Changes in terms(my bad): Demon Realm -> Devil Realm(Mo), Beast Realm -> Demon Realm(Yao), Elves -> Sprites, still reading forward to see if Spirit Race = Elves. No precise description given yet.

Zhao Hai told Ma Rulong this in order to see his response. If Ma Rulong was shocked, then this meant that he guessed right. If Ma Rulong was confused, then this represents that Zhao Hai’s guess was wrong, or that Ma Rulong was unaware of this matter.

In the end, Zhao Hai was able to get his answer – he guessed right!

Upon seeing Ma Rulong’s shocked expression, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but bitterly smile. It seems like the higher-ups of the Machine Field suppressed people for a long time already. Moreover, this wasn’t news otherwise Ma Rulong wouldn’t have such an expression.

As for why some Ascenders had yet to know about this, Zhao Hai had some guesses. First was that they haven’t felt any suppression done to them. Another reason was that the Ascenders had not reached a high enough position in the Machine Field. High positions in the Machine Field had always been controlled by the natives. Things like suppressing Ascenders couldn’t be done on a large scale, otherwise Ascenders might revolt.

After Ascendants ascend to the Machine Field, they will find out that the environment that they ended up in was much better compared to before in all aspects. They would also find out that if they wanted benefits, then they would have to work hard practicing. Because of this, Ascenders place great importance in cultivation. If these Ascenders were to find out that their path ahead was being blocked by the Machine Field’s higher-ups, then these Ascenders would certainly revolt.

In the Machine Field, various great families would have external halls. And the majority of the members of these external halls were ascenders. This was a collective strength that cannot be ignored. If these Ascenders were to revolt, then the damage to the Machine Field would be enormous.

Most importantly, if these Ascenders were to revolt, the other realms would certainly add fuel to the fire. The Machine Field would be destroyed in no time.

Because of this, although the Machine Field was suppressing people, the methods they used were different. They wouldn’t make it clear that they were suppressing you, they would even lift an Ascenders status sometimes. This would make Ascenders think that the realm was looking out for their well being.

The higher-ups of the Machine Field had always done this, and they had done their job well. They haven’t been found nor highly suspected. So when Zhao Hai expressed his view, Ma Rulong was shaken.

Zhao Hai looked at Ma Rulong, he smiled bitterly and said, “I think the legacy left behind by Senior Leng Wuyeng was very good. Mechs and Battleships during his time couldn’t compare to what they are now. So the main strength of the Machine Field at that time are the Mages and Warriors. It seems like Senior Leng Wuyeng took note of the losses incurred during that time. During the war, 13,000 battleships were lost. With each battleship being manned by about 1000 people, they lost more or less 13 million people. On the other hand, Mages and Warriors that died during the war numbered 200 to 300 million. Such casualties showed the true fighting force of the Machine Field. It can be said that during that war, battleships were mere blockades against the Cultivators while the Mages and Warriors sacrificed their lives to drive them back. If it weren’t for this reason, Senior Leng Wuyeng wouldn’t have tried to make Liquid Silver during the late stages of his life. He wants to enhance the strength of Mages and Warriors. Senior Leng Wuyeng doesn’t want the Cultivation Realm to suppress the Machine Field. He wanted the Machine Field to be treated at the same level as the Cultivation Realm, or even higher.”

After speaking up to this point, Zhao Hai stopped, then he sighed and said, “But afterwards, people only saw how small the losses incurred by the battleships and mechs, so they see them as formidable. They failed to see the true fighting force of the Machine Field. After that, large scale improvements were done to Mechs and Battleships while practitioners were marginalized. Moreover, the manufacturing of Mechs and Battleships gave enormous benefits to those in the supply chain. Those higher-ups probably knew about these benefits. So they didn’t promote cultivation and instead backed the production of Mechs and Battleships. Because of this, the Machine Field became the weakest realm when it came to Cultivation. Moreover, people in the Machine Field look down on practitioners. People only saw our practitioners being defeated time and time again by the other realms. The people failed to see that the resources allocated to the Machine Field’s practitioners was only 1% compared to the resources allocated by the Cultivation Realm to its Cultivators.”

Ma Rulong looked at Zhao Hai, he didn’t know what to say. Even he didn’t remember these casualty numbers, but Zhao Hai did. Ma Rulong couldn’t help but be surprised.

Most importantly, if Ascenders were to hear about what Zhao Hai said, the consequences might be dreadful.

Ma Rulong didn’t say a word for quite some time. When his emotions had calmed down, he looked at Zhao Hai and said, “Little Hai, if you thought about this, then why didn’t you tell anyone?” He found out that his voice was a bit dry, the words that came out of his mouth didn’t sound like his.

Zhao Hai glanced at Ma Rulong and then turned to the Void Arena and said, “Tell anyone? What benefits would it bring me? What good would it do to the Machine Field? To be honest, although the Machine Field has been suppressing the Ascenders, its treatment of commoners is very good. If the Machine Field turns its effort to the practitioners, then the situation of its commoners might become the same as those in the Cultivation Realm. If I spread the information out, then Ascenders might cause a disturbance. When that time comes, the commoners would be the ones suffering the most. And if the Machine Field is conquered by the other realms, then the commoners would live horrendous lives. Therefore, if I gain enough ability in the future, I’ll try to change things in a way that preserves the current lifestyle of the commoners.”

Ma Rulong felt relief. At the same time, the way he looked at Zhao Hai changed. Before, he would look at Zhao Hai with appreciation and maybe hope. But now, he looked at Zhao Hai in awe.

