This competition had encompassed the entire federation, but in reality, Tang Wulin had already discovered that the vast majority of the participants were soldiers. This was very understandable. Star Cabins took up a lot of space, and they were far from affordable, so it became very difficult for normal people to participate in this competition.

The federation would definitely work to address this issue in the future, and if it could be resolved, the Star Battle Net would undoubtedly be able to develop at a rapid rate. Technological advancements required prolonged periods of work, but popularity could be accrued in a very short time. In the not so distant future, the Douluo Federation would most likely truly become a superpower that was far superior to the Star Luo Empire and the Dou Spirit Empire.

Not long after that, the sound of gentle door-knocking rang out, and the female server entered the room again.

"Esteemed Number 33, your match is about to begin. In order to ensure fairness, all of the eliminations matches in this round will be commencing at the same time; your opponent will be Number 142."

142?

Tang Wulin immediately recalled who his opponent was, and at the same time, he heaved an internal sigh of relief after ascertaining that it wasn't Yuanen Yehui nor Ye Xinglan.

Thus, he rose to his feet, and said, "Let's go."

"Right this way, please." The female server made an inviting hand gesture before leading the way.

There was no teleportation on this occasion; he followed the female server through a long corridor and arrived directly at the competition venue. Prior to even entering the venue, he could already hear waves of raucous cheers.

"Esteemed Number 33, in order to simulate the most realistic battle scenario, the audience's voices won't be muted today, so please keep that in mind."

The female server stopped at the entrance to the competition venue.

It had to be said that as he listened to the loud cheers around him, he was taken back to the Star Luo Empire. The deafening cheers were quite astonishing, but they didn't affect him much at all.

The training he'd undergone on the demonic island had greatly strengthened his mental fortitude, so he certainly wasn't going to be swayed by some cheering. Back in the Star Luo Empire, the entire audience had supported Long Yue, yet they were still the ones who had secured victory in the end.

He strode into the competition venue, and his opponent was also present on the platform across from him.

The information surrounding this Number 142 surfaced in his mind.

This was a seven-ring Soul Sage with a very rare and special martial soul. He was quite powerful, and also possessed a wealth of battle experience. All of a sudden, Tang Wulin recalled that this was the one who had defeated Yue Zhengyu in the round-robin stage to progress as second in their group.

This meant that if he could defeat his opponent, he would be avenging Yue Zhengyu.

As the one who had emerged in the first position from his group, the first round of the elimination stage was weighed in his favor as he was guaranteed to face the second participant of another group.

Even so, Tang Wulin wasn't going to allow any complacency to set in. The fact that Number 142 had defeated Yue Zhengyu indicated that he would be quite a powerful opponent, and it could be said that Yue Zhengyu had been unlucky to have lost that battle, but that wasn't something that Tang Wulin was going to consider.

Number 142 was also appraising Tang Wulin. It was undoubtedly the case that he was quite unlucky to have been paired up against this Golden Dragon King, who had the third-highest odds among the final 16. However, that certainly didn’t mean that he was just going to roll over and surrender.

A beam of light descended from the sky, and it was revealed to be an old man. Could it be that there were referees for the finals?

This was something that hadn't been announced.

The old man said in a serious voice, "In order to ensure the fairness and impartiality of the matches in the finals, I will be acting as the match referee to complement the decision made by the system. Both of you, get ready; you may begin when I say so. There are no rules; all you have to do is defeat your opponent."

The old man didn't make any self-introduction, but both Tang Wulin and Number 142 could sense an extremely terrifying pressure from him, so it was undoubtedly the case that his cultivation rank far exceeded theirs.

"Get ready!" The old man raised his right hand high up into the air.

Tang Wulin's eyes narrowed slightly as he appraised his opponent. Number 142 possessed the Phantom martial soul, and his soul skills remained a mystery at this point, but he possessed extremely powerful defensive prowess against physical and energy attacks.

On the flip side, he had a weakness against light and holy attribute energy attacks.

It could be said that he had been quite lucky when he'd defeated Yue Zhengyu despite the attribute advantage that Yue Zhengyu had had over him, but even so, it was still a testament to his powers.

At this moment, the commentator's voice also rang out beside the ears of all of the spectators.

"This is a matchup between Number 33, Golden Dragon King, and Number 142, Phantom King. From the odds, Golden Dragon King should have an absolute advantage as Phantom King's odds aren't even half of his. However, what we all need to pay attention to is that Golden Dragon King possesses immense strength, and that has often been the key behind the quick victories he's secured in previous rounds. In contrast, the type of opponent that Phantom King fears the least are strength-type Soul Masters. He is virtually completely immune to physical attacks, so in that respect, Golden Dragon King is at a disadvantage. I don't know whether Phantom King can create a miraculous upset here, but I believe that he has very good chances."

"For all of you currently spectating this match, do you support the underdog, Phantom King, or the flashy and badass Golden Dragon King? You can cast your votes over multiple platforms to express your support of one of these two, and each vote only costs one federal credit to cast."

In the air above the competition platform, two pillars of light appeared at once. Below the yellow pillar of light was the number "33", and below the blue pillar of light was the number "142".

Both pillars of light began to rise up in unison.

The commentator's voice was audible to both Tang Wulin and Number 142. In the final stages of the competition, they were going to experience all possible disruptions that could appear.

Both of them looked up at the pillars of light at the same time, and Tang Wulin was left feeling quite speechless. The federation was way too much of a money-grabbing machine!

Each vote only cost one federal credit to cast, but there were no rules stating that each person could only cast one vote! If a wealthy tycoon were presented with this decision, who knew how many votes they were going to cast? Besides, the federation had an enormous population, and a very large proportion of them were spectating this competition, so they were undoubtedly going to earn an astronomical sum of money just from this stunt alone.

The two pillars of light quickly rose up, and in the beginning, they were evenly matched. However, Tang Wulin's yellow pillar of light quickly began to take the lead, surpassing the blue pillar of light in a flash, and it wasn't long before the yellow pillar of light was more than twice as tall as the blue one. It was undoubtedly the case that there were far more people supporting the badass Golden Dragon King than those supporting the understated Phantom King.

The referee glanced at the two participants before yelling, "Begin!"

Tang Wulin didn't spring into action right away. Instead, he cast his gaze toward his opponent.

This Phantom King's entire body had a transparent quality to it, making it appear as if he were an illusion. At the same time, specks of light began to appear all over his body, and he was quickly encapsulated in a suit of light blue battle armor.

The suit of battle armor was also quite translucent, just as his body was. The wings on the back of the suit of battle armor were not very large, and they were currently in a folded state. His entire being gave one an illusionary feeling.

Tang Wulin had naturally heard what the commentator had just said, and thus, he was made aware of the fact that this Phantom King was virtually immune to physical attacks. Didn't this make him a little similar in nature to the Possession Demon he'd faced not long ago?

No matter how powerful this Phantom King was, there was no way that he'd be able to compare with a Possession Demon.

A phantom was an apparition of darkness, and even though he didn't possess any light attribute powers, his bloodline aura was of an extreme yang attribute, and it was still something that no phantom would be able to oppose. As for just how powerful this Number 142 was, that was something that he'd only be able to ascertain through battle.