"I..."
"I actually lost..."
Inside the Free Federation preparation area, in Rest Room 1.
Norton, having just been successfully revived, lay on the bed, his pale face filled with disbelief.
Even now...
He still couldn't fully accept this cruel reality.
In his final moments, he was stripped of all his powers, as if punished by some supreme god.
When he opened his eyes again and saw himself in the rest room, he knew he had lost.
And it was a crushing defeat!
The hard-earned levels he had regained had dropped even further after his second death.
He had plummeted from level 69 all the way down to level 61!
He had lost eight entire levels!
Around Norton, a group of equally pale and dejected teammates sat quietly.
Whether it was real or just his imagination, Norton could almost hear the outside world mocking and ridiculing him and the Free Federation.
Damn it!!
Bang!!
Norton couldn't help but slam his fist into the nearby table!
Boom!!
The table shattered instantly, startling his teammates.
Norton's expression darkened, his eyes filled with rage and frustration he couldn't contain.
Why!?
Why the hell!?
How could a jobless non-specialist defeat me, a top-tier talent with the Chaos Demon bloodline, so easily!?
The worst part is, I didn't underestimate him!
I used every skill and tactic I had!
One of his teammates opened his mouth to comfort their captain.
But after thinking about it, he decided against it, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire of Norton's impotent rage.
…...
…..
Ling Zhan and his teammates, including Li Zhaoge, retiered to their own preparation area.
If anyone was the most shocked...
It was Ling Zhan's own teammates.
During their banishment to the chaos realm, they had been on edge, anxiously waiting.
No matter how they bombarded the chaos space with their skills, nothing worked.
At the time, they were filled with despair, wondering what would happen if Ling Zhan was defeated first.
Even Li Zhaoge was deeply worried.
Yet, those three divine beast girls sat calmly in the chaos space, playing cards.
In the end…
Their worries had been completely unnecessary.
Once again, some of the team members felt like they were just there to make up the numbers.
"Well, looks like we got carried to victory again."
"Don't complain, winning is a good thing. Other teams would kill to get rewards just by standing around."
"Now that you mention it, you're right..."
"With the Free Federation beaten, the only strong team left for us is the Holy Light Empire's royal team, right?"
"For us, yeah, that's pretty much it."
"..."
Back in the preparation area.
The teammates looked at Ling Zhan with increasing admiration.
What a beast!
One man versus forty!
And he came out unscathed!
It exceeded everyone's expectations.
While they were banished, they were just hoping Ling Zhan could hold out until they escaped the chaos realm to assist him.
They never expected to come back and find him having already won.
"Master, I regret it now..."
"I regret ever offending him. Thankfully, he didn't kill me with one punch back then—he must have held back."
The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, standing beside Li Zhaoge, said in a soft voice.
Li Zhaoge sighed at her words.
But she wasn't sighing in relief that her divine beast hadn't been killed.
She was sighing over how cold and uninterested Ling Zhan was when it came to women.
They say that a man pursuing a woman faces a mountain, while a woman pursuing a man only faces a thin veil.
That didn't seem to apply here.
And up until now...
There hadn't been any sign of Ling Zhan being interested in any type of woman.
Could it be that he was gay?
But no...
He hadn't shown any interest in men either.
If anyone was closest to Ling Zhan...
It seemed to be that little girl Meng Shuang.
Thinking about this.
Li Zhaoge shuddered.
She suddenly remembered seeing that blue-haired girl being carried by Ling Zhan in the dungeon...
Could it be...
Is he into lolis!?
If that's the case...
Is there some secret method to make myself look younger?
Li Zhaoge found herself lost in thought.
...
...
The top 16 to top 8 matches were still ongoing.
By sunset, the top 8 teams had been officially announced.
The teams advancing were...
Dragon Empire.
Holy Light Empire.
Dark Night Empire.
Dwarf Empire.
Amethyst Empire.
Ross Empire.
Beastman Court.
Undead Empire.
The first seven were familiar names.
The Dark Night Empire was the vampire nation, and its prince, Andy Hordan, had been one of Ling Zhan's defeated foes in the individual competition.
The Amethyst Empire was where the slain prince from the banquet came from, and his uncle, Prince Rowe, was a level-100 four-tier Martial God.
The Ross Empire, a close ally of the Dragon Empire, was known as the Bear Kingdom.
As for the Beastman Court...
Well, it wasn't exactly a popular empire.
The Beastmen had committed many atrocities in the past that people couldn't forget.
Though they had changed, they still weren't well-liked.
The last country was a new face.
But it was quite unique.
It had reportedly appeared out of nowhere a year ago.
And all of its inhabitants were undead.
However, unlike zombies.
These undead retained their consciousness and did not feed on human flesh but rather a fragrant fruit that grew in their land.
It's worth noting...
The necromancy in this empire was top-notch.
In the individual competition, the Undead Empire's prince, Hess Loren, had been one of the favorites to win.
Unfortunately, his bad luck had him face a Holy Spirit Priest early on, resulting in a crushing defeat.
It just goes to show...
Sometimes, luck is part of strength.
Now in the team competition, they had made a comeback.
They had found a way to counter holy magic.
But...
No one had expected that, as soon as they reached the top 8...
The Free Federation, Elven Forest, and Twilight Empire—three of the strongest teams—were all eliminated.
Still, the upcoming matches promised to be just as thrilling.
Especially the clash between the Dragon Empire and the Holy Light Empire!
And now...
As the sun set.
The official commentators hurried to announce the final draw results!
The match-ups for the quarterfinals appeared on the screen.
Interestingly enough...
Previously, many of the contestants had been praying not to face the Free Federation team.
Now, they were all praying they wouldn't have to face the Dragon Empire.
The difference was truly bittersweet.