031: Battles Ensued!
Upon entering the Dome of Illusion, Ling found himself free falling from the sky. He stabilized himself in mid air and landed on the ground safely on his feet.
Ling shrugged the debris on his black robe, casted his view around the vicinity to find out his whereabouts.
Soon after that, he received a series of information that had been sent by Fang Zheng to all participants regarding this tournament.
There's only one rule in this tournament: Survive.
Although being inside the Dome of Illusion everything felt so real, Ling could feel and sensed everything around him.
The place was veiled by the gray-ish fog which made him harder to navigate amidst this far cry dimension. "Walking aimlessly through this fog is quite risky. I have to get the gist of this land first."
He then recalled that there's a tall clock tower nearby when he's falling from the height.
After a few minutes walking through the fog, he arrived at the clock tower's base floor. He then climbed up the spiraling staircase to gain a vantage point where he could map out the land.
"What is this place?"
Ling was amazed by the dimension which was created with an illusion technique. The landscape looks very real and perceivable with his eyes.
From the calm breeze that caressed his skin gently, to the sound of thousands of birds and many other animals who dwell in the forest.
There are so many ruined stone buildings scattered across the land, swallowed by the thicket of the bushes and trees.
A moment later, he felt his body gradually become sluggish as the gray fog drained out his Qi over time. He then got a glimpse of the area where the fog didn't reach, not too far away from his current location. The Play Zone.
Ling pressed onward to reach that area before he succumbed to Qi Deviation sickness.
A number of participants were spotted as Ling had entered the play zone as expected, fighting each other like a bunch of swains.
However, he wasn't interested in joining the fray that soon. For him, this tournament is not just a game, but a literal survival of the fittest where only the strongest shall prevail.
Henceforth, the young boy just stood atop the tree to let the situation elaborate by itself.
From ten participants, the fight had reduced their number into a half. As the fight wore down those rookies, Ling decided to launch an attack and caught them in the deadly dance of his Battle Skill. The Heaven Defying Spear.
Ling showed no mercy at the slightest. Each of his strikes was very deadly, his opponents were either stabbed or slashed by his two spears and died in the Dome Of Illusion. Such devastating Martial Arts that he developed solely to kill.
Those unlucky students immediately failed the tournament and were kicked out from that dimension.
"Hmph! They are too weak!"
Ling press on forwards and heading to the next area where he would likely meet more opponents.
The four Headmasters were impressed by Ling Zhao's prowess in using his spears and implementing his martial arts in real battle situations.
He wielded two spears and yet his movement was faster than those who wields swords.
House of Qinglong's Headmaster, Meng Zhang, commented inwardly. His lips smirked ear to ear. "Dean Fang Zheng had been nurturing a monster for the past year, I see. Huh, this kid might become a hope for this academy!"
Meanwhile…
On the other side of the map, several kilometers away from Ling. Qiqi's fare wasn't quite in her favor at all.
For some reason, she was being chased tirelessly by numbers of female participants, led by Kwan Xi Lan, the number one disciple in the House of Zhūquè.
"Stop chasing me! I don't want to hurt you!" Qiqi shouted while jumping from one tree to another.
She tried to hinder them by cutting the huge tree branches.
"Hmph! What a naive little girl!" Kwan Xi Lan glanced at her allies. "Flank her from both sides, do not let her get away!"
Two girls flanked wide, and launched themselves to attack Qiqi from either side. However, they are no match for Qiqi's superior agility.
"You all are irredeemable!"
Right when the two girls were about to collide with her, Qiqi twisted her body sideways, causing their blades to stab each other's head.
Kwan Xi Lan was taken aback as she witnessed such movement was actually possible to do in mid air.
Knowing that she no longer has the upper hand, Kwan Xi Lan decided to retreat first.
"Hui Xiao Qi, I will come to you later. Enjoy your time while it lasts."
"Wait!"
The young assassin escaped by throwing a smoke bomb in the vicinity.
Qiqi regretted her decision, if she had fought back the moment she encountered the three.
She stomped the soil in frustration. "Grr! I will defeat that girl when we meet again!"
Battles and fights ensued in the various regions of the map. Ling had defeated many opponents by using his vicious method and gathered some score under his belt.
Twenty five participants had been defeated by Ling himself.
As expected, the students that had been marked by Ling came out as top scorer as well.
***
The clock ticked, and more students had fallen and kicked out from the Dome of Illusion.
The gray fog inside the dimension also reduced smaller and smaller, concentrating the remaining participants in one hot spot.
As the participants were defeated one after another, Fang Zheng decided to send some gifts for the participants. An Air-drop which contains some valuables and consumables items for them to use in the battlefield.
Series of fireworks suddenly exploded in the sky to draw their attention.
"Two hours remain! Twenty participants left! Defeat your enemy and claim my humble gifts!"
All remaining participants looked at the sky as the light beacon descended from the height.
"Fight for it, the winner takes it all by the end of this tournament!"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone