The Thirteenth-Place a Bet

Just as Lin Yi was secretly wondering to himself, the Dao Lord Xi Mo slightly raised his eyelids.

Her deep purple eyes slowly swept over the hundred trial participants before her, and then she raised her right hand, her slender fingers gently clenching in the air.

Lin Yi felt the surrounding fluctuations of laws suddenly freeze.

The feeling was extremely eerie, as if the entire world had been forcibly paused by some supreme will in that instant.

He tried to sense the laws governing his surroundings, but found himself as if he had crashed into an invisible wall. All his sensory threads were abruptly severed before the wall, and not a single piece of feedback could be transmitted back.

This is the Dao Lord.

Lin Yi felt a slight chill.

The moment the Dao Lord Xi Mo made his move, he finally experienced firsthand the terror of the Dao Lord.

Then he heard two words.

Let's go...

Immediately, Lin Yi felt a blur before his eyes, and the surrounding scenery suddenly became indistinct.

The buildings in the Central Plaza of Constant Island, the students still waving to them, the Constant Lord floating in mid-air...

Everything was stretched infinitely far away in the same instant, becoming countless thin and blurry strands of light, which were then gently picked up by an invisible hand.

Immediately afterwards, he sensed a layer of deep purple light membrane that enveloped all the hundred trial participants and the group of Constant Lord.

That layer of light was extremely thin, almost transparent to the naked eye, and it was slowly flickering at a strange frequency.

Each time the light membrane flickers, a tiny ripple spreads across its surface. As the ripples reach the edges, they are gently bounced back by some invisible force, weaving together into a peculiar purple light within the membrane.

The next instant, the purple light membrane that enveloped everyone transformed into a stream of light and disappeared into the void.

Constant Island shrank rapidly behind them.

Those cultivation towers suspended in the void, those Energy Waterfall flowing around the inner island, those manors and gardens scattered along the ring road—all of them shrank into an imperceptible point of light at the edge of the field of vision in the blink of an eye, and then disappeared completely.

Immediately afterwards, the magnificent star ring structure of the Silent Constant Great City swept past below them.

The entire ring-shaped megacity, composed of thousands of islands, only lingered in Lin Yi's eyes for less than a moment before being left far behind, along with the surging pale purple Tide energy belts surrounding it.

Lin Yi stood inside the light membrane, and the surrounding scenery was no longer concrete objects, but had turned into infinitely elongated beams of light.

quick.

That's too fast.

Lin Yi knew that the Dao Lord was very fast. When he learned from Constant Lord Eric that the Dao Lord Xi Mo could traverse a distance of nearly one Constant Domain in less than half an Epoch, he was already mentally prepared.

But when he was actually experiencing that speed, he was still incredibly shocked.

The inside of the light membrane is very quiet.

The trial participants floated in different positions inside the light membrane. No one spoke, and no one looked around. They were all silently making their final preparations.

The same goes for Lin Yi.

Half Epoch passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, he suddenly felt the purple light membrane begin to slow down.

To be precise, it wasn't a slowdown.

The surrounding fluctuations have changed.

The light rays that were originally stretched infinitely outside the light membrane began to contract in the normal direction, and the external objects that had become so blurry that their outlines were no longer discernible reappeared in his perception with specific forms.

Then, he saw the Eternal Source Ring.

It was an extremely large circular building.

The entire Eternal Source Ring is cast from a dark blue alloy, the surface of which is covered with dense inscriptions, each line of which exudes an extremely ancient and precise charm.

Even after being shrouded in the black mist for countless years, the inscriptions continued to operate autonomously at an extremely slow pace. Each operation would cause a faint, shimmering white halo to light up at the nodes of the inscription's veins, before being quickly swallowed up by the surrounding black mist.

The main body of the Eternal Source Ring floats in a void that has been forcibly stretched open.

Surrounded by the Black Mist Sea, it stood like a deserted island forgotten for countless years, quietly and silently awaiting the arrival of the trial participants.

Lin Yi noticed that not far from the Eternal Source Ring, he could vaguely see countless other massive, abandoned building ruins.

Their style is exactly the same as that of the Eternal Source Ring, except that most of them have become dim and faded, with only a few buildings still shining like the last embers of an ancient lighthouse.

Two beams of light fell silently into the black mist.

A deep purple blob, a reddish-black blob.

After the light settled, the figures of the Dao Lord Xi Mo and the Ming Chi Dao Lord reappeared.

Behind them, the purple light membrane that enveloped the hundred trial participants trembled slightly, then began to fade slowly, as if some core that kept it running had been removed. The purple luster on the surface of the membrane began to recede from the edges, eventually turning into countless tiny purple dust particles that dissipated into the black mist.

