In the Virtual Universe, at the Central Plaza.
More than five hundred thousand people had gathered in the plaza, all staring at the screens overhead. They showed the contestants still inside the Trial Towers-though, of course, only the highest-ranked few.
Whoosh!
Yang Zheng felt the space before him shift, and then he appeared in the Central Plaza. The instant he arrived, the many eliminated contestants around him turned to look.
"Unbelievable!"
"He actually cleared the first floor!"
"So elegant. That's a true Spirit Reader. I think I finally know what direction I should be taking."
Yang Zheng ignored the chatter and looked up at the screens and their ranking lists.
Luo Feng was still in the second Trial Tower. Thunder God had entered the third, while Hong was in the fourth.
Apart from Luo Feng, however, Thunder God and Hong were both approaching their limits.
"Yang Zheng!"
Suddenly, an icy face appeared before Yang Zheng. With the Blood Sword on his back, the White-Clothed Youth spoke in a cold but earnest voice.
"You're very strong!"
"But I won't lose again in the arena!"
With that, Bolan turned and walked toward his lodgings, his figure looking solitary and stubborn with the Blood Sword on his back.
"Looks like I got to him!" Yang Zheng rubbed his chin.
Bolan was proud and aloof. In the original story, he had only taken a hard look at himself after Luo Feng surpassed him. Now, Yang Zheng's sudden emergence
had clearly put pressure on him.
"Whatever!"
Yang Zheng put the matter aside and went straight to their team leader, Thirteen Scaled Armor, with a request. Luo Feng was still in the second Trial Tower. According to the original story's timeline, that left him more than nine months to cultivate.
"Cultivate?"
"What can you accomplish in