Chapter 670: King's Secret Realm (Second update, requesting everything)

Li Zhangsheng felt a sense of relief in his heart; this championship prize was like a hot potato, and he had no desire to take it at all.

As for the honor of being champion, he did not value it either; what he lacked least was fame, as he could be considered a prominent figure in the Langya Kingdom, and besides, there was no rule stating he couldn't participate in the National Tournament again next year.

In the history of over two hundred National Tournaments, there was one person who had won five championships, and this person was none other than the 'Butterfly King' Luo Qingning.

Apart from Luo Qingning, there were not a few Monster Tamers who had won the championship multiple times.

Looking at Li Zhangsheng's age, as long as this rule was not rewritten, he could still participate in eleven more National Tournaments...

By the time that actually arrived, Li Zhangsheng would likely not have enough fingers on both hands to wear all the championship rings.

For Li Zhangsheng, the championship of the next National Tournament could truly be described as taking something out of one's pocket, because a year later, he would likely become a King, and might even have the ability to contend with a Double-Character King.

As for why he didn't let Ning Bizhen take the championship, the reason was simple: Ning Bizhen had also offended Dou Yuanbin to the death; Dou Yuanbin's Demon Beast, the Azure Wind-Born Beast, had been killed by her, and the extent of the offense was no less than Li Zhangsheng's.

Li Zhangsheng had finished off four of Dou Yuanbin's main Demon Pets, and their combined weight was at most equivalent to one Demon Beast, which showed the extent of Ning Bizhen's offense.

Besides that, as long as the two stayed together, Li Zhangsheng was confident in contending with a King, not to mention a New King like Dou Zhangsheng.

Li Zhangsheng was not worried about the Dark Night King Dou Cangqiong, because he still had to guard the Abyss Gate located in Yuan Province; unless he voluntarily delivered himself to the door and entered Dou Cangqiong's Blessed Land, he would not be able to spare any effort.

Not long after, the award ceremony officially began!

For the audience, the award ceremony was also considered a major highlight, so most people did not leave, wanting to watch the final process until the closing ceremony.

"Let us welcome the top four contestants to the stage for the awards with the warmest applause!"

The commentator's impassioned voice rang out, and thunderous, tsunami-like applause erupted in the arena, lasting for a long time without stopping.

Amidst the enthusiastic applause, Li Zhangsheng, Ning Bizhen, Dou Yuanhua, and Liu Xuguang arrived at the podium, and then, under the arrangement of the master of ceremonies, stood in their respective positions.

Because there was no champion this session, the seat that should have been occupied by the champion was cut to the same height as the runner-up's.

Among these four, Liu Xuguang kept a gloomy face throughout, making no effort to hide his inner emotions.

Thinking about it, it was only natural; in his duel with Li Zhangsheng, Liu Xuguang had lost a full four main Demon Pets, including one Demon Beast; then, under the eyes of everyone, he played out a scene of a tiger falling into the plains and being bullied by dogs, being defeated by Dou Yuanhua, who was not originally his match—it would be strange if his mood were good.

"Now, we invite His Majesty the King to give us a speech!"

It was only at this moment that the Emperor Dou Zhangsheng walked toward the four with a majestic stride; he did not hide his aura, but the four present were all Pseudo-Kings, and although they felt pressure, it was within their capacity to bear.

"This National Tournament has seen the emergence of a large number of excellent Monster Tamers, and it is also the session with the highest number of participating Pseudo-Kings in history. The four who can stand on this podium are all the most outstanding young talents of our country. I feel deeply gratified; this shows that the National Tournament of our Langya Kingdom is becoming increasingly prosperous, and in the future, more will emerge..."

Emperor Dou Zhangsheng had long prepared a draft, first spouting a bunch of official jargon before entering the award process.

The next moment, four hostesses wearing cheongsams formed a queue and walked with lotus steps to the podium; each of them held a tray, on which were placed trophies, certificates, tokens of different materials, and a small jade box, though it was unknown what was inside them.

At the National Tournament award ceremony, the awards were presented in order from lowest to highest, starting with the fourth place, then the third, the runner-up, and the champion.

Such an award ceremony not only brought honor and satisfaction to the top four contestants but also encouraged those who had not yet advanced to the top four.

Unlike the top three, the fourth place had no trophy, only a gilded certificate.

With a very reluctant smile on his face, Liu Xuguang took the certificate from Dou Zhangsheng; he had to symbolically hold the gilded certificate high to welcome the cheers and applause of the audience, starting to heat up the atmosphere.

The next moment, Dou Zhangsheng presented the bronze trophy and certificate to Dou Yuanhua; the difference was that his eyes held a bit more gratification, after all, Dou Yuanhua was his son.

After this National Tournament, with the rise of one and the fall of another, in Dou Zhangsheng's mind, Dou Yuanhua's weight was already no less than Dou Yuanbin's, and the key was that Dou Yuanhua was younger.

Dou Yuanhua excitedly held the bronze trophy and certificate high; although he only got third place, his mood was exceptionally good, after all, his ranking was higher than his third brother Dou Yuanbin's, and although he didn't defeat Dou Yuanbin himself, it could be considered stepping on Dou Yuanbin, which brought him more fame and supporters.

After Dou Yuanhua raised the trophy, the atmosphere in the arena became even more fanatical.

"Congratulations to you both for jointly becoming the runners-up of this National Tournament!"

