Chapter 1226: Challenge to the Seat! Investigate Him!

"Starlight Stage Seven! Xu Jingming is on the Starlight Stage Seven battle roster?"

"Whoa, wasn't he just Starlight Stage Four five months ago? How did he break through to Starlight Stage Seven so fast?"

"This breakthrough speed is terrifying."

"......"

The change in the Sacred Site Exchange Tournament roster sparked a massive uproar across the entire Noah Sacred Site.

Countless people marveled at Xu Jingming's astonishingly rapid breakthrough.

Yet many also expressed skepticism.

"Three stages broken through in five months—could Xu Jingming be using pills?"

"Even if he didn't use pills, if his Phantasm and Domain haven't caught up, what good is a higher stage?"

"Exactly! Our Noah Empire has performed poorly in exchange tournaments for nearly a decade, stuck in the lower-middle ranks—will we hand another victory to other empires again?"

"That's not right. At least the roster was confirmed personally by My Lord Niki—there shouldn't be any issue."

"......"

After defeating Bazzel and obtaining the Lightning Principle Seed.

Xu Jingming was already one of the most watched rising stars in the Noah Sacred Site.

Where there was doubt, there was support; both sides were hurling insults on the Sacred Site forum.

Of course, only a few actually started yelling.

The vast majority chose to wait and watch.

Whether Xu Jingming truly belongs in that position will be clear once the exchange tournament begins.

Xu Jingming himself was unaware of everything happening in the virtual universe.

He plunged into the Black Stone Star wilderness with Ye Lan and Lu Yunji.

With Ye Lan, a Star Stage Two powerhouse, guarding him, he became far more relaxed in his actions.

He no longer needed to suppress his flight speed, greatly increasing his efficiency in slaying beasts.

He could now gather roughly 6,000 Source Points per day.

Soon, eight days passed.

Night fell, stars glittering.

On Black Stone Star, within dense forest.

Xu Jingming sat cross-legged beneath a massive tree, eyes half-closed.

His breathing steady, continuously absorbing Yuan Energy to restore his depletion.

"What do these people even know?!"

A crisp female voice shattered the silence.

Xu Jingming opened his eyes to see Lu Yunji's crimson eyes fixed on the holographic projection before her.

Her full chest rose and fell violently with anger, outlining a breathtaking curve.

"What's wrong? Who upset you, Lu Xuejie?" Xu Jingming couldn't help but find it amusing.

"Those idiots in the virtual universe, of course!"

Lu Yunji gritted her teeth and pulled up the forum page. "Look at what they're saying!"

Xu Jingming glanced once, then smiled faintly: "That's it?"

"You can actually laugh about this?"

Lu Yunji widened her eyes. "They're questioning your strength!"

"On the cultivation path, why must you prove yourself to others?"

Xu Jingming shook his head. "Besides, the exchange tournament is about to begin—only they themselves will be humiliated in the end."

He had already grown accustomed to being doubted back on Blue Star.

But those people? In the end, he had crushed them all.

"But......"

Lu Yunji was about to say more when another voice interrupted.

"Xu Jingming is right."

A silver-white figure walked toward them, steps light as a cat's.

Ye Lan's battle suit shimmered with cold light under the starlight, perfectly matching her icy demeanor.

As she moved, her slender legs swaying,

the breathtakingly full curves above her slender waist swayed gently, drawing the eye.

Unlike Lu Yunji's fiery passion, Ye Lan was like a Bingshan.

Her figure was alluring, stunningly beautiful, yet forbade easy approach.

Her purple eyes swept coldly over the holographic projection, her red lips parting softly:

"The decisions of the Immortal Gods are not for these mediocrities to question."

"But it's still so infuriating!"

Lu Yunji remained angry, as if the doubt were aimed not at Xu Jingming, but at herself:

"If My Lord Niki hadn't warned us not to reveal Xu Jingming's true strength in advance,

I would've already thrown that video of him taking on six at once right in their faces!"

"Don't worry—they'll regret it," Xu Jingming smiled faintly.

The Purple Nightmare Body didn't just grant him a form-shifting ability—it optimized his bloodline.

Now, he could effortlessly face a Level One prodigy of Starlight Stage Nine.

Even in the Sacred Land exchange competition, no one at the same level could match him.

"Alright, we'll just have to wait for the exchange competition to show them what for."

Lu Yunji let out a soft breath, calming his emotions slightly before speaking:

"Shouldn't we start preparing to return to Noah Sacred Land? We only have two days left before departing for the Lingshu Empire."

"Mm, I'll set off once I've restored to my peak state."

Xu Jingming nodded. "When the time comes, you two return to the Sacred Land first—I'm going to the Fifth Planet."

Although during his time on Blackstone Star, he had often met Ai Mose and the others in the Virtual Universe.

But the virtual world could never compare to reality.

"Alright." Ye Lan and Lu Yunji both nodded.

During these few days on Blackstone Star, besides hunting demonic beasts, they naturally also exchanged information.

Everyone had some understanding of each other's situations; they knew Xu Jingming had family back at the Imperial Academy.

Yet neither Lu Yunji nor Ye Lan paid much attention to it.

Within Noah Sacred Land, most people had family.

Some men even owned multiple life planets, with concubines so numerous even they couldn't count them all.

To them, Xu Jingming's situation was nothing at all.

Two hours later, Xu Jingming and his group rose and departed, their states restored to peak.

But they did not leave Blackstone Star immediately—instead, they went to the supply base.

Xu Jingming still had a large quantity of demonic beast materials; selling them before returning was no hurry.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the Dead Zone.

The gray-brown rock strata glimmered with a metallic coldness under the starlight.

The once-bustling temporary camp had long since been abandoned, leaving only half-built ruins.

Suddenly, space rippled like water, and seven figures cloaked in dark hoodies appeared out of thin air.

The black star emblems on their chests flickered faintly as their cloaks stirred.

One of them raised a hand and pressed it against the cracked ground; crimson light erupted from his palm.

He then bowed respectfully to the lead man and reported:

"Lord, the Master's aura has vanished completely."

"Fifty thousand years! We've waited fifty thousand years!

I refuse to believe the core inheritance has simply disappeared!"

The lead man snorted coldly. "Investigate! I want to know who entered the inheritance realm!"

"Yes!"

The remaining six immediately bowed respectfully.