Chapter 764: Qingmu King Luo Yuanjun (First update, requesting everything)

The next morning, Bernama Fortress plaza.

At this very moment, more than two hundred Heavenly Pride from various countries were gathered in the plaza in an orderly fashion, patiently waiting for the arrival of the chief examiner.

To ensure fairness and impartiality as much as possible, the chief examiner did not come from the Tianling Empire; this was also a consensus reached by all countries to avoid favoritism toward people from their own nation.

Besides this, the Heavenly Dao of this world would also consciously supervise the process.

In the plaza, Li Zhangsheng stood in the position belonging to the Langya Kingdom. There were four spots here in total, but since Liu Xuguang had already fallen, only three people were seated.

The positions here were determined based on the national strength of each country; the Kailing Empire's positions were in the first row, totaling twenty spots.

The Langya Kingdom was located in the second row near the edge. Among the seven medium-sized countries, the Langya Kingdom was right in the middle, with three countries in front and three behind.

At this time, there were less than five minutes left until the start of the competition. Barring any accidents, all contestants should have already taken their places.

From the feedback of his Mental Power, there were 205 Heavenly Pride in the plaza, three fewer than the actual number. Barring any accidents, they had likely already fallen.

Judging from the aura they emitted, there were 18 Pseudo-King, 113 Sixth-Rank, and 74 Fifth-Rank.

The number of Pseudo-King had not changed. Logically, since Liu Xuguang had fallen, the number should have been one less, but plans could not keep up with changes; a Sixth-Rank Expert from a small country had successfully advanced to Pseudo-King during this period.

On the vast plaza, apart from these 205 Heavenly Pride, there were only some on-duty soldiers and officers, though they were all standing in the more peripheral areas.

Li Zhangsheng's main focus was on the first row of positions, which were exclusively occupied by the twenty Heavenly Pride of the Kailing Empire.

Just as the information Zhao Rui had found indicated, the Kailing Empire's contestants consisted of 5 Pseudo-King and 15 Sixth-Rank.

Among these five Pseudo-King, they were composed of one Top-tier Pseudo-King, two Senior Pseudo-King, and two New Pseudo-King; their comprehensive strength could be said to be quite powerful.

Among them, Xiang Yutian was the object of Li Zhangsheng's focused attention.

This was a young man wearing a dragon-patterned robe, tall and handsome, with a dignified face, carrying the air of someone who had long held a high position.

Seemingly sensing Li Zhangsheng's gaze, Xiang Yutian turned his head, and upon discovering it was Li Zhangsheng, he nodded in acknowledgment.

Li Zhangsheng responded in kind, then withdrew his gaze and chatted with Ning Bizhen, who was sitting beside him.

Dong~

When it reached exactly eight o'clock, a vigorous bell chime resounded, and suddenly, three figures appeared silently on the high platform in the plaza.

They were the chief and deputy examiners supervising the selection for the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm seats in the Southern Region for this session. Whether it was the Southern Region or the other nine regions, it was composed of one chief examiner and two deputy examiners.

Li Zhangsheng's heart tightened, and he hurriedly focused his attention.

The other contestants were the same, because all three of these people exuded a powerful aura, clearly exceeding the scope of Pseudo-King.

Among them, the middle-aged man standing in the middle had the most vigorous aura, clearly exceeding the scope of a King.

Barring any accidents, this should be a Double-Character King.

Li Zhangsheng took a glance and then withdrew his gaze. Having absorbed part of the memories of Spirit King Liu Yongtu and Flame King Di Zhiyi, he naturally possessed a lot of information regarding Kings.

In the blink of an eye, Li Zhangsheng found the information about them.

The chief examiner was indeed a Double-Character King; he was Qingmu King Luo Yuanjun from the Northern Region, and he was nearly four hundred years old.

The other two deputy examiners were Diao King Wang Xuan and Flower King Han Huiying, who came from the Eastern and Western regions respectively.

The three chief and deputy examiners came from different regions, which could ensure fairness and impartiality to the greatest extent.

As for whether there was any friendship between them, or if any of the three had secretly reached an agreement with the Kailing Empire to provide certain conveniences to the Kailing Empire's contestants, that was not something Li Zhangsheng could know.

Even so, these were secondary; to compete for a seat in the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm, the most important thing was strength.

"I am Qingmu King Luo Yuanjun, serving as one of the nine chief examiners for this Heavenly Dao Secret Realm session. Everyone present here is a Heavenly Pride from the major countries of the Southern Region..."

Qingmu King Luo Yuanjun's voice carried dignity, and with the assistance of exceptionally abundant Mental Power, it was as if Luo Yuanjun were whispering into everyone's ears.

Luo Yuanjun first gave a rough review of history and highlighted the top Heavenly Pride selected from the Southern Region over the years.

These important talents naturally all achieved excellent results, with most becoming Kings, and there was even no lack of Double-Character Kings or even Emperors among them.

Qingmu King Luo Yuanjun did not talk much nonsense; after briefly reviewing history, he began to announce the tasks and rules for this session.

Assessment location: Bernama Fortress

Participating contestants: 205 people

Assessment time: Three days

Assessment content: Kill demons, use Demon Hearts as proof, and obtain corresponding points based on the rank of the demons; low-level demons do not count toward points. In addition, the three examiners hid one hundred Scrolls within the activity range, and each Scroll is equivalent to ten thousand points.

Simply put, besides killing demons, one must also put a lot of energy into searching for Scrolls; after all, in terms of points, one Scroll is equivalent to one Great Demon.

