Chapter 3693: Twelve Candidates

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

“Hong Tianbu, of course,” Shi An replied.

Hou Yongzheng was surprised, and asked, “Why are you not optimistic about that great thief?”

“Niu Jianhua?” Shi An shook his head, “Though his strength is not too bad, most of the time, he wins by depending on treasures and movement techniques. Thus, I think Hong Tianbu is still stronger.’1

“Then what about An Jiuyue?” Wen Feiwen interrupted, “There’s also Cheng Daohe. They’re all no weaker than Hong Tianbu, right?”

“Much weaker,” Shi An said with a shake of his head. “Ninth, your taste is still a little lacking.”

“Sigh, so what if we know who’s the strongest?” Shi An shook his head, and said, “Eldest Senior Brother, Second Senior Sister and the others would choose first. Whether it’s Hong Tianbu , or Niu Jianhua, An Jiuyue, or Cheng Daohe, it’s impossible that they will be left for us.”

“Hehe, these people are really stupid. Did they think that there would be great fortune waiting for them?” Wen Feiwen scoffed.

“Forget it. Being able to stand out from so many prodigies, every single one of them is a prodigy among prodigies.” Hou Yongzheng shook his head, his interest waning slightly. They were ranked at the bottom of the Twelve Stars Envoys, so they could only pick the “leftovers”.

“Heh, it’s a shame that we can only reveal the truth to them to years later. Just the thought of it makes me eager to see the expressions on their faces,” Shi An said with a hint of mockery.

Inside the Mystery Realm.

After Ling Han digested the three flashes of divine light, he grasped another three formation patterns. He quietly hid, and saw that under the Celestial Tree, there were already a dozen over people lying down, their blood dyeing the ground red.

This competition was really fierce, and under normal circumstances, would these prodigies fight so desperately for the sake of temporarily improving their comprehension ability?

It was obviously impossible.

It was as if the Holy Land of Metal Element was cultivating a parasite, using brutal slaughter to determine the limited victors. As for how great the losses would be, they did not take it to heart at all.

Ling Han waited, and when a new fruit fell, he charged out, snatching the divine light.

Time slowly passed, and there were fewer and fewer fruits on the tree, while the number of people at the bottom of the tree actually did not decrease because of the replenishment of those who came later.

Under such circumstances, elites naturally stood out.

Ling Han, Hong Tianbu, An Qiye, Cheng Daohe, and so on. Not only did the few powerful figures persist, but they also had their own gains. However, the others added together did not have as many gains as Ling Han alone©.

Seven days later, all the fruits on the tree had fallen.

The fruits were gone, so they naturally had to continue forward. However, everyone discovered that there was no path ahead of them.

This plain was the end of the Mystery Realm, and there was no way out.

How were they supposed to return?

Another half a day later, a change suddenly took place underneath the Celestial Tree. It was just a pillar of light soaring into the skies.

What was going on?

Everyone gathered around, only to see a complex formation appearing beneath the large tree.

“This is the Transfer Formation,” someone said.

“The way out!”

Quite a number of people were pleasantly surprised. Their speed was not very fast, and they had initially thought that there was no hope for them to charge into the top 12. They had not expected that the formation for them to leave would open so late.

This time, everyone was standing on the same starting line, and everyone had a chance.

Everyone was waiting. Once the formation activated, they would launch an attack. This was first come, first served, and those who were stronger might not have the last laugh.

Very soon, the formation patterns were all displayed, and lit up one after another.

They could leave now.

Instantly, everyone rushed forwards. There was no need to defeat others, as long as they were fast enough.

“A bunch of trash trying to reap without sowing?” An Jiuyue said with a cold chuckle. With a shake of her hands, energy surged into the surroundings, unleashing an indiscriminate barrage of attacks.

Peng, peng, peng! The people in the surroundings were all sent flying.

“Scram!” Hong Tianbu also roared loudly. The single eye of the Primordial Beast opened, and xiu, a ray of light shot out. Wherever it touched, everyone would be turned into stone.

Cheng Daohe slashed out with his sword, and Sword Qi danced, capable of striking the heavens. Everyone dodged.

Meanwhile, Ling Han shot out a murderous aura attack. Everyone was affected, but the stronger one’s strength and willpower, the shorter the time they would be affected.

With this wave, there were only less than twenty people that could continue forward.

The 20 or so people continued to battle. Peng, peng, peng! Occasionally, someone would be sent flying.

There were fewer and fewer people, eighteen, fifteen, thirteen.

After another person left the battle, there were finally only 12 people left.

Everyone stopped attacking. The namelist of 12 people was out, and there was no need for them to continue fighting.

Xiu, a streak of light surged past, enveloping Ling Han and the others, and then they all disappeared.

They were the first to leave the Mystery Realm.

“Haha, congratulations on becoming the 12 people who were the first to fight out of the Mystery Realm, qualifying to participate in the Metal Element Fruit Gathering.” An elder walked out and said to the 12 people, “Come, follow me.” After they left, people gradually came out behind them, but they were immediately sent out of the Holy Land.

This was a Holy Land, and even a Sect Master-level great elite ordinarily did not have the right to enter here.

Led by the old man, Ling Han and the others arrived at a garden. The environment was beautiful, and a refreshing fragrance wafted.

There was a long table in the garden, and it was made up of six square tables that were laid out with white brocade.

“Come, sit,” the old man said, making a gesture of invitation.

Everyone sat down, one after another. Who knew what celestial fruits the Holy Land of Metal Element would offer to welcome them.

Meanwhile, Ling Han looked at the old man. This should be a Cauldron Forging Tier elite, or a Core Formation Tier elite, exuding an incredibly powerful aura of life.

In just a short while, a beautiful female attendant appeared gracefully, delivering a plate of fruits, which had an indescribable fragrance.

“Ten Star Fruit!” Everyone exclaimed in shock, unable to conceal their excitement.

The Ten Star Fruit was priceless, and it could fundamentally improve the physique of a cultivator. Even mediocre cultivators could possibly become prodigies.

The elder smiled, and said, “I’m Duanmu Xue, and you can all address me as Mr. Duanmu. I’m hosting the Metal Element Fruit Gathering this time, and aside from wanting to see the prodigies of the world, I also want to bestow upon all of you a great opportunity.”

The fortune of the Ten Star Fruit was indeed rare.

Duanmu Xue continued, “Aside from the Ten Star Fruit, there is also the Replenishing Source Fruit. The act of cultivation is heaven-defying. Though as the cultivation level increases, the lifespan would also increase, it would actually cause great wear and tear on the body.”

“For example, those in the Cauldron Forging Tier can theoretically live for around 2000 years, but there aren’t many that can truly live for 2000 years. Most can only live for about 1500 years.”

“Why?”

“It’s because the vitality in one’s body has been expended too much, causing one’s lifespan to greatly decrease.”

Duanmu Xue paused for a moment, then continued, “Thus, if you want to walk further on the path of cultivation, you would have to use the Treasured Fruit to compensate for the loss of vitality at every cultivation level.”

“The Replenishing Source Fruit is such a treasure.”

Everyone nodded one after another. Most of them came from forces of Spirit Transformation Tier or even Minor Advanced Tier, so they naturally had no shortage of understanding about this. However, treasures like the Replenishing Source Fruit and the Ten Star Fruit could only be possessed by the Holy Lands.

They all picked up the Treasured Fruit and ate it. This was indeed a great opportunity.