Chapter 67

The new competition only had two hundred participants, with one hundred from each age group.

After this round, only fifty remained.

But even this number was still too high; the empire could only send forty people, including substitutes.

The cruelty of the competition was evident.

However, whether the children won or lost, no one from the empire would look down on them.

Especially the audience who came to watch in person.

It only happened once every fifty years, and some adults were not even fifty years old.

They usually thought their children were very hardworking and excellent.

This time, they finally saw what true talent looked like.

When their children were still learning how to concentrate their mental energy through incantations, other children on the stage could instantly cast spells without reciting incantations.

There was no time to recite incantations; offensive and defensive spells were the norm.

There were also the young warriors who, when fighting, had their battle auras swirling, attacking fiercely.

This opened their eyes, and many were very pleased.

Narasha and Gongsun Murong, however, were not happy.

When they arrived at the competition venue, they still asked Yifu to place bets. Yifu returned and told them the odds were too low.

Gongsun Murong's odds were slightly better, at one to 0.5.

Narasha's odds, however, were one to 0.00001, meaning a bet of ten thousand gold coins would only win one gold coin.

"I'm so weak, aren't they blind? Didn't they see my previous battles?" Narasha said angrily. How could they make money like this?

She was angry, and the bookmakers were equally angry.

They finally found out Narasha's "actual" situation. Their spies in the Gels Principality spent a lot to obtain some information.

It was the information from when Princess Lucia was ambushed.

The spies reported: "At the time, Narasha sensed someone hiding in the snow in advance, then instantly cast a large-scale spell, Snowstorm Dance. She could also control the countless ice blades she sent out while attacking, and was praised as a genius of her generation."

Could the bookmakers not be angry?

How did Narasha fight in the first four battles? Reciting incantations to cast wind blades and even struggling to maintain her mental energy, and falling down?

Facing a low-class warrior, she was scared and closed her eyes, swinging her broken staff wildly, and only won by luck after casting a wind blade.

In the third battle, she could barely control a single wind blade, and in the fourth, her opponent accidentally jumped off the stage.

Was this the same person? That kind of perception, that level of mental energy, and that calmness in battle would become a weak, frail contestant on the stage now?

Even if the bookmakers were foolish, they knew what was going on. Narasha, this little girl, was pretending to be weak to make money, and together with her brother Murong, they had taken away over three million gold coins.

Three million gold coins, not copper or silver coins.

So Narasha's odds changed, almost saying that even if you won, they wouldn't pay you. The odds were one in ten thousand.

However, the bookmakers didn't find much information on Gongsun Murong. Instead, many people said he only had his current earl status because of a girl, and they looked down on him.

He was good at cooking, usually didn't talk much, and gave off a gloomy vibe, as if he could burst into a fight at any moment, but didn't seem very threatening.

So they gave him odds of one to 0.5. This was the battle to narrow down from one hundred to fifty, and everyone in his age group was very strong.

After hearing Yifu's report, Gongsun Murong thought for a moment and instructed, "Go find the palace steward Nigel and borrow twelve million gold coins. Add our three million to make fifteen million, and bet it all on me. It's probably the last time we can make money."

"Yes," Yifu replied, his voice trembling. Fifteen million gold coins.

"Wait, tell him we can use something as collateral and will give them a five percent interest rate, just for one day," Gongsun Murong added.

Yifu went and returned quickly, his surprise evident.

"Earl Gongsun, how did you know he would lend it? You wouldn't believe it, he just took it out and said he didn't need any collateral, just your word, but he raised the interest rate to seven percent, for half a day."

Yifu still didn't know Gongsun Murong's true strength. He just thought Narasha was powerful and had gained respect from the steward because she had impressed the emperor.

Could one word from Earl Gongsun be worth twelve million gold coins? Without any formalities or contracts, Steward Nigel handed over the amount as if it were a few copper coins.

There were many issues here.

"Um!" Gongsun Murong didn't say anything more. He knew Yifu had agreed to the seven percent interest and placed the bet.

Facing the palace steward, he still lacked the confidence to haggle.

If Narasha had negotiated, the other party wouldn't have dared to raise the price. Narasha would have directly lowered it to four percent, and if they talked more, it would be three percent. She wouldn't believe they wouldn't lend it.

It seemed they indeed needed to take action to give Yifu some confidence.

With a plan in mind, Gongsun Murong said to Narasha, "When we go up, let's decide it in one move."

"Okay, my opponent is a nine-year-old first-level grand mage with four elemental spells. It'll be like playing with him," Narasha said casually, then asked, "What about you, Brother Murong?"

"I'll also use one move. My opponent is a fourth-level grand mage, about the same age as me, just turned fifteen," Gongsun Murong replied.

