Zhang Yuanqing blinked slowly as he opened his eyes. Sunlight streamed through the window, along with a bustling noise. Outside, the world was noisy, but the living room was unusually quiet! How did I end up lying on the floor? Zhang Yuanqing stared at the ceiling, puzzled for a few seconds. Then, with a sudden spring, he sat up, thinking, "Good heavens, what time is it? There's a match today—why didn't my grandmother wake me up? Does she not know that her beloved grandson is unconscious on the floor?" He rushed to the bedside, picked up his phone from the nightstand, and was instantly stunned. The time read 8:57 a.m., on a Saturday. "Damn it—only two minutes until the game starts! It's Saturday. That's why Grandma didn't come to wake me. She must know I stay up late playing games on weekends..." Zhang Yuanqing tossed the phone aside and sprinted out of the room, through the living room, toward the bathroom, without a word. He pulled out the Goliath and began to pour out his energy. Ah—his face lifted, showing a mixture of discomfort and relief. The corpse can be left behind, but the bathroom visit is a must—he doesn’t want to embarrass himself on the arena stage from being unable to hold it. Hurry up, hurry up… Zhang Yuan draws deep breath, engages his abdominal muscles, and quickly empties his bladder. Then he turns, strides out of the bathroom, returns to his room, grabs the small bottle on the nightstand, and pours the pills into the pocket of his sleep shirt. Next, he sheds his cotton slippers, steps precisely into the running shoes newly purchased by his aunt, without tying the laces, and rushes toward the wardrobe. He opens the wardrobe door and lifts his hand to support the corpse’s shoulders. The timing is perfect. The moment after, a voice from the spiritual realm begins to play: 【Ping! The spiritual realm map is loading. Enter the realm in 30 seconds. This is your current spiritual realm: "The Ultimate Battle," ID: 7191.】 【Difficulty Level: S】 【Type: Multiplayer (Non-Death Type)】 【Main Objective: Eliminate all opponents】 【Note: Non-spiritual realm items cannot be brought in.】 【Introduction to Spirit Realm No. 7119: This spirit realm is divided into three stages. At each stage, a certain number of contestants will be eliminated until a champion is crowned.】 Thirty seconds of preparation time… Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the clothes and pants hanging on the ergonomically designed chair, hesitated, and decided that thirty seconds wasn’t enough to change into a fresh outfit. So he held on. Fine, wear pajamas then—talented people always stand out in their own way… he murmured to himself, and then the scene before him blurred, distorting like ripples on water. Others glanced at one another, appearing composed on the surface while remaining on guard. After a brief silence, nothing happened—no ambient sounds from the spiritual realm, no cues from the venue—only quiet in the conference room. The atmosphere felt so stiff... Sun Miaomiao glanced around again, curiously asking, "The official forum post mentioned that our competition will be projected as video footage to the audience seats. But there are no cameras here. I'm wondering what method the replica space is using." Ah? What video footage? I didn't know that... Zhang Yuanqing, who hadn't had time to check the forum, kept his eyes focused on his nose, his mind on his heart, remaining silent. Qingsongzi smiled warmly at the sweet and endearing Sun Miaomiao. "Among the lawful professions, water spirits are capable of creating visual projections; among the chaotic ones, it's the illusionists." "Oh!" Sun Miaomiao nodded. She actually knew this, but had opened up the topic simply because the silence had made her feel a bit awkward. At this very moment, the group of official delegates were standing right at the venue from the opening day—the arena. Below the platform, a circular mirror the size of a basin is set, its edges encrusted with transparent crystal. Gentle beams of pale blue light radiate upward from the mirror, spreading through the air and solidifying into the scene of the conference room. "Is the first match set in the conference room? I hate verbal battles—I'd much rather throw the eight finalists into the arena for a full-blown clash." "You crude Fire Master! Such a battle is neither meaningful nor engaging. I, on the other hand, am genuinely looking forward to the drama unfolding in the conference room." "Let's begin—already eager to witness the eight finalists outwitting and outmaneuvering each other." "Look at Yuan-Shi Tian-Zun—he's wearing pajamas. Does he really overslept?" The audience is bustling with chatter, voices rising and falling in constant conversation. At one seat, a woman in a sheer gown gazes at the image of Yuan-Shi Tian-Zun, offering a graceful smile. "Dear, that's Yuan-Shi Tian-Zun right there—such a handsome young man. If my mother were twenty years younger, she'd call him 'brother' every time." Her voice was soft, warm, and gentle—exactly the kind that won men over. Xie Lingxi smiled sweetly. "Mom, you absolutely can't call him 'brother.' You're thirty-seven now, with your hairline receding and that little belly creeping in. Your father is truly your ideal match. Isn't that right, my dearest mom?" … At that moment, Tian Gui Huo pulled out