Preliminary Round's End

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--- Chapter 277 ---

The Preliminary Round is finally over.

And the ranking was revealed to everyone.

At the highest spot is the Dragon Nest Team. They have a golden crown mark next to their name. Unfortunately, the ranking didn't show how many floors they have conquered.

Beneath the Dragon Nest Team are three teams who successfully entered the seeded category. They are the Dark Heaven Academy(Holy Ghost Church's Branch), Heavenly Feather Group, and Dark Hound Gang.

The Dark Heaven Academy has Grayfia Lucifuge, Tiamat, and Venelana Bael. They are a strong line up that the Holy Ghost Church tried to introduce in the Continental Spirit Academy Tournament.

On the other hand, the Heavenly Feather Group consists of Gabriel and six other new members. You might think her teammates are weak, but with her Martial Soul's ability, she could turn them into God Soldiers.

Surprisingly, the Dark Hound Gang also only has one member from the Draconic Deus, and that person is Tobio Ikuse. He recruited some people on the corner of Douluo Continent and strengthened them with his new Martial Soul.

However, his new Martial Soul's ability is somewhat similar to Gabriel's vow and binding but much darker.

Anyway, these teams shocked everyone because three of them were unheard of. People thought fan favorites like Shrek Academy, Sun and Moon Empire, and Star Luo Empire would dominate the brackets under the Dragon Nest.

Who would have thought many dark horses were appearing in this tournament?

Huo Yuhao yawned and walked with his teammates. They are still angry for tricking them, and he couldn't do anything about it. He designed the Tower of Babylon this way, after all.

"Y-Yuhao." A voice called him out.

Huo Yuhao glanced and found Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao with the Shrek Academy's second team. They look miserable and have sweat, cuts, and dirt everywhere. Well, most contestants look like this.

"You look pitiful. How was it, the Tower of Babylon?" He asked while using his energy to heal Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao.

Ma Xiaotao played with her hair embarrassingly, "It's more difficult than we thought. We can only climb to the 111th floor by putting our lives on the line."

"111th floor? That's not so bad." Huo Yuhao positively praised them.

"No, many teams reached higher floors than us." Zhang Lexuan sighed while shaking her head. "The person who created the Tower of Babylon is definitely a sadist."

"I..." Huo Yuhao awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"Pfft~!" Scathach, Yae, Huang Yuna, Qianye Ying'er, and Huang Qiu'er couldn't help but laugh at Zhang Lexuan's words. As for Ophis and Kunou, they are busy in their own world.

This woman doesn't know who created this Tower of Babylon is her own boyfriend.

Zhang Lexuan obviously noticed the laugh and was confused. 'Is there something wrong with my words?'

Dai Yueheng walked and extended his hand to Huo Yuhao, "Ah, so you're the exchange student I've heard of."

"You have a strong aura around you."

"My name is Dai Yueheng from Shrek Academy. Nice to meet you."

"Huo Yuhao." Huo Yuhao glanced down at Dai Yueheng's hand before shaking it. "Nice to meet you."

This little white tiger also puts extra strength in his handshake, but it does not affect Huo Yuhao much.

It seemed Dai Yueheng really didn't remember his half-brother. Ah, so ignorant and prideful.

At the very least, Dai Yueheng has never discriminated against the White Tiger Mansion's Maids like a 'certain' young master of the White Tiger Clan. Will it make Huo Yuhao treat him better? The answer is no.

This blonde guy is just an insignificant NPC in Huo Yuhao's eyes.

Huo Yuhao put on a friendly smile and released Dai Yueheng's hand, "I heard you reached the 69th floor on your own. That's impressive."

"Haha, it's nothing." Dai Yuehang tried to act humble, but everyone could see his overwhelming pride in such an achievement.

"Just 69th floor?" A bored, childish voice brushed their ears.

They searched for the voice and saw a cute young girl in a purple gothic loli dress.

Ophis looked at them back and licked her lollipop, "We reached the 210th floor and even finished it."

"What?!" Everyone was shocked.

"Little Girl, you must be joking, right?"

"R-Right??"

They knew the Dragon Nest's Elite and Zero Disciples should be more powerful than them, but isn't this a little too much?

"I'm not a Little Girl." Ophis put her lollipop in her mouth and stubbornly said, despite her cute appearance. "Also, I've never lied in my entire life..."

"Ophis, you lied that you didn't have those special candies from Yuhao-Onii a while ago." Kunou couldn't help but comment.

"They are different!" Ophis emphasized that two things aren't the same.

Everyone firmly believed that Ophis was joking, but some people truly believed in her words. The reason? Well, Ophis have the freaking creator of Tower of Babylon and Dragon Nest on her side.

