As the first match of the [Blue Star Deathmatch] began, viewers from all over the world flooded into the livestream.
"Is it starting? Is it on?!"
"Why is it still a black screen?!"
"They only showed the arena for a second, and then it went dark again."
"Don't tell me it got banned?"
"Are you dumb? Try 'banning' [Will of Blue Star]'s livestream and see what happens."
"—Wait! It's back! There's a picture!!"
"Holy—ISN'T THAT…?!"
"What the hell? They're going this hard in round one?!"
The feed finally stabilized.
And the moment the figure on-screen appeared, the entire chat detonated.
Because standing in the arena was someone with insane pre-match hype—
A Dragon Nation competitor: Wang Ye.
His opponent, meanwhile, was a no-name fighter from a smaller nation—barely mentioned anywhere before today.
To be fair, the moment that fighter realized he'd drawn Dragon Nation in his first match, his heart sank.
Dragon Nation was the world's undisputed superpower right now.
He hadn't watched Dragon Nation's nation brawl, and he didn't know Wang Ye's style—but he didn't need to.
Anyone who survived Dragon Nation's nation brawl and made the final ten… wasn't just "strong."
They were apex-level.
"First match and I get Dragon Nation… what luck," he muttered, forcing a smile.
His country's viewers weren't even pretending.
"My god… we drew Dragon Nation immediately?!"
"It's over. Their finalists are monsters."
"First match and we're already losing someone. That's brutal."
"Forget this one—pray the other nine have better draws."
"At the end of the day, if you're not strong enough, you get erased sooner or later."
Nothing could change the matchup.
The opponent was about Wang Ye's size—lean, not built like a power type. He carried no obvious weapon.
A striker? A grappler?
Wang Ye didn't look particularly interested either way.
Hearing the other man's "luck" comment, Wang Ye raised a brow and replied, lazily, "Yeah… in a way, I'm pretty lucky too."
The faint edge in his tone made the man's face tighten.
Pride flared.
Final-ten pride.
He wasn't about to fold without a fight.
Before he could say more, a cold announcement echoed in both their minds:
[Both competitors, prepare.]
[FIGHT!]
The first [Blue Star Deathmatch] match officially began.
The livestream went wild.
"It's on!!"
"I'm betting a pack of spicy chips—Dragon Nation wins!"
"Hey, don't be so sure. Upsets happen."
"You definitely didn't watch Dragon Nation's nation brawl. Wang Ye isn't normal."
"Yeah—he's top-tier even among Dragon Nation's ten."
"Enough talking. Watch."
Yet in the arena… neither man moved.
The smaller-nation fighter hesitated, trying to read Wang Ye.
Wang Ye didn't move because—
He genuinely couldn't be bothered.
So they just stood there, staring like two statues.
After an awkward stretch, the opponent snapped, "Hey! What's your problem?"
The arena's translation made sure they understood each other perfectly.
Wang Ye scratched his head, puzzled. "Huh? I'm waiting for you to go first."
That answer made everyone freeze.
The opponent felt his blood pressure spike.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Maybe Wang Ye didn't mean it like that—but in the opponent's ears, everything about him screamed contempt.
And with that, he roared and charged.
Whoosh!
His speed was no joke—proof that anyone who reached the [Blue Star Deathmatch] wasn't ordinary.
The chat reacted instantly.
"Damn, he's fast!"
"Yeah—no one here is weak."
"Too bad he ran into Wang Ye."
In the blink of an eye, he was in Wang Ye's face.
Wang Ye still looked bored.
That expression lit the opponent on fire.
"So you Dragon Nation people just look down on everyone?!"
He threw a punch like a cannon—
Bang!
Everyone expected Wang Ye to finally respond… but he didn't step back.
He didn't even shift his stance.
He simply lifted one arm—casually—and blocked, like he couldn't be bothered to do more.
The opponent sneered.
Still underestimating me?
Then pay for it.
Even the viewers got nervous.
"Wang Ye, take it seriously!"
"He didn't fight like this in the nation brawl…"
"Careful—overconfidence gets people killed!"
But the moment the punch landed—
There was no crunch. No shattering impact.
Instead, the opponent's fist stopped dead, like it had slammed into solid rock.
Not only did Wang Ye take zero damage—
The recoil jolted pain up the attacker's knuckles.
The opponent's eyes widened.
And Wang Ye finally spoke, calm as ever:
"…I think you're misunderstanding something."
As he spoke, his arm flowed—slow, almost lazy—wrapping and redirecting the opponent's momentum in a motion too clean to follow.
It didn't look fast.
But it made your eyes blur anyway, like reality itself lagged half a beat.
Wang Ye didn't explain. He didn't need to.
While completely controlling the opponent's body, he continued, "I'm not big enough to represent all Dragon Nation people."
"Wha—?!"
The opponent panicked.
His limbs weren't listening anymore.
It was like his body had been borrowed.
Wang Ye sighed—almost tired.
Then his palm snapped forward.
BOOM!
One push.
That was all.
The opponent flew backward and crashed hard. He tried to force himself up—
But he couldn't.
That single palm strike had shut him down completely.
The livestream erupted.
"WHAT? One hit?!"
"He held back, didn't he?"
"Obviously! He never moved an inch—and he used one hand the whole time!"
"This is Dragon Nation's finalist?! That's insane."
"Does that count as 'unable to fight'?"
"It has to—"
As if answering them, a final announcement rang out:
[Congratulations! Dragon Nation competitor Wang Ye advances!]
Wang Ye didn't celebrate.
He looked at the fallen opponent, shook his head once, and—
A white flash swallowed the arena.
Wang Ye vanished back to the waiting room prepared by [Will of Blue Star].
The defeated fighter was eliminated and teleported out.
The first [Blue Star Deathmatch] ended without suspense:
Dragon Nation—Wang Ye—advanced with ease.
Back in the [Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone]—
While the [Blue Star Deathmatch] ignited across the world, deep inside the Forbidden Zone, Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw finally reached the place Adrian had been tracking.
In front of them stood a tree so massive it felt unreal—an ancient giant radiating multicolored divine light.
This wasn't something that could exist on Blue Star.
The trunk was wrapped in countless vines, and the shimmering light pulsed through those vine-lattices like living veins—beautiful enough to make the air feel sacred.
But before anyone could finish marveling—
WHOOOOM—!!
A violent gale erupted out of nowhere.
The forest shuddered.
The light along the vines flickered—
And the wind sharpened, as if something had just awakened.
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