Chapter 655: Choice
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Seeing the excitement of the crowd, Half-saint Yuanlong nodded happily and said, “You can now register! The deadline is March 8th.”
As Half-saint Yuanlong waved his arms, nine jade stones suddenly flew out of his sleeves to nine different directions of the Supreme Pure Palace ashram.
With a loud noise, the nine jade stones fell and turned into nine giant Jade Tablets.
There were cyan inscriptions floating up and down on the surface of the jade tablets. The top of each Jade Tablet was labeled with a number from one to nine.
“I want to take part in the sword contest of the Second Change in the Fish-dragon Realm.”
A monk of the Second Change in the Fish-dragon Realm ran underneath the second jade tablet. He pressed his palms on the tablet and injected Genuine Qi to it while shouting, “Zhao Kun!”
“Swoosh!”
The Jade Tablet started glowing and his name appeared on the top-most position.
Even Pang Long who was seriously injured, quickly ran below the second Jade Tablet to give his name.
With that, he committed himself to take part in the sword contest of the Second Change in the Fish-dragon Realm. A lot of people were surprised by it, but they quickly understood the reason why.
Pang Long was able to enter the top 100 on the Heaven Board , so he was undoubtedly the cream of the crop. He was also capable of defeating a monk of the Third Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm with his cultivation at the First Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm.
Each of the top 10 sword heroes within the Second Change in the Fish-dragon Realm would be rewarded a twelfth level Genuine Martial Arms Ancient Sword. The prize was worth more than a Holy Stone because the contest was more challenging.
Actually, Pang Long had considered taking part in the sword contest for the Third Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm. However, after a lot of thought, he decided not to take any risks.
He knew that there were many senior Saint’s disciples who were staying at the Third Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm. When the time came for him to confront them, Pang Long at the First Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm would have no chance of winning.
“I will take part in the sword contest for the First Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm.”
Xun Hualiu chose to play it safe.
Xun Hualiu was at the Completion of Heaven Realm and had even entered theHeaven Board too. Even though he had great qualifications, he was not considered a top-class fighter.
Based on his qualifications, if he were to join the First Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm, he would rank below 500th and would have no chance of entering the top 10. So joining the sword contest for the Second Change in the Fish-dragon Realm was out of the question.
Zhang Ruochen cradled his chin and said with a smile, “I think you should participate in the sword contest for the Second Change in the Fish-dragon Realm instead.”
“Don’t instigate me, buddy. It’s already impossible for me to enter the top 10 of the sword contest for the First Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm, don’t even start with the sword contest in the Second Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm.”
Xun Hualiu shook his head and went to the first Jade Tablet.
Zhang Ruochen said, “If you trust me, I can help you break through to the Second Change in the Fish-dragon Realm before the sword contest.”
Xun Hualiu was surprised and he immediately stopped walking.
In the past, he would not have believed Zhang Ruochen’s big talk.
But then Xun Hualiu remembered that he had once witnessed Lin Yue’s rapid development. Lin Yue was able to reach an unimaginable level of qualification within several months.
Xun Hualiu gritted his teeth and shivered. He looked as if he had made some important determination. He turned back and grabbed Zhang Ruochen by the shoulders. He said ferociously, “If you can make me break through to the Second Change in the Fish-dragon Realm before the ninth of March, I will give Junior Sister Apprentice Luo Chan.”
Zhang Ruochen didn’t expect Xun Hualiu to be that excited. He was startled as he replied, “Don’t sweat it. Junior Sister Apprentice Luo Chan… Eh-hem, I’m not interested in her.”
“Why aren’t you interested?”
Xun Hualiu was confused and said, “Junior Sister Apprentice Luo Chan is considered as the number one beauty by the Demon Seal Yard indoor disciples. I thought you were interested in her. Is she not enough for you?”
Xun Hualiu beat his chest fiercely and said emphatically, “Alright! I’ll take a step back further. From now on, I, Xun Hualiu, swear to God that I will stay at least ten meters away from the woman you like.”
Zhang Ruochen rubbed his temple. He couldn’t stand Xun Hualiu talking about the beauty all the time. “Doesn’t he have anything else to offer other than the beauty?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “If you really want to break through to the Second Change in the Fish-dragon Realm before the sword contest, you must obey all my instructions starting from today.”
Xun Hualiu agreed with no hesitation and immediately said, “Ok! From now on, I will treat you like my big brother. I will follow your lead.”
Zhang Ruochen was amused and did not know how to respond. “Now go ahead and register!”
Xun Hualiu went to line up and was ready to register for the sword contest for the Second Change in the Fish-dragon Realm.
Gai Hao had his hands crossed in front of his chest as he glanced at Xun Hualiu. “With his talent, he would not be able to win in the sword contest for the Second Change in the Fish-dragon Realm.”
“Really? I don’t think so.”
Zhang Ruochen thought carefully and added, “How about we make a bet?”
“What’s the bet?” Gai Hao asked.
Zhang Ruochen answered, “Well, I’ve reached the Fourth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm, which means that for you, defeating me is out of the question. Let’s just bet which of them will be stronger in the sword contest: Pang Long or Xun Hualiu?”
The Half-Saints with profound cultivation could see through Zhang Ruochen’s real cultivation realm, so he had to tell the truth.
