My Identity Is Becoming More and More Astonishing

Outside the circle, numerous reporters and cameramen immediately raised their "long guns and short cannons," broadcasting the entire process live.

Chen Yu was the first to jump onto the stage, reaching into the box to pull out a transparent glass sphere, exquisitely made.

Inside was a tiny number—9.

"Your number is 9," the proctor explained. "The other contestant who draws number 9 will be your first opponent."

"Come on," Chen Yu motioned to the long-haired man. "Come up and draw."

The long-haired man didn't hesitate, leaping onto the stage and pulling a sphere marked with a "2" from the box.

Chen Yu: "Trash."

Long-haired man: "Crap."

"Both of you get down."

One by one, the contestants took the stage to draw lots and check their spheres.

There were joys and sorrows.

A typical joy was the Transcendent who drew the number "9", giving Chen Yu a mix of friendly and challenging glances.

Indeed, Chen Yu's score from the last round was historically the highest.

But it was ultimately a "fluke".

Among these twenty, he was the most likely the weakest.

A typical sorrow was the Transcendent who drew the number "2".

His opponent was the top contender from the Alliance Academy.

Meaning his assessment was over at this point.

Soon, eighteen contestants had finished drawing lots. Only two centaurs from the Ka Xiu clan were left, still standing below the stage, calmly showing off.

Seeing everyone had left the stage, they slowly ambled up together.

The smaller-bodied centaur reached into the box, and then paused, looking confusedly at the proctor.

The proctor's smile widened, and he suddenly squashed the box flat. "Sorry, I forgot to mention a rule. The balls in the box numbered from 1 to 9 are only eighteen in total. The last two people automatically become each other's next opponent."

The smaller-bodied centaur was bewildered, not understanding, and looked at his companion.

The larger one, who understood human language, grasped the meaning and his face instantly turned cold.

It was no fool.

It clearly understood that the monitoring team had set them up.

But it said nothing in defense. It just smirked with a cruel curve at the corner of its mouth, "VL].K;[P. (After all, just a bunch of bugs.)"

"Thanks for the compliment," the proctor bowed slightly. "This has always been the rule in past tournaments, but I forgot to mention it this time. Sorry."

Pulling his confused kinsman, the centaur left without looking back.

"Now, the following time is free time," said the proctor as he casually discarded the box, amplifying his voice, "You all can take a brief rest and prepare your fighting equipment. At 11:30, through this exit—"

He paused slightly, sidestepping to point at the huge metal door behind him, adding, "Proceed to the 1000th floor's grand arena."

"Dismissed."

With that,

The numerous media journalists crowded at the outer ring surged forward again.

Chen Yu, curious, walked around the high stage to the massive metal door, tentatively pushing it open a crack.

"Boom—"

A deafening noise immediately assaulted his face.

Peeking through,

He saw below the revolving staircase, an endless expanse of clouds.

Above was a coliseum with no visible edges, already packed with hundreds of thousands of spectators.

Magnificently vast, densely packed, seemingly endless, a massive swath of darkness.

It was hard to imagine the colossal extent of this "coliseum".

Instead of saying Sky-reaching Tower is a tower, it's more like a stick supporting a "plate."

"Snap!"

Suddenly a hand reached out and closed the metal door.

The proctor approached, frowning prettily, "You can't go out now."
Explore new worlds at empire

"I wasn't planning to, just taking a look."

"..." The proctor fell silent for a moment, lowering her voice, "In a while at the arena, don't let the atmosphere cloud your judgment. If you can't win, just surrender. There's no shame in it."

"Understood."

Chen Yu nodded, turning to leave.

He had just taken a few steps but then stopped and turned back to look at the proctor.

"Anything else?" the proctor tilted her head.

Chen Yu: "Could you get me some underwear?"

Proctor: "..."

...