The Black Book: Seven Deadly Sins
Chapter 85 - 85: East Asia Monster Room

Upon hearing this, Wang Hua gave him a strange look.

"The second phase of the Ascension Competition has started, and the only gathering point in East Asia is Shanghai, so they definitely have to come together!"

"What? The second phase has started?"

"You didn't know? Recently, there have been energy field broadcasts covering the entire world every day. You have the [Dragon Emblem], so you definitely should have received it."

"..."

Seeing the young boy's awkward expression, Wang Hua rubbed his chin.

"That shouldn't be the case, even if you returned to reality for a break, the committee would have sent a message to your phone. Didn't you receive it?"

"Uh... I didn't really pay attention."

Zhu Haomiao pulled a reluctant but polite smile and decisively changed the topic.

"Senior Brother Wang, is the difficulty of the second phase high?"

"It's the same as previous years, points battles hyped for viewership and gambling. Even if you're eliminated, there's a revival match, making it all flashy and showy..."

Hearing Wang Hua's words, Zhu Haomiao was slightly stunned, as the once sacred and passionate Ascension Competition in his heart inexplicably took on a whiff of money.

Sounds a bit like those talent shows in my past life...

Wait, viewership and gambling?

Can the competitions in the Illusion Realm be broadcast to reality too?

On the other hand, Wang Hua, unaware of Zhu Haomiao's subtle emotion, continued to speak tirelessly.

"The matches below are ongoing, so if you don't have anything to do later, you can go watch. Even if you don't go on stage, watching some elite players spar can give you a lot of experience."

"We are recognized as the East Asia Monster Room, with the highest competition level in the world. Many top contenders from other continents travel long distances specifically to come to Shanghai to compete."

Saying this, Wang Hua recalled something and couldn't help but laugh.

"Of course, there are some who enjoy bullying novices and specifically go to the Newbie Village to 'catch fish'. I heard that the Malacca arena was made miserable by a few 'Overseas Dragons'."

Hearing this, Zhu Haomiao's face twisted into a strange grimace, reminded of a server from a game in his past life.

Experts liked to go to the Korea server to hone their skills, while some with malicious tastes liked to go to the Japan server to bully novices. In one match, seven or eight players would dominate, all speaking Chinese, leaving the little idiot without any gaming experience.

As they chatted, the two arrived at an open rest area, and Wang Hua invited Zhu Haomiao to sit.

"Let's just wait here. They've been at it all morning, shouldn't take much longer."

As soon as he finished speaking, the doors of the meeting room a little distance away slowly opened. Individuals with deep and profound auras filed out, each wearing a prestigious and elegant Purple Gold Badge on their chest.

Seeing so many dominance-level existences for the first time, Zhu Haomiao instinctively stood up with Wang Hua, watching them leave.

At the same time, at the tail of the group, Feng Zhaobai stepped out of the meeting room and immediately saw the two.

A fleeting astonished and impressed look passed over as Feng Zhaobai calmly shook hands and bid farewell to people around him, then directly walked toward the two.

"Junior Brother Zhu."

Sharply sensing a hint of suppressed eagerness in Feng Zhaobai's actions, everyone turned their gaze upon the young boy, expressions varied.

"What a handsome face."

"Supernatural charm..."

"Probably has special lineage."

"Most likely has a top-tier [God's Destiny]."

"Daluo Golden Immortal?"

Inaudible whispers exchanged among the crowd. Seeing Feng Zhaobai "rudely" abandon them to greet the young boy with unprecedented enthusiasm and guide him into a side meeting room, their gazes turned even more subtly complex.

This implied that in Feng Zhaobai's eyes, their importance as dominance-level beings was less than a silver-level rookie, bypassing even the courtesy of seeing off guests.

This was quite an abnormal signal in China's diplomacy system, which placed huge importance on etiquette.

"I heard they let an [Abyss] in..."

"Could it be the Dragon's son..."

At this, everyone's eyelids twitched.

The Dragon's son... just hearing the name was thrilling!

"Uh... everyone, this way please."

At this moment, the staff member who was initially idle finally realized something was amiss and hurriedly took over Feng Zhaobai's role, courteously seeing everyone out.

Taking one last deep look at the tightly closed meeting room door, everyone slowly left under the staff's guidance, their expressions varied as they departed.

Some were amused, some wary, some disgruntled, some delighted, and still others were envious...

On the other side, in the warmly decorated meeting room, after brief small talk, Zhu Haomiao was the first to speak.

"Senior Brother Feng, since I've now ascended to silver, can I take on some golden-level tasks?"

Hearing the young boy's request, Feng Zhaobai instinctively looked at Wang Hua.

"You haven't told him?"

Wang Hua shrugged helplessly: "I haven't had time yet."

"Oh."

Feng Zhaobai nodded and turned to Zhu Haomiao.

"Junior Brother Zhu, if you're aiming for contribution points, then I suggest you participate directly in the second phase of the Ascension Competition's points battles."

Hearing this, Zhu Haomiao felt a stir in his heart: "Do competitions also award contribution points?"

"..."

Feng Zhaobai and Wang Hua exchanged a glance, their mouths twitching in a mix of amusement and helplessness.

"Your participation in the Ascension Competition represents the nation, bringing honor to the country. You don't think the nation is so stingy as to only cancel your 'loan interest', do you?"

"Think bigger~"

Feng Zhaobai made a gesture and started speaking eloquently.

"Why is the Ascension Competition so attractive to young talents globally?"

"Besides broadening perspectives, breaking through bottlenecks, and rapidly progressing, the most important reason is that you can gain both fame and fortune by participating. For some kids with humble backgrounds, this might be the only chance for a class transition in their lifetime..."

"Being born in China, you don't feel the suffocating class oppression abroad, nor do you understand their desperation for a path to ascension..."

At this, Feng Zhaobai shook his head with a sigh.

"Anyway, getting off track, back to the Ascension Competition. After the second phase points battles start, each time you defeat an opponent, it equates to completing a task corresponding to the opponent's energy level, earning the maximum contribution reward."

"For instance, defeating a Silver Level opponent earns you a maximum of 100 contribution points."

"If you defeat a Golden Level opponent, you earn 500 points!"

Listening to Feng Zhaobai's words, Zhu Haomiao's eyes shone brighter and brighter.

"What if I defeat a Purple Gold Dominance Level opponent?"

"Huh?"

Stunned for a second, Feng Zhaobai quickly recovered and chuckled meaningfully.

"Starting at 1000, no upper limit."

"However, at this stage, no contender has yet ascended to the dominance level."

"Of course, a few years from now, we might see a large-scale collective ascension leading to a situation informally known as a [Battle of the Gods], but looking back at past [U18 Ascension Competitions], such years of genius surges are rare, typically ending with just one or two lucky ones ascending to the dominance level."