Chapter 67: Rewards
“The fourth round of this edition of the Strongest Warrior Tournament has concluded successfully. The venue was provided free of charge by the Baro Colosseum, and technological equipment was sponsored by the Bana Dwarf Clan…”
The commentator, Hack, wiped the sweat from his forehead as the audience in the stands gradually dispersed.
On the participant seating, Su Xiao looked at the screen above the arena. The rankings for the top ten had been calculated, but they were highly unreliable. If he had gone all out earlier, his ranking would have been higher. The same applied to Hugh from Arcane Eternal Star.
Compared to vying for first place now, the [Hourglass of Light] held more value. The fifth round was the decisive stage.
The fourth round arena points ranking was as follows:
First Place: Gemini (Death Paradise)
Second Place: Mond (Demon Race)
Third Place: Night Witch (Night Temptress Witch Guild)
Fourth Place: Woldy (Devil Race)
Fifth Place: White Night (Reincarnation Paradise)
Sixth Place: Nameless Saint (Apocalypse Paradise)
Seventh Place: Hugh (Arcane Eternal Star)
Eighth Place: Quan Yu (Feather Race)
Ninth Place: Yamu (Sanctuary Paradise)
Tenth Place: Afuni (Holy Light Paradise)
…
In the Ten Strongest Warrior Tournament, the Paradise factions secured five spots, the Void races took four, and the Transcendent Primordial World was left with only the Night Temptress Witch as a lone survivor.
Among these nine opponents, none were easy to deal with. Hugh’s arena points ranking was indeed low, but that guy hadn’t been serious before.
Gemini was equally troublesome, and Mond went without saying—though an ally, whether they could cooperate in the fifth round depended on the situation.
The Night Temptress Witch’s abilities were very peculiar, and her killing move had yet to be identified.
As for the Apocalypse Paradise representative, Nameless Saint, he was that burly man with a mining shovel hanging from his waist. In the third round, he was the second to reach Terror Island, proving his strength was commendable.
Just as Su Xiao was pondering, a teleportation sensation appeared, and he returned to the rest area of the Strongest Warrior Tournament.
The corridor appeared very empty. They had now reached the final round, the Ten Strongest Warrior Tournament.
“Impressive. Ten spots, and the Paradise factions take five.”
The Devil Race’s Woldy spoke.
“What you’re worried about can’t happen. There’s no peace between us either, right, White Night from Reincarnation Paradise?”
A girl holding a small folding fan, grinning mischievously, spoke. When she talked, she liked to hide her mouth behind the fan. She was Afuni from Holy Light Paradise.
“Do you two often fight?”
“No comment.”
“I’m really curious about the scenery in Paradise.”
“Curious? You can go visit Reincarnation Paradise. I hear they’re very ‘hospitable’ to guests—the kind of hospitality that flays your bones. Provided you can get in there.”
Afuni from Holy Light Paradise and the Devil Race’s Woldy teased each other, looking cheerful, but once the fifth round started, it would be a fight to the death.
Su Xiao walked toward rest room 1005 and pushed the door open. Now that he had advanced to the final round, he was not far from the top three.
Of course, if he could take first place, Su Xiao wouldn’t hold back. According to Violent Rat, the reward for first place was enough to change anyone’s fate, enough to make even the old immortals in the Void green with envy.
What that thing was, Su Xiao didn’t know yet. The ideal outcome was to both obtain that reward and qualify to awaken the Azure Shadow King. And for that, he needed first place.
Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Beini followed Su Xiao into the rest room. Seeing this, the other nine participants had varied expressions—no one wanted to be ganged up on.
“Five against one, that’s just…”
Afuni was speechless. She didn’t want to face Su Xiao.
“Want to make a deal? If you’re willing, we can join forces.”
“Scram!”
“Lady, you—”
“I’m not listening, I’m not listening!”
Afuni covered her ears, walked into her rest room, and slammed the door shut with a bang.
“Heh.”
The Night Temptress Witch delivered a finishing blow. Woldy’s pupil flames contracted.
Soon, only Woldy remained in the corridor. He lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly.
“Ha, hahaha…”
A chilling laugh spread. The Devil Race’s Woldy laughed almost maniacally. After a moment, his laughter abruptly stopped. He took a piece of parchment from his chest.
“Contract, signed.”
…
Inside rest room 1005, Su Xiao looked at the tablet in his hand, which was playing a video of two people talking.
“Are you sure you want to do that?”
“We have to win this time. The Demon Race and the Law Destroyers will definitely join forces.”
“Do as you please. Sigh.”
The conversation ended there. The two speakers were Quan Yu from the Feather Race and Hugh from Arcane Eternal Star. Clearly, they planned to ally.