The next moment, Dou Zhangsheng, wearing a seemingly kind smile, handed the silver trophies and certificates to Li Zhangsheng and Ning Bizhen respectively.

When Li Zhangsheng and Ning Bizhen held the silver trophies high, the fanatical atmosphere in the arena finally reached its peak, and countless audience members stood up from their seats, shouting their names one after another.

After a few minutes, the cheers and applause finally slowly died down.

Even though Li Zhangsheng and Ning Bizhen both forfeited in the grand finals, because of their proper handling, most of the audience not only did not dislike them for it but instead greatly deepened their impression of them, bringing them more supporters.

After the award ceremony ended, the National Tournament ushered in the closing ceremony.

After the award ceremony ended, Li Zhangsheng and Ning Bizhen did not return to the Player Village, but according to the plan, met up with Xu Wenhua and Zhang Kaishuo and headed straight for the Yecheng Imperial Palace.

Li Zhangsheng's plan was simple: to enter the King's Secret Realm at the fastest speed, not giving Dou Zhangsheng extra time to prepare.

Along the way, Li Zhangsheng and Ning Bizhen began to check their harvest.

The token on the tray was the certificate to compete for a spot in the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm; Li Zhangsheng observed it for a moment, and after confirming there was no forgery, solemnly put it into his Space Ring.

The items in the two's jade boxes were identical, with a total of three different certificates.

One was the certificate to enter the King's Secret Realm, one could select a treasure in the Huang Jia Nei Ku, and one could select a top-tier Secret Technique; these were the rewards for the National Tournament runners-up.

The Huang Jia Nei Ku was different from the Core Treasury; it was the private treasury of the Imperial Family, rumored to have the collections of past emperors, including treasures left behind by the Dark Night King Dou Cangqiong.

If described by the grade of the treasure, at the very least they were Heavenly Essence Grade treasures, and there was no lack of Heaven and Earth Rare Treasure Grade treasures; as for whether there were World Wonder Grade treasures, that was unclear.

Of course, the most numerous were still various precious and rare materials; just like the Treasure Pavilion Third Floor of the Yuanling Academy, the treasures left in the Huang Jia Nei Ku were mostly niche treasures that the various emperors had no use for.

Of course, there were also some emperors who, when their lifespan was nearing its end, also left some common treasures in the inner treasury.

Generally speaking, non-Imperial Family members only had one possibility to enter the Huang Jia Nei Ku, and that was to win the championship or runner-up of the National Tournament, while the third and fourth place could only enter the Core Treasury.

In terms of value, this Huang Jia Nei Ku certificate far exceeded the Core Treasury certificate.

The only difference between the rewards for the champion and the runner-up was that one entered a Blessed Land and the other entered the King's Secret Realm, while the rest of the rewards were almost identical.

As for the top-tier Secret Technique certificate, it went without saying; with the Imperial Family's collection of nearly three hundred years, the number of top-tier Secret Techniques naturally far exceeded that of the Yuanling Academy, and it certainly included the Earth-Listening Secret Technique and the Law of Heaven and Earth Secret Technique possessed by the Yuanling Academy, so their value went without saying.

Soon, Li Zhangsheng entered Yecheng and arrived at the gate of the Imperial Palace.

Xu Wenhua and Zhang Kaishuo could only wait here; if an accident occurred, they could also provide support at the first moment.

After showing the one-time certificate for the King's Secret Realm, Li Zhangsheng and Ning Bizhen were received by a superintendent, and under his guidance, the two arrived deep in the Imperial Palace without any obstruction.

Compared to the Core Royal Garden, the security here was even more rigorous, guarded by a Senior Pseudo-King and three Sixth-Rank Experts.

This Pseudo-King was named Dou Qingtian; his age was close to one hundred, his seniority in the Imperial Family was higher than Emperor Dou Zhangsheng's, and he was also a top ten existence on the Top 100 Ranking, with a higher ranking than Xu Wenhua.

After confirming the authenticity of the one-time King's Secret Realm certificate, Dou Qingtian took out a nine-story miniature pagoda.

After being activated by Mental Power, the nine-story miniature pagoda automatically floated in mid-air, spinning rapidly, and began to emit a brilliant and dazzling light, eventually forming a brilliant and dazzling energy ray that landed in the void to the side.

The void fluctuated violently, emitting wisps of ripples, and immediately after, a three-meter-high space portal slowly took shape.

"Go in, but you must come out within one day!"

The rules of the King's Secret Realm are similar to those of the Core Royal Garden: one can only contract one Spirit Beast, and killing Spirit Beasts is strictly prohibited; once discovered, one will be expelled immediately.

Li Zhangsheng did not enter immediately; he carefully sensed this space portal, and after confirming that it was indeed the portal leading to the King's Secret Realm, he then entered hand-in-hand with Ning Bizhen with peace of mind.

The King's Secret Realm mentioned here is naturally not the Secret Realm opened by "Butterfly King" Luo Qingning and "Flame King" Qin Mingqing, but rather the Secret Realm opened by two deceased Imperial Family kings.

Although these two kings have already fallen, under the Imperial Family's investment of countless resources, these two Secret Realms have always been well-maintained, and under the great power of Dark Night King Dou Cangqiong, there is also a Space Channel between the two Secret Realms, allowing for mutual passage, which is equivalent to the two of them being able to explore these two King's Secret Realms together.

(End of this chapter)