One of the three was someone that Qin Feng knew well.
The young master of Hanchuan State, Han Jun.
Han Jun had picked the right birth date. He was still two months short before reaching twenty years old. This would be his last opportunity to join the Prodigy Tournament.
After being beaten up by Qin Feng last year, he did not manage to pass the final challenge despite recovering in time. He attempted again this year but his overall strength had not improved much. He was still just a D5-tier.
But that was sufficient to rival the prodigies from Dragon Capital. However, they did not expect they would face another strong competitor in Fengli. The organization seemed to have focused a lot of their capitals in nurturing prodigies.
In fact, Fengli was simply overloaded with wealth and resources.
The benefits given by the organization were a lot better than other organizations or even local governments. The richness of supply meant that individuals’ talents could be fulfilled with less hindrance.
The two followers accompanying Han Jun were rather ordinary. They survived the qualifier perhaps by luck, or perhaps due to a favorable matchup. All in all, they were fortunate enough to avoid being kicked out by Fengli’s abundant participants.
“I will be the one leading the North Sea Prodigy Team this time. My current position is the Northern Region General of the Human Alliance. You can just call me General Qin.”
The two new guys looked at each other in confusion. They had just heard him being called president. ‘Why is he a general now? Who is this guy?’
Qin Feng continued, “I will be in charge of your escort during this tournament, as well as brief you through the details regarding Dragon Capital. Let’s board the aircraft first. If you have any guardian that wishes to follow, they are welcomed too.”
The two guys were dark horses that did not expect to qualify, so they did not have anyone accompanying them. Han Jun signaled and called for his hidden protector to follow them into the aircraft.
The aircraft departed and jumped straight through the dimension. A moment later, it appeared above the Dragon Capital’s spatial waymark.
Thanks to Fengli’s rapid development of spatial and avian technology, more and more users now owned their personal aircrafts. Thus, the guards at the waymark were not too surprised when the aircraft emerged out of the blue. However, aircrafts were not allowed to enter the capital center.
Qin Feng had the aircraft parked right outside the capital. They still needed the vehicle to transport the prodigies back after the tournament.
The transit from the entrance right up to hotel check-in was well arranged.
But Qin Feng hardly had time to rest. As soon as he set foot into Dragon Capital, invitations from the family elders in Dragon Capital had come bombarding.
Numerous elects wanted to book Qin Feng for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even supper.
“President Qin, Fengli has another C-tier representative this year. I guess you will be the ultimate winner again this time.”
“President Qin. Congratulations in advance! Are you still interested in my proposal for collaboration?”
“President Qin! We had a great collaboration last time. Should we discuss the details of what to do next?”
In the past, Qin Feng was forced to set up treaty contracts with these family elders to protect Fengli. He had no choice but to share part of Fengli’s revenue with them. Now, these elders would naturally wish to continue reaping benefits from him, seeing that Fengli had grown into a conglomerate.
Qin Feng remained reserved to their requests. He, of course, had no intention to share profits with them for free.
It was different now. Qin Feng had become strong enough to fear nothing.
Hence, these people could no longer bully him into obedience.
Behind him, prodigies from other families were concerned about yet another C-tier that had emerged from Fengli and exchanged comments feverishly.
“What happened in the North these past years? Another C-tier? After Qin Feng, now Zhou Hao? This is absurd!”
“Wait a minute, Qin Feng still qualifies as a prodigy as well!”
“I don’t think he should participate this time. Isn’t he a B-tier now? That’s unfair!”
“According to my dad, Qin Feng is probably invincible among the A-tiers too.”
“Luckily he is not competing. Otherwise, we would not stand a chance!”
They had no idea. Indeed, Qin Feng would not be climbing the Tower of Dragon Gate with them. But he would be waiting for them at the peak.
***
The preparation period passed quickly. It soon came the day for the opening of the tower.
At the top of the tower, Qin Feng was chatting leisurely with the tower guard. Last year this time, the guard was still a senior to Qin Feng. He had praised Qin Feng then and wished to convince Qin Feng to sell him the tech he brought back.
Now, they talked as equals. They were discussing who among these prodigies would be the first to conquer the tower, while who had the greatest potential in the future.
In a year, Qin Feng had reached the tower guard’s level.
“C-tier Zhou Hao. He is from Fengli, right? Seems promising!” The guard said.
Qin Feng nodded. “He is like a brother of mine!”
The guard nodded, then changed to another prospect. “This girl is interesting too. She has mastered the machines brilliantly. What are those guns she is carrying? It’s pretty powerful!”
Qin Feng agreed. “Lu Meng has improved a lot.”
“You know her?”
“Ya. She is Zhou Hao’s future wife.”
The guard was astonished. He continued to observe the climbers.
“This guy is pretty good too. Wait, he is from the North as well?”
“Oh, that one. He is from Fengli too.”
“This ability user is good.”
“He is the son of my officer. His improvement is commendable.”
“How about that one?”
“Fengli…”
The guard was silenced. Why did everyone that he pointed out came from Fengli? How many prodigies had Fengli actually produced?
Qin Feng was no doubt showing off. He was a prodigy himself and his organization had just been set up two years ago. Nevertheless, they had spent a lot in developing next-generation talents.
The outsiders might not understand but the insiders of Fengli knew how filthy rich Qin Feng was. Even if the number of prodigies doubled up, Qin Feng would still have no problem sustaining them.
Soon, the first aptitude user that reached the tenth level had appeared.
Without any surprise, it was Zhou Hao.
“Ah? Why are you here, lunatic!?” Zhou Hao looked at Qin Feng in shock. “Is this the end? I thought we are going to another dimension?”
Qin Feng glared at him. “I have special treatment. I will be entering the dimension too. But climbing the tower? No thanks.”
Zhou Hao was speechless. “You will go into Dragon Gate? Please don’t. You are just crushing others’ confidence. But since you did not join the tournament, I guess I have clinched the first place in this tournament then.”
The guard coughed as he heard that. He announced, “Congratulations, Zhou Hao from the Northern Region. You are the champion of this year’s Prodigy Tournament.”
“Thanks! But this no. 1 is rather undeserving.” Zhou Hao admitted big-heartedly.
He would not have beaten Qin Feng if the latter participated.
After that, a few more participants succeeded in the Dragon Gate challenge. As compared to last year, they were a lot more who passed this year—a total of thirteen prodigies.
Those Qin Feng met last year were not seen this time.
This was entirely normal. Being a prodigy did not automatically mean that one could pass the Tower of Dragon Gate test. The ones that could overcome it must possess the strength of a king tier.
These were the ones who would become A-tier or even S-tier in the future. The disparity of power also existed even among the most elite group of teenage aptitude users.
