booktalesy Chapter 57 : Chapter 57
Chapter 57 : Chapter 57
Chapter 57: Over a Hundred Billion Eco Points! A Seventh-Tier Subterranean Cavern! The Assessment!
“Oh, right, Senior Mu, Xiao Xuan’s exam is about to begin. Let’s go to the test grounds together!”
Suddenly remembering that, Su Qingwu hurriedly spoke to Xiao Xuan and Mu Xiying.
“Mm, let’s go!”
Mu Xiying said nothing more and turned to leave.
Su Qingwu and Xiao Xuan quickly followed after her.
Under the guidance of the navigation system, the three of them soon arrived at a massive plaza.
By that point, several hundred thousand people were already waiting there.
Those hundreds of thousands all came from Huaxia’s three hundred-odd administrative provinces.
Each province’s top academy had ten slots per grade.
The other high-level academies also had one or two slots each.
Add to that the top prodigies from the prefectural level and above, and a crowd of several hundred thousand was perfectly normal.
“Wow, there are so many people. With this many competitors, won’t it be incredibly fierce?”
Seeing the sheer number of people, Su Qingwu immediately felt a little helpless.
Her talent was not bad, but her strength was not especially high.
“It definitely will be. After all, students who enter Imperial Capital University through the Hundred-Province Genius Tournament receive better treatment than ordinary Imperial Capital University students.”
If we can get into Imperial Capital University through the Genius Tournament in our very first year, then over the next ten years, the total resources we receive will be more than a hundred times greater than those given to geniuses of the same cohort.
“Since the rewards are that much better, it’s only natural for the difficulty to be high.”
Xiao Xuan replied with a smile.
“Ah? The difference is really that huge? I only knew that students who entered through the Genius Tournament got slightly better treatment.”
Su Qingwu was shocked.
At the same time, she was a little confused. Before this, Xiao Xuan had known nothing and had been asking her everything, so how did he suddenly even know thebenefits at Imperial Capital University?
But she quickly figured it out. Mu Xiying must have told him.
There was no doubt Mu Xiying knew far more than she did.
“The first round should be something like a group assessment. You’d better team up with Xiao Xuan. If the two of you stick together, it should be easy for you to pass. As for the second round, you’ll have to rely on your own strength.”
At that moment, Mu Xiying suddenly cut in.
“Ah? That would be too much trouble for Xiao Xuan. I can manage on my own, Senior Mu!”
Su Qingwu immediately said.
“It’s fine. This brat will have no problem placing in the top three. This place is very dangerous. It’s a pity students from different grades can’t form teams, or you could have just followed me. Xiao Xuan, you don’t mind, do you?”
Mu Xiying’s next words moved Su Qingwu greatly.
The moment Xiao Xuan saw that Mu Xiying’s gaze actually carried a trace of encouragement and prompting, he instantly understood.
Good lord, she really thought he had feelings for Su Qingwu.
But he could not refuse either. Su Qingwu had helped him quite a bit, and this time her life was at stake. Saving her was only right.
“Of course I don’t mind. It just depends on whether Classmate Su Qingwu is willing to team up with me.”
Xiao Xuan answered indifferently.
“I am!”
The moment Su Qingwu heard Xiao Xuan’s words, she blurted it out.
But as soon as the words left her mouth, her face flushed crimson for some reason.
Even Xiao Xuan was stunned.
The whole exchange suddenly felt a little strange.
And when Xiao Xuan saw the meaningful smile on Mu Xiying’s face, the corner of his mouth twitched. Wonderful. The misunderstanding had only grown worse.
“I object!”
At that moment, however, an indignant voice suddenly rang out.
A masked Gu Xuan, a treasured sword strapped to his back, charged forward, glaring at Su Qingwu with fire in his eyes.
“Su Qingwu, so you really do want to steal Brother Xiao from me. Draw your sword! Today, either you die—”
With a loud shout, Gu Xuan pulled the sword from his back, ready to fight Su Qingwu to the death.
SMACK!!!!
In the next instant, Xiao Xuan kicked him square in the face, sending him spinning in place several times before he crashed to the ground in a heap.
The people around them could not help looking over.
At first, they all watched as though enjoying a show.
Crack!!
Then, Gu Xuan’s mask suddenly shattered.
