Xu Xiaoyan sighed, "I didn't want to dent your confidence, but I think it's best for you to see the reality. I've watched Boss's recent battle footage during the finals, and you should take a look later as well. He's different now."

"Different how?" Yue Zhengyu asked in a curious manner.

Xu Xiaoyan replied, "He's so badass now that I find myself wondering if he's even still the same guy anymore. Do you think we're the only ones who have been making breakthroughs? If you ask me, Boss had definitely also made breakthroughs of his own, and they're all extremely significant breakthroughs."

Instead of being disheartened as Xu Xiaoyan imagined that he would be, a smile appeared on his face. "This is how it should be! This is why he's our captain, and he's always been able to create miracles. In the future, he's going to lead us to create the biggest miracle there ever was, so how could he not be improving? I'm really looking forward to facing him again someday. No matter what happens, as the final seeds left behind by the academy, we have to do everything in our power to improve ourselves." 

…...

Almost all of the soul televisions had begun to broadcast matches from the Star Battle Net Inter-federation Competition, and countless people were sitting in front of their screens, awaiting the commencement of the upcoming match.

There was no age limit, and the only limits in place were that one had to be below the Titled Douluo level, and also below the three-word battle armor master stage. It was said that as the Star Battle Net continued to improve, even the most powerful Soul Masters on the entire continent would be able to participate in future editions of the competition.

It had to be said that this competition had been a resounding success and had made the entire federation aware of the Star Battle Net.

The final 16 only had numbers assigned to them, and each of them had their own odds.

All members of the general public could make bets for who the final champion was going to be, and the odds differed based on the performances of the participants in the prior stages of the competition.

This undoubtedly made the event even more popular, and just this betting segment alone was enough to earn the federation an enormous amount of money.

Number 33 had 1:4 odds, which were the third-highest odds.

His forte was his strength, his martial soul appeared to be some type of true dragon, his cultivation rank was currently unknown, and he possessed the ability to disguise his own soul rings. His projected soul power rank was around 70. During his past battles, he was always able to defeat his opponents in a very short time through explosive displays of power, and he'd been given the nickname of Golden Dragon King. He was one of the top favorites of the competition, and the only potential flaw that he had was that he potentially wouldn't be able to do well in prolonged battles.

It was generally the case that Soul Masters with great explosive power would suffer during prolonged battles, so if he were to encounter an opponent who could drag out the battle, then it was very likely that he would lose the battle.

The overall evaluation was that his chances of securing the championship title exceeded 20%. He was extremely powerful, and it was very likely that he still had more tricks that he'd been hiding up his sleeve. His battles were always able to make the spectators' blood churn in their veins, and his battle style was the perfect combination of brute strength and artistry, earning him a lot of fans and admirers. Perhaps he wasn't the most powerful participant among the final 16, but he was definitely the flashiest. The Star Battle Net rated him as the participant who was most likely to make a young woman fall for him.

Tang Wulin was rendered completely speechless upon seeing this rating. What kind of rating was this? Was it making him out to be some kind of womanizer?

He stripped off his clothes, then entered his Star Cabin and went through all of the preparatory procedures. The Star Cabin closed, and he logged on to the battle net.

Light flashed, and he found himself in the world of the Star Battle Net once again. He was surprised to discover that in contrast with everyone else around him, he had a layer of golden light around his body, and that instantly drew widespread attention.

Was this one of the benefits given to those who made it to the final elimination stage? With that in mind, a faint smile appeared on his face.

The Star Battle Net was becoming more and more interesting. The entire system was still quite rough around the edges, and it didn't even have any functions, but at the very least, a platform had been established through this competition, and the system had an immeasurable future ahead of it!

"Golden Dragon King!" someone suddenly exclaimed, and a young woman rushed over to Tang Wulin before appraising him in a curious manner.

However, Tang Wulin's face was completely blurred, and that was a measure that had been taken to protect the privacy of all of the participants.

After arriving around three meters away from Tang Wulin, the young woman was naturally kept out by a layer of golden light, making her unable to advance any further. Tang Wulin didn't say anything as he continued to stride toward the competition venue.

