Duel City and Gift Games

The ground beneath the forest began to heave as if infused with violent energy, golden qi shooting down from the sky directly into the earth below.

The earth rolled like waves, lifting the bizarre forest rooted upon it wholesale and tossing it about like duckweed upon the sea.

Rumble, rumble!

Massive explosions erupted beneath the landmass like a chain reaction, swiftly sweeping across everything in sight.

The two monsters specially prepared to test Bai Cangshu’s combat ability and strategic ability had long since been swallowed by the enormous energy explosion.

Yet Bai Cangshu was still dissatisfied. He clenched his left fist, and his body slowly twisted as a peculiar "aura" began to emerge from him.

Sss—

The surrounding air naturally condensed into white mist, dispersing outward from Bai Cangshu’s fist. Even at every corner of his body, the air began to condense the instant it came into contact with him.

Terrifying [force] spread indiscriminately in all directions, squeezing every substance that came into contact with Bai Cangshu.

After unsealing the fifth step of the Eternal Regression Ladder once more and activating the Eightfold Kaio-ken, Bai Cangshu’s enhanced attributes, combined with a series of buffs, caused his strength to completely cease relying on any ability and begin forming a [force field].

It was a unique domain, one that distorted everything around it through sheer, terrifying force.

And what controlled this [force] was a fist intent that carried an invincible aura.

Bai Cangshu took a step forward, his body naturally twisting as the Left Arm of the King struck out.

Bzz—

It was as if some enormous invisible entity had swept through the entire sky. This was the result of the force field distorting the air across tens of thousands of meters before blasting it out.

A massive shockwave spread in the opposite direction behind Bai Cangshu, instantly rippling through the entire space in an upright wave.

Boom!

The Vacuum Wave shattered the violently exploding earth, forest, and atmosphere first. Then came the shockwave compressed from an immense volume of air, crashing across the ruins like a gigantic ring.

Rumble!

Only then did the enormous sound reverberate between heaven and earth. Bai Cangshu lowered his left arm, and the scattered blood mist covering his body began to diminish. The qi soaring into the sky gradually settled before finally disappearing back into his body.

He landed on the ground, fine beads of bloody sweat covering his body as the Kirin Armor gradually vanished.

Bai Cangshu panted rarely, his body trembling slightly as though in spasms.

Yet simply standing upon the ground brought forth that peculiar sensation of standing at the [Source of the World]. Endless pure life force rapidly flowed into his body.

Meanwhile, the demonic dragon of the Anti-Life domain pulsed at the location of his heart, and vast amounts of Anti-Life matter interwove across Bai Cangshu’s body in the form of flesh and blood.

The Existential Damage was being neutralized by the Anti-Life Demonic Dragon in another form.

Bai Cangshu’s body was no longer merely composed of flesh and blood. In truth, both his immortality and regenerative power had become even greater.

A vast number of particles appeared before Bai Cangshu. He watched as the world gradually collapsed, in a manner extremely similar to how [data streams] condensed and dispersed whenever he was deployed or returned.

Soon, everything before Bai Cangshu vanished completely. His body dropped, landing from midair, and the sight before him had once again become Halloween Plaza.

The enormous pumpkin golems still stood in the plaza. Jack-o’-lanterns drifted through the air, while the crystal balls below displayed scenes from various places.

Bai Cangshu turned around and saw Cao Qi, the King of Miracles, standing alone beside several pumpkin golems.

Cao Qi raised a hand and waved at Bai Cangshu, holding a white card in his hand.

Bai Cangshu extended his hand as well, and a similar card fell into his palm.

[The End and The Beginning · EX051, you have obtained the Special Creation · Gift Card.]

[Gift Card]

[Type: Special Creation]

[Description: A special card crafted by a great existence from a certain world using Laplace’s Paper. It possesses miraculous power.]

[Effect: In specific worlds, it possesses the ability to identify, govern, control, and trade all kinds of powers.]

Even before the battle, Bai Cangshu had known that this unusual Gift Game was most likely a special test arranged by the Queen to anchor their group of reincarnators.

Moreover, the Queen had likely already known the strength of every reincarnator before the test began. Thinking of this, Bai Cangshu looked at Cao Qi, who had emerged before him, and thought that perhaps not everyone had been accounted for. This Supreme King might have been an exception.

He could tell from the enemies the Queen had arranged for him that she had a basic estimate of his strength. Those enemies likely possessed six-digit-level power.

And without activating explosive power, Bai Cangshu indeed probably possessed only six-digit destructive force. He lacked the kind of special ability or authority that could unleash devastating power even in his normal state.

All of Bai Cangshu’s power depended on "stats." In other words, nearly all his abilities were unleashed through his own physical capability, the intensity of his qi, and so on.

He was a standard type whose combat power soared the stronger his stats became.

