Ralo smiled and then turned around. However, just as he was about to introduce the man behind him, the same guy left on his own as if he didn't even see him. Ralo's mouth twitched, but he didn't say anything and quickly followed.
Still, for Gavei, that was already enough to prove his thoughts.
'Ralo wouldn't let just any Semi-Divinity Realm ignore him and say nothing, much less follow the same one who did that. That guy is probably one of those Celestial Sky Organization members the rumors talked about.'
Gavei then shook his head and guided Krune's group to where the others were staying. He then talked with some other elders of other races while they waited for the Lavagators to finish preparing everything.
A few hours later, the elders of the Lavagator Race finally appeared.
"The track is ready to receive the competitors. Please, bring your competitors out so that our race members can guide them to the start line. As for the rest, you can stay here and use the monitoring formations to check the progress of all the participants."
Krune heard that as well and stepped forward. Together with him, another 142 competitors came out of the crowd. They quickly arrived beside the Lavagator Race members, who guided them to the right area.
However, everyone who saw the group was taken aback. That's because they found out that there was one competitor at the 1st Stage of the Semi-Divinity Realm! Obviously, that was Krune.
"Who sent that guy there?"
"I saw him. That was the participant that was beside Gavei."
"Gavei? He is about to lose his race's Wind Essence Vein, so maybe he gave up and just sent anyone to participate in this competition?"
"Hahaha! You were probably right. After all, what a 1st Stage Semi-Divinity Realm can do against so many peak ones?"
The elders and observes weren't the only ones to notice that. The participants around Krune were even more so. One of them even approached Krune to make fun of him.
"Hey, did the Green Talon Race send you to die here?"
Immediately, everyone laughed out loud. After all, the majority didn't think that a 1st Stage Semi-Divinity Realm could possibly pose any threat.
Krune couldn't help but sigh, though.
'It doesn't matter if I do something crazy or if I don't do anything at all, for some reason, I always catch a lot of attention... Just why...? Why can't everyone simply ignore me?'
However, in the middle of the competitors, there were some who didn't see anything funny about Krune. One of them just so happened to be Erven.
'Weird... I can't tell whether he is a Demon Beast or a Cultivator. His aura is completely concealed. Is that even possible?'
Obviously, that was because of Luvile's intervention. Until now, he still hasn't retracted his ability to conceal Krune's Wisp Aura. He had done it in the past since they believed Krune to be a demon beast under the Semi-Divinity Realm. Even after they found out about the True Spirits, he still decided to keep it concealed just in case.
In a different way, Krune caught the attention of one of the worst possible participants.
On the way, the sky began to turn dark. But it wasn't because the night was coming. Instead, it was the ashes and the dark clouds gathered in the skies that made everything get dark. Obviously, it was a side effect of the thousands of volcanos that continuously erupted in this place.
At the same time, everyone noticed that the temperature of the ambient began to escalate. Soon, they all began to use their Godly Energy to fend off the heat. Of course, there were a few exceptions. Krune just so happened to be one of them. After all, he has both the Yang and Elemental Heavenly Fragments and Elemental Divine Soul. Not to mention that fire was his first Major Law comprehended.
Seeing how Krune, who they thought to be of no threat, moving so leisurely in this ambient, made some of the participants somewhat displeased. Still, no one tried anything since they didn't want to invite problems for themselves.
It took them around three hours to arrive at the starting line. After that, three elders at the Divinity Realm of the Lavagator Race appeared in front of everyone. They looked at everyone, but their eyes paused on the Celestial Sky Organization members for a second. It didn't take long for them to find out the truth about it with their race's power. However, they didn't try to change anything in the competition. Instead, their race opted for feigning ignorance. That was the safest route when dealing with one of the Celestial Organizations.
After that, the elder at the front waved his hand, and 143 yellow beads came out of his Spatial Ring. They quickly flew at the hands of the competitors too.
"As you can see, the visibility in this place is horrible. Not to mention that Divine Sense is deeply affected. That being said, we prepared these beads for you all. As long as you pour your Godly Energy inside, it will tell you the direction you should move. Remember, no one can fly above 10 meters of the ground, or you will be disqualified. Also, anyone who tries to deviate from the route will receive the same penalty, disqualification."
"Those are basically the only two rules that you should care about. Everything else is allowed. We don't care if you attack or kill the other competitors. As long as you can arrive first on the finishing line, you can do anything that doesn't break those two rules."
