sound seemed to carry a power that pierced the very soul, instantly suppressing all the commotion in the arena.

Immediately after, a platinum-white figure descended from the sky. It was the chief referee, Alexander Pierce.

He hovered in mid-air, casting an emotionless glance at the furious William before his majestic voice spread throughout the entire arena:

"Stop!"

"The first phase, the first round of the Caged Beast Battle, is over!"

William’s movements froze, and he abruptly halted his charge.p>’It’s over?’

’How could it be so fast?’

He subconsciously turned his head and looked around.

The once-chaotic battlefield had now become clearly divided.

Aside from his own battle, which had come to a brief standstill because of that damned mosquito, the other skirmishes had already concluded!

First was the Nanzhou Empire. Their two members had a joint attack technique and could have held on, but after William eliminated one of them, the other’s combat power plummeted. He was quickly defeated, and both were eliminated.

And with all ten of their members eliminated, the Nanzhou Empire was now completely out of this year’s Martial Arts Tournament.

Meanwhile, in other skirmishes, contestants from the Rose Kingdom and Asia United were also eliminated.

Only then did William realize.

In the few short minutes he had been hell-bent on slaughtering Gu Yuexi, the situation on the field had undergone a world-shaking transformation.

By this point, one team had been completely eliminated in this round.

This also signaled the end of the round... A total of twenty-three people had been eliminated!

In the air, Pierce waved a hand, and the statistics for the remaining members of each team instantly appeared on the giant light screen behind him.

The bright red numbers were particularly jarring at that moment.

First Round Report:

Eighth Place: Northern Federation — 4 members remaining.

Seventh Place: Asia United — 5 members remaining.

Sixth Place: Rose Kingdom — 7 members remaining.

Fifth Place: Sakura Country — 7 members remaining.

Fourth Place: Ancient Aie Empire — 7 members remaining.

Third Place: European Union — 8 members remaining.

Second Place: White Eagle Empire — 9 members remaining. (Jason was personally taken out by William.)

And in first place...

Was that striking scarlet flag!

First Place: Great Xia Federation — 10 members remaining!

The moment this data appeared, the small section of the audience belonging to Great Xia erupted in cheers like a roaring tsunami.

"Great Xia! Great Xia! Great Xia!"

Red flags waved wildly. Even though they were few in number, their spirit seemed to overwhelm the entire arena.

Meanwhile, on the internet, the major Great Xia live-stream channels had basically erupted in celebration.

The screen was so dense with comments that it almost completely obscured the video feed.

A screen full of [Great Xia is Awesome!] scrolled past continuously!

"Every team lost someone this round, including White Eagle! Only Great Xia didn’t lose anyone!"

"So badass!"

"I was wrong, this Gu Yuexi is actually a total beast! I admit it, I was blind!"

"Yeah, I approve of her title, Future Empress."

"The hell you do. Who needs your approval?"

"Shen Yixuan was great too, and that mosquito!! Smacking that arrogant William and sending him flying was so damn satisfying!"

...

Back in the arena.

Pierce looked at the rankings on the big screen, the corner of his eye twitching slightly.

As the president of the White Eagle Empire’s Martial Dao association, he was naturally displeased to see his own team ranked second, and to see the insufferably arrogant William so thoroughly humiliated in public.

But as the chief referee, he had to remain impartial.

Although the White Eagle Empire was the host, they didn’t have the final say in everything!

"The first round of the competition is now over!"

"All teams will have a ten-minute rest period."

"In ten minutes, the second round of the ’Caged Beast Battle’ will begin immediately!"