"So, I lost after all?" Hugo mused, and a hint of satisfaction mixed with his contemplation. "But that strike was really fast." The sudden, unexpected manifestation of solidified momentum now had Hugo almost certain that the Revenge Shadow Rider must be the legion commander, since the quality of that presence had been unmistakably akin to Feng Yi's magnetic field.

Hugo, from within the confines of his mecha, felt many of the beast's systems fail after the Revenge Shadow Rider's strike didn't directly hit the cockpit but instead struck a vital part of the mecha's frame.

After the match, when the video was played back in slow motion, the entire crowd was stunned. It was impossible not to be surprised, as the Revenge Shadow Rider had repelled his opponent with a mere roar in a critical moment. Of course, they had no idea of the mixed-in concept of 'momentum', and that final blow, which was just a casual flick from the Revenge Shadow Rider as he roared and landed, hit the chest and abdomen with pinpoint accuracy. Just half a meter higher and it might have sliced into the cockpit—extremely accurate and, of course, an incredibly thrilling battle.

The top 32 popular warrior contestants were finally decided.

With the Revenge Shadow Rider at the forefront, the list included Kexiao from Saudi, Jiu Ling, Xia Mu, the silent Revenant No.3, and the enigmatic Second Prince Shabak.

Representing Hell's Gate were Vladimir, Jason, and Blaria.

Representatives of the Federation were Sky Shadow, Angelina, Dovir, and Desert Storm.

Representing Bergheide were the Soaring Sword Dragon and Duolin.

From Pross came Heinsilio and the fourth princess Eluma.

Lily from Weibang, the sole representative.

From the Diya alliance came Blue Electric Rain, Princess Tilia, and Margaret.

From Valan, the lone representative was mecha battle emperor Mansfield.

Representatives from the Zana Republic were Raymond and Falanst.

From Rekart came Drivers No. '7', No. '8', No. '13', and No. '25'. Rekart clearly places a high value on their pilots' privacy, preferring to use code names instead of real names.

Four seats were left vacant, meaning that in the deadly leap from 64 to 32, matchups were done by rounding off, and those four slots could proceed directly to the 32 to 16 elimination round if one was lucky enough.

Some contestants were well-known warriors, while others remained obscure. Once they made it to the top 32, any details concerning the event timing and player matching would be publicly disclosed, with the pairings determined by drawing lots.

There would be a day of rest after the top 32 were decided upon, and the lot-drawing would take place the following morning.

This segment was like gambling, undoubtedly the moment most anticipated by viewers, because you simply had no idea who your next opponent would be.

It could lead to an internal conflict between two players from the same country, likely to occur with representatives from the Federation, Hell's Gate, Saudi, and even the Diya alliance. For Saudi, which had 5 players in the top 32, it was both a stroke of luck and a slightly ironic situation.

Early the next morning, feeling under the weather, Feng Yi decided to delay his departure from Dragon Gate Space Station for just a day. He wanted to observe the order of subsequent player battles. Even for Feng Yi, he was indeed quite eager to see who his next opponent would be. If it really was Kexiao, even in his current state, he would not hesitate to continue competing and fight a battle.

After all, Feng Yi was not truly afraid of failure. His days were numbered, and this era needed someone as outstanding as Kexiao. If possible, he would not mind using his own failure to forge Kexiao's success.

Indeed, it was a terribly poor script, and Feng Yi would not resign himself to it, nor would Kexiao be satisfied, given his character. Feng Yi considered himself quite knowledgeable about Kexiao—a man who seemed calm on the surface but was full of pride. Kexiao would never accept such a victory—but let it be, Feng Yi had no interest in managing subsequent issues.

After the drawing was over and the results seen, he would immediately visit the Jade Clear Sect to understand Wu Tian's real intention in seeking him out. Although he himself never believed in spirits and deities, he was somewhat concerned about Roland's hints. Coupled with the Blade Warrior's abnormal behavior and Wu Tian's warnings, he couldn't help but speculate.

