Chapter 516 – New Tournament Bracket
Again, the third round of the tournament lasted only three days, but Karen allowed the contestants to take a four-day break. Everyone got their room to breathe and recuperate from the last fight.
The number of contestants dwindled down to 130. Many fighters forfeited, avoiding potential death and unforeseen accidents. However, many immortals invited the retired fighters, and these mortals agreed to join immortal clans.
Dian Wei, Kang Yan, Ma Xingjuan, and Zhou Gongjin were the last representatives of the Aves Continent. All of them had no problem holding their ground against top experts around the world, and they were confident in their abilities.
Yet, Miaomiao hadn't returned, which made them worried.
Four days passed by quickly, and all 130 fighters were called to the arena.
Dian Wei, Kang Yan, Ma Xingjuan, and Zhou Gongjin went to the arena together. They instinctively formed a team, just in case Karen wanted them to fight in groups.
When the gang got out and found the remaining contestants, they were surprised. Not all 130 representatives showed up. Instead, only 100 fighters, including their team members, were in the arena.
Moreover, old enemies also showed up on the platform. Zhang Yide, Guan Yunchang, Huang Hansheng, Wen Chou, Yan Liang, Jian Yong, and Jian Meng were there!
Jian Yong and Jian Meng no longer hid their cultivation base. They revealed their aura of 8th-stage cultivators!
Upon meeting their old enemies, Dian Wei, Kang Yan, and Ma Xingjuan's killing intent soared. They didn't bother questioning how they managed to enter the tournament, but they inspected their tournament bracket pamphlets, checking if there their names were located.
Unfortunately, they could only meet them in the quarter-final or the semi-final round. Instead, Ma Xingjuan and Dian Wei might end up facing each other first in the earlier round while Kang Yan might face Zhou Gongjin if they both could win the next fight.
While everyone sized up their opponents, Karen hovered over the stadium. She held a wireless microphone in her hand as she began to speak.
"Congratulations for making it through to this round! You are the strongest 100 fighters of this world. Of course, not including your patriarch and sect masters."
Guan Yunchang frowned and raised his hand, interrupting the goddess.
"What happened to the other 30?"
"Oh? That?" Karen rolled her eyes, "They are dead. Remember what I promised you the last round? Everybody got to woo-hoo the Netherworld's top beauties for a night, and more than half of you chose that reward. Remember what happened?"
Guan Yunchang, Huang Hansheng, and the rivals of Siren City didn't pick that reward in the previous round. They took an extra immortal-grade cultivation method manual or a heaven-grade treasure instead.
On the other hand, many men's faces turned dark as they remembered their wild night.
Indeed, it was fun, but those monster women stole 80% of their energy during sex. They were all evil dual-cultivators, who mercilessly plundered their partner's Qi during the activities.
All survivors were early 9th-stage cultivators, who could stabilize their soul core on time. As for the rest, they were reduced to ashes after sex.
The survivors managed to recover a portion of their lost Qi, but they were greatly weakened. They planned to withdraw from the tournament if their next opponent was too strong.
But Karen gave them another surprise.
"In this round, you can throw away your old schedule. I'll rearrange the tournament brackets since so many people either forfeited or died."
"…"
Among the crowd, Meng Xin frowned and gave Karen a disapproved look. He wanted to fight Ma Xingjuan, but the goddess ruined his opportunity.
Karen continued, "We'll be drawing lotteries for the new tournament brackets with everybody here. Oh, if anyone wants to give up this tournament, you can step down from the stage within two minutes. After the countdown timer hits zero, the remaining people here will be forced to continue fighting in this tournament, and you can no longer forfeit before the match. Any form of retirement or resignation will deem you as the loser of the next match, and all your properties including your freedom will be given to your opponent."
Now, the girls started to worry. They looked around, checking if there was anyone that might be stronger than them.
Liu Hanzhen burst into laughter. As he thought that he was the strongest contestant in this league, he hoped that female representatives here wouldn't walk out of here.