Upon hearing Zhang Ruochen’s words, Gai Hao frowned. He didn’t know that Lin Yue had already reached the Fourth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm.
Gai Hao snorted and angrily said, “You’re the first person I’ve met who is more arrogant than me. Go ahead! How do you want to bet?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “If Pang Long wins, I’ll give you a Holy Sword. If Xun Hualiu wins, you must do me a favor.”
“Wow, seeing that you can gamble a Holy Sword that easily, I assume you must have been through some fortuitous adventures. Don’t think that you are the only one who has encountered such adventures. You should be aware that other people have also been through the same thing.”
Gai Hao thought that Lin Yue must have been through some fortuitous adventures to have been able to break through to the Fourth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm within several months.
Fact is stranger than fiction, indeed.
In the history of the Yin and Yang Sect, there had been lots of people who had encountered fortuitous adventures. Some warriors from the Heaven Realm were struck by lightning, but instead of dying, they became Half-Saints overnight.
There was also a story about a common disciple who encountered adventures when running some errands. Within three years, he became a Saint. Then, he left the Yin and Yang Sect to challenge all saints in the world and had yet to fail.
Even though Lin Yue’s adventures were amazing and admiring, they were all acceptable.
With ardent eyes, Gai Hao said with resolution, “I will accept the bet. Pang Long and Xun Hualiu are not in the same class. You’re bound to lose.”
Zhang Ruochen did not care about Gai Hao’s response but nodded lightly.
There was a reason why Zhang Ruochen made a bet with Gai Hao.
Gai Hao was a Yang spirit saint being, so his aura of masculinity was intense. Someday in the future, he might be able to reach “Extreme Yang Body”.
One of them was Extreme Yang Body. Extreme Yang Body was one of the five physiques that Blackie was searching for.
At first, Zhang Ruochen didn’t have Blackie’s words in mind because Zhang Ruochen had not realized that if he could find someone with one of the five physiques, he would be able to control the legendary divine device, Divine Dragon Yin-Yang Chaos Tower.
However, despite being unreliable most of the time, Blackie had tried its best to train Orange Star Emissary and Ao Xinyan. Which was why Zhang Ruochen started to get serious about Blackie’s intentions.
Of course, a Yang spirit saint being was inferior to an Extreme Yang Body, but the only thing Zhang Ruochen did was contact Gai Hao and let him be indebted to him, which was not a bad thing.
Gai Hao continued to say, “Since you’re so confident, which level sword contest are you going register for?”
Zhang Ruochen knew that Gai Hao was not convinced and said, “So what? Do you want to join the same level sword contest with me?”
“Why not?” Gai Hao said.
Zhang Ruochen laughed and put his hands behind his back, and began to observe the nine Jade Tablets.
There were a lot of people registering for the first three Jade Tablets. Most people were lined up in front of the tablets, forming three long queues.
Zhang Ruochen sighed quietly. “The Yin and Yang Sect is really the top sect in the Eastern Region. Its foundation is so profound that it can cultivate so many monks at the Fish-Dragon Realm.”
The number of top masters in any of the 72 yards was comparable to that of a Saint powerful family.
Compared to the first three Jade Tablets, the number of applicants for the fourth tablet was much smaller––only half the number of applicants from one of the first three Jade Tablets.
The monks who were standing before Jade Tablet was a little bit less than those before the fourth one.
When Gai Hao saw Lin Yue staring at the fifth Jade Tablet, Gai Hao’s stern demeanor started to relax.
Gai Hao’s limit was the Fifth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm.
As a Saintly Being, Gai Hao would be able to defeat an opponent by crossing three realms.
Gai Hao’s goal was not to defeat the monks at the Fifth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm but to defeat the most powerful men among them, so he could enter the top 10.
It was very difficult to achieve that.
It was already a tremendous challenge for him to participate in the sword contest for the Fifth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm with his cultivation at the Initial Stage of the Third Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm.
If he failed to improve his cultivation to the peak of the Third Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm before the sword contest, he would have no chance of entering the top 10.
Suddenly, Gai Hao’s facial expression changed. “What does he want to do?”
Zhang Ruochen just glanced at the fifth Jade Tablet. He shook his head and moved to the sixth Jade Tablet, then the seventh Jade Tablet, before finally stopping in front of the eighth Jade Tablet.
“If I can make it to the top 10 in the sword contest for the Eighth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm, I would get a Ninth Class Glaze Pellet.”
Zhang Ruochen was very interested in Glaze Pellet. Only such an old and influential force like the Yin and Yang Sect could refine this Glaze Pellet and there was no way he could buy it outside.
If a monk from the Eighth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm took a Glaze Pellet, he would be able to practice into Glazed Treasured Body and break through to the Ninth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm in a very short period of time.
The Yin and Yang Sect needed a lot of resources to refine a Glaze Pellet, so they would only be rewarding it to the most gifted monk. The other monks would not have a chance of getting it.
Then, Zhang Ruochen went below the eighth Jade Tablet and reached out a hand to press on its groove, shouting out “Lin Yue.”
“Everyone, look. Lin Yue is going to take part in the sword contest for the Eighth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm.”
A loud scream rang and spread across the entire Supreme Pure Palace ashram.
Everyone there including the three Half-Saints was startled and turned their attention to the area around the eighth Jade Tablet.