by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
Using regular materials, one would naturally form a low-grade soul foundation. That was a popular choice as it was the easiest method with lower requirements. The mid grade was generally the option most geniuses took. One's background or luck was important here. As for the high-grade soul foundation, it relied absolutely on one's luck and strength. After all, extremely rare materials were required to form such a soul foundation. One might not be able to get one of these materials even with an excellent background.
Chapter 881: Three Treasures
The higher the soul foundation's grade, the harder it would be to form it. That was an absolute and unchangeable fact.
However, many Emperors would still try to form a high-grade soul foundation for more strength. Unfortunately, of 1,000 Sovereigns, only perhaps one would have a mid-grade soul foundation. And of 10,000 Sovereigns, perhaps not even one high-grade soul foundation would appear. From that, it was clear how hard it was to gather the materials for a high-grade soul foundation.
After going through the soul foundation insights, Xiang Shaoyun lamented, "I had thought that forming a soul foundation only requires fusing my astral energy and soul power. But materials are actually required, and the materials actually determine the grade. This is troublesome."
"Overlord, it won't be hard to gather these materials. If you have enough contribution points, you will be able to purchase the materials for a mid-grade foundation from the academy," said Lady Shura.
"You're right. With the reaches of the academy, they will definitely have the mid- and higher-grade materials available. We don't have to worry about that," said Xiang Shaoyun with a nod. "But what I want is to form a high-grade soul foundation."
Xiang Shaoyun had many advantages over other cultivators, but he had also selected the hardest path of cultivation. Even so, the many difficulties had not succeeded in impeding his path. Hence, it was understandable that he would select the best materials possible when forming his soul foundation to form a high-grade one.
Lady Shura could understand Xiang Shaoyun's reasoning, and she also agreed with his choice. In her eyes, Xiang Shaoyun was the strongest man among his peers. After memorizing the contents of the record, the two left and started hunting more devilish plants.
With Xiang Shaoyun's strength, he could easily run over any opposition in the battleground. Even if he encountered some extremely difficult devilish plants, he could rely on the many profundities he had comprehended to crush them.
Lady Shura had just broken through to the fifth stage. She was also capable of unleashing considerable combat prowess. To make up for her lost time after being kidnapped, she tried her best to hunt as many devilish plants as she could, and her contribution points rapidly grew.
About one month before the battleground ended, Xiang Shaoyun stopped hunting the devilish plants and allowed Lady Shura to train alone with Money nearby as backup. As for him, he started going through all the treasures he had obtained.
This time, he had obtained three items from the secret cave. One jade case, one iron case, and a scroll of beast hide. It was time to see just how valuable the three were.
"The contents of the jade case will certainly be the most valuable. I can keep the jade case for later. Let's take a look at this beast hide first," Xiang Shaoyun muttered to himself as he started unfurling the beast hide.
A sovereign-grade battle technique called the Raging Skyburn Palm, a fire elemental technique.
Xiang Shaoyun was overjoyed. He did not know a lot of sovereign-grade techniques. He had pushed the Seven Scorching Sun Claws to its limits, but the technique was unable to keep up with his growth in cultivation. This Raging Skyburn Palm had arrived just in time. With it, he could unleash the true strength of his power of flame.
He quickly memorized the contents of the scroll and moved on to the iron case. He opened it, revealing a bracer. The bracer was decorated with precious stones and was light yellow in color with scale-shaped markings. At the two sides of the bracer were golden dragon-like runes, looking rather gorgeous and majestic.
Generally, armors were made to protect one's vitals, but rarely did the protection extend to one's limbs as well. This bracer would work well to extend the protection to his arm as well. However, Xiang Shaoyun had a feeling the bracer was more than it looked. Otherwise, it wouldn't be placed in the secret cave in the first place.
He took the bracer out of the case and put it on. It was then that he discovered an ancient book in the case, with "Dragonscale Arm" written on it. He picked the book up and muttered, "Is this not just a bracer but a weapon?"
