Chapter 422: One Hundred Thousand Crystals

Chapter 422: One Hundred Thousand Crystals

While Tai Coban was still in shock, others on the platform before the Yuan Magnet Palace also took notice of Ji Xinghuo and began whispering among themselves.

"Your Majesty, this wild man is no ordinary fellow," remarked a woman clad in dragon-patterned battle armor. Her tall and curvaceous figure exuded charm, even through the concealment of her armor. Her striking looks were accentuated by a head of fiery red hair that flowed behind her, making her truly unforgettable.

The woman stood beside the Tai Cob Dragon King, her high status evident to all.

The crowd turned to look at her, their eyes filled with respect and a hint of awe.

Tai Coban's heart skipped a beat at the woman's words.

This woman was Tai Cob Yanluo, a Star Shepherding Saint, a Seventh-stage Dragon Warrior, and one of the top fighters of the Tai Cob family—a close and trusted confidant of the Dragon King.

Furthermore, Tai Cob Yanluo and the Dragon King were cousins, their bond strengthened by shared blood.

However, there had always been rumors within the Yuan Magnet Domain that Tai Cob Yanluo was the Dragon King's lover. Of course, no one dared to confirm such gossip, but as a member of the Tai Cob family, most believed it to be true.

In public, Tai Cob Yanluo never hid her close relationship with the King, and the unspoken rule among the family members was to neither ask nor speak of it.

"Oh?" The Dragon King's expression remained neutral as he asked, "What's so special about a mere wild man?"

"Your Majesty, you know very well," Tai Cob Yanluo replied with a charming smile.

"Hehe..." The Dragon King gave an ambiguous laugh, choosing not to pursue the topic further.

Tai Cob Yanluo turned her gaze to Tai Coban. Her expression cooled as she said, half-joking and half-serious, "Little Blue, how about handing this subject of yours over to me? Let me nurture him, and he will become a powerful addition to our family's strength."

A request from a Star Shepherding Saint, and a senior family member at that, immediately put Tai Coban under immense pressure.

However, a playful smile appeared on her face as she replied, "Seventh Aunt, why are you trying to take him from me?"

The Tai Cob family was vast, with numerous branches.

Technically, Tai Cob Yanluo and Tai Coban's grandfather were of the same generation, but in reality, their blood relation was so distant that they might as well have been strangers.

If not for Tai Coban's extraordinary talent, having already reached the Sixth-stage Dragon Lord at a young age, possessing a Tai Cob dragon, and being recognized as a rising star within the family, addressing Tai Cob Yanluo as "Seventh Aunt" would have been a stretch.

Any other junior family member wouldn't have warranted even a glance from Tai Cob Yanluo.

"I'm not asking for him for free," Tai Cob Yanluo said, the corners of her mouth lifting in a slight smile that carried undeniable authority. "I'll compensate you with ten thousand ether crystals."

"This..."

Tai Coban's face finally showed hesitation.

"What? You don't want to?" Tai Cob Yanluo's expression turned slightly cold, clearly displeased.

"Yanluo," the Dragon King suddenly spoke up. "Let Little Blue keep this wild man. There's no need to take what others desire. Whether he's nurtured by you or follows Little Blue, he will still be a subject of our family, serving us equally."

Tai Cob Yanluo immediately replaced her frown with a bright smile. "Yes, I will follow Your Majesty's instructions."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Tai Coban breathed a sigh of relief.

The members of the Tai Cob family present were all astonished.

A mere wild man had caught the attention of a Star Shepherding Saint, and Tai Coban had refused to give him up, even prompting the King to intervene.

Their gazes all turned to Ji Xinghuo, curious to see what was so special about him.

At that moment, Tai Cob Yanluo seemed to want to save face, so she smiled and made another suggestion. "Little Blue, how about we make a little wager?"

"What kind of wager, Seventh Aunt?" Tai Coban wasn't keen on the idea, but having already refused her once, she didn't want to offend a Star Shepherding Saint by declining again.

"This wild man..." Tai Cob Yanluo looked at Ji Xinghuo within the Spirit Illusion Realm. "His name is Jin, right?"

"Yes," Tai Coban nodded.

"I predict that Jin will rank between fourth and tenth place but won't make it to the top three. If I'm wrong, I'll give you five thousand ether crystals. If I'm right, you'll give them to me," Tai Cob Yanluo proposed. "What do you say?"

Such high stakes!

The True Dragons around them understood that Tai Cob Yanluo might have agreed to the Dragon King's request, but she still harbored some resentment.

Since you won't give him up, you'll have to pay the price.

For a Star Shepherding Saint, five thousand ether crystals weren't a significant amount, but for Tai Coban, a mere Sixth-stage cultivator, it was a small fortune.

However, what truly surprised them was Tai Cob Yanluo's prediction of Jin's ranking. Could that wild man really make it into the top ten? Tai Coban hesitated.

