Chapter 191: 45 minutes to deadline. To many, it was an eternity.
2 hours to midnight.
Everyone with a Spirit Comms was monitoring the ever-changing ranking. The bustling of Baiyun and Barren land reduced. People gathered in twos and threes to discuss who would be the crowned winner.
For the women's ranking, Huang Yin's position was stable like Mount Tai while the second and third were also dominated by the barren landers. However, that didn't stop the people of Baiyun city from striving for a higher rank.
The first five were dominated by the barren land, while the sixth was from Baiyun city. It was a girl from the Xu natural clan. Her position shocked everyone.
Looking at her cute picture and adorable videos made everyone realize how she had gained such massive votes. She was just too adorable not to be voted for.
Apart from that, her clan supported her from behind, pulling a lot of strings, gathering a huge fan base for her.
As for the other four in the top ten, three were from the Barren land, and the last lady was from Baiyun city.
She was a lady from a small clan in the outer city, ranked tenth. She was well-endowed both in front and back, with her innocent oval face.
Furthermore, she captured the heart of almost every man.
The same couldn't be said for the men's ranking. It was fiercer and more competitive than anyone could have imagined. Men couldn't act cute or adorable, nor would their breasts or asses be any different.
They could only depend on their facial looks, manliness, and charisma.
Zi Haoran, the pure young, handsome man, was holding the reign for the moment. His signature harmless smile captured the heart of almost every young girl.
Yet, those behind him were not ready to give up. He only had a vote close to 10 million, but his vote was not increasing anymore. It was as if an invincible hand was stopping him from getting more votes.
However, the young man behind him had around 8 million votes and was still increasing. He was from the barren land and was still getting support from his fellow barren landers.
It was then, at that moment, a new name popped into the top ten.
At first, no one took note of him, except for the young man that was pushed out of the top ten.
Western Barren Land.
In a beautiful courtyard, a young man sat on a wooden bench with a knitted brow, his breathing getting uneven. Suddenly, he screamed.
"Nooooooo!"
He had just been pushed out of the tenth position. His scream alarmed everyone in the clan, but no one came to ask him what happened.
They all saw what happened and didn't know how to react. Therefore, they all chose to play the silence card.
30 minutes later.
In the southern barren land.
Inside an expensive restaurant, a young man and his friend were celebrating his position as the ninth on the ranking when one of his friends looked at him with an ugly expression.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Go to the ranking."
Everyone in the room looked at the young man strangely, but still decided to look at the ranking.
"Nooooooo!"
A scream reverberated throughout the restaurant, jolting everyone to look in the direction of the scream.
"I won't accept this. I won't. That is my rank!"
The scream echoed one more time. But this time around, when everyone heard the word rank, some laughed at his misery while some people pitied him.
Inside the Cao clan, Huang Guo was pacing back and forth with beads of sweat gathering on his head.
"How am I doing?" He asked Zimo.
"You're still holding," Zimo responded with a stiff laugh.
"What is the time?"
"An hour left."
"I should make it… I should make it." He consoled himself.
He didn't expect the harmless ranking would almost give him a heart attack. With his influence in the Southern Barren land and with the help of her sister, he rushed to the top ten and maintained his ranking at the eighth rank.
However, now, things were not looking good for him. His rank was under threat.
He had called his sister for help, but she couldn't help him in such a short time frame. Therefore, he only hoped he could maintain his ranking till 12 midnight.
Having high votes wouldn't determine the final outcome. People had three chances to vote for a person of their choice. If they didn't like the first person they voted for, they could remove their vote and vote for another person.
This made the ranking volatile and unpredictable.
It was during the deadline did everyone realize how volatile the ranking was. Those who had massive votes saw their votes drop at a breathtaking speed, while another person saw his ranking surge upward.
Cries and screams echoed in the dead of the night, making it both painful and exciting. Everyone was glued to the ranking as if they were watching an interesting play.
"How am I doing?" Huang Guo asked once again.
"You are still…" Zimo's words trailed off when he noticed something jaw-dropping happen on the ranking.
"What do you say?" He asked impatiently.
Zimo looked at him with his mouth wide open. He wanted to speak but didn't know what to tell his friend his new rank.
"Why are you not talking?"
"Ahem… Hmm. Check it for yourself." He managed to say before leaving the courtyard. His step was quick and light, as if escaping.
Huang Guo looked at Zimo escaping back, and a bad feeling appeared in his mind. He looked at the bright moon for a couple of seconds and took a deep breath.
He hardened his heart and sent his consciousness into the Spirit Comms. For a couple of seconds, no sound came from the courtyard. The only audible thing was the rustling of leaves blown by the gentle wind.
Finally, it happened.
"NOOOOOOOOO!"
Outside the courtyard, Zimo heard the miserable scream of his friend and sighed. He understood Huang Guo's cry.
For the barren landers, they won't accept it when those who are not from the Barren Land rank higher than them.
Their pride and the thought of the Spirit Comms originating from their land made them miserable when they were beaten by the outlanders.
How could they not defeat some weak outlander in the beauty aspect? They started seeing this as a flaw in their bloodline and race.
They were superior to the outlanders and must never be defeated in any form of competition. But reality was different from how they felt.
45 minutes to deadline. To many, it was an eternity.
*****
[AN: Please, support this book with your golden ticket and power stones.]