Two hours had already passed since the elimination round began.
Although the Pokémon population inside Greenwood Secret Realm was generally on the weaker side, many competitors had still pressed their Emergency Beacons not long after entering.
Some were careless and got ambushed by wild Pokémon.
Others lost too many teammates early, leaving their remaining strength insufficient to continue.
There were even a few who, relying on Pokémon at high mid-rank, chose to fly directly through the sky to search for tokens—
only to instantly become targets of countless flying and ranged Pokémon.
As a result, League investigators became the busiest people in the secret realm, rushing back and forth to carry out rescues.
Fortunately, Greenwood Secret Realm was considered relatively safe.
No one was seriously injured.
The worst case was a competitor who tripped over a tree root while fleeing and suffered some scrapes.
Without Celebi's direct guidance, even Oliver found it somewhat difficult to locate Jiang Shuyun and the others in the vast forest.
After some thought, he decided to wait near the secret realm entrance instead.
No matter whether Jiang Shuyun's team succeeded or failed, they would eventually return through that location.
On the way, Oliver even saved a small team by chance.
They had been surrounded by two Ursaring at high mid-rank strength and were clearly about to collapse, yet stubbornly refused to press their Emergency Beacon.
Oliver released Garchomp, who swiftly dealt with both Ursaring.
Then Oliver snatched the team's beacon and pressed it himself.
Since his face was still covered by cloth, they failed to recognize him.
The team leader instinctively tried to stop him—
But one look into Garchomp's ferocious eyes made him retreat immediately.
Why did Oliver press their beacon after saving them?
Because this was still a competition.
If Oliver hadn't appeared, their safety would have been uncertain.
He had already saved them and eliminated the danger—
for the sake of fairness, their run ended there.
Oliver tossed the beacon to the ground and waved casually.
"Bye. I already called the investigators for you. No need to thank me."
As Oliver and Garchomp walked away, the team leader muttered angrily,
"We didn't even need his help. Why did he press our beacon?"
Another teammate quietly patted his shoulder and pointed toward Oliver's waist.
The leader followed the direction—and his eyes went wide.
That man…
He had so many wooden tokens!
Wasn't he afraid of being disqualified?!
Of course Oliver knew the rule.
But the rule existed only to ensure that sixteen teams could advance into the group stage, preventing a few teams from monopolizing all the tokens.
All Oliver needed to do was redistribute the tokens before leaving the secret realm.
As long as sixteen teams advanced, the rules were satisfied.
When Oliver reached the entrance, there were very few people present.
Most were competitors who had already pressed their beacons and were waiting to be escorted out.
Oliver found a wooden board and had Garchomp carve words into it with a claw:
"Advancement Tokens — Claimed by the Strong."
He planted the board firmly into the ground.
Then he took out seven wooden tokens and hung them neatly on the board.
"One hour later," Oliver said calmly,
"the contest begins."
At first, nearby competitors watched curiously.
But the moment they saw seven tokens, they froze.
They had struggled desperately for hours—
and this man casually produced seven at once?!
Was he even human?!
"Hey! Aren't you going to stop him?"
one eliminated competitor asked a nearby investigator.
"He's holding seven tokens by himself!"
The investigator was equally stunned.
But after a brief pause, he shook his head.
The rules hadn't been violated.
Oliver's actions were… perfectly legal.
There were also competitors still actively participating nearby.
The moment they learned about the tokens, messages spread rapidly through team channels.
No need to search anymore.
Seven tokens were right at the entrance.
Soon, competitors across the secret realm rushed toward the entrance.
Before long, a trainer riding a Pidgeot descended from the sky.
"Isn't that Tian Yu from Pengcheng High School?"
"That Pidgeot is a high-rank Pokémon!"
"He was one of the first to rush into the secret realm!"
"Where are his teammates?"
"I heard he's been acting alone. His team should still be elsewhere."
Tian Yu landed and stared at the seven tokens.
He looked down at Oliver arrogantly.
"Hand over the tokens," he ordered coldly.
"Then you can get lost."
With his strength, if he had encountered a token inside the secret realm, he would have easily secured one.
But his luck had been abysmal—
he hadn't even seen a shadow of a token.
Oliver glanced at him indifferently.
"Ten minutes left," Oliver said.
With so many people watching, backing down now would make Tian Yu lose face.
Fury flashed across his eyes.
"My Pokémon is high-rank!"
"If you won't give the tokens to me, who else deserves them?!"
With a sharp command, he sent Pidgeot diving straight at Oliver.
Halfway through the dive—
A gray blur intercepted it in an instant.
The blur twisted midair, a massive dragon tail sweeping through with terrifying force.
Boom!
Pidgeot was smashed into the ground in a single blow.
At the same time, Garchomp grabbed Tian Yu by the collar and dragged him in front of Oliver.
Everyone froze.
A high-rank Pokémon, defeated in one move.
Oliver calmly took an Emergency Beacon from Tian Yu's pocket, pressed it, and tossed it aside.
Only then did Tian Yu snap back to reality.
"No! Impossible!"
"I'm a high-rank trainer! I can't be eliminated in the elimination round!"
Investigators arrived moments later and escorted the screaming Tian Yu out of the secret realm.
The remaining competitors stared at the figure standing calmly atop the tree trunk.
Awe filled their eyes.
No one dared to challenge him again.
They waited quietly—
For the moment when Oliver declared the contest officially began.
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