"Now, I'll start the countdown. Bear in mind that all remaining people on the stage will proceed to the final tournament, and you can no longer withdraw."
"…"
Crippled men that had sex with Lilith's subordinates turned around without hesitation. 30 of them walked out of the stadium, saving their skin.
Guan Yunchang, Zhang Yide, Jian Meng, Jian Yong, and Huang Hansheng stayed behind. Wen Chou and Yan Liang looked at each other and glanced at Dian Wei for a moment. Then, they also turned around and left the stadium as well.
Kang Yan and Ma Xingjuan hesitated. They stared at Huang Hansheng and Liu Hanzhen, gauging and comparing their strength.
Both women broke a sweat, imaging the worst-case scenario. Yet, they stood firm and stayed.
Their resolve and determination were on par with protagonists now. As bearers of great fate, the karma, Heavenly Fate Fragments, and their luck influenced their decisions.
As for Dian Wei and Zhou Gongjin, they didn't need to leave. Both of them were confident that they could defeat everybody here.
The countdown timer reached zero. The remaining contestants started counting their heads.
In the end, 61 chose to continue.
Karen smiled at the brave men and women. Now, it would be a lot easier for her to manage the event.
She summoned a whiteboard with a large tournament bracket to the arena. It showed 64 blank slots and neatly arranged brackets.
Karen also tossed 64 Ping-Pong-sized balls to the sky and announced, "Let's make this thing interesting. These are your lottery tickets. The entry numbers are inside, so first come, first serve. Grab your balls, but don't do it with your OTHER balls!"
The remaining cultivators widened their eyes and kicked the ground. Half of them pointed their palms at the golden balls and pulled them to their hands.
Dian Wei, Ma Xingjuan, and Kang Yan also did the same. They pulled the Ping Pong balls randomly.
Zhou Gongjin was more relaxed. He allowed everyone to pick their balls first. Then, he jumped up and grabbed the remaining one.
Strangely, no ball dropped on the ground even though there were three extra balls.
Someone took more than one lottery ticket!
Karen was also aware of this. She glanced at the culprit, who wore gold emperor robes.
Liu Hanzhen took four ping-pong balls for himself!
The Liu Clan's prince gleefully shattered all of them and took the four papers inside. Then, he hid everything in his robes.
"…"
Karen squinted her eyes, wanting to reprimand the cheating prince. But then, she had a second thought.
The other cultivators soon noticed the anomaly. One of them protested, "One of us took more than one ball. Who was it?! That's potential cheating!"
Everyone looked around and spread their Qi sense.
They gazed at each other's balls.
No pun intended.
Seeing that each had only one ball, they were confused.
Karen coughed as she started calling the numbers, "You can break the balls to get the lottery paper inside. The person with the lottery number A1, come up in front of me and tell me your name!"
"…"
Liu Hanzhen glanced at the papers that he got from the broken balls. They were B8, B32, A2, and A26.
He smirked and laughed in his mind. Then, he held his chest, continuing watching the show.
The A1 fighter leisurely walked up the stage. It was Huang Hansheng.
Karen put Huang Hansheng's name on the board. Then, she called for the next number owner, who would be Huang Hansheng's next opponent.
"A2, come up!"
Liu Hanzhen grinned as he secretly turned the A2 paper into dust.
"A2, going once?"
Karen faintly smiled as she turned to Liu Hanzhen. The latter pretended not to notice her glare.
"Going twice? Okay, this slot is a freebie. Huang Hansheng doesn't have to fight in the next round, I see."
The old archer raised his eyebrows and turned around to look at his potential opponents for a moment. His eyes accidentally met with Liu Hanzhen, and the latter grinned at him.
'So, it was you. Well, that's none of my business.'
…
The call went on, and Liu Hanzhen only looked at either Kang Yan or Ma Xingjuan. Many cultivators already reported their numbers, but those two women still held their lottery paper.
Meng Xin came out as A16, and Jian Yong came out as A11. Both might meet each other if they could win two more matches.
