Chapter 550: Arena of Awakening

Chongtian Arena.

The arena buzzed with clamorous voices and excitement.

Gazing at the vast expanse that looked like a conglomerate of arenas, Yenir couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as he surveyed the Awakener gathered there.

The crowd was huge—not only were there scores of Third-Stage Awakened competitors, but also many Awakener from various circles who had bought tickets to attend.

With one casual glance, Yenir was astonished to see that these survivors, who seemed to be managing quite well, were acting as if they were part of a live broadcast.

Several women in presenter uniforms were passionately streaming the event live on video.

The setup exuded the vibe of a nationwide broadcast.

Achieving something like this in a post-apocalyptic world was nearly unimaginable.

Yenir raised an eyebrow, suddenly feeling that something was amiss.

For a live broadcast like this to exist, it would require vast infrastructure—and even the lower-class survivors would need the means to purchase the rebuilt industrial goods.

Could the situation in the Japanese Battle Zone really be that good? Do they even have the luxury of nationwide TV viewing?

In his previous life, Yenir had little exposure to most battle zones; his only impressions of the Japanese Battle Zone were lands sunk by Sea Beast attacks and massive waves of Awakener fleeing to invade the continent.

He knew very little about what was happening within their borders.

Even though peace had reigned for a long time after the apocalypse, periodic waves of corpses—and even some mutants—would routinely emerge from certain environments.

These places were like ticking time bombs, forever inflicting casualties on survivors.

Especially in the labyrinthine urban sprawl, hordes of zombies roamed; even the massive forces in the Huaxia Battle Zone couldn’t clear them all. In Yenir’s view, surviving in the Japanese Battle Zone must be even harder.

Seeking answers, Yenir decided to summon Hirata.

Hirata and a few others—who had long since transformed into Otherworldly Ghosts—hastened over and quickly began explaining in rapid-fire speech.

“Sir, are you curious about the broadcast and the state of the Japanese Battle Zone?”

“First of all, the broadcast isn’t accessible to every survivor as you might think—it’s centralized in specific Safe Zones and organized by various factions.”

“You know our entertainment industry has always thrived; even after the apocalypse, ‘idols’ are highly esteemed. In fact, Awakener ‘idols’ have even emerged.”

“Our higher-ups believe that cultivating a group of powerful, charismatic strong figures helps stabilize their rule.”

“By personifying strength, they can effectively break down the collective consciousness of the lower classes…”

“As for survival conditions in our battle zone, most of the population is clustered near Kyushu—core cities like Osaka and Tokyo have been abandoned by us…”

“So the rebuilt cities and Safe Zones are actually located in areas that were sparsely populated before the apocalypse, where the danger is minimal.”

…..

After the explanation, Yenir nodded slightly, finally understanding why this situation had arisen.

It explained why there was a live broadcast playing out here.

Since the apocalypse, the Japanese Battle Zone had always been governed by an aristocratic system.

A councilman’s son remains a councilman; a tycoon’s descendant is still a tycoon.

Even though society was drastically upended after the apocalypse—with Awakener emerging who could shatter rules by force—the old ideologies still held sway.

Those first Awakener were still intermarried with the ruling elite, reinforcing their control. Even after sixty years of post-apocalyptic change, class divisions had remained unyielding.

Under such intense internal stratification and suppression, even a genius among the newly emerged Awakener would be stifled, its path to growth cut off.

Unless they integrated into the ruling system, their fate was to be crushed in infancy.

In other words, only the elite’s offspring could ever attain Third-Stage status among survivors; even the most talented from the lower ranks were relegated to Second-Stage or forced into arranged marriages.

Naturally, such conditions bred inevitable rebellion among the lower classes.

Yet the Japanese elite, experienced in these matters, could effortlessly package a group of formidable Third-Stage Awakener as ‘idols’ and use entertainment to dampen any rebellious spirit.

By lavishly grooming one out of ten or even a hundred talented Awakener from the bottom, they not only presented a path for advancement but also channeled resources in a way that discouraged any thoughts of uprising.

It left the people yearning only to become idol Awakener themselves.

But it was precisely this seemingly clever method of consolidating power that had caused most of the truly gifted talent in the Japanese Battle Zone to be buried.

