As soon as he fell into the massive painting, Xu Jingming and all the other high-dimensional lifeforms heard a voice in their minds.
"Welcome to my world."
"In my world, when you die, you die for good. Your life's mark in any realm will vanish."
"The only way to survive is to become the champion of the Myriad Species Arena! Win first place, and you can leave this world alive. Plus, you get to pick any prize from my prize library."
"Let me inform you: I have summoned a total of 5,623,922 high-dimensional lifeforms."
"This is your trial, but also your chance."
The voice echoed in their minds.
Xu Jingming felt his body vanish entirely, leaving only a trace of consciousness that merged with this world. The other high-dimensional lifeforms experienced the same thing as their consciousnesses fused.
…
Xu Jingming felt groggy and opened his eyes. Light from outside the house seeped in through the curtains.
"I?" Xu Jingming sat up and examined himself.
With his thin arms and slightly pale skin, Xu Jingming felt weak.
My strength is completely gone? Xu Jingming carefully sensed it. The mind originates from the body, and my current body is sickly. My mental strength is also very weak.
No matter how weak it is, I should be able to sense Cosmic Force with my mental acuity, but this world… doesn't have Cosmic Force. Xu Jingming was puzzled. He then lifted the blanket and walked to the mirror in his pajamas.
In the mirror, he saw a slightly thin youth with dark red hair who looked 70 to 80% similar to Xu Jingming.
I've been sick since I was young. Xu Jingming had memories of his youth and understood the basic information of this world.
This world was vast, with a large number of species occupying territorial dominions. Just the youth's research revealed more than 90,000 species.
Humans were only one of many species.
All species are equal, and humans do not stand out, Xu Jingming thought to himself. Moreover, the youth I descended into is also named Jing Ming?
Xu Jingming suspected that such a coincidence was probably related to the existence who created the world.
I heard that what third-realm existences say turns into laws. They're virtually omnipotent, Xu Jingming thought. The voice that dragged more than 5 million high-dimensional lives into this world is probably a third-realm existence.
Encountering a third realm by chance in their long lifetimes was normal for high-dimensional lifeforms. With too many clones, it was normal for him to encounter a third realm.
Xu Jingming was solemn. As long as I die in this world, it means complete death?
He was young and had just reached the high-dimensional Eternal Heart Realm. He still had a bright future ahead of him, and he wasn't willing to die that easily.
Death from old age, illness, and accidental death… all kinds of deaths will result in the destruction of all my clones, Xu Jingming knew that although he had strong life-preservation abilities, he couldn't withstand the punishment of a third-realm existence.
The core goal of coming to this world: obtain first place in the Myriad Species Arena.
Information about the arena immediately surfaced in Xu Jingming's mind.
This youth clearly knew about the Myriad Species Arena.
This world valued competitive combat and individual strength. All kinds of combat competitions were popular, and the Myriad Species Arena was a grand event for all species that occurred once every thousand years.
All species would watch when the competition was held.
Among the species, humans were very ordinary. There were a total of seven countries, each with a population of over ten billion. The seven human countries didn't have good public security, and gangs and bandits were rampant.
The Myriad Species Arena opens once every 1,000 years. Powerhouses of all species are welcome to participate.
However, only 300 people can pass the preliminaries and become professional gladiators in the main competition. Of the seven human countries… only three humans have entered the Myriad Species Arena in history, and the last time was over 100,000 years ago.
The spots for the competition's finals are out of reach for the seven human countries.
Xu Jingming walked to the desk in the room and saw a machine on it. He pressed two buttons according to the controls in his memory, and the machine lit up with a projection.
Xu Jingming touched the projection and quickly pulled up web information.
There's also an information network in this world. Xu Jingming smiled as he pulled up the name list for the latest Myriad Species Arena competition.
He read the detailed introduction of the name list.
The previous champion of the Myriad Species Arena was Kabermah, a Giant Celestial who was 32.9 meters tall and weighed 512 tonnes (all units translated into Earth units).
The first runner-up was Didiffico, a Fire Dragon who was 109 meters long and weighed 8,297 tonnes.
The second runner-up was King Chen Qi, a Mountain Demon who was 62.1 meters tall and weighed 9,500 tonnes.
…
Xu Jingming read the information.
No wonder it's very difficult for humans to enter the Myriad Species Arena's finals. Human's small arms and legs can't compare to these powerful species in terms of potential. Xu Jingming shook his head gently. Competitive combat is a competition of physical combat! Physical talent is very important.
Furthermore, the difference in lifespan is significant.
Xu Jingming searched for more information and learned more details.
The lifespans of all species are different. The Five-Colored Dragons have the longest lifespan, with a lifespan of about 100,000 years. Xu Jingming frowned. Humans generally have a lifespan of about 200 years. Even if they cultivate their bodies to perfection, greatly slowing down their aging, the longest lifespan in human history is only 2,000 years.
