Chapter 50: Phase Two Hunting

On the drill ground, Su Xin stood alongside Duan Yunfeng, watching the powerhouses from various major forces busy themselves around them.

"Two young friends."

A white-robed elder walked toward the two of them.

"This old man's surname is Mo, and I am an elder of the Heavenly Leaf Sect," the white-robed elder introduced himself.

"Heavenly Leaf Sect?" A ripple stirred in Su Xin's heart.

The Tianyan Dynasty possessed a vast territory, home to a multitude of sects and factions.

Among them, the most renowned and universally acknowledged as the strongest were the three major sects.

The Heavenly Leaf Sect was precisely one of these three major sects.

It was said that the Heavenly Leaf Sect had existed for hundreds of years, boasting an extremely profound foundation. Within the contemporary Heavenly Leaf Sect alone, there were as many as four powerhouses in the Nirvana Realm.

One must know that in the Tianyan Dynasty, a family could be considered a top-tier noble house simply by having a single Nirvana Realm ancestor holding down the fort. With four Nirvana Realm powerhouses simultaneously, coupled with such a profound heritage, it was no exaggeration to say that the Heavenly Leaf Sect was a behemoth within the Tianyan Dynasty.

As long as they did not rebel or provoke the Tianyan royal family into personally taking action, the Heavenly Leaf Sect could walk sideways through the entire Tianyan Dynasty.

"Little friend Su Xin, this old man has come today to ask whether you would be willing to join our Heavenly Leaf Sect," Elder Mo said with a smile.

"If you are willing, you can directly become a core disciple of our Heavenly Leaf Sect. The resource cultivation you receive will be second only to the Tianyan Palace and the royal family's disciples. Moreover, since our contemporary Heavenly Leaf Sect has four Nirvana Realm Supreme Elders, I can promise that one of the Supreme Elders will take you as a disciple and personally instruct you."

"In addition, this old man has also heard that the Su family to which you belong has faced certain crises in recent years. As long as you become a disciple of our Heavenly Leaf Sect, this old man guarantees that absolutely no one will dare to harm a single hair of the Su family."

As soon as Elder Mo arrived, he laid out his conditions directly.

Furthermore, these conditions showed immense sincerity.

Resource cultivation second only to the Tianyan Palace and royal disciples.
A Nirvana Realm powerhouse as a master.
Simultaneously securing the safety of the Su family.

Even Su Xin was momentarily stunned upon hearing these conditions.

It was Duan Yunfeng who reacted first, saying with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Old man, what do you mean? Su Xin and I are standing right here together, yet your Heavenly Leaf Sect only invites Su Xin and not me. Are you looking down on me?"

Su Xin was startled.

A dignified elder of the Heavenly Leaf Sect, a peak Void-Breaking Realm powerhouse, yet Duan Yunfeng directly called him an old man and spoke with such disrespect... Didn't he worry that this Elder Mo would fly into a rage?

However, upon hearing Duan Yunfeng's words, Elder Mo showed not the slightest bit of anger. Instead, he smiled and said, "If little friend Duan also wishes to come to our Heavenly Leaf Sect, this old man would naturally welcome you. I only fear that the temple of our Heavenly Leaf Sect is too small for little friend Duan to look upon."

"Hmph, you guessed right. I really don't think much of this Heavenly Leaf Sect of yours," Duan Yunfeng said, curling his lips with complete disregard.

Su Xin also understood the situation.

Duan Yunfeng possessed a formidable background, and Elder Mo of the Heavenly Leaf Sect undoubtedly knew his origins. Therefore, even though Duan Yunfeng's talent was exceptionally high, Elder Mo had no intention of extending an invitation.

In fact, it wasn't just Duan Yunfeng; there were many other geniuses in this hunt.

For instance, Xiamang, Tu San...

These were matters of common knowledge. One was a member of the royal family, and the other hailed from the Prince Qi's Mansion. Putting aside the fact that their strength gave them an eighty-percent chance of entering the Tianyan Palace, even if they failed to enter, it was impossible for them to join other factions. Thus, these major factions and sects naturally wouldn't waste their breath.

