Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

The arena was teeming with people moving to and fro. Strangely enough, in spite of that, it seemed very quiet inside the arena.

There was no hubbub, no noise, no cheering or screaming, or anyone shouting themselves hoa.r.s.e…

In a move uncharacteristic of their usual behavior, the spectators sat upright and still. Even when they exchanged an occasional word with one another, they whispered among themselves and kept their discussions down.

The 100,000 spectator fee had kept a large number of lesser n.o.bles and pet.i.t-bourgeois from entering the arena. Thus, the ones that could enter and watch the matches were basically all well-educated middle- to higher-cla.s.s n.o.bles.

Of course, what really made all the spectators in the arena that quiet was ultimately still the Fire Dragon King's presence gracing the venue, as well as the royalty and officials' arrivals.

Not only had the Fire Dragon King—King Flit the 66th—arrived together with Queen Diana in person, but all the princes and princesses had also come to the arena.

Aside from them, some of the senates from the senior statesmen's a.s.sembly, other royalty members, chancellors, and other civil and military influential officials had also personally come to watch the matches.

It was no exaggeration to say that even any random person among the VIPs here to watch the matches today held an impressive ident.i.ty and was someone that played a critical role in the kingdom.

With them around, who would dare to cause a commotion?

As a result, the usually lively and boisterous arena seemed rather stifling. Once in a while, the spectators would glance at the VIP private rooms with fear, awe, and reverence in their eyes.

In particular, the 103 contestants in the contestant seats wore even more excited expressions on their faces and had looks of antic.i.p.ation and pumped-up spirits in their eyes.

After spending so many years painstakingly cultivating in silence, they were finally going to show their strength in front of the king and all the court officials today.

Who wouldn't be worked up over it?

And who wouldn't be all pumped up over it?

Even Meng Lei couldn't help but direct his gaze at the private rooms above him, hints of unusual emotion flas.h.i.+ng across the depths of his eyes.

Of course, what he was really astonished by weren't just their statuses, but also their strength.

According to Ol' Amos, there were actually almost 100 Saint Domains in the entire arena. Meng Lei almost wet himself in shock.

That was 100 Saint Domains, after all!

Who wouldn't be astounded by the presence of that many Saint Domains?

“In just a short 20,000 years, Fire Dragon Kingdom has already come this far. As expected, time is indeed the most powerful cheating device!”

Ol' Amos' somewhat surprised sigh of emotion and admiration rang out in Meng Lei's mind, to which Meng Lei also nodded quietly in agreement. Saint Domain experts enjoyed a long, endless lifespan, and on top of that, they were also very hardy.

As long as there were no ma.s.sive upheavals like the Abyss Demons' invasion, more and more Saint Domain experts were bound to appear.

Therefore, the current Fire Dragon Kingdom was even more powerful than what it was 20,000 years ago—there was no doubt about that.

But of course, what Meng Lei was astounded by the most wasn't the arrival of the 100 Saint Domains, but the gifts they had given him!

“Ding! Dropped item detected. Will you pick it up?”

“Ding! a.s.similation successful. Host's Physical Body Const.i.tution +3,576!”

“Ding! Dropped item detected. Will you pick it up?”

“Ding! a.s.similation successful. Host's Spirit +2,918!”

“Ding! Dropped item detected. Will you pick it up?”

“Ding! a.s.similation successful. You have obtained the First-Cla.s.s Spell, Prairie-Blazing Heavenly Fire!”

“Ding! Dropped item detected. Will you pick it up?”

“Ding! a.s.similation successful. Host's Wealth +129,632!”

“Ding! Dropped item detected. Will you pick it up?”

“Ding! a.s.similation successful. You have obtained the Ninth-Grade Spell, Multi-Layer Tempest!”

“Ding…”

Cold, emotionless system notifications constantly rang out in Meng Lei's head, utterly delighting him.

In less than ten minutes, he had already picked up 39 eighth-grade spells, 9 ninth-grade spells, and 5 first-cla.s.s spells!

As for light b.a.l.l.s of other low-grade and mid-grade spells, Physical Body Const.i.tution, Spirit, Wealth, and other attributes, they numbered so many that he couldn't even keep count anymore.

In just a short while, Meng Lei had earned an overflowing amount of rewards—one could totally say that a windfall and a pleasant surprise had befallen him!

