Chapter 4469 — Is the Rule Fair?

In truth, the very notion of "dumb luck" is illogical on its face. The Southern Continent Escort Gathering has been held for more than one or two seasons, and the ferocity and cruelty of the competition has long since surpassed that of any ordinary contest. Under such conditions, could a weak, minor escort agency really ride a heaven-defying streak of dumb luck all the way to the end?

If that ever happened, it could only mean that all thirty-two escort agencies of the Southern Continent were worthless frauds, not one of them a true powerhouse. Otherwise, so long as a single agency of genuine caliber existed, it would never have allowed a clown to take first place—that would be a disgrace to the entire Southern Continent Escort Alliance.

With a heavy boom of the gong, the fifth round of the Escort Championship finally came to a complete end, and after this round of the strong devouring the weak, the standings had grown all the more sharply defined and plain for all to see.

The most watched position, first place on the leaderboard, was beyond all doubt the ascendant Qingtian Escort Agency, whose absurdly high score left every agency behind it gazing up in hopeless envy—one thousand and seventy points!

After narrowly putting away the Xuanying Escort Agency, Qi Wenmo still held two precious active challenge rights in his hand, and he naturally could not let them go to waste. After weighing his options, he finally chose to strike at two mid-tier escort agencies, taking two hundred points without any real danger—and that was how his score climbed to a jaw-dropping four digits.

In fact, after watching the Xuanying Escort Agency trample the Sihai Escort Agency, Qi Wenmo had more than once entertained the thought of kicking a man while he was down. But after the hair-raising perils of before, his father Qi Mingyuan, terrified that something might go wrong, flatly refused to let him take the field in person again.

Repeated vicious battles had already drained no small amount of their strength, and if Qi Wenmo himself did not fight, they would have little hope of victory against a Sihai Escort Agency mad with fury. Even Wei Zhao as on-site coach would not be enough—unless Wei Zhao himself stepped into the arena, which was about the only way.

But that was impossible. After all, there was still the extra round of the escort chiefs' challenge to come, and Wei Zhao stood at the very eye of the storm, with so many people watching him with ill intent, waiting to pounce.

Behind the Qingtian Escort Agency, the Shenfeng Escort Agency and the Tianhong Escort Agency—those two veteran members of the Big Five—took second and third place respectively, while the Xuanying Escort Agency, surging late, followed close behind in fourth.

As for the ambitious Sihai Escort Agency, the acknowledged overlord of the Southern Continent's escort world, it was forced to accept the awkward fate of fifth place. Even with Hai Wuliang's thick skin, whenever gazes swept past him, even the most casual of glances, his face burned as if slapped, and he had no face left to show anyone.

All of this had been brought about by Ling Yi and the Qingtian Escort Agency!

Hai Wuliang's heart bled as he gnashed his teeth and spat venomous curses—and beyond that, there was nothing else he could do. He could only pin his hopes on the "good show" to come going as he wished: to destroy Ling Yi and the Qingtian Escort Agency, to seize back the limelight for the Sihai Escort Agency, and to keep his seat firmly atop the escort world.

Awkward as the Sihai Escort Agency's position was, it had at least barely clung to the last seat of the Big Five, preserving a final shred of dignity. The truly miserable one was the Nanmen Escort Agency.

Once a member of the Big Five, it now stood sixth after five rounds of competition, shoved ruthlessly out of the Big Five's ranks. In an instant it had lost its aura as a great house, sinking to be regarded by public opinion as a second-rate agency—a fate to weep over, if only tears would come.

Judging by these rankings, one could foresee that the landscape of the Southern Continent Escort Alliance would undergo enormous change in the future, and in that upheaval only two agencies would be the true winners: one was the Qingtian Escort Agency, and the other the Xuanying Escort Agency.

Among them, the Qingtian Escort Agency's gains were the most outrageous of all, and this could be seen from the **looks in the eyes of the chamber of commerce stewards present as they regarded the Qingtian Escort Agency's people—many of them had been clients of traditional powers like the Sihai Escort Agency, but it seemed that would soon be a thing of the past.

Barring the unexpected, after this Southern Continent Escort Gathering, the torrent of massive orders about to crash down upon the Qingtian Escort Agency would unquestionably be an absurdly astronomical figure—at least several times that of previous years, perhaps even ten times or more!

The more orders, the more spirit jade; the more spirit jade, the more and stronger escorts one could recruit, rapidly swelling one's strength, and thereby winning still more orders. This was a snowball effect, and once it got rolling on the right track, no one would be able to stop the Qingtian Escort Agency's powerful rise.

But before that, the Qingtian Escort Agency still had to clear one hurdle—the coming challenge of the escort chiefs.

Like the fifth round of the Escort Championship, this too was an arena duel in which each side staked a hundred points, the only difference being that this was a one-on-one challenge aimed specifically at the Golden Core–stage higher-ups of each agency, and there was no limit on the number of challenges!

This contest did not test an agency's overall strength but rested entirely on individual performance, with a huge element of luck. Once an agency hit a run of bad fortune and was challenged in succession by the experts of other agencies, a single slip could very well mean outright collapse—a hundred points a match, with no limit on the number of matches, and no amount of points would be enough to lose.

For all that the Qingtian Escort Agency's four-digit score now seemed dauntingly high, whether it could safely pass this next hurdle was truly hard to say. It might well plunge from the clouds into the abyss—ascendant one moment, a fleeting bloom the next.

So long as nothing was truly settled, everything remained variable. For all that the names of the top five agencies now stood clearly on the leaderboard, the existence of this final extra stage meant that "also-rans" like the Nanmen Escort Agency all kept a sliver of hope of storming the top five.

Who would ultimately stand among the Big Five, who would ultimately have the last laugh—all of it was still unknown.

"Very well. On behalf of the panel of judges, I now announce the rules for the final round, the escort chiefs' challenge," Hai Wuliang said, suppressing the hatred in his heart and rising to address them all. "The rules are simple. A drawing of lots decides the first challenger, who may name any agency's Golden Core–stage higher-up as his target. The winner of each match may choose to continue issuing challenges—or, of course, may choose to forfeit. After the winner forfeits, the right to challenge passes to the loser; if the loser likewise forfeits, lots are drawn anew."

At these words the crowd fell into animated discussion. On the surface at least, the rules seemed fair enough—at any rate, the challenges had not descended into a free-for-all of complete chaos. (To be continued..)