In the next moment, a face of breathtaking, kingdom-toppling beauty appeared before everyone’s eyes.
That grief-stricken, heartbreakingly pitiful look with which he gazed at Xiao Xuan
instantly made all the young onlookers widen their eyes.
So beautiful!!
At that moment, nearly everyone present had the same thought.
Very quickly, all of them turned furious looks toward Xiao Xuan. They wanted to see what kind of man would actually dare lay hands on someone so stunning.
But when they saw Xiao Xuan—or rather, when they saw Su Qingwu and Mu Xiying standing beside him—they all froze.
Su Qingwu’s beauty was already exceptional.
She was no less stunning than Gu Xuan in his female form.
And the instant they saw Mu Xiying, their breathing nearly stopped.
If an ordinary beauty was anything above a seven,
then Gu Xuan in his feminized state and Su Qingwu were both nines.
Mu Xiying, on the other hand, was a full hundred.
In an instant, countless jealous, envious, hate-filled gazes shot toward Xiao Xuan.
“Damn it, that brat is only a little handsome. Why are three peerless beauties fighting over him?”
“If I get the chance, I’m definitely killing that bastard!”
“That’s right! That bastard’s disgusting—he actually hits women!”
“Ladies, look carefully! That guy just hit a woman. He’s clearly violent by nature. You must see his ugly true face!”
In an instant, the surrounding youths all began denouncing Xiao Xuan.
Some even wanted to step in and teach him a lesson.
BOOM!!!
But at that moment, a terrifying pressure suddenly descended over the entire plaza.
In an instant, everyone felt an incomparably dreadful force pressing down on them.
What shocked them even more was that the pressure was actually different for every person.
The higher one’s realm, the greater the pressure one felt. The lower one’s realm, the weaker the pressure became.
But there was not a single exception. In every case, the force reached three hundred times the standard of a Martial Artist at the same realm.
Some of those with weaker talent were crushed flat onto the ground on the spot.
Three hundred times might not sound outrageously high, but it was by no means low.
To reach combat power three hundred times greater than one’s peers, one had to possess the amplification of at least a Mid Purple Trait, and also cultivate one’s Cultivation Arts and Martial Techniques to a certain level.
Take Su Qingwu, for example. Even with High Purple talent, she had only barely reached the thousandfold level.
Many of the geniuses from prefectural and city levels who had come here had only just crossed the hundredfold threshold.
Under this terrifying three-hundredfold pressure, great swathes of people dropped to their knees.
Those who were truly weak were pressed flat to the ground, vomiting blood wildly.
In an instant, Traits fell everywhere.
When Xiao Xuan saw that, his eyes lit up.
The lowest-grade Traits here were Green, and the proportion of Blue ones was also very high.
“Anyone who kneels should go back to where they came from.”
Very soon, a calm voice descended from the void.
Those with stronger talent looked up and instantly saw a tornado rushing in from the horizon.
In the next moment, the violent tornado dispersed, and a stern-faced young man appeared before everyone.
“Zhao Wuji! It’s actually him!”
“Holy hell, that’s Zhao Wuji, tenth on the Heaven Ranking? Don’t tell me he’s this year’s Deputy Examiner!?”
“He probably is! Every year, one of the Heaven Ranking geniuses serves as the Deputy Examiner. Usually it’s someone ranked in the twenties or thirties, or even one of the bottom-ranked ones, just so everyone understands that even the strongest of the Hundred Provinces still can’t beat even the lowest of the Heaven Ranking.”
But this year it’s Zhao Wuji, who’s ranked tenth. That means a super genius must have appeared this year!
“According to the assessment, that genius probably has enough strength to rank in the top thirty of the Heaven Ranking!”
“Hiss! If someone can reach the top thirty on the Heaven Ranking while relying only on provincial-level resources, then once they get to Imperial Capital University, wouldn’t they have a chance to reach the top three?”
A burst of discussion instantly rose from the crowd.
That was the difference. Those with weak talent had trouble even standing, while the truly talented felt no effect at all.
As for Xiao Xuan, he rubbed his chin while looking at Zhao Wuji.
This man’s realm really was high. He had actually reached the Martial Emperor level. For Mu Xiying to defeat him, she would probably only need to use one-tenth of her strength.
