In the end, the final zone of the Battle Royale Championship became a chaotic and intense battlefield.
As the poison circle kept shrinking, all teams were forced into combat.
In the cramped arena, various soul skills flew everywhere. The slightly weaker contestants were eliminated instantly.
For example, Ye Lingling from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy—though not strong, she was a crucial healer for her team. Even with March 7th's full protection, she was immediately focused down and had to leave the match.
The battle was chaotic but spectacular.
Long Aotian of the Body Sect, Qian Renxue of Spirit Hall, as well as Hu Liena and Xie Yue who unleashed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, all displayed power close to the Soul Sage level, dominating the field.
Compared to Firefly and Castorice, who chose the Body Sect and Spirit Hall respectively, the alliance formed by Jinhsi and Gu Yue had a numbers advantage, but their overall strength was somewhat lacking.
Firefly and her peers kept each other in check, and no one acted rashly against the other's chosen teams.
However, as the fighting intensified, Shrek Academy was the first to be eliminated.
Soon after, Nan Qiuqiu, Xu Tianzhen, Shui Bing'er, Huo Wu, and others followed.
With their teammates tied up and unable to help, Jinhsi and Gu Yue could only helplessly withdraw.
Firefly and Castorice exchanged glances and instantly understood each other's intent—eliminate Robin and March 7th first.
These two excelled at support and defense. Even after Wang Qiu'er's group had endured heavy soul tool bombardment, they managed to persist thanks to Robin and March 7th's support.
"You can't be serious, you two! That's not fair!" March 7th exclaimed in disbelief, seeing Firefly and Castorice blocking her path.
With perfect coordination, Spirit Hall and the Body Sect surrounded Wang Qiu'er's group.
Even with Robin's buffs, Wang Qiu'er's group had already been worn down by multiple battles and a level-seven soul tool bombardment—their state was poor.
In this situation, Robin and March 7th were successfully contained, and St. Freya Academy's second team was regretfully defeated.
"This might be for the best—at least it won't ruin Xiao Ming's plan," Robin said with a resigned shake of her head.
She understood that Lu Jingming's purpose in hosting this battle royale wasn't for St. Freya Academy to win.
After all, if they competed personally, the championship would be a foregone conclusion.
Even if the second team won, it wouldn't be much different from them taking the crown themselves.
The hundred-thousand-year soul bone and stigmata weren't meant for them—they were part of Lu Jingming's World Tree Plan.
So, Firefly had made a misstep.
Robin glanced at Firefly and shook her head again.
Though it wasn't unacceptable for the Body Sect to win, Lu Jingming clearly preferred Spirit Hall to take the championship.
On reflection, the usually low-profile Castorice was the one who truly grasped Lu Jingming's intentions.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have partnered directly with Qian Renxue.
Unlike Castorice, who stayed at St. Freya, Robin, March 7th, and Firefly were outsiders and didn't fully understand Lu Jingming's plans, leading to their defeat.
Sure enough, after eliminating Robin, March 7th, and Wang Qiu'er's group, Firefly decisively unleashed her sixth soul skill, "Super Starfall Kick," intending to knock Spirit Hall out.
By now, the final zone was tiny—only a few dozen meters across.
Facing Firefly's devastating meteor kick, no one could dodge; they had no choice but to brace themselves.
A massive blast of flames swept the arena, engulfing everyone in searing explosions.
To ensure the Body Sect's victory, Firefly specifically warned Long Aotian to stay at the very edge and survive until the end.
Her main targets were Qian Renxue, Hu Liena, and the others.
However, as the smoke cleared, things didn't go as Firefly planned.
Long Aotian survived with his activated "Undying Golden Body" soul skill and invincibility shield.
But, unexpectedly, Spirit Hall's team was also unscathed.
Seeing the ghostly purple aura swirling around Qian Renxue and the fluttering ghost butterflies, Firefly was bewildered.
Watching from outside the arena, Lu Jingming shook his head helplessly.
Although Firefly and the others knew Castorice well, they didn't know about her most overpowered ability—granting teammates one death immunity.
Given Castorice's personality, she wouldn't deliberately hide this, but she wouldn't bring it up either.
