Zhang Tianmiu had no choice but to prop himself up with the sword blade on the ground, and when he looked up, he saw the smoke had already made its way along the ceiling towards the corridor outside, and with a raise of his hand, he fired a shot.

Amidst the bloom of light, the bullet struck the smoke, a muffled groan came from within the dark fumes, but it still rolled towards the corridor outside at the fastest speed.

It was at this moment that everyone heard a piercing scream coming from a distant place--

The scream, akin to a tidal wave, came rolling in, causing the illumination around to dim, the light from the torches reduced to a minimum, flickering weakly like candle flames.

The surroundings continued to grow darker.

...

The Dragon Horn Hall was brightly lit.

Blood Night Demon Moon listened to the people around discussing the previous duel. Nobody had expected a major upset in the finals stage; a competitor in the main event was actually eliminated by a qualifier from the outer ring. It was an unprecedented event. And the competition had taken place in front of everyone's eyes, without any manipulation behind the scenes, only a breathtaking fight.

Therefore, the audience began to take an interest in finding out exactly who Fang Hong was.

In reality, counting the player from Elpaxin Artisan Association who had withdrawn, this was the second main competitor Fang Hong had eliminated. People couldn't help but begin to wonder if the ultimate champion of the competition could be a qualifier from the outer ring.

"What do you think?" Blood Night Demon Moon sat back in her seat, her slender fingers typing on the glowing screen before her.

R: Pretty good, I guess.

Blood Night Demon Moon: Just like that?

R: What else?

Blood Night Demon Moon furrowed her brows and typed, "Don't play dumb, you know what I mean--"

R: Before I grasp your meaning, I think you should close the tracking window first; transmitting live video feeds is really expensive.

Blood Night Demon Moon raised an eyebrow in dissatisfaction, "What, isn't watching me worth it, or are you cheating while I'm away?"

R: ...

R: I'm more concerned about that person behind you; I think you'd better stay away from him.

Blood Night Demon Moon was startled and instinctively looked over her shoulder. That was the center of the hall, where a huge, fierce black dragon horn hung from the ceiling above. It had been there for dozens of years, but no one knew who it belonged to.

At that moment, a person was standing underneath the dragon horn, head down, seemingly lost in thought. It was a native, dressed in an innkeeper's attire, his hand appeared to be holding something, wrapped in wisps of black smoke.

Blood Night Demon Moon gave the person another glance and realized that he had been standing there for a long time. She remembered seeing him in that same pose when she had come back earlier.

She suddenly had an unsettling feeling and stood up, intending to find a nearby Dwarf guard. But at that moment, the Gatekeeper took a step forward, and the entire hall slightly shook.

Blood Night Demon Moon felt dizzy all of a sudden, her hands bracing on the wooden table.

On the field, the staff were clearing the area, and the Natural Historian and Magic Guided Conductor were busy setting up the terrain for the next match using Magic Guided Crystals. Red Leaf made her way through the crowd to Fang Hong's side, ready to return the Clockwork Fairy to him.

"You're really good, I'm utterly convinced by my defeat," she said.

"You as well," Fang Hong blushed with embarrassment when praised and replied, "Miss Red Leaf, your combat style is very unique, but the Overload Stream doesn't really suit you."

Hearing this, Red Leaf looked at the Clockwork Fairy in her hand and then back at the young man, suddenly asking, "Is that what you say to girls?"

"Ah?" Fang Hong was taken aback, clueless.

However, by that time, Tianlan had already rushed up first, screaming congratulations to Fang Hong, "You did it, Brother Ade... Mr. Xiaya, that Clockwork Fairy, awesome!" The French girl seemed even more excited than Fang Hong himself had won the contest.

Fang Hong could only respond with a smile.

Atira and several others came over as well, the Elf Girl smiling and nodding at him, followed by Gita and Hudi. Finally, Luo Yu, whose gaze was full of admiration for Fang Hong, understood the latter's operation was quite stunning, probably the only one among these people other than Hudi who understood.

"Luo Yu, Gita," Red Leaf then said.

