Is That A Wisp?

The number of competitors kept plummeting faster and faster. The space available for everyone decreased as the Nightmare Demons got more packed as time went. The world boundaries shortened by half every time 500 competitors were eliminated. Without another choice, everyone rushed to the center of the Soul World, afraid of being swallowed by the boundaries of the shirking world.

-Number of participants remaining: 1500.-

-The Soul World range will now be reduced by half. Those at the edges, be careful. If you fall outside, your Soul will be destroyed.-

Krune's group wasn't free anymore, either. It already passed the point where they could avoid Nightmare Demons. There were always one or two coming at them all times, and that's because Krune could use his Mental Energy to feel their presence from up to 80km. Otherwise, there would be much more depending on the lucky.

Because of that, they didn't stay put at all. Also, because of how small the world had become, they encountered other groups frequently. Still, Krune, Hanan, and Laka would only fight when they needed energy. If not, Krune used his Mental Energy to chose a path where the pursues would be blocked by Nightmare Demons.

Outside, everyone watched as the groups struggled to survive and not run out of Soul Energy. Not too surprisingly, a few groups caught the audiences' attention. One of them was obviously Iem Turo's group. They were far stronger than most of their opponents, so even if they couldn't kill them, defeat was not an option. 

But the main highlight was definitely Krune's group. Everyone agreed that Krune and Laka's power far surpassed their cultivation by a lot. Every time Laka's body released that purple hue, his combat power would soar! The Dragon Race real experts could tell that it was a Dragon Pearl, but they couldn't understand what that Purple Hue was about. Not to mention that a Dragon Pearl wasn't supposed to increase a dragon's attack that much.

But the main spot was definitely Krune. For one, he is a wisp. That alone was already shocking enough. However, he was as strong as Laka, a member of the Dragon Race. Also, he was not a Heavenly Divine Soul Owner. Last but not least, his Purple Tribulation Lightning was dreadful.

Of course, while everyone was shocked, the Luvile Universe was ecstatic! The Sacred Lands were constantly watching Krune, that's true. But they also watched the other competitors measure their power. At least in the Soul World, there was simply no one with a Soul as strong as Krune. Even the Dalin Universe guy was lacking a little in comparison. They are eager to see he fighting outside, where Laws and Domains will become available once more.

-Number of participants remaining: 1420.-

-Number of participants remaining: 1365.-

-Number of participants remaining: 1213.-

At this moment, Krune's group had to enter another battle for Soul Energy. Fortunately, they found a group with similar cultivation as their own. With Krune, Laka, and Hanan above-average power, they were able to take them by surprise when the battle started. That's because they one again pretended that they overlooked the enemy team hiding its presence from Divine Sense. They even began a fight against a Nightmare Demon that was close by to lure the opponent in. When the enemy attacked, Krune's group retaliated at full power.

"Heaven and Earth as one, World Destroyer!"

"Dragon Blast!"

"Tribulation Lightning Cannon!"

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

Usually, Krune's Tribulation Cannon would take time to charge. However, because they pretended to fight a Nightmare Demon seriously, he had the time to charge his Tribulation Cannon without raising the other part's suspicion. Sure enough, he immediately turned around and fired it against the enemies. The result was expected. The weaker opponents died almost instantly as the Heavenly Divine Soul owner immediately gave up.

Krune's group then quickly absorbed the Soul Energies of the cultivator and demon beast who died.

"Alright, that's should be enough. Considering the rate of elimination, we shouldn't have a need to fight anymore until the end. Of course, if the death and give up rate suddenly drops, we might have to fight again."

Krune nodded.

"You two come close to me. I'll be using my Tribulation Lightning Layer to hide us from Divine Senses from now on. I have more Soul Power, so I should be able to resist while saving enough power for any emergency."

Laka then said.

"I told you before, I also have a treasure here that can hide us from Divine Sense."

Hanan also added.

"Me too. You don't need to support the entire burden."

Krune shook his head, though.

"I'm not sacrificing myself here. It's just the Tribulation Lightning Layer is an ability of mine, not a treasure. I'm much more comfortable using it than any other thing. I'm doing it for my own good too, so just bear with it."

Krune wasn't lying. He was really doing it for his own good. Sure, he would spend more Soul Energy than Laka and Hanan. However, would their Anti-Divine Sense treasures be better than Luvile's Purple Tribulation Lightning? Krune hardly believed so. That being said, he preferred to use his own method. As long as it increased both his and his group odds, why not?

Laka and Hanan looked at each but didn't say anything else. Since Krune insisted on doing that, then so be it. It is not like it is a bad deal for them, either. They will be able to save a lot more soul energy that they might need to use it the end. That was especially so for Laka himself.

Of course, as much as they hid from Divine Sense, they couldn't do so against Nightmare Demons. That being said, they kept running from them all the time while avoiding bumping into other groups. Just like that, the time continued to pass as more and more competitors died or gave up. It wouldn't take long for it to finish.

-Number of participants remaining: 1050.-

When only 50 more eliminations were remaining, the rate of deaths suddenly dropped. But no one found it surprising. After all, attacking each other now would most likely not bring any results. Because of that, everyone began to rely on their remaining Soul Energy while they fled from Nightmare Demons.

Surprisingly, it took two entire hours in an environment with almost countless Nightmare Demons for the last 50 to be gone. A common trait in those last 50 was that most of them died instead of giving up. They were so close to passing to the next phase, so they simply didn't want to leave.

-Number of participants remaining: 1000.-

Suddenly, All the Nightmare Demons inside Krune's Mental Energy Perception disappeared together as if they had never been there. A few seconds later, everyone's vision blurred as they woke up back into their bodies.

The pods then emerged from the Light Pools, and their doors opened. Krune's group looked around with their Divine Sense and could tell that there was really a 1000 cultivators and demon beasts remaining. Sure enough, the advantage in numbers of demon beasts disappeared. Now, 539 were cultivators, while 461 demon beasts made up the rest. It was easy to count since Demon Beasts always had different auras from humans.

Kruna, Laka, and Hanan looked at each other and then smiled. It was evident that they passed the test. In fact, it was easier than they thought. Well, the fact that all three were much stronger than most of those at their cultivation level also played its part. But the real main reason was Krune's Mental Energy, which no one could have counted with. 

It was then that all the survivors received a Divine Sense message from Norzulun.

"Congratulation! You all passed the Soul World test and are now qualified to take part in the third phase."

A lot of the participants began to cheer when they heard that. Unlike Krune's group, the majority was really on their wit's end by the time the second phase was over. Now that it was confirmed, they couldn't help but be happy.

"Alright, the third phase will start in a week. Use this time to recover your bodies and souls. Of course, for us outside, it will be only one hour. There is a Time Formation under you all that will accelerate time, so use it as you see fit. Obviously, any fights during this time are forbidden. Anyway, that's all for now."

A few seconds later, everyone noticed that the Laws around them began to accelerate. It was evident that they entered a Time Formation. No one paid much attention to it, though. Instead, they sat down and took several healing pills that they had prepared for this competition. Some had body injuries from the Ice Maze while others had Soul ones form the Soul World. Nonetheless, there wasn't a single participant unprepared for both situations.

Whether in Soul or Body, Krune wasn't injured, though.

"Well, I guess I'll make something to eat."