If it had been any other time, she wouldn't have accepted this bet, but she recalled the Dragon King's recent private words to her—his belief that Ji Xinghuo could win the Apocalypse Dragon Rite and become the Ender.

Tai Cob Yanluo stared at Ji Xinghuo as he nocked and released his arrows, quickly taking down enemies one after another. With unwavering conviction, she added, "If he becomes the Dragon Rite Champion, I'll give you an additional 50,000 ether crystals on top of the previous bet."

The True Dragons of the Tai Cob family were astounded.

A hundred thousand ether crystals!

Aside from the Dragon King and Tai Cob Yanluo, this was an enormous sum for everyone else present.

Tai Coban felt the weight of this bet.

If Ji Xinghuo fell out of the top three, she would lose 50,000 ether crystals—a significant portion of her wealth. It would take her years to recover, and her secret support for Earth would have to be put on hold.

"You'd better not let me down!" Tai Coban fixed her gaze on Ji Xinghuo within the Spirit Illusion Realm, her heart pounding with anticipation.

Ji Xinghuo, oblivious to the events in Tai Ring City, continued on his path. After slaying the heavily armored vanguard with a single strike, he headed north, moving away from the path of destruction left by the Apocalypse Blackflame Dragon.

He then turned towards the western hemisphere of Dragon Guard Seven.

Along the way, Ji Xinghuo made no attempt to conceal his movements. He flew at high speeds across the sky, paying no heed to any potential opponents. Anyone who ventured within his three-kilometer range was immediately struck down by the electric arrows of the Spirit String Song.

He was still holding back, as the lethal range of the Spirit String Song had already extended to ten kilometers, but such a display would undoubtedly attract too much attention.

The overwhelming majority of legendary opponents were no match for his arrows.

The destructive power of the Apocalypse Bow was such that only a handful of legends could dodge or block a couple of arrows. However, with a slight increase in stellar power, enhancing the strength and firing rate, almost no opponent could escape death, either perishing instantly or dying as they rushed forward.

There were also those who attempted to launch sneak attacks, but to no avail.

With electromagnetic sensing covering a radius of a hundred kilometers, coupled with the Dark Insight of the Umbra Sphere, Ji Xinghuo maintained constant awareness of his surroundings.

There was no enemy he could not detect.

Only those he chose not to kill or those who sensed the danger and fled before he could act escaped his arrows.

The Apocalypse Blackflame Dragon cruised back and forth on Dragon Guard Seven, leaving destruction and terrifying high-temperature energy in its wake. The safe areas on Dragon Guard Seven gradually diminished as the aliens dodged the apocalyptic dragonfire while engaging in fierce battles with one another.

The number of survivors dropped rapidly.

At the same time, the competition on the leaderboards intensified, with the top ten contenders all surpassing a kill count of 2,000.

Ji Xinghuo was also taking lives, but he wasn't actively seeking to accelerate his killing pace; his primary focus was on evading the blackflame dragon.

Even so, his ranking continued to climb.

After sixty-five stellar hours, when two-thirds of Dragon Guard Seven's surface had been obliterated, Ji Xinghuo's kill count surpassed 2,000 as well, but he was still ranked 23rd. Astonishingly, the top-ranked "Lonely Starlord" had already reached a kill count of 10,000!

Of course, these 10,000 kills weren't all achieved by Lonely Starlord alone; a large portion of them were plundered from other experts.

Tai Cob Zhenhe closely trailed behind in second place.

Genius legends like Ukuchiro and Cang Ya had kill counts exceeding 5,000, securing their positions within the top ten.

In comparison, Ji Xinghuo wasn't as eye-catching to the ordinary viewers in Tai Ring City.

However, what they didn't know was that on the platform before the Yuan Magnet Palace, a group of elite True Dragons from the Tai Cob family had their eyes locked on Ji Xinghuo, only occasionally shifting their attention to other geniuses on the leaderboard.

They were all top powerhouses of the Tai Cob family who hadn't paid much attention to Ji Xinghuo before. Now, after observing him for so long, they had each formed some understanding of his strength.

But this understanding was only superficial.

The most striking impression "Jin" left them with was one of ease; no matter the enemy, anyone who ventured too close would be swiftly taken down by his arrows.

His exceptional archery skills, coupled with the Apocalypse Bow, ensured that most legends stood no chance against him.

Additionally, his perception abilities couldn't be overlooked!

"Your Majesty," Tai Cob Yanluo remarked as she witnessed Ji Xinghuo's arrows effortlessly slaying several enemies who had attempted to ambush him. "How is his electromagnetic perception so formidable?"

"You should already have a guess. Why bother asking me?" The Tai Cob Dragon King replied with a smile.

"Electromagnetic Oscillation!"

Tai Cob Yanluo shook her head slightly. "This isn't an ordinary starfall ability. How could a wild man like him possess electromagnetic oscillation?" She had indeed suspected as much, but she found it hard to believe her own judgment.

