CHAPTER 444: CHAPTER 444: WHAT A DARK GROUPING

Downstairs, Cang Ji and Brother Cheng were signing up, unaware of what was happening on the top floor.

Initially, they thought the registration process would be full of hurdles.

Like the Qilin Race and other Demon Emperors hindering them, for instance.

But it was miraculously smooth; it was as if the other side was afraid they wouldn’t register, hurriedly adding Brother Cheng’s name.

They even warmly escorted him to the ’contestant preparation area.’

Soon, news spread around the arena: the new Azure Dragon Emperor was going to compete.

A race leader participating in the assembly is quite normal, such as the Sheep Race’s previous Jiaoqiong Quasi-Emperor, who was their leader.

But for an ancient royal race like the Azure Dragon Race, it was unprecedented.

A starved camel is still bigger than a horse; their status placed them at a significant advantage, still a presence that most races must look up to.

The leader of such a race personally stepping into the field naturally set the whole arena abuzz.

"This Azure Dragon Emperor is serious!"

"I’ve never seen a Nine Patterns Bloodline Azure Dragon before."

"Just relying on bloodline superiority, it’s too challenging to surpass two tiers."

"That’s right, in the Grand Demon Assembly, the top hundred are usually Late-stage Quasi-Emperors; even Mid-stage Quasi-Emperors are just filling numbers."

The Quasi-Emperor stage only has three small realms, unlike previous realms with nine.

Because of that, the gaps between early, mid, and late stages are immense, like a grand canyon.

Almost akin to the gap between an Immortal King and a Quasi-Emperor.

This was why the Cyan Dragon Emperor strongly opposed him competing, for it wasn’t much different than fighting across great realms before.

This assembly had about five hundred Quasi-Emperors participating.

The Demon Race certainly has more than that number of Quasi-Emperors.

But each race can only send one Quasi-Emperor; some smaller races don’t even have Quasi-Emperors, so having five hundred is quite a lot.

Among these five hundred Quasi-Emperors, the weakest in realm was Sect Leader Jiang.

He was the only one at Early-stage Quasi-Emperor.

The rest were Mid-stage Quasi-Emperors at minimum.

It’s hard not to attract attention.

Outside, there was a litany of negative voices about him.

Fortunately, he was already in the preparation area and couldn’t hear them.

Brother Cheng, after experiencing many battles big and small, was still undergoing this type of competition for the first time.

He found it quite novel for a while.

The Demon Race’s competition rules were simple and straightforward.

A series of one-on-one duels, winners proceed to the next round, losers are directly eliminated.

As long as there’s no killing, everything else is allowed.

Over five hundred Quasi-Emperors were divided into four groups, and being among the top eight in each group meant entering the Earth Division.

Until achieving the top position in each group, they wouldn’t face other groups.

When the first group’s lineup was announced, besides focusing on their race’s Quasi-Emperor participants, all the Demon Race’s attention was also on where Brother Cheng was.

His name wasn’t seen in this group, yet there was still an uproar!

In the first group, Qi Yuan from the Yulin Race took the lead, joined by allies from the Peacock Race, Crane Race, Fox Race, and Bear Race—all allies within the Qilin Race.

In addition, this group included Ji Lin from the Ice Phoenix Race.

This group clearly aimed to besiege Ji Yao, a strong performer from other factions.

As a Late-stage Quasi-Emperor from the Ice Phoenix Race, normal circumstances would allow Ji Lin to break into the top eight.

But given this grouping, she might be stopped at the last 16 or even 32, and entering the Earth Division would be considered remarkable.

This was the traditional tactic of the Qilin Camp.

Last time, they besieged the Profound River of Cyan Dragon Valley, causing the latter to lose right after entering the top 32.

In the assembly before that, they besieged Cangqiong.

But Cangqiong was so powerful that he still stormed to seventh place under such circumstances.

The Ice Phoenix Emperor was furious, casting an angry gaze towards the Qilin camp.

"Mo Lin and Yu Lin, can you be any more blatant in your targeting? It’s disgusting!"

