Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“I was right to keep my eye on Zi Yi,” The Luosha Emperor said. “For her to be able to absorb all of the energy from the Luosha Blood Pool and generate a Queen Luosha Mark, she must be even more gifted than Luo Hun.”
The Emperor sat on his throne and looked down at Zi Yi in the arena, nodding his head.
Round after round of competition followed, and, after the conclusion of the fight for the top ten, only five participants remained – Ye Mo, Zi Yi, and the top three of the Luosha Institution – Luo Hun, Xu Wuji and Kai Long.
No one had expected this, especially in Ye Mo’s case. He had managed to use his strength in the intermediate stage of the True Energy Realm to defeat the fifth strongest of the Luosha Institution – Wang Tianxiao – before continuing to advance round after round, fighting his way into the top five.
In the past, the top five were usually taken up by members of the Luosha Institution. But this time there were two non-Luosha Institution students amongst the strongest five.
The Fall Test was to conclude with the top three fighters. The top three participants would be awarded Luosha Tokens, which would allow them to head to the Zone of Desolation and their ultimate destination – the Door of Desolation.
The nerve-wracking moment had finally arrived. This time, the Luosha Emperor had come down in person. No more sitting above the arena, all high and mighty. He sat in the arena, as if he was a common man like everyone else, giving off a benevolent air of geniality.
‘Kind’ was Ye Mo’s first impression of the Luosha Emperor. The man always had a smile on his face.
The power of the Luosha Kingdom must be from the Emperor’s good governance and ability to inspire loyalty from his people. Ye Mo thought. My journey to the Luosha Kingdom is not wasted – if I had the power to replace the Tianwu Emperor and learn the ways of governance from the Luosha Emperor, the Tianwu Kingdom wouldn’t remain such a lowly state.
Ever since he had escaped from the Tianwu Kingdom, two things had left a deep impression on Ye Mo – the destruction of the middle-tier East Dragon Kingdom, and the ruling ways of the Luosha Emperor. The East Dragon Kingdom was ultimately still a middle-tier kingdom – if it could be destroyed by stronger forces, it was only a matter of time before the Tianwu Kingdom suffered a similar fate.
So, as a member of the kingdom, he was willing to do what he could to make the Tianwu Kingdom stronger.
“I would never have imagined two non-students being able to fight their way into the top five,” the Luosha Emperor said calmly. “My principles remain the same – regardless of your background, if you can finish in the top three, you can win a Luosha Token and head to the Door of Desolation.
“The top three shall be decided from the next round of competition. By the drawing of lots, one fighter among you will be selected to advance automatically to the top three.”
After the Emperor had spoken, the five competitors drew lots.
Ye Mo won. He would advance directly to the top three. Zi Yi was matched up with Luosha Institution’s third strongest fighter, Kai Long, while Luo Hun fought Luosha Institution’s second-best, Xu Wuji.
Ye Mo hadn’t expected this result. After rounds and rounds of competition, the only genuinely strong opponent that he had met was Wang Tianxiao. In the end, he didn’t even have to fight to advance into the top three.
Regardless of who he was matched up with, Zi Yi or any of the top three fighters from the Luosha Institution, he was guaranteed a tough fight.
“Who would’ve thought that I would get the Luosha Token this easily!” Ye Mo felt relieved. All he had to do now was to quietly wait for the Fall Test to end.
“How lucky, Ye Mo!”
Zi Yi smiled as she headed up the stage first.
The final two competitions weren’t held at the same time, but sequentially, Zi Yi and Kai Long first.
Zi Yi’s opponent was Luosha Institution’s third-best fighter, Kai Long, a fighter in the Heaven’s Strength Realm. Despite being in the Heaven’s Strength Realm, there was still a significant gulf in ability between the two of them and Zi Yi eventually emerged victorious.
Advanced stage of the Heaven’s Strength Realm!
This was Zi Yi’s true strength, and Ye Mo finally got a glimpse of all that she could do.
