--
The awarding ceremony took place on the same afternoon.
That was only possible because Ren saved time by solving his remaining opponents in a row. If he had followed the schedule, this ceremony would've happened by nighttime instead.
Everybody was in attendance. The respective city lords of the representatives attended in person. Everybody was dressed in their best formal attire. Even those who had been eliminated before the finals appeared in the audience stand to watch the awarding ceremony.
Those who didn't make it to the finals could only lament inwardly. When they were eliminated, most of them felt slighted and unconvinced. They didn't think they were any worse than the finalists.
They stayed back to watch; they wanted to see personally why they're in the audience seat instead of being down there.
When the final round began, that's when they realized their error.
