Chapter 143 - 114: Entering the City, the City Guard’s Shock

Chapter 143: Chapter 114: Entering the City, the City Guard’s Shock

This trait had also been faintly visible in Ji Qingxue and the others.

Before long, Jiang Hao and his two companions arrived before the City Guard.

It wasn’t just the Nanling geniuses who looked down upon those from the barren Earth Realms. Even the City Guard, upon sensing the auras of Jiang Hao’s trio, wore an expression of arrogant indifference, looking right through them.

"Entry into the city today costs eight hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. No haggling." The City Guard swept a faint glance over Jiang Hao and spoke nonchalantly, a trace of weariness in his eyes. Unlike the native geniuses of Nanling, who readily handed over the eight hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones, these youths from the barren lands were always dilly-dallying. He had wasted his breath arguing about it so many times that he now made it clear right from the start: no haggling allowed.

Mu Zhen had initially wanted to say something, but seeing Jiang Hao slowly shake his head, he swallowed his words.

"Here are the Spirit Stones for three people. Please take them, sir. We will abide by the Holy City’s rules," Jiang Hao said. He immediately took twenty-four Spirit Stones out of his Spatial Ring—all of the Middle-grade tier.

At eight hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones per person, three people added up to two thousand four hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones, which was equivalent to twenty-four Middle-grade Spirit Stones. Knowing that the Mu Family Siblings didn’t have enough Spirit Stones even for the registration fee and that he would have to cover the rest later anyway, Jiang Hao simply paid for all three of them at once.

However, the moment the twenty-four Middle-grade Spirit Stones appeared, the City Guard froze slightly, staring at Jiang Hao in absolute disbelief.

"Middle-grade Spirit Stones? You actually have Middle-grade Spirit Stones?"

And twenty-four of them, at that!

On the Celestial Martial Continent, Middle-grade Spirit Stones were a symbol of status. The vast majority of Cultivators only used Low-grade Spirit Stones. After all, while one Middle-grade Spirit Stone was nominally equivalent to one hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones, there was one crucial fact that could not be ignored: one hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones were not truly equal in value to a single Middle-grade one.

When Jiang Hao had exchanged his items at the Tiancheng Auction House, the auction house had deducted a conversion fee. His items, originally valued at 36,784,628 Low-grade Spirit Stones, had incurred a fee of nearly 3,500,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones when exchanged for Middle-grade and High-grade Spirit Stones. This was a staggering sum. Unless one was an extraordinarily wealthy existence, they simply could not afford such an expense.

Yet the youth before him was exclusively using Middle-grade Spirit Stones, pulling out twenty-four of them all at once. What did this mean? It meant he didn’t care at all about the expenditure or the conversion fees. Indirectly, it also proved that his status and background were far beyond those of an ordinary peerless genius.

"Young Master, are... are you sure you want to use Middle-grade Spirit Stones to pay the entry fee?" The City Guard was starting to panic. If these twenty-four Middle-grade Spirit Stones were exchanged back into Low-grade Spirit Stones, they would definitely be worth more than two thousand four hundred. More importantly, he feared he had unwittingly offended a genius with a powerful background.

Jiang Hao didn’t answer directly. Instead, he simply said, "Please just give us the City Entry Tokens, sir."

Snapping out of his daze, the City Guard subconsciously handed over three Tokens.

"Thank you, sir."

Taking the City Entry Tokens, Jiang Hao handed one to each of the Mu Family Siblings, kept one for himself, and the three of them walked into the Holy City.

Behind them, the bearded genius and his group—who had been aggressively targeting them just moments ago—stared blankly at the trio’s retreating backs, their eyes full of disbelief.

"He... he actually used Middle-grade Spirit Stones?"

"And took out twenty-four of them at once?"

If he had only taken out one or two, he might have been suspected of putting up a wealthy front. But casually bringing out twenty-four without wincing in the slightest was an entirely different story. For a moment, the group was dumbfounded.

"Brother Xiao Tian, who is this guy?" someone beside the bearded genius blurted out, their heart suddenly filled with anxiety. It seemed they had just mocked a rather extraordinary genius from a barren Earth Realm.

The bearded genius, addressed as Brother Xiao Tian, blinked in confusion. However, he quickly scoffed, "Who cares who he is? In front of my Ji Race, even the strongest genius from a barren Earth Realm can only look up in awe."

"Brother Ji is right. Here in Nanling, even a dragon must coil up in submission."