The moment the light membrane disappeared, Lin Yi's perception of the outside world also returned.

Then, his expression changed slightly.

breath.

Countless auras.

In the gaps between the ruined buildings surrounding the Eternal Source Ring, in the black mist deep within the forcibly stretched void, and in the shadows above and below the massive ring-shaped building, countless auras of Black Silence Beast lurked densely.

There are too many.

Lin Yi mobilized all his senses and spread them out in all directions.

The number of those that are substandard or of the first order is almost countless.

There are nearly a thousand of them at the second tier.

In addition, there were twenty or thirty powerful auras far exceeding those of Second-Order Black Silence Beast, like clusters of burning dark flames suspended in the darkness.

Lin Yi silently withdrew his senses, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"This is the depths of the First Constant Domain? Second-tier beings are worse than dogs, and third-tier beings are everywhere..."

He knew there would be many Black Silence Beast deep within the First Constant Domain; Constant Lord Eric, had mentioned this to him before he came.

But knowing it is one thing, when he actually stood there and truly sensed the dense aura of the Black Silence Beast, the impact was far beyond anything he could have imagined.

Just as Lin Yi suppressed the shock in his heart, a clear, cold female voice drifted over from ahead.

The Dao Lord Xi Mo stood with her hands behind her back in the void. She slightly turned her head and glanced at the silent man beside her.

"Sure enough, there are far fewer Black Silence Beast lurking here than last time I came."

"Chi Ming, shall we do it?"

The Dao Lord the Ming Chi stood about two steps to her side.

It was an extremely burly man, dressed in dark red armor, his deep brown eyes emitting a faint red glow in the darkness.

Upon hearing the words of the Demon Dao Lord the Ming Chi, the Dao Lord Xi Mo's lips twitched slightly, as if he were smiling, or perhaps he simply couldn't be bothered to smile at all.

"I'll do it."

After saying that, he raised his right hand and then waved it gently forward.

A beam of red and black light shot out instantly, then suddenly widened, turning into a red and black light curtain.

Then, the light screen swept across the entire Eternal Source Ring in an instant, at a speed that seemed slow but was actually fast.

Then, Lin Yi discovered that all the Black Silence Beast auras within his perception range, whether they were third-tier, second-tier, or even those that were insignificant, had completely vanished with a single wave of the Ming Chi Dao Lord.

Having done all this, the Dao Lord of the Ming Chi turned around, his gaze slowly sweeping across the ranks of the Constant Lord behind him.

There was no speech, no commands, not even a single unnecessary movement.

But those who Constant Lord seemed to have been fully aware of this tacit instruction all along.

Lin Yi noticed that the unfamiliar Constant Lord, whom he had never seen before, stepped forward and bowed slightly to the two Dao Lord.

Then, his figure flickered and vanished instantly.

At the same moment this unfamiliar Constant Lord disappeared, the other Constant Lord transformed into streams of light and flew towards the outer edge of the Eternal Source Ring.

Immediately afterwards, powerful waves of energy rose from different directions around the Eternal Source Ring.

Lin Yi could see that on the east side of the Eternal Source Ring, the ruins of an ancient tower were suddenly shrouded in a light blue barrier, and the originally dim inscriptions on the tower body lit up again.

On the west side, a giant sphere that had collapsed halfway suddenly began to slowly rotate.

On the south side, several broken cylinders were reassembled and began to connect with each other through rays of light.

Only Constant Lord Eric did not go to the outer areas.

He raised his hand and took out a set of purple beads, then struck the beads one by one into the black mist.

One, two, three...

After the last bead was struck into the black mist, twelve purple beams of light shot out from the beads simultaneously, converging above the Eternal Source Ring to form a massive ring of light.

The light array shuddered suddenly as it took shape.

A translucent, white light curtain unfurled from the light array, cascading down from the highest point like a waterfall cascading backwards, enveloping the entire Eternal Source Ring and a large expanse of surrounding void.

Lin Yi looked up at the light screen, feeling a sense of security.

Constant Lord Eric, is a Constant Source Realm Mid-Rank and ranks among the top Constant Lord residing on Constant Island.

Then, Lin Yi noticed that the figure of the Dao Lord Xi Mo had silently appeared directly above the Eternal Source Ring.

Then, she slightly raised her finger.

A beam of extremely thin light shot out from her fingertip, striking precisely the center of the core rune at the highest Eternal Source Ring.

The core rune suddenly lit up.

Countless Law Inscriptions awakened from the talisman, spreading outwards in all directions along the crisscrossing inscription veins on the surface of the Eternal Source Ring, like a heart that had been dormant for countless years being re-injected with fresh blood.

