Chapter 97: Final Day of Results

Long Feng looked at the empty ground as his gaze then shifted toward the entrance.

Puppet Wang was still standing motionlessly there. Its entire body was covered in traces of blood, and the faint smell of blood still lingered around it.

Yet despite the brutal appearance, there wasn’t a single wound on its body.

Clearly, the disciples it had encountered in the underground passages had been completely helpless before its Nascent Soul Realm’s strength.

Long Feng’s gaze briefly swept over Puppet Wang before falling onto the several storage rings in its hand.

A faint smile immediately appeared on his face.

He had already given Puppet Wang order to collect the storage rings of every disciple it killed. He hadn’t expected it to return with so many.

Without any hesitation, he inspected them with his spiritual sense.

’Quite a lot.’

There were many things inside the rings.

Most of them were ordinary cultivation resources, weapons, pills, medicinal herbs, and various materials. Nothing particularly precious caught Long Feng’s attention, but there were still plenty of useful items among them.

Most importantly, there were a large number of flame spirit stones.

The Flame Spirit Stones were particularly valuable to Long Feng. Their value in this wilderness training was obvious, but what interested him even more was their usefulness after the trial ended.

Each stone contained concentrated flame energy that could be directly absorbed or used to assist fire-attribute cultivation techniques.

Long Feng couldn’t help but smile when he thought about it.

Before entering the Blazing Flame Mountain, he had already been running short on cultivation resources.

The few hundred mid-grade spirit stones he had obtained after looting the Wang Family had long since been consumed.

After that, he had mostly relied on energy pills to support his cultivation.

Now, however, the problem had been completely solved.

Several thousand Flame Spirit Stones were more than enough to make up for his previous shortage.

You should know that each one’s own worth wouldn’t least than a mid grade spirit stone, and here were several thousands of them.

"Not bad."

With a big smile on his face, Long Feng quickly transferred everything useful into his own storage ring.

He didn’t bother keeping the storage rings themselves. After emptying them, he casually threw them aside.

Although none of these things could compare to the Chaos Swallowing Cauldron or the Five-Element Nirvana Lotus, they were still a considerable harvest.

After finishing, Long Feng once again put Puppet Wang in his beast storage pouch and tied the pouch around his waist.

He gave the cavern one final glance.

The place where Ye Wuxie had fallen was now completely empty, not even a trace of his corpse remained.

The ancient spear had also disappeared, the Chaos Swallowing Cauldron was now inside his body, and the Five-Element Nirvana Lotus had been safely stored away.

Long Feng’s eyes flashed with satisfaction.

This trip to the Blazing Flame Mountain had been far more rewarding than he had expected.

Not only had he eliminated Ye Wuxie, but he had also obtained the legacy of a seventh-rank alchemist, a primordial treasure like the Chaos Swallowing Cauldron, and reached the peak of the Golden Core Realm.

He turned around without looking back.

"Time to leave."

Long Feng stepped into the dark passage.

His figure gradually disappeared into the depths of the underground cavern, leaving behind only silence.

The underground area of the Blazing Flame Mountain once again became completely quiet.

And Long Feng’s journey through the wilderness was finally coming to an end.

/

The final day of the wilderness training finally arrived.

Outside the city, a huge open area had been prepared for the disciples returning from the Blazing Flame Mountains.

Although the official deadline had not yet arrived, the place was already crowded.

Most of the disciples from the Azura Heaven Sect and Vermilion Flame Sect had already returned from the wilderness.

Some were sitting together and discussing their experiences, while others stood around the enormous ranking board in the center of the area, watching their positions continuously change.

There were also many cultivators from the city who had come to watch the final results.

After all, those disciples participating in it were the elites of two powerful sects. Some were even among the most outstanding inner disciples of their respective sects.

Naturally, the final ranking attracted considerable attention.

At the center of the open area stood a huge stone platform. Several special counters had been placed on it.

These counters had been prepared by people from the City Lord’s Mansion specifically for this wilderness training.

After all, if the disciples’ harvests were counted by their own sects, it would be difficult to completely eliminate the possibility of favoritism or manipulation.

The City Lord’s Mansion, on the other hand, had no reason to favor either side.

They could inspect the storage rings brought back by the disciples and accurately count the number of Flame Spirit Stones inside.

The rules were simple.

Every returning disciple had to hand over their storage ring.

The City Lord’s Mansion personnel would inspect it, count the Flame Spirit Stones, and immediately record the result.

The ranking board would then update automatically.

