He exited the room and took a deep breath to repress his emotions before closing the door. Only then did he rise into the air and depart from the Scorching Basin.

A pair of tear-filled eyes looked on at his departing figure through the window, and the Demonic Greenbird was standing on her shoulder with its body slightly curled up into a ball.

Silver light flashed, and she also vanished in a soundless manner.

By the time Tang Wulin returned to the Blood God Legion, it was already very late into the night. After returning to his dormitory room, his mind was filled with thoughts of her.

Only after pulling out his Golden Dragon Spear and immersing himself in spear intent was he able to slowly enter a meditative state.

Separations were always followed by hope and anticipation for the next reunion.

If he could secure a good result during the competition and earn a promotion to the major rank, he'd be able to visit her on a regular basis. He had to work hard!

This two-day break had completely reinvigorated him and filled him with motivation.

No matter how much pressure was weighing down upon his shoulders, all of his exhaustion would be wiped away at the sight of Gu Yuena's sweet smile. He had to become more powerful so he could be with her someday. After he became powerful enough to stand at the pinnacle of this entire world, he would never have to worry about anyone forcibly separating him from Gu Yuena ever again.

He cultivated for the entire night, and the competition resumed the next day.

After logging on to the Star Battle Net, Tang Wulin discovered that the text above his head had changed again. The silver and golden arrows had both changed into triangles, and they were also glowing brighter than before.

These were most likely symbols that indicated that he'd progressed to the round-robin stage in both Soul Master and mecha battles.

Something else that he noticed was that as he made his way through the crowd, many of the people around him would naturally turn to observe him after noticing the symbols above his head, and there were very few people like him with two symbols above their heads.

Could people enter the battle net even if they weren't competing?

Tang Wulin also quickly discovered that the number of people in the western competition region sports stadium definitely far exceeded the number of competitors.

Just like in the elimination stage, the Soul Master and mecha battles were also held on alternating days during the round-robin stage.

There were only a total of 64 people who had made it to the round-robin stage, and only half of them were going to be eliminated. However, the number of people present was definitely more than 10 times that!

"Esteemed round-robin stage contestant, during the round-robin stage, spectators will be permitted to enter the competition venue. Anyone can issue a set amount of federal credits to spectate the matches, and you can also spectate other matches. The prices of the ticket will differ depending on the locations of the seats."

As the electronic voice rang out, a price chart appeared before the flabbergasted Tang Wulin.

This, this was such a blatant money-grab!

Tang Wulin was completely rooted to the spot. Only now did he realize that the federation was the biggest money-grabber on the entire continent!

Money had to be paid just to spectate the matches at this stage, and this would surely continue into the finals as well. The Star Battle Net had only just been released, so it most likely wasn't extremely profitable at the moment. However, if even normal people could enter the Star Battle Net in the future, then this thing was definitely going to be able to earn the federation an astronomical amount of money! Once the Star Battle Net encompassed the entire federation, then even the Spirit Pagoda's wealth wouldn't be able to come close to that of the federation.

With Tang Wulin's intelligence, he was quickly able to realize just how effective this battle net was going to be at making money. Its influence would also undoubtedly continue to rise as it became more prevalent. However, the hardware was currently still too expensive, so it would be difficult to make the battle net something that was available on a widespread basis in the near future.

Just as he was mulling over those thoughts, it was already time for his match.

Light flashed, and Tang Wulin found himself in the competition venue.

The competition stage was still the same size as before, but he could see that there were many spectators seated around the venue.

There really were people buying tickets to spectate these matches! This was just like the competition that had been held in the Star Luo Empire, except the battle net was able to house an unlimited number of spectators.

Tang Wulin's opponent also appeared in the distance across from him, and he quickly discovered something that was different from the elimination stage matches; their nicknames were being displayed!

The federation had chosen to reveal the participants' nicknames so the spectators could remember them and follow them in their future matches.

The nickname hovering above Tang Wulin's head was naturally Little Tang, yet when he caught sight of his opponent's nickname, he almost threw up a mouthful of blood.

Between Four and Six!

Between Four and Six was Jiang Wuyue! They hadn't encountered one another throughout the entire elimination stage, but who would've thought that they'd be split into the same group during the round-robin stage and encounter one another in the first round?

Jiang Wuyue couldn't help but cuss out loud after realizing who his opponent was. What was this horrendous luck!

Only then did the electronic voice begin its countdown, and it had also added more numbers. "Five, four, three, two, one, begin!"

"I concede!"

Light flashed, and Between Four and Six disappeared on the spot.

The electronic voice sounded beside Tang Wulin's ears again. "Contestant Between Four and Six has conceded. Congratulations, you have secured victory in your first round-robin match."

Tang Wulin was left feeling completely speechless, and a loud chorus of boos and objections had rung out among the spectators. Tang Wulin naturally couldn't hear them, but he could imagine how displeased the paying spectators had to be.

However, in the next instant, all of the spectators in the competition venue quickly vanished as if they'd been teleported away, and immediately thereafter, he also found himself back in the lobby area.

He immediately caught sight of Jiang Wuyue based on the nickname above his head.

"Wuyue, why did you concede?" Tang Wulin asked in a puzzled manner. The two of them were familiar enough to refer to one another on a first-name basis now.

Jiang Wuyue grumbled, "What should I have done instead? Should I have allowed you to hand me another beating? I'm not a masochist!"

Tang Wulin asked, "Then what about the spectators? Didn't they have to pay to watch these matches?"

Jiang Wuyue chuckled, "Don't you worry about that. The federation has already taken these situations into account, so if someone concedes, all of the spectators will be directly teleported to another match. Everything is simulated in here anyway, so there's no limit to the capacity of the sports stadiums. I'm really pissed off that I had to face you in the very first round! You have to treat me to lunch."

Tang Wulin flared up with rage upon hearing this. "Are you making it a habit to rob me?"

Jiang Wuyue immediately burst into laughter. "That's what you get for being filthy rich! Alternatively, you can forge something for me free of charge, and I'll treat you to a meal."

Tang Wulin chuckled, "I always thought that you were a straightforward and honest guy, but I can see now that you're also a shady businessman! Alright, what do you want? I'll forge it for you."

Jiang Wuyue wasn't actually feeling too bad. Even though he had lost his first match, winning four of his seven round-robin matches would virtually guarantee progression to the finals, and he was confident in his ability to do that despite this initial setback.

In contrast with the easy victory he'd secured in the Soul Master battle segment, Tang Wulin encountered quite a difficult opponent during his first mecha battle round-robin match.

There were still many spectators present, and one of the mechas on the platform had the nickname "Little Tang" shimmering above its head.

Tang Wulin chose a spear-wielding melee combat mecha again. Due to the fact that he was training every day, his spear intent had constantly been improving. He was still very far away from being able to truly use Fury of the Masses both in terms of his power level and level of spear mastery, but at the very least, he was progressing in the right direction.

His opponent was operating a long-range attacking mecha, yet in contrast with the soul-cannon-wielding long-range attacking mechas he'd encountered in the past, this one was wielding a pair of giant boomerangs.