Gita and Luo Yu just noticed her, startled and nervously said, "Sister Red Leaf." The two were merely Trainees in the Tabopolis Oak Knights, whereas the former was not just a formal Member but also one of the outstanding ones, a Senior among Seniors.

Red Leaf smiled, "You've found a good team."

Both instinctively looked towards Fang Hong.

Red Leaf also looked toward the latter and asked, "Excuse me, are you a member of the Elite's youth training team?"

Fang Hong shook his head.

The girl was curious, "Then is it Silver Forest Spear? Or Silver Weslan, that's a bit far."

"Brother Xiaya doesn't have a guild, he's a loner, Sister Red Leaf," Gita replied softly.

On hearing this, Red Leaf's eyes lit up, "Would you be interested in joining the Tabopolis Oak Knights? Our guild has plenty of beauties, little brother."

Fang Hong scratched his head awkwardly upon hearing this.

Gita lowered her head, pretending not to hear, while Luo Yu coughed quietly twice.

But it was at this moment that another voice came from behind them: "Join the Silver Forest Spear."

Red Leaf frowned at this voice and turned around to see Wu Di and Liuli Yue approaching, one after another.

Wu Di formally repeated to Fang Hong, "The Silver Forest Spear is a branch of the Silver Forest Crown in the First World, our main guild is one of the top ten guilds in the China competition region."

"The last of the top ten guilds," added Red Leaf.

"Still better than some unknown guild that popped out of nowhere," Liuli Yue immediately retorted.

"This unnamed guild ranks way higher than Silver Forest Spear in the Cloud Sea Region, hilarious, Silver Forest Crown has more branches than just you," Red Leaf remarked with a raised eyebrow and a sneer.

"Loser," Liuli Yue said with disdain, "can't even beat a greenhorn."

"You—" Red Leaf was so angry she almost exploded on the spot.

Finally coming to her senses, Tianlan spoke up loudly, "Pah, Brother Xiaya is not a greenhorn, and what's more, you're no different, your turn is coming up next, you'll be carried away!"

Liuli Yue's eyebrows twitched with annoyance, "What did you say?"

"Enough," Wu Di finally couldn't bear listening any longer and cut the two off, "Mr. Xiaya, what is your decision?"

He looked at Fang Hong with dead fish eyes, somewhat lifelessly.

"Dream on, Brother Xiaya will never join Silver Forest Spear, not in this lifetime," Tianlan answered loudly.

"You're called Xiaya, how do you know he won't join our guild?" Liuli Yue immediately asked in return.

Brother Ade was not called Xiaya. Tianlan muttered inwardly, but she stubbornly replied without conceding, "Of course I know, because... because, that's right, because he has a grudge against Silver Forest Spear!"

At her words, Red Leaf, Liuli Yue, and Wu Di, with all six eyes, turned simultaneously to look at Fang Hong.

"Ah—?"

After hearing Tianlan's response, Fang Hong was speechless for a while, nearly moved to tears by this outspoken young girl's comment. Not to mention that this was all a misunderstanding, even if it wasn't, that's not something you could just blurt out in front of people.

He was about to clarify, but it was at that very moment that the floor of the hall shook violently, throwing everyone off balance. People hastily braced against tables and chairs to steady themselves.

And a distant, piercing screech seemed to come from the far edge of the sky.

All the lights inside the hall dimmed at the same instant, the sound waves spreading in all directions, the sound of shattering glassware filling the air. On the surrounding stone walls of the hall, the flames in the gargoyles' mouths were pressed to a sliver, the lanterns and candles on the wooden tables extinguished in unison.

The entire Dragon Horn Hall seemed to plunge into darkness in the blink of an eye.

A wave of panic-stricken screams rose and fell, as the hall's servants, spectators, and dwarf goblins all scattered in a frenzied dash. Only the adventurers managed to keep their cool, but just temporarily, everyone was covering their ears, feeling the ground tremble again faintly, dust billowing.

Fang Hong had a vague sense of déjà vu; he looked instinctively in that direction and caught sight of the smoke spreading across the dome as if some colossal creature were awakening, and then it spread its wings and flew down from there.

Landing in the center of the hall.

It was a dragon—

...

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