From the initial 100,000 participants who had been accepted to take part in the liberation tournament because of their strength, unique traits and other advantages that made them more powerful than others, only 10,000 were barely able to pass the exam.
Those who were tested after the first few batches realised that the difficulty level of the exam was something they should take seriously.
Thus, they concentrated on breaking through the basic requirements of the exam, only to witness that the human race's embassy members had passed everything without any issues.
Jason had even completely solved the mana mastery orb exam task and executed a simple punch worth several times his cultivation base.
After digesting this, nobody dared to hold back and utilised every single trump they had.
Instead, paying attention to the first round and passing the exam had become the most important task to keep their family's reputation and glory intact.
Once that was done, they would think about what the next round of the liberation tournament would bring.
During the last liberation tournament, the number of participants who advanced through both the decimator rounds had been 10,000 but now that number barely made it to the second decimator round..
As such, it was evident how high the difficulty level was.
At the same time, Jason could clearly tell that the number of real prodigies was much higher than he had initially expected.
Even if the second round would decimate the number of participants by another 90%, the remaining 1,000 participants would be the cream of the crop on the whole planet.
This was definitely interesting, and what Jason found even better was that the majority of participants had a high cultivation base or the capabilities to surpass the strength of several ranks.
Thus, he looked forward to the next round and those that would follow suit.
When the second round started, the arena was cleared of the punching machines and mana mastery orbs.
While the spectators were gossiping about who could possibly win the liberation tournament, an enormous rune emerged on the ground of the arena as several dozen pillars shot out of the ground.
It happened silently, but the more time passed, the more spectators noticed the change of the arena's interior.
An individual at the Prismar stage with his hand on top of the pillar stood behind each of them.
A batch of high-ranked mana stones at the Prismar stage surrounded the higher-ups who released strong currents.
Jason knew that the Olympus federation was more versatile with runes and mechanics, but he hadn't expected to see a gigantic magic circle appearing out of nowhere.
His Emperor Eyes hadn't noticed anything which meant that either it had just been engraved, or that it had been carefully sealed somewhere to prevent releasing even a single trace of mana as it was doing now.
To Jason, this felt similar to the time he had encountered the untraceable drakes as they had been able to hide from him despite his eyes' great ability to perceive mana.
This was intriguing and he couldn't help but insert more mana into his Emperor Eyes before he scanned every small detail of the magic circle.
The magic circle was multi-layered with all kinds of large runes that connected with each other in the first layer, only for the smaller runes in the second layer to be put tightly above, slowly intertwining with each other.
Like that, an extremely complex magic circle had been constructed, connecting every single rune with each other.
'If even a single rune is wrongly inscribed, nothing works...but they're also amplifying each other and the mana consumption to activate the multitude of different difficulties shouldn't be too high'
Jason was still not exactly sure what the next task would be, but he still turned towards his friends and warned them.
His voice was not low, and the others around them heard him telling the God's Children what they were supposed to do.
Thus, one young man from the Klarir race couldn't help but chuckle, which was frowned upon by the other participants.
"What? Can't I even laugh when I see something funny? Even though this human's aura is unique, his strength is still barely at par with those at the 7th Lique stage!
Isn't it funny that he is giving tips to those who are stronger than him? This bulky human's punch was at the 10th Lique stage!"
When Jason heard this, he couldn't help but smile, while looking at Tom.
"You wanted to brag with your punch, huh? The Klarir behind you is trying to embarrass me because I am giving you tips!"
He had to speak with the God's Children in the human language, thus nobody was able to hear his exact words and only heard him say something.
Jason found this language barrier quite interesting because it allowed him to play around a little bit.
Ignoring the provocative taunts of the young Klarir who was at the 7th Lique stage, Jason continued explaining a few things he had perceived to the others.
In the end, the Klarir had to give up, as not only Jason but also everyone else began to ignore him.
His complaint had been useless, and inappropriate because everyone who had seen Jason's punch at the punching machine knew that he hadn't used anything but his physical strength!
It was only when Jarid appeared behind the young Klarir out of a sudden that the atmosphere tensed up. On behalf of Jason, Jarid commented with an overly cheerful smile.
"In your favor, I hope that the liberation tournament will prevent intentional crippling or killing, otherwise, you might either end up bedridden or buried under the ground."
Hearing Jarid made the young Klarir frown as he looked at Jarid in confusion.
"Olympian Jarid!.. Do you want to say that this clown is stronger than I am??"
Jarid had passed by the oblivious Klarir after speaking his mind when his next words made Jarid halt in his steps for a moment.
"Stronger?.. It's already quite ignorant of you to believe that you even have a chance against him. Dream on kiddo!"
After that, he walked towards Jason leaving the baffled Klarir alone.
Jason noticed this but instead of saying anything, he simply nodded his head at Jarid.
The preparations for the second round were soon finished and the participants were ordered to enter the magic circle.
Less than half an hour later every single participant was standing inside the magic circle.
It was a little bit crowded but nobody said anything as they waited for the Olympus federation's representative to announce the rules of the second round.
However, contrary to everyone's expectations the rules were quite simple.
"For the second round, the only task is to stay inside the magic circle. Attacking each other is forbidden, and only those that can remain on their feet after 30 minutes will advance to the next round!
A word of caution from my side; The longer you stay inside the magic circle, the more difficult it will become...good luck!"
Exactly when the representative had said "good luck", the higher-ups that stood behind the pillars released their mana, inserting it inside the pillars that began to glow in a faint blue light.
Once every pillar had begun to glow, the magic circle was slowly activating, enveloping everyone in a faint hue.
Just a moment later Jason mumbled "attention!" as he realized what exactly the magic circle's purpose was!
Tremendous pressure weighed down on everybody, forcing a few participants to their knees, while the vast majority of other participants paled at once!
At that moment, a faint smile emerged on Jason's face as everyone around him was forced to reveal what they had tried to hide; the extent of their willpower and determination to win the liberation tournament!
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