Matthew Atkinson
Global Layer of the Supernatural Realm
"Professor Grant, let's talk about the top teams," Matthew said.
Upon hearing this, Professor Isabel Grant immediately said, "The first place once again belongs to Ma Dongwu's team. Their total competition points have now reached 1732."
"Second place goes to Arno Hornberger's team, with 1589 competition points."
"The third place goes to a team from the USA. Although all of their members were eliminated in the seventh round, they had a strong foundation and accumulated a lot of competition points. They even surpassed Ma Dongwu's team for a while, taking first place from them. Even now, they are still ranked third, with a total of 1177 competition points."
Matthew nodded upon hearing this and said, "The gap isn't that big now. If I advance one more round and everyone else fails, the championship will be ours."
"That's right." Professor Isabel Grant said earnestly.
Matthew suddenly asked curiously, "Who is this Arno Hornberger in second place in the rankings? His abilities seem perfect for assassinations."
No one else knew Arno Hornberger's identity, so they remained silent.
But Aria Powell, who was also a seventh-rank expert, knew him.
"You're right, Arno Hornberger is an assassin," she said, "There's a very famous assassin organization in Europe called 'House of Cards,' I'm sure you've all heard of it. Arno Hornberger is one of House of Cards' top assassins, codenamed Ace of Diamonds."
Upon hearing the words "House of Cards," Matthew and Natalie immediately exchanged bewildered glances.
Those stupid people who "kidnapped" Matthew last time were also from the House of Cards.
"Ms. Powell, do you know anything about the House of Cards assassin organization?" Matthew asked quickly.
Aria Powell shook her head, "I don't know much about them. I just happened to know about this guy named Arno Hornberger."
Grand Magister Russell, being a shrewd man, immediately asked, "Matthew, why are you interested in House of Cards? Did they harass you?"
"Yeah..." Matthew did not hide anything and gave a general account of his previous "kidnapping".
Upon hearing this, Professor Holland, Professor Isabel Grant, and the others all changed their expressions.
"Did something like this happen?"
"Matthew, why didn't you tell the university?"
Professor Isabel Grant and Professor Holland asked questions one after the other.
Matthew waved his hand and said, "In the end, they didn't get anything from me. I plan to settle accounts with them when I'm stronger. There's no need to alarm the university."
He paused for a moment, then added, "By the way, the people from House of Cards are employed by an organization called 'Church of True God.' Has anyone heard of this organization, or Cult of the Supreme True God?"
Upon hearing this, everyone shook their heads.
But Aria Powell said, "I've heard of it. It's a very mysterious cult. It's said that only powerful and wealthy people can join it. It seems that they have the secret to prolonging people's lives... I don't know anything else."
Matthew frowned.
This cult of the Supreme True God was indeed quite mysterious.
...
The next day, as dawn broke, countless supernatural individuals emerged from their villas and made their way to the stands in the arena.
"Huh? You guys are out so early, too?"
"Yeah. I couldn't sleep, so I just came over."
"It seems there are a lot of people who can't sleep."
"That's right. Many people feel that the champion team might emerge today, and they certainly don't want to miss it."
"Who do you think has a higher probability of winning the championship?"
"Judging from the surface data, it should be Ma Dongwu. However, I have a feeling that Matthew Atkinson might give everyone a surprise."
"Hehe, great minds think alike. I also think Matthew Atkinson is a good candidate."
"It mainly depends on what kind of monster the eighth round's champion is. If their abilities clash, then they will be in trouble."
Similar discussions arose everywhere. Many of the supernatural individuals were discussing it with others around them.
...
Professor Isabel Grant and others also couldn't sleep. They gathered in the living room early to chat.
Matthew, on the other hand, slept soundly and didn't come out of his room until 7:30.
"Matthew, did you sleep well last night?" Professor Holland asked immediately.
"Yeah, it was a great sleep," Matthew said with a smile.
With his current physical and mental strength, even if he didn't sleep all night, it wouldn't have much of an impact on him, but a good night's sleep was always welcome.
"You're up so early? Have you had breakfast?" Matthew asked.
"We've all eaten and are just waiting for you."
"Okay, I'll get something to eat first."
The competition would start at eight o'clock in the morning. So, there was still half an hour left. Enough time for Matthew to have breakfast...
After Matthew had eaten and drunk his fill, he and the others arrived at the arena at 7:50.
At this point, almost everyone had arrived at the arena.
Then, suddenly, Director Hart, who was behind him, spoke up, "Mr. Atkinson, I think you're the one who will win the championship and end Ma Dongwu's championship run."
Since the other person was being polite, Matthew naturally wouldn't respond with harsh words. So, he immediately said, "Thank you, Director Hart, I'll do my best."
Not long after, at exactly eight o'clock, the eighth round of the competition began.
On the stage, a new ring with a new environment immediately appeared. This time, the ring was a small island.
