Chapter 2680 Battle in the Clouds!
The current members of the Radiance Hundred Sequence all had a certain degree of understanding of the dead spirits.
Although Radiance Sacred Hall had not issued any tasks related to the dead spirits, the members of the Radiance Hundred Sequence had all taken the initiative to head to the nearby Dead Spirits Wells to lend a helping hand. This was so they could train themselves and contribute to the Radiance Federation.
Every citizen of the Radiance Federation who made it into the Radiance Hundred Sequence possessed wholehearted sincerity.
Some of them were arrogant and had personality flaws, but at critical moments, they were all able to step up to the plate. Since they were models for the Radiance Federation's younger generation, they had to take responsibility for this position.
It was because they understood the dead spirits that almost none of the members of the Radiance Hundred Sequence wanted to fight in a simulated environment filled with dead spirits.
It took a lot of time to build a stage in real life. It required both resources and labor.
But all that was needed to build a stage in Star Web was for the sacred source lifeforms that created Star Web to adjust the network of Star Web's space.
Mystic Moon and the other two members of royalty had built a magnificent stage for this event.
Since they were going to boost morale, they needed the appropriate infrastructure!
After being transported, every member of the Radiance Hundred Sequence arrived at their position on the glorious stone pillars that Radiance Sacred Hall had erected, specially for the members of the Radiance Hundred Sequence.
Since they were going to be competing online, all of the stone pillars were also moved to Star Web.
Lin Yuan stood on the stone pillar that had a diameter of three meters. All he could see around him were rolling clouds.
Lin Yuan could not help but raise his eyebrows at this sight.
This setting was very grand. Lin Yuan had stood on the real stone pillars in Radiance Sacred Hall before. When he looked down from the real stone pillars, he could clearly see what was happening on the ground.
But here in Star Web, the stone pillars were thousands of meters tall, and every member of the Radiance Hundred Sequence felt as though they were standing among the clouds.
In order to become a powerful spirit qi professional, it was even possible to train oneself to become resistant to acrophobia.
There was a seat on the stone pillar, and Lin Yuan sat down leisurely and leaned back.
He believed that unless something abnormal happened, no one would challenge him.
He was Sequence #91. Once the nine new members of the Radiance Hundred Sequence chose their opponents, it would be Lin Yuan's time to issue his challenges.
Liu Jie looked up and saw Long Tao, Liu Jie, and Xia Qing in the distance.
Lin Yuan did not intend to give up on the three battle challenges. He was going to make good use of them to invigorate the Radiance Federation's morale.
It just so happened that Lin Yuan wanted to see how Long Tao, Liu Jie, and Xia Qing had improved.
Lin Yuan was aware of Long Tao's power.
Long Tao had revealed his cards to Lin Yuan when Lin Yuan visited Coiling Dragon's Valley. Long Tao's main plan was to nurture the Sea King Chalk Mosasaurus.
Long Tao had become an A-rank spirit qi professional. After the Sea King Chalk Mosasaurus was evolved to Myth Breed, it activated the main-dragon-species bloodline that was dormant in its body and had become a highly aggressive terrifying-dragon-species fey.
After becoming a spirit qi professional but before he left the Xia Region, he never saw many large spectacles. The most astonishing and largest scale event was Dong Hai using his wolf-species fey to fend off the alien beast wave.
At that time, Lin Yuan had not been awed by the Platinum wolf-species fey but by the seemingly endless insect army that was unafraid of death.
After he left the Xia Region, Lin Yuan truly began walking down the path of a spirit qi professional.
When he arrived in the Royal Capital and saw the battle between Long Tao and Cai Cha, Lin Yuan understood for the first time what it meant to be a young elite. He also found his direction and motivation to work hard.
At that time, Long Tao had been like a shining star. Back then, with Lin Yuan's level of power, all he could do was look up at Long Tao.
But now, Long Tao was no longer a match for Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan was the most familiar with Liu Jie, but Liu Jie had been developing in seclusion for the past six months. Lin Yuan had yet to witness the insect-species carcinoma feys that had been transformed into fairies wielding their power during battle.
As for Xia Qing, all Lin Yuan knew about her was that she was very strong. However, he was not aware of the exact degree and magnitude.
Lin Yuan was really looking forward to these three fights.