Ma Rulong was aware of Zhao Hai’s potential. Not even a year after he ascended, Zhao Hai was able to eliminate a Core Formation Cultivator. This was something that most people wouldn’t achieve in their entire lives. After seeing Zhao Hai close up multiple times, Ma Rulong thought that he was a cultivating madman. But after hearing Zhao Hai’s words, Ma Rulong was made aware that Zhao Hai wasn’t just a cultivating madman, he was also a person who thought about the Machine Field’s affairs. And it seems like his contemplations had run very deep.

Ma Rulong was shocked by Zhao Hai’s sheer potential. In the past, he thought that Zhao Hai’s cultivation speed was monstrous. But now it seems like he was still underestimating Zhao Hai. It wasn’t his cultivation speed that was monstrous, Zhao Hai himself was a monster!

Ma Rulong wiped a cold sweat from his forehead then he said, “I didn’t expect you to have thought this far. But unfortunately, things have already gone to this point. Ever since Senior Leng Wuyeng passed away, nobody has been able to succeed him. There have been some people who tried to change the state of the Machine Field, but all of them failed. Because of the Mechs and the Battleships, the Machine Field’s higher-ups had formed an airtight network with each other. So even if they had some internal fights now and then, their cumulative strength can still shake the realm. They’re fully capable of suppressing anyone.”

Zhao Hai nodded, “I understand. I don’t intend on changing the Machine Field’s current status quo, but I just want practitioners to be treated better. Why should we choose one over the other? If the Machine Field has strong battleships as well as powerful practitioners, then how could the entire World of Cultivation underestimate us? If given the chance, we might even conquer all the realms.”

Ma Rulong didn’t say anything. Although he was excited by Zhao Hai’s words, he knew that this couldn’t be achieved in a short time. After all, cultivation cannot increase in one or two days. Zhao Hai wasn’t monstrous enough to take the entire World of Cultivation in a blink of an eye.

At this time, Fan Yi flew over to the roof and then gave the two a bow before saying, “The tournament is about to begin. Please follow me, we need to draw lots for the Machine Field.”

Zhao Hai and Ma Rulong nodded. They were aware that the ranking tournament of the competition was the same as the Machine Field’s. But besides drawing lots for one’s opponent, the distribution of seats needed to be drawn as well. Once selected, that spectator spot would belong to whichever realm drew it, no other realm was allowed to sit there.

It can be said that people from all walks of life were watching the tournament. Even some people from the Machine Field came. But since they were afraid of disturbing Zhao Hai, they waited for their spectator seats

Zhao Hai’s assigned seat was at a small asteroid. There were a few dozen seats here but less than a hundred. Besides Zhao Hai, Ma Rulong, and the remaining team leaders, nobody else was here. The same treatment was given to all participants.

Zhao Hai looked all around them and discovered that there were several asteroids around them. Sat on them were people wearing Mage and Warrior Clothing. It was clear that this group of asteroids had been drawn by the Machine Field.

Before this, Zhao Hai heard that a lot of people from the Machine Field came to watch. However, he didn’t expect so many people. From what he can see, there’s no less than a few thousand people from the Machine Field watching.

One must know that it wasn’t easy coming to the Cultivation Realm from the Machine Field. For so many people to come certainly surprised Zhao Hai.

Ma Rulong looked at their surroundings, then he sighed and said, “I didn’t expect this many people to come. In the past, whenever the Six Realms Beginner Competition was held here, almost nobody from the Machine Field came. Besides the participant and the team leaders, there’s no one else. The Machine Field’s delegates looked solitary in the empty region while the other realms were surrounded by their people. Ah, let’s forget about that….”

Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “That’s because everyone has no hope of winning before. But now that there’s hope of winning, all of them want to see it for themselves. Oh, the drawing has begun.”

Sure enough, just as Zhao Hai finished talking, a robot appeared on the Void Arena. Then the eyes of this robot projected upwards, revealing two people. Upon seeing the two combatants, Zhao Hai immediately lost interest. Since none of the two were him, he didn’t care. He just sat down and didn’t bother himself with the fight.

On the other hand, Ma Rulong and the others kept standing. They were looking straight into the arena. Before long, two people appeared. These two looked like Cultivators. Although this was the Six Realms Beginner Competition and people from the other realms were among the top 100, the top ranking was still being dominated by the Cultivation Realm. Of the top 100, 85 of them were from the Cultivation Realm. As for the remaining 15, six were taken by the Machine Field, three were from the Devil Realm, two from the Demon Realm, two from the Spirit Realm, and two from the Sprite Realm. In this case, two Cultivators facing each other wasn’t strange.

The battle siren immediately rang. What differentiates the Void Arena compared to other arenas was the fact that it didn’t have any protective barriers. Because of this, people could see the action with their eyes. Those strong enough could even hear what’s happening in the arena.

However, because of the sheer size of the Void Arena, it was impossible for the two to go out of bounds. And because of how huge the arena was, the two combatants have great freedom in their actions.

After the two combatants entered the arena, they didn’t talk much and just attacked immediately. It can be seen that this wasn’t their first battle. Both parties were aware of how strong the other was. Because of this, the clash between the two was quite lively.

Zhao Hai didn’t say anything about battle as he just sat there with a smile on his face. Meanwhile, Ma Rulong was looking at the battle with a calm face. Although the two Cultivators were showcasing their impressive strength, Ma Rulong couldn’t sense any malice from their moves. It was as if the two were conversing instead of fighting.

Ma Rulong turned to Zhao Hai and said, “Little Hai, can you see this? They seem to be sparring.”

Zhao Hai smiled and said, “They are indeed sparring. Cultivators dominated the top 100 for many years. So all they had to do was decide on who was the strongest. But now, the top positions were taken by people like me and Tu Mietan. Naturally, those people would want to deal with us, so they won’t reveal their abilities this early.”

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