a chair and sat down with a grand gesture, smiling and saying, “Eight chairs—perfectly matching our eight of us. Let’s all sit down. Once we’re seated, the mission will be triggered, won’t it, Yuan Shǐ Tian Zūn?” He looked toward Zhang Yuanqing. The other six contestants remained expressionless. Zhang Yuanqing nodded slightly and took a high-back chair at random. Seeing this, the others finally settled in. After sitting down, Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the seven contestants. Zhao Chenguang, dressed in black robes and pants, boldly claimed the main chair at the conference table, his expression cold and commanding, as if it had always been his by right. To his left sat Sun Miaomiao—her appearance indeed beautiful, but what truly impressed was her deep, luminous eyes. Lively and pure, she was utterly refreshing to behold. Then came Tian Gui Huo, with ordinary features, in his early thirties, wearing a black shirt and loose black pants. Strong and solid, yet neither impetuous nor imposing, with an excellent body proportion. The music-aphasic is a slender young man with fair skin, refined and graceful, wearing a variety of wristbands in different styles, his hair neatly styled, and silver earring studs embedded in his earlobes—clearly embodying the vibe of a contemporary pop music enthusiast. Qingsongzi has a well-proportioned face and a warm, composed demeanor, reminiscent of the style of the King of the Magic Eyes—sunshine and approachable. However, Zhang Yuanqing noticed that this person several times subtly glanced at Sun Miao-miao. Yuan was taken aback, praising him, "You truly have confidence." How confident he was... The contestants felt a sudden sense of alertness, silently watching and on guard. At that moment, the spiritual realm's notification sound reached their ears: 【Ping! All contestants are in position. Please pay close attention to the following information: Professor Li from Jingcheng University was tragically murdered yesterday. The suspect is a friend who had come to the capital for a visit. Upon receiving the report, the security officer arrived promptly and apprehended the suspect.】 【The Security Bureau has entrusted the detective team with full responsibility for handling this case. Today, the detective team intends to bring the suspect to justice and deliver a fair verdict to the deceased.】 【Please vote among yourselves to select one suspect from the eight of you, and have him executed. If no suspect is chosen within ten minutes, each team member will lose ten points.】 【Once a suspect is identified, the team will enter the spiritual realm scenario. The suspect may then present their case within the scene to clear their name and secure 30 points. Should they fail, they will be eliminated.】 】 【The detective team gains 10 points if a suspect is executed; otherwise, they lose 10 points.】 【Note 1: Each contestant starts with 20 points; points are reset to zero, and the contestant is eliminated.】 【Note 2: The contestant with the highest score before the final battle receives a powerful item (which cannot be carried into the spiritual realm).】 Listening to the prompts from the spiritual realm, the eight contestants at the conference table exchanged slightly concerned glances. …… The same sound also reached the audience outside. “Hmm, the scenario prompt has arrived—Tianxia Guihuo is thinking quickly! He immediately deduced that the task would only be triggered when all eight contestants were seated. Wait—what did I just hear?” “They're voting out one contestant as a suspect? This is going to be a one-on-seven showdown, isn't it? Quite exciting.” "Although they have the chance to prove their innocence once they enter the scene, everyone ends up being voted as a suspect—basically, it's a hellish start. Zhao Chenghuang is done. If I were anyone else, I'd simply vote him out right away." "Ha ha, Zhao Chenghuang's face looks terrible. Interesting. Really interesting." Not only the contestants on the field, but also the audience seated at the table were stunned, soon erupting into a wave of excited noise. Compared to a direct confrontation, this strategy of wits and intelligence offered a more engaging experience, with contestants pitted against each other in both physical strength and mental acumen. The level of excitement was simply unmatched. The audience's enthusiasm surged instantly. ... 【Voting begins!】 In front of each contestant's view, a dialogue box appears, listing eight IDs corresponding to the eight contestants at the conference table. Within the meeting room, a brief silence settles. The eight contestants gaze at the dialogue boxes appearing before them, each silent, each harboring their own secrets. Who established this rule—quite cunning, isn't it? Zhang Yuanqing observed the contestants' expressions, his mind swiftly spinning. "Whomever is chosen as the suspect is effectively half-out, making this a rule specifically designed to target the strongest contenders—either the one with the greatest strength or the one who excels in the dungeon quests. They will surely seize the opportunity to nominate the strongest among them as a suspect. 