He flipped open the book and found a battle technique inside. This was a rare technique encompassing offense and defense designed to be used with the bracer.
"The Dragonscale Arm is actually a set, consisting of the bracer and the battle technique. By combining one's draconic aura and astral energy, one can form a powerful battle aura, gaining the ability to sweep through armies with a single arm, destroying mountains and rivers with that same arm," Xiang Shaoyun read out loud.
Most battle techniques focused on the usage of fists, palms, feet, or weapons. But a technique focusing on an entire arm was rather rare. Moreover, it was a high-grade technique, so it was definitely worth cultivating. After all, he cultivated nine powers and was unafraid of having too many battle techniques. On the contrary, he actually lacked battle techniques.
He lightly waved his arm with the bracer on. It did not feel tight but rather felt incredibly light and comfortable. As he channeled energy into the bracer, draconic aura swirled around it, making it look rather overbearing.
Xiang Shaoyun was pleased, and instead of taking it off, he shifted his focus onto the jade case. He lifted it and said in excitement, "The five jade cases are the biggest treasures of them all. I believe this case won't disappoint."
He carefully opened the jade case and soon saw the contents inside. When the only thing he saw was a piece of some pitch-black item, his expression fell.
"Is this a joke? What is this?" he muttered as he lifted the black thing.
He carefully sized it up, and he found that it seemed to be a piece of rock, but at the same time, it did not seem so. It also seemed to be iron but did not seem so either. He was unable to determine what material it was. But when he looked at the middle of the item, he found that he seemed to be able to see through it. It was as though this piece of thing was actually a clump of flowing liquid. But he was obviously holding a solid object. How could it be a liquid?
"Is this perhaps the black tides mystic stone, a soul foundation material?" he exclaimed in shock.
There were many different soul foundation materials, and this black tides mystic stone was a high-grade material. Using it in tandem with some other materials would allow one to form a black tides soul foundation, which was extremely durable.
Xiang Shaoyun had not imagined that a high-grade material was contained in one of the cases. That was quite a harvest.
"Finally, forming my soul foundation seems hopeful now," muttered Xiang Shaoyun, who was extremely pleased. But after some thought, he muttered, "But I cultivate nine powers, so this black tides mystic stone is not enough. Maybe I need a soul foundation with nine powers as well. But that would push the difficulty to a much greater level. I need to think this through carefully."
Chapter 882: End of Fight and Rankings
Xiang Shaoyun had just reached the seventh stage and was still a distance away from the Soul Foundation Realm. He needed to properly plan his soul foundation forming and form the one most suited for him. Only then would he be able to fully unleash his strength.
After all, his path of cultivation was different from anyone else. Therefore, doing something completely different was required.
As time passed, the disciples started challenging the stronger devilish plants for more points. More and more were forced to withdraw from the battleground, but some also managed to stubbornly hang on. Only the ones surviving till the end with the top 100 points
would be placed on the Dragon Phoenix List. Those who had withdrawn by crushing their protective jades were no longer in the competition.
During the final month, Xiang Shaoyun had stopped hunting. Rather, he focused on cultivating the Raging Skyburn Palm and Dragonscale Arm.
With his heaven-defying comprehension ability, he was able to grasp both techniques and reached a level where he could unleash 60 percent of these techniques' prowess. After some additional training, he would be able to unleash 70 percent of their power. And by the time he reached the Sovereign Realm, he would be able to unleash their full power.
The two were after all top quality sovereign-grade techniques. To display 60 percent of their power as an Emperor was already a commendable accomplishment. For any other person, just displaying 30 or 40 percent of their power would be a great achievement.
