Heaven, Earth, Me 4 (GL)

Chapter 781. Ascending to the Summit.

Yasenia and her group followed the Mermaid Queen upward through a set of stairs that protruded from the side of the cliff.

The stairs were very wide and spacious. Moreover, each step was long. Walking at a normal speed, Yasenia needed to take ten strides before approaching the next stair.

While walking leisurely and observing the astonishing architecture, Yasenia pondered. "Mermaid Queen, I'm curious. Why have you decided that the limit to the World Summit should be the middle-level Epoch Core? Wouldn't it give more advantage to the top powers to compete with high or even peak-level cultivators?"

The Mermaid Queen explained. "Well, first of all, it's the attack power of people at each level." The Mermaid Queen paused and approached the cliff. The dragoness's eye shot upward when she saw her punch at the wall with what seemed all her strength.

Yasenia's pupils shrunk as the air was forcefully compressed so strongly by the Mermaid Queen's fist that it created a flash of light before impacting the mountain.

BOOM!

The shockwave pushed Yasenia two steps back. The dragoness was sure that a small mountain could've been flattened with that strength. However, when she looked over, she saw a large crack on the uneven stone wall. "Ho?"

The Mermaid Queen smiled when she saw Yasenia showing a look of understanding. "You expected a hole, right?"

Yasenia nodded as she looked at the cracked wall. "Hm?"

The Mermaid Queen looked at the gradually closing fissure and commented. "This mountain is extremely durable. However, it isn't solid enough to bear the weight of powerful high-level Epoch Cores fighting. That was my full-strength punch but without using any powerful buffing skills or energy."

The Mermaid Queen continued guiding them and continued speaking. "If we, the top powers, fought inside here, the chances of the mountain crumbling would become increasingly high. However, we can rest assured if mid-level Epoch Cores fight. Even those geniuses would have to intentionally attack the mountain walls to make it crumble or destabilize the formations adhered throughout the walls."

Yasenia nodded. "I see. No wonder you've placed a cultivation limit. But what happens if a sect with strong mid-level cultivators but no high-level cultivators wins?"

The Mermaid Queen shrugged. "They would naturally be the winners and receive whatever rewards there are." Then, she added. "However, gaining a powerful treasure and keeping it is another thing. If the winner is strong enough to protect whatever they won, perfect. If not, it's natural that other people will prey on them. In most of these cases, a top power approaches those people and offers to be swallowed by them. 99% agree."

Yasenia asked, more or less knowing the answer. "What happens to that last percent?"

The Mermaid Queen chuckled. "Well... At a later time, when the dust settles, the winnings are reorganized."

Yasenia continued asking questions. "This is a World Summit, so I presume there will be some kind of conversation between the top winners after the event, right?"

The Mermaid Queen affirmed her guess, which pushed the dragoness to ask. "Are there unofficial matches at that time to reorganize the rewards?"

The Mermaid Queen nodded one more time. "Naturally. The thing we never interrupt is the actual competition. What happens afterward is up to the heavens to decide."

Yasenia titled her head. "What stops someone from attacking everyone after the summit?"

The Mermaid Queen explained. "If they didn't manage to get a good position, then the chances of them being strong enough to rob those ranked above are very slim. Remember that the people participating today are the top powers, Yasenia. There are no 'stronger' people or backers to fall into. Whoever wins all is usually the strongest. During all the summits I've been part of, my mermaid race managed to rank second in the Thirty-Three Clans group. However, this year, we are aiming for the first spot. After all, this mountain is the closest to the sea, which makes the ambient mana very rich in water energies and similar."