But soon, the girl's group got called.
"A25!"
It was the number that Liu Hanzhen had been waiting for. He looked up to see who would be coming up.
If the opponent was weak, he might reveal the A26 paper to fight that person.
However, the one reporting their lottery paper was none other than Dian Wei.
Liu Hanzhen's expression turned ugly. Although her humanoid part looked attractive, he hated spiders.
'Oh, well. Skip it is. I still have two more entries.'
"A26!"
Again, nobody came out to report.
Now, it started to get on Karen's nerve. She bellowed, "If I find out that someone is exchanging their lottery tickets or purposely hide extra lotteries for your advantage, I'll fucking cripple that bastard! Don't let me catch you!"
"…"
Liu Hanzhen broke a sweat as he once again turned the A26 paper to ash. He hid his hands in his sleeves, holding his chest.
Karen already saw through Liu Hanzhen's motive. She pretended to be angry to warn the prince, but she inwardly laughed at him.
She already knew who the prince might end up fighting.
"Next A27!"
Kang Yan walked up and showed her paper.
Liu Hanzhen widened his eyes and gazed at the tournament brackets. He cursed himself for not picking the A26 slot.
Had he picked that slot, not only he would have a match with Dian Wei, but he would have also run into Kang Yan if she were to win the next round!
He missed his chance!
"Tsk!"
Liu Hanzhen clicked his tongue and stamped his foot in frustration. On the other hand, Karen giggled as she found him cute.
"Alright. Next, A28!"
"..."
Jian Meng slowly walked out and showed his lottery ticket. He turned to Kang Yan and sneered at her.
"Last time, I was hiding my cultivation base. Now that I take off my seals, I'll show you my true power, little girl!"
Kang Yan gave him a middle finger, "Bring it, bitch."
"Hohoho!" Jian Meng smirked, looking forward to turning Kang Yan into his sex slave after the match.
…
The lottery reporting process went on.
Zhou Gongjin got B1, and his opponent was surprisingly Guan Yunchang. Both fighters nodded at each other, showing respect to their next opponent.
Then, the person who got the B3 showed up as Zhang Yide. The latter might end up fighting Zhou Gongjin in the next match after this.
Then, the long-awaited number came up.
"B7!"
Liu Hanzhen's looked up to see who might be his potential opponent. He secretly rubbed the B8 paper.
Unfortunately, the one showing up was a rival prince of another great clan.
A handsome young man with black robes flew to Karen and showed her his B7 paper.
"I, Ji Zhan, claims the B7 spot!"
Ji Zhan was the eldest son of Ji Ling, the patriarch of the Great Ji Clan. He was also one of the strongest candidates in this tournament, who had the cultivation base of the peak 9th-stage.
He was supposed to be fighting in the clan lord tournament, but Ji Ling sent him here instead.
Liu Hanzhen clicked his tongue. He burnt the B8 paper as he didn't want to fight his nemesis.
"B8!"
Again, nobody came out.
Karen glared at Liu Hanzhen with a deep frown. She had the urge to scold him out loud.
Yet, the goddess allowed him to skip this slot. She knew who the prince had to fight, and she was excited to see his expression and reaction.
"B8 is a free slot. Next, B9!"
The lottery call went on. However, Ma Xingjuan hadn't reported her number yet.
But soon, it was her turn.
"B17!"
Ma Xingjuan walked out and reported her ticket number.
Liu Hanzhen widened his eyes and checked the board. It was nearly impossible for him, who would get the last B32 spot, to fight her. After all, both sides had to go through three matches before they could meet in the quarter-finals.
The prince sighed as he gave up pursuing a woman's skirt. He turned around to look at the remaining representatives.
But then, one of the representatives took out his paper and looked at his number.
B19
Liu Hanzhen widened his eyes. He suddenly had an idea.
The prince approached the 8th-stage cultivator and talked directly to the latter's mind.
"Interest in switching tickets?"
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