The member of the Radiance Hundred Sequence Liu Wencheng had mentioned was Mu Yan. Mu Yan was currently anxious and on the edge.
She had only been part of the Radiance Hundred Sequence for a year. She had been the last survivor in the intense and exciting insect army survival battle.
Although she was only able to make it to the end because of Lin Yuan's protection, Mu Yan did possess real power! Otherwise, regardless of how close she was to Lin Yuan, it would be difficult for her to make it to the final ten!
Mu Yan had worked hard for the past year. Since she had made it into the Radiance Hundred Sequence and became the pride of her family, she would not allow herself to be eliminated.
But as she looked at the seniors in front of her, Mu Yan found it difficult to remain calm.
She sneaked a look at Lin Yuan.
She heard that he had only just become of age. He was five years younger than her. Yet, he was able to use his determination, resilience, and courage to push through all odds. What was there that she could not achieve?
The image of Lin Yuan had been seared into Mu Yan's mind a year ago. He became an idol that she wanted to work towards.
There were some people who only called others their idols but did not take them seriously while others used them to motivate themselves.
Mu Yan was the latter. Although she worked hard, there were times when she slacked off. But every time she thought of Lin Yuan, her fighting spirit would be stirred, and she would push on.
As a result of this, even Mu Yan's strict teacher had to tell her to take a break.
Mu Yan clenched her fist tightly, and a resolute expression formed on her face.
She could take small steps and try her best without putting too much pressure on herself!
She was still young. As long as she retained a spot in the Radiance Hundred Sequence, she stood a chance of making it into the top 30 ranks by the time she reached 27 or 28 years old.
Moreover, the Radiance Federation intended to inject a large amount of resources into the Radiance Hundred Sequence. The provision of Bronze/Legend feys as prizes was enough proof of this.
A Bronze/Legend fey that would be tailored to one's Willpower Rune was so valuable that it was also difficult for Mu Yan, who came from a Creation Master family, to digest the news easily.
At this moment, Mu Yan's eyes met a pair of calm ones. Mu Yan instinctively started to panic, and her left hand clutched her chest.
Because of Genius, Lin Yuan had expanded his sea of spiritual energy. Thus, he was able to use his spiritual energy to acutely sense the surroundings through spiritual perception.
Even if he closed his eyes and rested, he would be able to use spiritual perception to detect who was looking at him.
Lin Yuan had some idea of who Mu Yan was. During the previous Radiance Hundred Sequence selection, Mu Yan had led 200 spirit qi professionals and moved between numerous battle lines, saving countless young people who were participating in the selection.
Compared to Mu Yan's individual power, Lin Yuan admired her leadership skills.
The Radiance Hundred Sequence members were usually tested on their character and power. However, Lin Yuan felt that coordination and execution skills were also important qualities.
Lin Yuan smiled at Mu Yan before he turned to look at the swirling whirlpool at the center of the clouds. At this moment, the whirlpool dispersed and faded into wisps.
A suspended arena was revealed.
The arena was surrounded by moving clouds and was around twice the size of regular arenas.
There was a layer of jade covering the arena. This was not a durable material that could withstand the force of attacks. It was clear that the jade was only used for aesthetic purposes.
Since the challenge was going to be taking place in this arena amongst the clouds, the arena could not be damaged.
Liu Wencheng's figure appeared at the center of the arena. He raised his hand and bellowed, "The fifth epoch has become another notch in history. The beginning of the dead spirits crisis has heralded the beginning of the sixth epoch.
"The Radiance Federation has not only been focused on fighting the dead spirits. We have also been saving and coordinating the main world's humans and sea clans. We have made many achievements in our efforts against the dead spirits. We are already making progress in terms of treating the death aura and healing the injuries inflicted by the death aura.
"In the past few days, the Dead Spirits Wells had somewhat reached a state of stability. Our troops have been working hard non-stop and have shed blood, sweat, and tears for the sake of our homeland.
"The Radiance Federation's younger generation should also be prepared to take up the mantle left by their seniors. The Radiance Hundred Sequence's reranking will be a demonstration of the younger generation's outstanding capabilities!
"I hereby announce the beginning of the Radiance Hundred Sequence selection! The last rank will be the first to pick his challengers. Every time they defeat an opponent, they will take over their opponent's rank. The defeated members will take on the challenger's rank. Each person is eligible to three challenges."
