Chapter 4424: Cost Reduction

Things played out exactly as predicted. Xigazou disappeared from the public eye as soon as he escaped, while the various Regions immediately began discussing the consequences of everything that had been transmitted through the Regions Network.

Naturally, the Ocalfin Region was the first to be questioned. Messages arrived one after another from every direction, yet Ocalfin chose complete silence. None of the inquiries received any response, and before long, the Region even shut down all of its Long-Distance Teleport Arrays. Realistically speaking, it was difficult to imagine anyone voluntarily traveling there under the current circumstances, but the gesture itself made Ocalfin’s position abundantly clear.

The Region’s higher-ups understood better than anyone just how disastrous the situation had become. However, regardless of the pressure coming from the outside, they simply couldn’t afford to abandon their strongest expert.

If Ocalfin possessed another experienced Law God, perhaps they could have exiled Xigazou and tried to preserve their standing within the Regions Alliance. Unfortunately, reality wasn’t so generous. Their only other Law God had broken through merely a few decades earlier and was still far from capable of carrying the Region by himself. Losing Xigazou would leave Ocalfin dangerously vulnerable, so despite knowing the consequences, they chose to stand behind him.

As one would expect, the upper echelons of Ocalfin also kept the entire affair hidden from the general population. Very few people inside the Region knew that, should another disaster similar to Besgol’s previous Godly Horror invasion ever occur, no neighboring Region would answer their call for help. At least, not unless Ocalfin found a way to compensate for Xigazou’s actions and somehow repair its relationship with the Alliance.

There was still one Long-Distance Teleport Array capable of connecting Ocalfin with the outside world, of course—the private array inside Xigazou’s hidden estate. Even so, Xigazou had no intention of returning immediately.

Instead, he used his own communication resources to contact Ocalfin, informing them that he would remain away for some time. Whether the Region intended to exile him or continue protecting him afterward made little difference in his eyes. That decision could wait.

The reason for staying away was simple.

The Sealed Spatial Box.

The box had been specially constructed to reject any kind of Spatial Transfer. Attempting to carry it through a Teleport Array would only cause the formation to reject the transfer altogether. Unless Xigazou managed to remove the seal safely, returning to Ocalfin with it was impossible.

Because of that, he remained inside the territories ruled by the Godly Creatures, dedicating all of his attention to dismantling the seal without triggering the Spatial Storage Self-Destruction mechanism hidden inside.

—

Time continued to pass, and before long, the day of the competitions finally arrived.

Naturally, the entire Besgol Region was buzzing with speculation. Ever since the news spread that one of the Godly Apex Crystals had supposedly been stolen, everyone had been wondering which competition site would ultimately be left without its promised reward.

However, before the competitions officially began, another announcement spread through the entire Besgol Network.

It came directly from Tobao.

-The fault that one of our Godly Apex Crystals was stolen lies mainly with me, the one who planned the distribution of the crystals. For the Besgol Region, it would be better to have one more Law God than for me to obtain a single cultivation stage breakthrough.

-That said, I am relinquishing my own Godly Apex Crystal, and it will be added to the competition site whose crystal was stolen. Besides, I’m confident in my own ability to cultivate without relying on an Apex Crystal. I have always been.-

-The Zone Gods have no need to worry. There will still be ten winners, and I look forward to seeing who they will be. Above all else, I sincerely hope at least one new Law God will emerge from these competitions’ winners. Arcis and I already have more responsibilities than the two of us can comfortably handle.-

-Good luck to all competitors!-

The announcement spread throughout the Region almost instantly.

—

Far away, outside Besgol’s borders, a hidden cave lay concealed deep within a mountain range. Numerous arrays covered the surrounding area, masking the location while preventing nearby Godly Creatures from wandering too close.

Inside one of the artificial chambers carved into the mountain, Xigazou listened to the latest report sent by the spies who still remained inside the Besgol Region.

"Hahaha!" he burst into laughter after hearing Tobao’s announcement. "What an absolute moron! That monk truly has no idea what he’s giving up."

He leaned back, still chuckling.

