Chapter 997: The Draw
The day before the tournament began, Tang San had the Grand Elder place bets on him, both for making it into the final top three of the Battle for the Throne, and for winning the overall championship.
Originally, the odds were 200:1 and 300:1, respectively. But after the Blue Gold Tree clan dropped a massive wager, the odds increased... to 100:1 and 150:1, respectively.
After all, there were far too many people betting against him. So even with the clan's significant investment, there were plenty of people willing to take the other side of the bet. As a result, the odds barely moved.
Tang San could only feel helpless. His clan's fortune was truly outrageous, though, so he had no qualms betting however much he wanted. As for the other participants' odds, he couldn't care less; he only paid attention to Mei Gongzi's. Hers were significantly better than his, and she seemed to be ranked fifteenth or so. This was thanks largely to the fact that she would enter directly in the semifinals.
Clearly, newcomers like them weren't highly regarded. After all, many of the contestants were long-established top-tier powerhouses from all across the continent.
To win in a competition like this, there could be no luck involved. No one would hold back in a fight like this; it would be an all-out war. There was little Tang San could do about it.
By now, the stands were already packed, and the atmosphere outside was noisy. Tang San arrived fashionably late. He was among the last to show up.
The weather was perfect: a cloudless blue sky. Sunshine bathed the majestic Council Mountain in a golden glow.
Not long after Tang San had taken his seat, a calm voice echoed across the arena.
"Silence."
Just two words, but they overpowered the chatter of hundreds of thousands. The crowd fell into immediate silence.
On a platform halfway up Council Mountain, in the reserved seating area for Emperors, over a dozen of them stood together.