Ao Yuelan appeared in the middle of the tournament area once more. Her gorgeous and explosive figure, worthy of a dragon, garnered the attention of everyone present. She wore a wine-red dress, matching the color of her eyes, while her dark hair flowed freely behind her.
As a Seventh Realm cultivator, her aura was anything but normal, further increasing her already high natural charm. She smiled and spoke, her voice echoing for thousands of kilometers and reaching everyone's ears.
"Welcome to the final day of the tournament! The first rounds have finally ended, and our participants have had time to rest and stabilize their foundation." She added with a soft sigh. "Sadly, there were some mortal cultivators who needed to tackle their Heavenly Tribulation, so they will be automatically eliminated."
Yasenia's eyebrow raised gently. "That fire zone is truly a treasure."
Yan Huang sighed. "It really is. Who knew that I'd be inviting a voracious dragon of your caliber?"
Yasenia chuckled. "Do you regret it, Uncle Yan?"
The man shook his head, showing a bit of helplessness. Who told him to like her? Well, at least she would stop gobbling up his resources from now on.
While Ao Yuelan listed the names of those who would be missing, the Graveyard Emperor appeared by Tatyana's side. The high-level people noticed him coming, so they weren't surprised.
"What's wrong?"
The powerful man spoke with a frown. "Have you offended that insect sect… What was it called?"
Yaseia blinked and spoke up. "[Violet Miasma Gu-Soothing Sect]?"
The Graveyard Emperor showed a hint of surprise and smiled. "Yes, that one. Good knowledge, child!"
Yasenia was a bit puzzled. "Weren't you here the first day? Where have you been, Uncle Graveyard?"
The man sighed and shook his head. "I wanted to watch you. Sadly, something came up, and I needed to leave."
Tatyana answered his question with a faint nod. "We didn't purposely offend them. However, Little Treasure beat up one of their top geniuses to the point that she cried."
"..." The Graveyard Emperor looked at the obediently sitting gorgeous dragon girl and blinked his only good eye. "You are more ruthless than you look."
Yasenia chuckled. "Look at who my mother is. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree."
The Graveyard Emperor laughed heartily. "You are right! Good, good, good. You have guts!"
"So, what happened?"
Tatyana finally asked, wanting to get to the point.
"I was traveling to the place where you left your aura, Lady Death Empress. That place where your child had to use a protective talisman." Tatyana nodded, easily recalling where he meant. The man continued. "Once I arrived, though, the people from the Violet Miasma Gu-Soothing Sect were there. They were using that aura to feed some of their bugs. Clearly, they are trying to adapt their pets to your energy."
Tatyana blinked and hummed. "I see. I'll take it into account. Thank you."
The Graveyard Emperor's semi-rotted face gained a genuine smile. "Don't worry, Lady Death Empress. Someone with your level of [Death Law] shouldn't be afraid. Nevertheless, it is good to at least have it in mind. They are quite insidious people when they want to."
While they discussed, Ao Yuelan had finished listing those who would be missing from the competition. There were even some Sixth Realm people who didn't dare participate further when comparing themselves with the top participants.
Ao Yuelan's voice reached everyone once more. "Now, for the final stretch of the tournament, our participants will have to try to snatch the [Star Breaker Realm Bead] for themselves! To get this item, there will be two rounds. The first one is an elimination round. Inside the arena, there will be 64 platforms. Your objective is to be the only one on your platform by the end of the timer!"
"The time for this round will be a week! The time you need to be inside the platform before qualifying is 10 minutes! There can't be a last-second snatching of the platforms."
Yasenia listened attentively and instantly frowned when she heard. 'Won't people gang up on whichever platform I go to? Even if I wait for the last ten minutes to participate, I doubt it will be peaceful.'
Ao Yuelan was not finished, though. "Because this tournament is created to mirror the test for the [Star Breaker Realm Bead], the use of external items will be prohibited. Only those that can be considered your own strength are allowed in the tournament. Whoever breaks this rule will be instantly disqualified, and depending on the level of offense, crippled."
Her last sentence was not spoken with enthusiasm, but with coldness. It was clear that she wanted to warn those participating not to have strange ideas.
"Now, for the final rule. Each person can only challenge each platform once. You can't enter, be defeated, rest outside, and rechallenge the same person. Moreover, no more than two people can be on a platform at the same time without fighting. If a third, fourth, or beyond enters, they must fight for their spot."
Yasenia frowned and then understood. 'This is to prevent a group of people from hogging a platform for their geniuses.'
When Ao Yuelan finished speaking, she stayed silent for a few minutes so that everyone could understand her words. Those who didn't could ask those around them.
Five minutes later, Ao Yuelan's aura spread once more, silencing the crowds. "Once the final 64 participants are selected, we will use a traditional elimination tournament to decide the winner. The groups will be chosen depending on the platform. Each platform has a hidden number. Luck is also part of a cultivator's strength, so don't complain."
