Age of Evolution

Chapter 246 - 246: 246: Yue Zhenhua’s Demise (Fifth Arrival)

Ma Yao was bringing him some food: ‘Master, please eat something.” “No, I won’t eat! What am I supposed to eat? I’m not in the mood.”

Yue Zhenhua knocked over the food. Ma Yao frowned in annoyance. He was tired of serving this domineering leader, whose temper had just gotten worse over time.

“What’s taking Lin Zhen so long? The War God’s Knockout is in three days. Isn’t he planning to participate?”

“Maybe Lin Zhen is already dead inside.” Ma Yao suggested.

“Impossible! Although Lin Zhen has been in there for a long time, I can feel he isn’t dead. You wouldn’t know, promotions to the Star Realm require opportunities. My opportunity lies with Lin Zhen. If he had died, I’d certainly feel something. But I’m not feeling any sort of relief. I can sense that he’s still alive, and doing quite well.”

Ma Yao was not sure about advancing to the Star Realm, but he didn’t wish to stay here anyway. He hesitated before wanting to speak and leave. Just then, Wei Li came running and said to Yue Zhenhua: “Master, I’m leaving.” “Leaving? What are you leaving for?” Yue Zhenhua abruptly turned to ask.

“Well, the War God’s Knockout is about to start. All the martial artists have to prepare in advance. I’ve recently advanced to the Level Eight War God, and since Lin Zhen is not showing any signs of activity, I need to go back and prepare. ”

“Hmph! Go then, I don’t need you to succeed.” Yue Zhenhua was somewhat vexed.

He suddenly thought of something and looked at Ma Yao: “Are you planning to leave too?”

“Yes, master, as the time is drawing near, I also wish to…”

“Fine, just go! Your presence here doesn’t mean much. In fact, you’re just a burden and not at all helpful. He Liu is the only one needed here.”

Even though Yue Zhenhua hadn’t made much progress in this period, He Liu had already advanced to a Level Nine War God. His power had improved to the point of being on par with Yue Zhenhua. He believed that the two of them together were more than enough to defeat Lin Zhen.

Getting their desired chance to leave, Ma Yao and Wei Li quickly walked away.

“Two good-for-nothing people!”

Yue Zhenhua cursed and continued to wait by White Dragon Lake.

With the departures of Ma Yao and Wei Li, most people left the Five Connected Pools area.

Once the substitution of Crystals for Dark Energy was announced, almost all the War Gods who could come, did. After almost three months here, everyone wanted to rest.

Additionally, the War God’s Knockout was about to begin, and people were quite interested in the event. There was no mobile signal in this ancient God Ruins, so you couldn’t watch it from here.

Although admission was expensive, at a hundred million per entry, the number of War Gods with financial difficulties was small, and most could afford a billion or two.

Only War Gods with poor conditions and shallow pockets stayed here, not even thinking of going to watch even when the War God’s Knockout began. These people were essentially uninterested in worldly affairs.

However, such people often achieved limited accomplishments. Merely focusing on cultivation couldn’t lead them to the peak. Martial artists always required countless resources and opportunities. Even if they cultivated to the War God Realm, they wouldn’t have much competitive strength playing against others.

With the departure of most War Gods, the bustling Five Connected Pools area fell quiet again.

Only Yue Zhenhua at White Dragon Lake, He Liu at the entrance, and a few War Gods committed to intense cultivation remained.

The topic of the War God’s Knockout was also gathering heat outside.

This time the War God’s Knockout still used virtual battles, but not in the Heavenly Garden environment anymore, it had now moved to the arena.

Every street corner of all the Base Cities had erected large screens. People would now be able to see the actual combat situations—live broadcasts.

The total of a thousand and twenty-four participating War Gods from all over the globe would have every one of their battles broadcasted on these large screens.

The topic of who could take the crown was constantly discussed. Even though all three warriors from Sand Russia were eliminated by Lin Zhen, Huo Luofu was still considered the hot favourite for the title.

Underground betting shops had already begun accepting bets. Apart from betting on the champion, they also took bets on what ranks the martial artists could reach, each with different odds.

Other than Huo Luofu, who had very high odds, several others closely followed him.

For example, Duke from America, Ai Er and Chris from the European Union, Bogba from the African Union, Shah and Omar from India, Sang Ji from Brazil, Feng Ni, Tang Wenbo, He Liu, and Su Mingyue from Hua Xia all made the list.

As the top-ranked warrior of the previous qualifiers’ kill rankings, Lin Zhen also made the bookies’ list.

However, Lin Zhen’s odds were not high. Because in the previous match, Huo

Luofu revealed that Lin Zhen chose to flee under his attack. This indicated Lin Zhen would not be a match for Huo Luofu, and likely their power gap was quite huge.

The War God’s Knockout was not the Heavenly Garden, it wouldn’t allow you to escape everywhere. At that time, Lin Zhen’s speed advantage would be useless.

After all, in people’s view, Lin Zhen was a Spiritual Mind Master and a natural Divine Speedster. Speed was his forte.

Moreover, there’s an important factor. Currently, Lin Zhen was still blocked in the Five Connected Pools by Yue Zhenhua. Whether he could come out was uncertain. If he couldn’t even leave that place, there was no point discussing the War God’s Knockout.

Thus, Lin Zhen’s odds of winning the championship were quite high, with an eight-to-one payout.

