Chapter 1279: Gaia's Swamp

Soldier Crew had existed in the Cosmic Sea for a long time, though Leon's Armada was known to be the strongest of the four pirate crews. However, if one looked at the history of the pirate crews, then Leon’s Armada had only been formed a little before the Ignition Crew while neither of those two could compare to Soldier Crew or the Longevity Brigade.

On Soldier Crew’s dilapidated ship, countless people looked at a screen with steely eyes. Although their faces could not be seen, their eyes were filled with passion and determination.

This crew consisted of a group of old soldiers, but nobody knew where they had come from or who they were working for.

Within the Cosmic Sea sat the Human Domain’s darkest prison: Gaia’s Swamp.

Gaia’s Swamp spread across millions of kilometers and covered an entire region. It was even capable of devouring Hunter realm powerhouses.

This was humanity’s worst prison.

Gaia’s Swamp did not have any prison cells. Instead, the criminals were simply chained to a wall. These chains were extremely strong, and even Enlighter realm powerhouses were barely able to break them.

There were three thousand chains locking down the Human Domain’s captive criminals. This was the darkest place within the Human Domain that housed people who had committed horrendous crimes deserving of execution but were too strong to execute.

Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao was one of the people in this place.

In Gaia’s Swamp, the Warden was the only ruler, who was the master of Gaia’s Swamp. He spent most of his time sleeping and only occasionally woke up.

When he was awake, the Warden’s only pastime was using his gadget. He watched movies, television shows, and countless other programs. This was also the only thing of any interest for the criminals incarcerated in Gaia’s Swamp.

Whatever made the Warden happy made the prisoners happy.

At this particular moment, everyone in Gaia’s Swamp was watching ZENITH on a screen.

Loud laughter erupted throughout Gaia’s Swamp. “That fatty’s so funny. Hahahaha! His battle technique is very interesting too. He should come to Gaia’s Swamp, hahahaha.”

“Prison- Warden, please be softer. They can’t handle it—your laughter will kill them,” a voice shakily spoke up.

“Let them die then. We’ll have the space for someone new. It’s been so many years, but all those who should die still haven’t while those who shouldn’t die are all dead. It’s so boring,” the Warden complained loudly with a voice that shook Gaia’s Swamp.

“But- but Master Cha’s father won’t be able to endure it,” the voice nervously protested.

The Warden immediately stopped laughing. “Hmm… Go and take a look then. Make sure that he’s still alive.”

“Alright.” A huge pig rushed into Gaia’s Swamp. This pig known as Lord Piggy was allowed to travel through Gaia’s Swamp as it was Gaia’s Swamp’s Assistant Warden.

Lord Piggy was a thousand meters long and a few hundred meters tall. Despite that, it was still only as big as the Warden’s toe.

The Warden looked at a particular arena on his screen and said, “You’re a representative of Gaia’s Swamp, so don’t lose too badly.”

On Zenyu Star, a huge crowd watched Lu Yin on the screen in awe. They only had eyes for Lu Yin.

The same thing was happening on Earth.

Only one young man looked around curiously. “This is a bustling place. I’ll bring dad over to take a look once we’re free.”

A burly man glared at the young man, but the young man looked over and grinned.

The burly man was infuriated. “This man insulted King Lu last time he was here! Let’s kick his ass!”

“Beat him!”

…

The young man was speechless. “Again? I’m leaving.”

And with that, he disappeared.

In Ironblood Fort, Elder Lohar and some others were all watching a screen. The border was peaceful, as the Astral Beast Domain was also focused on ZENITH.

As he watched the battles in the various arenas play out, Elder Lohar exclaimed, “It’s only been a short while, but even I can no longer defeat Lu Yin. Despite that, he’s not even predicted to be in the top ten! The younger generation is really powerful.”

Nightqueen Qiuyu stared at the screen with a complex expression, though she only paid attention to Nightqueen Yanqing.

Nightqueen Qiuyu had been trapped in Ironblood Weave when Lu Yin had overturned Daynight Flowzone. She hated him, but there was nothing that she could do about it. Even the entire Daynight clan had been unable to defeat that youth.

At this moment, Nightqueen Qiuyu merely wished that Nightqueen Yanqing would do well in ZENITH and not embarrass her Daynight clan.

It took ten days for the battles on the second layer to finish.

The latest round of ZENITH had attracted a great deal of attention from people, but not because it was exciting. Rather, it was simply because this round had dragged on for too long. There had been a few arenas with competitors that possessed comparable strengths, and they had been forced to compete in both brain and brawn.

This was the reason why some battles had lasted for ten days.

Despite that, each of the combatants had successfully revealed themselves to the entire universe.

To some people, the actual competition had only begun after the competitors had cleared the five checkpoint, but for others, ZENITH would only start once the one-on-one battles started after the elimination rounds were done.

There were only a hundred competitors remaining now, and the individual battles would take place on the top layer.

From this point onwards, each battle would be one-on-one fight, and each would happen separately. After all, any competitor that had reached this stage was worthy of such treatment.