"I'll also use one move. My opponent is a sixth-level second-rank warrior. It'll be easy," Lucia said, not to be outdone.

Their team was now down to just the three of them; the other children had all been eliminated.

The reason was that the training in the Gels Principality's various academies had been too gentle in the past, and the children were not used to this kind of scene and pace.

Lucia had talent and was also pushed to her limits.

Gongsun Murong and Narasha, on the other hand, had walked this path step by step, treading on the bodies of others.

Their environment when they left the spaceship was such that if you didn't kill, you would be killed.

This was a small scene for them now.

Soon, it was Narasha's turn to go up.

Her opponent, a nine-year-old first-level grand mage with four elemental spells, was also a favorite to win.

Many people were optimistic, but the bookmakers didn't believe he could win.

The result of the battle proved the bookmakers right.

The moment the referee gave the order, the ground around Narasha on the stage shattered, and objects flew into the air, forming a large group of fiery balls made of earth and stone, all in less than half a second.

A group spell—Meteor Shower.

A fifth-level grand mage would need to recite a long incantation, over sixty characters, to cast this attack.

The child on the opposite side was immediately terrified, and the referee was stunned. He was only a ninth-level grand mage and didn't think he could easily stop this attack.

A ground mage next to Emperor Rexlar stepped in, controlling the fiery balls, stopping them in the air, then extracting the fire elements and breaking down the stones, letting them fall slowly.

During this process, he looked at Narasha gratefully, and she didn't fight for control.

Meanwhile, almost everyone in the audience stood up, mouths agape and eyes wide, as if they couldn't believe what they had just seen.

The little girl who had only won by luck in the first four rounds had just used Meteor Shower?

A four or five-year-old girl? Was she trying to defy the heavens, or challenge the gods?

"Narasha from the Gels Principality, this is a contestant from the Gels Principality, the five-year-old Narasha in the younger age group," the commentator no longer analyzed the situation but focused on Narasha.

"According to the latest information, the Gels Principality now has only three contestants left: Princess Lucia, the ninth princess of the Gels Principality, Gongsun Murong, and the one you see, Narasha, who just used Meteor Shower.

She and Gongsun Murong are from the same family, the Gongsun Earl family, the owners of the Sunflower emblem.

Just a few days ago, we were still wondering why the owners of the Sunflower emblem seemed so weak and why they needed luck to win.

But now, right now, I believe all the spectators have understood.

They weren't weak; they were hiding their strength.

I can't imagine why they did this, but I can now declare that the owners of the Sunflower emblem are not relying on luck.

Are they using their actions to tell everyone what the quality of the Sunflower is? Are they using this competition to announce their rise to power?"

The commentator was very passionate, and the audience occasionally burst into cheers and exclamations.

Yes, as the commentator said, no matter how they viewed these two people before, their family emblem was the Sunflower.

How could a legendary family be weak?

If they didn't have the corresponding strength, they would have been devoured long ago, bones and all.

It seems the legends were not wrong.

While the audience cheered for Narasha, the bookmakers' analysts were grim-faced.

Indeed, as they had learned, no, it was even more unbelievable than what they had learned.

Did you burst out because you thought the low odds wouldn't bring much profit? Is that right?

Before, you needed to recite incantations to cast wind blades, and even looked pale.

Now, you can instantly cast Meteor Shower without any discomfort. Cheater, little cheater, you and your brother Murong cheated us out of over three million gold coins!

Oh no, Gongsun Murong's odds are one to 0.5, and they bet fifteen million.

If he wins, won't we have to pay him seven and a half million gold coins?

"Find out who his opponent is. Try to tell his opponent that if he wins, we'll reward him with one million gold coins, after tax."

The bookmaker's manager roared.

They quickly made contact, and it turned out to be a fourth-level grand mage.

So the bookmakers pinned their hopes on this person, hoping he would show the strength of a grand mage of his level.

The next match was Lucia's. Because she had always performed strongly, her odds were also very low, one to 0.06.

Sure enough, as soon as she went up, she used Ice Roar and Wind Blade Dance, and her opponent was saved by the referee.

"Rumble, rumble, rumble."

In a corner of the audience, there were songs and drumbeats. They were hitting the drums so hard, singing so passionately. They were people from the Gels Principality living in the capital.

Some were doing business, some were looking for jobs, some had married and settled there, and some had bought houses and brought their children to study.

But no matter what, they were all from the Gels Principality.

Sometimes they complained that the principality wasn't strong enough, but they also hoped it would become stronger, a contradictory mindset.

This selection competition only happened once every fifty years, and some elders had even experienced two rounds. This was the third round, and some young people were experiencing it for the first time.

They bought tickets together and reserved a corner for themselves.