The live broadcast got cut off when the blinding light spread out with Hao Xuan in the center.
Everyone that was watching from home was left with more questions than answers at this point. They didn't know whether to mourn or cheer since the result wasn't clear, but that was only for the normal populace.
In a massive golden hall that seemed to go on without end, 14 'thrones' were placed around a circular stone table. There were 10-meter thick pillars every 50 meters or so that went straight up in the air, but nobody could tell for how long since the ceiling of the hall was only a starry sky.
It looked like the pillars were holding up the actual sky itself.
Out of these fourteen thrones, only 5 were occupied with different shadowed figures.
In the middle of the table was a huge curved screen on which the broadcast was playing with hundreds of different cameras and angles being shown all at once.
Most of these cameras were only available to be viewed by the people present in the hall and only a handful were shown to the public.
When Hao Xuan placed his palm on the Scorpion King one of the shadowy figures abruptly opened his eyes. He stared at the screen with both curiosity and a hint of amusement.
"It is done," he whispered. A couple of the others also opened their eyes and nodded in affirmation even before the light had dissipated.
Seeing as the event had finally come to an end, the leftmost figure straightened his posture and spoke in a low voice.
"So? Did everyone pick their champions?"
All of them nodded other than the very first figure who had opened his eyes. He was sitting on the rightmost throne with his head resting on his knuckles.
All of the figures turned to look at him. The leftmost one raised an eyebrow.
"Did the Black-Eyed King not see anything to his liking?"
The figure's voice was so low that it was hard to tell whether it belonged to a male or a female, and although his query sounded quite subservient, it was anything but.
The other 3 figures looked at each other in anticipation.
'Maybe there will be another fight!'
A short bout of silence followed. No one even dared to breathe and the only sounds in the hall were those from the screen.
After about 30 seconds or so the rightmost figure who was called the Black-Eyed King raised his head and met the leftmost figure's eyes.
"I have chosen, but not on a champion. I want to give him as a gift to someone. Would the Morwen Clan give me enough face to do so, Fairy king?"
How the Black-Eyed King worded his response was quite unique. Although he said Fairy 'King', it didn't actually mean king. It could be interpreted as a ruler, or someone of high authority. King was only the most suitable interpretation.
The Fairy King stared right into Black-Eyed King's eyes for about 10 seconds before looking away.
"Fine. You can have him," he said looking at the middle screen on which Hao Xuan's face was plastered.
The other 3 figures seem quite disappointed by the end result. One by one they got up and walked behind their thrones and simply vanished like actual shadows. Those probably weren't their actual bodies but projections.
They could take any shape or form and more often than not, were completely different than their original appearances.
In the end only the Fairy King was left sitting there. He/she scrolled through the hundreds of different feeds and with a sigh, left a few minutes later.
After his departure, the hall started shrinking and sky expanding. Within a few minutes, the entire hall was enveloped by the starry sky and all that was left was empty space.
***
Back in the competition, the Scorpion King had vanished. Hao Xuan ordered Ensis, Monk, Green, and Red to relax and they let go of the Binding chains. He then walked up to the chest and placed his hand on it.
Everyone else that was watching wanted to stop him and a few even stepped forward but were blocked by his severs.
The massive gold chest slightly shook for an instant and all the spirit stones that covered the entire ceiling of this 5-kilometer wide cavern were sucked into it by an unknown force.
The chest then lifted up from the ground and turned into a golden light and shot into Hao Xuan's forehead.
Hao Xuan closed his eyes and appeared in his first Mind palace. There under the podium sat the golden chest, right next to the black egg. And in a random corner laid the body of the Scorpion King. He was unconscious but alive.
'Damn, these rich motherf*ckers…' Hao Xuan couldn't help but sigh examining the chest.
The golden chest itself was a treasure. As soon as Hao Xuan placed his hand over it, it sent out a wave of spiritual Qi and inspected the surroundings. Upon not finding any sign of the Scorpion King it accepted Hao Xuan as the new owner and willingly entered his Mind Palace.
Hao Xuan opened his eyes and appeared back in the world. He got up and walked out of the cavern followed by his severs, leaving both the cultivators from Mei and Jia standing speechlessly.
"Let's go, how long do you people plan to sit here?" his voice rang loudly in everyone's ears from afar, waking them up.
