Chapter 221: Top twenty

Naturally, all of them already knew what was coming in the following rounds. It was fairly obvious.

While everyone was still focused on Nova, they suddenly felt a surge of powerful aura rising from one of the lanes on the arena.

In Lane 26, Liam moved at full speed. His body blurred into a streak of light as he cut through the remaining demonic beasts.

He held a clear advantage here — demonic beasts were naturally weak against Light affinity. Although his light did not carry the same holy power as Maria’s, it was still highly effective.

He sliced through the monsters with efficiency. Just as he believed he could still claim the third platform, Nova had already beaten him to it. Only now did Liam realize he had underestimated the black-haired youth.

Within five minutes, he finished the last of the demonic beasts and stepped out of his lane. His figure blurred once more, and he appeared on the fourth platform. His expression, however, remained ugly.

In his eyes, this was still a defeat.

Even so, he did not care too much about it. The true competition would begin after this. The first and second rounds were merely elimination stages.

He did not even bother speaking to Nova. Nova, who could easily read people, already understood exactly how Liam was feeling.

He had no intention of saying anything either. Instead, he simply focused on his wives as they quietly made small talk with him.

[Ladies and gentlemen... we have our fourth winner of the second round — Lord Liam Everhart, member of the Everhart Imperial Family!]

The audience erupted into cheers. Nearly everyone, especially those from the Imperial Kingdom, knew exactly who Liam was. He was one of the greatest geniuses of the Everhart family... and he was only twenty-five years old.

However, once Maria fully stepped into the spotlight as High Priestess, her fame would soon overshadow his. That was one of the main reasons Liam had been so agitated when he saw her seated on the high platform.

"That boy has finally met his competition," Leonis remarked as he watched Liam.

"Seems so. From now on, he will take everything seriously," Lucien replied.

The others nodded in agreement.

Maria looked at Liam. She knew very well who he was... yet it could not be said that the two of them were particularly close simply because they came from the same family. Things between them were a little complicated.

Seeing Nova force the arrogant young master to recognize his place made Maria feel strangely satisfied. Inwardly, she praised Nova for it.

Not long after Liam, another person claimed the fifth place.

It was none other than the girl who had been fighting in the lane beside Asia. She had black hair and wore a black yet elegant adventurer’s dress that perfectly highlighted her young yet mature figure and natural beauty.

She was truly striking, though still not quite comparable to Asia and Rieka.

[We have our fifth winner — Princess Celine Varkhess, daughter of King Gareth Varkhess!]

The crowd erupted into loud cheers the moment they recognized the beauty standing on the fifth platform. She was the daughter of King Gareth, a renowned beauty and one of the genius youths of her generation.

She was also the youngest child — and the youngest daughter — of King Gareth Varkhess.

"Congratulations, King Gareth!" Lucien and Leonis both offered their congratulations.

Gareth looked truly happy that his lovely and talented daughter had managed to claim fifth place among the top twenty. Even though he knew this ranking would not be what truly mattered in the end, he was still proud of her.

Not long after Celine secured her platform, Slickmouth announced that two hours had already passed — only one hour remained.

Soon after, other elite contestants began claiming their places one after another.

Nova glanced toward Bai Chen.

Although the young man had fought until the very end, he had been unlucky enough to face two demonic beasts over level 1400. Having only just stepped into the King Realm, it was simply beyond his current ability.

It wasn’t Bai Chen’s fault. The tournament adjusted the difficulty of its obstacles based on the overall strength of all contestants. In the end, it would only select the best among the best.

Bai Chen was eliminated... but he was far from alone. The vast majority of the original hundred had already been eliminated, and the top fifteen platforms were already filled.

Bai Chen walked over to Tank, who was standing nearby with a dejected expression.

"Don’t worry, Senior Brother. We should be proud we fought until the end. At the very least, we’re among the top hundred of the continent."

Tank looked at him and shook his head.

"I’m not sad about getting eliminated, Shorty. I already knew it was beyond me the moment I saw those demonic beasts charging at me all at once."