Ao Yuelan then finished her speech. "To know who you will be facing, the sixty-fourth platform will fight the first, the sixty-third, the second, and so on. Afterward, each winner will face the opponent whose platform number is furthest from their own, progressing from the greatest difference to the smallest."
With everything explained, Ao Yuelan pointed to the ground, her energy piercing down like a red beam.
BOOM!
The entire tournament arena trembled, and then, it changed. Sixty-four visible platforms appeared one after another, divided into eight rows and columns.
The surrounding terrain changed in real time as well, becoming earthly. The neatly carved white stone platforms contrasted with the brownish-orange dirt, making them look as polished as marble.
Yasenia looked at the platforms and noticed something. "The fights are not within an illusion."
Ao Yuelan appeared by their side, just in time to hear Yasenia's mutter. She chuckled. "That's right. For the last section of the tournament, we will only check what each cultivator is carrying with them into the arena. We can't really control it perfectly if we send all of you into an illusion world. Therefore, it's preferable to fight here."
She added, glancing at Yasenia reassuringly. "Don't worry. Since we are nearby, nothing can happen. Moreover, all the seniors will intervene if they see their geniuses about to be killed. Fighting here is even safer than fighting in the illusion world."
Yasenia hummed and asked, curious. "What if the opponent dies?"
Ao Yuelan shrugged. "It will be up to the parties involved. I didn't specify a no-killing rule exactly because it can get messy. Everyone present knows as well."
Yasenia nodded and noticed a group of nearly 1,200 people floating down the stands and landing on the soft ground below. Yasenia stood up as well and approached Ao Yuelan. "You are here to get my personal items, right?"
Ao Yuelan chuckled. "Yes. Show me your spatial treasure."
Yasenia's eyes flashed with a few hidden thoughts, and she extended the illusory ring her treasure created. Ao Yuelan checked and instantly frowned. "Huh?"
A puzzled look appeared in her wine-red eyes. "What's this? An illusion?"
Yasenia was surprised and then delighted. 'Garest! My lovely little spatial treasure! You are so awesome. Not even a Seventh Realm cultivator can see through you!'
As an Ancient Treasure, the [World Garden Realm Storage] was anything but normal. Hearing its master's praise, Garest was delighted and buzzed in her Dantian happily.
Ao Yuelan snapped Yasenia out of her reverie. "Yasenia? Can you explain what's happening?"
Yasenia blinked and smiled. "Oh, don't worry. I was just checking something." Then, she focused on the spatial ring that the tournament was using and frowned. "Um… Aunty Yuelan."
"Hm?"
Yasenia looked at her awkwardly and spoke. "This spatial ring is too small."
"..." Ao Yuelan looked at the ring again and checked the space inside. "Are you saying that one million cubic meters is not big enough?"
"...Yes." Yasenia was a bit shy when she answered, but her Garest was literally as large as a world! Forget one million! Even one trillion cubic meters was too small!
Ao Yuelan and the others looked at Yasenia weirdly. Tatyana spoke lightly. "Yasenia won't use anything. Let her go as is. It's not like you want to force her to give up her treasures, right? Moreover, many of Yasenia's treasures are living entities, plants, and other things. Do you have a Five Star Supreme Ranked storage treasure lying around for her to store her things? If not, just trust her. Yasenia, show her your linked treasures."
"Linked… Ah." Yasenia waved her hand and summoned Soluna, Dramel, Draheart, Everlasting War Calamity Battle Flag, Care Of A Mother, and the Celestial Pearl. While she doubted she would use the Celestial Pearl, as it was one of, if not her strongest, trump cards, she did it either way just in case.
Ao Yuelan's eyelids began spasming when the aura of several Supreme Ranked treasures and Ancient Ranked treasures manifested in front of her. The juniors behind Yasenia turned green with envy, many of them wanting to bite a handkerchief to express their feelings. Only, if they did that, the handkerchief would probably tear, so they decided against it.
Of course, Tatyana didn't want Yasenia to flaunt her wealth. So, she silently spread a blocking formation for a few seconds. Only those close by could feel the treasures.
Ao Yuelan rubbed her forehead and checked the items one by one. When she glanced at [Care Of A Mother], her eyebrows scrunched closely. 'This item… isn't it a protection band for pregnant cultivators?'
Looking at Yasenia's flat stomach, her eyes showed doubt for a second. However, before she could ask, she heard Ao Xianlan's voice in her mind. 'Move your gaze away and ignore that last item. It won't matter either way.'
Ao Yuelan acted as if nothing had happened while internally agreeing. 'As you wish, Ancestor.'
After recording everything, she left to check on the other participants. Yasenia then prepared herself and looked at the arena. 'Final rounds! How strong have they become? I hope they don't disappoint me.'
Yasenia was quite eager to test her new strength, and she quickly rushed down after equipping Draheart and Care Of a Mother, storing the rest away.