Chapter 448 -448-Shocking the Entire Cosmos
At this moment, countless universes and countless factions noticed the changes on the Golden Ranking.
The instant they saw John’s name, everyone understood what had happened.
Once again, in the Top Fifteen-to-Top Eight round, the top-ranked contestant was none other than John—the peerless expert from the Skyvault Consortium.
Countless people immediately began exclaiming.
"No way! First place is John again?"
"How many times has this happened already?"
"Just how strong is this guy? Why had no one ever heard of him before?"
"Is John seriously going to keep monopolizing first place all the way to the end?"
Powerhouses across the universe stared at John’s name on the Golden Ranking.
None of them had expected a sudden dark horse like him to dominate from the moment he first appeared.
And yet...
ever since entering the rankings, John’s results had consistently crushed every other contestant.
...
The Master of Sacred Mountain also noticed the change in the Golden Ranking.
When he saw John’s name, he smiled faintly.
"As expected, I wasn’t wrong about him."
"The true powerhouse capable of representing the Skyvault Consortium is John."
"And the three companions beside him are no weaker."
"Every one of them possesses strength comparable to the top contestants."
"The Skyvault Consortium must have seen this ranking as well."
"Once this Myriad Worlds Tournament ends, John’s status and treatment within the organization will undoubtedly undergo an earth-shattering change."
Just as the Master of Sacred Mountain predicted...
the moment John’s ranking appeared, the experts of the Skyvault Consortium were overjoyed.
Whether they were Sovereign-rank experts or Peak Sovereigns...
all of them now looked at John with genuine admiration.
If someone reached first place once, perhaps it could still be attributed to luck.
But taking first place again and again?
That could no longer be explained by luck.
The only thing capable of keeping John firmly at the top of the rankings...
was strength.
Absolute strength.
The kind of strength that could crush every other contestant and casually suppress anyone at the same level.
"John truly is extraordinary."
Starsea Sovereign laughed.
"To think that during the age of the Apocalypse Tribulation, our Skyvault Consortium would produce such an unparalleled genius..."
"That’s true."
Orion Sovereign, however, looked somewhat worried.
"If John had appeared during an ordinary era, perhaps he could have gone even further."
"But this is the era of the Apocalypse Tribulation."
"A monstrous genius who has yet to fully mature can still die before reaching his peak."
"Even though Peak Sovereigns possess the ability to revive experts from the River of Time, the price is simply too great."
"A Peak Sovereign may not be willing to pay it."
"John doesn’t have many powerful connections yet."
"If something happens to him, there may not be a Peak Sovereign willing to pull him back from the River of Time."
"His path ahead will not be smooth."
"The stronger someone is, and the greater their potential, the greater the price required to revive them from the River of Time."
Starsea Sovereign shook his head.
"Even Sovereign-rank experts like us would never dare assume that a friendly Peak Sovereign would be willing to revive us."
"The price is simply too high."
"So while we still have the ability to help John, we should help him as much as possible."
"When he returns, I’ll propose granting him treatment equivalent to a peak God King."
"Peak God King-level treatment?"
Orion Sovereign smiled.
"That sounds reasonable."
"Throughout the history of the Skyvault Consortium, no High God has ever received treatment equivalent to a God King."
"But this is the extraordinary era of the Apocalypse Tribulation."
"Every universe is facing destruction."
"There’s no need to remain overly conservative."
...
Meanwhile, experts from the other major factions stared at John’s name on the Golden Ranking with mixed emotions.
They envied the Skyvault Consortium.
And they were jealous.
Why was it John again?
Why did he have to belong to the Skyvault Consortium?
Why couldn’t he belong to the Shadow Divine Court?
The Tower of Myriad Treasures?
The Demon King Council?
Evernight Palace?
Naturally, John had also begun attracting the attention of hostile factions.
"I want every piece of information on John within one minute."
A Sovereign-rank expert from Evernight Palace spoke coldly.
"The Skyvault Consortium is our enemy."
"John belongs to them, so naturally, he is our enemy as well."
"Once the Myriad Worlds Tournament ends, John will undoubtedly receive an extraordinary reward."
Another Sovereign-rank expert from the Demon King Council said,
"If he’s allowed to grow all the way to Sovereign rank..."
"then aside from a Peak Sovereign, who would still be capable of suppressing him?"
"We must eliminate him before he becomes too powerful!"
...
At that moment...
the voice of the Will of the Universe continued.
"Second place—representing the Skyvault Consortium... Holly!"
Immediately afterward, Holly’s name appeared on the Golden Ranking.
...
"Eighth place—independent cultivator, Philip."
One ranking after another was announced.
Soon, the complete list of the Top Eight was revealed.
And on the Golden Ranking...
all four of the top positions belonged to contestants from the Skyvault Consortium.
The experts of the Skyvault Consortium found the sight extremely satisfying.
The experts of the other factions, however...
found it extremely irritating.
"One John would already have been enough."
"How are the entire top four from the Skyvault Consortium?"
"Is the Skyvault Consortium trying to defy heaven itself?"
"The top four all belong to them!"
"This is ridiculous! Why does our faction only have one contestant left?"
"Hey, having one is already pretty good."
"Look at the Tower of Myriad Treasures and Evernight Palace."
"They don’t even have a single contestant left."
"Did I make the wrong choice back then?"
"Maybe I should’ve joined the Skyvault Consortium instead of Evernight Palace."
"John and the other three all belong to the Skyvault Consortium."
"That alone proves the Skyvault Consortium has a bright future!"
...
After the Top Eight rankings were announced...
the eight experts inside the secret realm quietly waited for the rules of the final round.
The Will of the Universe did not make them wait long.
After updating the ranking, its voice continued echoing throughout the secret realm.
"The rules of the Top Eight are as follows."
The moment the Will of the Universe began announcing the rules...
John and the others immediately focused their attention.
None of them wanted to miss a single word.
"First."
"This Top Eight round will be the final stage of the Myriad Worlds Tournament."
"The results of this round will directly determine the final rankings."
"Rewards will also be distributed according to those final rankings."
"The higher your rank, the better your reward."
"Second."
"No contestant will be eliminated during this round."
"Unless a contestant dies during the competition itself."
"All achievements obtained by each contestant will be retained."
"Third."
"The content of this Top Eight round is as follows."
"All contestants will travel through the River of Time."
"With the assistance of the Will of the Universe, each contestant will be transported to a specific era."
"The round will be divided into two sections—"
"[Past] and [Future]."
"All contestants will be randomly assigned to a specific point in time within one of those two sections."
"Fourth."
"Contestants randomly transported into the [Past] must search for the root cause of the Apocalypse Tribulation."
"All secrets surrounding the Apocalypse Tribulation lie within the past."
"Completing this objective will grant rewards from the Will of the Universe."
"Fifth."
"Contestants randomly transported into the [Future] must enter the era of the Apocalypse Tribulation itself."
"You must survive there for a specified period of time."
"Doing so will also grant rewards from the Will of the Universe."
"Sixth."
"The victory condition is as follows."
"Regardless of whether a contestant is sent into the Past or the Future..."
"any contestant who successfully breaks through to the peak God King level will be considered to have completed the round."
"Those who complete the objective earlier will receive higher rankings."
"Those who complete it later..."
"will rank lower."