"The Raging Skyburn Palm is much stronger than the Seven Scorching Sun Claws, and it can fully showcase Yun Flame's might. As for the Dragonscale Arm, it needs to work with my draconic aura to stir the power of my gold star. I can then slam my entire arm around repeatedly like a rampaging dragon and unleash a formidable power. These two techniques are more than enough to last me until the Soul Foundation Realm," said Xiang Shaoyun with satisfaction.
Right before the closure of the battleground, Xiang Shaoyun regrouped with Lady Shura and Money, preparing to leave together. And when the battleground period reached its end, everyone vanished from the battleground and reappeared outside the Forest of Antiquity.
The freaks appeared one after another, such as Baili Yixiao, Zhan Wushuang, Lei Bao, Yu Ziyang, and Huang Tianji.
"The overlord is here. Let's go," said someone from the Overlord Legion when he saw Xiang Shaoyun. The Overlord Legion people started heading his way.
There were about 200 Overlord Legion members present. They had just exited the battleground as well. That was evident from the thick bloodlust that they still exuded.
"Greetings, Overlord," they all greeted respectfully.
Their eyes were filled with reverence. Obviously, due to Xiang Shaoyun's draw with Zhan Wushuang, his position had been elevated to a paramount position in their hearts. Apart from the Overlord Legion members, some other disciples nearby were also filled with reverence for them. It was a natural reverence one had for the strong.
When Zhan Wushuang saw Xiang Shaoyun, his eyes turned gloomy as he yelled, "Xiang Shaoyun, come. We fight again!"
His battle intent erupted, looking very much like he wanted to have a big battle with Xiang Shaoyun right there. The people around him quickly moved away in panic.
Xiang Shaoyun's battle intent also burst out. With his hair whipping about, he replied loudly, "Bring it on. I am just itching for a fight!"
Just as the two were about to engage each other, the elder in charge of the event interrupted, "Get ready to return. Private battles are prohibited for now."
Neither Xiang Shaoyun nor Zhan Wushuang dared to disobey the elder. So they merely glared at each other before joining with the others on the return trip.
When they arrived at the academy, they found that those who had been eliminated previously were all gathered at the academy's training field. The academy was going to announce the final ranking, and attendance was mandatory.
This ranking would not only rank the recruited disciples of the academy. The local faction disciples would be included as well. Thus, competition for this ranking was extremely intense.
The many disciples handed their protective jades to the elder in charge so the final ranking could be determined. The principal and many elders had also appeared at the training field. Evidently, they attached great importance to the battleground's result.
When everyone was assembled, a miniature stone stele appeared in the principal's hand. He then fused all the protective jades with the stele. The stele quickly grew in size. Eventually, it was big enough to loom over the training field. It started pulsing with radiance, and before long, name after name started appearing on it.
First place, Baili Yixiao; second place, Zhan Wushuang; third place, Xiang Shaoyun; fourth place, Lei Bao; fifth place, Yu Caidie; sixth place, Yu Ziyang; seventh place, Ouyang Chuanqi; eighth place, Ye Linshan; ninth place, Xiao Xie; tenth place, Huang Tianji...
Upon seeing the ranking, Xiang Shaoyun himself was astonished and muttered, "I actually got into the top three?"
During the year in the battleground, he had indeed spent a lot of time killing devilish plants. But during the final month, he had basically stopped. He would be glad to just enter the top 100. In any case, the placings were just vanity for him. He did not care too much about it, and his sole focus was actual growth of strength. Thus, he was surprised to see that he actually had enough points to enter the top three.
In truth, he was unaware that most of his points were from obtaining the treasures in the secret cave and killing the blood devil vine. Those two activities had granted much more points than the other activities.
The top 10 had changed massively, with Xiang Shaoyun being the biggest dark horse. He had actually entered the top three directly, standing side by side with the likes of Baili Yixiao and Zhan Wushuang.
Another surprise was Lei Bao of the local faction. His tyrannical rise raised many eyebrows, but they were also aware that, like Xiang Shaoyun, Lei Bao was also someone capable of pitting himself against Zhan Wushuang. Thus, he was worthy of ranking fourth.
