The Wooden Man Sets Up the Arenas
The Wooden Man's sword strike unexpectedly activated Li Jiusheng's Heaven-Defying Comprehension, allowing him to comprehend the Annihilation Sword Technique.
Li Jiusheng immediately closed his eyes. From his mind, a sword technique carrying Pure Yang Energy descended from the sky, crashing into his heart and stirring up countless ripples.
Wherever this sword passed, everything was annihilated.
"The Annihilation Sword truly lives up to its name," Li Jiusheng thought to himself.
With his current level of understanding and comprehension, this sword technique is difficult for him to comprehend. Just like the Four Swords he comprehended in the Southern Ridge Deadly Land, he can only silently hone his skills little by little through persistent effort.
It wasn't that Li Jiusheng lacked comprehension, but rather that his level of understanding was insufficient.
Li Jiusheng was not disappointed; he simply memorized the sword strike in his heart.
Above the sea of consciousness lies a lake of the heart, a place where Li Jiusheng's thoughts rise and fall.
He remained calm and composed, his mind as still as a calm lake.
His emotions fluctuated violently, his heart like a raging torrent.
At this moment, the heart lake is vast and boundless, with five giant swords thrust directly into its core area.
These five giant swords are the Heaven-Severing Sword, the Heavenly Immortal Sword, the Fallen Immortal Sword, the Absolute Immortal Sword, and the Annihilation Sword.
"I need to break through to the Venerable level and ascend to the Ancestral Master level as soon as possible in order to comprehend these sword techniques." Li Jiusheng felt a sense of urgency. The five Sword energy embedded in his heart seemed to be constantly urging him to cultivate diligently.
When he opened his eyes and looked around, the surrounding mountains and fields were completely silent, and even the patriarch who had been shouting earlier had quieted down.
The Wooden Man slew the Insect Race Grandmaster with a single sword strike, once again causing the heavens and earth to lose their color, the sun and moon to lose their light, and silencing all those who complained.
This Wooden Man, crafted using the Luban Technique, is stronger than anyone could have imagined.
Above the small Ancient Castle, the Wooden Man hand slowly descended, making a clicking sound.
Then, it gazed at the entire scene, and wherever its gaze fell, all was silent.
"It's over. The patriarch is dead. This place is not something we can explore." Some were disappointed, and some wanted to leave.
"This Wooden Man Puppet is incredibly mysterious, and the Ancient Castle contains a river of pure yang Spiritual Qi, meaning it has an inexhaustible source of energy. Even the patriarch couldn't do anything about it. Let's leave," someone said, very rationally, not wanting to take any risks.
At this moment, even the patriarch wanted to retreat.
But the Wooden Man spoke the next second.
Its appearance is exactly the same as a real person, even the texture of its skin is indistinguishable, except for the stiffness at the joints. The Wooden Man said, "We once traveled a long distance, overcoming numerous obstacles, to reach this land and build this Floating Land. We intended to use this place as a backup plan, a place to leave behind, but things did not go as planned. With the retreat of the distant forces, great changes are bound to occur. Those of us who remain here have no way back."
The Wooden Man's voice was gentle and warm, like a scholar reciting a story.
Everyone listened quietly, even those who had been about to leave stopped and looked towards the Ancient Castle.
Above the Ancient Castle, the Wooden Man stood with its hands behind its back, gazing at the starry sky like an ancient person. Although there was no fluctuation of its primordial spirit, one could still feel the complex aura emanating from it.
"You have all come here today for the Pure Yang Energy River. I have little use for it, so I have set up a checkpoint for you to pass. For each checkpoint you pass, I will give you a portion of Pure Yang Energy. If you pass all of them, I will give you the Pure Yang Energy River." The Wooden Man said softly.
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.
Would the Wooden Man be willing to send out the Pure Yang Energy River?
Although challenges had to be set up for everyone to overcome, compared to the previous hopelessness, everyone now saw hope.
"Senior, what is the level?" someone immediately asked.
Everyone fell silent, staring at the Wooden Man atop the Ancient Castle, eager to know the answer.
Li Jiusheng and Li Qingshan were also gazing at each other silently.