As for himself?
Forget it. If Xiao Xuan wanted to beat Zhao Wuji at his current level, he would at least need to reach the middle or late stage of the Martial King Realm.
If they were at the same realm, however, crushing Zhao Wuji would not be much of a problem.
“Oh? This year’s talents really aren’t bad. More than one-tenth of you can still stand.”
Floating in the sky, Zhao Wuji looked down and spoke mockingly.
“As for those who can’t stand, I suggest you all leave. Trash has no right to participate in the Hundred-Province Genius Tournament.”
“Even if you force your way in, what most likely awaits you is death.”
That one sentence made the faces of all those unable to stand change drastically.
Especially the senior-year examinees. Barely one out of forty of them was still standing.
In other words, some of the weaker provinces had practically been wiped out completely.
But Zhao Wuji paid them no attention.
He simply continued speaking.
“The Hundred-Province Genius Tournament has three rounds. The first round is the Elimination Round!”
This year’s Elimination Round will take place in a Seventh-Tier Subterranean Cavern. Inside that cavern, there are even powerful Ferocious Beasts at the peak of the Martial Emperor Realm.
Even I would have to go all out in there!
As for your objective, there is only one: kill as many Ferocious Beasts as possible!
Killing a Ferocious Beast at your own level counts as one point. Therefore, each person’s scoring standard is independent.
People of the same cohort may form teams and help one another, but students from different grades may not do so, unless it is a rescue situation without score distribution!
Anyone who violates the rules will be disqualified!
In the end, the top one thousand of each grade will advance to the second round.
That will be a same-grade competition against same-grade opponents!
Anyone who makes it into the top hundred of their grade may enter Imperial Capital University
and enjoy thebenefits of an Outstanding Student!
After that comes the final all-grade showdown!
The final top ten may all enjoy Elite Student status.
Of course, there’s also an extra surprise!
Those who make the final top ten will all be qualified to challenge me!
If you can defeat me, you’ll be able to enjoy thebenefits of a Heaven Ranking Student, and you’ll take my place as the tenth on the Heaven Ranking!
Of course, I advise you all to think carefully. In every year, not one person who challenged the Deputy Examiner has ever succeeded, and all of them were beaten very, very badly!”
Zhao Wuji grinned faintly.
The moment he said that, the students below all erupted into discussion.
Some were curious about these different student benefits.
Some were curious about Zhao Wuji’s strength.
But most were worried.
Subterranean Caverns were the source of the Ferocious Beasts, the Other Races, and even various malevolent entities in this world.
Every one of those caverns connected to another dimension.
Those dimensions seemed to be fragments torn away from some other world.
They were ranked according to the strength of their strongest inhabitant.
Seventh tier meant the strongest existence inside was at the Martial Emperor level.
Sixth tier meant Martial King. Fifth tier meant Great Grandmaster.
And so on.
Back then, Blackwater City had nearly been destroyed because a fifth-tier Subterranean Cavern had suddenly appeared.
If not for Mu Xiying, Blackwater City would definitely have been finished.
If a seventh-tier cavern had appeared in Blackwater City, it would not even have taken a few minutes before the entire city was reduced to ruins.
The senior-year examinees finally understood why Zhao Wuji had said that anyone who could not stand should simply not go.
What a joke. Even among those seniors who could still stand, the strongest of them would still certainly die if they encountered only a slightly stronger Ferocious Beast inside the cavern.
To be fair, although Zhao Wuji’s words were harsh, he truly had given them a way to step down.
“All right. Anyone participating in the assessment, get on a Hover Platform! Anyone who can fly may do so on your own! Anyone who doesn’t want to die can stay where you are!”
Zhao Wuji did not waste words.
He turned and flew straight out of Imperial Capital University.
In an instant, a large number of geniuses who could already fly shot up into the sky and hurried after him.
“Let’s go too!”
Mu Xiying said only that much. Flames erupted from her body in an instant, and she shot straight into the sky.
Su Qingwu was just about to follow
when she saw Xiao Xuan still standing where he was.
“Xiao Xuan, what’s wrong?”
Su Qingwu hurriedly asked.
“You go first. I’ve got something to deal with. I’ll catch up in a moment.”
Xiao Xuan answered casually.