Since her companions rarely faced mortal danger, only Castorice and Lu Jingming were aware of this power.
Thus, Firefly's plan backfired—her clearing move inadvertently handed the championship to Spirit Hall.
With Long Aotian taken down by Qian Renxue, Hu Liena, and Xie Yue's fusion skill, the first Battle Royale Championship in the simulated universe came to a close.
Lu Jingming was very satisfied with the outcome.
He'd wanted Spirit Hall to win from the start, as only they could make the best use of the hundred-thousand-year soul bone and stigmata.
He knew Spirit Hall's situation: neither item would go entirely to Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong would surely choose the soul bone, leaving the stigmata to Qian Renxue.
With the soul bone, Bibi Dong could advance her Rakshasa God trial, shorten the time to ascend, and be strong enough to clean up the increasingly powerful Contamination Points—working for Lu Jingming.
Qian Renxue, by refining the stigmata, would see her strength soar.
With the threat of Contamination Points, Qian Daoliu would urge her to take the God Trial early, bringing the Angel God into the world ahead of schedule.
With two deities, even newly ascended, they could suppress the Contamination Points and keep things under control.
After all, Lu Jingming's goal was to help the planet evolve, not let Contamination Points destroy the world.
If he wanted destruction, he could simply unleash unfiltered Honkai Energy; that would be even easier.
The very mechanism by which Honkai Energy grows with civilization means destruction is never hard.
And civilization doesn't just mean technological advancement—cultivation-based societies are also civilizations.
If a cultivation world grows stronger, the force of destruction should rise accordingly.
Of course, Lu Jingming wouldn't go so far as to create an Cocoon of Finality just for fun.
Given the energy required to manifest such a thing, it would cost even more than directly summoning an Emanator.
Lu Jingming planned to make the Battle Royale Championship an annual event.
He had no intention of competing again himself.
This tournament would both boost the planet's overall strength and serve to expand the simulated universe's influence.
After this event, everyone would surely take the simulated universe more seriously.
As long as its influence kept spreading, until every commoner could enter, Lu Jingming would reap enormous benefits.
By then, the cost of soul bones and similar rewards would be negligible.
As the tournament ended, Lu Jingming smiled at the disappointed Firefly and the equally glum March 7th and said, "It's okay, it's just a loss. How about this: I'll grant each of you a wish. What do you say? Of course, Castorice can have two wishes."
"Really?!" March 7th's eyes lit up, her gloom vanishing. Firefly also blinked at Lu Jingming in surprise and delight.
"Of course. Castorice, do you mind?" Lu Jingming nodded, turning to Castorice.
Since Castorice was the true winner, he sought her opinion.
Castorice shook her head lightly—why would she object? She was secretly pleased to get two wishes instead of one.
"Hooray! Castorice, you're the best!" March 7th cheered, instinctively wanting to hug Castorice.
Luckily, Lu Jingming reacted quickly and grabbed March 7th's collar, stopping her.
If March 7th had hugged Castorice, given Castorice's special physique, March 7th would have suffered for it—potentially even feeling the pain of death.
Realizing this, March 7th stuck out her tongue sheepishly and gave Lu Jingming a grateful look.
If he hadn't stopped her, she would've been in for a world of hurt—the thought alone was chilling.
"When you've decided on your wishes, come find me." With that, Lu Jingming exited the simulated universe.
As his figure faded, Robin turned to March 7th and Firefly. "We should head back too."
"Of course! I can't wait to find Xiao Ming and make my wish!" March 7th said eagerly, clearly pondering what to ask for.
After all, with the Authority of Reality, Lu Jingming could fulfill wishes as long as he had enough power.
Firefly and Robin exchanged a knowing smile, saying nothing.
To them, little March 7th was no threat—not even worth worrying about.
…
"Herta, I plan to revise the plan."
Upon leaving the simulated universe, Lu Jingming immediately sought out Herta and awakened the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and Makoto, sharing his thoughts.
His experiments in the parallel world made him realize the World Tree Plan was crude, with frequent accidents.
For instance, he hadn't anticipated the planet's will acting on its own, gathering negative energy and making Contamination Points stronger than expected, putting immense pressure on soul masters.