At most, they would merely maintain a polite relationship.

"Elder Mo, thank you for your kind intentions. I would still like to try and see if I can break into the top ten and cultivate within the Tianyan Palace. If I cannot enter the Tianyan Palace, I will consider the Heavenly Leaf Sect at that time," Su Xin said.

"That is only natural," Elder Mo smiled. "Since that is the case, we shall wait until the end of this hunt for you to make your decision, little friend."

With that, Elder Mo took his leave.

Following Elder Mo, several other powerhouses from various sects and factions successively approached Su Xin.

Among them was another faction, which, like the Heavenly Leaf Sect, was one of the three strongest sects, and the conditions they offered were equally lofty.

Naturally, these factions and sects knew that Su Xin would not agree immediately and would first try every means to enter the Tianyan Palace, so they were merely casting out their olive branches in advance.

As for Su Xin's final decision, it would have to wait until the hunt concluded.

"These invitations from the sects and factions are a good thing for me."

"Even if my luck is abysmal and I ultimately fail to break into the top ten, I can still choose to join these factions or sects. At the very least, the safety of my family can be guaranteed to a certain extent."

Su Xin thought to himself.

An hour quickly passed.

The one thousand geniuses had all gathered once again.

In the hands of the person presiding over this second stage of the hunt, a peculiar white bead had appeared.

That person tossed the white bead into the void, whereupon the bead instantly enlarged. At the same time, it released a dazzling white light that completely enveloped the thousand geniuses on the drill ground. Following that, the thousand geniuses simultaneously vanished from the drill ground.

"The Heavenly Heart Realm?"

"Is this the Heavenly Heart Realm used by the Tianyan royal family for the trial of their royal descendants?"

Some of the powerhouses from the various factions and sects on the scene had already recognized the origins of the white bead.

The Heavenly Heart Realm was a trial space specifically designated for the trial of royal descendants.

And that white bead was the guiding artifact used to send all thousand geniuses into the Heavenly Heart Realm.

After the numerous geniuses were all sent into the Heavenly Heart Realm, the white bead suspended in mid-air once again emitted streams of white light. Immediately afterward, mirrored projections appeared in the void above the drill ground. These mirrored projections displayed the scenes of those geniuses inside the Heavenly Heart Realm—though, naturally, only a portion of them.

"To actually use the Heavenly Heart Realm as the second stage of the hunt? Rather interesting."

Elder Mo stood with his hands clasped behind his back in a corner of the drill ground, smiling as he watched the images in the void ahead.

***

This was a massive trial space.

Underfoot was entirely bluestone, nearly a hundred zhang in both length and width.

At the edges of the bluestone, the surroundings were shrouded in white light screens.

Su Xin was currently standing right at the very center of this trial space.

A majestic voice simultaneously resounded in the ears of the thousand geniuses scattered across different trial spaces.

"After ten breaths, from within the white light screens surrounding this trial space, your opponents will appear wave after wave to launch attacks against you. These opponents will take various forms, and their numbers will also vary. What you must do is endure against these successive waves of opponents."

"The more rounds of opponents you endure, the greater your probability of passing the second stage of the hunt."

It was merely a brief explanation.

No detailed rules were announced.

"During the first stage of the hunt, the rules were very detailed, and it even directly announced that only one thousand people would ultimately pass. Yet this second stage of the hunt does not tell us how many people will ultimately remain, but instead requires us to endure the attacks of those opponents as much as possible?" Su Xin frowned slightly.

The ten breaths of time flashed by in an instant. From the surrounding white light screens, two black figures directly dashed out.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The speed of these two black figures was astonishingly fast, resembling two hurricanes as they charged toward Su Xin from two directions simultaneously.

As they drew closer, Su Xin finally saw the true appearance of these two black figures.

"Not humans, but fierce beasts?" Su Xin's pupils constricted.

These two black figures were clearly two massive black wolves, over two meters long with towering statures.

The two giant black wolves glared with scarlet eyes, radiating a bloodthirsty aura as they lunged forward.

Su Xin instantly drew his sword.

Screech! Screech!

The sword light chimed softly, yet it was terrifyingly fast.