Another issue was that Feng Yi had a higher probability of drawing a blank than other competitors. Each competitor would take the stage once, according to the rules, but if he were left till last, the chance of drawing an empty spot would greatly increase. Of course, considering Feng Yi's current physical condition, drawing a blank might actually be a good thing.

Judging by his current physical condition, he would worsen with each battle. He often ridiculed himself—according to ancient martial arts novels, would his condition be considered a loss of balance between yin and yang, blood flowing backward, realm plummeting, and approaching collapse?

He smiled wryly and shook his head... What a miserably tough fate. In other stories, protagonists are born with exceptional talent and come with an undying aura. Even if their talent is mediocre, they often have wealthy fates, like surviving great disasters, falling off cliffs, finding secret manuals, acquiring divine powers, winning the hearts of beauties, and effortlessly defeating Ao Tian, thereby reaching the pinnacle of life.

Besides, in this day and age, who doesn't experience some adventures? Unlike him, his "adventure" was a dinosaur, which couldn't even be counted as an aid in battle. His martial skills were all self-taught, and his combat relied purely on technique, not a single bit of adventure to speak of. This is the essential difference between novel protagonists and real-world, transcendent era protagonists.

Eggy's words were not wrong—if he died, he would truly and utterly be gone.

With somewhat messy thoughts in mind, after having breakfast and paying the bill, Feng Yi did not stop and walked through street after street. Then, with a leap, he soared up onto the high platform of the arena.

This time was not so good. Due to the instability of his realm, he nearly slipped and fell from high above. Fortunately, he managed to use the Air Travel skill surreptitiously to sneak in.

There was no helping it; the audience that came to watch the drawing today was too large, and he couldn't even squeeze through the entrance. Out of sheer necessity, Feng Yi had to use this method to infiltrate quickly. Yet his habitual tardiness still delayed him—it was already 8:10 AM, and the 32 contenders had already proceeded to the third person.

That person was... Kexiao.

Even with Feng Yi's vision, he could not make out which number Kexiao had drawn. However, the contenders who got their numbers would stand on the contestant platform, to be announced later with the others, so Feng Yi was not in a hurry. Instead, he picked up an old friend and started to sip his liquor in small gulps.

Following Kexiao was Hei Feng, his gaze sharp. He frowned slightly during the draw. It was all up to fate now! The last three people Hei Feng wanted to encounter were Kexiao, Revenge Shadow Rider, and Desert Storm. As for the Soaring Sword Dragon, he was not afraid. After all, a man who had lost to Sky Shadow was not someone Hei Feng considered to be formidable. Even if this person was strong, a weak mental state did not merit the label of a powerhouse. There were weaknesses, and where there were weaknesses, there were opportunities.

Compared to Soaring Sword Dragon, Hei Feng's admiration for Kexiao didn't need to be mentioned. Facing Kexiao, he had no chance at all; against Revenge Shadow Rider and Desert Storm, both peak burst damage fighters, he also believed his odds were not high. Apart from these, Hei Feng feared no other competitor.

After drawing his colored ball, Hei Feng secretly breathed a sigh of relief—at least he had just seen Kexiao's colored ball, and they were not matched in the same sequence.

Hei Feng's situation made Jiu Ling somewhat concerned. Who would have thought he'd be so wary of Kexiao? Jiu Ling saw through it but didn't say it aloud, and he immediately took out a colored ball and went to the central competition area.

Next was Sky Shadow from the Federation, who scanned the crowd with a cold gaze. Without hesitation, Sky Shadow drew a ball and walked away without even looking. Honestly, he was too lazy to watch luck-based draws and just hoped he didn't encounter someone too strong.

It wasn't that he truly feared anyone. As the saying goes, 'Know thyself, know thy enemy,' and by observing enough, he could come up with proper strategies for subsequent battles. Seeking stability for victory had always been Sky Shadow's creed.

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