Chapter 533: Reward Redemption

After the battle ended, Ye Liuyun didn't linger and immediately returned to the Xuan Kong Shi to continue cultivating.

The Qi luck he now possessed was already beginning to shift its glow toward gold.

However, the gap between him and several Heavenly Prides was still considerable; although he defeated a few silver‑glowing opponents, those Heavenly Prides started from a higher baseline and have never been beaten, so catching up will still require much effort.

In the next few battles, Ye Liuyun did not encounter the dual‑headed Shadow Snake or Gao Qiang. The top hundred in each of the five major regions have already been decided.

The elder in a long white robe who presides over the event appeared again and declared, "The first round of the martial contest ends here! The top five hundred have been selected. The points and Qi luck of the other unranked participants will be evenly distributed to the geniuses of this region's arena."

As soon as the host finished speaking, the points and Qi luck of the geniuses beyond the five hundred were instantly reset to zero. Those points and luck were then evenly allocated to the others in the region, and their Tokens shattered as well.

From then on, all eliminated contestants could only serve as spectators, watching the matches from the viewing platform.

After the host expelled everyone without a Token, he addressed the remaining participants: "The top five hundred geniuses, please follow your Tokens' instructions to claim your rewards."

"Huh? We can redeem pure spiritual energy now?" Ye Liuyun heard this and felt a surge of joy. He indeed needs that energy right now.

The others who had never taken part in a martial contest were equally astonished. At this moment, any chance to improve their strength would make them exceptionally delighted.

Some thought that since the top five hundred can claim rewards, they would all see improvement, and the stronger the person, the more spiritual energy they receive.

"You have one day to stay put, cultivate and heal. After a day, the next round of trials will begin."

After the host elder said a brief line, everyone received guidance from their Tokens and orderly proceeded to claim their rewards.

Ye Liuyun, undefeated in battle, received the same amount of pure spiritual energy as the major Heavenly Prides.

Among the other dark horses, Lei Ming, Long Nv, Mo Tianheng, Leng Qingxiao, and Gao Qiang each obtained the highest reward.

Liang Xue lost a few matches, but she finally made the top five hundred, which was quite difficult.

As for Su Miaoyin, Piao Yun, Hao Chengfeng, and Mo Ya, they could only bid farewell to the contest stage and go down to become spectators.

After they left the arena, they naturally turned their attention back to Ye Liuyun.

And right after they claimed their points, their points were all reset to zero. The projections above their heads turned into column‑shaped light strips, showing each person's amount of Qi luck.

Ye Liuyun noticed that his Qi luck, second only to the Five Great Heavenly Prides, was slightly higher than the others' light strips, and its color was closer to gold.

Lei Ming and the others' light strips were only a little lower; they hadn't, like Ye Liuyun, defeated two first‑tier strong opponents.

"It seems the next stage will be a contest for Qi luck!" Ye Liuyun surveyed the crowd and summoned Lei Ming, Liang Xue, and Long Nv to his side.

Now they could move freely within the arena, so Ye Liuyun led them into the Xuan Kong Shi, letting them use the time to cultivate and improve.

At this moment, he couldn't worry about being seen and criticized; the priority was still to boost strength.

His action left many geniuses present and the spectators outside utterly surprised.

"What's up with this guy? He's connected with the Demon Race, Beast Race, and renowned orthodox sects."

"This guy's romantic luck is impressive; he managed to whisk away three beauties at once!"

For a moment, there were voices of doubt and jealousy, but Ye Liuyun ignored them all.

Inside the Xuan Kong Shi, they had ten days—enough for them to absorb and transmute all that spiritual energy into True Essence. Once inside, they didn't bother sharing their experiences and immediately began intensive cultivation.

Yu Haotian did not absorb the spiritual energy; instead, he gathered it, sat in lotus posture, and continued cultivating. The other Heavenly Prides all rushed to absorb and refine it.

At their cultivation speed, a day allows them to absorb one‑third of the newly obtained spiritual energy, thanks to its relative purity which aids absorption.

For a moment, the contest arena fell quiet again as the many geniuses raced against time to cultivate, aiming to heal injuries or quickly boost their True Essence within the day.

The alliance elders on the viewing platform watched the geniuses and couldn't stop grinning.

"There are so many dark horses this time! And the top few are all quite strong!"

"Mo Tianheng, Ye Liuyun, Lei Ming, Long Nv, Leng Qingxiao, and Gao Qiang—these dark horses are unbeaten. Maybe someone could even challenge the Heavenly Pride List!"

"Yeah, Mo Tianheng looks impressive, that aura, *tsk tsk* …"

"I have high hopes for Ye Liuyun; the kid's progress is too fast …"

"That Demon Race's Thunder Dragon Beast isn't bad either …"

"Leng Qingxiao …"

For a moment, the elders each stuck to their own views, and in the end some even began to argue.

Vice Alliance Leader Yao Xinghai smiled while listening to their dispute, yet he kept a hidden eye on the changes of inheritances in the sky.

At this moment, the Qi luck gathered by the many geniuses grew stronger. More inheritances kept appearing in the sky, and various Mirage City Towers dotted the surroundings of Lingzhu Island.

"With so many inheritances appearing, it seems even geniuses ranked beyond the top hundred now have inheritances to choose from."

In the previous Cangyun martial contest, the few inheritances that appeared were insufficient to distribute. Each inheritance could admit at most three people at a time, so often even the top hundred geniuses might find no inheritance to choose.

Suddenly, Yao Xinghai rose up excitedly, gazing toward the western sky.

The other elders were also startled by his sudden move and looked west together.

"Shura Hell!" an elder shouted.

"What? Shura Hell, one of the Five Great Inheritances?"

"How did the Shura Hell inheritance appear so early?"

Many elders stood up in shock, some so startled their mouths wouldn't even close.

Yao Xinghai glanced at the many geniuses still cultivating, then said slowly, "Even while cultivating, their drive to become stronger keeps their Qi luck growing! That may be why the Five Great Inheritances were drawn out early."