In truth, the Demon King Council was not the only faction filled with regret.
The Sovereign-rank powerhouses of the Eternal Divine Palace, the Treasure-Rich Mountains, the Eternal Summit, and the other factions that had once come into contact with John were also deeply remorseful.
Had they known what he would become, they would have offered him treatment surpassing anything the Skyvault Consortium could provide. Perhaps then, they might have had a chance to recruit him.
Now, however, there was no longer any possibility of drawing John to their side.
The Grand Sovereign of the Eternal Divine Palace grew angrier the more he thought about it.
"Obtaining John alone would have been equivalent to obtaining four supreme-level powerhouses."
"It would have been an unbelievably profitable exchange."
"What a pity that I failed to outbid the Skyvault Consortium."
The powerhouses of the Eternal Sanctum were similarly tempted and could not conceal their envy toward John.
One of them began indulging in a fantasy.
"If I had crossed the river of time and found John while he was still at the demigod grade, then recruited him into the Eternal Sanctum, our faction might have become the strongest power in existence by now."
However, after reconsidering the matter, he quickly realized how unrealistic the idea was.
Since John had already risen so forcefully, he must have entered the attention of the Skyvault Consortium’s Sovereigns and Grand Sovereigns long ago.
Even if someone traveled back through the river of time to that period, those mighty beings would inevitably intervene.
Furthermore, the inertia of destiny was immensely powerful.
Even under different circumstances, John might still have refused the Eternal Sanctum’s invitation.
After thinking it through, the powerhouse of the Eternal Sanctum could only abandon the idea.
Inside the secret realm hosting the top-thirty competition, two rounds of terrifying battles had already concluded.
The participants who had advanced included Morin, Kaine, Hilt, Odelle, Morado, Gurok, Alvin, Soren, Edmund, and Valis.
The only remaining participants whose final positions had yet to be determined were John, Holly, Valentin, Cedric, and Karen.
At that moment, the will of the universe began announcing the official results of the second round.
[Ding! The results of the second round of arena battles will now be announced.]
[Hilt of the Skyvault Consortium is victorious.]
[Valis of the Treasure-Rich Mountains is victorious.]
[Odelle of the Skyvault Consortium is victorious.]
[Morado of the Eternal Summit is victorious.]
[Edmund of the Demon King Council is victorious.]
Immediately afterward, the will of the universe announced the matchups for the third and final round.
[According to the rules of the top-thirty competition, participants ranked first through fifth will face those ranked twenty-sixth through thirtieth.]
[Arena No. 1: First-ranked John versus thirtieth-ranked Leonard.]
[Arena No. 2: Second-ranked Holly versus twenty-ninth-ranked Girard.]
[Arena No. 3: Third-ranked Valentin versus twenty-eighth-ranked Taren.]
[Arena No. 4: Fourth-ranked Cedric versus the participant ranked twenty-seventh.]
[Arena No. 5: Fifth-ranked Karen versus twenty-sixth-ranked Merlin.]
When the will of the universe announced the matchups for the final round, the expressions of powerhouses throughout the universe became solemn.
The Sovereigns and Grand Sovereigns of the major factions focused their attention on the tournament.
Even ancient ancestors who had never shown themselves before began secretly observing the final round of the top-thirty competition.
The reason was simple.
The participants entering the arenas in this round were the five highest-ranked powerhouses.
A place among the top five carried enormous significance.
These were the most exceptional beings among the exceptional—the strongest among countless powerhouses.
Before the phenomena in the sky had even fully faded, Soren had already turned his attention toward John.
He spoke calmly.
"John, are you truly capable of maintaining that first-place position?"
Alvin was also paying close attention to John.
"Finally, I have another opportunity to watch John fight."
"Let me see more of your strength."
"Even revealing the slightest bit more would be enough."
"If I encounter you in the future, whatever I learn now may prevent me from being completely suppressed."
At that moment, the voice of the will of the universe rang out again.
[The ten participants scheduled to fight will now be transported into their respective arenas.]
[The final round of the top-thirty competition is about to begin.]
As the final round officially commenced, all ten participants appeared within their assigned arenas.
Countless powerhouses throughout the universe watched attentively.
They wanted to see exactly what the top-five participants looked like and what abilities had allowed them to stand above the rest.
Above all, they wanted to understand John.
What kind of existence was this man who remained firmly at the top, surpassing every other contestant?
Discussions erupted throughout the universe.
"John is about to enter the arena."
"Let us finally see his true strength."
"If he is genuinely powerful enough, he should be able to suppress his opponent effortlessly."
"We will soon find out whether his ability matches his ranking."
"John seems to be a High God who only became famous recently."
"I do not remember ever hearing his name before this tournament."
The top-five participants attracted an extraordinary amount of attention.
Naturally, they also faced a great deal of doubt.
At that moment, all ten powerhouses appeared simultaneously within the five arenas.
Several of them attacked the instant they arrived, without the slightest hesitation.
Karen immediately looked toward the opponent standing across from him.
"My ranking is so high, while his is so low."
"Defeating him should be extremely easy."
Karen threw a punch.
An enormous shadow instantly condensed within the void and descended like the collapse of the heavens.
During the second round, Karen had seen several supreme powerhouses kill their opponents with a single punch.
He assumed he could achieve the same result.
However, his opponent was already prepared.
Merlin raised one hand and struck forward with his palm.
A gigantic palm manifestation appeared within the void.
The fist and palm collided violently.
To Karen’s surprise, both manifestations shattered simultaneously, releasing vast quantities of Law power in every direction.
Rumble!
Neither participant gained an advantage from their first exchange.
Karen stared at his opponent in astonishment.
"This man’s strength is not much weaker than mine."
He had never imagined that his opponent could withstand that punch.
Logically, someone ranked so far below him should not have possessed such formidable strength.
However, during the Advancement Round, the temporary rankings had not been determined purely by combat ability.
Luck had also played an enormous role.
Some powerhouses had simply been unlucky, with their hunting targets appearing much later than those of the other participants.
As a result, they had qualified more slowly and received lower temporary rankings.
That did not necessarily mean their combat strength was inferior.
Karen now understood that he would not be able to end this battle quickly.
If the confrontation became prolonged, his performance evaluation would suffer, and his final ranking would probably not be particularly high.
Meanwhile, Valentin had also begun fighting his opponent.
After their first exchange, both sides gained a rough understanding of the other’s strength.
However, the result did not surprise Valentin.
He had already used his deduction techniques to predict that his opponent possessed combat power approaching the level of a supreme prodigy.
Winning would not be especially difficult.
He would simply have to exert more effort than expected.
Cedric experienced much the same situation as the other two.
He launched a ruthless attack against his opponent, only to discover that he could not defeat the man within a short period.
Cedric quickly realized that his opponent was also extraordinarily powerful.
The man possessed combat strength comparable to that of a supreme prodigy and was not someone Cedric could instantly kill.
The struggles of these three top-five participants were immediately noticed by everyone watching the arenas.
Morado silently analyzed the situation.
"Cedric, Valentin, and Karen were not given weak opponents."
"All three of them may be facing much more difficult battles than their rankings initially suggested."