"It’s just that... one of those beasts gave me such a terrible death that I don’t think I’ll be able to forget it for the rest of my life."

Bai Chen smiled brightly.

"Oh, it’s alright, Senior Brother. This old one’s head was torn off in the end. This old one also won’t be able to forget it for the rest of his life."

Tank stared at him, wondering why anyone would say something so terrible with such a cheerful smile. He didn’t realize that Bai Chen was genuinely a kind-hearted person who simply wanted to make him feel better.

"Anyway... your friend Nova and his women are really powerful," Tank said after a moment.

"Oh, he’s not my friend," Bai Chen corrected excitedly. "He’s my junior brother... more than just a friend." He was clearly happy for Nova and his sisters-in-law.

"What did he even do for you to become such good buddies?" Tank asked.

"I told you, he’s not my b—"

"Alright, alright. Your junior brother!" Tank sighed heavily.

"He helped me pay for food and accommodation when I forgot my money in the capital while visiting his city. That’s where we first met."

Tank raised an eyebrow."Just for that simple thing?"

"Yeah. When I was little, my dad—"

"Alright, I got it, I got it."

Tank quickly cut him off.

Just yesterday, the two of them had met briefly before Bai Chen returned to the Twilight Order barracks. They had dinner together at a restaurant, and Bai Chen insisted on paying.

When Tank asked why, Bai Chen simply said it was because Senior Brother had helped him during the first round.

To Tank, it had seemed like a simple reason... until Bai Chen launched into the same childhood story he had once told Nova.

Because they were also drinking beer, Bai Chen dragged the story out for nearly two full hours. Tank had spent the entire time silently cursing himself for asking.

He had been forced to listen to Bai Chen’s long sob story about why he was such a good person. He absolutely did not want to hear it again.

And Bai Chen looked like he was just about to start telling it once more.

Soon, the last five platforms were also filled.

Even though more than ten additional contestants had managed to kill every demonic beast in their lanes, they were unfortunately too late to secure one of the twenty platforms.

With that, the second round came to an end. All twenty platforms were occupied as the final bell rang across the arena.

DONG!!

[FINALLY!!! We have our top twenty contestants of this year’s Empire’s Grand Youth Tournament!]

[As all of you can see, they are far stronger than those from the previous tournament. We can only imagine how exciting it will be to watch them face one another in direct combat!]

[Yes — you heard that correctly. From this point onward, they will all fight against each other for the top positions. Just like every year, five main rankings will be decided...]

[But of course... everyone wants to know who will become the Champion!!]

[So tell me... are you all EXCITED?!!!]

The crowd erupted into deafening roars inside the Colosseum and across the entire continent.

Those who had paid for tickets and come to watch the event live were already celebrating. This year’s tournament was shaping up to be an absolute spectacle.

And for those present in the Grand Colosseum, it would be something truly worth bragging about for years to come.

....

On the high platform, Vaorak spoke up.

"The final twenty are truly strong... though I can already say who the champion will be. He’s standing on an entirely different level compared to the other younglings here."

"I agree," Draeven said with a nod. "Too bad we can’t make a bet on the champion this time. It’s already far too obvious."

Lyra turned toward the Beast-Folk Emperor with a curious expression.

"How strong are the youths you brought with you, Emperor Vaorak?"

"Hmm... they are strong," Vaorak replied. "But even so, they still cannot compare to Nova and Liam.

Those two are true monsters... especially that Nova boy. He’s still hiding things. I can smell it."

Vaorak literally sniffed the air twice, then burst into loud laughter, his gaunt body shaking with amusement. Lyra shook her head slightly. Her mother had already told her what the Beast-Folk Emperor was like.

Although she had seen him before, this was the first time she had met him in person.

Vaorak then asked casually,"By the way, how is your mother? I haven’t seen the old lady in a while."

Lyra did not take offense. After all, her mother was considerably older than the Beast-Folk Emperor and the other Emperors as well. Still, if the Phoenix Empress had heard those words in person, she would have been truly angry.

**

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