His companions eagerly showered him with flattery. Even the City Guard, upon seeing this, immediately plastered on a smiling face.

"Young Master Ji, you have arrived?"

Ji Xiaotian gave a faint nod. He then pulled out eight hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones, grabbed his City Entry Token, and hurried inside.

Jiang Hao had no idea that the bearded genius he had just spoken with was actually a genius from Nanling’s age-old Ji Family, a younger cousin of Ji Qingxue and Ji Wufeng. However, this was merely a minor interlude.

Upon entering the Holy City, Jiang Hao was instantly shaken by the sight before him.

Countless favored sons and daughters of heaven poured continuously through dozens of city gates. These geniuses were the absolute cream of the crop, handpicked from among all the talents in Nanling. Their overall strength was countless times greater than those from Xingyue City’s Earth Realm. Top-tier peerless prodigies could be seen everywhere, dotted occasionally with absolute monsters of cultivation.

Jiang Hao thought, "It truly lives up to the Nanling Realm. A Holy Land renowned as a microcosm of Nanling... No wonder it can intimidate the Eastern Domain and even disregard the Eastern Domain Celestial Sword Sect’s branch."

At this moment, Jiang Hao finally understood what it meant that there was a wider world beyond one’s horizons. Compared to the petty squabbles in Xingyue City’s Earth Realm, Nanling was a truly terrifying abyss. It was hard to imagine just how frightening this multitude of terrifying geniuses would become in ten, a hundred, or a thousand years. An Earth Realm capable of birthing nine great Saints truly lived up to its terrifying reputation.

"These are merely the scions of ordinary ancient families and age-old ancient clans," Mu Zhen explained from the side, seemingly noticing the shift in Jiang Hao’s emotions. "The descendants of the Saint Races and Longevity Families are even more fearsome.

"Especially the Saint Sons and Saintesses—they are simply beyond imagination.

"Of course, such existences don’t need to participate in the trials at all. They bypass them entirely and directly enter the battle for the Celestial List, so we hardly ever see them at this stage."

Saint Sons. Saintesses.

Jiang Hao had heard the legends of such figures more than once. While he had yet to encounter a Saintess, he had met a Saint Son outside the Ancient Dynasty. That person was the Saint Son of the Nanling Ice Race—Leng Tianyu. The memory of Leng Tianyu using a Secret Technique to freeze the Chaos Sword Embryo still lingered vividly in his mind. He was an incredibly fearsome rival. And in Nanling, it seemed there were quite a few figures of his caliber.

Their conversation concluding, the three followed the tide of people toward the very center of the Holy City.

An hour later, the group finally arrived at a gathering hub where the crowd surged like an ocean. Within the boundless sea of people, hundreds of registration points operated simultaneously. Every so often, someone who had finished registering would be guided by a pillar of endless light, soaring through the air toward the deeper regions of the Holy City.

"The trials and registrations are conducted simultaneously," Mu Zhen said. "All Cultivators who finish registering must head to the testing grounds for the trials.

"Do you see that ranking list above us, the one that looks like a canopy over the sky? That is the Celestial List."

Standing amidst the crowd, Mu Zhen looked up at the Celestial List overhead, a sharp gleam in his eyes. Jiang Hao followed his gaze and was profoundly shocked. The canopy was impossibly massive, hovering right over the absolute center of the Holy City like a floating screen of translucent light.

"Aren’t the trial registrations just starting? How come there are already names displayed on the Celestial List?" a genius standing near the trio, who had also come from a barren Earth Realm, couldn’t help but ask.

While ninety-nine percent of the Celestial List remained completely blank, its very peak was densely packed with countless names.

Someone nearby answered, "Those are the names of the Saint Sons from the various races and the Longevity Sons of the Longevity Families. Their talent and potential have long been recognized, so they’re already listed.

"As long as we pass the trials, our names will also appear up there. However, it’s best not to use your real name. When registering, you can just write any alias into the sensory stone. Some things are better left unexposed."

"I see."

"Everyone still needs to be careful, though. Whatever you do, don’t try to play the hero during the trials. The testing methods can be fatal."

"There’s a risk of dying in the trials?"

"Not just a risk—the fatality rate is extremely high."

GASP!

Hearing that the trials carried such a high risk of death, many of the geniuses from the barren Earth Realms drew in sharp breaths. Just what kind of trial methods were these, that they actually threatened one’s very life?