Though puzzled, Su Qingwu still hurried after Mu Xiying.
Naturally, Su Qingwu relied on her Nanotech Battle Armor.
As for those who could not fly, they boarded one drone-like Hover Platform after another as they emerged from a giant machine, then chased after the others.
Seeing that everyone had left, not a single person chose to give up in the end.
After all, anyone who had come this far was no coward.
Only Xiao Xuan remained where he was.
“So there really is someone afraid of death!”
“If he’s afraid of death, he shouldn’t have become a Martial Artist!”
“Exactly. What a piece of trash!”
Naturally, many of those leaving assumed he was giving up and could not resist mocking him.
Those who had just been crushed to the ground and thoroughly humiliated had finally found someone to look down on.
But Xiao Xuan ignored them entirely and instantly unleashed his Telekinetic Force.
HUM!!
In the next moment, his powerful telekinetic force turned into something like a giant vacuum, drawing over all the Green and even Blue Traits around him.
【Congratulations, you recycled 3,541 Green Traits! Eco Points gained: 100,000】
【Congratulations, you recycled 3,657 Green Traits! Eco Points gained: 100,000】
【Congratulations, you recycled 3,214 Green Traits! Eco Points gained: 100,000】
【Congratulations, you recycled 544 Blue Traits! Eco Points gained: 1,000,000】
System notifications rang out one after another, and Xiao Xuan’s Eco Points, which had almost run dry, began to surge wildly.
Very soon, after all the Traits in the surrounding area had been picked clean,
his total Eco Points had risen to 11.41 million.
Xiao Xuan wasted no time and directly upgraded both of his absorption-type Traits to Silver.
As for the remaining nine million or so,
it would have been enough to raise his realm all the way to the peak of the Great Grandmaster Realm. But with Mu Xiying nearby, and this being within Imperial Capital University’s territory,
he still refrained from upgrading directly.
If his strength suddenly jumped seven or eight levels at once, the top experts of Imperial Capital University would absolutely notice.
As for his Traits, however, even Mu Xiying at her peak would not be able to see through them.
“What a pity these are all just low-grade Traits like Anger, Humiliation, and Fatigue. If I could seriously wound every last one of them, the Eco Points I’d gain would probably break a hundred billion, wouldn’t they?”
Xiao Xuan sighed helplessly.
Of course, that was only a passing thought.
If several hundred thousand geniuses were all severely injured,
that would be a truly catastrophic incident.
Then he shot into the sky, instantly raising his speed to thirty percent.
Even so, his speed was still terrifying.
At that overwhelming speed,
he very quickly overtook those so-called geniuses who had mocked him while riding on their flying devices.
“What the hell was that that flashed past?”
“I didn’t see it!”
“Hiss… wasn’t that the guy who supposedly gave up just now?”
“No way. How could he possibly be that fast?”
At that moment, all those geniuses who had been overtaken stared at the streak of fire Xiao Xuan had become as it vanished from their sight, and all of them felt a wave of lingering fear.
Xiao Xuan was actually that strong. If he had chosen to act against them just now, they probably would have lost their qualification for the assessment on the spot.
Xiao Xuan very quickly caught up to Mu Xiying and Su Qingwu.
Neither of them asked him anything.
Xiao Xuan, meanwhile, swept his gaze around and discovered four or five Martial Thearch-level experts escorting the group.
These Martial Thearchs were all university instructors.
As the geniuses of the Hundred Provinces, the students naturally could not be allowed to suffer any harm.
After all, they were leaving Imperial Capital University’s grounds this time.
If something unexpected happened and the entire group were wiped out at once, it would be a devastating loss not only for the Hundred Provinces, but for Huaxia as a whole.
Because the top geniuses here would, in the future, almost all become Martial Venerables or even Martial Thearchs.
Very soon, under Zhao Wuji’s lead, everyone arrived above a chasm shrouding the earth below, several hundred meters across.
This abyss plunged to an unknown depth below the earth.
Even hovering above it, everyone felt their hearts tighten.
“Go in, everyone. The assessment lasts three days. I’ll see you again after three days.”
Zhao Wuji’s calm voice rang directly in everyone’s mind.
In an instant, the top geniuses of the Hundred Provinces did not waste a single word and all dived downward.