The talent of the body and lifespan of different species are vastly different. For example, the Five-Colored Dragons have a lifespan of 100,000 years. The Myriad Species Arena is held once every thousand years, so they have about 100 chances to participate. Xu Jingming frowned.
Humans generally have much shorter lifespans, so they have fewer opportunities to attempt.
The next Myriad Species Arena will be held in 322 years. First, I have to live until then.
The descent of over five million high-dimensional lifeforms into different species gave everyone a different start. For example, Mountain Demons were generally over 50 meters tall and weighed over 5,000 tonnes. They usually had a lifespan of 10,000 years.
Those with brilliant control over their bodies could extend their lives.
Everyone cultivated combat techniques, so it became difficult for humans to catch up to the Mountain Demons.
There are also weaker species. For example, Ants generally don't exceed ten centimeters in height, and they usually have a lifespan of about 30 years, Xu Jingming thought to himself. A species about the height of a finger was naturally at a disadvantage in combat.
******
The Ants had strict order, with the Ant queen holding a noble status, being huge and having a much longer lifespan. Ordinary ants were miserable; they were small and had to follow orders.
"I…"
An Ant carrying a heavy object suddenly had a deep look in his eyes. I, Abyss Overlord Havering, am actually born into an Ant. This world highly values combat. The Myriad Species Arena's once-a-thousand-year competition… is a grand occasion for all species. However, none of the Ants in history have entered the finals.
Interesting.
Climbing up from a weak species; that's what makes it interesting. Havering quickly accepted the situation in front of him.
Although he was once an Abyss Overlord who controlled an area, he had only reached the half-step third realm with his resources as an Abyss Overlord and all the time he had. It was too difficult to break through to become an Abyss Sovereign or a third-realm existence.
This might be an opportunity, he thought to himself.
…
Urgh.
In chaotic spacetime, a young dragon that was only seven to eight meters long opened his eyes and looked around.
…
"Get to work. Don't slack off." A 12-meter-tall, one-armed ape was pulling a cart when it fell to the ground. It was whipped, causing the one-armed ape to jolt.
Its eyes became much clearer.
I became a Forest Giant Ape? And I lost an arm? the one-armed ape realized. This is already a good start among the infinite species.
Champion for the Myriad Species Arena? The one-armed ape quickly accepted the situation.
…
At the same time, 5,623,922 high-dimensional lifeforms descended and scattered among the species in this world.
Xu Jingming, a weak youth, learned a lot of information about this world through the information network.
There's no known way to extend one's lifespan in this world. The common method for all species is to have brilliant control over their bodies, causing them to age dozens of times slower. Naturally, they can live for thousands of years, Xu Jingming thought.
Slow down aging?
However, it still depended on one's basic lifespan. Those with basic lifespans of around 10,000 years had an immense advantage if they slowed down their body's aging by several times. It meant they could live for tens of thousands of years.
The basic lifespan of the human race is only about 200 years, so how long can I live?
If I want to be first, I clearly have to exceed everyone in human history and have unprecedented control over my body. This way, my body can age more slowly, and I should be able to live longer.
Considering that more than five million high-dimensional lifeforms are participating in the competition, the threshold for the Myriad Species Arena will also increase greatly in the future.
The past threshold was the result of competition between native lifeforms.
The threshold in the future would be different.
Most high-dimensional lifeforms have clones in the outside world. Xu Jingming could also sense the thousands of clones in the other dominions. The memories of the clones were interlinked.
In the predicament they encounter in this world, the thinking speed of the clones in the other dominions will be amazing. They can quickly deduce solutions.
The only problem is… Xu Jingming frowned slightly. This world is a huge obstacle in the way of the other dominions, and the transmission of thought is a little slow.
The other clones were high-dimensional Eternal lifeforms, so there was no delay in transmitting their thoughts. However, this world had an extremely strong obstruction, and there was an obvious delay in the transmission of thought.
It has a delay of about 0.15 seconds. Xu Jingming made a judgment.
Combat happened as fast as lightning. A delay of 0.15 seconds was enough for powerhouses to deliver 100 moves.
Be it the mental realm honed over the years, the speed at which the clone deduces, or the various levels of technique… high-dimensional lifeforms still have a huge advantage over natives, Xu Jingming thought.
However, considering the lifespan limit, more than 99.99% of the five million-plus high-dimensional lifeforms will be eliminated and die in this world, Xu Jingming knew the danger that lay ahead.
Most importantly… Xu Jingming looked at his weak body. I mustn't die when I'm still weak.
It had been a long, long time since he was this weak. He felt that his physique at the age of eight was stronger than it was now.
