Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Chapter 1270, Round 4 Ends

On the light screen above the arena, the schedule for the fourth round of matches was still scrolling, but no one was watching anymore.

The names appeared one after another, and disappeared one after another. Each appearance of a group of names would cause a small commotion in the stands, but the commotion would quickly subside, like ripples caused by a pebble thrown into a deep pool, fleeting and gone in an instant.

It's not that the audience isn't interested; it's that their attention has been taken up by more important things.

Hill's return, Will's intervention, the appearance of the old Slayer, and the statement of the Supreme Being—any one of these events would normally be enough to keep the forces in the Void discussing for months.

Now, four things are happening simultaneously, all concentrated in the same time period of the same game. This can no longer be described as shocking; it needs to be described as a major earthquake.

The old guys in the stands could only wait, cautiously groping their way forward in this increasingly murky water.

The fourth round of the competition proceeded very quickly.

Or rather, under the arrangement of the Void Tree, this match had almost no suspense.

Apart from Su Xiao and Di Lin meeting each other earlier, almost all the other contestants in the top ten did not meet each other.

This result attracted a lot of attention when the lottery results were announced, but no one raised any objections.

Because everyone knows that when the Void Tree arranges the matchups, it tries to avoid strong matchups happening too early.

This is not favoritism; it's a requirement of the competition format design.

A high-quality match requires both sides to be at their best. If two top players face off early on, regardless of who wins or loses, it will diminish the entertainment value of the subsequent matches.

Moreover, the fourth round itself is an elimination point system, where the top ten players with the highest total points after three rounds advance.

Void Tree only needs to slightly adjust the order of opponents' strength when arranging the match schedule to ensure that truly skilled players are not eliminated early due to bad luck.

This isn't cheating; it's controlling the game.

This kind of thing happens in any competitive sport, and no one will feel it's unfair because the rules are the same for everyone.

After each round, the leaderboard on the semi-transparent screen above the arena is refreshed.

When the final match of the third round ended, the points leaderboard was finally finalized.

The arena was silent for about three seconds, then erupted into a deafening roar.

Some people stood up and applauded, some shook their heads and sighed, and others waved their arms wildly, clearly having won big in this round.

Some gamblers were exchanging chips, some were calculating odds, and others were arguing with the people next to them about who was the real winner.

The commentator Hak's voice came through the amplification array, sounding more relieved than before.

"The fourth round of this year's Strongest Warriors Tournament has successfully concluded. The venue was provided free of charge by the Barrow Arena, the technological equipment was sponsored free of charge by the Barna Tribe, and the broadcast signal was fully supported by the Void Tree technical team. Thank you for your enthusiastic participation, and we'll see you in the fifth round."

After saying that, he let out a long breath.

He had been holding his breath for so long that when he exhaled, his voice trembled, as if he had just crawled back from the brink of death.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, which was covered in cold sweat, and his handkerchief was soaked through.

His hands were trembling, not from fear, but from the body's natural reaction as the adrenaline subsided.

He has been in this industry for so many years and has commentated on countless matches, big and small, but he has never felt as much pressure as he does today.

Hill, Vell, the Supreme Being, the Old Slayer of Laws... all sorts of ruthless characters appeared one after another, and Hark felt that just surviving under such circumstances was enough for him to brag about for a lifetime.

Which one of them is easy to get along with? Didn't you see that Will, disliking Serphia, directly endured the punishment of the Void Tree and chopped Serphia down? When that sword slashed down, Hack's legs went weak.

At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind—if Will took a dislike to him and stabbed him as well, he would have no one to complain to.

It can only be said that rules are indeed very fatal for the weak, but for these top figures, they can still manage to dabble outside the rules.

But that one jump could cost someone of Hack's level his life.

He tidied up the things on the table, turned off the amplification array, closed the annotation notebook, and stuffed it into his bag.

He didn't want to see anything, didn't want to say anything, he just wanted to find a secluded place to have a drink and then get a good night's sleep.

Huck weaved through the crowd, his figure moving like a fish swimming upstream.

Someone tried to stop him to ask a few questions, but he just waved his hand, said "Sorry, I'm in a hurry," and continued on his way.

He didn't want to talk to anyone at this time.

It wasn't because he was impolite, but because he was afraid of saying the wrong thing.

In such a sensitive time, any word can be interpreted in different ways, and any unintentional remark can be seized upon as a weapon.

He was just a commentator, not a politician, not a diplomat, and not a fighter.

He didn't want to get involved in those complicated disputes, didn't want to become a pawn in someone else's game, and didn't want to ruin his career, which he had worked so hard to build over the years, because of a single sentence.

So he chose to shut up, to remain silent, and to be a transparent person.

