"It's already over?"
"That's too fast."
The audience members exclaimed in shock, watching the slow-motion replay on their watches. The entire world was broadcasting the tournament.
Even from the first row, it was impossible to see clearly. An Ant touched the small projection in front of him and contacted his friends through the Internet. "That Giant Ape crashed into the shield in front of me, spewing blood the size of a lake. The broadcast even indicated that the maximum speed they reached in combat exceeded 100,000 meters per second. How terrifying."
"How terrifying. 100,000 meters per second? The sonic booms from their flight could destroy a city."
"I was in the first row and experienced it up close. It's just that… I couldn't see it clearly. All I saw was the Giant Ape crashing into the shield and ground repeatedly," the Ant explained through the Internet, feeling lucky and smug to have witnessed the battle live.
…
Battles were unfolding in the Myriad Species Arena.
The audience and the living beings of all species watching through the Internet were relishing this grand occasion, but Xu Jingming and the other high-dimensional lifeforms observed carefully and analyzed every bit of information these powerhouses revealed.
"Next is the 19th match of the first round—Giant Celestial Funan versus the Dwarf, Mishuko! Mishuko is the first contestant from a weaker race to appear in this Myriad Species Tournament. Everyone, please look forward to his performance," Panqiu said warmly.
"Dwarf?"
"A member of the weaker species has finally appeared."
The entire venue cheered, and the cheers far surpassed those from before!
On the arena, the 33-meter-tall Giant Celestial, Funan, and the 1.2-meter-tall Dwarf, Mishuko, stood on both sides of the arena. The contrast was too stark.
"Mishuko."
"Mishuko."
Countless audience members cheered for the Dwarf, Mishuko.
Although there were 100 million viewers in the arena, about 99% of them were from weaker species. This was because weaker species occupied smaller space! Powerful species occupied too much space. The space occupied by a dragon could accommodate more than a million Ant seats.
Across the entire Myriad Species World, there were many weak species. Powerful species were generally fewer in number.
At this moment, the audience of the weak species was on Mishuko's side.
"Dwarf Mishuko has to win."
"Mishuko."
The group of younger siblings beside Xu Jingming were also excited and fanatical. Their faces were flushed red as they looked forward to the victory of the dwarf, Mishuko.
In the arena.
Mishuko, the Dwarf, wore a solemn expression. Being tiny, he knew his strength and speed were inferior to his opponent's. Even as an Abyss Overlord, winning the first tournament wouldn't be easy.
Funan's eyes remained calm. Losing to a Dwarf in the first tournament would be a disgrace.
"Let the competition begin," the host announced.
Funan charged forward, attacking Mishuko. Countless spectators from the weaker species who supported the Dwarf felt their hearts sink as the two clashed.
Funan's huge fists struck out like lightning, swinging them like heavenly pillars. His fists were larger than the Dwarf's entire body.
There's no way to dodge. Mishuko found it harrowing. The other party's fists were like sledgehammers descending from the sky, and he struggled to dodge them.
Bang!
Mishuko was sent flying, crashing into the arena.
The concentrated booms from the Giant Celestial's fists struck the hearts of countless spectators.
"Look, the slow-motion replay shows that he delivered more than 3,639 punches in a second! Mishuko dodged time and time again, but that's all he can do. He can't even get close to the Giant Celestial." Xu Jingming's siblings watched the slow-motion replay in a private room while observing the battle.
He's lost. Xu Jingming shook his head. Although the second round of the preliminaries was biased toward the weaker species by reducing the pressure on us, allowing nine members to enter the main competition in the end, the weaker species are still much weaker in terms of physique. Mishuko is at least three levels weaker than Funan, which is why he is so easily suppressed.
Xu Jingming could tell everything.
…
There's a huge disparity in strength and speed. I'm at Lv. 60, but he's at least Lv. 63 or higher! Mishuko struggled to dodge the crazy punches.
If they were on the same level, he would have crushed his opponent easily. However, the difference in levels was too great. It was extremely difficult to increase one's level, especially when nearing the limit—it could take a hundred, even a thousand years.
Not to mention that there was a difference of at least three levels. This was completely one-sided.
The second round of the preliminaries favored weak species, allowing me to enter the arena, but it's useless even if I do so. Mishuko was sent flying again. As blood splattered, he announced his defeat.
I've won. Although Funan had won, he didn't feel any joy.
He could still fight despite being struck by 25 punches. These weak species have extremely tough bodies, Funan thought to himself. It wasn't easy for me to win despite having such a huge advantage.
Indeed, the stronger species only have an advantage in the first few tournaments. Funan understood this and felt even more pressured.
To get first in the first few tournaments? It was way too difficult.
Hu! Hu!
The two contestants left the arena. Although Funan had won, he didn't smile.
******
The tournament continued with every match featuring a clash of powerful species.
In the 37th match of the first round, a Spider Demon from the weaker species appeared. Despite winning the cheers and support of countless weak species in the arena, she was easily defeated by the Five-Colored Dragon's absolute strength and speed. His tail severely injured her, forcing her to admit defeat.
"Sigh, the weak species don't stand a chance."
"The difference in strength and speed is too great. They're completely suppressed."
"Another loss."
Countless weak species audience members were a little discouraged.
The tournament proceeded quickly, and after over three hours, the 59th match of the first round finally arrived.
"Next is the 59th match of the first round. The Mountain Demon's Badishon will fight the Human, Jing Ming. He's the third member of the weaker species to step into the arena. I wonder if he can bring about the first victory for the weaker species?" Panqiu questioned.
In the private room, Xu Jingming—who was watching the battles—stood up. His parents and siblings looked at him nervously.
