I am the Clone of a Death Row Inmate

”If you can convince the higher-ups of Lin Hua Country to offer a Grade 6 extract as a prize, we can then use that to pressure the people from the Snowfield and Flame Emperor Continents. After all, if our Lin Hua Continent is putting up a Bloodline Crystal *and* a vial of Grade 6 extract, shouldn’t those two continents raise their own stakes? If nothing else, the quality of the Grade 6 extract they offer can’t be low. It has to be at least A-rank!”

Chen Suifeng was stunned for a few seconds after hearing Su Ze’s proposal. ”You kid... No wonder your father’s the Minister of Finance.”

Su Ze wanted to use the Bloodline Crystal to force the three continents to keep upping the ante, raising the overall quality of the tournament’s prize pool.

This was a classic case of ”casting a sprat to catch a mackerel.”

One could imagine that once the three continents put up prizes of this caliber, they would be dead set on winning. They’d have to place in the top three just to break even.

Therefore, all three sides would inevitably go all out and send their strongest contestants.

After all, failing to make the top three would be a huge loss.

In reality, however, the three continents didn’t actually know much about each other’s strength. They hadn’t had much contact for many years.

So, once Su Ze had maneuvered them into offering such lavish rewards, all three sides would essentially be gambling.

After all, with no real understanding of their opponents, no one could be certain of victory.

”You’ve taken a perfectly fine exhibition tournament and forcibly turned it into a high-stakes gamble,” Chen Suifeng sighed.

”Do you think there’s a chance it could work?” Su Ze asked.

”Doesn’t your Bloodline Crystal have that Bloodline Contract on it, making it so only you can absorb it?” Chen Suifeng said.

”I previously asked Zhou Wenshan to inquire with the higher-ups of Lin Hua Country. They all said they’d never heard of a Bloodline Contract. That means either other Bloodline Crystals don’t have one, or the aliens have been hiding this fact. So, on the surface, the Bloodline Contract doesn’t exist. The other two continents will have no grounds to object to the Bloodline Crystal being used as a prize,” Su Ze explained.

”I’ll give it a try, then. Since you’re putting up your Bloodline Crystal, I’m sure persuading the Flame Emperor and Snowfield Continents won’t be a problem. The main issue is whether I can convince the higher-ups of Lin Hua Country...” Chen Suifeng paused. ”But even if I succeed, are you absolutely certain you can take first place in the tournament?”

It wasn’t that he distrusted Su Ze’s strength. It was just that Su Ze had only just broken through to Saint grade, and there was bound to be a gap between him and the veteran Saint-grade powerhouses.

The other two continents might break even by just getting into the top three, but Su Ze was putting up a Bloodline Crystal. He *had* to take first place, or it would be a devastating loss.

Su Ze chuckled. ”How much of a chance I have... isn’t that up to you?”

”What do you mean?” Chen Suifeng had a bad feeling about this.

”You could use your contribution points to redeem the upgrade materials I need from the Lin Hua National Treasury and then lend them to me. That way, I can upgrade my skills and increase my strength, which will naturally give me a better chance. Just consider the materials a loan from you.”

”And how would you repay me?”

”If there’s anything in the National Treasury you have your eye on, just add it to the first-place prize package. Once I win, I’ll give you the item you want as repayment. You could even earn a little ’interest’ on the side.”

”You’re trying to get something for nothing!” Chen Suifeng cursed, laughing.

’Most people at least have a PowerPoint presentation when they’re looking for investors. Su Ze is doing it with nothing but his words.’

Still, Chen Suifeng agreed. ”Fine. If I can persuade those old geezers at the top, I’ll give you a hand.”

With Chen Suifeng’s promise, Su Ze felt a sense of relief. If he could upgrade and strengthen most of his skills, he was confident he wouldn’t be weaker than any veteran Overlord, even without absorbing the next vial of Grade 5 extract.

After all, other veteran Overlords had one Grade 5 skill at most. But Su Ze had absorbed the Grade 5 skill ”Expansion” back in his Butterfly Stage. He wasn’t any worse off than those veterans, and in terms of the quantity and quality of his skills, he wouldn’t lose to anyone.

Of course, there was still a chance of failure. They had no idea about the strength of the other two continents or whether they had any heaven-defying prodigies of their own.

And since Su Ze was placing such a heavy bet, he naturally wanted to play it safe. He looked at Chen Suifeng and asked, ”Mr. Fen, can we add an age limit to the tournament? We can’t let some two-hundred-year-old monsters compete.”

Overlord-level experts could theoretically live up to two hundred years. If some of those old monsters really showed up—with all their skills upgraded to the peak and mastery over high-level, powerful Grade 5 skills—they could still pose a threat to Su Ze.

”That makes sense.” Chen Suifeng nodded. ”We’re the ones spearheading this competition, so we’re the ones who set the rules. What age limit do you think is appropriate?”

”How about under 20?”

”Heh, your scheming is so obvious they can probably hear it all the way over on the Snowfield and Flame Emperor Continents.”

An Overlord under the age of twenty... you probably couldn’t find a second one across all three continents combined. It would just be Su Ze competing by himself, a guaranteed champion.

Su Ze knew, of course, that setting the limit at twenty was impossible. He laughed and asked, ”Then what age do you think is appropriate?”

”Let’s set it at fifty,” Chen Suifeng said. ”Anyone who can reach Saint grade before the age of fifty is considered a genius on any of the three continents. There won’t be too many of them.”

Su Ze nodded. With that age limit, he felt like the championship was in the bag.

But while he was securing his own advantages, he couldn’t forget about his friends. Su Ze asked, ”Can we use wondrous items in this competition?”

”What do you think?”

”I think we should be allowed to use one. The wondrous item’s grade can’t exceed the user’s own evolution level. In other words, we can only use one Grade 4 wondrous item.”

”Alright.” Chen Suifeng nodded in agreement. ”As long as the rules are fair and reasonable, we call the shots.”