Prize

Silence—deathly silence.

Even the four people on the other two arenas, who had been fighting madly for a place, could not help stopping. They all stared at Lu He with dumbfounded eyes.

At that moment, Lu He became the center of attention.

Below the stage.

Among the many seeds who witnessed this scene, quite a few could not help rubbing their eyes hard, thinking they had seen wrong.

Once they came to their senses.

"Hiss—"

Sharp intakes of breath rose one after another.

"Good heavens, there was actually a monster hiding among us who crushed even Senior Sister Lin? She's a steward's descendant, born extraordinary!"

"Don't forget, Senior Sister Lin cultivated bitterly in the Enlightenment Pavilion for an entire month."

"Hey, aren't you missing the point? Senior Sister Lin was beaten to tears, okay? Her perfectly good face was battered beyond recognition."

"My Senior Sister Lin!"

Some stood there in a daze.

Beside him.

"Good thing I didn't choose to spar with Brother Lu. He could be so ruthless even toward a fairy-like woman such as Senior Sister Lin. If it had been me..."

Bai Hao's face was deathly pale, his eyes brimming with lingering terror.

Arena No. 5.

Because no one had challenged him.

Zheng Jingren had been watching Lu He from the very beginning.

When he saw that Lu He had not proactively stepped down from the arena like the others, but had instead dared to challenge Junior Sister Lin, he felt even more certain that he had not misjudged him.

On the path of immortality, without an unwavering Dao heart that would rather break than bend, how could one climb ever higher?

Yet what happened afterward utterly exceeded Zheng Jingren's expectations.

"What the hell? Six Red Qiu True Talismans?! I spent a full month comprehending them in the Enlightenment Pavilion and only condensed four True Talismans. How on earth did Brother Lu do it?"

Zheng Jingren muttered, disbelief still lingering on his face.

But immediately afterward, he realized a very serious problem—

With Brother Lu's strength, there would not even be room for an upset. He was certain to claim one of the places to White-Scale Lake.

Which raised the question: who would take his place afterward?

Arena No. 1.

Qin Lie, who had been resting with his eyes closed all this while, also unconsciously looked toward Lu He, his face filled with admiration.

"He's a ruthless one!" The corners of his eyes twitched several times.

About the time it took to drink a cup of tea later.

Senior Sister Lin gradually stopped crying. She silently got to her feet, shot Lu He a vicious glare, then strode toward the palace gates with a head four or five times larger than before.

Her embroidered shoes ground heavily over the bronze floor, her footsteps ringing out thud after thud.

"Ahem. Continue."

On the raised platform, Deng Yuantong gave a light cough as though waking from a dream.

His voice exploded beside everyone's ears.

His gaze lingered uncertainly on Lu He, filled with deep confusion. This little fellow's rate of growth had already shattered his understanding.

It reminded him of those peerless geniuses in the Inner Garden, rumored to achieve Foundation Establishment in mere days.

Granted, as things stood, this little fellow was still far from those peerless geniuses preparing to enter the Dao Palace.

But faint traces of that potential could already be seen.

"What a pity. His background is too poor. Otherwise..."

Deng Yuantong thought regretfully.

"Senior Sister, are you coming up?"

On Arena No. 7, Lu He stood at the edge and looked at the other woman waiting below.

The moment he spoke.

She abruptly raised her head and immediately fixed Lu He with the gaze one might use on a plague god, all color drained from her face.

"Um, Junior Brother, you rest first," she said with a dry laugh, pointing toward Arena No. 8 beside them. "Senior Sister suddenly feels inspired and wants to spar with those two."

Her strength was no more than evenly matched with Junior Sister Lin's. If Junior Sister Lin had ended up that badly, how could she possibly fare any better?

There was simply no hope of claiming the place on Arena No. 7!

Having said that.

The senior sister spun around as if fleeing for her life and rushed toward Arena No. 8, her movements incomparably swift and decisive.

As she ran, she screamed inwardly:

"What rotten luck! Where did this six-True-Talisman monster come from?"

Staring blankly at the scene.

"Am I really that scary?"

Lu He touched his face, then simply plopped down where he stood. As he waited, he began observing the fierce battles on Arenas No. 8 and No. 9.

More than a dozen breaths later.

Lu He shifted his gaze away and instead looked toward the figures on the arenas ahead.

Compared to ordinary seeds, these people were indeed absurdly strong, casually weaving together three True Talismans at a time. But... they clearly were not strong enough to threaten him.

Time trickled by.

The ninth place ultimately went to the winner of Arena No. 8, an exceptionally tall man.

Clearly, the senior sister who had changed her mind at the last minute was still one move short.

Once all the places had been decided.

On the raised platform.

Deng Yuantong rose to his feet again. His gaze swept across the nine young figures still standing on the arenas, and a smile could not help appearing on his weathered face.

Today had truly given him a surprise.

"Next comes the second-round ranking battle. The rules are as follows:

"Arenas No. 1 through No. 9 represent first through ninth place at this tea gathering. You nine may choose an arena according to your own strength. As before, the one who remains standing to the end will take the corresponding rank."

"My lord, is there a limit on how many times each person may challenge others?"

A steward's descendant on Arena No. 3 suddenly spoke up.

"There is no limit."

Though interrupted, Deng Yuantong showed no anger. Instead, his voice gained a trace of amusement:

"So long as you wish it, even challenging all eight others in turn is permitted."

"As for the prizes in the ranking battle—"

As his words fell.

Below, the few who had advanced to the second round, including Lu He, all raised their heads to look toward the raised platform.

Even Qin Lie, who had remained utterly indifferent throughout the tea gathering, could not help showing a flash of burning anticipation.

Below the stage, even the many seeds who knew the ranking battle's rewards had nothing to do with them pricked up their ears, their faces full of expectation.

The first-round rewards had already been among the best of recent years.

What would the second-round rewards be like?

Facing dozens of eager gazes.

Deng Yuantong did not keep them in suspense and announced directly:

"Ninth place: three mid-grade Black Jade Pills."

"Eighth place: five mid-grade Black Jade Pills."

"..."

"Fourth place: three bottles of mid-grade Black Jade Pills!"

Boom—

The palace instantly erupted into deafening uproar.

"Mid-grade Black Jade Pills?!"

Even the steward's descendants, who had never had to worry about resources, found it difficult to suppress the pounding in their hearts. Especially those who had just been eliminated—their faces abruptly filled with intense unwillingness.

"Those are mid-grade Black Jade Pills. Even among Qi Refinement cultivators, they hold considerable value."

Yet before the thought could settle.

The prizes announced for the top three places directly sent them into an uproar.

Even Deng Yuantong, the presiding steward, could not conceal the heartache in his voice!