“Zibin! All the demon cores are yours, hurry up and take them, and surpass Li Qingyun!” Chen Xiaohan said excitedly to Meng Zibin.
However, looking at the increasingly obsessed Chen Xiaohan, Meng Zibin frowned and pushed her hand away.
“Xiaohan, I’ve already lost, and that’s not something hard to admit.”
Chen Xiaohan’s eyes widened. After emerging from the secret realm and enduring a difficult battle, she was covered in dirt, looking like a beggar by the roadside.
“No! We didn’t lose! What were we fighting so hard for? Was it to let that person ride over us and laugh at us? There are two of us, and only one of him. How could we lose?”
Meng Zibin grabbed Chen Xiaohan’s hand and said coldly, “Calm down! Do you know? You look like a crazy woman on the street right now!”
Chen Xiaohan gave a bitter laugh, “Haha! Hahaha! I was doing this for your own good, why are you…”
A hint of heartache flashed in Meng Zibin’s eyes. Did he not know that Chen Xiaohan’s mental state was not right?
Of course he knew. He felt that the reason for everything was that Li Qingyun was more powerful than him.
Although they didn’t have profound feelings for each other, during their seven days together, they had faced life and death side by side, advancing and retreating together.
When two people of opposite sexes go through hardships together, their feelings tend to heat up. Moreover, Chen Xiaohan had always urged him to strive for first place.
“This time, I wasn’t able to compete. We should have had the same life-or-death resolve and belief as them, but I understood it too late.”
He tidied Chen Xiaohan’s messy hair and continued, “You are my woman, and I can’t possibly take the demon cores you fought so hard for for myself. That’s something only a weakling would do!”
“The trial is over, but the struggle is not. You need to enter the Time Secret Realm with me and watch me step on them! You also need to watch me ascend to the position of Immortal Emperor! Do you understand?”
“Those who bullied you, whether it’s Li Qingyun or Luo Xiaowei, they won’t have another chance! Do you believe me?”
Chen Xiaohan was stunned. She really hadn’t expected the usually rational Meng Zibin to say such a less-than-touching sweet talk, which made her feel a little guilty and flustered.
“I…”
“Half the demon cores for each of us. I, Meng Zibin, don’t need to rely on a woman to get ahead!”
His words were irrefutable, forcing Chen Xiaohan to compromise. However, she would occasionally cast a cold, snake-like gaze towards Li Qingyun.
Meanwhile, Luo Xiaowei and Qin Xiaoxiao, also a male-female pair, were much more normal.
“Why don’t you take a few more? Won’t it be embarrassing if your Sword Cultivation Ancestor doesn’t make it into the top ten?”
“What are you saying? Am I, the dignified Sword Cultivation Ancestor, someone who eats leftovers? You output more later, so you take more!”
“I won’t take them! I’m a burden!”
“…”
After a round of mutual yielding, Luo Xiaowei scratched his head and said, “So, a fifty-fifty split is the most reasonable?”
“It seems so…”
Luo Xiaowei crossed his arms helplessly, “So what was the point of our argument?”
Qin Xiaoxiao’s face flushed, “Maybe it was to pad the word count…”
…
Everyone reluctantly left the Spirit Gathering Array. After they left, Chu Yang closed the array again.
This thing couldn’t be used by everyone, otherwise, the limited spiritual energy would be wasted.
These trial participants, who had been fighting and killing in the secret realm, were now a bit hesitant because they were too dirty, which was quite embarrassing with so many people watching.
At this moment, Chu Yang held the compiled list, and the rankings were basically as he had imagined.
The members of the Pioneer group were all on the top ten leaderboard without exception.
“Cough cough… After seven days of tempering, regardless of your results, I believe you have all gained something. Remember the resolve of fighting the demon beasts to the death, because there will be many more such life-and-death battles in the future…”
This time, some people noticed the implication in Chu Yang’s words.
There will be many such life-and-death battles. Does this mean there are many similar secret realms, or that they will face unavoidable enemies in the future?
There were various speculations about this. Before an official explanation was given, they would let things unfold. When the news of the demon invasion was announced, their acceptance would be stronger.
“Before your trial, I told you that the top five hundred participants would have the opportunity to enter the Time Secret Realm [Li Huo Palace Ruins] for exploration. The list is too long, so I won’t call out every name. You can check if your name is there yourselves.”
After speaking, Chu Yang snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, the floating clouds in the sky were disrupted, gradually forming names and their corresponding scores.
Only the top ten names were not yet displayed. This was to pique their interest. He wanted to present awards to the top ten, letting everyone who was watching know what a great opportunity it was for them to participate in the trial he organized!
Names were arranged in the sky, and everyone took out their phones or cameras to take countless pictures.
The trial participants who saw these names had different expressions.
Some were happy, some were sad.
“Haha! I made it! I really made it!”
“I made it too! Luckily I didn’t slack off on the last day! I’m rank 499!”
“Ah! Why didn’t I try harder, I was just a little bit off!”
“No! I can’t accept this, I worked so hard, why didn’t I even make it into the top five hundred!”/
“…”
Laughter and crying mingled among the trial participants.
Some even knelt on the ground and wept bitterly, simply because they were a few places away from the five hundredth position.
No one mocked them, because after watching the live broadcast, the audience put themselves in their shoes and realized they might not have done better than them.
While the top ten rankings were not announced, some people’s faces turned extremely pale.
Zhang Xiaohu felt like the sky was collapsing. He looked through the list repeatedly and found that his name was indeed not among the listed names.
If he couldn’t get in, where would he find the cultivation method to contract the Mystic Sun Finch? How would he fulfill his promise?
If he didn’t get into the Li Huo Palace Ruins, where would he find medicine to heal his father’s legs?
As he despaired, Li Qingyun patted his shoulder and said, “Brother, why do you look so upset? Not seeing your name means you’ve made it into the top ten!”
“I… how is that possible…”
Before he could finish speaking, he heard Chu Yang announce his name to the whole world: “The tenth place in this trial is… Zhang Xiaohu!”
“Mediocre talent is not frightening. What is frightening is giving in to mediocrity! Although I don’t know what gave him his obsession, in the trial, everyone should have seen a youth who refused to be ordinary and faced death with courage!”
“Congratulations to the tenth place in this trial, with a score of 99, lower-grade talent, and a low-level cultivation technique, this youth who fought like a tiger, his name is… Zhang Xiaohu!”
The entire venue erupted in thunderous applause! Everyone was chanting Zhang Xiaohu’s name!
Tears welled up in his eyes. So, he didn’t need to participate in talent shows, he didn’t need to become a coquettish young star to make a name for himself, to be called out like this!
“Dad… do you see! I can really do it! Even if I’m supporting you, I can make a name for myself! I’ll also earn a lot of money, and I will definitely make your legs grow back!”