Chapter 169 Opening of the Exchange Tournament

The time for rest slowly slipped away, and the fifty successfully advanced transmigrators gathered once again in the World-Crossing Gate Hall. However, this time, the fully armed transmigrators were not greeted by the locker rooms, but by all the demigod-tier teachers of the Transmigrator Academy.

Standing in the very front row was the principal, who possessed true god-tier power (since the rule-tier powerhouses were all stationed back on Earth). He restrained his entire aura, standing there looking like an ordinary middle-aged man.

Being the principal of the Central Transmigrator Academy was not actually an enviable position. This role meant he had to anchor himself to the academy for long stretches, thus forfeiting many opportunities for adventure and advancement. Fortunately, the true god tier had already transcended the limits of lifespan, becoming an ageless existence (though not truly immortal, they would never die of old age), ensuring he was not overly burdened by the position.

In reality, this post fell into a category where candidates did not want to come, yet those without the qualifications fought desperately to squeeze in. Governing the Central Transmigrator Academy was equivalent to protecting and nurturing the future of the entire Eastern Human Race. For this reason alone, both he and his family would receive the blessing of the Eastern Human Race’s collective fortune. Although it could not be consumed as a resource, it was more than enough to ensure his family flourished for ten thousand generations.

Furthermore, the principalship of the Central Transmigrator Academy operated on a leadership rotation system akin to term limits, with another true god-tier taking over every hundred years.

Even so, no one dared to look down upon the principal standing at the head.

Even when deliberately suppressed, the majesty of a true god still caused Feng Xue and his peers—mere greenhorns at the transcendental tier—to feel a pressure akin to piercing needles.

Just as the contestants were beginning to struggle under the pressure, a secretary-like young man suddenly whispered something into the principal's ear. With a sudden surge of imposing energy, the principal declared, "Your achievements will influence the 'national fortune' of the Eastern Human Race for the next four years. Your deeds will be recorded and made into films to be widely circulated. I hope you will be responsible for yourselves and for the entire human race! Remember, your enemies are the Western Human Race. That is all I have to say. Gentlemen, may martial fortune shine upon you!"

Following the principal's speech, an ineffable aura descended upon the fifty transmigrators. This was not merely a speech, but also a ritual. While speaking, the principal simultaneously bestowed a buff upon everyone. This was not cheating; in fact, it had long become an unspoken, subtle convention in the talent exchange tournament between the two races.

"Now then, set out!" At the principal's command, pillars of light began to envelop the transmigrators. A sensation of crossing completely unlike the usual abruptly descended. When Feng Xue woke up once more, he found himself already standing inside a massive metropolis...

"?" Feng Xue was startled the moment he landed. Unlike previous transmigrations, this one was entirely powered by the academy, bypassing the World-Crossing Gate and taking some other unknown path. Consequently, it lacked that familiar dizziness of being flushed down a toilet.

According to intel Xiaomi had managed to scrape together from unknown sources, the demi-plane serving as the arena for the Eastern-Western Human Race Talent Exchange Tournament was a world jointly captured and fixed using special methods by rule-tier powerhouses from both sides. Everything that transpired within this world would be recorded. Once the competition concluded, documentaries would be produced primarily from the perspectives of the top-performing individuals. Moreover, any death within this world carried zero consequences; even damaged weapons and expended trump cards would be officially compensated by the authorities after the tournament ended.

One could say that, aside from potentially exposing a transmigrator's hidden cards, this world was virtually free of any worries. Besides, as transmigrators still in the starting transcendental tier, their trump cards tended to shift roughly once every half year, and once they reached the hero tier, a massive reshuffle would occur due to the true awakening of their origins. Thus, exposure of minor details hardly mattered.

Just as Feng Xue was feeling curious about the method of this transmigration, a long-absent light screen suddenly appeared before him—

This exchange tournament is a survival match, with the following rules—
1. This tournament follows a designated-checkpoint login format. Contestants must arrive at specific locations within specific timeframes; failure to do so will result in elimination.
2. There is no time limit for this tournament. Survival is the absolute priority, and the tournament will not conclude until all participants of one side are either dead or eliminated.
3. This tournament features a fuzzification function. If participants wish to hide certain abilities, they can activate the fuzzification function, which will obscure the specific visual effects of using those abilities.
4. Participants can establish a private space. Everything that occurs within the private space will be edited out and will not appear in the feature film.

The first two rules required little explanation—they were simply the competition guidelines. This tournament functioned much like a cross-country rally race: as long as you passed through the designated checkpoints, you were not breaking the rules. Whether you took a shortcut, drove on the highway, or simply plowed forward in a straight line between two checkpoints was entirely up to you.

As for the last two rules, they had no actual bearing on the competition itself and were primarily targeted at the upcoming feature film.

The fourth rule was easy to understand. For instance, if you wanted to engage in intimate activities, you only needed to activate the private space function, and those segments would not be edited into the documentary. Of course, unless you had a penchant for public performance—though Feng Xue figured that even without opening a private space, such footage wouldn't make the cut anyway. (Oh youth, do you even realize you're jinxing yourself right now?)...

As for the third rule, it was somewhat more complicated to explain. To put it simply, it added special effects.

That's right, special effects. What should you do if you used a trump card that happened to be your core ability?

It was very simple—add special effects! For instance, if Feng Xue used the Quincy's Vollständig, it would expose his Quincy identity. Therefore, he would turn on fuzzification. With a sudden *duang*, special effects would be slapped on top. It would look as though Feng Xue, who normally used a bow and arrow, suddenly sprouted a pair of wings and transformed into a powerhouse.

Then, the audience watching the film would think, "Ah, so Feng Xue has a transformation ability like an angel or a fallen angel!"

Of course, fuzzification and private spaces would not actually erase what you truly experienced. Therefore, if anyone harbored thoughts of using the private space to commit atrocities and persecute their compatriots, they should abandon that notion immediately. Even though it would be edited out of the later broadcast, the complete record would still exist in the archives. Do not forget, this world was under the comprehensive surveillance of rule-tier grandmasters. If you committed inappropriate acts, even winning the championship would lead to only one fate: being frozen out and sidelined.

Pulling his thoughts together, Feng Xue finally found the mental bandwidth to observe this world serving as the competition arena.

Just like previous exams, this world remained strictly confidential prior to entry. With rule-tier grandmasters acting as supervisors, teachers had no way to leak questions even if they wanted to. Once inside the world, participants were required to gather information on their own. Only after a contestant correctly deduced the "identity" belonging to their current world would they receive the information for the first checkpoint.