Under the pitch-black night sky, atop the Ancient Castle, the Wooden Man spoke, "It's simple. I will set up a dueling arena within the Ancient Castle. All of you may participate. The top ten will be rewarded with Pure Yang Energy. After the top ten are determined, they will take turns fighting me. Within the same cultivation level, whoever defeats me will obtain Pure Yang Energy River."
After the Wooden Man explained the rules, the patriarch immediately calculated and discovered a problem. "Once the top ten are determined on the dueling platform, the Venerable One should not participate. With the patriarch taking the stage, there is no need for anyone else."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the group of venerable ones changed drastically.
They dared to be angry but dared not speak out.
They finally saw a glimmer of hope, but to ask them to compete on the same stage as the patriarch—isn't that just bullying?
Li Jiusheng frowned as well. According to this rule, only Li Qingshan could participate.
Although he could fight the patriarch to some extent, if the patriarch were truly enraged and went all out, Li Jiusheng would definitely be no match for him at this moment.
The Wooden Man said, "I have never met you before, so I will not easily take sides. It is common knowledge that our patriarch is powerful, but I will also give others hope."
Everyone's eyes lit up as they carefully examined the Wooden Man atop the Ancient Castle.
Where does hope lie?
A group of patriarchs remained silent, waiting for the Wooden Man to reveal other rules.
"In this competition, I will set up four arenas, corresponding to the Grandmaster Realm, Great Grandmaster Realm, Venerable Realm, and Grandmaster Realm respectively," the Wooden Man said.
These words caused an uproar, and everyone began to discuss them.
Some of the patriarchs frowned, wondering why it was so complicated. Did they really need to cater to grandmasters and Great Grandmaster?
"Senior, most of those present are Venerables, there are very few Great Grandmaster, and even fewer Grandmasters. We can't even gather more than 10. Why bother setting up an arena for them?" A Venerable frowned and said.
This is true. Most of those who have reached this point are venerable ones, a very small number are Great Grandmaster, and an even smaller number are patriarchs.
As for grandmasters, Li Jiusheng looked around but didn't find a single one.
The Wooden Man said, "When the Four Great Arenas were established, they corresponded to the four realms. The rewards for the top ten on the Grandmaster Arena are the same as those for the top ten on the Ancestor Arena."
"On the Grandmaster Arena, the limit of power you can unleash is the limit of power you have when you stand as a Grandmaster. On the Great Grandmaster Arena, the limit of power you can unleash is the limit of power you have when you stand as Great Grandmaster, and so on. Power exceeding your realm is absolutely not allowed. If it is discovered, you will be immediately judged as violating the rules, and the violator will die and be annihilated." The Wooden Man spoke in a cold and merciless tone as he stated the rules.
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed, and they immediately pondered the meaning behind these words.
"Does what you mean, senior, mean that if I suppress my cultivation level to the Grandmaster Realm, participate in the Grandmaster Arena, and win a top ten spot, the reward I receive will be exactly the same as the top eleven in the Ancestor Arena?" A Venerable with a quick mind immediately guessed this possibility and asked loudly, his expression excited.
If this conjecture is true, it would be a tremendous benefit for both the Venerable One and the Great Grandmaster.
On the Grandmaster Realm arena, they shouldn't even think about it.
On the Venerable Realm arena, competitors are as numerous as hairs on a cow. Among them are many old monsters who are nearing the end of their lives or have been deeply rooted in the Venerable Realm for their entire lives. It is extremely difficult for them to win a place in the top ten.
For many, the only way to obtain the Pure Yang Energy reward is to focus on the Grandmaster Realm Arena and the Great Grandmaster Realm Arena.
They suppressed their cultivation, keeping their realm at the Grandmaster Peak and Great Grandmaster Peak, to participate in the corresponding arenas.
Make it into the top ten and receive a reward.
Although the competition remains fierce, they see greater hope.
The Wooden Man said, "I don't care about anything else. In any arena, only power within the corresponding realm is allowed."
Upon hearing this, countless people were overjoyed.
Some of the weaker Venerables immediately set their sights on the Grandmaster-level and Great Grandmaster- level arenas.
Even some of the founders started to think about how to suppress their cultivation to the level of Grandmaster or Great Grandmaster in order to obtain multiple rewards.