After the Druid Huanfeng announced his surrender, Tie Gelei did not immediately step onto the stage. He waited until the mage Dio slowly walked to the edge of the arena, stepped down, and completely left the stage before stepping up himself.
Seeing Tie Gelei take the stage, the Daoist of Clan Corpses finally descended from the sky.
“Bang!”
Since he had made a breakthrough in the heat of battle—and one that crossed an entire major realm at that—the Daoist of Clan Corpses did not have very good control over his body.
Even his descent was like a falling cannonball, causing a massive commotion.
This impact was not a bit weaker than the punch from the hill-sized Stone Spirit earlier; in fact, it was even stronger.
Huanfeng was also startled by the explosive sound, secretly feeling relieved. Good thing he had given up. Otherwise, just this impact alone would have broken his bones.
With a wave of his hand, Tie Gelei swept everything off the stage except for the two contestants.
Then, he raised the Daoist of Clan Corpses's stiff right hand and announced loudly:
“I announce that the champion of the Transcendent Rank in the first Grand Assembly of Transcendents of the Myriad Worlds is... the Daoist of Clan Corpses!!!”
Young God of Magic: Tsk, how did it end up like this? That mage and Druid are too cowardly. They should have at least put up a fight.
Please Call Me Top Scholar: Heh, from a rational standpoint, there was nothing wrong with Dio's decision.
Black Magic Master: But from an emotional standpoint, since he was using that person's spells and still surrendered like that, perhaps that person will be somewhat disappointed.
These two guessed correctly, yet they were also slightly off.
Chen Xu was indeed disappointed, but not just “somewhat”—he was extremely disappointed, to the point of borderline anger.
As the saying goes, when a Dao Lord is angered, heaven and earth change color. If Chen Xu were thrown into the forty-fifth Fire Element layer right now, he would probably cause the already scorching layer to reach a record-high temperature.
But with the other two Dao Lords present, Chen Xu suppressed his anger. He raised his right hand and flipped his palm upward.
As he did so, a spatial gate quietly opened and closed. In his palm appeared an Eternal Rank Bone Forest heartwood, about thirty centimeters long and ten centimeters wide.
“Bang!”
Slapping the heartwood onto Li Taiji's pile of leaves, the Lord of the Crafts Sect immediately smiled, swept his hand across the table, and tucked both treasures into his sleeve.
“Fellow Daoist Chen, by convention, the champion's prize should be awarded by the host themselves. But I suppose you aren't in the mood right now, so why don't I go on your behalf?”
“Do as you wish, Fellow Daoist Tie.”
Chen Xu raised his teacup and clinked it against Li Taiji's. The two of them sat there, drinking their tea in silence.
The Lord of the Crafts Sect stood up with a broad smile. With a flick of his left hand, a jade bracelet on his wrist sent out ripples of spatial energy.
The next moment, the Lord of the Crafts Sect appeared on the stage.
“Master.”
Tie Gelei immediately bowed in respect. The Lord of the Crafts Sect smiled and replied,
“Yes, Little Lei, thank you for your hard work.”
Then, the Lord of the Crafts Sect gestured with his left hand, pulling the altar holding the three Spark Lenses onto the stage.
“You two other young friends, come over as well,” the Lord of the Crafts Sect said, looking at Huanfeng and Dio in the distance.
Faced with a Dao Lord, Huanfeng and Dio did not dare to delay. Dio cast Teleport to arrive instantly, while Huanfeng transformed into a goshawk and arrived in the blink of an eye.
At this point, the Lord of the Crafts Sect nodded to Tie Gelei, who understood the cue.
“Next, the Lord of the Crafts Sect will present the awards to our three contestants. First up, in first place: the Daoist of Clan Corpses!”
As soon as the words “first place” were spoken, pre-arranged fireworks shot up from around the stage, exploding in the cosmic sky to bloom into brilliant flowers.
The Lord of the Crafts Sect carefully retrieved a Spark Lens. He shook hands warmly and kindly with the Daoist of Clan Corpses before handing him the Undead Spark Lens, offering some guidance in the tone of an elder.
“Though you secured first place by forcing a breakthrough, it has damaged your foundation. I know you wish to use those unlimited God-Breaking Pills to force your way through the divine barrier and ascend to the Mythic Rank, but after that, you might lose all hope of seeing the higher, further path.”
With that, the Lord of the Crafts Sect reached into his left sleeve and pulled out a thirty-centimeter-long white diamond-shaped block.
Indeed, it was the Bone Forest heartwood that Chen Xu had just lost to him.
“If you are willing to minor in the Dao of Crafts, treating your zombie body as a blank template and supplementing it with auxiliary materials, you might be able to repair your foundation and even raise your potential significantly. Achieving the Mythic Rank will be well within reach, and even the Eternal Rank is not out of the question.”
