Asher didn’t reply or argue with Finch as he knew Finch’s words were true. There could only be one winner and numerous losers, so why should he, Finch, be a special loser?

"Anyway, I advise you guys to return to your rooms by 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. Although Thomasinho and AlyxAtlas said the Inter-Empire Competition would end from tomorrow, it doesn’t necessarily mean it would end tomorrow. It could simply mean there would be no more extended breaks, as any break might only last for a few hours, maybe five hours or so," Asher stated.

"Don’t worry, we already agreed amongst ourselves to leave your room by 6 p.m. We aren’t going to disturb your body or mind. After all, we are betting our ten thousand platinum coins on you. We can’t risk that for anything," William spoke, his eyes glued to the television before him.

Asher simply nodded and said nothing else. Time flew by in silence as the group of friends immersed themselves in discussions and various small talks. The moment it struck 6 p.m., William paused his game and rose to his feet. Everyone else also stood up. They said their goodbyes to Asher, not bothering to wish him things like good luck and such, as he was simply too strong to need it.

Asher remained in his room. After throwing away the empty drink cans they had left behind, Asher simply returned to bed to resume his favourite activity; sleeping.

The next day came swiftly, and as early as 7 a.m., FatelessPen was already knocking on Asher’s door.

Seeing Asher open the door with groggy eyes, FatelessPen didn’t even know what to say to him. FatelessPen was sure that Asher was the only one who had gotten some sleep while the other top fifty rankers meditated in order to remain in perfect condition.

"We leave in thirty minutes, get ready. Teo Swig and the rest of our students in the top fifty are already waiting in the hallway," FatelessPen spoke as he stepped inside Asher’s room.

"Aren’t the others coming? Like William and the rest?" Asher asked as he closed the door.

"They will come separately. This journey is for those in the top fifty," FatelessPen explained.

Asher nodded and immediately went to get prepared. He could have simply used Astra energy, been done with it, changed his clothes, and stepped out. But since FatelessPen had given him thirty minutes, there was no need to rush.

’Should I ask him about the special phones and gadgets now?’ Asher thought to himself for a moment, then decided against it. Now wasn’t the time for such things.

"I’m done," Asher spoke as he stepped out from the walk-in closet. He was wearing another Murim-style outfit like he had four days ago before he had been forced to change it.

"Let’s move then," FatelessPen spoke as he rose to his feet and made his way towards the door.

Asher followed behind with calm steps, closing the door behind him. They walked towards the elevator to see nine people already waiting for them, just as FatelessPen had said.

Asher could feel their eyes on him once again, but this time, it was different. These students looked at him, then glanced at FatelessPen, then back at him as though they had begun growing suspicious about something involving the two of them.

Which was a bit understandable... given that FatelessPen had spent thirty minutes in Asher’s room and hadn’t even walked into theirs.

FatelessPen turned to three of the top ten third-year students and spoke in a cold tone, "I will forgive your gutter-like thoughts this once because you are representing the Empire in another round that is about to begin," the air seemed to tighten for a moment, "but have such useless thoughts again...." He didn’t finish the sentence, but everyone understood.

FatelessPen’s presence bore down on those three students for a moment before he walked into the elevator, and the air returned to normal.

Asher looked at the three students as though they were idiots. Even if they had such thoughts, they shouldn’t have expressed them on their faces. He shook his head and entered the elevator. As usual, the bus was already waiting, but it was a smaller one. After all, only ten people from the Star Academy had qualified for this round. Nine third-year students and Asher, making a total of ten students.

Before long, they arrived at the Coliseum yet again. The moment Asher stepped out of the bus, noises and chants exploded into his ears as it seemed the bus had some noise-cancellation functions.

A massive number of people, almost a million, had already gathered around the entrance of the Coliseum, all awaiting the arrival of the Zarethorne student. These people weren’t among the two million live spectators, so they could only remain outside, as this was as close as they could get.

Their voices thundered through the air before Asher could even enter the Coliseum as various barricades and rails were used to hold them back. Various staff members could also be seen restraining the crowd as it seemed they had been instructed not to construct any Astra barriers like yesterday.

"ASHER!!!!" Voices overlapped as they called out his name.

"WE LOVE YOU!!!" A teenage girl screamed as she waved a flag with Asher’s face printed on it.

"WE KNOW YOU WILL WIN!!!" A man shouted at the top of his lungs. The man had definitely sold whatever properties he owned just to bet everything on Asher.

"WE LOVE THE PICTURES YOU POSTED YESTERDAY!!!"

"YOU’RE MY HERO!!!" A child shouted as he raised a cardboard sign.

Asher turned towards the child. Since autographs were a thing here, he walked over to him, bent down slightly, signed the boy’s cardboard, then wrote his name on the boy’s forehead.

Other people called out for him to sign whatever they were holding, but Asher ignored them.

Cameras from journalists and paparazzi flashed every second as they threw various questions at him.

"ARE YOU AND RYAEN SILVERSHADE EX-LOVERS?"

"ARE YOU PLANNING ON DATING ARIANNA HAELLIGHT AFTER SPENDING SO MUCH TIME TOGETHER YESTERDAY?"

"WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON POLYGAMOUS FAMILIES?"

Asher reckoned that if he didn’t possess a supernatural physique, he might have been blinded by the paparazzi and their constant camera flashes.

Truly, Asher was now world-famous to an extreme degree. Even celebrities back on Earth could only dream of matching this level of fame.

Entering the Coliseum, FatelessPen turned towards them and spoke, "We will be going through the same routine security check as last time. Since everyone is already familiar with it, I don’t need to explain anything to you," he stated.

Everyone nodded and entered the familiar room where they were checked once again to ensure that no Academy had swapped anyone out for another person. They submitted their space rings as usual before being granted permission to continue forward.

Arriving at the entrance that led to the open space of the stadium, FatelessPen spoke, "I would have said good luck, but Finch already has all of it." With that, he vanished from where they stood.

With that, Asher and the rest stepped into the familiar open space once more.