More cries of surprise began to ring out around him, but no one was able to get closer than three meters away from him, and as he quickly strode onward, the crowd naturally dispersed.

The finals were about to begin, and one had to win four more matches if they wanted to become the final champion. It was undoubtedly the case that all four of those matches were going to be extremely arduous, and the opponents that he was going to face were only going to become more and more powerful.

He had just examined Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan's odds; their odds were second to last and third to last, respectively.

At the same time, he reviewed some of the competition footage of the other participants, and that further alerted him to the fact that the rest of the competition was going to be difficult for him.

His odds were able to make it into the top three more so because he was always able to finish his matches very quickly. As such, he appeared to be more mysterious, and no one could identify what his soul power rank was, so there was a lot of mystery and intrigue around him. Just from the power that he'd displayed alone, his odds wouldn't have been so high.

All of his opponents were extremely powerful, and that only worked to further stoke the flames of battle intent in his heart.

It was a pity that there were no two-on-two or team battles during this first edition of the competition. Otherwise, he really wanted to fight alongside his friends!

Even now, he was still struck by a sense of exhilaration whenever he thought back to the competition they'd taken part in in the Star Luo Empire. It could be said that his powers had only truly begun to improve at a rapid rate after his battle with Long Yue. Both his confidence and latent potential had completely been brought to the fore through that battle.

"Esteemed Number 33, please come with me." After arriving at the competition venue, he wasn't teleported into it as usual. Instead, a very beautiful employee came out before making an inviting hand gesture toward Tang Wulin.

According to his understanding of the Star Battle Net, all of the people in here were real people who had entered the system through Star Cabins. 

It seemed that he was receiving different treatment now that he'd made it to the true finals!

Tang Wulin was taken to a luxurious and comfortable room that seemed to have been reserved only for him.

"This is your designated resting suite; prior to the commencement of your match, I'll be guiding you to the competition venue. If you have any requirements, you can call for me at any time." The female server wore a very charismatic smile, and she was appraising Tang Wulin with a lot of curiosity in her eyes.

She couldn't see his face, but from the skin on his body, she could tell that he was quite a young man.

Even so, he had managed to forge such a scintillating reputation for himself in such a prestigious competition, so how could she not be curious about him?

Tang Wulin nodded and extended some words of gratitude. 

The female server silently departed, leaving him to himself in this comfortable room. There were some intricate little snacks in the room, as well as some fruits and drinks. There was also a bed and a futon that was specifically to be used for meditation, so there was everything that he could need here.

Tang Wulin strode over to the futon before sitting down, resting his hands on his knees and closing his eyes to rest.

This was the first round of the finals, where 16 would be reduced to eight. Every round was an elimination round, so each person would only have one opportunity. As for the match-ups, those were only going to be announced at the commencement of the matches, so no one knew who their opponent was.

Tang Wulin didn't mind who he came up against as long as it wasn't one of his friends. At the same time, he was very confident in Ye Xinglan and Yuanen. Their odds weren't direct representations of their powers, and after going through so much, they definitely couldn't be compared to the average Soul Master. In particular, following their training on the demonic island, they definitely possessed far greater mental fortitude than the average person.

A layer of faint light appeared over Tang Wulin's face, and the light spread before turning into a faint golden color, making his skin appear slightly translucent.

Even though he wasn't meditating, Tang Wulin was still sensing the world around him, and he discovered that there were only some faint spatial fluctuations in the battle net, as opposed to any elements. Hence, even though the Star Battle Net was already a very convincing simulation of the real world, it was still just a simulation, after all.

It was unable to contain battles between three-word battle armor masters and above, but not because the system wouldn't be able to handle the clashes of energy. Instead, the main concern was that three-word battle armor masters possessed too much spiritual power, and that could potentially throw the entire system into disarray, which was a very dangerous potential hazard.

Despite its shortcomings, the Star Battle Net really was a fantastic invention! If it could become more prevalent, it would definitely improve the overall combat prowess of the entire federation, and it would be especially helpful to the military.

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