Gao Da Lou (6K)

Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes slightly and swept the area with Mental Detection. He immediately sensed that every suspended VIP section above was already full. The ordinary seating areas in the Golden Hall were likewise packed to capacity.

The Golden Hall had undergone a few changes. Behind the Competition Stage, another platform had been set up. It was rectangular and suspended about five meters above the ground. It was roughly fifty meters long, nearly spanning from one end of the Golden Hall to the other, but only five meters wide.

The entire platform seemed to have been forged from metal and was suspended in midair by steel cables.

Could that be where the Soul Engineers would compete? Restricting the area to a rectangle was clearly meant to minimize evasive movement. Moreover, anyone with discerning eyes could tell that this competition area would force certain choices when crafting Soul Tools.

The Soul Tool crafting tables were arranged in pairs facing one another. Across from each Soul Engineer stood the opponent determined for this round by drawing lots. As for how the drawing had been conducted, the Tournament organizer, the Xi Shui Alliance, offered no explanation whatsoever. This was a competition hosted by an underground faction; they had no need to explain anything.

Huo Yuhao's opponent, Number Forty-Eight, was a young man who looked about twenty-six or twenty-seven. He was exceedingly ugly, with a flat nose, small eyes, a head of messy, slightly yellow hair, and a patch missing right at the crown.

His appearance truly left much to be desired. Yet his eyes held an intense persistence. He did not look at Huo Yuhao, who had taken his position across from him, but at the various Rare Metals laid out on the Competition Stage.

Every Soul Tool crafting table had gained