A visible ripple of energy spread out from the main ring of the Eternal Source Ring.

Lin Yi could sense that when the ripple swept across the surrounding ruined buildings, the inscriptions on the surfaces of the buildings, which had been dull and lifeless, were faintly reactivated and began to flicker with intermittent, shimmering white light.

Then, on the ruins of the huge plaza at the very center of the Eternal Source Ring, one after another semi-transparent light curtains suddenly appeared.

One, five, ten...

One hundred questions.

One hundred enormous light curtains floated silently.

The surface of the light screen was still a very light grayish-white layer, without any images, only countless extremely fine inscriptions slowly flowing inside the light screen.

After arranging all this, the Dao Lord Xi Mo flipped his hand and took out a mirror-like object, then casually tossed it aside.

The mirror transformed into a silvery-white streak of light, rising into the air and hovering silently.

Then, she raised her right hand and gently touched the mirror with her index finger.

The mirror suddenly trembled, and a beam of light shot out from its silvery-white surface, simultaneously enveloping the hundred enormous light screens in the plaza below.

at the same time.

Constant Island, the Central Plaza of the inner island.

The enormous Constant Island Emblem, suspended directly above the square, suddenly shone brightly without warning, its pale purple radiance pouring out in all directions like a burst dam.

A visible energy ripple spread out from the edge of the emblem, instantly sweeping across the entire plaza.

A huge screen of light was projected down from the Constant Island Emblem.

Then came the second, the third... The number of light screens increased at an extremely rapid pace. In just a moment, a hundred huge light screens were neatly suspended above the Central Plaza of Constant Island.

This is a routine practice for the Eternal Source Ring Trial. The progress of each trial is simultaneously broadcast to Constant Island Square, allowing everyone to recognize the gap in skill and providing a learning opportunity.

"They're here!"

An excited voice rang out in the square.

A cultivator at the initial stage of the Eternal Source Realm, dressed in a silver-gray battle robe, lit up and immediately sent a message.

His actions of sending messages were happening simultaneously throughout the square.

The entire inner island was in an uproar.

Several inner island students who were in seclusion were abruptly summoned from their meditation rooms by their companions' urgent message and rushed toward the plaza.

In no time, the huge square was packed with people.

Looking down from above, the dark mass of people surged into the square from its various entrances, then found their places in front of the hundred light screens. From a distance, it looked like countless streams flowing into the same depression, weaving together into a surging sea of people on the square's ground.

The Eternal Source Ring.

Having finished all this, the Dao Lord Xi Mo withdrew his hand, turned around, and looked at the group of trial students.

She did not offer any verbal encouragement or motivation, nor did she deliberately emphasize the significance of this trial.

Everything that needed to be said had already been explained before they set off. These elite troops should not and need not be distracted by idle chatter before the battle.

Therefore, she simply parted her lips and said, "Go."

Without wasting words, including Lin Yi, everyone transformed into streams of light of different colors and shapes, and filed into the huge trial vortex.

The Central Plaza the Inner Island of Constant Island.

At the very front of the crowd, in the area closest to the central light screen in the square, a woman dressed in a silver-white fitted battle robe crossed her arms, her pale blue eyes reflected in the light screen.

Behind her stood several students of varying cultivation levels, one of whom, a girl, was muttering, "Why is there still no movement?"

Just as the woman in the silver-white battle robe was about to speak, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure emerging against a gray-white background on the light screen.

"I've got it," she whispered.

The noise in the square suddenly decreased several notches in that instant.

On the light screen, figures emerged from the gray-white void.

"E Lan! It's E Lan!"

Someone in the crowd whispered something.

Immediately afterwards, a second figure appeared on the adjacent light screen.

"You Na!"

The third one to appear was Tai Huan.

His expression remained as calm and even as usual, but those who knew him well knew that once Tai Huan adopted this demeanor, it meant he had entered battle mode.

One figure after another appeared on the light screen.

Everyone's background is exactly the same: a gray and white void.

A Early Order of the Eternal Source Realm muttered in a low voice, "Who do you think will be the first to pass the solo trial?"

As soon as the question was raised, the students immediately started discussing it animatedly.

Some speculate that it involves the nine perfections, while others argue that the stronger one is in the Eternal Source Ring Trial, the more difficult it becomes, and it doesn't necessarily mean a faster completion time.

Opinions were divided for a time, with most favoring the Nine Great Perfections, but Lin Yi was also one of the most frequently mentioned names.

Just as everyone was discussing heatedly, a clear clapping sound suddenly rang out from the crowd.

The sound wasn't loud, but it had a perfect rhythm, causing the students who were chattering around to instinctively fall silent and look in the direction from which the sound came.

