Chapter 980

GAIN!

Although not everyone present knew him, that ninth-rank lower-level aura was undeniable.

I thought at least we could slightly probe the identity of this Obsidian-class fighter’s owner.

But unexpectedly, he was killed in just three short seconds.

Remember, he was a Martial Saint possessing indestructible matter!

Even a ninth-rank mid-level Martial Saint would need considerable time to kill him...

“This... what is this?”

“Plant life! It’s Flower Goddess’s plant life!”

“It’s Ironweed! Top-tier plant life, stronger than a ninth-rank S-class!”

“......”

After silence, the scene erupted into a boiling clamor.

Many native inhabitants of the Flame World recognized the origin of Ironweed.

“Even a plant life can be cultivated to ninth rank—how powerful must this fighter’s owner be?”

Someone whispered in awe.

Originally, the Flame World had preserved many plant life seeds left behind by the Flower Goddess.

But why were plant lives still so rare?

Because cultivating them was far too difficult!

The resources needed to cultivate plant life could alone help one break through their own bottleneck.

If that’s the case, why waste resources on plant life at all?

Thus, plant lives were generally cultivated only by adepts from major factions.

And even then, usually only to eighth-rank peak.

After all, pushing one to ninth rank was simply too difficult.

“Ninth-rank plant life! If those Holy Plant Waters and seeds hadn’t been stolen by Xu Jingming, I could have one now!”

Among the crowd, a tall youth with golden hair glared fiercely at the Ironweed.

Ryan Hepburn!

High Cleric of the Holy Church.

Possessed the enhancement-type Divine Beast S-class ability: “Golden Lion King.”

With the opening of the Flame World, America’s involvement was inevitable.

As America’s most powerful faction, the Holy Church naturally dispatched elite adepts.

Ryan was one of the team leaders.

His rank had already risen from eighth-rank upper-level in the secret realm to eighth-rank peak!

Beside him stood Catherine Hepburn, with golden hair and blue eyes.

She and her cousin Ryan had merely been resting here.

But unexpectedly, they noticed the rankings shifting, so they stayed.

And now they witnessed this scene.

“This fighter......”

Watching the fighter hovering in the green zone, Catherine felt an odd sense of familiarity.

After all, she had spent time with Xu Jingming in Great Xia—she instantly recalled!

Wasn’t this Xu Jingming’s fighter?

Unconsciously, she glanced at her still-fuming cousin Ryan—but said nothing...

After sensing Ironweed kill the ninth-rank lower-level, the other ninth-rank mid-level ceased movement.

Inside the cockpit, Xu Jingming exhaled in relief—he didn’t want to appear in person unless absolutely necessary.

Otherwise, if everyone discovered he was the 344th-sequence bearer of the great treasure, he’d face endless pursuit and ambushes.

“Eva, can’t we still exchange?” Xu Jingming frowned.

The fighter had been hovering here for several seconds, yet no special reaction occurred.

“That doesn’t make sense! According to my calculations, entering this zone should have triggered the Void Tower’s exchange mechanism.”

Eva was equally anxious.

“Could it be that exchange isn’t possible inside the fighter? Do we need to step out?” Su Qingli mused.

“Possible. Wait a few more seconds—if nothing happens, we’ll have to try that.” Xu Jingming murmured.

His appearance could be disguised, but he wasn’t sure if any perceptive adepts lurked among the crowd.

If even one existed, he and Teacher Su would be exposed immediately!

“Young man, don’t be so hasty.”

Suddenly, a crisp voice rang out.

Whoosh—

The cockpit’s light dimmed abruptly; black feathers drifted down, coalescing into a black crow.

This crow was much larger than a normal one, entirely black, with crimson eyes.

Unlike a beast of prey, its crimson gaze held no bloodlust or savagery—only startling clarity.

“Holographic projection?” Xu Jingming narrowed his eyes.

He sensed no living presence from the crow.

Yet he still activated Chaos Divine Thunder, prepared for any surprise.

Su Qingli likewise released Jade Pure Divine Thunder, standing ready.

“Don’t be tense. I am the main control AI of this trial tower—Black Feather. If I meant to kill you, you’d already be dead.”

The crow calmly preened its feathers with its beak, “Also, don’t try to hack me. You’re an AI born less than a year ago—you can’t possibly succeed.”

With a sweep of its right wing, a stream of data was instantly ejected, returning to Eva’s core.

Such effortless action left the little girl Eva with a grave expression.

Xu Jingming bowed respectfully: “Lord Black Feather, we wish to exchange rewards—please grant us this favor.”

The main control AI of the Void Tower—whether human or pure AI, it was wise to show deference.

“The trial tower’s original intent was for you to seek Void Stones within. But I didn’t expect space ruptures to exist inside, allowing you to find a loophole.”

The black crow’s crimson eyes fixed on Xu Jingming, “But since the rules were set beforehand, speak—what do you wish to exchange?”

With a sweep of its right wing, a dense list of exchange items appeared before them.

“After this exchange, can we exchange again later?” Xu Jingming didn’t answer immediately, but asked instead.

“Of course.”

The black crow replied, “These items are only a portion of the full exchange list—the complete list will be unlocked in later levels.”

“So this is only a portion?”

Xu Jingming’s eyes widened.

The list already included resources to evolve abilities to SS-class—could there be resources to evolve them further?

He took a deep breath, steadied his composure, and spoke swiftly:

“Two Essence of Thunder Elements, one Supreme Divine Blood (Dragon), one Nourish Soul Pill.”