JacQuarius was deeply focused on his cultivation practice alongside Kiyomi and Tela, striving to break through to tier 3 of the Tenfold Draconic Cultivation Technique. To aid in this endeavor, he had procured a substantial quantity of dragon-type materials—somewhere between 750 and 1200 units—from the FBI, albeit at an inflated cost due to what he perceived as a deliberate act of exploitation by his acquaintances.
Feeling the need to assert himself and counteract the perceived exploitation, JacQuarius took decisive action by forcefully changing the terms of their arrangement. He reduced the FBI's stake in his businesses from 30% to 15%, a move aimed at reclaiming control and leveling the playing field.
With the week drawing to a close, JacQuarius eagerly anticipated the payout from his businesses. The results surpassed even his lofty expectations—his first venture, Garden Grill & Grow, raked in over a billion dollars in revenue. Similarly, the "Buy Two, Get One Free" promotion proved to be a resounding success, contributing significantly to his overall profits.
Moreover, a fortuitous encounter led to a strategic partnership with a Hollywood movie director who purchased a substantial quantity of artifacts. JacQuarius seized this opportunity to secure a long-term arrangement, offering the director's production crew a generous discount on future purchases. In return, the director committed his crew exclusively to JacQuarius's shops, guaranteeing a steady flow of business with a 40% discount in tow.
JacQuarius's financial success for the week was nothing short of extraordinary, tallying an impressive $2.6 billion in total revenue. However, after accounting for shares and payouts, he retained a substantial $1.9 billion—a testament to the profitability of his ventures.
Despite the lucrative returns, tensions flared with the FBI over their respective shares. While JacQuarius honored his commitments by disbursing $260 million to Sophia and $390 million to the FBI, the latter was displeased with their reduced share. Their attempts to strong-arm JacQuarius into paying the remaining amount fell flat when he staunchly refused, even daring them to halt their supply of artifacts—a critical revenue stream they couldn't afford to lose.
JacQuarius shrewdly understood the complexities of artifact trade, recognizing the legal and ethical pitfalls associated with open sales by government agencies. He toyed with the idea of diverting business to the CIA, a less prominent but potentially more cooperative agency.
Amidst these dealings, JacQuarius diligently pursued his cultivation practice, achieving a breakthrough to the Gold 3rd Layer. His Dragon-shaped Soul Ocean expanded significantly changing from the size of a teenage dragon to a fully grown dragon, and his Dragon Qi transformed from a serene lavender to a commanding dark violet. These advancements fueled his anticipation to breach tier 3 of his cultivation technique, eager for the exponential growth it promised.
JacQuarius's pursuit of new cultivation styles reflected his strategic mindset, driven by the necessity to diversify his abilities and safeguard against predictability. With his primary trump cards exposed in previous encounters, he recognized the importance of developing additional trump cards. Especially with suspicious characters like Adalina, and then the Platinum Rank undercover GEI Agent surveilling him.
As the day of the qualifiers dawned, they made their way back to Mount Blackie, arriving at the arena where the competition would unfold. The qualifiers proved relatively straightforward, dominated by a swarm of low-tier Gold Ranks. JacQuarius pondered the motivation of cultivators with common and weak styles like Wolf Style participating in such a prestigious tournament.
Among the contenders, Adalina with her Yin/Yang Style and David Garcia with his Giant Style stood out. Both effortlessly secured victories in their respective battle royales, showcasing their prowess amidst the chaotic fray of 16 groups vying for supremacy.
Throughout the qualifiers, strategies varied widely. Some cultivators allied with others, leveraging teamwork to survive, while overconfident participants attempted to conquer all challengers single-handedly. Others opted for a more passive approach, biding their time and conserving energy amid the chaos.
Kiyomi easily won hers, she was ahead of most with her Gold 7th layer cultivation level, most didn't even want to fight her, immediately leaving her alone. Once she activated her new skill: Dreadful Tears, Hell Broke loose! Her skill Dreadful tears caused rain to start downpouring in the surrounding area, every time her opponents were hit with a raindrop, they would lose 1% of their Qi! They all immediately turned their sights on her, and begin targeting her, but she simply outplayed them with immense ease. She started trapping some of them in her Qi cages, leaving them open for attacks by others, turning the focus off her. For the remaining cultivators that continued to target her, she simply stalled against them until they ran out of Qi! She turned her chaotic royale into a battle of attrition, easily crowning herself as the ultimate winner.
Tela won his qualifiers as well, quite easily. He didn't even have to use his newly created Ultimate Attack, he simply beat the shit out of everyone, there were only a few cultivators in his group that could actually hurt him. His earthquake stomp destroyed the stage and dropped all the cultivators into a crater, leaving most of them open for attacks. Once the other cultivators realized that, about 70% of his group was eliminated immediately! He then picked off the remaining cultivators, eliminating the strongest first, each elimination further ensured his victory!
JacQuarius had the easiest experience out of all three. He stood on top of Jimmy, infusing even more fear into everyone in his group. Seeing JacQuarius's Sacred Rank Heaven Animal Jimmy in person, instilled even more fear into them. A group of about 20-30 Cultivators tried teaming up on JacQuarius, they all rushed him and began assaulting Jimmy! Jimmy couldn't defeat them all himself, so JacQuarius activated his summoning skill! He summoned 2 wyrms, evolved them into wyverns then activated his horn! Instilled by the anger of their alliance and assault against him, he let the two wyverns and Jimmy eat all the cultivators! Every single one of them died! JacQuarius's group was the only group with such an extreme number of casualties, nobody survived but him, he was literally the last man standing!