Chapter 263: Top Three

Before the three warders could say anything, Xing Bai and Zhang Lie struck at each other once more. The barrier splintered before their eyes.

If not for the Void Cup, the fourth-realm warders would have kicked both of them off the stage, but at this point, all they could do was grit their teeth and establish the barrier once more.

However, not a second after they had finished, Xing Bai and Zhang Lie clashed again and again, causing the warders to swear as they fed a constant stream of their genetic energy into the arena. Such was the strength of their blows that they even cracked the barrier shielding them from above.

The three professional warders were hard-pressed just to maintain the structural integrity of that surrounding the arena and keeping the spectators safe. Despite their dissatisfaction, both the combatants within and the spectators outside the arena were extremely satisfied with the fight that was taking place: Zhang Lie and Xing Bai enjoyed being able to let loose, while the spectators enjoyed watching them let loose.

"Xing Bai, you're not bad, as expected of the young leader of the starbeasts. Ah, it's been too long since I had such a good fight!" Zhang Lie laughed.

"You too, Zhang Lie!" Xing Bai roared in excitement.

"That said, we do need to determine a victor. We're about even in terms of strength, but I think I'd win out against you otherwise. Do you still want to fight?"

"Yes, of course! Perhaps there's no chance of winning for me, but I want to sense the difference between you and me, Zhang Lie!" Xing Bai replied earnestly.

"In that case, get ready!" Zhang Lie distanced himself from Xing Bai, then summoned Venombane into his hand. He released a frightening aura of genetic energy as he activated [Eclipse] and his blood ant soulshard, dyeing the skies above the arena a deep red.

This was the manifestation of Zhang Lie's true strength.

"Take this: [Ninesoul Dragonblade—First Form: Parting the River]!"

A black beam of light split the arena in twain. All that the light struck was cleanly bisected, and it cut open a split in the space that had grown distended and distorted due to the strength of the two competitors' blows.

Against such a frightening blow, Xing Bai howled as he pushed his bestial transformation to its greatest extent, crossing his two arms and suffusing his scales with radiant genetic energy. In that moment, he seemed to have morphed into a glowing silver fortress, though despite all his efforts, even from dozens of meters away, he was chilled by the enormity of Zhang Lie's attack.

And the moment he thought that even he couldn't defend against the attack, he was doomed to fail.

Nevertheless, it was too late to make another move. He had hunkered down for defense, and there was no other option left to him. Given the speed of Zhang Lie's attack, as well as the dread he was feeling even when it was so far away, he fully expected to lose both his arms. Faced with this outcome, even Xing Bai couldn't help but quail. As he briefly retracted his arms, the beam of light that seemed poised to cut through everything arced upwards into the air.

Xing Bai hissed in pain—that part of the light which had barely impacted his skin had ripped away his scales, meeting almost no resistance at all.

Of course, he couldn't blame Zhang Lie. If not for his redirecting the attack, Xing Bai would have lost more than just a few scales.

"Thank you for your clemency, Zhang Lie. I admit defeat!" Xing Bai called out.

Thus ended the match that had enraptured the audience; the winner was, of course, Zhang Lie.

"Zhang Lie won—the humans are going to take the top three spots in the tournament!"

"Ah, you're right! I don't think Sun Mengmeng will lose out to Pu Kui, and the third fight's going to be between two humans. If that's the case… my goodness, mankind is about to make history!"

Yesterday, it hadn't been certain just how well the humans would perform, but today, after Zhang Lie's match with Xing Bai, it was almost certain that the humans would dominate this iteration of the Void Cup.

Because of the extent of the destruction which Zhang Lie and Xing Bai's match had caused, there was a longer delay than usual between the matches that day.

The next fight was between Sun Mengmeng and Pu Kui. The two competitors both launched a dazzling salvo of attacks, but the outcome was all but predetermined, and Pu Kui didn't intend to struggle needlessly. After a few rounds of fighting, ensuring that she wouldn't take a loss to her reputation, Pu Kui surrendered.

Yang Ze had no interest in competing with Fang Yi; the moment he got on stage, he surrendered, allowing Fang Yi to advance into the top three.

As a result, the humans officially ended up monopolizing the top three places in the tournament. It was clear to all the spectators just who was responsible for the humans' victory, as well as who would claim the Void Throne: Zhang Lie.

Both Fang Yi and Sun Mengmeng had made a name for themselves as Zhang Lie's subordinates. Because neither of them wanted to compete with the other, the match was decided by a comical game of rock-paper-scissors, with Fang Yi emerging the victor. Subsequently, Fang Yi surrendered to Zhang Lie, and the original timeline for the tournament was brought forward by half a day as a result.

The final matches for the tournament were slated for the afternoon, but owing to this decisive "victory", the awards ceremony was shifted forward instead.

The top ten competitors of the Void Cup were:

1st: Zhang Lie

2nd: Fang Yi

3rd: Sun Mengmeng

4th: Xing Bai

5th: Yang Ze

6th: Pu Kui

7th: Zhou Ying

8th: Lianna

9th: Xing Hui

The humans had claimed half of the top ten positions in the tournament—as well as the top three positions. The final result shocked the entire galaxy. Without a doubt, that day was one of mankind's greatest triumphs, with their having succeeded in an achievement unprecedented in history.

"Dragonwolf Zhang Lie!"

"Team Zenith!"

On the streets, in the alleyways, humans began chanting Zhang Lie's name, a chant that rose from a murmur to a full-fledged roar. The loudest voices came from the hunters, because no one knew better than they did just how impressive Zhang Lie's achievements were, nor just what benefits Zhang Lie's victory would bring to them.

As he returned to the hotel after the end of the tournament, Zhang Lie had no idea of the commotion that awaited him back home; instead, he grew visibly nervous.