Thus, after Bai Cangshu activated the Kirin Armor and Eightfold Kaio-ken, he rapidly surpassed the limits of six digits, becoming the type that possessed extremely powerful destructive force even among five digits.

At this point, the advantages of Bai Cangshu’s enhancement type began to show. He did not rely on a particular ability to display destructive power. He was enhanced across every aspect.

Once he entered the five-digit tier, he would immediately become an exceptionally formidable existence among five digits.

Whether it was destructive power, regeneration, immortality, range of attack, or resistance, he was top-tier in every regard.

Thinking of this, Bai Cangshu became increasingly satisfied with this world. Now that his strength was growing ever greater, most Derivative Worlds could no longer bring him much enjoyment.

Enemies that could be killed with a single blow simply could not let him experience the joy of battle.

But Little Garden World was different. This was a world filled with monsters.

Just as Bai Cangshu had sensed, those in the outer districts with seven-digit power probably already possessed combat power ranging from [Average] to [Strong] among reincarnators.

There were countless beings here born with immense strength.

Little Garden could be viewed as a superhuman world where all kinds of myths and epics had continued normally.

In this world, gods could walk among mortals. Those who possessed Divine Power or divine bloodlines were not rare, and its power levels were terrifyingly high compared to ordinary Plot Worlds.

Six digits already represented city-destroying combat power. Flying Slashes cleaving through walls dozens of meters high, energy cannons directly annihilating city blocks, and the aftershocks of battle triggering natural disasters such as earthquakes were all normal phenomena.

The destructive power that had become upper-tier strength in most worlds was probably equivalent to the upper [Strong] tier or lower [Fierce] tier among reincarnators.

Most top-tier reincarnators still remained at this stage, yet in Little Garden World, this was merely the level of six digits in the outer districts.

At five digits, destructive power immediately began surpassing the realm of mortals. Changing the terrain with a single strike, destroying medium-sized nations in all-out battle, and shattering continents—feats that represented the ceiling of combat power in most worlds—were simply the power level of five digits in this world.

At this tier, powerful figures from the outer districts began to appear—legendary heroes, descendants with mythological bloodlines, and so on…

Four digits, meanwhile, formally entered the domain of gods. Ordinary planets no longer possessed any "sense of security" before this level, and their authorities generally began to interfere intensely with laws. In terms of pure force alone, they could already destroy the surface of a planet with a single strike.

By relying on authorities and Gifts, destroying planets or even small star systems was not impossible.

Three digits were occupied by ceiling-level Main Gods from various mythological systems, or beings with exceptional combat power within those systems.

At this level, discussing destructive power alone was meaningless. Omniscience and omnipotence, struggles over authority, and the magnitude of one’s Spiritual Status were more practical matters.

The three-digit Di Shitian could destroy a large star system with a single strike.

Such a level still felt unreal to the current Bai Cangshu. At this moment, he looked at the Gift Card bestowed by the Queen in his hand. The information upon it was extremely concise.

[Gift Card ( GIFT CARD)]

◆Name: Bai Cangshu

◇Community: None

◆Gift List:

◇Nameless Staircase

Type: System/Concept/Unique/Incomplete

◇Binary Paradox

Type: System/Paradox/Unique

◇Eternal Regression

Type: System/Life/Anti-Life/Unique

◇Dragon Emperor Bloodline · Nidhogg

Type: Bloodline/Dragon Species (Pseudo)/Authority

◇King's Authority · God King

Type: System/Authority/???

◇Martial Arts · Realm of Nothingness

Type: Skill/Technique

◇Path of Transcendence · Limiter

Type: Skill/Technique/???

◆Spiritual Status Assessment:

◇Unable to determine.

The existence of this individual creates a paradox with Little Garden's known systems.

Preliminary assessment: no lower than the peak of five digits.

A great deal of information was listed on this card, with an entire row of Gifts alone. Bai Cangshu guessed that the [Nameless Staircase] at the very top was probably the God’s Staircase that Knight Sister and he had been pursuing.

Within Little Garden’s system, the staircase had been marked as [Incomplete].

This was one of the rare high-level worlds Bai Cangshu had encountered that could provide such a detailed listing of information and allow status inspection.

Thus, it was also a good opportunity to compare Little Garden World’s power system with that of the Infinite Dimensional Space.

He found that in this regard, the Infinite Dimensional Space, which specialized in [information], was far more detailed.

At the very least, many of his unused authorities and special constitutions were not displayed.

Of course, it was also possible that their bodies as reincarnators still retained traces of power from the Infinite Dimensional Space, that [Observer].

Some things had been hidden away and would only be observed and recorded by Little Garden when he actively used them.

This made Bai Cangshu realize that their group of reincarnators could actually take advantage of this to pull some "tricks" during Gift Games.

Of course, it might also be because reincarnators at the mere six-digit level were not worth such meticulous handling. Or perhaps it was because of that Queen…

The Halloween Queen was an exceptional three-digit existence, and her stance was difficult to fathom.

