Chapter 980

Gao Da!

Although not everyone present knew him, that ninth-rank lower-tier aura could not be faked.

I thought at least we could slightly probe the origin of this Black Obsidian-class fighter's owner.

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

Remember, he was a Wu Sheng possessing Imperishable Matter!

Even a ninth-rank mid-tier Wu Sheng 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, its combat power is even stronger than a ninth-rank S-class!"

"......"

After silence, the scene erupted into a boiling clamor.

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

"Even plant life can be cultivated to ninth rank—how powerful is this fighter's owner?"

Someone whispered in awe.

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

But why were plant lives still so rare?

Because they were too difficult to cultivate!

The resources needed to cultivate plant life could alone be enough to break through one's own bottleneck.

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

Thus, plant life was generally cultivated only by adepts from major factions.

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

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

"Ninth-rank plant life! If only those Holy Plant Waters and seeds hadn't been seized by Xu Jingming, I could have one now!"

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

Lyne Hepburn!

High Cleric of the Holy Church.

Possessor of the enhancement-type Divine Beast S-class ability: "Golden Lion King."

With the opening of the Xinhuo World, America's involvement was inevitable.

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

Lyne was one of the team leaders.

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

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

She and her cousin Lyne had merely been resting here.

But unexpectedly, they noticed a change in the ranking board, so they stayed.

And now they'd witnessed this scene.

"This fighter..."

Looking at the fighter hovering within the green zone, Catherine felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

After all, she had spent time with Xu Jingming in Great Xia; upon closer thought, she immediately remembered!

Wasn't this Xu Jingming's fighter?

Unconsciously, she glanced at her still resentful cousin Lyne—but said nothing...

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

Inside the cockpit, Xu Jingming exhaled in relief; unless necessary, he did not wish to appear in person.

Otherwise, if everyone learned he was the 344th Sequence who claimed the 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 still showed no special reaction.

"That doesn't make sense! According to my calculations, entering this zone should trigger the Breakthrough Tower's exchange mechanism."

Eva was also anxious.

"Could it be that exchange isn't possible inside the fighter—do we need to step down?" Su Qingli mused.

"There's a possibility. Wait a few more seconds; if nothing happens, we'll have to try that." Xu Jingming murmured.

Although appearances could be disguised, he wasn't certain 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 clear voice rang out.

Whoosh—

The cockpit's lighting abruptly darkened; black feathers drifted down, coalescing into a black crow.

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

But unlike a beast of prey, this crimson glow held no bloodlust or savagery—instead, it was remarkably clear.

"Holographic projection?" Xu Jingming narrowed his eyes.

He detected no living aura from the crow.

Yet even so, he activated Chaos Doushen Shenlei, prepared for any unexpected danger.

Su Qingli likewise released her Jade Pure Doushen Shenlei, standing ready in solemn formation.

"Don't be nervous. I am the master control intelligence of this Trial Tower, Lord Hei Yu. If I had wanted to strike at you, you would have been dead long ago."

The crow used its sharp beak to preen its own feathers, unhurriedly saying, "Also, don't try to hack me. You, an intelligent life newly born less than a year ago, could never pull it off."

The crow gave a wave of its right wing, and a clump of data stream was immediately flicked away, returning into Eva's body.

Such a casual motion caused even the little loli Eva to show a Solemn expression.

Seeing this, Xu Jingming could not help but respectfully speak up: "Lord Hei Yu, we need to exchange for rewards. Please do us the favor."

The master control intelligence in charge of the Void-Breaking Tower — although he did not know whether the other party was a real person or truly just an artificial intelligence, being respectful was never wrong.

"The Trial Tower's original intent was to have you go search for the Void Stones inside the tower, but who would have thought there was actually a spatial breach point inside the tower, letting you find a loophole."

The black crow's crimson eyes stared at Xu Jingming. "But since these are the rules set in advance, go ahead — what do you want to exchange for?"

A wave of its right wing, and a dense, packed exchange list instantly appeared before his eyes.

"Besides this exchange, can we continue to exchange later on?" Xu Jingming did not answer immediately, but instead opened his mouth to ask.

"Of course."

The black crow replied, "And these items are only a portion of the entire exchangeable list. The complete list will only be opened to you in the subsequent levels."

"This is actually only a part of it?"

Xu Jingming's eyes went wide.

On this list there were already resources capable of causing an ability to evolve to SS-class. Could there really be resources that cause an ability to evolve even further?

Taking a deep breath, Xu Jingming, whose emotions had slightly calmed, swiftly spoke up:

"Two Thunder Element Essences, one vial of Supreme Divine Blood (Dragon), one Soul-Nurturing Pill."