As for the second round of competition, it was no surprise that Luo Hun, who was in the advanced stage of the Heaven’s Strength Realm, emerged the victor in a landslide win where he displayed his power over Xu Tianji, who ranked second in the Luosha Rankings.
After six hours of intense battle, the Fall Test finally came to a close.
In the arena, shocked eyes were all tightly fixed on the three silhouettes in the battle arena.
They still couldn’t believe that those three had finished as the top three fighters in the Fall Test. In particular, Ye Mo, a fighter in the intermediate stage of the True Energy Realm, winning a Luosha Token was a complete surprise.
“I am extremely satisfied with this year’s Fall Test,” the Emperor said.
“With two non-students finishing in the top three, it shows that our Luosha Kingdom is filled with gifted fighters. I hereby announce that the three fighters who shall receive the Luosha Token are Ye Mo, Zi Yi, and Luo Hun.”
As the Emperor finished speaking, the whole arena fell into a moment of silence, but some officials of the Luosha Kingdom couldn’t just sit there and watch.
“Emperor, I have something to say!” an elder on the elevated platform said.
“What is it, Xu Fu?” The Emperor frowned slightly.
“There is no question about Prince Luo Hun’s abilities – he is definitely a worthy recipient of the Luosha Token,” Xu Fu said. “Everyone witnessed Zi Yi fight plenty of strong competitors throughout all the rounds, even defeating Kai Long. She has also earned the right to receive a token. But Ye Mo was matched up with weaker fighters throughout the competition. While he may have defeated Wang Tianxiao, it doesn’t mean that he is strong enough to make it into the top three. He was just lucky.”
“Luck is also a form of strength,” the elder in Chinese attire, who had been watching Ye Mo all this time said. “Randomized stage fights were meant to contain an element of luck.”
Standing behind the elder in Chinese attire was an adorable girl who was also fixated on Ye Mo. Recalling Ye Mo grabbing her wrist, her cheeks started to feel flush.
“King Rong Qin is right,” the Luosha Emperor declared. “Luck is also a form of strength. Ye Mo’s strength may not be the best, but it was no easy feat for him to make it this far. I am extremely satisfied with the results of this Fall Test. Come and collect your tokens!”
The Emperor’s decision was final. Ye Mo being able to fight his way into the top three through good fortunes was also a form of strength. He wasn’t going to break the rules of the Fall Test because of it.
“Emperor, you should think twice,” Xu Fu said. “The three slots for fighters to enter the Door of Desolation are extremely rare. The purpose of the Fall Test is to send the most gifted fighters there to nurture them. But if they can’t even make it into the Door of Desolation, then all efforts will be wasted. This Ye Mo’s strength may be commendable, but given his level of talent, there is no way that he will be able to make it into the Door of Desolation. It would be better if the slot was awarded to Xu Tianji, instead of having it wasted.”
His words made the Emperor hesitate.
Ye Mo grew enraged. What kind of Fall Test was this?
“Sir, what do you mean by this?” Ye Mo shouted indignantly. “I didn’t break any rules, and I ended up in the top three according to the regulations of the Fall Test. I have the right to receive a Luosha Token.”
“You are Ye Mo, correct?” The elder sounded unimpressed. “I know that your journey through the competition hasn’t been easy. How about this, which city are you from? The Luosha City will give your city large amounts of training resources as a form of compensation. Xu Tianji is a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy in the Luosha Kingdom. In the Luosha Blood Pool, he absorbed a normal amount of energy from the pool and generated a General Luosha Mark. How can you compare with him?”
There were six levels of Luosha Marks – King, Queen, General, Guard, Soldier, and a normal mark. For one to be able to generate a General Luosha Mark, it symbolized a frightening amount of talent. Luo Hun had generated a Queen Luosha Mark, meaning that his gifts were on an even higher level.
“No, stop bickering,” the Luosha Emperor said firmly. “I have my principles. The top three shall remain as they are. Now, remove your sleeves, show me your Luosha Marks and receive the Luosha Tokens!”
Xu Fu frowned at the Emperor’s words. He glared at Ye Mo murderously.