As Bai Cangshu pondered, Sen Xia and Reinhardt also descended from the sky, Gift Cards appearing before them as well.

Bai Cangshu noticed that as the two passed their tests, a new door appeared at the other end of Halloween Plaza.

Seeing Azure Sky and the others still waiting for the professor and the rest who had not passed the test, Bai Cangshu slipped both hands into his pockets and headed straight for the door.

Reinhardt wanted to speak, but Cao Qi stopped him.

After all, they were not on the same path, and besides…

Amid the jingling Halloween music, Bai Cangshu walked up to the door. The circular door opened automatically.

The next moment, Bai Cangshu felt a powerful suction force appear.

Whoosh!

Bai Cangshu turned into an afterimage and vanished into the Teleportation Gate.

A Teleportation Gate appeared out of thin air in the clear sky, and Bai Cangshu was directly dropped from high above.

White clouds drifted nearby, while an endless, vast forest stretched below.

The air instantly swirled around Bai Cangshu, and his feet naturally steadied themselves in midair.

He was not the type like Reverse Uchiha Izayoi, who possessed four-digit strength yet could not fly.

In midair, Bai Cangshu’s Mantra naturally spread outward.

Fine electric currents flashed through the air.

Crackle—

Roar!

The next moment, a thunderous sound resembling a Dragon Roar rang out from somewhere within the forest. It came from some powerful monster that had sensed the spread of Mantra. The electric current passing over its body made it feel that its territory had been invaded.

Bai Cangshu’s lips curved upward, and he became even more satisfied with this world.

In a random forest, he could encounter an enemy capable of noticing such minute energy fluctuations.

Bai Cangshu looked toward the distant city and the wilderness surrounding it. Large numbers of humans had gathered there, while all kinds of energy and authority auras continuously leaked out.

It seemed that some enormous Gift Game was taking place.

"Gift Games are wonderful. As long as I keep participating, I can gain power…"

"This world is amazing~"

Wrapped in golden qi, Bai Cangshu traced an arc through the air and instantly descended toward a massive lake in the forest below.

That earlier roar had come from here.

Splash—

Bai Cangshu’s feet landed on the lake’s surface, sending rings of ripples outward. The next moment, the center of the lake began to churn violently.

A gigantic Black Dragon more than fifty meters long emerged from the water.

The Black Dragon opened its mouth and roared at Bai Cangshu, waves of draconic might spreading outward. Birds and beasts immediately scattered throughout the forest.

In Bai Cangshu’s perception, many weak beasts and even monsters were directly shaken to death on the spot.

Yet standing upon the lake, he felt no pressure at all from the draconic might.

Golden Eyes gradually appeared in Bai Cangshu’s eyes.

Then, a terrifying pressure unique to the Dragon Clan emerged.

The Black Dragon’s body stiffened. Terrifying pressure continuously surged from that human across from it, and it instinctively felt trembling fear. It even began to lose the strength to roar.

Bai Cangshu walked step by step until he stood before the Black Dragon. He pressed his index finger against its brow, and golden qi flared in an instant.

The bloodline of the pseudo-dragon species known as [Dragon Emperor] gave Bai Cangshu a considerable advantage when facing dragons.

As the giant dragon crashed to the ground, the stench of Dragon Blood spread through the lake, drawing several humans who had originally been in the nearby forest.

"Hey, you! How could you kill the prey we’d been waiting for so long without saying a word?!"

"How are you going to compensate us?"

The man at the front wore silver-white light armor. Behind him, one person held a staff while another carried a bow, and all three radiated considerable power.

They looked greedily at the Black Dragon behind Bai Cangshu.

As though he did not understand what the three meant, Bai Cangshu turned around and revealed a brilliant smile.

"Oh?"

"Then how do you think I should compensate you…"

The man in the lead turned and exchanged glances with his two companions. Then he raised his hand, holding a piece of parchment that looked as though it had been torn from a massive scroll.

Only then did Bai Cangshu notice that the man’s right wrist also wore a bracelet. A golden star was set upon it, radiating a peculiar aura.

"Then naturally, you need to play a Gift Game with us!"

"If you win, we’ll consider this prey something we gave up for you. But if you lose~"

"Not only must you hand over every [Star] on you, but you must also give us the most valuable Gift you possess!"

Bai Cangshu lowered his head and looked at his empty wrist, then at the bracelet and star on the other man’s hand that gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

His smile grew even brighter.

He nodded gladly.

"Of course, of course. I’ll join your Gift Game, but the terms need to be changed~"

A scarlet phantom emerged from Bai Cangshu’s body as the Omen of the Evil God manifested.

The next moment, the leading man suddenly went pale, as if struck by some kind of impact. He stood there, his eyes unfocused, and nodded.

Heart of Slaanesh!