The members of the Radiance Hundred Sequence were all well aware of the rules. Liu Wencheng had only explained in such detail for the benefit of the spectators.
The first part of Liu Wencheng's speech was also not directed at the members of the Radiance Hundred Sequence.
As long as the reranking and selection proceeded smoothly, every member of the Radiance Hundred Sequence would be able to demonstrate their power and significantly boost the Radiance Federation's morale!
However, this was only a temporary solution and the fiery morale would only last for a short time.
Liu Wencheng needed all the citizens of the Radiance Federation to know that the Radiance Federation's officials and Creation Masters were constantly working hard and that their efforts were effective. Once the Radiance Federation's citizens understood this, the fighting spirit riled up by the Radiance Hundred Sequence selection and reranking would be even more explosive and long-lasting!
Unlike Cicada Song, Liu Wencheng had not gone with the Moon Empress to gain an understanding of the demon insects' might.
However, Liu Wencheng had visited Ascending Dragon City and witnessed how the demon insects had established their armies. What Liu Wencheng saw had exceeded his comprehension. He felt as though the dead spirits that were extremely dangerous to humans were nothing more than food that had popped out from the ground to the demon insects.
Based on Liu Wencheng's careful observations, he had not noticed the dead dimensional lifeforms employing any special methods to take on the demon insects. It was as though, just like how the dead spirits and humans could not coexist, the demon insects and dead spirits were also natural enemies.
Liu Wencheng had also considered the possible issue of the sixth epoch not being triggered by the dead spirits crisis but the demon insects crisis instead. Would the humans also end up having to battle the demon insects just like they were doing with the dead spirits?
But Liu Wencheng quickly shook this thought out of his head.
Based on Liu Wencheng's observation, the 17th wave of offspring produced by the demon insects with Class 2 and 3 Genetic Locks had the intelligence of a 20-year-old human.
The demon insects might not be pleasant to look at, but they were a highly intelligent species.
Highly intelligent species were very sociable and could acclimatize easily. They were capable of using strategies and ploys during combat. There was no way that the dead insects that were driven by instinct stood a chance!
Liu Wencheng felt that he needed to have a chat with the Moon Empress and ask her if Lin Yuan had full control over the demon insects. He did not want the demon insects to stop the dead spirits crisis only to become the real enemy that destroyed the human race!
Liu Wencheng pondered over these matters while he continued to make methodical and orderly arrangements.
There were no commentators on the arena where the Radiance Hundred Sequence reranking and selection was going to take place. However, on Star Web, where the event was being broadcasted, all of the Radiance Federation's hosts and commentators for major events opened their own channels and prepared to commentate on this grand event!
Star Web's reporters also sprung into action.
Ever since news of the dead spirits crisis broke out, the Star Web hosts' revenue fell by at least a third. Who could be bothered with leisure on Star Web when the dead spirits crisis was taking place?
But with such a magnificent event, there was no reason for the hosts and reporters not to participate.
Liu Hao had been watching the audience numbers on Star Web. He was extremely pleased with the amount of activity and attention that was being drawn in by this event.
After thinking for a moment, Liu Hao called Tian Ningning. Tian Ningning picked up after two rings.
"Big Brother Hao, do you have any instructions for me? I have already begun writing the drafts for the battle records. Although those few battles will be the most important, the battles between the other members of the Radiance Hundred Sequence will also make an impact!"
Liu Hao was very happy with Tian Ningning's work. He knew that Tian Ningning was very professional and capable. Otherwise, she would never have managed to become Liu Hao's exclusive reporter.
Even if Lin Yuan thought highly of her, the Moon Empress would have already swapped her out if she was not sufficiently capable.
Liu Hao had heard from Zuo Ming about how Lin Yuan was the apple of the Moon Empress' eye.
But despite knowing that Tian Ningning was very reliable, this matter was far too important, and Liu Hao needed to make sure that things were going well.
"Ningning, are all the preparations done on your end? Will there be any issues with the reporting on those high-priority matches? If you need more help, I can send the teams under me to help you. It's better to err on the side of caution. You have a major responsibility. Not even a hint of carelessness or error will be tolerated!"