As True Dragons of the Tai Cob family, they were among the most knowledgeable about electromagnetic fields in the world. Who among them wouldn't recognize electromagnetic oscillation?

Additionally, Electromagnetic Oscillation couldn't form an external species and thus couldn't be collected or fused with other abilities. So, how had this wild man obtained it? According to the records, 'Jin' was only 16 seasons old, extremely young even by True Dragon standards, where most hadn't even reached adulthood at this age. The most outstanding genius of the Tai Cob family in this generation, Tai Cob Zhenhe, had become a legendary figure at 16 seasons, but that was with the help of a Tai Cob dragon, and he didn't possess Electromagnetic Oscillation.

Could this wild man be a once-in-a-millennium genius? Tai Cob Yanluo suddenly felt a twinge of regret, feeling a bit sore about possibly losing her ten thousand ether crystals.

She glanced at Tai Coban and noticed her calm and composed expression. Clearly, she was well aware of Jin's capabilities, which was why she dared to accept the wager.

Tai Cob Yanluo's gaze shifted back to the Spirit Illusion Realm, her eyes narrowing as she studied Ji Xinghuo, deep in thought.

However, what she didn't know was that Tai Coban was even more shocked than anyone else at that moment. She had just found out about Ji Xinghuo's Electromagnetic Oscillation, and even she herself didn't possess this starfall ability despite her efforts over the years.

"Brother Sheng, what kind of monster have you sent me?" Tai Coban muttered to herself, her feelings complicated.

As the Apocalypse Dragon Rite entered its 90th stellar hour, most of Dragon Guard Seven's surface had been destroyed, leaving only a small safe zone in the eastern hemisphere, half of which was ocean.

On the leaderboard, Lonely Starlord still firmly held the top spot. He had slain several high-ranking genius legends, plundering their kills to boost his count to over 20,000, further widening the gap between him and Tai Cob Zhenhe in second place.

Ji Xinghuo's ranking had climbed to 18th, and his tally had exceeded 4,000 kills. In reality, he had personally slain only about 600 opponents, earning over ten thousand units of spirit source energy.

There were still over ten thousand survivors on Dragon Guard Seven.

Those who had managed to survive until now were among the strongest, either possessing powerful abilities or being extremely adept at escaping.

With over ten thousand people scattered across an area of just over three million square kilometers, they were very sparsely distributed, out of visual range from each other. However, to those with enhanced perception, the danger level had increased tenfold compared to the beginning of the ritual.

Ji Xinghuo also slowed down his pace.

Within his electromagnetic sensing range, he detected three to four hundred opponents, each of them formidable. It wouldn't be as easy as it had been before to take them down with a single arrow.

Often, he had to shoot several arrows to eliminate a single enemy.

Witnessing Ji Xinghuo's relentless attacks, his opponents realized that archers had the upper hand, and the best option was to leave him alone, allowing him to dominate a large portion of the safe zone.

As the safe zone continued to shrink, the remaining individuals were forced closer together. The terrifying presence of the Apocalypse Blackflame Dragon hung over their heads, suffocating them with pressure and keeping them on edge. Soon, intense conflicts erupted as the stress of survival pushed them to their limits.

The number of survivors dropped rapidly.

Ji Xinghuo stayed at the edge of the destruction zone, with the deadly dragon's breath lingering just a few kilometers behind him. He maintained a pace that kept him ahead of the spreading destruction.

From time to time, he would draw his bow and release electric arrows, striking down enemies with the Spirit String Song.

In the 97th stellar hour, as the Apocalypse Dragon Rite neared its conclusion, the safe zone on Dragon Guard Seven had dwindled to just over a hundred thousand square kilometers. The remaining five thousand or so genius legends were squeezed into this small area, their proximity creating an intense atmosphere where, to those with enhanced perception, it felt like their faces were pressed right up against each other.

Ji Xinghuo continued to stick to the edge of the destruction zone, intentionally increasing his lethal range to five kilometers to give himself a larger buffer.

With this adjustment, he claimed sole dominion over nearly eighty square kilometers of the safe zone.

Under the immense pressure of survival, the nearby individuals formed an unspoken agreement.

They communicated with their eyes, glances filled with determination and a shared understanding.

Soon, several dozen legends reached a consensus: they had to take down the archer first, or they would all become sitting ducks in the next wave of battles.

"Let's go!"

"We have to take him out if we want a chance to survive!"

With battle cries that shook the heavens, enemies charged at Ji Xinghuo from all directions. Some flew at full speed, while others sprinted or repeatedly teleported, even emerging from the shadows. They all had one target—Ji Xinghuo—and their assault quickly turned into an encirclement.

On the platform before the Yuan Magnet Palace, even the Tai Cob Dragon King was drawn to the unfolding battle, his eyes fixed on Ji Xinghuo to see how he would handle this onslaught.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end