The announcement made by the designer of the inheritance challenge left the crowd of cultivators giddy in excitement. But none of them were stupid enough to run headfirst into the third test without knowing what it was about.
Seeing their lack of enthusiasm about becoming a guinea pig for the rest, Han Xuhan decided to step in.
Of course, he wasn’t volunteering either.
"My slaves! I can see that all of you are eager for the fruits of OUR labor. I, your kind master, will graciously allow you the fortune of going in before me!
"So who wants to go first? They’ll even be rewarded with claps! There is also an exclusive reward for the ladies—a steaming hot kiss, from my skeleton soldier, no less!"
Zhanxian’s consent was not brought into the equation.
Even though it was everyone’s intention to take part in the third test to get their hands on the legacy of the Holy Land, when their most hated captor spoke up, they only felt waves of anger and hatred coursing through their veins.
Heavens, why don’t you strike this scourge to death with a lightning? Why not smite this scourge to ashes?
Feng Jun stepped up to volunteer before anyone else could decide to.
His plan was very simple. Since he was bound by the contract to those sinister fellows, as long as he stayed away from them, they wouldn’t be able to impose any unsavory commands on him on a whim.
This third test could be an excellent opportunity to put some distance between him and those hateful bastards. He might even be able to run away with the legacy.
But he wasn’t the only one who had realized this fact. So a verbal battle broke out very quickly in order to determine who gets to be the first guinea pig.
"Aye, it is gratifying to see how enthusiastic our slaves are! They don’t even care about their own lives, willing to sacrifice themselves in order to ensure our safety.
"It sure seems like we’re the best masters a slave can hope to submit to! Hey, fellow cultivators, wanna make this contract a permanent thing?"
It is unnecessary to state who spoke those words. It is also unnecessary to state how many bloodshot gazes were directed toward him. It is even more unnecessary to describe how satisfied the speaker looked upon seeing the reaction his words had generated.
Had this been a multiplayer game, the system would have shown notifications by now, along the lines of:
[ You have reached the limit for the maximum stackable aggression points. Acquired new achievement and unlocked hidden mission - ( Kill On Sight)
Mission details: You’re the target of the mission. Why are you reading this and not running for your life yet? ]
In the end, after much discussion and some half-serious brawls, Feng Jun managed to snatch the position of the ’selfless martyr for the masters’ and rushed toward the raised platforms.
The rest of the cultivators formed a long line behind him. Even though this would mean that Mu Ran and Qian Yun, the two cultivators who were the most eager to explore the Holy Land of laws, would have to go last, neither of them seemed particularly dissatisfied with the arrangement.
With nervousness laced in his movements, Feng Jun stepped toward one of the five platforms. He had already chosen which category he wanted to study further. Without any hesitation, he chose the platform bearing the title: The Elemental Path.
Han Xuhan threw him an emerald orb to activate the law fragments on the platform. Feng Jun’s own qi poured out in a frenzy as he directed them to come into contact with the complex laws on the slabs beneath his feet.
Seconds passed. Everyone waited for something to happen with bated breath.
On the platform, Feng Jun started sweating profusely. It was taking up too much qi. He didn’t know if he would have enough qi left for whatever procedures came next. There was no opportunity for him to sit down and recover some.
The platform sucked in more and more qi continuously. Gritting his teeth, Feng Jun gave it his all and poured out his entire qi reserve inside the obscure laws.
Just as the last trickle of his qi vanished inside the platform, a violet radiance exploded from its surface, enveloping him and blinding the onlookers with a sudden flash of brightness.
When their sight recovered, they saw that the platform was empty. Feng Jun and the light surrounding him had vanished. But something else attracted their focus.
A huge, semi-transparent leaderboard had appeared in the air, just above the platform. The shining golden letters on it were hard to miss.
[ The Magisterium ]
Beneath the title, the leaderboard sported twenty-one slots, exactly the number of cultivators present there. The first five slots were emitting a bright golden hue, with the top spot being occupied by an avatar that closely resembled Feng Jun’s appearance.
There was some interesting information beside his avatar in that slot.
Cultivation Base: 6th Layer (Mystic Art)
Qi Quality: 5.8 / 10
Foundation Quality: 6 / 10
Law Proficiency: 3 / 10 (limited to the Alphabet Acolyte realm)
Chosen Inheritance: Elemental.
Judgment: Pending
It looked very cool. Han Xuhan also immediately felt the urge to join the competition, beat everyone, occupy the number one spot as a dark horse, and show his awesomeness in front of the entire world.
But he was not delusional enough to think that daydream would come true. Besides, there were safety issues to consider...
Realizing that Feng Jun had been teleported to wherever the test was being held, the rest of the cultivators breathed a sigh of relief and rushed toward the platforms one by one.
Some chose the elemental platform like Feng Jun had, some chose the sentient contracts, and some jumped on the force path...
Soon, only Han Xuhan, Mu Ran, Xuanyuan Zhou, Qian Yun, Zhanxian, and the legion of the undead were the only ones left outside the platforms.
"Well, it looks like there aren’t any other matters to be concerned about, other than our own choices right now," Qian Yun remarked calmly as they observed the gigantic leaderboard above. S~eaʀᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.