As a result, Meng Lei was in a wonderful mood, and he looked pleased as a punch. His expression ended up appearing completely out of place next to the other, pumped up, and nervous contestants.

“Dear all!”

At that moment, an elderly man dressed in a black magic robe went up the fighting ring. In a clear, bright voice, he announced cheerfully, “Welcome to the last day of the qualifying round, everyone! I am your host for today, Norman Obote!”

The host's voice was clear and resonant as he went on. “First of all, let us welcome His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen with a pa.s.sionate round of applause!”

Clap, clap, clap!

Thunderous applause rang throughout the arena.

“Next, the King will grace us with a few words!”

Clap, clap, clap!

The centermost private room's door slowly opened, and a middle-aged man dressed in a fiery-red dragon robe walked out. He stepped on thin air and walked in the sky, taking step by step toward the area above the arena.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoos.h.!.+

Everyone's gazes in the arena fell simultaneously onto the man, their eyes carrying looks of reverence, respect, and wors.h.i.+p.

His physique was full of power and grandeur and was lofty and majestic!

His eyes were sharp, awe-inspiring, and imposing!

His head of long, fiery-red hair flowed freely and uncontrolled, and he gave off an aura so powerful that it made one's heart tremble. He was as though the blazing sun in the sky, so blinding that it made one's eyes hurt, afraid to raise their heads to look at him.

The number one expert in the kingdom—Flit the 66th!

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A powerful, pure-blooded Saint Domain Fire Dragon and the current Fire Dragon King with a reign of 637 years and counting!

“So that's the Fire Dragon King!”

Meng Lei's eyes focused on him, an impossibly huge sense of pressure coming over him. He had a certain feeling—if the Fire Dragon King wished to, he could definitely kill him with just a smack of his palm. The gap between the two of them was akin to the gulf between heaven and earth!

“I'm still too weak!” Meng Lei sighed inwardly. “The most I can do is just bully the experts below the Saint Domain realm. When up against a Saint Domain, I have no chances of victory at all.”

At this exact moment, a light ball that shone with a fiery-red glow dropped from the Fire Dragon King. Then, the system's voice notification aptly rang out.

“Ding! Dropped item detected. Will you pick it up?”

“Yes, pick it up!”

“Ding! a.s.similation successful. You have obtained a Fire-Elemental Laws of Nature Fragment!”

Wait a minute! A fire-elemental Laws of Nature fragment?

Meng Lei's eyes widened dramatically, and he almost jumped off his seat.

A fire-elemental Laws of Nature fragment?

Oh my G.o.d!

I've actually picked up something like that? Hurry! a.s.similate it!

Meng Lei let out a shout in his mind.

Boom!

An incomparably vast and boundless wave of information suddenly gushed into his mind. Just like a breached dam, they ran amok in the depths of his mind.

An endless amount of comprehension of the Fire Element surged into his mind like a tidal wave. Meng Lei felt as though the only thing that remained in front of him at the moment was a sea of fire.

Other than fire, there was still only fire!

The amazing thing was that these flames completely formed from Fire Elements were no longer just shaped purely with Fire Elements. Rather, all of them were connected to one another via innumerable red threads.

Dense, concentrated red threads covered every inch of the flames, shrouding the entire sea of fire in them and connecting every granule of Fire Elements.

The red threads were in complete control of the Fire Elements' dancing and burning. If the dancing Fire Elements were puppets, then these threads would be the strings controlling the puppets.

Meng Lei had a feeling that with just a light tug on any of the threads from him, he would be able to induce a dramatic spike in the flames' might.

Of course, he could also extinguish the flames anytime he wanted.

“Fire-elemental… Laws of nature?” Meng Lei murmured to himself as he instinctively reached out and plucked out one of the threads.

Whoos.h.!.+

The flames instantly went out, and the sea of fire vanished.

Meng Lei shook his head a couple of times, his senses abruptly coming back to him. It was only then that he discovered that the Fire Dragon King—Flit the 66th—had long since ended his speech and returned to the private room.

Instead, there were currently two contestants fighting it out in the fighting ring.

“I wonder how much time had gone by just now?” Meng Lei murmured under his breath.

He clearly remembered that the events just now had spanned only a split second, yet it seemed like a long while had actually gone by…

“Huh? Why is there a change in the stats interface?”

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