"Well... that’s none of my concern. If he wants to hand his Godly Apex Crystal to someone else, that’s his own problem."

His attention soon shifted toward the sealed box resting within a complicated dismantling array engraved across the floor.

Ever since obtaining it, nearly all of his time had been devoted to studying the countless seals protecting its contents. Little by little, layer after layer, he had begun unraveling their secrets.

A satisfied smile gradually appeared on his face.

"Now then..." he murmured softly. "It won’t be much longer."

---

Back in Besgol, Tobao’s announcement had the exact effect he desired.

Although he had lied to everyone, his lie was entirely for the sake of the Region. Rather than damaging his reputation, the announcement elevated it even further.

Many cultivators were deeply moved that a Law God would willingly give up such an unimaginable treasure simply to ensure another Zone God had a chance to break through.

As expected, all ten competition venues were broadcast throughout the Besgol Network, allowing the population to follow every stage of the events.

The competitions themselves lasted several days.

Every location featured different trials, but all of them revolved around combat ability, survival, adaptability, and practical application of one’s strength. Contestants had to overcome dangerous environments, complete difficult objectives, and naturally, fight against one another.

Direct battles remained the greatest source of points, and those victories often determined the final rankings whenever two competitors performed similarly in the remaining trials.

For several days, the entire Region became immersed in the competitions.

Considering the depressing news surrounding Xigazou’s betrayal, the contests provided everyone with something far more uplifting to focus on. While discussions regarding Ocalfin’s future and the Regions Alliance certainly continued, the battles between powerful Zone Gods quickly became the most popular topic across the Besgol Network.

Only ten winners could ultimately emerge.

On the third day after the competitions began, the final results were officially announced.

---

Back at the twins’ residence, Rean decided to take a short break from cultivation before checking the published rankings.

"Oh!" he exclaimed with a grin. "Just as expected, the Wangamiglia Sect Master ended up becoming one of the ten winners."

"Kavile..." Roan nodded calmly after glancing over the list. "People don’t call him the Zone God closest to reaching the Law God Realm for nothing."

"Sigh..." Kentucky sighed dramatically while staring at the rankings. "I really wish we had gone to watch at least one of those competitions. We could always replay them later through the System’s Combat Replay."

Sister Orb immediately objected.

[Zone God Realm battles?] she asked. [Why waste Orb Points on those? You already witnessed a battle between Law Gods and Godly Horrors. Those replays would be incomparably more valuable if you ever decided to spend points on them.]

"There won’t be any spending of Orb Points for now," Rean interrupted without hesitation, immediately pouring cold water over everyone’s enthusiasm.

"Sister Orb, you need every point available to work on the next level of our cultivation technique. That takes priority over everything else."

"Speaking of the next level..." He continued. "We already have more than enough cultivation resources to break through once the technique is ready. Sister Orb, are you capable of devising the next level already?"

[You currently have 153 Orb Points in reserve...] Sister Orb answered after checking the System. [If I had to develop the technique completely from scratch, that still wouldn’t be enough.]

"It doesn’t need to be from scratch," Roan replied before she could continue. "You only need that many points when there is no existing foundation."

He crossed his arms while explaining.

"We already have the first level completed. I’ll work on drafting the second level myself. It won’t be perfect, but once I finish, you can use my framework as the System’s starting point. Instead of creating everything from nothing, you’ll simply optimize and complete what already exists."

Sister Orb’s eyes immediately brightened.

[Oh! Now that’s a completely different story! Yes! Please do exactly that! If you prepare the foundation first, then one hundred and fifty-three Orb Points should be more than enough.]

"Excellent." Celis nodded with obvious satisfaction. "Then there’s nothing else to discuss."

He smiled before looking toward everyone else.

"We still have a long way to go before reaching the limit of the Anchor God Peak Stage. Let’s stop wasting time and continue cultivating."

No one disagreed.

Even Kentucky, despite looking somewhat disappointed about missing the competitions, quickly accepted reality. One after another, they returned to their cultivation and resumed their training, steadily advancing toward the next breakthrough.

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