Chapter 98: Shocking the Audience

’He’s still not back?’

A strange feeling appeared in Zhi Yuan’s heart.

He had expected that person to have returned by now, yet there was still no sign of him.

At this moment, an elder from the Vermilion Flame Sect smiled and spoke.

"Congratulations, Elder Hai. Eleven thousand two hundred and seventy-five Flame Spirit Stones is indeed an excellent result."

The Azura Heaven Sect elder glanced toward him.

The Vermilion Flame Sect elder continued with a faint smile.

"It seems your sect’s number one inner disciple has given us quite a bit of pressure. I wonder how our disciples will be able to surpass this."

His words sounded like praise, but everyone present could hear the hidden meaning.

Although the Azura Heaven Sect had obtained an impressive result, they shouldn’t become too confident.

Their strongest disciples had still not returned.

The Azura Heaven Sect elder naturally understood what he meant.

He merely smiled and nodded.

"We’ll see."

The Vermilion Flame Sect elder’s smile became slightly deeper.

Neither side was willing to admit defeat before the final results were announced.

And only a few moments later, another commotion suddenly erupted from the entrance.

"Someone else is coming!"

"Look!"

"That’s a Vermilion Flame Sect’s disciple!"

The surrounding disciples immediately turned their attention toward the entrance.

A tall young man wearing the robes of the Vermilion Flame Sect slowly walked into the open area.

The moment he appeared, the atmosphere changed.

The Vermilion Flame Sect disciples immediately became excited.

"Senior Brother Han!"

"Han Tianyu is back!"

"Let’s see how many Flame Spirit Stones he collected!"

Even the disciples of the Azura Heaven Sect became serious.

Han Tianyu was not an ordinary disciple.

He was the number one inner disciple of the Vermilion Flame Sect and one of the strongest members of the younger generation. More importantly, he had a rivalry with Ye Wuxie.

If Long Feng had been present at that moment, he would have immediately recognized him.

Han Tianyu walked toward the counting platform with calm steps.

Unlike the excited disciples around him, his expression remained composed.

He removed his storage ring and handed it to the official from the City Lord’s Mansion.

"12,087 Flame Spirit Stones."

For a brief moment, the surrounding area became quiet. Then the Vermilion Flame Sect disciples erupted into cheers.

"Hahaha! Senior Brother Han is indeed number one!"

"More than twelve thousand!"

"He’s surpassed Zhi Yuan!"

"Unless someone returns with more than twelve thousand Flame Spirit Stones, the first position belongs to our Vermilion Flame Sect!"

The ranking board immediately changed.

1. Han Tianyu from Vermilion Flame Sect — 12,087 Flame Spirit Stones

2. Zhi Yuan from Azura Heaven Sect — 11,275 Flame Spirit Stones

The Vermilion Flame Sect disciples became even more excited when they saw the result.

The difference was not enormous, but Han Tianyu had successfully taken first place.

Zhi Yuan’s expression also became slightly more serious. He looked toward the ranking board before glancing at Han Tianyu.

Han Tianyu merely looked at the result calmly. He hadn’t said anything, but the meaning was obvious.

For the moment, he was number one.

More disciples continued returning during the following period.

One after another, they handed over their storage rings and announced their harvests.

"Six thousand seven hundred!"

"Seven thousand nine hundred!"

"Nine thousand four hundred!"

"Ten thousand three hundred!"

The rankings below the top two continued changing, yet nobody managed to challenge Han Tianyu.

As the minutes passed, the atmosphere that had previously been tense gradually began to relax.

The disciples who had been waiting for an unexpected reversal also began losing hope.

"Looks like it’s over."

"Han Tianyu should be the champion."

"More than twelve thousand Flame Spirit Stones... Who could possibly collect that many?"

"Most of the strongest disciples have already returned."

A few people laughed, even the elders of both sects gradually relaxed.

The Vermilion Flame Sect elder had an obvious smile on his face. With Han Tianyu’s result, the Vermilion Flame Sect had taken the advantage.

The Azura Heaven Sect could only accept the result unless one of their remaining disciples suddenly returned with an unbelievable harvest.

But that possibility seemed extremely small.

Almost all of their strongest disciples had already returned. The remaining disciples were mostly weaker.

And even if someone had collected a large number of Flame Spirit Stones, it was difficult to imagine anyone suddenly producing more than twelve thousand.

The Vermilion Flame Sect elder glanced at the time.

"There’s not much time left."

His voice contained a hint of confidence.

The Azura Heaven Sect elder didn’t respond. He merely continued watching the entrance.

Then, a young man slowly appeared in the distance.