Avery, who was ranked fourth on the Top 100 Rankings, the Sixth Mainland’s Little Arrow Saint, the Fifth Mainland’s Ku Lei, and even the Hall of Honor’s second and third Honor Chosen, Lei Nü and Shu Jing, had all been defeated. Anyone who had managed to reach the battlestage on the first layer, whether by strength or luck, was worthy of having a featured battle.

Although such a format required more time, it also amply showed the importance of ZENITH.

The goal of ZENITH was not merely to determine the top ten strongest youths, but it was also a means to encourage cultivators in both mainlands to strive for more.

This was the hope of the Sixth Mainland’s three Progenitors as well. They would eventually return to reclaim their Sixth Mainland, and they did not want the cultivators from their Sixth Mainland to feel dejected. ZENITH was a means to raise their morale.

After ten days later, the individual battles finally began.

Two people disappeared from the arenas and reappeared on the first layer.

Everyone’s focus shifted onto these two people.

The two who had appeared on the first layer were both very nervous. There were countless people throughout the universe who were focused on them at this moment, including their friends, family, enemies, and countless others. Everybody was watching them.

Every single thing that they did would be scrutinized by the entire universe.

They were just Explorers, so nobody had paid much attention to them during the earlier rounds, but at this moment, the whole universe was watching them.

The only fortunate thing for them was that they were both Explorers, meaning that neither of them had to fight one of the elites.

“Hello, I’m Ah San from the Cosmic Sea. Fate has allowed us to meet each other during ZENITH. May I know your name?” one of the Explorers spoke politely. Although he was acting politely, he still looked incredibly nervous. He wanted to be more courteous than normal since the whole universe was watching him.

One of the broadcasts was definitely being sent out throughout the universe where all of the screens were focused on him.

The moment he thought about this close up, he panicked once again and gulped.

The man across from Ah San looked even more nervous. “I- I am Qian Zou.”

Ah San’s eyes gleamed—his opponent seemed far more nervous than himself, and his name also sounded weak. He, Ah San, would definitely win this round!

“From- from the Neoverse,” Qian Zou finished before gulping. He felt speechless. How had he been featured in the very first round? His reputation was too pathetic, and there were people who wanted to catch him wherever he went. He felt bad for revealing himself in such a major event.

“Neoverse? You’re from the Neoverse?” Ah San hesitated.

Qian Zou nodded.

Ah San’s eye twitched. He knew that he was in trouble. The Neoverse held the majority of the Human Domain’s powerhouses, and anyone from that place who was participating in ZENITH was definitely quite powerful.

While the both of them were thinking about how to defeat their opponent, the audience all started growing impatient.

“Start fighting! What are you waiting for?”

“They’re taking too long. We just want to see Shang Qing and Bu Kong fight, so finish up already.”

“They should just kill each other and stop wasting time.”

…

There was no time limit for the battles in ZENITH, and nobody could rush the contestants no matter how long they took. However, the two already knew that everyone was watching them, and they felt a great deal of pressure.

“I’m sorry, bro.” Ah San attacked first.

Ah San was quite powerful for an Explorer. He was likely able to enter the top sixty of the Top 100 Rankings. Despite that, his attack missed. There was nobody in front of him; where had that guy gone?

A punch struck Ah San’s face, stunning him. Before he could even respond, dozens of punches knocked him unconscious.

This was Qian Zou’s battle technique, Invisible Hands. It was his favorite technique for when he stole—no, borrowed items. He was finally able to put it to good use at this moment, and he had instantly defeated his opponent.

Many people were surprised, as they had not expected Qian Zou to be so powerful.

Qian Zou had also not expected to finish everything this smoothly. He had thought that there was a chance that his opponent might be quite powerful, so perhaps, was he also a powerhouse?

White jumped around down on the second layer. “Good job! You didn’t embarrass me.”

Black nodded. “Not bad, not bad.”

The only highlight from the first battle was Qian Zou’s battle technique. Many people were surprised when they saw it, including even Arch-Elder Zen and Highsage Grandmaster. They were not surprised by how quickly the youth had moved, but rather by how unique his movement technique was. He looked as though he was walking forward when he moved backwards, and the reverse was also true.

Many people in the Neoverse felt chills when they saw Qian Zou’s performance. Fortunately, they had not been too harsh on him in the past, as it turned out that he was surprisingly powerful.

Many people also gritted their teeth and sighed when they realized that they would never be able to get their stuff back.

White jumped about excitedly on the second layer as she cheered for Qian Zou. Then, she suddenly appeared on the top layer.

She looked around in confusion as somebody appeared in front of her.

Lu Yin sighed as he saw who had appeared in front of White; why was it him? This was the end of White’s time in ZENITH.

Many people sighed when they saw who had appeared. The poor girl was going to lose.

White and Black were very likable despite how mischievous they were. Many people doted on the twins and had hoped that they would be able to reach a further stage.

However, Xia Jiuyou had appeared in front of White, which meant that this would be the end of ZENITH for her.

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: WQ

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA