This last event was usually complicated for a cultivator because the ranks would change significantly. After challenging someone, points would be redistributed, leading to a dynamic shift in standings. Cultivators had to adapt to the volatile nature of the rankings, making strategic decisions and choosing opponents wisely to maintain or improve their positions within the top 50.
However, for our girls, it wasn't like that. The main reason was that they had 550 thousand points, maintaining them around the top participants. While people fell and rose, with their solid 550 thousand points, they had a solid foundation.
Naturally, if they lost a battle, things would change. Yet, as proven time and time again, their strength was well above what the people participating in the tournament could handle.
Even Ebirah, as the "weakest" of them, had a defense that even Yasenia felt was tough to crack. So, while her attack power might be similar to the rest of the participants, she could eventually beat them with pure stamina and resistance. Furthermore, Ebirah had been trained by Mirrory, Tatyana, and Valeria, which allowed her to use tactics and martial arts way more effectively than the grand majority.
Additionally, the number of people with 550 thousand points, meaning the 2.2 multiplier and perfect waves, was no more than 24. The rest had either lost their perfect wave or had been eliminated.
And between those 24, 14 were Yasenia's people.
The ones that faced challenges were the five beast heirs, who had steadily climbed to their current rank.
Their strength was high, but it wasn't as overwhelming as Yasenia's or the others.
The option of losing was not out of pocket.
And still, they would have a chance to lose if they were challenged by the strongest cultivators, who were above them rank-wise.
With Yasenia's warning after her brutal beating of the Dual Cultivator, very few were willing to attack them.
This didn't mean they didn't receive challenges.
The first to receive a challenge after Yasenia was Andrea. The person who challenged her was ranked 103 and had a cultivation level of peak Ethereal Soul.
Andrea used her auras and skills, and the arena was quickly transformed into an infernal land of heat and death.
With Andrea's methodical but overwhelming battle style, she defeated the man who challenged her without breaking a sweat.
However, unlike Yasenia's crazy attacks, Andrea fought fairly and even spoke a few gentle words, which encouraged a few to ignore Yasenia's threats.
'As long as we don't mess with them, they will be merciful!'
Those were their thoughts.
The next to be challenged was Kali.
Similar to Andrea, our fox girl created a few defensive walls and then summoned her army. She didn't even need to move from her standing point before her opponent felt overwhelmed and shouted surrender.
Kali, since she wasn't provoked by the woman, and the combat was fair, sent a healing wave of energies, recovering her to almost her peak, reinforcing people's thoughts about their gentle nature.
Well, sadly for the next person, he chose none other than Tatyana.
Tatyana stepped forward and looked at her opponent, a woman with serious features who was wielding a large weapon.
The woman spoke. "I want to bet the maximum. Also, I heard that you are a human. I want to be able to buy you if I win this battle!"
If it were before the five years, Tatyana would've ignored it.
However, the Death Empress had already decided not to hold back. Hence, she wouldn't allow anybody, even if it was by mistake, to disrespect her, regardless of their age, cultivation level, or gender.
Calling her a slave was nothing but a slap to Tatyana's face.
Tatyana looked at her opponent for a second, then summoned a sword. "I accept."
The countdown started, and Tatyana's opponent gathered her energy and prepared to fight.
When the countdown finished, Tatyana chanted. "[Transcendent Ghost Steps]."
Her body became a black blur, and she swung her sword at her.
For the woman, it happened in an instant. Tatyana stood relaxed at one point, and the world around her spun in the next second.
'What happened?'
She didn't know that those were her last thoughts, as her consciousness disappeared and her decapitated head hit the floor after her body would.
Tatyana's sword didn't even have a drop of blood, showing how clean of a cut it was.
Then, without saying anything else, she moved her feet again and reappeared like a ghost at Yasenia's side.
Everyone became silent.
Even the arrogant Yu Lei had a grave expression.
While Yasenia gave her a sense of defeat and felt like defeating her would need a miracle, Tatyana's display made her feel even more dangerous. 'I couldn't see her.'
Not only Yu Lei. There wasn't a single person in the room who was able to see or even feel Tatyana's actions. They couldn't follow her even when they used their Spiritual Sense.
How scary was that? Spiritual sense is something that usually allows cultivators to "see" things that their eyes couldn't follow.
However, speed became a terrifying weapon if the spiritual sense didn't work.
This created the second "untouchable" of the event, placing Yasenia steady at the first rank, with Tatyana in the second position because of the point difference.
Because of Tatyana's display, people willing to take on our girls decreased to zero.
There were other cultivators with similar or more points that appeared less terrifying.
So, the fifth event became nothing but a spectacle for our girls.
Evelyn spoke while eating a few snacks. "Yasenia, do you think we will fall from the top fifty?"
The dragoness pondered. "Probably. However, even then, you girls can challenge me with the minimum points, and it will be perfect. We have three opportunities, so ranking top fifty is nothing but a matter of time."
Then, she turned toward Laurina and the others and smiled. "The same goes for you five. I can see that you've already fallen below the top 50, so if you need our points, be more than welcome to do so."
Gorena, the Island Turtle woman, smiled gently. "We'll take your offer. After all, we want to cash out our keys after reaching so far."
Yasenia nodded and asked Tatyana. "Did that guy have something interesting?"
Tatyana nodded. "A crystal key and one [Library Ticket]."
Yasenia nodded and became thoughtful. Then, she smiled. "Hey, if you can challenge people, as for their things in exchange for their lives."
Kali laughed and asked with amusement. "Won't that create animosity?"
The dragoness lifted an eyebrow. "Actually, giving them a chance to survive after they've seen how ruthless we are will increase their impression of us. If someone is kind and suddenly stops being kind, people will tag them as evil. However, if an evil person does one act of kindness, people will say they've changed and become a good person. Some will even argue that they are better than the kind people who stopped being kind, disregarding everything the kind person has done in the past."
Yasenia told them. "That is one of the reasons I'm always so pushy and ruthless with deals etc. Since I never cross a certain line, they consider me an annoying but worthy trading partner. And then, when I offer them a 'good deal,' they will become happy and trade with my previous prices with a better attitude."
Yasenia added as an example. "Using discounts in shops and then slightly increasing the prices when they are over also works with most consumers. Before they realize that prices are 40, 50, or even 60 percent higher than before, and because they didn't react previously, they start buying them at the new prices while grumbling, eventually getting used to them. Of course, you need to be aware of your competition. If they use that chance to promote their products at a more affordable price, your consumer pool will shrink, and a bad reputation might follow your brand from then on, even if you return your prices to normal."
The girls became thoughtful.
Evelyn blinked and spoke mischievously. "So, if I treat you badly for a while, you will treat me better when I start treating you as before?"
Yasenia's lips twitched. "Dear, don't use what I teach you on me."
The girls burst into laughter.
Du Xian, who was listening at the side, blinked. "Wow. That's actually really intelligent."
Yasenia looked at her and patted her head. "Once you come to my sect, I have a few courses on economics and other areas. You will be Sky elder, so you have access to most of our knowledge."
Du Xian asked. "What ranks are there?"
"Many, but to classify those in the Epoch Core realm, there are three: Sky Elders, Astral Elders, and Supreme Elders."
Du Xian nodded and curiously asked. "How many Supreme Elders are? Those people should be in the high-level Epoch Core, right?"
Yasenia nodded and smirked. "There are seven."
Du Xian's big eyes almost doubled in size. "S-Seven?"
Yasenia was about to nod, but someone challenged Du Xian.
The squirrel woman had many points, so she was a prime target.
Yasenia looked at her opponent, and her eyebrows rose. 'That's Thomas. The Fourth Prince of the Holy Beast Empire.'
She looked at the ranks and saw him on the 36th rank. 'Why is he challenging her?'
The man spoke to Du Xian. "The bet will be the minimum, 10,000. What I want to bet with you is your loyalty."
Yasenia's pupils shrunk while Du Xian was confused. "What do you mean?"
Thomas, the dragon man, spoke. "I see that you are close to that dragon. I want you to become my subordinate. The Holy Beast Empire will take your Lightning Squirrel Race under its wing."
Du Xian's face changed to one of shock.
The Holy Beast Empire was the globally recognized strongest power.
Yasenia spoke with a warning tone. "Fourth Prince. Did I do something to offend you?"
Thomas sneered. "Have you not done enough? Your group has the most number of kills during this entire tournament. Aren't you acting too arrogant? Or did you think that your actions would have no consequences?"
Yasenia smiled. "Are you still annoyed that I didn't give up the Golden Key and that I'm about to cash it out? If I can guess correctly, the owner of the third Golden Key must have been defeated by another top power, and you lost your chance. Hence, you are aiming at me out of pettiness. However, since you are scared to challenge me directly, you have started aiming at the people around me…"
Thomas's face sank, and Yasenia's smile widened. "Am I wrong?"
"Don't try to twist my words, Dragon!"
Yasenia laughed. "And here I thought that at least a Prince would react differently to a normal second-rate cultivator. It was my expectations that were high. Du Xian, there is no need to accept those extra terms… Well, unless you want to leave my side and accept them. I won't blame you if you do so."
Thomas summoned his weapon and warned. "Du Xian, think closely about what your next words are. They can be your last."
Du Xian looked at the score, thought about what Yasenia just explained, and her lips arched.
Then, with a calm tone, she saluted and spoke respectfully. "Fourth Prince, it is an honor, but this one has made a promise. If I don't follow through, I feel like people from the Holy Beast Empire will look at us like cheap people who can jump boats when things get complicated. Therefore, I'll decline your offer. I will also surrender the points before the fight to compensate for my rudeness. I hope this unconditional surrender can ease the tight feelings between us."
[Winner, Thomas. Du Xian lost 10,000 Points.]
This made her go from 11th to 27th, but her rank was still within the top 50.
Thomas was stunned, not thinking Du Xian would directly surrender and add those words. Now, if he acted, not only would he look petty, as Yasenia described, but he would also look narrow-minded.
For a prince whose "face" was a big thing they needed to take into account to be able to win the Throne, even a small spark could be lethal since his competition would attack there without hesitation.
In short, Du Xian expertly used her words to leave Thomas with nothing but these words.
"Du Xian is a Matriarch of honor I didn't expect. I will naturally not take your offense after surrendering. Please, be at ease."
Du Xian smiled and nodded. "Thanks a lot, prince. Your vast heart is worthy of the position you were given."
Thomas could only smile and retreat from the arena while gnashing his teeth inside. 'I'll eventually make you pay!'
Yasenia was looking at Du Xian with laughter in her eyes. 'Well, she isn't a Matriarch for nothing. Perfectly played.'
Once Du Xian returned to her side, Yasenia rewarded her with a tight hug and vigorous head patting that left the Squirrel Matriarch with a body dizzy with happiness.
The rest of the event continued without hiccups, and by the end of it, our girls, Du Xian and the five beast heirs, all ranked within the top fifty.
Sadly, Du Xian's companions, the other three squirrel people, couldn't make it.
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Angel: Now, only the rewards are left!
Andrea: I wonder what we will get.
Yasenia: How many Library Tickets do we have? We scammed a few, right?
Tatyana: Forty. The next chapter will show how many things we have, though.
Yasenia: Nice!
Author: Let's move on. I summon you!
Arfa42: Hey!
Cecile: Welcome.
Arfa42: Mirrory, I have a question. So far, there is a mention that the Otherworlder or system bearer will be an essential figure in future events by 'The Heaven.' So, let's say, for whatever reason, the otherworldly or system bearer dies. What will 'The Heaven' do? Will they choose another one and punish the killer if the Otherworlder gets killed?
Mirrory: Well, you will be able to experience it first-hand because of Sarah, no? However, if you want a small spoiler… Can I?
Author: Hm… If it is small… The reader will have to bear it. "Small," after all, is subjective. So, dear reader, if you read further and want to discuss what you read in the comments, be mindful and use a spoiler tag~.
Mirrory: Sure. So, as I was saying, the Heavens don't become angry or vengeful as long as the system is not destroyed or corrupted. The reason is that the systems are part of the Heavens. So, as long as they die fairly, it's the Otherworlder's fault; hence, the Heavens won't do anything.
Arfa42: I see. Thanks.
Author: And that's all for today, bye-bye~.