Another recognized supreme powerhouse had been placed eighth.

That result made one fact impossible to ignore: the mysterious participants outside the established supreme factions now held an overwhelming advantage in the remaining rankings.

The golden list shifted, and Morris’s name settled into eighth place.

Morris stared at it without expression.

"Only eighth?"

His original goal had been to enter the top three.

However, the ranking was still temporary. The advancement stage and the finals had yet to begin, and the order could continue to change. Eighth place in the early-stage evaluation did not determine his ultimate result.

The public chat channel became lively again.

"Only Morado and Cedric remain among the recognized supreme powerhouses. Five unseeded participants still haven’t appeared."

"This is becoming more interesting by the moment."

"None of the heirs favored by the great factions managed to take the highest positions. Instead, several unknown dark horses have remained until the end."

"I wager the next name will still belong to a seeded powerhouse."

"Why are you so certain?"

"The reason is simple. If those five hidden participants were weaker, their names would have appeared earlier. Since they are still unannounced, their early-stage performances must have surpassed those of the recognized supreme powerhouses."

"That actually makes sense."

The public channel erupted with discussion.

The heirs of the great factions read those messages with increasingly awkward expressions.

They had once been regarded as the unquestioned rulers of the High God generation. Now five mysterious participants had remained above almost all of them.

Soren looked toward John again.

"John, are you one of those five?"

He immediately rejected the uncertainty in his own question.

"No."

"You must be one of them."

"The only thing I do not know is your final position, or who the other hidden experts might be."

In another secret realm, the broad-shouldered Cullen was equally surprised.

He was not shocked that his own name remained absent. What surprised him was that several other unseeded experts had survived until this point.

"Aside from me, there are four more?"

"This Myriad Worlds Tournament grows stranger with every announcement."

At that moment, the golden ranking changed again.

[Rank Seven: Morado of Evernight Palace.]

As expected, the next name belonged to another recognized supreme powerhouse.

With Morado’s position revealed, Cedric of the Shadow Divine Court became the only seeded expert who had not yet appeared.

Morado frowned at the ranking.

"Seventh?"

"This cannot be right."

"If I cannot even enter the top three, what value does this result possess?"

The remaining representatives of the supreme factions became tense.

They all hoped Cedric would enter the top five, or perhaps even the top three.

If Cedric’s name appeared too early, it would mean every recognized supreme powerhouse had been suppressed by participants who had never been publicly acknowledged as their equals.

Kaine released a quiet sigh.

"No matter what happens, those hidden experts are guaranteed to occupy the top five, and perhaps even the top three."

"The difference in our accumulated points must be enormous."

"I cannot allow my performance to remain this poor during the next stage."

The voice of the will of the universe echoed once more.

[Rank Six: Cullen, independent cultivator.]

Golden light surged across the list, forming Cullen’s name.

The seeded participants collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

At least sixth place did not belong to Cedric.

Had Cedric appeared now, the reputation of every recognized supreme powerhouse would have been destroyed before the entire universe.

Kaine recalled the information he had once read about Cullen.

"So Cullen is this powerful."

"I remember that he ruled an entire star region despite possessing only High God cultivation."

"He drove back numerous God Kings, and even Sovereigns were unwilling to provoke him without sufficient reason."

"Considering those achievements, sixth place is not surprising."

Lyric’s expression became cold when he saw Cullen’s name.

The two had a long history.

They had fought several times, yet neither had ever managed to secure a decisive victory.

"Sixth place, Cullen."

"You have done well."

"But this is only a temporary ranking."

"Only the final awards can prove which of us is stronger."

"After the finals, I will catch up to you."

Soren considered the implications.

"Then Cedric must have entered the top five."

"And John must also be among them."

The longer John’s name remained hidden, the more certain Soren became that John possessed the power to compete for first place.

Aldric was thinking about the same person.

"Who will be fifth?"

"Could it be John?"

"If John is ranked fifth, everyone in the tournament will be shocked."

The announcement of sixth place drew the attention of the innumerable worlds to its peak.

Anyone who entered the top five had surpassed almost all other participants in combat power and overall early-stage performance.

More importantly, only one of the five unrevealed names belonged to a publicly recognized supreme powerhouse.

The participants were no longer the only ones watching.

Sovereigns, Peak Sovereigns, ancient races, hidden clans, and countless organizations throughout the cosmos were all waiting for the result.

Under the gaze of the entire universe, the will of the universe finally announced fifth place.

[Rank Five: Cedric of the Shadow Divine Court.]

The participants froze.

For a moment, no one knew what to say.

The most shocking part was not that Cedric had placed fifth.

Cedric was the strongest publicly recognized supreme powerhouse of the current generation. His position among the top five was impressive, but not unimaginable.

What stunned everyone was the implication.

With Cedric’s name revealed, the highest position achieved by any publicly recognized supreme powerhouse was only fifth place.

Every remaining position belonged to someone outside that group.

The top four were all mysterious experts.

Who were they?

How had they managed to suppress every heir cultivated by the supreme factions?

Why had none of them been recognized before the tournament?

The questions spread across the public channel like wildfire.

Kaine’s heart sank.

"Cedric is only fifth."

"That means none of the top four can be a publicly recognized supreme powerhouse."

John’s name immediately appeared in his mind.

"His name still has not been announced."

"Could John have entered the top three?"

Soren felt a trace of relief.

During the elimination stage, he had deliberately avoided choosing the same arena as John.

At the time, he had simply believed John was dangerous.

Now he suspected that if they had fought directly, John might have defeated or even killed him in a single exchange.

Leon, on the other hand, laughed softly.

"Excellent."

"All the seeded powerhouses have been pushed below the top four."

"The remaining positions belong to dark horses."

"At least in this early ranking, we independent cultivators have already won."

His words spread through the nearby secret realm.

Some independent cultivators smiled with pride.

The supreme factions had controlled most cultivation resources and produced almost every Sovereign throughout history. They had always claimed that unaffiliated cultivators could never compete with heirs trained by ancient organizations.

Yet the ranking before them told a different story.

Four unknown participants stood above every seeded heir.

Even if those four did not all belong to the ranks of independent cultivators, their rise proved that the established factions did not possess an absolute monopoly on power.

Cullen looked at the ranking and smiled.

"Cedric is only fifth."

"Then the four above him must be true monsters."

Morris shook his head.

"This tournament contains too many variables."

"It may be the final Myriad Worlds Tournament of the current era."

"If that is true, perhaps it is only natural for so many hidden experts to appear at once."

"Still, four mysterious dark horses occupying the highest positions is extraordinary."

Across the innumerable universes, anticipation reached its limit.

Countless experts leaned forward.

The golden mist gathered again.

Everyone waited for the name in fourth place.

Yet instead of announcing another participant, the voice of the will of the universe delivered an entirely different message.