'As expected, the suspect will be either me or Zhao Chenguang.' He was quite confident about this point. "Yuan Ting and Sun Miao Miao are from the Taiyuan Sect—they won't vote for Zhao Chenguang. Among the remaining four, the Earth God is particularly kind to me and will surely support my vote; Qing Songzi, Tianxia Gui Huo, and the one with the poor sense of music remain neutral. I need to work to secure their support." Zhang Yuanqing and Zhao Chenguang spoke almost simultaneously: "All of you, follow me—vote for Zhao Chenguang (Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun)." Their eyes met across the room, and a subtle spark seemed to pass between them. Six contestants remained silent, calm and composed, showing no signs of panic or seriousness—clearly also understanding that this rule was specifically aimed at them. Tianxia Gui lightly smiled and said, "You two go ahead and speak up, give each other a boost." Zhang Yuanqing spoke in a steady tone: "All of you are well aware of Zhao Chenghuang's martial prowess. Eliminating him through this method benefits everyone. I suspect none of you feel confident in defeating him. I'm different—I'm a newcomer. All of you here are seasoned veterans, and in terms of strength, I'm not among the top contenders." As he spoke, he raised his hand and clicked on Zhao Chenghuang's name. The land god, dressed in leather garments, smiled warmly and said, "I vote for Zhao Chenghuang." He lifted his hand and pointed into the air, casting his vote. Zhao Chenghuang remained composed, first casting his vote for Yuan Shi Tian Zun, then raising his chin slightly and said calmly, "This is an S-tier quest. Ultimately, you all know who poses the greatest threat." Sun Miaomiao then raised her hand to vote: "I vote for Yuan Shǐ Tian Zūn." The vote became 2-2, tied. Seeing this, Yuan Ting could only look at Zhang Yuanqing with a tone of regret, and raised his hand to say: "I also vote for Yuan Shǐ Tian Zūn." He simply couldn't vote for Zhao Chenghuang, his fellow disciple. Now it's 2-3—my vote is behind... Zhang Yuanqing quickly turned to the three who were tone-deaf, explaining: "Although our Wuxing Alliance has five members and the Taimen Sect only has three, in reality, each of them has a shadow corpse, making it equivalent to six members, not counting their spirit servants. With one of the strongest members eliminated, this is actually beneficial to us." Since he had no personal connections with any of the three, he skillfully created a contrast between the Wuxing Alliance and the Taimen Sect, emphasizing that they were part of the same organization. Qing Songzi glanced back and forth between the two, then smiled: "I vote for Zhao Chenghuang. Though I don't want to admit it, he's strong enough to leave me utterly Everyone immediately turned their attention to Tianxia Guihuo and the person with poor hearing. Their choices would determine who was the suspect—and the suspect might very well be the first one to be eliminated. The person with poor hearing hesitated, weighing which of the two posed the greatest threat. Among the two, if one voted for Zhao Chenguang, the other would surely follow, and no one would accept a tie—there simply wasn't room for neutrality. Zhang Yuanqing urged, "The Tai Men delegation has three members, and the threat from Ye You Shen is too great. There's no room for hesitation—vote for Zhao Chenguang." "I vote for Yuan Shi Tian Zun!" The room fell silent. Everyone stared in astonishment at Tianxia Guihuo. For me? Zhang Yuanqing's face changed. He had never expected that, as a member of the Wu Xing Alliance, Tianxia Guihuo would vote for himself. The world leans toward the Flame, shoulders slightly raised, offering her reasoning: "From the content of this stage, we can see that S-tier dungeons won't solely rely on raw strength—thus, Zhao Chenghuang's advantage will diminish, while Yuan Shi Tianzun's will grow." The Earth God spoke solemnly: "Even so, you have no need to choose Yuan Shi Tianzun." The world Flame shook her head: "No, Grandfather, you're mistaken. Remember note 2? The one with the highest score earns a powerful item. I excel at dungeon strategy. If Zhao Chenghuang stays, I'm confident I'll secure the item and then challenge him directly. But if Yuan Shi Tianzun remains, I'm not certain I can defeat him in the dungeon. How would you, Grandfather, choose?" The Earth God fell silent. Everyone immediately turned their attention to the one with poor musical talent—the pressure now squarely settled on this musician. Zhao Chenghuang turned to the one with poor vocal skills and said calmly: "We are eight in total. If you vote for me, the result will be four-to-four, a tie—no outcome—and all of you will lose ten points after ten minutes. But if you vote for Yuan Shǐ Tianzūn, he becomes the suspect, and you won't lose any points. Once we enter the scene together, we'll jointly eliminate him, and everyone will gain ten points." He then looked directly at Yuan Shǐ Tianzūn, lifting a corner of his mouth. "You've lost!" It's clear which choice the voiceless one will make between harming himself and benefiting others. The elegant, fair-skinned one smiled and shook his head. "So it seems, I have no choice." He immediately clicked on Yuan Shǐ Tianzūn's ID. "Beep! Voting concluded. Suspect: Yuan Shǐ Tianzūn. Entering the scene in three seconds." Damn! You're all waiting for me... Zhang Yuanqing felt his vision blur, and the surroundings began to warp like ripples.