Chapter 112: The Top Ten

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“Heh heh heh, humans just love to lie,” the giant black frog said with its huge mouth wide open. Its tongue was incredibly agile, effortlessly reaching such a great distance.

Lin Zhan struggled inwardly, thinking, “If I admit right now that the Beast-Taming Spirit Pearl is in my hands, wouldn’t I be acting like a fool?”

“Tell me, do you know a little seven-colored python?” the black frog asked abruptly.

“Uh, what?” Lin Zhan was caught off guard. “A seven-colored python? I have seen one before. I’m not sure if it’s the one you mean, but back then, it liked to curl up and sleep on my arm.”

Judging by the interaction between the giant black frog and the little seven-colored python, there was absolutely no chance they were related. Otherwise, Lin Zhan’s worldview would be completely shattered.

“On your body, besides the aura of the seven-colored python, there’s another very powerful presence. But I, the king, cannot discern it. And I believe if I asked you, you wouldn’t tell the truth,” the black frog said, baring its huge cracked mouth, its enormous single eye rolling around.

Then it retracted its scarlet long tongue and let it hang in front of its mountain-like body again. The red waterfall-like sight reappeared, majestic and imposing.

Lin Zhan suddenly felt a rush of relief but couldn’t help but slump to the side, vomiting uncontrollably.

“Boom! Crash!” The earth shook violently. Was the black frog about to attack him?

Lin Zhan’s hair stood on end, but he realized that the restraints on his body had completely vanished.

Turning around, he saw that the giant black frog was lumbering heavily in the opposite direction, stepping away from where it came.

“Hey, big brother Black Frog, why are you leaving just like that?”

With the black frog’s departure, Lin Zhan’s resistance faded away. Instead, he relaxed and collapsed onto the ground.

Could it be that the little seven-colored python really was a relative?

Impossible!

Then what about the other aura on my body?

Lin Zhan analyzed the situation and suddenly slapped his forehead. Of course! The Nightingale—the Purple-Golden Luan bloodline!

The black frog must have feared the aura of the Purple-Golden Luan, which is why it withdrew.

At this moment, Lin Zhan felt a sense of survival against all odds.

Thinking of the Purple-Golden Luan Nightingale, Lin Zhan noticed movement within the spatial realm.

The Beast-Taming Spirit Pearl spun rapidly before suddenly stopping.

Inside the essence of the spirit stone, the little Purple seemed to stir slightly. Then a suction force shot out from the essence, drawing the Beast-Taming Spirit Pearl inside.

The pearl was gradually absorbed into the essence, which resealed itself into a semi-liquid state.

Inside the essence, the pearl appeared reluctant; its surface runes flickered, but after a while, they dulled, and the entire pearl melted into the essence.

In that instant, the little Purple’s drooping, sleeping head seemed to gain a flicker of vitality.

Throughout this process, Lin Zhan’s divine sense did not interfere. If the Beast-Taming Spirit Pearl could aid little Purple’s recovery, he would happily let her absorb ten, even a hundred more.

“Heh heh, I wonder if there are more of these Beast-Taming Spirit Pearls at the Sword-Burying Peak?”

Perhaps if there were really a few more, little Purple’s recovery would be even faster—this was what Lin Zhan most wished to see.

However, the situation was not that perfect. It was clear that little Purple’s slumber would last a long time unless Lin Zhan found a better solution.

Just as Lin Zhan prepared to check on Fan Ning and Ji Mubai, he felt a message transmitted via the number token.

Ah, three days had passed; the preliminary elimination round was over. The top ten from here had to leave.

Ten beams of light enveloped Lin Zhan, the unconscious Fan Ning, Ji Mubai, as well as Fang Daguang, Lian Ming, and others, transporting them outside.

Waiting for them was the same elder as before.

“The preliminary elimination of the competition has ended, and the top ten have been decided. Congratulations to all of you—and to these two,” he said.

One sprawled motionless was Ji Mubai, the direct disciple of the Heavenly Gang Peak Master, whom Lin Zhan had slammed into the ground.

The other, unconscious, was Fan Ning, a direct disciple of the Sword-Burying Peak, who had been defeated and robbed of treasures by Lin Zhan.

In truth, Fan Ning had already regained consciousness but was too weak to move. He decided to keep pretending to be unconscious; otherwise, his pride would be shattered. He was such an arrogant and overbearing person, and to fall into such a miserable state was unbearable for his ego.

Now the elder found himself in a difficult position. Although their number tokens only had one point each, which by rules meant they had passed the elimination, could these two, in their current state, still participate in the next round—the final battle?

That would be a life-or-death contest.

Lin Zhan met up with Fang Daguang, Lian Ming, and the others, and they gathered, celebrating their success in the preliminaries.

They fully understood that Fan Ning and Ji Mubai’s conditions were Lin Zhan’s doing, which only deepened their admiration for him.

Already indebted to him for saving their lives, their eyes now burned with even greater reverence.

The elder had no choice and dared not act arbitrarily, so he proposed a compromise: to bring everyone to the assembly point for a unified rest period of several days.

Once the top ten from all districts were determined, they would assess the recovery of the two. If they personally felt ready, they could participate in the finals.

This rest period was expected to last seven days.

During these seven days, disciples awaiting the finals could move freely around the vicinity. When the time came, the number tokens would issue a unified notification.

Though the competition was hosted by Wangxi Peak, many officials dispatched from various peaks were present to coordinate matters.

Moreover, Wangxi Peak promptly sent word to the administrators of Sword-Burying Peak and Heavenly Gang Peak. Upon hearing the grim news, they rushed over immediately to escort their disciples away.

As direct disciples of their respective peak masters, with the full strength of their peaks behind them, surely they could be restored swiftly.

Watching their departing figures, Lin Zhan’s lips twitched slightly but he said nothing.

In his heart, he hoped to see the two again in the final arena, as the lesson this time hadn’t seemed quite enough.

Whether they recovered fully was secondary; the most important thing was that they didn’t come back demanding the Beast-Taming Spirit Pearl, as it had already been used by little Purple. Ha ha, even if they wanted it, it could no longer be given.

As for Lin Zhan, he was more interested in seeing if the Sword-Burying Peak had any more such marvelous artifacts.

Why did the grand Sword-Burying Peak possess such wondrous Beast-Taming Spirit Pearls and mystical beast-taming techniques? That was also a matter worth pondering.

Effectively on a seven-day break, Lin Zhan was invited to join a few companions to a nearby location—a village-town on the outskirts of the assembly point, under the ownership of Wangxi Peak. Its size and scale surpassed even Fuyang City, which they had passed through earlier.

This town was called Donglai City.