Seeing that, everyone else followed suit without hesitation.
Xiao Xuan’s group did the same.
After entering the abyss, Xiao Xuan discovered that it was actually a tunnel leading deep underground.
The tunnel was both vast and deep. There were also large amounts of Ferocious Beast dung, corpses, and the like scattered everywhere.
Along the way, quite a few Ferocious Beasts charged out, but the top experts at the front cut them down as easily as chopping melons and vegetables.
Even when powerful sixth-tier Ferocious Beasts appeared, the result was the same.
Seeing this, Xiao Xuan could not help sighing. These so-called geniuses really were not bad.
He just wondered what level he himself now stood at.
In the future, after losing his cheat ability, the weakening of the Bloodthirsty Demonic Art had caused his strength to drop by at least tenfold.
Even under those circumstances, he had still barely managed to enter the top hundred.
Now, not only had his Bloodthirsty Demonic Art recovered, he had also obtained incomparably powerful Cultivation Arts and Martial Techniques.
His combat power had risen by at least fifty or sixty times. Even if his realm did not improve at all, making the top three would absolutely not be a problem.
As for first place, with Mu Xiying around, there was no point even thinking about it, unless his realm could far surpass hers.
After all, the visible bonuses from her Traits alone were already terrifying beyond words.
The bonuses from the Cultivation Arts and Martial Techniques he could not see were even harder to imagine.
In other words, his biggest competition was for second place.
As Xiao Xuan was thinking this over, a light suddenly appeared in front of everyone deep within the cavern.
As they drew nearer, they immediately saw that it was an exit.
Everyone rushed straight out.
In an instant, an incomparably vast world appeared before them.
It was a boundless prairie.
All kinds of Ferocious Beasts lived there.
As soon as they entered, many geniuses immediately flew off in every direction.
After all, the Ferocious Beasts these top experts were hunting were not third- or fourth-tier ones.
Killing low-level beasts like those would not earn them a single point.
“So it’s a pure Ferocious Beast cavern. The environment isn’t bad at all.”
Su Qingwu’s eyes lit up.
“The diameter of a seventh-tier Subterranean Cavern is usually over a thousand kilometers. A top-tier one like this can exceed several thousand kilometers!”
Don’t go too far. Otherwise, three days may genuinely not be enough time for you to return.
“I’m heading off first.”
After giving Xiao Xuan and Su Qingwu that brief warning, Mu Xiying turned into a streak of golden flame and sped away into the distance.
Quite a few young men who had been watching Mu Xiying the whole time instantly lit up when they saw that she was acting alone, and they hurriedly chased after her.
“Xiao Xuan, there are people following Senior Mu. Should we…”
Su Qingwu’s expression changed.
“Go save them? Forget it. If they’re courting death, let them.”
Xiao Xuan replied indifferently.
“Ah? I meant should we go save Senior Mu!”
Su Qingwu panicked.
Xiao Xuan helplessly rubbed her on the head.
“Silly girl. With Sister Ying’s strength, even if Zhao Wuji came personally, she could still slap him to death. We’d better think about ourselves instead.”
The moment Xiao Xuan rubbed her head, Su Qingwu’s face instantly turned bright red.
“You’re the silly one. I’m very clever, all right??”
She glared at Xiao Xuan’s retreating back and said so in annoyance.
But remembering Mu Xiying’s instructions, she still hurried after him.
After finally catching up with Xiao Xuan, however, she discovered that he had brought her straight to the top of a mountain and landed there.
“Xiao Xuan, aren’t we going to search for Ferocious Beasts?”
Su Qingwu asked curiously.
“There’s no rush. First, I need to deal with a menace.”
Xiao Xuan answered calmly.
Boundless killing intent rose in his voice.
And this was the first time Su Qingwu had ever seen Xiao Xuan truly angry.
Her expression changed slightly as well.
“My dear Xiao, I finally caught up with you!”
At that very moment, Gu Xuan came chasing after them with a look of joy on his face.
His eyes, fixed on Xiao Xuan, were filled with tenderness.
Clearly, the feminization was only growing worse.
The sight left Su Qingwu completely dumbfounded.
“Xiao Xuan, Miss Gu Xuan only likes you. There’s no need to kill her, is there?”