It only took one hour for the entire world to lose half of its size. Sure enough, battles began to happen more constantly. There were two types of teams, those made before the Heavenly Competition, and the ones made on the spot. Nonetheless, it reached a point where it was hard to find someone alone.

Still, half of the world existed. That meant that there was a lot of space between cultivators and demon beasts. With Krune's Purple Tribulation Lightning Layer, Divine Sense, and Mental Energy, they could still avoid unnecessary battles. A good thing is that they got enough time to help Laka recover to his peak as well, so they were ready to battle at any time.

​​

Still, cultivators and demon beasts died or gave up everywhere. It took half the time for another 500 to be out of the Heavenly Competition.

-Number of participants remaining: 4000.-

-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 and the others heard that.

"It seems like it will keep reducing by half every time. Also, have you noticed? The moment the announcement appeared, the rate of Soul Energy being absorbed by the Soul World's Formation increased once more."

Hanan nodded.

"We won't be able to rely on Nightmare Demons anymore. I think we should start hunting other groups. Otherwise, we might fall behind groups who have more energy. Not to mention that with the Nightmare Demon's presence will increase even more. We need to secure more power."

Krune nodded.

"Yes, but not now. We are at the peak of our power with Soul Energy to Spare. Fighting now would be just a waste. At this rate, we can avoid a battle for another half a day before we need other participants' energy."

Laka's eyes lit up!

"So we are finally battling the others! Great!"

Krune sighed but didn't refuse. With Krune as the lead, they immediately departed. With Krune's abilities, they avoided battles for half a day as planned.

Still, half a day was far from enough to get to the last 1024 competitors. That being said, Krune's group reached a point where they needed Soul Energy too, and Nightmare Demons wouldn't do. Krune then stopped using his Tribulation Lightning Layer and simply waited for someone to notice them. Just like that, they were quickly found out.

Krune noticed another group entering his Mental Energy range. Sure enough, this group was using something that could hide their presence from Divine Senses. Krune's group had only one Heavenly Divine Soul Owner at the peak of the Divine Path Realm. Laka was in the 8th Stage, and Krune was on the 7th. That being said, they would definitely be targeted by other groups, which is what is happening now.

"There is a group coming from 7 o'clock. They are using something that is hiding them from Divine Senses too. There are a total of 4 members, two in the 8th Stage of the Divine Path Realm, one on the 7th, and the last in the 9th. From what I can feel from their auras, I guess only the 9th Stage guy is a Heavenly Divine Soul Owner."

Krune group then quickly thought about a plan while they pretended to not have noticed the enemy.

The opponents didn't take long to arrive. They knew that other groups might try to take their prey, so they had to act fast.

As soon as Krune's group entered in range, they attacked. Their leader, the 9th Stage Heavenly Divine Soul Owner, immediately pounced at Hanan. One of the 8th Stage Enemies attacked Laka. As for the last two at the 7th and 8th Stages of the Divine Path Realm, they went straight for Krune.

With Krune's 7th Stage of the Divine Path Realm cultivation, they thought it would be better to get rid of him first since he was the 'weakest.'

"World Sundering!"

"Titan's Nova."

The two didn't hold back and used their strongest attacks against Krune, who was supposed to be caught by surprise. However...

"Tribulation Lightning Movement!"

*Zap!*

*Boom!*

The fabric of space broke apart as the place Krune had been a second ago was decimated. However, those two knew that Krune had escaped in the last second. They tried to follow him, afraid that he would try to escape. Of course, Krune had no intention whatsoever of running. It's just that he is a Longe Range Fighter, that's all.

"Tribulation Line!"

"Tribulation Line!"

The 8th and 7th Stage cultivators weren't worried about Krune at first. But when they saw that Purple Lightning was coming their way, their faces paled!

'Too fast!'

They only had time to parry that attack with their weapons. But as they did it, Tribulation Clouds gathered above their head.

Krune didn't give them any change.

"Heavens Fall!"

"Heavens Fall!"

Krune's Heavens Fall took a little longer to come down, so they at least had time to raise their energy barriers while counter-attacking with their own skills. Still, with Krune's Strength, the two Heavens Fall was anything but easy to block.

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

The two shot back like cannonballs. But they weren't heavily injured thanks to their timed defense. Immediately, they put away their disdain against the wisp and took it seriously. But just as they stabilized themselves and were about to attack Krune again.

*Puch, Puch!*

Something pierced through their Soul Bodies! Their eyes opened wide as they looked at the two enormous holes in their chests.

"You should have paid attention to the place where you first attacked me."

Immediately after, their Soul Bodies collapsed. They didn't even have enough time to give up before their Souls dissipated. During that time, when Krune dodged their first attack, he had been preparing a Mental Energy attack, which he left behind. He then used his Tribulation Lightning movement to lure them close to that same place.

Because of how messy Krune's first position became, they didn't notice the two almost transparent mental Energy needles hidden there. After that, Krune made them pay attention to his Purple Tribulation Lightning attacks. Sure enough, they didn't have time to check anything else. When they finally succeed in defending against the power of Krune's first attack, the Mental Energy Needles were already right behind their backs.

