Chapter 34: Consuming the Vermilion Fruit, the Second Preliminary Examination

Upon being teleported out of the secret realm, Su Yu realized he was not at the entrance, but on the deck of a massive wooden divine ship.

A quick glance around revealed many of the guild’s top brass present. Chu Xiaoyu was waving at him. In total, only thirty-three people had returned—exactly one-third of the original group, meaning two-thirds had perished inside.

Jiao Ting, the guild’s logistics supervisor, clapped to draw their attention and said, "You are not needed for the next phase. You may settle your contributions with me here before returning to headquarters, or you may return to headquarters to settle them."

As soon as he finished speaking, the group crowded around to queue for their contributions. When it was Su Yu's turn, Jiao Ting checked his token and expressed surprise: "Not bad, young man. Sixteen kills."

Dozens of gazes immediately converged on them.

"Just luck!"

"This is no mere luck." Jiao Ting chuckled and said, "As previously stated, each kill is worth 50 contribution points and 50 taels of silver. For more than ten kills, the reward doubles. As a newcomer, you get an additional 100% guild contribution bonus. Hmm... that brings the total to 2,400 contribution points and 16 taels of gold."

After completing the transaction, Su Yu grinned, showing his teeth. Including the 12 gold he had earned from selling four Hundred-Insect Banners, he now had 28 gold and 62 silver in hand, along with 3,621 guild contribution points—a tidy sum of assets.

At that moment, Chu Xiaoyu beckoned to him. "Su Yu, over here."

He walked over immediately. "Sister Xiaoyu, is there something you need?"

Chu Xiaoyu beamed, patting his shoulder with an air of maturity. "You performed very well; you’ve brought glory to the Young Miss."

"Thank you for your concern, Commander."

"Keep working hard and aim for a strong performance in the year-end examination."

"I will."

"Good, go ahead."

Bidding farewell to Sister Xiaoyu, Su Yu took to the air and flew toward the shore. Upon returning to the Poison Mist Marsh base, Zhuang Zhuo and the others swarmed him, firing off questions: "How was it? How much did you make? Did you get anything good in the secret realm?"

He held up one finger, then followed it with a six. "Sixteen kills?"

"Awesome!"

He then took out the Millennium Vermilion Fruit and held it in his palm. A faint medicinal fragrance wafted out, and everyone’s eyes lit up. "Holy crap, a Millennium Vermilion Fruit?"

"We're rich! This thing is worth 50 taels of gold on the market."

Gu Zhiqiu asked, "Are you going to use it yourself or sell it?"

"Use it, of course. I’m lacking mana."

"True, +500 to max mana."

After chatting with them for a while, he returned to his quarters and popped the fruit into his mouth. A rich, sweet flavor filled his mouth, flowing down his throat and quickly turning into a warm current that spread throughout his body. He circulated his energy for one cycle, and the warmth transformed into fresh mana, pouring into his Dantian.

He opened his panel and saw the notification: Max Mana +500, Innate Bone Structure +1, Max Lifespan +10.

The next second, the notification changed: "Note: Due to unknown factors, Max Mana +1000, Innate Bone Structure +2, Max Lifespan +20."

"Hehe!"

Just as he expected, it received a bonus from his "Golden Finger" just like his pills. Furthermore, the +2 to his Innate Bone Structure brought it to exactly 20 points, just barely touching the threshold of "Excellent."

"If only I could get two more Vermilion Fruits."

That would add another two thousand to his mana, greatly increasing his sustainability and giving him a massive advantage in duels where pills were forbidden. Even now, he was already at a significant advantage. With the same fiftieth-level Qi Refining technique, others could only add 2,000 mana, while he could add 4,000. Plus the 1,300 mana from his accessories and fruit, his total mana was 5,400—significantly higher than the two or three thousand of his peers.

"The second minor examination is in ten days. I hope I can get a good ranking." Su Yu clenched his hands, his knuckles popping.

The night passed without incident. The next day, Su Yu threw himself back into leveling up. He stayed in the marsh for the next ten days, earning about a million experience points daily. By the time the minor examination was about to begin, he had accumulated 14.5 million slaying experience points. Added to his previous total, he had 43.79 million slaying experience points and 76 points of Dao Practice.

After staring at the panel for a while, Su Yu decided to hold off on using them. These points weren't enough to cause a qualitative change in his strength; he could beat those he was already capable of beating, and he wouldn't be able to beat those he couldn't, even after spending them.

Su Yu woke up very early that day. Upon stepping out, he saw that Zhuang Zhuo and the others were already prepared, and Gu Zhiqiu was hanging a "Temporarily Closed" sign on the base door.

The five of them shared a smile, nodded, and said, "Let's go!"

