Huo Kong was speaking eloquently, but unexpectedly, the other side's keen hearing caught him and turned to look over. Huo Kong's mouth shut in shock, and his face stiffened. The two elves glanced at him with slight frowns, then turned away, no longer paying him any attention.
After waiting a moment and seeing that the other party had nothing else to say, Huo Kong let out a long sigh of relief and lowered his voice. "That scared me to death. I almost forgot, elves aren't for nothing, their hearing is exceptional. Unlike other forces, elves are very united. Many groups have tried to hunt and kill them, but all have been uprooted by the elves themselves."
"This is also a force the Star Council won't dare provoke easily." After a pause, Huo Kong added, "Just now, those two are the prince and princess of the Elf Empire, and they're twins. This year, the two most talented are in the Elf District."
Sebastian took a few more looks. The elf team across the square matched the rumors. Though their expressions were somewhat restrained, arrogance flickered in their eyes. They weren't like other teams, exchanging greetings or communicating with one another. Of course, besides the Elf Star District, there were many other large teams in the square.
On the upper floor of a tall nearby building, the Lord of the Svananóg Kingdom was exchanging pleasantries with other Planetary Lords, leading teams from different star regions. Most of these Lords knew each other, having participated in the group star competition years ago. Even those from more powerful areas shared one common goal: developing a Level 6 Planetary Lord. They still relied on the Star Council for support.
"Bru," the Lord of Svananóg said, eyeing a white-clad elf with long, pointed ears. "It's been a long time. At least a few thousand years, I'd say."
"More than five thousand," the elf named Blu chuckled. "The last time we met was at that auction."
"All these years, you've stayed in the Elf Empire and didn't come out. I couldn't see you," the Lord of Svananóg lamented.
Bru stretched his arms. "I was appointed as an Elf Master by our head of state, specializing in training the best."
"No wonder you've produced so many geniuses this year," the Lord of Svananóg said with a smile. "Especially the twins, Aya and An. Everyone says they're strong contenders for the top spot."
"Number one?" Bru immediately shook his head. "That's impossible. Top ten would be an achievement. There are many extremely talented geniuses emerging this year."
"Yeah," a neighboring Planetary Lord chimed in. "This year, in several areas, some of them could even… in the past, they would have been number one without question!"
"Still talking about others," Bru chuckled. "Isn't there a monster in your star region? It's definitely capable of making the top five."
"That's uncertain. The competition's fierce this year," the other Lord shook his head.
"You two," the Lord of Svananóg couldn't hold back and said, "You need to consider others' feelings. You're at least in the top ten or five, but my kingdom is barely in the top one thousand!"
"Your region isn't doing too badly," another interjected. "I've heard several promising seedlings from your area, expected to break into the top 1,000."
"By the way," a third Lord suddenly remembered something, turning to the Lord of Svananóg. "I heard that your star region's first-place candidate this year is a new student?"
Hearing that, Bru looked toward the Lord of Svananóg.
"There's a new student named Sebastian," the Lord nodded. "But he's not exactly first, more like in the top five."
"That's interesting," the other Lord's lips curled into a smile. "Do you know? On my way here, I met someone from a certain district who also gained a new student this year. They say…" He paused, then added, "He's aiming to challenge the title of strongest freshman in history!"
"I didn't expect… a rival," Sebastian thought, watching intently.
"You mean this year's Saint Son?" the Lord of Svananóg said, somewhat speechless. "Forget the title of strongest freshman, what really matters is breaking into the top 1,000."
In the vast square, as more teams arrived, the atmosphere grew livelier. Suddenly, everything quieted. Heads turned as a young man with fiery red hair strode in.
"Huo Ge!"
"It's Huo Ge from the Martian area!"
"I heard he's one of the top contenders for first place this year."
"Specializing in creating fire races, and they say one of his creations is extremely rare."