"Be careful. Other than the environmental dangers, we also prepared several other obstacles for you to pass through. Of course, we won't tell you anything about it. We hope you guys like the surprises."
"Alright, if you have any questions, ask it now."
Everyone kept silent, though.
"Very well."
The elder then summoned a sphere of Godly Energy and left it hovering in the air.
"This sphere will disappear in a few seconds. The competition will start as soon as that happens. Good luck."
Right after, the three elders disappeared from everyone's vision.
The tension increased as everyone looked attentively at the sphere of light. Suddenly, it burst apart in hundreds of specks of light.
Erven's group was the first one to react. They all used their own movement techniques and dashed forward, quickly leave the majority behind. Of course, no one gave up just because of that. After all, no one knew what to expect from this race.
However, there were a few exceptions who were able to fly at the same speed as Erven's group. Krune, of course, was one of them.
'They are quite fast. Not to mention that they are not using their full speed yet. Should I use my Lightning Shield Wings?'
Krune pondered a bit and decided to refrain from doing it. Instead, he let Erven and the rest to dash ahead until they reached a certain distance. Because of the environment, Krune's Divine Sense couldn't surpass 5km. Obviously, the others' Divine Senses were even worse. However, what hindered everyone's Divine Sense wasn't the Godly Energy like outside the Silver Demon Core. Instead, it was the chaotic Fire Elements, Laws, and the environment.
That being said, Krune's Mental Energy Perception was not affected at all! Until now, the only thing Krune found that could hinder his Mental Energy was Godly Energy. Of course, there was also Luvile and Harold's powers, but those two were previous gods, so Krune didn't count them. At the moment, Krune's Mental Energy Range was still able to see everything over a hundred kilometers of distance!
With this kind of advantage, Krune decided to stay out of the leaders' Divine Sense perception range.
'I'll stay behind them during the first 1800 kilometers. If they increase their speed, I can use my Lightning Shield Wings to keep up. When the last 200 kilometers arrive, I will speed up and finish this race in the first
place.'
With that plan in mind, Krune opened 10km of distance from the leaders. Obviously, the leaders turned out to be Erven and his Celestial Sky Organization. Not only that, but they were also having quite a heated competition there.
Outside, everyone was looking at how Erven's group acted. Their power and techniques were better than anyone so far. However, a hundred kilometers into the run, the first obstacle other than the environment appeared.
As soon as Erven's group got close to it, they received a Divine Sense message.
"This is a repulsive formation. Use your own power to force your way through. Whatever methods are valid, even destroying the formation itself. Good luck."
Erven and his group finally stopped attacking each other and looked at the barrier in front.
"Let's see who can reach the other side of the barrier first!"
"Agreed!"
*Bam!*
All five of them slammed the barrier and began to use their own power to force their way through. The barrier trembled as Erven's group advanced little by little into the repulsive energy.
At the same time, 10km behind, Krune looked at everything that was happening with his Mental Energy while hovering in the air. Surprisingly the barrier was quite strong, so they would need quite a few minutes to pass through. Because of that, the other participants began to catch up as well.
'Oh, since everyone is arriving there, I can use them as cover to pass the barrier without catching much attention.'
Krune smiled and then flew in the direction of the barrier. As soon as he arrived there, Erven finished passing through it. A few seconds later, the rest of his group also forced their way through as well. As for the other who arrived later, it was evident that they would take a lot longer to overcome the barrier. Krune then waited a minute before trying himself.
'Alright, they opened enough distance. I better pass it fast before they run too far ahead.'
Purple Lightning began to run around Krune's body as he charged at the barrier like an arrow!
Too bad that no one counted with Luvile's Purple Tribulation Lightning. Not to mention that Krune was afraid that he would be held there for too long, so he was quite serious when he attacked the barrier too. His objective was to simply open a hole for him to pass. That was all... yes, that was supposed to be the plan...
*Zap!*
Krune's Purple Lightning Pierced through the barrier as if it was made of butter! Cracks began to appear right behind the hole that Krune made. With the Purple Lightning's Power left behind, the damage quickly spread. In just a few seconds, it covered the whole repulsive formation until suddenly...
*Boom! Shatter!*
The repulsive formation... was gone for good...
Obviously, everyone around looked at Krune with their eyes wide open. Not only them, but everyone outside felt like they were seeing a ghost through the monitoring formations.
As for Krune, it was possible to see tears coming out of his eyes if one focused hard enough.
'Just... Why...'