As for Yu Caidie, her placement had not changed much, but as she had surpassed Yu Ziyang, her growth astonished many people. Apart from her, there was also Ye Linshan, who had reached the top eight when before he was only in the top twenty. He had surpassed Xiao Xie and Huang Tianji, proving his might to all.
The biggest letdown was Han Chenfei, who had remained in the top 10 all the while. She had fallen to the 13th place, ranking behind Long Shi and an expert from the local faction.
The top 100 as a whole had also undergone huge changes. For example, Wang Yufeng, Gui Mochou, and some other geniuses failed to get onto the list. Instead, some other disciples who were previously unknown were now on the top 100, such as Xuan Yuantian, Tang Longfei, and Yuan Xuefen from the Overlord Legion. They were respectively at the 87th, 93rd, and 98th places. Regrettably, no other Overlord Legion members managed to get into the top 100.
Apart from the points they had accumulated when acting together as a group, the main reason the three had gotten into the top 100 was because they had all worked hard to remain in the battleground until the very end.
Chapter 883: The End and the New Beginning
"Baili Yixiao and Zhan Wushuang really can't be moved from their positions, while the rest of the list has changed greatly. But isn't this way of ranking somewhat unfair?"
"I find this ranking perfectly acceptable. Sure, strength is everything and all, but luck is also important. If you are strong but were eliminated earlier, that can only mean that others have better luck than you. Without luck, it won't be easy for you to reach for the heavens in the future."
"The top 10 has changed too much. Xiang Shaoyun is actually in the top 3 now? They are over-glorifying him."
"Don't you know that he fought Zhan Wushuang to a draw? He is strong enough to sit at his current position."
"That's right. Xiang Shaoyun has already fused nine powers, showcasing his might. Nobody can stop him. Zhan Wushuang probably wouldn't be his match if the two have the same cultivation level."
"Has he really succeeded in creating the path of cultivating nine powers?"
...
Everyone was talking about the new ranking, with Xiang Shaoyun being the talk of the town. After all, he was the greatest dark horse, and nobody could compare to him.
The principal coughed and said, "Everyone, silence. Now, we will be announcing the rewards for the top 10. All of them will get an entire month of free entry into the first three floors of the Book Pavilion. They can also enter the first three floors of the armory to pick a weapon each. Finally, they will be awarded 10 m
illion contribution points each."
Everyone's eyes were burning after listening to the announcement. There were many books on the first three floors, including a lot of high-tier battle techniques. Staying inside for free for a month was basically giving out battle techniques for free.
Also, the armory also had many high-grade weapons. Picking one there would better equip them. As for the contribution points, they could purchase even more treasures from the academy. The three rewards were incredibly generous.
Those not on the Dragon Phoenix List were filled with envy, thinking that if time was to rewind, they would definitely try harder for the top 10. But were they really capable of that?
Next, the principal announced the rewards for the top 100. Each of them was allowed half a month of free entry into the first two floors of the Book Pavilion. They could also pick a weapon each from the first two floors of the armory. Also, each was rewarded five million contribution points.
As for the top 1,000, each was awarded one million contribution points. For everyone else, there were no rewards.
The assembly did not end with the reward announcement. The principal continued and made another important announcement, "The disciples on the top 100 list will represent the academy and enter an area with the disciples from the other three academies to temper themselves. Numerous fortuitous encounters are there waiting for you, and some might even help you easily enter the Soul Foundation Realm. Of course, for those entering that place, your life will be entirely dependent on fate. No protective jades will be provided. So those who wish to withdraw can still do it now."
That news shocked everyone.
"Is this going to be a fight for resources of the four great academies? That will be a grand occasion!"
"Right, I've heard that the four academies have always been competing to outrank each other, and the competition never ended. I reckon this is the start of another round of competition. It will be the true gathering of freaks."