All eyes were fixed on the fiery-haired young man and Huo Kong, who loved to explain things to Sebastian. Huo Kong's face showed a strange expression.
Sebastian almost laughed. Both were surnamed Huo and specialized in fire races, but they were worlds apart. One was a talented Level 2 Planetary Lord, while the other struggled even to reach the top 1,000.
"I hope I don't run into him in the main event," Huo Kong whispered to himself with a smile. "Facing him would be like fighting a boosted version of myself. How would I even manage?"
"But..." Huo Kong looked at Sebastian and smiled. "If he runs into you, I think that's his bad luck."
Having experienced that weapon himself, Huo Kong understood its restraining power against the Flame Race.
Suddenly, he sensed something and turned his head.
The entire square fell silent again. Heads turned to see another team entering, mainly women, dressed in icy blue dresses.
In the middle of them was a young woman with exquisite features and a cold expression. Her demeanor was similar to Bailey's but much colder.
"They're from the Ice Moon Sacred Land!"
"Besides the Council of Stars, it's one of the most powerful forces in the Endless Star Territory."
"Exactly. The Sacred Land excels at training disciples. Past competitions, their disciples have nearly all ranked in the top 100,000."
"The most beautiful one in the middle... Is that the saint of the Ice Moon Sacred Land? Better to meet her than to avoid her."
"Rumor has it the Ice Moon saint is also a favorite to win first place in this competition. I wonder how she compares to Huo Ge?"
"There are more than just these two; some other regions have frighteningly talented geniuses too."
The crowd's chatter grew louder and more excited.
Huo Kong lowered his voice to Sebastian. "This year, the Ice Moon Saintess is one of the most gifted in Sacred Land history. They've even issued an order: she must take first place in the group star competition!"
"There are really many geniuses in the Endless Star Territory," Sebastian said with a smile.
"Yeah," Huo Kong nodded thoughtfully. "Before I came, I thought just making the top 1,000 was easy, even aiming for the top 100. But now I see, being in the top 10,000 is already a good result."
"The overall quality this year is remarkably high," a voice interrupted.
Sebastian and Huo Kong turned to see the eldest princess of the Empire, Shia, standing nearby. She radiated elegance and nobility.
Next to her was Patton Shura, who came from the same place as Huo Kong, an unspoken strength between them.
In outsiders' eyes, Sebastian, Huo, Patton, and Shia were the top four in their region this year. Naturally, they gravitated toward each other.
"Princess Shia, feeling the pressure too?" Huo Kong asked with a smile.
"Some," Shia nodded slightly. "Seeing so many geniuses, before coming, my father told me it would be good just to place in the top 10,000. I wasn't convinced."
"All is uncertain," Huo Kong said gravely. "If luck's on your side, you could reach the top five thousand or three thousand. But if not…"
"Maybe you won't even make the top 10,000!"
Huo Kong suddenly paused, sensing something.
He nudged Sebastian subtly.
Sebastian was unsure what to do, but looked in the direction indicated. They saw a team dressed in elegant uniforms walking in, a modest entrance that nonetheless drew some attention. Compared to Huo Ge and the Ice Moon Saint Girl, it was understated.
"It's someone from the Stellar Region," Shia said.
"Any popular players this year?" Sebastian asked.
"While the Stellar Region isn't weak overall, no one stands at the top," she explained. "The top ten will be hard to reach, but…"
She paused and smiled. "There's someone you should pay attention to, Sebastian."
"Someone I should watch?" Sebastian blinked. He looked again at the Stellar Region team.
"There's a very talented freshman from the Stellar Region this year," Huo Kong explained with a smile. "He's the youngest in the first row and ranked in the top ten of the Stellar Region preliminaries. It's said he's certain to reach the top 1,000 in this main competition, and might even break the record for the strongest freshman ever!"
"So strong?" Sebastian echoed, but inside, no ripple stirred. If it were just the top 1,000, that wouldn't be a challenge for him at all.