It was really a small island, estimated at only two or three square kilometers, surrounded by the vast ocean.
Then, the defending champion appeared.
The champion in the eighth round appeared to be a normal human being.
He had red hair, three scars around his left eye, short stubble around his mouth, and wore a long black cloak over a white shirt, patterned brown cape pants, and flip-flops.
Overall, this guy dressed very casually.
And surprisingly, the champion seemed to have only one arm. His left arm appeared to be almost completely missing from the shoulder down.
But what captivated everyone's attention the most was the aura emanating from this champion.
It was an overwhelming aura, and the same thought crossed the minds of all the supernatural beings who sensed it:
They were now standing before a king.
"Holy crap. Who is this guy? He's got a really strong presence."
"I know who he is. His appearance and attire are very similar to one of the legendary Four Emperors, Shanks."
"Huh? It's Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, who's said to have the strongest Conqueror's Haki?"
"It really does seem to be him..."
"This person is one of the top powerhouses in that pirate-marine theme layer."
"Haha, this is going to be a good show."
"Yeah. I wonder which of those three remaining participants will be able to defeat Shanks."
...
Shanks was an extremely well-known character in the world of One Piece. So, almost everyone recognized him very quickly.
"Is it actually Shanks, one of the Four Emperors?" Professor Holland frowned.
"Rumor has it that each of the Four Emperors is stronger than a Marine Admiral, and based on this arrangement, it seems to be true," Professor Isabel Grant sighed.
"He possesses the strongest Conqueror's Haki. I've heard that Conqueror's Haki can intimidate or frighten enemies, and those with insufficient mental strength or weak willpower cannot resist it. Is that true?" Professor Ricardson asked.
Professor Isabel Grant nodded, "Yes, that's right. On our Blue Marble, some strong individuals have obtained Conqueror's Haki, and the effect is indeed as described."
Upon hearing this, Grand Magister Russell immediately asked Matthew, "Matthew, how powerful is your mental attribute?"
Matthew calmly replied, "There's no need to worry. I'm completely confident in my mental attributes."
But after saying that, a feral grin appeared on his face.
If Matthew hadn't added his accumulated expendable attribute points to his mental attribute, he would still only have slightly over 1000 points.
If that were truly the case, he would have had to worry about Shanks. After all, 1000 points of mental attribute was a level an average freshman could reach after nine layers of the Supernatural Realm.
And a freshman who only progresses in the mental path and consistently receives SSS-grades could already have mental attribute points above 4000, just like Natalie.
Still, even a freshman like Natalie had no chance of withstanding Shanks.
However, as a result of Matthew adding his expendable attribute points to his mental attribute, his mental attribute had surpassed 3000 points, and he had awakened his Super Mind innate skill.
With the 5x enhancement of Super Mind, Matthew now had over 16,000 points of mental attribute.
Currently, in Division 1 of the Global Layer they were in, only those who hadn't yet reached Layer 36 could compete. And Matthew didn't think that even those who focused solely on their mental attributes could reach 16,000 mental attributes in the first 35 layers.
He even thought that there might not be, or very few, anyone who surpassed 10,000 points. After all, not everyone achieved SSS-grade results in every layer, as he and Natalie did.
Matthew wasn't even mentioning that in Layers 18 and 28, everyone would return with only the minimum reward of 10 attribute points.
Furthermore, Shanks wasn't the only one with top-level Conqueror's Haki.
Yes, Red-haired Shanks was definitely a formidable rival to him. But this, instead of worrying Matthew, excited him.
Finally, an opponent had appeared against whom he could unleash all his strength.
"I wonder what Shanks' true strength is?" Professor Holland suddenly asked, "Ms. Powell, did you see this guy make a move in the later layers of the Supernatural Realm?"
Aria Powell shook her head: "I've never seen him. I've only heard that his swordsmanship is on par with the world's number one swordsman, Hawk-Eyes, Dracule Mihawk."
And upon hearing this, everyone was shocked...
...
Amidst the discussions among the crowd, the eighth round of the competition began.
The first to take the stage was Arno Hornberger.
As soon as Arno entered the arena, he immediately activated his invisibility ability, attempting to use the same trick to ambush Shanks.
But Shanks wasn't Fujitora.
-Buzz
Suddenly, the red-haired man opened his eyes, and a violent crimson energy surged out from his body, sweeping across the entire island.
It was Conqueror's Haki.
Moreover, it was the most powerful level of Conqueror's Haki.
In a short time, lightning flashed, and thunder roared across the entire island. Moreover, the lightning was scarlet red, which was very eerie.
Under such a violent surge of Conqueror's Haki, Arno Hornberger was immediately forced to reveal his true form, and he couldn't even stand up straight.
When he saw the red-haired man draw his sword, he immediately shouted, "I surrender".
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.187: Clash of Conquerors
Ch.188: War of Gods
Ch.189: The Competition Ends