As Krune and Hanan made their way to where Laka was, they had to fight quite a few Nightmare Beasts. There wasn't a need to avoid all of them since they could destroy them quickly together, which helped recover their Soul Energy. It was especially useful for Laka, who had used quite a lot before.

As mentioned before, the cultivators and demon beasts spent a lot more Soul Energy than the Nightmare Beasts gave them, but that was because they didn't know how to deal with them at first. As they found out about the Nightmare Core and types of Nightmare Beasts, they got used to attack the right places.

-Number of participants remaining: 4723.-

-Number of participants remaining: 4719.-

Just like in the first phase, the participants kept receiving information in real-time about those who were out.

Laka could be said to be one with the worst recovery rate in their group. That's because not only is he a Demon Beast, which usually has a weaker Soul than a cultivator, but he was also using the Purple Flame Dragon Peral too much. One must remember that Krune's Dragon Pearl makes the consumption of Spiritual Energy increase by a lot. In the Soul World's case, a lot more Soul Energy.

The two of them went in Hanan's direction, which took another four hours. With Krune's Mental Energy Perception, they avoided battle with any cultivator and demon beast on the way.

Hanan wasn't so lucky, and he ended being pursued twice. However, he was definitely one of the stronger Heavenly Divine Soul Owners, which the Frunkan Clan invested more than any other in the past. Thanks to that, Hanan didn't have much difficulty escaping. Of course, he only ran because he was pursued by groups who gathered together first. Individual cultivators and demon beasts wouldn't try to spend their Soul Energy in a one vs. one fight. That would be suicide.

Another five hours later, Krune's group was finally whole.

Things did not stop there, though.

"Heaven's Fall!"

Boom!

The body of a Nightmare Demon was destroyed, leaving only the Nightmare Core exposed.

Laka didn't give it a chance to reform. His Dragon Claw grabbed the Core before crushing it.

*Crack! Shatter!*

Soul Energy poured into Krune's group Souls as it recovered their power. However, Krune looked at his own Soul Body as the energy leaked out. After that, he paid attention to the energy that he was receiving from that Nightmare Demon.

"The rate that the Soul Energy being absorbed by the Nightmare World's Formation is increasing as time passes. The amount of energy given by the Nightmare Demons, on the other hand, is still the same. However, their strength is getting bigger, which forces the cultivators and demon beasts to spend even more Soul Energy to kill them."

Hanan nodded.

"At the moment, everyone who is alive probably understands that they need to destroy the Nightmare Cores to get rid of them, so they can still make more Soul Energy now that they know it. But soon, the rate of energy lost by the formation will get higher than we can get from the Nightmare Demons."

Laka also added.

"I feel like the rate that these Nightmare Demons were born is increasing as well. We found quite a few even though just one hour passed."

Krune shook his head.

"It is not that they are coming to life at higher speeds, but that the number that is being killed is smaller than the born rate to start with. Simply put, the participants are not killing as much as the amount appearing. Since that's the case..."

Krune then looked at Laka.

Laka was a demon beast, just like Krune, so Laka understood what Krune meant with that.

"You are right. We demon beasts have weaker souls, so our rate of consumption is higher. However, the number of demon beasts in the second phase is higher than the cultivators, so they will definitely change their way of thinking. If we, demon beasts, want to surpass this trial, we only have one choice. We need to kill the other participants before we run out of Soul Energy. Whether the enemy is a demon beast or not doesn't matter, we simply have to make the numbers go down."

Hanan then looked at Krune.

"Fortunately, you are a wisp, which is considered a Soul Race to start with. From what I've seen in our battles against the Nightmare Demons, you definitely have the strongest Soul Power between us."

Krune didn't try to deny it.

"That's true. Even if I don't do anything at all and only use my Tribulation Lightning movement to flee, I will probably pass the test anyway. In fact, I believe you could do the same."

Laka sweated cold.

"Come on, you need to give me some help too, no? Are you going to look as I just disappear?"

Hanan and Krune laughed after that.

"Don't worry, we gonna give you a hand. Not to mention that if we are ambushed by another group, we would need your help anyway. That being said, we have to make sure to keep you in a peak state. For now, Nightmare Demons can still provide enough energy as long as we work together to destroy them. Also, try to not use your Dragon Pearl since it increases your Soul Energy comsuptiom."

Laka smiled before nodding.

"Yes, ancestor!"

With Krune's Mental Energy perception, his groups kept attacking lonely Nightmare Demons, destroying them in a flash. Thanks to that, their Soul Energy management got even better. Krune and Hanan let Laka take half of the Soul Energy as they shared the other half. Laka had used quite a bit it in the first hour when they arrived. Because of his passion for fights, he took too long to understand that he needed to run away. Now, he is finally recovering more than he is spending.

Krune and Hanan, who have Stronger Souls, were not losing or gaining anything. The Soul Energy they are getting is basically leaving the two even with their consumption, which was enough for now.

Suddenly, Krune's Divine Sense, which could go as far as 200km, caught the sight of two groups in the middle of a fight.

"Someone is fighting ahead."

Hanan and Laka immediately stopped. Since they know that Krune had the strongest Soul Power, he obviously had the broadest Divine Sense too. He could see much further than the two of them.

Krune paid attention from a distance and soon found out that he recognized one of them.

"Hey, it's that Iem Turo, the guy from the Dalin Universe everyone was talking about."

As Krune observed the battle, the more impressed he got. That couldn't really be considered a fight to start with. Iem Turo's side was much stronger than the other group.

"What a strong Soul. That Iem Turo only loses to me in Soul Power, but just by a little. He is definitely much stronger than you two. His other two team members aren't weak either. They have Have around the same Soul Power as Hanan."

Laka and Hanan were taken aback.

"Shouldn't we leave then?"

Krune shook his head.

"Don't worry, we are inside my Purple Tribulation Lightning Layer, so Divine Senses can't feel our presence. However, Iem can definitely tell that my Divine Sense is watching his group. After all, his own Soul Power is close to mine. Unfortunately for him, he can't tell which side it is coming from."

"Oh!"

Hanan and Laka got curious.

"What is it?"

Suddenly...

-Number of participants remaining: 4556.-

The answer became obvious. Krune then narrowed his eyes before saying.

"They just killed one of the other side cultivators. The rest of the enemy group then disappeared in thin air right after. It seems like the other two enemies knew that they wouldn't be able to run. If they stayed, they would only die too, so they gave up. However..."

As Krune observed Iem's group, he noticed that their Soul Energy was recovering at high speeds.

"Well, I can't say I didn't expect that to happen. It seems like once you kill another participant, the Soul Energy they leave behind is several times higher than any Nightmare Beasts we killed so far."

Hanan and Laka weren't surprised either. Any idiot could expect this much from the Heavenly Competition.

"It's okay. At the moment, we can keep our Soul Energy intact with Nightmare Demons alone. If we really need more, we can do the same thing as they did."

Krune agreed with them. He didn't like killing, but this is a competition with the Luvile Universe's future at stake. He had decided long before coming here that he won't take chances. If there is a need for a hunt, he will hunt. Everyone who joined the Heavenly Competition is well aware of the risks, so they can't blame him or anyone else.

Suddenly, Iem's group disappeared from Krune's Divine Sense. Sure enough, they also had their own way to hide from Divine Senses. They were at the edge of Krune's Divine Sense, which is 200km. Because of that, Krune's Mental Energy couldn't do anything since it could only go 80km.

"They left, so let's go somewhere as well."

The number kept dropping until it finally reached 4500. As soon as that number appeared, everyone received a message.

-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's group understood. It seems like they won't be able to avoid a battle for long.