Chapter 3950 Come At Me All At Once
It took Gloria about half a month to finish absorbing the dragon ley line. As she gained a boost in her cultivation, it bolstered her confidence in triumphing over the impending battle for the title of Empyrean.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, Eclipse’s Empyrean selection trial had commenced. During the qualifying rounds, there were thirty outstanding females from various sects who had managed to stand out.
Standing on the stage was one of the elders of Eclipse. He was announcing the rules of the competition.
“Now, the competition is about to begin. Contestants will compete in a single elimination bracket, and matchups will be determined by drawing lots. Winners will advance to the next round. At the end of the competition, the last woman standing will be crowned our brand-new Empyrean. While sparring, contestants are reminded to observe proprieties and are strictly prohibited from endangering the life of their opponents. Contestants who fail to comply with the said rules will be disqualified from the competition. The number tags can be found in the wooden box below the arena. You may start drawing lots.”
Following the end of the announcement, all thirty candidates began to draw lots. Gloria, for one, was so calm and collected. That would make sense, for she had just devoured a dragon ley line, hence further increasing her power. Naturally, she would think nothing of her competitors.
“To the contestants with tag number one, kindly proceed to the area and begin preparation.” Thus began the first round of the Empyrean selection trial.
As the candidates ascended the arena one after another, every one of them put their ultimate techniques into practice. The battles were intense.
Soon enough, the elimination list for the first round was out. As expected, Gloria was able to secure a victory without even breaking a sweat. To top that off, she had been using only one of her hands to fight her opponent throughout the duel.
Alas, before they could move on to the second round, the second lot drawing session had sparked objections among the contestants.
“Elder, some contestants have had fairly weak opponents in the first round, so they’ve won without exerting much stamina. It’s unfair to people like us who had fought neck and neck.”
“I second that, Elder. Luck really plays too much of a part in that that it becomes no longer a fair fight.”
“Plus, they even got themselves a bye for the next match. What kind of luck is that?”
One by one, the candidates lodged a protest. Almost all eyes were on Gloria.
There were fifteen of them remaining to compete in the second round, so there had to be one contestant who would earn a bye into the third round. As chance would have it, Gloria was the lucky one to be given that privilege.
Considering that she also had an easy win in the first round, the others felt aggrieved and were jealous of her.
Then came the elder’s utterance with a smile. “Gloria, would you like to throw in your two cents on their doubts?”
Gloria fell into a light trance before giving her response. “Elder, what they said actually makes sense.”
“Oh? What do you plan to do, then?”
The elder was quite surprised, for he thought that Gloria would use the rules as an excuse to demand the continuance of the competition. After all, only that would place the latter at an advantage.
The other contestants were just as taken aback by the turn of events as well. They were merely attempting to appeal for a longer break time so that they could recuperate better and unleash their most powerful combat skills in the subsequent match.
Still and all, they were afraid of being the nail that stuck out and leaving a bad impression on the council members of Eclipse.
Because of that, they directed their hostility toward Gloria unanimously. From their perspective, not only was Lady Luck smiling at Gloria, but Gloria was also exceptionally strong.
In their endeavors to attain the title of Empyrean, Gloria was but their greatest hindrance.
“Since every one of you think that it’s unfair, I don’t mind introducing a handicap on myself. All of you can come at me at once. Defeat me, and the bye would be void.”
Gloria’s voice rang in the audience’s ears.
Whoosh!
The crowd flew into an uproar instantly, their gazes fixated on Gloria in astonishment.
“Has this woman gone mad?”
“How arrogant of her to even think of taking on all of us at the same time!”
“Some nerves she has to look down on us!”
“We need to teach her a lesson of a lifetime. She should learn that there’s always someone better than her.”
The fellow candidates were inundated with indignation.
Wearing an earnest demeanor, the elder advised, “This isn’t the time to be willful, Gloria! You’d better think twice before letting words slip out like that.”
Truth be told, the council members of Eclipse had high hopes for Gloria. Nevertheless, it would be a challenge for the latter to claim victory should she pit herself against all of them in one attempt.
“Yes, Elder. I’ve already thought it through.”
Gloria paused for a bit before going on solemnly, “Speaking of which, if I emerge victorious, I’ll be ordained the new Empyrean straightaway, correct?”