At first, almost nobody paid attention to him.

There were still disciples returning from the wilderness, so another figure walking through the entrance wasn’t particularly strange.

The young man wasn’t injured. His robes were slightly dusty, but his steps were calm and steady. As he came closer, some people began turning their heads toward him.

It was Long Feng who looked around and immediately noticed that the atmosphere was somewhat strange.

There were too many people gathered around the ranking board, and the Vermilion Flame Sect disciples looked particularly excited.

His gaze swept across the crowd before finally landing on the enormous ranking board and immediately understood.

’So that’s it.’

Someone from the Vermilion Flame Sect had taken first place.

And judging from the atmosphere, the result had probably been announced only recently.

Long Feng wasn’t particularly surprised.

He had spent almost the entire wilderness training deep inside the Blazing Flame Mountain. He had no idea what the other disciples had collected, nor had he paid any attention to the ranking during that period.

Now that he was finally back, however, there was no reason for him to remain concerned about the result.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

’This should be interesting.’

Long Feng reached the platform and casually removed his storage ring before placing it in front of the official.

The official nodded out of habit and picked it up.

At first, his expression remained completely normal.

He had inspected countless storage rings during the wilderness training. Even seeing several thousand Flame Spirit Stones no longer surprised him.

But the moment his spiritual sense entered Long Feng’s storage ring, his expression suddenly froze.

His eyes widened.

"What...?"

The official subconsciously looked inside again.

He wasn’t mistaken. There were too many. Far too many.

The official responsible for the counting was from the City Lord’s Mansion.

Because he had been responsible for verifying the results throughout the entire wilderness training, he had already developed a habit of remaining calm regardless of what he encountered.

But even he couldn’t immediately hide the shock on his face.

The disciples standing nearby quickly noticed his strange reaction.

"What’s wrong?"

"Did he find something?"

"Why did he suddenly stop?"

"Could there be some problem with the storage ring?"

The commotion quickly attracted the attention of the elders sitting on the elevated platform.

Long Feng remained completely calm. He looked at the official and said simply,

"Count them."

The official took a deep breath.

"Yes."

The official stared at the number for several breaths. He had never seen a result like this.

Finally, he raised his head. His voice carried across the entire open area.

"Long Feng of the Azura Heaven Sect... 23,000 Flame Spirit Stones."

Silence.

Complete silence.

For several breaths, nobody reacted. It was as though everyone needed time to understand what they had just heard.

Then—

"WHAT?!"

The entire area exploded.

"Twenty-three thousand?!"

"Did I hear that correctly?!"

"Who is Long Feng?! I’ve never even heard of him!"

The crowd instantly became chaotic.

The ranking board flashed. The previous first-place position disappeared. A new name appeared at the very top.

1. Long Feng from Azura Heaven Sect — 23,000 Points

2. Han Tianyu from Vermilion Flame Sect — 12,087 Points

3. Zhi Yuan from Azura Heaven Sect — 11,275 Points

The sight left everyone completely dumbfounded. The difference was simply too enormous.

Long Feng hadn’t merely surpassed Han Tianyu. He had crushed the previous first-place result. The difference between first and second place was more than ten thousand Flame Spirit Stones.

Such a result was beyond everyone’s expectations.

And the most shocking part wasn’t even the number itself. It was Long Feng. Nobody knew who he was.

The Vermilion Flame Sect disciples looked at one another in disbelief.

"Who exactly is this guy?"

"How could an unknown Azura Heaven Sect disciple collect twenty-three thousand?"

"Was he hiding his strength this entire time?"

The Azura Heaven Sect disciples were equally stunned. In fact, they might have been even more shocked than the Vermilion Flame Sect.

After all, Long Feng was one of their own.

"He’s from our sect?"

"Why don’t I know him?"

"How did he collect twenty-three thousand Flame Spirit Stones?"

The elders of the Azura Heaven Sect were also completely stunned. They exchanged glances. None of them had expected this result.

The elder responsible for the inner disciples stared at Long Feng for a long time.

"Long Feng..."

He searched his memories and vaguely remembered the name. But the person standing before him now was completely different from what he remembered.

Most importantly, the elder’s eyes narrowed as he sensed Long Feng’s cultivation.

Peak Golden Core Realm.

His expression immediately became complicated.

’When did our sect have a Peak Golden Core disciple like this?’

The other elders also sensed it. Their shock became even greater. They had absolutely no idea when Long Feng had broken through.

Nobody knew that Long Feng had spent nearly a month cultivating inside the underground area of the Blazing Flame Mountain.

Even if Long Feng told them the truth, they would probably have difficulty believing it.