Krune is in the 2nd Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm with Heavin's Soul Cultivation Technique. Although he isn't as good as Heavin when he was at the same level, he is definitely the second-best. Krune also knew that Mental Energy was extremely effective against Souls, so he did not hold back when using it.

*Boom!*

"Arggh!"

Krune looked at the source of the scream just in time to see another guy smashed under Laka's Dragon Claws. The guy's Soul Body collapsed right after. First of all, that 8th Stage Divine Path Realm cultivator was only a Heavenly Fragment Owner, not a Heavenly Divine Soul one. Sure, Laka had the same cultivation as him. Even if Laka is a Heavenly Divine Soul Owner, he shouldn't have won so fast. However, not only was Laka a Heavenly Divine Soul Owner, but he also had Krune's Purple Flame Dragon Pearl.

Laka might not have used it against Nightmare Demons to save energy. But fighting other cultivators and demon beasts was another story. You never know what the other side could do, so Laka didn't hold back at all. With his Heavenly Divine Soul and Purple Flame Dragon Pearl, his combat power far surpassed his opponent. Thanks to that, he had taken the guy by surprise and finished him almost as fast as Krune.

Krune and Laka looked at each other and immediately dashed in Hanan's direction.

"What?!"

Hanan's opponent had never expected that Laka and Krune were so strong, especially Krune. After all, Krune was a wisp, a race that everyone looked down upon. Worst of all, Hanan was stronger than him too! They were both Peak Divine Path Realm with Heavenly Divine Souls, but Hanan obviously had the advantage. Sure enough, since the Frunkan Clan needs this slot for their Dalin Blocking Plan, they couldn't be negligent. Because of that, Hanan was the strongest Heavenly Divine Soul they had ever trained by pouring unlimited resources on him. It would be weird if he was at the same level as his opponent. They had much more at stake than merely acquiring a Dalin Slot.

'Flee!'

The guy turned around, preparing to leave this place straight away. As long as he survives, he still has a chance.

However, it was too late!

38 Diamond Shields raised around the place where he and Hanan were batling. Purple Tribulation Lightning began to run around them, forming a barrier right in front of the enemy!

If he was alone, he could have used his strength as a Heavenly Divine Soul Owner to breakthrough it. But Krune's group was right behind him. He simply didn't have time to accumulate enough energy to do it.

Krune's group quickly encircled him. Not only that, but all three proved to be stronger than himself. In just three exchanges, he was already pinned down, without any chances of escaping from Krune's group claws.

"I give up!"

*Vup!*

Suddenly, his body disappeared in thin air.

He might be weaker than anyone in Krune's group. But as a Heavenly Divine Soul Owner, Krune and the others wouldn't be able to instant kill him. Sure enough, he at least had enough time to give up.

Laka could only shake his head in the end.

"Sure enough, Heavenly Divine Soul Owners are not that easy to deal with. If this 'give up' rule didn't exist, his Soul Energy would definitely be ours."

Hanan shrugged his shoulders.

"There is nothing we can do. At least, we also have the power to do the same, so this place isn't exactly dangerous for us, especially with Krune's hidden way of fiding enemies without Divine Sense."

Laka and Hanan had long since noticed Krune's unique ability. Krune didn't really try to hide it either, so they simply kept at that. It's just that Krune didn't tell the two how he did it. Mental Energy is something that shouldn't exist, after all.

"Let's take the Soul Energy left behind by the other three. There are also two Nightmare Demons coming our way. Don't kill them since other Nightmare Demons will notice their deaths. Just buy time while absorbing everything."

Hanan and Laka nodded, quickly rushing back to where the Soul Bodies collapsed. They promptly absorbed the Soul Energy left behind while holding down the two Nightmare Demons.

It was really an enormous amount of Soul Energy that was at least a 100 times more concentrated than a Nightmare Demon. Since they killed three opponents, they got enough Soul Energy to restore their powers to their peak!

After that, Krune's group didn't even waste time killing those two Demon beasts. They simply turned around and left straight away.

As they ran from that place, Krune's looked at a particular direction behind his group. At the same time, he sent a Divine Sense message to Hanan and Laka.

"It seems like the other group decided to not intervene."

Hanan and Laka nodded. Krune had noticed with his Mental Energy that another group also got close to them after the battle started. After that, he immediately told Laka and Hanan about it.

Hanan also looked in the direction that Krune appointed.

"It seems like we finished the battle too fast, so they probably got in a dilemma. They didn't know if they could fish in troubled waters or if they would become prey themselves. After all, we did show some strength back there."

Laka didn't care, though.

"Who cares? Since they don't even have the guts to attack us in that condition, then I have no interest in fighting them."

Krune and Hanan agreed. The other group didn't follow them, so they just ignored it. Their Soul Energy is full at the moment, so it is better to avoid another battle until they need more.