Because of this, nobody could simply announce a number and every single Flame Spirit Stone had to be counted and verified.

"Two thousand three hundred and sixteen."

A disciple stepped forward and handed over his storage ring.

The official responsible for counting quickly inspected it before announcing the result.

"Five thousand three hundred and sixteen Flame Spirit Stones. Current ranking: sixty-third."

The disciple’s expression immediately brightened.

"Sixty-third?"

He clenched his fist excitedly.

"Good!"

He quickly moved aside and looked toward the ranking board.

However, his excitement didn’t last long. Another disciple returned shortly afterward.

"Five thousand one hundred and eighty-nine Flame Spirit Stones."

The ranking board changed again and the previous disciple’s ranking immediately dropped.

"Already sixty-third?"

A nearby disciple couldn’t help but laugh.

"You should be happy. At least you made the ranking."

"That’s true."

The disciple smiled bitterly.

These final hours are the most terrifying. The people who haven’t returned yet are the ones they should be worried about.

The surrounding disciples nodded.

They all understood this.

Most ordinary disciples had already returned several days ago. Those who remained outside until the final day were generally the stronger disciples.

They were also the ones who had ventured deeper into the wilderness.

And the deeper they went, the more Flame Spirit Stones they could potentially obtain, but the dangers were equally terrifying.

Some disciples had returned covered in blood and some had suffered serious injuries. There were even several who had barely managed to escape with their lives.

Despite that, none of them complained.

The wilderness training was precisely about fighting for opportunities under dangerous conditions.

Time continued to pass as more disciples returned.

"Four thousand two hundred."

"Five thousand six hundred and twelve."

"Six thousand nine hundred and forty."

"Eight thousand one hundred and thirty."

As the final two hours approached, the disciples who had already returned could no longer remain relaxed.

Some repeatedly looked toward the distant entrance, while others stared at the ranking board as though trying to memorize every position before the next change.

The atmosphere gradually became heavier.

The disciples who had already submitted their storage rings could only watch helplessly as their rankings continued to fall.

Those who were still outside were the unknown variables.

Everyone understood the rankings displayed at this moment might mean very little.

A powerful disciple who had ventured deep enough into the wilderness could return at any moment with thousands of Flame Spirit Stones and completely overturn the current standings.

Even the elders of both sects were paying close attention. They sat on the elevated platform overlooking the entire area.

Their expressions remained calm, but their eyes frequently moved toward the entrance. As they were also waiting for their strongest disciples.

Finally, a commotion suddenly erupted at the entrance.

"Someone’s coming!"

Almost everyone nearby turned their heads.

A young man dressed in the robes of the Azura Heaven Sect slowly walked through the entrance.

His steps were calm and steady, and although his clothes were stained with dust from the wilderness, his expression remained composed.

The moment the surrounding disciples recognized him, their expressions changed.

"It’s Zhi Yuan!"

"The number one inner disciple of the Azura Heaven Sect!"

"He’s finally returned!"

His appearance immediately attracted everyone’s attention. Even some of the disciples who had been sitting down immediately stood up.

Zhi Yuan’s reputation was simply too great among the younger generation of the Azura Heaven Sect.

Being able to become the number one inner disciple meant that his strength was far beyond ordinary Golden Core cultivators.

Even the elders of the Azura Heaven Sect straightened slightly when they saw him.

The young man didn’t pay much attention to the surrounding discussions. He calmly walked toward the counting platform.

An official from the City Lord’s Mansion stepped forward.

The young man removed his storage ring and handed it over. The official carefully inspected it. The special counter immediately began operating.

The surrounding disciples became increasingly nervous. Finally, the counter stopped and the official looked at the result before announcing loudly,

"11,275 Flame Spirit Stones!"

The surroundings instantly erupted.

"Eleven thousand two hundred and seventy-five!"

"That’s incredible!"

"As expected from the number one inner disciple of the Azura Heaven Sect!"

Everyone’s gaze immediately shifted toward the ranking board.

1. Zhi Yuan of Azura Heaven Sect — 11,275 Points.

"Over 11,000 points! Amazing!"

"Tsk tsk, as expected of number one inner disciple from Azura Heaven Sect."

The Azura Heaven Sect disciples were naturally excited.

The young man himself, however, didn’t seem particularly satisfied. After stepping away from the counter, his eyes slowly swept across the crowd.

He seemed to be searching for someone.

His gaze passed over the disciples one after another, yet the person he was looking for never appeared.