For Fifth and Sixth-Rank contestants, whether they can obtain a seat in the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm, Scrolls can be said to be of paramount importance. After all, everyone's strength is set there; if they relied solely on killing demons, they would basically have no possibility of a comeback.

Theoretically speaking, even if one does not kill a single demon, as long as one obtains ten Scrolls, one can lock in a seat in the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm.

There is no way around it; a Great Demon is equivalent to a Demon Beast, and being within the range covered by the Abyss Will, the combat power is effectively increased by a grade due to this addition and subtraction.

Furthermore, the number of Great Demons is extremely limited, impossible to exceed three digits, and most are located near the Abyss Gate.

The closer to the Abyss Gate, the stronger the Abyss Will, the more severely the contestants' strength will be weakened, and the greater the chance of encountering a Demon Commander or even a Demon Lord.

Of course, while the number of Great Demons is not large, the number of Intermediate Demons and Advanced Demons is much higher. The points for these three grades of demons are converted at a tenfold ratio; one Great Demon is equivalent to ten Advanced Demons.

The rules of the competition are relatively simple: contestants cannot give the Scrolls and Demon Hearts they have harvested to others, nor can they snatch the Demon Hearts and Scrolls of other contestants, and they certainly cannot wantonly kill other contestants.

However, there are policies above and countermeasures below; just as the Kailing Empire has done in the past, one can use methods like luring monsters or driving demons to those who need them, as well as telling the other party the location of the Scrolls.

Relying on their numerical advantage, this is also the main reason why the Kailing Empire has always been able to occupy about half of the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm seats in previous sessions.

It is not just the Kailing Empire; other empires are also birds of a feather. Even if other countries object, they have never had the intention to change it; after all, they are not only the vested interest holders but also the executors and rule-makers.

As for the Heavenly Dao of the Fairy World, it has only derived a simple consciousness. In this competition for Heavenly Dao Secret Realm seats, it only needs to judge whether the contestants are cheating.

"You only have one life, I hope everyone will cherish it! Alright, I declare the competition officially started!"

Qingmu King Luo Yuanjun did not say much; he spoke for less than ten minutes in total, and the entire speech was devoid of any nonsense, being quite concise and clear.

As Qingmu King Luo Yuanjun's voice fell, the 205 contestants quickly left Bernama Fortress and rushed toward the area covered by the Abyss Will.

After spending a few minutes, Li Zhangsheng took Ning Bizhen and Zhao Rui and began to enter the area covered by the Abyss Will. Wu Zetao took three Sixth-Rank contestants from the Shayi Kingdom and landed a mile away, maintaining a certain distance between the two sides to avoid snatching monsters from each other, while also better dealing with the Kailing Empire together.

Because of this, the Kailing Empire's team was not very far from them either.

As for Dou Yuanhua, he still could not let go of his pride and did not join Li Zhangsheng's team, and no one knew where he went.

In terms of numbers, the two teams added up to only seven people, far fewer than the 20 from the Kailing Empire, but while they were inferior in quantity, their quality was quite outstanding.

Of the four top-tier Pseudo-Kings participating this time, the two teams accounted for three, not to mention that Li Zhangsheng's combat power was comparable to that of a King.

Besides this, Li Zhangsheng also possessed two fragments of the Xuan Kun Creation Stele, which could cover a significant area and basically exempt them from the suppression of the Abyss Will, meaning his combat power would hardly be affected.

The Kailing Empire's team was different; even if they possessed certain methods to cope, Li Zhangsheng did not believe they could completely exempt themselves from the suppression of the Abyss Will like the Xuan Kun Creation Stele, and the closer they were to the Abyss Gate, the more severe the suppression would be.

After stepping into the coverage area of the Abyss Will, the bodies of Li Zhangsheng and the others sank, and they could faintly perceive an evil will suppressing their power and significantly accelerating their consumption.

At the first moment, Li Zhangsheng channeled a wisp of Mental Power into the largest Xuan Kun Creation Stele fragment.

In an instant, the Abyss Will within a radius of several hundred meters was forcibly expelled by the power of the Xuan Kun Creation Stele.

In this way, the strength of the three was no longer restricted, and at the same time, demons would not receive the amplification of the Abyss Will after entering the influence range of the Xuan Kun Creation Stele.

"As expected of my lord, with this treasure, the hope of competing for a seat in the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm has invisibly increased by a lot."

Looking at the Xuan Kun Creation Stele fragment, Zhao Rui clicked his tongue in wonder while also unknowingly flattering Li Zhangsheng.

At the same time, Zhao Rui also felt heartfelt admiration for his own foresight; well, praising oneself, no problem there!

In just a few breaths of time, the three encountered a small group of demons, led by an Intermediate Demon, with the rest all being low-level demons.

Li Zhangsheng and Ning Bizhen did not make a move, leaving them directly to Zhao Rui to resolve.

After all, Zhao Rui was also a Sixth-Rank Expert; dealing with intermediate and low-level demons was like chopping melons and vegetables, and in just a few breaths of time, he resolved them all and obtained a Mid-level Demon Heart.

Li Zhangsheng led the two to quickly penetrate deeper, from time to time using the Heavenly Vision and Earthly Hearing Secret Technique to observe the Kailing Empire's team, while also observing the surroundings along the way.

Due to the influence of the Abyss Will, the range of the Heavenly Vision and Earthly Hearing Secret Technique was severely weakened, but even so, it could still observe movements within a radius of several dozen li.

"Five li away in the northwest direction, I have discovered a Great Demon!"

Very quickly, Li Zhangsheng finally found a Great Demon.

(End of this chapter)