Not just these two—Woldy from the Devil Race was likely to cooperate with that Night Temptress Witch. They seemed at odds, but they had contacted each other many times before.
Of course, this was assuming they didn’t know the conditions of the fifth round. Su Xiao felt that the fifth round would likely be decided quickly.
[Announcement: The fifth round will officially begin in 6 hours and 21 minutes.]
The rest time was ample. Su Xiao leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes, and rested, waiting for the final round to start.
Time flew by. A spatial fluctuation appeared, and Su Xiao’s eyes opened.
The sound of wind came, and the temperature in the room began to drop. Sensing this, Bubu Wang lifted his head. The venue for the fifth round should be his home turf.
The light and shadows before Su Xiao’s eyes twisted, and a teleportation sensation appeared. When his vision cleared, the howling wind sounded in his ears, and snowflakes fell from the sky.
Everything in sight was a vast expanse of white. Su Xiao had arrived on a snowfield. Because the snow was falling so heavily, visibility was no more than thirty meters.
“Woo-woo!”
Bubu Wang howled at the sky. His expression clearly said: “Everyone move aside! This dog’s Wolf King soul is about to awaken! Don’t let it shock you!”
“Woo~”
Bubu Wang let out a low whine as Su Xiao kicked him in the rear. The Wolf King soul hadn’t awakened yet, and Su Xiao had already kicked it out of him.
[Announcement: The Ten Strongest Warrior Tournament has begun.]
[Location: Extreme Cold Land.]
[This round will last 5 natural days. During this time, all participants cannot leave the Extreme Cold Land.]
[The temperature at the edges of the Extreme Cold Land will rapidly decrease, and the edge areas will continuously shrink toward the Peak Mountain Range. Participants must advance toward the Peak Mountain Range as quickly as possible.]
[You have obtained a ‘Conqueror’s Medal.’ If this medal is taken from you for more than 10 minutes, you will be eliminated.]
[After 5 natural days, the one holding the most Conqueror’s Medals will be the victor.]
[In this round, only the top three will receive rewards (if only one person remains at the end of this round, the ‘Second Place’ and ‘Third Place’ will be determined by elimination order. Those who die in battle will not be counted).]
[First Place Reward: ???]
[Second Place Reward: Black Maple Tree Branch (1300 grams).]
[Third Place Reward: Origin Stone.]
…
Seeing these rewards, Su Xiao’s eye twitched. The Black Maple Tree branch went without saying—he had a Black Maple Tree. If he went through all this hardship to get that…
As for the Origin Stone, Su Xiao already had one, which he always carried. Anyone who cultivated would desire this thing.
When a sixth-rank or higher Primordial World collapses, it forms a Devouring Annihilation Black Hole, sucking in the world’s remnants. After long-term accumulation, compression, and qualitative change, there is a 0.572% chance of forming an Origin Stone.
As the third-place reward, the Origin Stone had plenty of prestige. But the problem was, Su Xiao already had one.
All the top three rewards were good, but only the first-place reward suited Su Xiao. The issue was that these nine opponents were each more troublesome than the last.
A medal floated before Su Xiao. It looked like wood, but when he grabbed it, it felt quite heavy.
Preliminary testing showed that the [Conqueror’s Medal] couldn’t be stored in his inventory. As for swallowing it, that was even less reliable. If Su Xiao wasn’t mistaken, this thing was probably carved from the branches of the Void Tree. Swallowing it was too risky.
To cooperate in the Ten Strongest Warrior Tournament required a lot of trust. Otherwise, once the [Conqueror’s Medal] was taken, elimination would come in 10 minutes.
The key was how to steal others’ [Conqueror’s Medals], and protecting one’s own was even more critical.
Su Xiao looked at Bubu Wang. Bubu Wang tilted his head, as if to say: “Master, I have a good idea.”
In cold regions, Bubu Wang’s intelligence increased a notch. What Su Xiao thought of, Bubu had also thought of.
Su Xiao tossed the [Conqueror’s Medal] on the ground and stepped back. The next moment, a prompt appeared: in 9 minutes and 59 seconds, he would be eliminated.
He picked up the [Conqueror’s Medal] and tossed it to Bubu Wang. As Su Xiao’s follower, Bubu Wang carrying the [Conqueror’s Medal] should be fine.
The surrounding temperature began to drop. Su Xiao didn’t move forward but waited. After 10 minutes, no prompts or warnings appeared.
Bubu Wang could carry the [Conqueror’s Medal]. Having confirmed this result, Bubu Wang blended into the environment and lightly bumped Su Xiao, letting Su Xiao see him.
With Bubu Wang carrying the [Conqueror’s Medal], as long as Bubu Wang didn’t die, the chance of losing it was zero. An opening advantage.
PS: (Recommending a friend’s book, Pokémon Trainer).