Chapter 241. Reward

The Opportunity Within the Veil

With the tournament officially declared over, Jin left the arena together with Aion and Nox. The countless cultivators who had gathered in the Pagoda of Hope also began leaving one after another.

Jin, however, had no reason to stay at the tournament grounds.

He returned to the residence arranged by the Pagoda of Hope with Aion and Nox. Aion was the first to break the silence.

He walked toward Jin without saying anything, his expression carrying a hint of amusement. Before Jin could even ask, Aion reached him, placed a hand against his shoulder, and leaned forward to kiss him directly on the lips.

Jin was momentarily caught off guard.

Aion did not immediately pull away. He remained close, enjoying the kiss before finally separating from him with a satisfied expression. Jin looked at him for a moment, his face flushed slightly.

Before he could respond, another figure stepped forward.

Nox had been watching the two of them from the side. His expression remained calm, but there was an unmistakable glimmer in his eyes. He approached Jin and took his turn without giving Aion any opportunity to tease him about it.

He kissed Jin on the lips as well.

The atmosphere that had been quiet only moments earlier became warm and intimate. Jin had no intention of pushing either of them away. He was loving such moments and this was their regular routine.

Jin continued to kiss Aion and Nox and for a while before they returned to their usual routine and started their cultivation in the scroll. Jin was already in the 524th round of the Mortal Mill.

He entered the state of cultivation and began working through the round. His soul was continuously being grinded by the Mortal Mill and being more refined and pure.

Time passed slowly.

The night gradually became silent, and the vitality surrounding the space flowed gently around him. Jin remained completely focused, but despite his efforts, he was unable to complete the 524th round before the night came to an end.

The night passed peacefully. He eventually stopped. Soon, the next day arrived.

The selected participants of the tournament had already gathered at the location arranged by the Pagoda of Hope. Their clan members and elders were also present, waiting to see what kind of rewards the Pagoda Master would provide.

Among the people gathered were Finn, Verlyn, Tren, Axe King, and many other powerful cultivators. They were here for the reward.

After waiting for some time, a figure suddenly appeared.

Jin arrived with Aion.

Nox was nowhere to be seen this time.

He was currently cultivating inside the scroll and had chosen not to come with them. Aion remained beside Jin as the Pagoda Master looked across the gathered participants.

His gaze passed over the various clans and experts before a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Welcome to all of you," Jin said. "With no further delay, we are going to the place where what I have prepared for you is located."

Everyone immediately became attentive.

Jin continued, "If you are fortunate, you can also go to other places and search for treasures while you are there."

The words immediately caught everyone’s attention.

Search for treasures?

Several people exchanged glances.

Jin did not seem concerned by their reactions. He simply continued speaking.

"The treasures there can be Rank Six or Rank Seven. There might even be a chance that Rank Eight treasures are present."

Silence.

The entire gathering seemed to freeze for a moment.

Rank Six and Rank Seven treasures were already extraordinary. Rank Eight treasures were things that even powerful cultivators could not simply obtain whenever they wanted. For many of the people present, the possibility of encountering even one such treasure was enough to make their hearts race.

Even the calm expressions of Shi Yoman and Ethan Taurus changed.

Their eyes widened slightly as they stared at Jin.

Shi Yoman looked at the young Pagoda Master deeply, almost as though he were trying to determine whether Jin was exaggerating. His gaze remained fixed on Jin’s face, searching for even the smallest indication that those words were false.

But he found nothing.

Jin’s expression remained completely natural.

He was not joking.

He was not trying to deceive them.

If someone could actually find a Rank Eight treasure in the place he was sending them, then perhaps that treasure truly belonged to them through fate.

Jin thought about it silently.

If you can find one, then it means the treasure was truly fated to you.

A faint smile appeared in his heart.

I have already told Aion and Elder Goren to make their own arrangements. How could King Realm Experts possibly do anything about that?

He knew very well what kind of place he was about to send them into.

The vitality trapped there had accumulated for an unknown number of years. The environment itself was already an enormous opportunity. Of course, opportunity did not mean everything would simply fall into someone’s hands.

They still needed to find it.

They still needed to have the fortune to encounter it.

Jin raised his hand.

The surrounding space immediately began to change.

There was no enormous display of power. No terrifying explosion accompanied his movement. Yet the cultivators present could instantly feel that something profound was happening.

Then Jin waved his hand.

The figures gathered before him disappeared.

Jin and Aion disappeared as well.

The selected participants disappeared and then elders of the great families watched this. They all were stunned. Ethan Taurus was among those who noticed something unusual.

"This was deeper than the second layer of laws," Ethan muttered.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he thought about what had just happened.

"Was it because of the divine artifact?"

He could not determine the answer.

But one thing had become certain in his mind.

The Pagoda of Hope was an opportunity that the major clans absolutely could not afford to ignore.

Not only for their younger generations, but also for the connections they could establish with the Pagoda of Hope itself.

If a force possessed such opportunities, then maintaining a good relationship with it was naturally far more valuable than creating unnecessary hostility.

Meanwhile, Jin had already arrived at his destination.

Before him was the thin veil of the third layer of law that still covered the area.

It acted as a barrier, keeping the enormous amount of vitality imprisoned within the cave.

Under normal circumstances, even Sovereign Realm Experts would have difficulty interfering with such a barrier. But this was no longer an obstacle for Jin.

With Aion’s help, the thin veil of the third layer of law had already fallen under Jin’s control.

The moment the participants arrived and stepped through the thin veil, their expressions changed.

Their eyes widened.

Some even instinctively stopped moving.

The scene before them was beyond what they had expected.

The enormous vitality that had been trapped here for countless years had already transformed into a liquid-like state. It filled the space before them like an endless sea of concentrated energy, its density so astonishing that even breathing seemed to draw traces of vitality into their bodies.

No one spoke.

Even the King Realm experts were stunned. They had experienced many opportunities throughout their lives, but the sight before them was still enough to leave them speechless.

Jin looked at their reactions without much surprise.

He had already expected this.

"This is where your opportunity lies," he said calmly.

The participants finally recovered from their shock and looked toward him.

"You can find the best spot for yourselves," Jin continued. "I have already established boundaries for every realm, so you don’t need to worry about accidentally entering an area that you cannot withstand."

He paused, his expression becoming slightly more serious.

"But don’t go beyond the boundary."

The cultivators immediately listened carefully.

"If you go too far, the vitality itself will burst into your body. At that point, your bodies may not be able to withstand the amount of energy entering them."

Everyone’s expression became solemn.

They finally understood that this place was not simply a treasure land where they could absorb vitality without restriction.

There was a limit.

Too little absorption would waste the opportunity, but too much could destroy them.

Jin looked over the gathered participants one final time.

"You have been given the opportunity. What you can obtain from it depends on yourselves."

With those words, Jin disappeared with Aion.

The participants remained where they were.

For several breaths, no one moved.

Soon, the silence broke as the participants began moving toward different areas of the enormous vitality sea, each searching for a location where they could cultivate most effectively.

They had originally believed that the tournament’s greatest reward would be whatever Jin personally handed to them.

Now they realized that the true reward might be this place itself.

The Pagoda of Hope had not simply spoken about opportunities.

It had actually provided one.

And as the participants scattered throughout the enormous sea of accumulated vitality, each of them began searching for the treasure that might be waiting somewhere within this ancient place.

The opportunity had arrived.

Now it was up to them to seize it.