<h4>Chapter 536: The Fight for the Quarter-Finals</h4>
It turned out his judgment was correct. He clearly felt the divine consciousness of the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor sweep over him, and when it sensed the aura of the Crystal Mirror, it withdrew.
Tang San had been ready to poke Crystalline awake if push came to shove. He didn''t know exactly what Crystalline was, but she was definitely rted to the Crystal Demon Emperor.
Fortunately, the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor didn''t seem to pay <i>that </i>much attention to him.
In fact, Tang San had received the recognition of the Celestial Fox Sacred Mountain, though it wasn''t directly from the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor himself. He could’ve used that token instead, but he preferred not to; the risk that came with it was too great.
With the drawing over, he had passed this hurdle. Next was checking the lots they had drawn.
Tang San had no more grand thoughts about it. After seeing the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor, he knew that he could only rely on his normal luck for the draw. It didn''t matter who he faced. If he faced Mei Gongzi, he would just concede, letting her advance to the top eight. He could use their participation in the pairpetition as an excuse.
However, when the draw results were announced, Tang San was somewhat surprised.
Had his luck turned around?
The final draw results for the top sixteen in the individualpetition showed that he, Mei Gongzi, and Big Cat would each face different opponents. The three of them wouldn''t meet in the first round.
Tang San and Big Cat were ced in the first bracket, and luckily, even if they met, it would be after both entered the top four,peting for a spot in the finals.
Mei Gongzi, in the meantime, was in the second bracket. For Tang San or Big Cat to face her, they would have to reach the finals.
Undoubtedly, this was the best possible draw for the three of them.
After facing many strong opponents in the group stage and making progress at great expense, luck was finally on their side.
Indeed, luck and misfortune are two sides of the same coin. After so much misfortune, luck would eventuallye.
Faced with such a draw result, the three of them were naturally overjoyed.
As for thepetition itself... it would begin directly.
Today, the first of the three topete was Big Cat.
Big Cat would bepeting in the first match, and his opponent was undoubtedly strong; anyone who made it here could not possibly be weak.
Tang San and Mei Gongzi returned to the resting area, which this time was arranged next to the VIP seats. They could clearly see thepetition tform, allowing them to rest while watching the match.
Big Cat, on the other hand, went straight to the waiting area to prepare for the first match.
The Celestial Fox Demon Emperor returned to his box, which was the seventh from the left.
The two central boxes were likely reserved for the Crystal Demon Emperor and the Sunborne Nymph Emperor, the strongest of the demon and nymph races.
—Big Brother, our luck is really good today. The draw went well! If we can meet in the finals, that’ll be great!
Mei Gongzi was clearly excited.
They were in different resting rooms but could of course talk through theirmunicators.
Tang San replied, "Be cautious. The Emperors are watching. Be prepared for the match."
Today, there would be four matches in each bracket. Tang San wouldpete in the third match of the first and Mei Gongzi in the second match of the second.
If Big Cat won today, he would face the winner of today''s second match in the quarter-finals. If Tang San won, he would face the winner of the fourth match.
In other words, they wouldn''t face each other until the semifinals.
Tang San didn''t know how many Emperors hade to watch today, and he didn''t dare to use his divine consciousness to probe. But he guessed it wasn''t just the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor. After all, besides the three of them, the rest were all descendants of living Emperors.
"The first match of the final stage is about to begin. Contestants, please enter the stage."
On thepetition tform, a Great Demon King referee was already standing. Judging by his features, he was from the Golden Mammoth n.
In the final stage, referees on the tform would always be ready to stop the match at any time. Since those who made it to the finals were the prodigies of their respective ns, they couldn''t afford any loss of life. No contestants had ever died in the final stage of the Ancestral Court Elite Competition.
Big Cat stepped onto thepetition tform from one side, dressed no differently from what he wore during the group stage. However, when his opponent stepped onto the tform, he immediately seemed a bit shabby inparison.
There was no helping it; the Lion-Tiger n was just... poor. They didn''t even have proper weapons made by a good craftsman, let alone divine artifacts. In contrast, his opponent could be described as armed to the teeth.
When his opponent first appeared, Big Cat couldn''t even recognize its race.
It was a three-meter-tall, sturdy figure, entirely encased in heavy armor. The armor was adorned with many gemstones, radiating multicolored brilliance. The weapon in its hand was a five-meter-long spear, emitting a chilling aura—clearly not an ordinary item.
During the draw, this opponent had not been wearing this equipment. Now that it was fully armored, Big Cat had to carefully examine it and, taking into ount its build, finally recognized his opponent.
It was a strong contestant from the Solstice Empire''s nymph race, also a descendant of a current Emperor. That Emperor had cultivated into a nymph from a piece of zed ss, ultimately sitting upon an Emperor’s throne. It was known as the Thousand-Faceted zed ss Nymph Emperor.
zed ss was a very peculiar gem with a translucent luster. A nymph born from zed ss had the innate ability to reflect various attacks. Although not all abilities could be reflected, it was still very powerful. Thebat style of the zed ss Nymph Emperor was also highly unpredictable, hence the title "Thousand-Faceted." Naturally, they were very difficult to deal with.
Among the Nymph Emperors, the zed ss Nymph Emperor was ranked fifth.
The opponent in front of him, having made it to the finals, was clearly not an easy opponent. Moreover, the richest n among the nymphs was the zed ss n, and there was a good reason for that. This n had yet another incredible innate ability: discovering mineral deposits.
Thergest coin manufacturing factory on the Daemon Continent belonged to the zed ss n. Therefore, it was no surprise they had vast resources. The extravagant attire of the opponent before him was, of course, nothing more than a disy of immense wealth.
The Skyway Merchant Association of the Solstice Empire, which Tang San had encountered before and where Fatball made the business calls, was backed by the zed ss n.
Faced with such a well-funded opponent, Big Cat''s pupils contracted. He instantly raised his guard. Even without considering his opponent''s innate abilities, the equipment alone was formidable, likely imbued with various powers, making this opponent very tricky to handle.
"Big Cat of the Lion-Tiger n from Kali City versus Gu Lan of the zed ss n from zed City, the match begins!"
In the final stage, they finally announced the names. Clearly, they were taken much more seriously than in the group stage.
After announcing the start of the match, the Great Demon King referee retreated to the edge of the tform, activated a shield ability of sorts, and proceeded to observe the contestants.
The final stagepetition stage was muchrger than the previous ones, with a diameter of five hundred meters. The opponents appeared as nothing more than small dots, requiring focused vision to see clearly. Such arge arena provided ample space forbat.
Big Cat took a deep breath and let out a thunderous roar, his body rapidly expanding. In an instant, he transformed into a giant warrior over five meters tall, striding toward his opponent.