Surprises always arrived without warning. The moment Zhang Tie entered the hall of the Palace Tree in the Castle of Black Iron and saw the brilliant radiance on Little Tree, his heart began to pound wildly. He knew Little Tree must have brought him an unexpected surprise.
Before entering the Castle of Black Iron, Zhang Tie had not actually held out much hope. He merely wanted to test whether he could still use the Castle of Black Iron smoothly in the Sky-Piercing Realm. Of course, by Zhang Tie's estimate, after these past few days, judging by Paul's efficiency since receiving the Sect Black Posts from the three major sects, Paul should already have enabled him to eat several more Fruits of Redemption. More importantly, Zhang Tie wanted to determine, from the speed at which fruits grew on Little Tree, whether the flow of time in the Sky-Piercing Realm matched that of the world he had come from. If time flowed differently in this world—if it was slower here, such that one day here equaled one month or even one year in Great Xia—then Zhang Tie would truly be left grasping at straws.
Just thinking of that possibility made Zhang Tie feel on the verge of collapse.
More than a dozen Fruits of Redemption hung from Little Tree. Some granted the strength of the Golden Unicorn Beetle; some were Fruits of Redemption from bay shrimp and five-petaled hairy clams; there were also several Fruits of Redemption from earthworms. These Fruits of Redemption covered strength, bodily defense, recovery ability, adaptability under extreme conditions, and more. They were one of the sources of Zhang Tie's steadily growing power.
The sight of those Fruits of Redemption made Zhang Tie breathe a sigh of relief. Judging from the fruits' rate of growth, the flow of