This betting rate was second only to those unknown War Gods. It was almost an insult for the one who ranked first in the last pre-selection killing list.

However, people think this is normal considering the presence of Yue Zhenhua, who is almost at the Star Realm. The chances of Lin Zhen coming out were indeed slight.

A day passed without any news from Lin Zhen, but instead, the War Gods from the Five Connected Pools had come out, bringing back news of Yue Zhenhua and He Liu still blocking the path. They planned to block it until an hour before the start of the War God’s Knockout match.

Upon this news, the betting rate against Lin Zhen dropped further, becoming one to fifteen.

Now, there were less than forty-eight hours left before the start of the War God’s Knockout match.

At the foot of Fire Burning Mountain, Xiao Nuan was munching on a whole crab that Lin Zhen had left for it.

Its mouth had a miraculous ability to shrink large things, then swallow and chew them easily. This crab that weighed several thousand pounds was devoured without a trace by Xiao Nuan’s tiny body of less than twenty pounds.

After eating its fill, Xiao Nuan happily rolled around on the ground, waiting for Lin Zhen to wake up.

Lin Zhen’s transformation had now taken three full days.

By midday, Xiao Nuan, who had been drowsily squinting, suddenly perked up its ears and, with a roll, turned to look at Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen, covered in a thick layer of volcanic ash, opened his eyes.

“Finally, it’s done!”

With a sudden movement, Lin Zhen stood up from the ground. His Dantian energy gathered, and most of the ash was shaken off, like an explosion in a pile of dirt.

After waving his arms a couple of times, Lin Zhen felt a surging strength in his body. Although his realm had not advanced, his power had almost doubled at this moment!

“What a formidable Domineering Stone, and such a strong vitality! My speed, strength, and body resilience have all increased remarkably. Even though my Dantian energy has not improved, and my mental power has not progressed, this body, just based on physical strength alone, could match an average advanced war god even without activating Dantian energy!”

“Whew!”

Xiao Nuan rushed over and landed in Lin Zhen’s arms, extending its tongue to lick him.

Lin Zhen laughed as he avoided its licks, saying: “I really don’t know what kind of galaxy beast you are. You’re really just like a little dog. Once we return, I’ll get you a pet certificate. Otherwise, it won’t be easy to take you out.”

In the era following the God Transformation Calendar, pets had become nearly extinct, evolving into mutated beasts. Even when new pets were gradually bred, the government forbade people from keeping them as pets because they could potentially become threats and harm humans if mutated.

Only those with certain privileges could keep pets, but they also had to obtain valid certificates. If a pet mutated, it would have to be put down immediately, and if it injured someone, there would be hefty compensation.

Lin Zhen, being an Advanced War God, was qualified to keep a pet. As Xiao Nuan looked like a lion dog, he should be able to get a pet certificate for it. “Let’s go! Time to move!”

Lin Zhen’s Lightning Wings appeared, and with a flap, he headed straight for the poisonous fog area.

Xiao Nuan followed Lin Zhen with its tongue lolling out. Seeing Lin Zhen speeding up, it mistakenly thought Lin Zhen was playing with it. It kept circling around Lin Zhen, even overtaking Lin Zhen with its speed.

Lin Zhen could only comfort himself by thinking that a Galaxy Beast, capable of traveling through cosmic space, naturally had incredible speed. It was normal, very normal…

Xiao Nuan didn’t seem to care about the poisonous fog at all and followed Lin Zhen through it.

Yue Zhenhua, who had been waiting by the bank of White Dragon Lake for ages, suddenly rose to his feet.

“Someone’s coming out! Is it Lin Zhen?”

His eyes sparkled with excitement; Lin Zhen was finally coming out. Once he defeated Lin Zhen, he could immediately advance to the Star Realm.

A passage suddenly opened in the middle of the fog, and a person flapping his long wings was flying quickly towards them.

“It’s you, Lin Zhen! You finally decided to come out. Now die for me!”

Yue Zhenhua had been waiting for this moment. His long sword materialized, and a violent wind surrounded him. His mental power constantly locked on Lin Zhen, preventing him from teleporting. He was ready to strike a heavy blow!

Lin Zhen also saw Yue Zhenhua and a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: “Yue Zhenhua, times have changed. It’s your turn to taste the flavor of defeat!”

With the Broken Jade Spear in hand, Lin Zhen vibrated the spear shaft and accelerated again, reaching Yue Zhenhua’s side in an instant!

The spear thrust forward, the sword slashed down. They collided, and Yue Zhenhua’s sword was knocked aside. Lin Zhen’s hair fluttered in the wind, and his spear continued to advance, aiming to pierce Yue Zhenhua’s throat!

“In your dreams!” Yue Zhenhua was terrified and pushed back with all his strength.

The two weapons clashed, producing a harsh, grating sound.

Yue Zhenhua wielded his sword with both hands, concentrating all his strength into this one attack. The peak power of the pre-Star Realm erupted out, but to his disbelief, Lin Zhen’s spear was pressing down on him like a mountain!

His arms were trembling, his bones were trembling, and a surge of blood welled up in his chest. After only one second, Yue Zhenhua, who was toughing it out against Lin Zhen, suddenly lost his strength!

“Ahh!”

Yue Zhenhua let out a roar, as if he could no longer suppress the blood surge. He coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood skyward.. In his eyes, his blood looked like a beautiful sunset, stunningly beautiful but inevitably coming to an end!