Placing the heartwood into the Daoist of Clan Corpses's hands, the Lord of the Crafts Sect patted his shoulder and stood beside him to take a photo together.
The Daoist of Clan Corpses was extremely tense, not knowing what to do.
An illustrious figure like the Lord of the Crafts Sect, whom he had never even heard of before, let alone met, was actually being so warm and friendly to him. It moved him deeply.
Afterward, the Lord of the Crafts Sect proceeded to present the awards to Huanfeng and Dio. Dio received the Demon Spark Lens, while Huanfeng received the Element Spark Lens.
Huanfeng originally wanted to object, wondering why he had ended up in third place instead of second.
But then he realized that third place received the Element Spark Lens. Elements were the forces of nature, which perfectly suited his Druid class.
On the other hand, the second-place Demon Spark Lens was something despised by nature. If he used it, he would likely be rejected by nature as well.
Thus, Huanfeng kept quiet and silently accepted the Element Spark Lens.
With the award ceremony over, Tie Gelei read out a long list of advertisements as per custom, before declaring that the live broadcast of the Transcendent Rank competition had officially concluded.
However, the live broadcast screen only went black for less than a second before switching to a different stream.
“Hello to all the viewers from the Myriad Worlds watching in front of your screens! I am the host for the Epic Division of the first Grand Assembly of Transcendents of the Myriad Worlds, Xiao Yan from the Pill Tower.”
“I am your guest commentator for this match, Bu Xingtian from the Universe Daoist Academy.”
“And I am Fang Kurong from the Immortal Realm.”
“Right now, the Lord of the Undead, Lord Chen Xu, is preparing to teleport the Epic Division contestants into the arena. While we wait, I would like to chat with Brother Bu and Brother Fang about your thoughts on the Epic Division and the contestants you favor.”
Since all three were of the Eternal Rank and frequently interacted with one another, they were quite familiar, making the atmosphere relaxed and casual.
Xiao Yan tilted his chin, gesturing for Bu Xingtian to speak first.
Bu Xingtian tapped the desk microphone in front of him and said,
“Regarding the Epic Division, I personally believe it will be vastly different from the Transcendent Division. First is the number of participants, and second is the quality.
Let's start with the numbers. According to the data I received, the number of participants in the Epic Division is only about one-hundred-thousandth of that of the Transcendent Division.
Normally, the average ratio of advancing from the Transcendent Rank to the Epic Rank is about one in a hundred. For such an exaggerated ratio like one-hundred-thousandth to occur, it can only mean one thing.
That is, by the time they reach the Epic Rank, everyone has a decent grasp of where they stand, fully aware of their own talent and strength.
Thus, based on this number of participants, we naturally transition to our second topic: the quality of the contestants.”
Bu Xingtian tapped his finger in the air, and wisps of starlight flowed from his fingertip, assembling into a list in mid-air.
“According to the data currently provided by Lord Miracle, the registered contestants in the Epic Division include a large number of innately divine beings.
For example, my Universe Daoist Academy's newly admitted Junior Sister. She was gestated for many years, and upon birth, she reached the Epic Rank without even needing to cultivate much.
And then there is Blue Star's Destiny's Child, favored by the world, with all kinds of innate talents stacked upon him. He is truly extraordinary.
It can be said that starting from the Epic Division, the audience will get to see just what kind of mystical abilities are possessed by the various bizarre Chosen Ones nurtured by the Myriad Worlds.”
Once Bu Xingtian finished, Fang Kurong took over.
“Brother Bu is absolutely right. However, among the Epic Division contestants, those who are innately divine only make up a small portion. The vast majority do not possess so-called innate divine strength, or rather, their talents are not that miraculous.
Yet, since they dared to register and had the courage to do so, it shows they are not to be underestimated. Ten or a hundred years of hard training might not necessarily lose to innate divinity.
Therefore, the highlight of the Epic Division will be the battle between a group of incredibly talented juniors and a group of diligently striving seniors.
This will be an incredibly bloody showdown. Will talent crush everything, or will those with resilient hearts have the last laugh?
I am looking forward to it.”
Just then, ripples of spatial energy spread across the Golden Spiral. Chen Xu had already teleported all the Epic Division contestants into the competition world.
Following that, the Power of Creation spread out. The skeleton soldiers, fallen demons, and elements that had previously fallen woke up once more, becoming even stronger.
At the same time, abominations, necrotic knights, bone dragons, high-tier demons, and high-tier elements had their seals removed and were released.
With the contestants in position, the host, Xiao Yan, also received a transmission from Chen Xu.
“Alright, according to the news just received, all contestants are in position. The Epic Division of the first Grand Assembly of Transcendents of the Myriad Worlds officially begins!”
Rate on N.U.