They soared into the air and flew toward the guild headquarters. Upon returning to Qianyu City, Su Yu immediately checked the regional channel to see if anyone was taking bets. However, when he entered his name, his expression fell.

The ranking rewards were the same as the last session, but his odds had plummeted to the bottom. Bets for the top sixteen had been canceled entirely; the starting point was now top eight, with odds of 1 to 1.1—meaning a 10 gold bet would only yield 1 gold in profit.

Fourth place: 1 to 1.5.
Third place: 1 to 2.
Second place: 1 to 3.
First place: 1 to 5.

"Damn it, why did the odds drop so much this year?" Gu Zhiqiu and the others read the odds and were speechless. They looked at Su Yu and asked, "Well, which rank are you buying?"

Su Yu scratched his head. "Second place. I'm not confident about first."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure!"

"Alright, how much are you putting down?"

"All in, 28 gold!"

"Fine, I'll go buy it for you."

Handing the 28 taels of gold to Gu Zhiqiu, Su Yu was instantly broke. Watching Gu Zhiqiu and his companions enter the Qianyu Pavilion, he felt inexplicably nervous. "Hope I don't crash and burn, or I'm finished."

The minor exam was held in the same place, but the number of participants had nearly doubled. Many newcomers, having practiced for several months, felt their strength had improved and decided to come and show it off.

Like Gu Zhiqiu and Zhuang Zhuo, they had pooled together dozens of Golden-Winged Flying Centipedes and, believing in their own strength, wanted to give it a try. The rules remained the same, but because of the increased number of participants, the first stage had been expanded from three rounds to five. One needed at least four wins to advance.

This, however, had nothing to do with Su Yu. As the eighth-place finisher from the previous exam, he was a seeded player and skipped the first stage. He sat on the platform, watching Gu Zhiqiu and the others challenge below.

The massive arena was divided into 108 smaller ones. Gu Zhiqiu, Shi Ning, and Meng Chen were all competing simultaneously. As the bell rang, the competition began, and he focused on Gu Zhiqiu's arena.

Although they had all raised a batch of Golden-Winged Flying Centipedes, Gu Zhiqiu had the largest quantity. Furthermore, he practiced the "Myriad Insect Spirit-Gathering Scripture," which added 30 points of insect health, 10 points of insect attack, and 2 km/h of speed for every level. Even at only level thirty, it added 900 health, 300 attack, and 60 km/h to all his insects.

The Golden-Winged Flying Centipedes were level 40 elite-template insects, already having high health and attack, and the bonuses made them even more formidable.

To Su Yu's surprise, Gu Zhiqiu didn't start with the Hundred-Insect Banner or the Flying Centipedes, but with a Tier 5 magic treasure: the Hundred-Insect Spirit-Gathering Bag, which contained 1,000 level 12 Ink-Ball Bees. Under the influence of his cultivation technique, the bees, originally the size of a fist, swelled in size, and their aggregated form became a black cloud nearly an acre in size.

The bees, which usually had only two or three hundred health, saw their health skyrocket to 1,200, their combat power increasing more than tenfold. They swarmed the opponent's shield, gnawing frantically. In less than a minute, the defensive barrier was chewed to pieces.

A single trick, mastered well, can conquer all. At this level, he had no rivals; few could withstand the siege of thousands of insects with combat power comparable to level 30s. Even if someone could hold off the bees, he still had forty-five Golden-Winged Flying Centipedes—creatures with seven or eight thousand health that couldn't be taken down quickly.

He breezed through the competition, winning five matches in a row to advance.

Compared to his steamrolling performance, Zhuang Zhuo and the others lacked that strength. They practiced standard Qi Refining techniques, meaning their insects received no bonuses. With only a dozen or so centipedes each, they had a mix of wins and losses. Though they usually admitted defeat when they saw they were outmatched, some losses were inevitable. By the time they finished their five rounds, they had all lost a few centipedes.

Zhuang Zhuo went three wins and two losses, essentially eliminated early. Returning to the spectator seats, he couldn't help but say to his friends, "Damn, I really need to save up for an advanced Insect Dao Qi Refining technique."

Su Yu asked curiously, "Doesn't Qianyu City have any?"

"No. Insect Dao is a niche sect, mainly found in the Savage Mountains in the southwest corner of Blue Mountain Island. Besides the Poison Mist Marsh, there's no place near Qianyu City suitable for breeding insects, so naturally, there are no Insect Dao sects, and such manuals are rare."

"What about the Xuanzhen Immortal City?"

"Xuanzhen Immortal City certainly has them, but it's too far. A round trip takes over a month, and I didn't have the money before, so I never went."

"But this time is different." Zhuang Zhuo looked at Su Yu with a grin. "Brother Su, if you can take second place, we'll earn quite a bit, and we can make the trip."

"Then I definitely won't let you down!"

"Go for it!"

