Yan Ming sat cross legged in his courtyard, taking in deep breaths, the duel had taken a huge toll on him even though it looked like he won without much effort. If Bennett had gone on defense, dragging it out till his elemental possession was over he might have lost, he couldn't keep elemental possession on forever, it had a limited duration and was taxing on his body, if he didn't spend most of his blank points on endurance he wouldn't have lasted for so long. Bennett walked into the courtyard, he had yet to recover from the duel but he had to hand over his prizes. "Here is the map you requested for, and this is a high grade fire core, the emperor specifically ordered it to be given to you, it's one of the top three best treasures in the imperial vault." Bennett said, placing emphasis on the emperor to ensure Yan Ming knew how he got to obtain such a priceless treasure, he had initially expected a shocked expression from him but he still had that passive, indifferent look on his

Yan Ming stared at the stats for a few seconds before he asked a question that had been lingering in his mind for long "Why are the figures so low? Besides, the stats increase per level is the same with the lower realms but I feel the actual effect is different." {Every realm increase is a fundamental change to your very existence, this fact holds true especially in the higher realms, every increase in your realm increases the quality of your Qi and life force, it's not just a matter of increasing quantity, that's also why the exp required resets after every realm because it can't be calculated based on the quality in the previous realms, a single point increase in strength at the ember core realm might give more benefits than five hundred points at the spiritual awakening realm} "Mhmm, that does work, time to travel over to Sitrus." --- Alumera Herlous had a sour look on his face, recalling Yan Ming who had "duped" him then vanished to God knows where, the challenge betwee

A crowd had gathered in a plaza located outside the city, the news of the challenge between the two nations wasn't secret or hidden. If no one knew about the challenge how were they supposed to efficiently "face slap" their opponents? It couldn't be called face slapping if there was no one to witness it.The two nations spread the news as much as they could, leading to an influx of visitors coming to spirit willow city to witness the challenge, it was also a way for the participants to increase their fame and gather followers, especially for those aspiring to grow a sect, become heads or emperors and needed a massive amount of support and backing."Are they the challengers from Sitrus?" A princess from Alumera asked, her gaze filled with scorn and derision when she saw the bunch of riff-raffs sent by Sitrus, from a glance you could tell they were a disorganized bunch."Yes, the emperor of Sitrus gave three slots to the royal family, one to each noble family and opened the rest to the

Sylas noticed Gerald the moment he stepped onto the stage, the two of them had the same bloodline with an innate connection between them albeit little it still existed."Why is a member of the royal bloodline with them?" He asked Malric who was standing near him."He's a child of the princess who deserted years a few decades ago from what I heard and happened to awaken the royal family's bloodline." Malric replied, his eyes filled with disdain and scorn towards Gerald."Ohh-- a bastard child I presume?" Gerald nodded slowly "Yes, he and his mother is a stain to the royal family, I wonder how he still has the confidence to come here." "Well since he's here he won't be leaving alive." Sylas said, a light gleam in his eyes.---Gerald stepped onto the stage amidst cheers from the spectators, the rogue cultivator facing off against him had a smile on his face as he gave a short bow towards Gerald."Thank you for giving me this chance." Gerald nodded in return after which he raised his

The city lord stepped onto the stage and pulled the two apart, the prince stepped down from the stage, he had nearly suffered the trauma of getting burned alive and was feeling ashamed.He returned to the team with his head lowered in defeat, he felt he brought Shame to Sitrus as one of the three royals sent for the competition.The city lord turned towards Gerald who looked ragged and beaten, crouching on the platform "Are you going to continue or step down from the platform?" "I'll stop here.... For now." He replied then left the stage after giving a short bow to the city lord.Watching Gerald step down the stage a short glint passed through Charles's eyes, he clearly heard Sylas and the prince's words, calling Gerald a bastard struck a chord in him."Are you alright?" He asked Gerald who returned to the team with unsteady steps."I'm fine, don't bother." Gerald replied.Charles nodded then turned and leapt towards the main stage, a ferocious look on his face as he gazed towards Sy