“No wonder they’ve considered launching the Divine Warrior Project—are they feeling the pressure?”

“The elite’s offspring might have a higher chance of producing gifted Awakener, but compared to the sheer numbers at the bottom, they just can’t keep up.”

Yenir laughed nonchalantly and shook his head, a faint trace of bewilderment on his face.

He was like a butterfly stirring a storm—his very presence and astonishing performance had even alerted neighboring nations to the flaws in their own systems, sparking a revolution.

If this Divine Warrior selection had gone smoothly without his unexpected emergence, perhaps the Japanese Battle Zone could have cultivated a batch of promising talents. Then again, those in the Japanese Battle Zone might have managed to hold on a little longer, averting an early collapse.

As for the survivors in the Japanese Battle Zone, who in terms of survival fared a bit better than the lower ranks in the Huaxia Battle Zone, Yenir finally understood the situation.

They had concentrated their forces on coastal islands, abandoning territorial conquest from the start to reduce resource drain.

Under this strategy, they had indeed been living in relative comfort before the Sea Beast crisis erupted.

But that was probably also the reason why, in his previous life, the Japanese Battle Zone collapsed so quickly…

Hunkering down on the coast without strategic depth meant there was nowhere to escape.

When one fell, they all fell—everyone ended up feeding the Sea Beasts.

Without further thought, and as the selection contest was about to commence, Yenir turned his attention to his opponents.

……………….

“Arena 3, Battle 77!”

“Now entering: a Third-Stage powerhouse from the Nagasaki Toyo Safe Zone—the prodigy Ye Ze Ming!”

“His opponent, also a prodigy from the Nagasaki Safe Zone’s top precinct, is Hanzō!”

“Two Third-Stage Beginner prodigies face off—who do you think will come out on top?!”

“Although they seem evenly matched, I, Meiyaako, believe that Hanzō from the First Safe Zone will prove stronger!”

In the ring, Yenir listened with mild exasperation to the exaggerated commentary.

Had it been held in the Huaxia Battle Zone, a Death Duel like this would never have been treated so flippantly.

The host’s excited tone even compared his looks with another Third-Stage competitor’s. It seemed there was even an off-stage voting system in place…

This wasn’t a selection of sparks or hope—it had turned into a reality show.

Feeling a bit exasperated, Yenir stopped listening and focused on his opponent instead.

Hmm, his opponent sported the typical look of an Agility Type fighter. Clearly, the Japanese authorities still organized battles by category.

According to the rules, the three rounds of selection were all no-holds-barred fights: the first round was a one-on-one arena battle, and the second was a brawl.

The third round would see the chosen elites fighting in a gauntlet.

For Third-Stage fighters in the Japanese Battle Zone aspiring to become Divine Warriors, it might be a grueling yet relatively fair bloodbath.

But for Yenir, it meant he could potentially eliminate every gifted contender.

He glanced at the referee seated beside the stands.

It was a Third-Stage Mid-level Awakener.

Unlike his previous two Death Duels—fraught with tension and involving scores of high-level referees—it was clear that, despite the ominous name, many Awakener didn’t actually think anyone would die.

The reason was simple: prevailing attitudes.

Opposite Yenir, Hanzō hadn’t bothered to change his demeanor at all; he simply stood in full readiness.

Instead, he faced the camera as though greeting his fans, striking a few overly dramatic poses.

“I am Hanzo Ichiro, the premier Yakuza ninja of the Greater Japanese Battle Zone!”

“I hope you’ll all support me! I promise to deliver a visual feast in the upcoming fight!”

“But it might get a bit bloody~”

Facing the camera, Hanzō nonchalantly reversed his pair of kunai and struck a classic ninja pose, as if completely dismissing Yenir.

In his mind, it was all about winning the fight in style.

That display made Yenir furrow his brows immediately.

What a strange battle zone…

No wonder this battle zone was doomed to collapse.

Still standing like a stump, Yenir’s demeanor was misinterpreted by the broadcast host as nervousness.

Before the host could decide whether to give Yenir more screen time for self-promotion, a crisp signal rang out—marking the start of the battle.

Without another word, she hurriedly signaled the cameraman to focus on the stage, already planning her commentary for the fight.

With two Agility Type Awakener facing off, the match promised to be a visual spectacle full of excitement.