Time passed in casual conversation, and soon the first round of challenges ended. The host announced the start of the second round. The arena layout shifted from 108 small rings to four, and names were called.

"Now, will contestant No. 8 and contestant No. 81 please come to Arena No. 1."

Zhuang Zhuo immediately reminded him, "Brother Su, it's your turn."

Su Yu nodded and stood up. He glanced back at the podium, where many guild executives were present. Chu Xinyue wasn't there, but Chu Xiaoyu was, and she waved at him with a smile when she saw him turn around.

He waved back, and an invisible force enveloped him, teleporting him away. As the eighth-place finisher from the last exam, his number was indeed eight.

His opponent on the stage was someone he didn't recognize—a name that hadn't appeared in the previous exam, clearly one of those who had made great strides in the last three months. The man looked nervous, cupping his hands in a salute: "Qi Bo, please advise!"

"Su Yu, please advise!"

As soon as the countdown ended, Su Yu pointed a finger, and the "Yari" (Sun-Masking) sword flew through the air. Qi Bo's expression turned stern; a treasure pearl above his head shed protective light, and he summoned a mirror to freeze Su Yu. He then summoned a gourd, but before he could activate it, the sword light was already upon him. The light circled his defensive treasure like a spirit snake, causing the pearl to shake violently, its defensive power plummeting to the bottom.

"Holy crap!" Qi Bo was startled, but before he could pump mana into his treasure to bolster his defense, the flying sword's second rotation tore through the barrier. With a flash of sword light, he was forcibly teleported off the stage before he could even activate his protective aura.

"Arena No. 1, contestant No. 8 wins!"

"You're amazing, brother!"

Back at his seat, his friends gave him a thumbs up. Su Yu just smiled. By now, countless people in the vicinity and beyond were looking at him in surprise, whispering among themselves, while his opponents displayed mixed expressions—some shocked, some resigned.

The subsequent battles were a repeat of the first. No matter who his opponent was, he would flip them over with a single sword strike. After several rounds, he successfully entered the top sixteen.

To everyone's surprise, Gu Zhiqiu also made it to the top sixteen, having defeated several top-32 players from the previous session in earlier rounds—the power of an exquisite-grade Qi Refining technique was truly terrifying.

"Now, will contestant No. 8 and contestant No. 4 please come to Arena No. 2."

Su Yu jumped onto the stage. His opponent was Xu Lulu. Before the countdown ended, she had already summoned a black gourd that swelled in size, spewing endless river water. In a short while, the stage was transformed into a deep pool of water. She stood on the surface, her right hand grasping the air, gathering water into thunder.

"Gui Water Divine Thunder!"

"Suppress the Sea!"

An invisible ripple exploded. The water beneath Xu Lulu's feet froze, the waves solidified, and the rising Gui Water essence was forcibly suppressed. Xu Lulu was shocked and immediately tried to activate her treasure, but the artifact, usually responsive to her touch, became sluggish, as if frozen.

She quickly pushed the Gui Water Divine Thunder in her hand toward him. With a thunderous "boom," Su Yu remained unscathed.

"2,200 damage. If not for the Sea-Suppressing Pearl reducing it by 50%, it would have been 4,400. Truly powerful thunder magic." Su Yu smacked his lips, and the Yari sword light broke through the air, crossing the arena.

Xu Lulu tapped the back of her head, and a large bell rose up, hanging above her and shedding yellow light to protect her.

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

The sword light circled, the bell tolled melodiously, and the protective light shook violently. This bell was at least a Tier 6 treasure with tens of thousands in defense. Usually, it would stand as firm as a mountain against waves of monsters, but today, under this flying sword, it was like a duckweed in the wind.

"So strong. He's much stronger than last time. I'm no match." Xu Lulu didn't hesitate long. After holding out for only three seconds, she recognized reality and chose to concede.

"Made it to the top eight."

Returning to his seat, he noticed Gu Zhiqiu was missing. Looking at the arena, he saw him in Arena No. 4, facing Cao Ze. Both were summoning-style combatants. Cao Ze used the Myriad Crow Gourd, containing thirty-six elite-template Three-Legged Fire Crows, which had reached an average level of over 60 after three months of upgrades. The fire element was a natural counter to insects.

Countless Ink-Ball Bees had formed a black cloud covering nearly an acre, appearing overwhelming, but in front of the fire cloud converged by the thirty-six fire crows, they were powerless. With continuous crackling explosions, Ink-Ball Bees were burned and fell. Even the forty-plus Golden-Winged Flying Centipedes, tough as they were, could only hold out for a while.

After two minutes of combat, the Ink-Ball Bees had lost over 20% of their numbers. Had it not been for the 900 health bonus from the exquisite-grade technique, they would have been incinerated long ago.

The battle ended, and Gu Zhiqiu stopped at the top sixteen.