Emperor Mo Lin sneered: "Ha, Ice Phoenix, the groups are all random."

"I’ll just consider your speculation as slander."

Emperor Yulin also spoke coolly: "True prowess means overcoming any group, so don’t blame external factors."

Nine-tailed, Peacock, Bai He, and several other Demon Emperors chimed in.

Insinuations that if she’s not advancing, it’s her own incompetence, not the grouping’s fault.

So infuriated was the Ice Phoenix Emperor that she nearly exited in protest.

The Cyan Dragon Emperor tried to say a few soothing words, gently nudging to curry favor with the Ice Phoenix Emperor.

"Ji Yao, don’t be mad; they’ve always been like this, haven’t they?"

"Take it easy, as long as Ji Lin gets into the top 32, it’s enough."

Empress Ji Yao of the Ice Phoenix Empire glared coldly at him: "Save it; you’re best at forming alliances, but when it’s time for you to act, you back out faster than anyone!"

She and the White Tiger Emperor and Kunpeng Emperor had once been pulled by the Cyan Dragon Emperor to fight against the Qilin Race’s dominance.

But once the Cyan Dragon Emperor gathered people, he always urged them to be patient, never intending to confront the opposing camp fiercely.

Over time, their unity dissolved, and they went their separate ways.

Soon afterward, the second and third groupings were announced.

These two groups didn’t raise much commotion.

The Quasi-Emperors from the Kunpeng Emperor’s forces, the Kun and Peng factions, were within the groups, along with the Dark Phoenix Race’s Quasi-Emperor and Sheep Demon King Shangeng.

As for the third group, the Tiger Race, Fire Phoenix Race, Wolf Race, and Ape Race—these powerful tribes were expected to break through easily.

Attention from the entire Demon Race was focused on the fourth group.

Because many familiar names had not appeared in the first three groups, inevitably sparking extensive speculation.

When the fourth group’s list was revealed, the whole place first erupted in surprise, then went into a complete frenzy.

In this group, they finally saw the long-missed name of Azure Dragon Emperor Cang Cheng.

Besides him, there was Profound Sea from the Cyan Dragon Race and Ao Yang from the Golden Dragon Race!

The race saw an internal Dragon Race confrontation.

Moreover, there was the powerful Qi Sheng from the Mo Lin Race, the Quasi-Emperor Golden Thread Insect from Emperor of Wanshi’s Insect Race, and the Late-stage Ear Mouse Demon Emperor from the Mouse Race under the Ear Rat Demon Emperor.

And several other Quasi-Emperors under the Qilin Race.

Lastly, there was Wu Gai from the Profound Turtle Race, a Late-stage Quasi-Emperor.

Even the Cyan Dragon Emperor, who had just advised the Ice Phoenix to relax, couldn’t remain calm now.

"Yu Lin, Mo Lin, what are you two plotting?"

"Why are all three Imperial Dragon Race groups placed together?"

"Are you trying to force internal conflict upon us?"

"Damn it!"

Given this arrangement, even if a Dragon Race reaches the top of the group, the overall results would still not be impressive.

What’s more, this group had Qi Sheng, a seasoned Qilin Race expert, flanked by the Insect, Mouse, Deer, and several other subordinate Demon Races.

Clearly aiming to purify the Dragon Race and Profound Turtle Race.

If things went wrong, the Dragon Race might not even have one in the top 16.

"Xuanming, there are no issues with the groupings." The stoic Lord of the Celestial Division, Emperor Mo Lin, remarked.

"Whatever the arrangement, there will be dissatisfaction."

"Must it benefit your Dragon Race to suit your preference and be considered fair?"

"Didn’t Ao Yang and Cang Cheng from your Dragon Race have a lot of momentum? Just in time to settle differences here, hahaha!"

"Exactly, isn’t Profound Sea your Cyan Dragon Valley’s Crown Prince? Don’t tell me you lack confidence in him?"

This left the Cyan Dragon Emperor feeling stifled, unable to refute.