It's like you're playing an online game, and your friend is the admin.

Huo Yuhao didn't deny nor confirm Ophis's words either. He played a neutral character in this mundane conversation as he didn't want to create annoyance for himself.

"What about the new Shrek Seven Devils?" Qianye Ying'er suddenly asked. "I didn't see them anywhere?"

Ma Xiaotao and Zhang Lexuan glanced at each other before sighing helplessly, "They also passed the Preliminary round, but..."

"They pushed themselves too hard like us and recovered under the Dragon Nest's recovery team right now."

"It's understandable. The new Shrek Seven Devils' strength is weaker than ours." Dai Yuehang suddenly chimed in.

"Haha, do you really think so?" Scathach chuckled disdainfully at Dai Yuehang. "I bet you could climb to the 111th floor because you have Ma Xiaotao and Zhang Lexuan as your supports."

"If they are not in your team, you couldn't even reach the 100th floor."

"Your team is put together at the last minute..."

"Meanwhile, the new Shrek Seven Devils were trained by Huo Yuhao personally and have gone through life and death trials like this tower."

"Each of them is stronger than you..." Scathach's voice dripped with sarcasm, but she was telling the truth. Even Tang Ya could beat Dai Yueheng despite being a few years lower in the Shrek Academy.

"This..." Dai Yueheng's expression darkened.

"Who do you think you're!"

"I'm just stating the truth..."

He didn't like how condescending Scathach sounded. As the heir of the White Tiger Clan, Dai Yueheng has a prideful trait in his blood.

Since Dai Yuehang and many exchange students didn't attend the party last night, they don't know about Qianye Ying'er, Scathach, and Huo Yuhao's identity.

Ma Xiaotao knew it wouldn't be good if Dai Yueheng fought Scathach because the latter was too terrifying. She has experienced it personally for months.

'Yuehang, stop putting that expression. You're asking for a beating!' Ma Xiaotao had a headache.

Zhang Lexuan didn't think about it and slapped Dai Yuehang's head. She grabbed his head and lowered it, "Please forgive him. His vision is just too shallow."

"Senior Zhang, what are you doing?" Dai Yueheng gritted his teeth.

"I'm saving you and the Shrek Academy." Zhang Lexuan coldly returned.

"Just take the insult and shut your mouth... We cannot afford to offend the Dragon Nest."

"But..." Dai Yueheng felt this was ridiculous until a solemn figure forced him to bow down.

His body shook as he realized who the solemn figure was.

"E-Elder Xuan..."

Yes, Elder Xuan Zi is the one who forced Dai Yueheng to bow.

In fact, he has observed this conversation from afar and expected the old Shrek Seven Devils to make a good impression on Huo Yuhao and his partners.

He didn't expect this Dai Yueheng to be so autistic and couldn't read the room. It seems Xuan Zi has to question the Shrek Academy's elders for appointing such a person to the Shrek Seven Devils.

Unknown to Xuan Zi, he was one of the elders who let Dai Yueheng join the Shrek Seven Devils years ago.

Scathach snorted and walked away in a bad mood, "Hmph."

"Please don't take her words to heart. She is always that blunt." Qianye Ying'er innocently smiled at everyone, making their hearts calm down.

After that, Qianye Ying'er followed Scathach and disappeared from the crowd.

Huo Yuhao glanced at Scathach's back and rubbed his chin, 'Maybe my prank is a little too much. Does seeing Gilgamesh in the flesh awaken bad memories in her?'

'I will console her later.'

He sighed inside and telepathically told Liu Mei to end the Preliminary Round.

Liu Mei, who floated in the sky, cleared her throat and announced, "With this, I announced that the Preliminary Round is over."

"The 260 teams in the ranking shall enter the next round, and the top four will get exempted from matches until the semi-quarter final!"

"Everyone who fails, don't be discouraged. You can still stay on Java Island and enjoy the facility until the tournament ends."

"And for everyone who passes, you must rest for a day before we proceed to the next round."

"Dismissed!" Liu Mei's thundering voice echoed in the field.

Huo Yuhao stared at the Tower of Babylon and shook his head gently before asking Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao to follow him, "Let's go."

Dai Yueheng watched Huo Yuhao's back and mumbled, "Just who is he?"

Xuan Zi sighed, "How could you not know?"

"He's the Dragon Nest's Zero Disciple..."

"Z-Zero Disciple?" Dai Yueheng's eyes widened in fear.

"Doesn't that mean he is?"

"Yes, he's the disciple of Dragon Nest's Leader." Xuan Zi nodded his head weakly. "That blue-haired young man is the Absolute Monster among Monsters."