Chapter 492 - 490: Choosing an Opponent

At Bu Feiyun’s request, they didn’t continue their conversation. There would be plenty of time later, anyway. Besides, they were just there to celebrate and couldn’t offer any real help.

So, after a few more words, Lin Xuan followed them into the meeting hall. When he arrived, several Elders were seated before him, their eyes scanning him from head to toe.

Being scrutinized by several Void Spirit Stage experts was indeed quite stressful. In addition to the Elders, a few Stewards were also looking his way. This group was far from the strongest force of a Super Race; that title belonged to the Supreme Elder Level, the true pinnacle of power.

"We won’t make things difficult for you. Can you tell us how you defeated the contestant from the Celestial Successor Empire?" Bu Feiyun’s question was blunt. It wasn’t appropriate to ask for details outside, but here, he could be more thorough.

"It was simple. I suppressed him easily with a Soul Attack. His Soul Power was relatively weak, and my attack was sudden. He couldn’t resist it, so I dealt with him easily," Lin Xuan stated plainly.

He had no reason to hide anything, nor did he need to.

The Elders exchanged glances. It sounded quite reasonable. Soul Power was a weakness for most people; a powerful physique didn’t guarantee powerful Soul Power, which often led to such vulnerabilities.

"So you’re saying you defeated the contestant from the Celestial Successor Empire face-to-face?" This was what Bu Feiyun cared about. He didn’t mind what method was used, as long as it was a one-on-one fight.

The upcoming quarter-finals were all one-on-one duels. If he had only reached the top three by ganging up on his opponent, he would be in an embarrassing position when it came time for solo battles.

"Yes," Lin Xuan’s reply was concise and firm, without a trace of hesitation.

"Good!" Seeing no hint of a lie in Lin Xuan’s eyes, Bu Feiyun took out a Storage Ring and tossed it over. "This is the reward for placing in the top fifty. In addition, we’ve prepared some special Elixir Pills for you. Do not take them unless it’s a critical moment."

"If you can achieve a good ranking in this competition, we will absolutely not treat you poorly," Bu Feiyun said.

This so-called empire tournament was less about selecting disciples and more about a contest of resources between the various great families. Whoever came out on top would bring glory to their name. To put it bluntly, it was a battle for face.

"Rest assured. You don’t even need to say it, Elder. This disciple will certainly use his full strength to achieve a good ranking!" Lin Xuan said in a low voice.

He would show no mercy to any opponent related to the Su Family or the Yan Family. After all, they were his mortal enemies, so of course he wouldn’t hold back.

"Mm. Then in one week, we will look forward to your performance. If you do exceptionally well, the resources allocated to your Empire will increase dramatically!" Bu Feiyun dangled a massive incentive. Most contestants were sent here for the sole purpose of bringing prosperity to their own Empires. It could be said that from birth, they lived to make their Empire flourish!

Of course, Lin Xuan was not one of them. He had gone through many twists and turns just to be able to participate in this competition; he felt nothing for his Empire’s prosperity. His primary desires were revenge and to find out what happened to his father. Nothing else mattered.

As long as Lin Xue and the others were safe, he couldn’t care less what happened to the Soaring Dragon Empire; it had nothing to do with him. Besides, the previous ruler, Xu Qianlong, had never cared about the Soaring Dragon Empire either. He only looked out for himself, frantically absorbing Essence Blood just to stay alive.

The result was that the empire lost its protector, but Xu Qianlong didn’t care. As long as he could live, that was all that mattered.

Before the quarter-finals, there was a one-week rest period. This was a relatively long time. If someone couldn’t make a full recovery in that time, it meant their regenerative abilities were too weak, or the recovery facilities provided were simply terrible!

Lin Xuan hadn’t been injured in the first place, so he had naturally recovered long ago. Inside the Storage Ring Bu Feiyun had given him, besides a Coiling Dragon Pill, was a Celestial Level Martial Arts manual. A Celestial Level Martial Arts manual was quite good, but it held no interest for Lin Xuan.

The remaining item was a special elixir pill: a Frenzy Pill. Taking Elixir Pills was not forbidden in the competition; one could consume any pill, provided their body could withstand it. A Frenzy Pill was similar to burning one’s Essence Blood, capable of temporarily boosting one’s strength, but the side effects were quite severe.

Bu Feiyun gave him this pill just in case. For instance, if Lin Xuan was already stronger than his opponent, but the opponent took a Frenzy Pill and surpassed him, then his own Frenzy Pill would become useful. It could also be used to turn the tables in a losing fight, making it an essential item. Besides that, there were also some Recovery Elixirs, all of which were quite effective.

At last, the day of the quarter-finals arrived. The participants emerged from their palaces and returned to the square from before. The number of people hadn’t changed, but everyone’s spirits had been fully replenished. They were all full of vigor, having reached their peak condition.

Then, each person received a Token marked with a number. Lin Xuan’s number was three, signifying his third-place finish in the previous round. From this, one could potentially gauge the ranking of their opponent and prepare mentally.

Due to the large number of participants, a lottery draw was used to determine the matchups for the sake of fairness. This put the factions with more members at a slight disadvantage, as it was quite possible for them to be matched against their own people, which would effectively waste a slot.

It was a waste of a slot in one sense, but for the Super Races, only the top fifty mattered. The truly powerful would enter the top fifty, not be eliminated before then.

Following that, the drawing began. The participants conducted the lottery themselves, each stepping forward to draw a bamboo stick. Everything came down to their own luck.

The drawing started with the first-place finisher, proceeding down the ranks in order.

’The forty-eighth-ranked participant...’ Lin Xuan thought as he looked at the number. It meant his opponent was the one who had placed forty-eighth.

There were over three hundred contestants. With this lottery method, only half of them needed to draw; the other half could only wait to be chosen.

Those whose numbers were drawn could not draw themselves; they could only wait for their match. This meant the quarter-finals would eliminate half the contestants! It was a standard tournament elimination system; this round would halve the number of participants, and the remaining one hundred and fifty would become the finalists.

In reality, the quarter-finals and the finals were connected. There wasn’t much of a difference; it was simply a continuous series of battles until a champion was crowned.

"I didn’t expect you to pick me..." The forty-eighth ranked contestant, Long Xiao, walked up and sized up Lin Xuan with a mocking gaze. "Now we’ll be able to determine if you’re the real deal or just a fraud..."

"We’ll find out if I’m real once we fight, won’t we?" Lin Xuan replied with a calm smile.