“You're here.”
Lan Qingyou looked over and saw the members of Tarot Villa.
There was [Lovers] Frenna, [Chariot] Olf, [Sun] Ingrid, [Magician] David, [Star] Ruan Qingyi, [Hierophant] Nemo, and others.
Since travel was so convenient now, they had simply packed a few things and left; it didn't take much time at all.
“Huh! Where are the Empress and Justice? Didn't they say they were coming to join the fun too?” Gu Xiaobei asked in confusion after scanning the group.
“Uh... that's not right. Jiang... the Empress should have been with me.” Frenna was also bewildered, as she had stepped into the teleportation circle with Jiang Lan.
“...Let me see what's going on.” With that, Gu Xiaobei opened the group chat, and only then did she realize why Jiang Lan and the others weren't there.
“I didn't expect this to be the spectator stand for the clan leaders of every race. No wonder only you guys are here.” Gu Xiaobei muttered with a hint of dissatisfaction, then looked up at the people before her.
And it was true. Every single person in front of her was the leader of one clan or another.
Frenna, leader of the Succubus race; Olf, leader of the Titan race; Ingrid, leader of the Medusa race; David, leader of the Man-Demon race...
She herself was the leader of the Forest Elf race, while the two in front of her were the leaders of the Witch race and the Vampire race, respectively.
But the most unique were Ruan Qingyi and Nemo, both leaders of the Merfolk race.
“But I see here that it says you can come via invitation.” Frenna, who was also looking at her card, clicked invite without hesitation.
Soon after, Jiang Lan, Riesling, and Shang Chuan—all Forest Elves—appeared on the teleportation circle.
Of course, several other clan leaders appeared at the same time.
However, since quite a few people had already gathered around Lan Qingyou's group, the strangers didn't approach.
“Empress, where were you teleported just now?” Frenna asked curiously.
“I was sent to the second level. The number of people there nearly scared me to death.” Jiang Lan patted her chest as she walked over.
She seemed genuinely startled by the massive crowd she had just seen.
It made sense. Generally speaking, those who preferred a pastoral life tended to dislike crowded places to some degree.
“Haha, it wasn't that bad. At least you don't have to worry about being pickpocketed here.” Riesling walked over with a laugh. He kicked off his shoes and sat right down next to a pot of braised pork trotters, then pulled bottles of alcohol from his card and handed them out.
“How can we have the Emperor's delicacies without my fine wine? Come on, everyone take one.” He acted as naturally as if he were at a house party, showing no sign of taking the upcoming competition seriously.
“Moon, didn't you say that as a merchant, you don't like fighting and killing?” Once everyone was seated, Ruan Qingyi teased Shang Chuan, who was sitting beside her.
“That was my original thought, but after considering it carefully, I realized there's a massive business opportunity here, so I came along.” Shang Chuan didn't take Ruan Qingyi's teasing to heart.
He really hadn't intended to come at first. Primarily because the tournament was organized so hastily, he figured there wouldn't be much worth seeing.
But after thinking it over, he felt there might be an opportunity, so the profiteer dropped his work to come in person.
After all, everyone from the Villa was here. He just hadn't expected that teleporting from the harbor would land him directly on the second level.
“If I'm not mistaken, the second level is likely for those who are high-level and hold high prestige within their races, or perhaps cadres.” Shang Chuan adjusted his glasses and offered a rational analysis.
“I don't think so.” Riesling, who had also been to the second level, shook his head. After draining his glass in one gulp, he pointed it directly at Shang Chuan.
“While your logic about the racial pyramid makes sense, you've forgotten one fundamental point.”
“Oh? What is it?” Not just Shang Chuan, but everyone else grew curious as well.
“Strength.” Beside them, Olf grinned and spoke up before Riesling could.
“Exactly!” Riesling didn't mind being interrupted; instead, he nodded in strong agreement.
“This is different from the traditional ways of inheriting a clan leadership. All of us clan leaders created evolution items and brought our races into existence from nothing.”
“Do you think such people would be weak? Or rather, would a weakling even have the ability to create an evolution item?”
“If anyone is going to take the final crown, I have no doubt they'll come from this floor.”
With that, Riesling picked up a bottle and refilled Olf's glass.
...
Riesling's words caused the tension to rise for the surrounding clan leaders who had already arrived.
Because what he said was the truth.
Well... at least half of it.
Just as Riesling said, the clan leaders gathered here were indeed the top tier of this world.
However, this 'strongest' required some clarification.
It referred to their research and development capabilities. Whether their actual combat power was the highest was not necessarily guaranteed.
Consequently, someone spoke up in rebuttal.
“This tournament is a test of combat power. At most, we clan leaders can be considered the top tier in terms of research, but when it comes to fighting, that's not a certainty.”
As the voice rang out, everyone looked toward the source and saw a group of about a dozen people gathered together.
Like Lan Qingyou's group, they were also sitting on a mat on the floor, though their food and drink were significantly more meager.
No...
It wasn't just them; everyone else in the area was more or less the same.
They were clustered in groups of two or three, or five or six.
Except for a very few sitting in the provided chairs, the rest were sitting on various mats or simply layers of cloth.
Lan Qingyou even saw someone sleeping on a bed.
There were others with chaise longues like hers, though theirs were woven from rattan or bamboo.
The result of this eclectic mix of seating was that the entire spectator stand looked like it was set up for a picnic, devoid of any tension.
Of course.
That was only how it appeared on the surface.
After all, they were all clan leaders. While they weren't exactly at each other's throats yet, everyone likely harbored the desire to see how they measured up against the rest.
In any case, this tournament was being held to fight for the title of the 'Number One Race.'
Thus, Lan Qingyou, the leader of the Witch race—which was widely recognized as the world's number one—naturally drew a great deal of attention.
And while others were focused on her, she was also carefully observing these 'diverse' clan leaders.
Rate on N.U.