A young man dressed in a dark blue brocade robe stepped out from the crowd.

"He Mingyu of the He Family, a high-ranking member of the Eternal Source Realm, is ranked 271st on Inner Island of Constant Island."

"Why is this guy out here too? Wasn't he supposed to be in seclusion?"

"Nonsense, of course we have to see such a big show. When can't we go into seclusion?"

He Mingli ignored the whispers around her.

He walked to a slightly raised crystal platform in the center of the square and stood there. Then he raised his hand and made a gesture in front of him, and a semi-transparent dark blue light screen unfolded in front of him.

The names of all the trial participants were listed densely on the light screen.

"Everyone," He Mingyu cleared his throat, "Since everyone is so interested in this trial, how about I set up a betting pool to liven things up?"

The square fell silent for a moment, then erupted into an even more heated discussion.

"Opening? At this time?"

He Mingli was already operating the screen at lightning speed.

His fingers flew across the keyboard, each click rapidly filling in numbers in the odds field while he shouted, "The rules are simple: bet on who will be the first to pass all three single-player levels!"

As he spoke, he tapped the light screen heavily with his fingertip. At the very top of the screen, the names of the nine Perfected Ones were lined up in a row:

E Lan, You Na, Tai Huan...

Then there's Eternal Source Realm's top high-level player, top mid-level player, and top beginner-level player.

The crowd's eyes scanned down the list.

I saw that name on the thirteenth line.

Lin Yi.

The square fell silent for a moment again.

It wasn't that no one expected Lin Yi's odds to be high, but who would have thought that He Mingyu would rank him thirteenth?

Ahead of Lin Yi, besides the nine Perfection Realm experts, there were only the top high-level expert, the top mid-level expert, and the top beginner-level expert.

He even factored in the fact that the difficulty of the Eternal Source Ring increases with strength.

In the northwest corner of the square, several students exchanged glances and then walked towards the betting screen without prior arrangement.

A woman dressed in a light blue, fitted battle robe walked at the front.

Her movements were swift and decisive. She raised her hand, tapped the betting screen, and directly entered a not-so-small amount. Then, she turned to her companions and raised her chin, saying, "It's done, Lin Yi."

Her two companions behind her did not hesitate and each placed a bet under Lin Yi's name.

Similar scenes were playing out simultaneously throughout the square.

Those inner island students who had drunk with Lin Yi's clone at the banquet, those captains who had proactively handed Lin Yi communication talismans in the mission hall, and those veteran prodigies who had exchanged contact information with Lin Yi, walked out of the crowd in twos and threes, stopped in front of the betting screen, and then each placed a bet under Lin Yi's name.

The amounts varied; some were larger, while others were just symbolic bets.

But they all placed their bets.

On the eastern edge of the square, two senior students from the Eternal Source Realm stood side by side on the side of the betting screen, deliberately maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far from the crowd.

The man on the left was tall and slender with his hair neatly combed, while the man on the right had broad shoulders and a thick back, his arms crossed over his chest, his thick knuckles unconsciously tapping his Arm Armor.

"What are they doing..." The meticulously combed man turned his head and transmitted his voice, "Although Lin Yi is strong, it's unlikely he'll be the first to pass, right? With nine Perfected Realm experts holding back, the top high-level expert isn't someone to be trifled with either. Their voting like this isn't very rational."

Upon hearing this, his broad-shouldered and burly companion remained silent for a moment, then turned his head to look at him and sighed, "I told you you'd been holed up in the family all this time and lacked experience, didn't you?"

Before his companion could object, he continued, "Tell me, do you think they didn't know that Lin Yi had a high probability of not getting first place?"

The man with his hair neatly combed paused for a moment.

"Of course they knew." The broad-shouldered, burly senior student chuckled and shook his head. "Who doesn't have some discernment? There are several Perfected-level experts out there. No matter how strong Lin Yi is, his foundation is what it is. It's already quite generous of He Mingli to rank him thirteenth in the odds. But they still bet, and without hesitation."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the students in the crowd who had just voted for Lin Yi.

"Because it's an attitude."

"When Lin Yi returns from the Eternal Source Ring, regardless of whether he won first place or not, they can all laugh at the dinner table and say, 'Brother Lin Yi, I bet you won first place!' Wouldn't that be a good way to build rapport?"

The man with his hair neatly combed remained silent for a moment, then slowly exhaled.

Then, he walked out from where the two of them were standing side by side, went straight to the betting screen in the center of the square, glanced at the odds in Lin Yi's line, and then reached out and tapped the screen.

Behind him, the broad-shouldered, thick-backed senior student couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth and shake his head before squeezing into the crowd as well.

"Excuse me, I'll buy a ticket too."