Chapter 4444 — The Final Preparations
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
The crowd returned to the Demon Cold Plaza. The posted points ranking had already been updated. After four rounds, the Qingtian Escort Agency stood far ahead in sole first place with a top-tier score of six hundred seventy points—so vast was its lead that it inspired awe and dread, like a lofty mountain.
Next, in second place, was the traditional powerhouse, the Shenfeng Escort Agency, with two hundred seventy points. Though it could not remotely compare with the Qingtian Escort Agency's lone brilliance, it still kept a whole host of other escort agencies beneath its feet.
The Sihai Escort Agency, originally ranked second, had challenged the Qingtian Escort Agency in this fourth round. Not only did it fail to hold on to the seventy points already in hand, it actually lost thirty points on top of that, ending the four rounds with a total of two hundred forty—tied for third with the rest of the Five Great Escort Agencies.
Worth noting: the Longzhou Escort Agency, so ambitious at this year's gathering, had a four-round total of one hundred ten points, placing fifth from the bottom. At this rate, never mind competing for a place among the Five Great Escort Agencies—if they gave out an award for the Weakest Five of South Continent, it would surely be on the list.
On the public board, the points ranking of the thirty-two escort agencies was laid out plain at a glance—some rejoiced, others grieved. And at present, the focus of everyone's discussion inevitably centered on this year's godlike dark horse, the Qingtian Escort Agency.
Although it had been one of the Five Great Escort Agencies last time, the vast majority of people had in fact been pessimistic about the Qingtian Escort Agency from the start. The outside betting pools were unanimous in writing it off; at least seven out of ten had wagered on it dropping out of the Five Great Escort Agencies. Of course, those people were now weeping bitter tears.
To carve out six hundred seventy points across four rounds, opening a colossal four-hundred-point gap over second place—such a thing might not be unmatched by future generations, but it was absolutely unprecedented. Barring a catastrophic accident, in this year's South Continent Escort Gathering the top seat that once belonged to the Sihai Escort Agency had already fallen into the hands of the Qingtian Escort Agency, and no one could shake them from it.
From this gathering onward, the balance of power in South Continent's escort trade would undergo earth-shaking change. The center of gravity would shift from the Demon Cold Sea Region to the once unknown Wei Hu Sea Region; the Qingtian Escort Agency would henceforth supplant the Sihai Escort Agency as the overlord and become South Continent's foremost house. This was now all but the consensus of everyone.
Of course, beyond the mainstream opinion, the streets could hardly lack other voices, and those bent on talking down the Qingtian Escort Agency could still often be found. Whether or not there were other escort agencies behind these people, their arguments were not, at least, entirely without reason.
Looking over the past South Continent Escort Gatherings, the first four rounds were important—they could establish an advantage and open up a gap—but the truly decisive main event still lay in the final round.
For all the Qingtian Escort Agency's enormous present advantage, once it underperformed in the last round and was overtaken by other escort agencies while they had the chance, or even had a latecomer surge past, all of it was entirely possible. Only the agency that survived the fifth round's final showdown and laughed last would be the true winner.
Naturally, the fifth round's final showdown would not begin until tomorrow. At least as of today, the most glorious and triumphant, the most eagerly courted by the many merchant guilds, was still unquestionably the Qingtian Escort Agency.