The moment the two giant wolves rushed in front of him, their heads were cleanly sliced off. With a miserable howl, the two giant wolves transformed into white light and dissipated into the trial space.

"Not real fierce beasts, but avatars created through some special means?" Su Xin thought in secret, startled. "A truly remarkable method."

Clearly, the creator of this trial space was extraordinary.

As those two giant wolves dissipated, several more figures instantly rushed out from the surrounding white light screens.

This time, what appeared were four strange birds with exceptionally sharp beaks, resembling pointed swords.

In terms of speed, these four strange birds were even faster than the giant wolves from a moment ago.

Su Xin continued his attack, swiftly slaying the four strange birds and causing them to dissipate.

Next, wave after wave of opponents emerged back-to-back from the surrounding white light screens. These opponents were equally bizarre and peculiar, including fierce beasts, strange birds, flying insects, and so on.

Although these opponents possessed extremely formidable strength, it was difficult for them to pose a major threat to Su Xin.

Before long, Su Xin successfully dealt with five rounds of opponents one after another, and had now entered the sixth round.

The opponents of this sixth round were two human assassins.

Both of them were clad in black robes. Not only was their speed fast, but what mattered most was their footwork.

It was utterly ghostly.

Their terrifying speed combined with their footwork made it very difficult for Su Xin to even capture their figures.

Moreover, the attacks occasionally unleashed by these two individuals were silent and imperceptible, catching one entirely off guard.

If Su Xin were to get slightly serious and unleash some sword techniques, he would certainly be able to kill these two individuals as well. However, having fought through six consecutive rounds of opponents, Su Xin had already sensed a hint of oddity.

"Having fought through six consecutive rounds of opponents, my spiritual energy has been continuously consumed without the slightest possibility of replenishment," Su Xin frowned.

In the previous five rounds of opponents, he had relied on his own strength to annihilate them, but the spiritual energy he consumed in the process was far from negligible.

Especially in the fifth round, where he faced a full hundred flying insects.

Slaughtering all those flying insects one by one had consumed a considerable amount of spiritual energy. Yet the opponents in this trial space came wave after wave, giving him no breathing room whatsoever, let alone time to recover his spiritual energy.

The two assassins encountered in this sixth round were even more troublesome. If he were to employ some true trump cards, his spiritual energy consumption would be even greater. Yet he had no idea how many more rounds of opponents he would face, nor under what conditions he would be considered to have passed this second stage of the hunt.

"The rules announced by that person earlier were to endure the attacks of those waves of opponents as much as possible, and that enduring more rounds of opponents would increase the probability of advancement—not to annihilate more opponents at the fastest possible speed."

"In other words..."

Su Xin's gaze narrowed, and his figure instantly came to a halt.

He couldn't be bothered to chase down the two assassins anymore. Instead, he simply stood right where he was, allowing the two assassins to charge toward him.

Screech! Screech!

Two chilling daggers thrust forward silently.

Su Xin swung his sword, sword intent rolling forth to transform into mountains and seas, effortlessly blocking their attacks.

Following that, the two assassins continued their assault.

Clang, clang, clang~~~

Their continuous onslaughts were all easily blocked by Su Xin.

Yet, after merely a brief moment—without Su Xin even striking back—the figures of the two assassins independently dissipated into nothingness.

"Indeed."

Seeing those two assassins transform into white light and vanish within the trial space, a smile appeared at the corners of Su Xin's mouth.

He had already figured it out: the second stage of the hunt was not meant for him to engage in a bitter battle of attrition against these opponents, but rather to preserve his life amidst their frantic, wave-like attacks. As long as he managed to hold out for a certain duration under their onslaughts, these opponents would naturally dissipate on their own.

"This second stage of the hunt, apart from relying on one's own strength, is a test of endurance and observational skills!"

"If one fails to perceive the trap hidden within this second stage of the hunt in time, blindly relying on brute strength to battle round after round of opponents and squandering a massive amount of spiritual energy, then even if one possessed the strength to clear the second stage, they might end up eliminated in the end," Su Xin thought to himself.

Once the true rules were understood, handling the situation from then on became much simpler for Su Xin.