He walked to the edge of the demon race's stands, found his seat, and sat down.

Next to his seat was a cup of tea that had gone cold; he had poured it before the competition started but hadn't had a chance to drink it.

He picked up the teacup, took a sip, and found the tea had cooled down and was much more astringent than when it was hot.

He didn't care, just kept drinking, his gaze fixed on the empty arena.

Looking at those busy figures, Haq suddenly felt that it was truly a stroke of luck that he was alive to walk off the commentary booth today.

Hack will never come to a competition like this again, no matter what.

It's not that he's cowardly, it's that he understands his own limitations.

This situation is beyond the reach of someone of his stature.

Above the arena, the rankings for the fourth round of gladiatorial combat are as follows:

First place: Gemini (Death Paradise).

Second place: Mondstadt (Demonic race).

Third place: Night Witch (Night Witch Guild).

Fourth place: Waldy (Demon Clan).

Fifth place: White Night (Reincarnation Paradise).

Sixth place: The Unknown Saint (Paradise of Revelation).

Seventh place: Physician (Reincarnation Paradise).

Eighth place: Hugh (Arcane Eternal Star).

Ninth place: Quan Yu (Feather Clan).

10th place: Aphrodite (Holy Light Paradise).

The points here are for reference only. After all, the strength of the points depends on the strength of the opponent. Therefore, a lower ranking does not necessarily mean that the opponent is weaker than a higher ranking.

Shangyue was very unlucky and failed to make it into the top ten.

Unfortunately, in the fourth round, she encountered the Gemini.

These two guys are incredibly powerful. Shang Yue had already been forced to use all her trump cards, but she still couldn't beat them. However, at least she survived.

Although Shangyue has been nurtured by the Feather Clan and is considered to be among the top tier of the younger generation, she is still far from being able to compare with contractors like the Twins who have fought their way up from the lower to the higher ranks.

Putting everything else aside, in the meat grinders of each tier of war world, there are no simple characters who can survive.

Of the top ten, the Paradise faction occupied five positions—the Twins came from the Paradise of Death, White Night from the Paradise of Reincarnation, the Nameless Saint from the Paradise of Apocalypse, Aphrodite from the Paradise of Holy Light, and the Doctor also came from the Paradise of Reincarnation.

Five locations, four theme parks, with the Reincarnation Park occupying two of them.

The Void races occupy four spots—Mond comes from the Demon race, Voldi comes from the Demon race, Quanyu comes from the Feather race, and Hugh comes from the Arcane Eternal Star.

In the transcendent original world, only the Night Witch remains.

This result was unexpected for many, given that the number of participants from the amusement park was so small, yet they still managed to occupy half of the spots in the final round, which was truly outrageous.

However, the contractors of the Paradise faction fought their way up from low to high ranks, experiencing countless life-or-death trials. Their combat experience and adaptability far surpassed those of the Void race's competitors. While the Void race's competitors were exceptionally talented and had abundant resources, their upbringing was relatively safe, lacking the experience of struggling on the edge of life and death.

This gap may not be obvious at lower levels, but it will be magnified infinitely on a stage like the Battle of the Strongest.

The major powers present were all aware that the Paradise faction was purely a product of nurturing and cultivating treacherous forces.

Those who die are cannon fodder; only those who survive are qualified to compete here.

Those contractors eliminated at the lower levels—no one remembers their names, no one cares whether they live or die. Only those who survive, only those who crawl out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, only those who stand here, deserve to be called strong.

These are the rules of the amusement park: cruel, direct, and devoid of any warmth.

However, none of this has much to do with Lin Yi for the time being.

Apart from a few contestants from the Paradise faction, all the remaining contestants from the major factions will become Lin Yi's teammates after they meet him.

Especially after what happened today, those forces that were originally observing have now basically made their choices.

Soon, everyone was teleported back to the previous rest room by the Void Tree, but this time the once bustling rest room was empty.

After all, these lounges were originally intended for tens of thousands of contestants, but now there are only ten people left, so they naturally become less lively.

But before returning to the lounge, there is a brief period of time for the fighters to remain in their seats in the arena.

Waldy of the Demon Clan leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, his gaze sweeping over the people around him.

“Amazing, five out of ten spots are occupied by the Paradise camp,” Waldy said, glancing at the crowd around him.

The contractors from the five Paradise factions stood on the stage for the fifth round, which meant that the battles to come would not be as easy as before.

Although the Void Race's contestants are exceptionally talented and have abundant resources, they do not face ordinary opponents in the arena; they are madmen who have crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

These lunatics won't go easy on you just because you're someone, they won't admit defeat because of your background, and they won't back down because of your power.

They only know how to do one thing—fight.

