Chapter 98

All the geniuses returned to the city lord's residence.

Thirteen geniuses, after eliminating the three with the fewest victories, left ten remaining.

The five geniuses from Blackwind County all advanced.

Mingchen looked at the geniuses with satisfaction.

"With you ten, we will surely win the competition for the Divine Island in three months!"

He waved his hand, and ten storage rings flew into their hands.

"These are the resource rewards based on your rankings."

Jiang Ping'an caught the storage ring in front of him and released his divine sense into it.

Two million spirit stones, one hundred healing pills, and one hundred Blood Demon Pills to enhance cultivation.

These resources would make even a wandering Yuan婴 realm cultivator envious.

A wandering Yuan婴 realm cultivator might earn one million spirit stones in a year of hard work.

A Blood Demon Pill costs five thousand each, so one hundred would be five hundred thousand.

These one hundred healing pills were also top-tier, capable of restoring any injury except those caused by the laws of nature.

For a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, this was a substantial reward.

However, Jiang Ping'an's reaction was very calm.

After all, he had earned over five million just from gambling on stones.

Not to mention the five hundred million he had previously earned.

The others at most smiled, showing little reaction.

Most of them came from large families, far stronger than wandering cultivators, and did not lack cultivation resources.

What they truly desired was the inheritance of the Dark King.

One of the nine great war gods of the Great Xia, the Dark King, left behind this inheritance.

Seeing their eager eyes, Mingchen knew what they wanted.

He waved his hand again, and spatial power surged, creating another spatial vortex behind him.

"I already said, you only get one chance. Whether you can gain the recognition of the inheritance depends on your performance."

"Go in."

With permission to enter, the ten young men eagerly stepped into the vortex.

Soon, only the Dark King and a few county governors remained outside.

One county governor asked, "Will they obtain the Dark King's inheritance?"

"Impossible."

Mingchen smiled and said, "They will face a Dark King of the same realm who has mastered spatial laws."

Xia Qing spoke calmly, "The Dark King only began to comprehend spatial laws at the Yuan婴 realm, right?"

"Yes, so they have no chance. In the next three months, they will cultivate in the secret realm, which will greatly improve them."

Hearing Mingchen's words, the county governors had strange expressions. The state lord, who had always been straightforward, had learned to deceive.

However, being able to cultivate in the secret realm of Mingchen was a great opportunity.

The ten geniuses did not know they had been deceived.

They appeared in a vast hall, which was incredibly magnificent, standing over a thousand meters tall, with various mysterious patterns carved on the walls.

At the front of the hall stood a massive stone statue. For some reason, no one could clearly see the face of the statue, as if an invisible force prevented them from doing so.

This should be the legendary Great Dao rules, indescribable and ineffable.

Due to the influence of the rules, ordinary people like them had no right to see the true face of the Dark King.

However, they could feel a terrifying pressure from the statue, even more terrifying than that of the state lord.

"This should be one of the nine great war gods of the Great Xia, the Dark King, who almost ascended to the ranks of the immortals and entered the immortal realm."

Yun Huang looked at the statue with reverence. "Unfortunately, to protect the Great Xia, he committed many killings, and the karma lightning struck, causing his transcendence to fail."

"Almost becoming an immortal?"

Jiang Ping'an looked up at the statue, feeling a deep sense of awe.

This was also a world-class figure.

"How can we obtain the Dark King's inheritance?" Jin Lin asked impatiently.

Although the chance to obtain the Dark King's inheritance was small, he still wanted to try.

As soon as he finished speaking, ten spatial vortices appeared in front of them.

A faint, ethereal voice echoed in their ears.

"Within three months, whoever can defeat my projection will obtain the inheritance."

The ten geniuses were shocked and eagerly flew into the vortices to challenge.

In the end, only Meng Jing and Jiang Ping'an remained.

Jiang Ping'an asked curiously, "Why don't you hurry to challenge?"

Meng Jing replied with a lack of interest, "Mother said I will inherit the legacy of a family member who has become an immortal. This senior didn't become an immortal, and his level is too low. Besides, the inheritance is not suitable for me."

Jiang Ping'an: "..."

Comparing people can be very frustrating.

Many cultivators yearn for even the inheritance of a Yuan婴 realm cultivator, but Meng Jing was not interested in the Dark King's inheritance.

"Why don't you hurry and go in?" Meng Jing asked in return.

"I have limited talent. Even if this senior's projection lowers his realm, I cannot match him."

Jiang Ping'an was very clear about his own abilities, desiring the inheritance but not holding much hope.

"However, being able to fight this senior will greatly improve me over the next three months. I will go in."

"Good luck, you can do it!" Meng Jing waved her small fist, cheering for Jiang Ping'an.

She very much hoped that he would obtain the inheritance.

Jiang Ping'an stepped into the vortex, and the scenery in front of him changed again.

He appeared on a mountain peak, surrounded by white clouds, stretching endlessly.

A shadow with an indiscernible face stood with a sword, exuding an indescribable aura.

This shadow should be the projection of the Dark King, born under special rules.

Without waiting for Jiang Ping'an to react, the Dark King's projection attacked directly.

Jiang Ping'an quickly retreated.

A strange scene occurred; the tip of the sword in the shadow's hand suddenly disappeared.

Then, Jiang Ping'an felt a pain in his shoulder, as a sword pierced through it from behind.

He turned his head sharply and saw a sword tip emerging from the void behind him, piercing through his shoulder!

Jiang Ping'an was shocked.

This was spatial sword technique? It could ignore spatial distance and attack from any angle!

Too terrifying!

Jiang Ping'an used Thunder Flash, instantly disappearing from his original position and appearing behind the shadow, raising his fist to attack.

Just as his fist was about to hit the shadow, the fist disappeared.

Suddenly, a fist appeared behind Jiang Ping'an, which was his own fist!

"Bang!"

Jiang Ping'an was blasted away by his own fist, crashing heavily into the mountain peak, causing a large amount of dust to fly up.

Jiang Ping'an's face was full of shock.

The spatial techniques of the opponent were far more terrifying than his Wuji Fist!

Wuji Fist uses the opponent's strength against them, but this spatial technique directly manipulates space, redirecting the opponent's attack back onto them!

Absolutely flawless defense!

The shadow stood still and thrust his sword again.

Jiang Ping'an quickly stood up and used Wuji Fist to defend.

Unable to attack, he focused on defense.

As the sword tip pierced through from behind, Jiang Ping'an raised his hand to block.

But in that instant, the sword tip disappeared.

"Thud~"

Jiang Ping'an's stomach was pierced.

Jiang Ping'an looked up, shocked, at the shadow in front of him.

There was no blind spot in the defense, no technique could block the attack...

Clearly, it was also a late Foundation Establishment realm aura, yet it easily injured him, the top of the Hundred Counties Competition.

If the opponent wanted to kill him, the first strike could have ended his life.

This was the war god of the Great Xia, the Dark King, who almost became an immortal.

The shadow sheathed his sword and said indifferently, "Too weak."

A strange energy enveloped Jiang Ping'an, stopping the bleeding from his wounds, and visibly healing them.

In this secret realm, there must be some rule that accelerates recovery.