If you can win, then fight; if you can't, then fight with all your might; if you still can't win even with all your might, then accept defeat.

"What you fear is impossible. There is no peace between us either, wouldn't you agree, White Night from the Cycle of Reincarnation?"

The speaker was a girl with a small folding fan and a cheeky smile.

She sat a few seats next to Waldy, wearing a light-colored robe, her hair tied in two low ponytails that hung over her shoulders, and a smile on her face that was hard to describe—neither kind nor malicious, but rather an unfathomable cunning.

She likes to cover her mouth with a small folding fan when she speaks, only revealing her eyes, which are curved into crescent shapes.

Aphne.

A contractor from Holy Light Paradise, ranked tenth in the fourth round of the leaderboard, barely made it into the fifth round.

Her strength ranks last among the ten people, but no one dares to underestimate her.

Although the training mechanism of Holy Light Paradise is relatively mild, those who can enter this round are not simple characters.

Bai Ye sat on a chair a few meters away, glancing at Aphne. He would not underestimate any enemy, especially at a time like this.

Aphne didn't care. She tilted her head, her crescent-shaped eyes turning towards Bai Ye, and gently fanned herself with a small folding fan near her mouth.

"You two fight often?"

"No comment."

Aphne's eyes curved even deeper, and the meaning in her smile became more complex.

She turned her head to look at Waldy, twirling her small folding fan in her hand.

"I'm really curious about the scenery in the amusement park."

Waldy glanced at her, his lips twitching slightly, his expression unreadable—it was hard to tell if it was a smile or something else.

"Curious? You can go check out the Paradise of Reincarnation. They say it's very 'enthusiastic' towards its guests, the kind of enthusiasm that will tear you apart. But that's assuming you can even get inside."

Aphne's words were laced with undisguised sarcasm.

Everyone present knew what the Paradise of Reincarnation was.

That is one of the most dangerous areas in the void, the starting point and the end point for all madmen, a place where countless people go in and never come out again.

Aphne closed the small folding fan and tapped it lightly twice in her palm, making a crisp snapping sound.

"The people of Holy Light Paradise are too hypocritical. They clearly want to tear you to pieces, but they still wear a holy smile on their faces. At least the people of Samsara Paradise don't pretend. If they want to kill you, they just draw their swords."

She spoke in a light, casual tone, as if she were commenting on the taste of a dish, rather than discussing a place that could kill her at any moment.

Waldy didn't reply, but just glanced at her and looked away.

Aphne didn't care. She reopened her small folding fan, held it in front of her mouth, and glanced at the people around her.

Her gaze moved from Bai Ye to Mond, from Mond to Hugh, from Hugh to Quan Yu, and finally landed on Lin Yi.

Her gaze lingered on Lin Yi longer than on anyone else.

Then she stood up and walked briskly toward Lin Yi.

Her boots made a crisp sound on the stone slabs, the rhythm neither too fast nor too slow, like someone taking a walk.

Mond was sitting on the floor, leaning against the chair leg, picking at his nails idly.

He saw Aphne approaching, frowned slightly, and turned his body slightly to block her path.

"What?"

Aphne stopped and looked down at Mond, gently fanning herself with her small folding fan.

"Don't be nervous, big guy. I'm just here to say hello."

Mond stared at her for two seconds. He didn't have a good impression of the people in the Holy Light Paradise. They were glamorous on the surface, but behind the scenes, they did things that were dirtier than anyone else.

He had seen too many contractors from the Holy Light Paradise among the demon race and knew what kind of people they were.

But he didn't make a move; he just grunted and stepped aside.

Aphne walked up to Lin Yi and stopped.

She looked down at Lin Yi sitting in the chair, his image reflected in her crescent-shaped eyes.

"Doctor, I've heard so much about you." Her voice was light and cheerful, carrying an indescribable joy. "I'm Aphrodite, from Holy Light Paradise. Please take care of me in the future."

Lin Yi looked up and glanced at her.

"What do you mean by 'take care of'?"

Aphne blinked and gently tapped her small folding fan against her lips.

"I'll take care of anything. For example... if I run into you in a match, could you go easy on me?"

She spoke very seriously, but her crescent-shaped eyes were full of laughter, making it hard to tell whether she was joking or serious.

Lin Yi didn't answer, he just looked at her.

Aphne didn't mind and turned back to her seat.

Waldy glanced at her, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"You certainly know how to find a backer."

Aphne tilted her head, gently fanning herself with a small folding fan near her mouth.

"A powerful backer? I just think he's adorable. Don't you think so?"

Waldy didn't answer, he just gave a cold laugh.

Whether it's true or false, everyone knows the answer. (End of Chapter)