Wu Yuan was still caught up in the intense battle, on the backfoot and just barely holding his ground.
That’s when he heard Ao Qi’s question.
“How much do you think I have left?” Wu Yuan threw back, cracking a grin.
Then, he lunged forward in a sudden movement, wings slicing through the sky as fast as lightning.
“You think you can just fight or leave whenever you want?” Wu Yuan swung his saber, charging at Ao Qi.
Clang! Clang! Blade rays crossed, and Ao Qi leveraged the momentum to retreat again.
Shrouded under layers of green light, his speed skyrocketed to extremes as he backed off.
“Wu Yuan, I refuse to accept defeat! It’s not you I lost to, it’s your ether!” Ao Qi’s voice echoed through heaven and earth, full of bitter resentment.
Refuse to accept defeat? Wu Yuan grinned.
He obviously understood Ao Qi’s thoughts, anyone else in his place would probably feel the same.
But, why should I care if you accept it or not? Wu Yuan’s eyes held a hint of excitement. The one who ran away in the end, was you.
One’s endurance in battle was a strength too.
With this in mind, Wu Yuan’s voice echoed through his domain for thousands of li, “Ao Qi, it’s not your fault you can’t persevere, don’t blame yourself.”
Ao Qi’s face colored slightly, but he didn’t respond.
Ao Qi is hailed as the top body refiner on the Bloodforge Battlefield, but in a real fight to the death with me, he’s the one who would die. Wu Yuan cracked a grin again.
He didn’t pursue because he simply couldn’t catch up. Ao Qi was a peerless genius who comprehended the Wind Dao, Wu Yuan had no hope of catching him if he wished to flee.
Even if Little Black aided him by employing the ether art Realm Crossing, it wouldn’t make a difference.
Hmm, my ether reserves have also dropped to fifty percent. Wu Yuan muttered to himself, If I run into another peerless genius in the top ten at this time, it would be quite dangerous.
Wu Yuan’s ether consumption rate was nearly twice that of Ao Qi, but he still had more ether leftover.
Let’s go. I need to find a place to recover my ether first. With his Soul Force scouting the way, Wu Yuan quickly left the area.
He detected quite a few peerless geniuses who had sensed the intense battle fluctuations and rushed over to watch.
If his ether reserves were full, Wu Yuan wouldn’t mind slaughtering a few. But now, replenishing his ether took precedence.
Swoosh! With a flap of his wings, Wu Yuan quickly burrowed into a cave, his presence disappearing from the area.
“He won!”
“The one who had the last laugh was actually Wu Yuan?”
“Wu Yuan beat Ao Qi?”
“Ao Qi retreated on his own, clearly conceding defeat.” Many of the peerless geniuses secretly watching the battle were somewhat shocked.
Ao Qi was a peerless genius who had cleared level sixteen of the Dark Star! He was considered the most likely participant to take the title of Bloodforge King.
Although Wu Yuan’s Blood Devil Token rank skyrocketed, taking first place with a massive lead, many geniuses still remained skeptical of Wu Yuan’s actual strength. After all, Wu Yuan was young, significantly disadvantaged in terms of cultivation time compared to those peerless geniuses.
That was, until this battle!
Wu Yuan went head-to-head with Ao Qi, refusing to back down, and forced Ao Qi to retreat. Regardless of the process, the outcome was undeniable. Ao Qi was defeated. Wu Yuan won!
“With Ao Qi defeated, who else can possibly stop Wu Yuan?”
“Gao Yun? Dongfang Hongguang? Their Blood Devil Token rankings are still inferior to Ao Qi. They can’t defeat Wu Yuan!”
“Wu Yuan!!”
“Wu Yuan is the youngest among the top hundred Blood Devil Token rankers, his talent is undisputedly ranked first.”
“In terms of power, Wu Yuan defeated Ao Qi.”
“In terms of the Blood Devil Token ranking, he is first by a huge margin.”
“The king.”
“There’s a ninety-nine percent probability that he’ll be the next Bloodforge King.” The Bloodforge Battle had reached a point where many peerless geniuses were no longer fighting each other, but forming alliances for self-preservation.
Hence, news spread rapidly. Many peerless geniuses had come to accept that Wu Yuan was destined to become the Bloodforge King.
…
“There’s no dispute anymore.”
“First in the Blood Devil Token ranking! First in talent!”
“Besides Wu Yuan, who else can contend for the Bloodforge King title? No one.” The tens of thousands of Archimmortals and Astral Lords watching the battle in the Bloodforge Immortal Voidrealm had essentially reached a consensus.
Even Astral Lord Meng Jie sincerely remarked, “There’s no shame in losing. Even though we don’t know how Wu Yuan did it, a loss is still a loss.”
Instantly, the Archimmortals and Astral Lords burst into laughter.
In the history of the Bloodforge Battle, this was the first time the battle for Bloodforge King was concluded even before the first stage drew to a close.
…
Deep within an underground cavern spanning hundreds of li in the Bloodforge World, Wu Yuan was seated in lotus position on a massive boulder.
Hum~ A hazy, earthy-yellow glow enveloped Wu Yuan. Strands of this light connected with the fluctuations of the Celestial Body Dao, exuding an astonishing power
After a long while, Wu Yuan exhaled and opened his eyes, a trace of joy in his gaze. Life and death battles are indeed thrilling, and indeed greatly promote cultivation.
A century of seclusion was not as effective as a single battle. This was a popular saying among immortal cultivators, showing the potential that a life-and-death struggle could unleash.
The Celestial Body Dao is solid as a rock. My saber should be the same. Wu Yuan murmured to himself.
His battle with Ao Qi had taught him many lessons. His defense was broken again and again, allowing blade rays to land on his body. This helped Wu Yuan realize his own oversights.
Moreover, this battle seemed simple, but Wu Yuan gave it his all, not letting down his guard from start to finish. In a moment of carelessness, his opponent might be able to dismantle his defenses, and the all-encompassing blade rays would fall. Not even his True Celestial Body could withstand it.
True body ether arts were not about withstanding enemy attacks while standing still. Rather, it was about increasing one’s tolerance for mistakes. Where one originally had no room for error, occasional mistakes were permissible once one a true body ether art was cultivated. In this way, one’s chances of survival and vitality would naturally increase tenfold.
Time to get moving. One Ao Qi had such a great effect on me, what if I fight several more peerless geniuses? Wu Yuan’s eyes glinted with a hint of yearning.
The pressure of facing a qi refiner in battle wasn’t as intense. Close combat was still the best!
After resting for a day, Wu Yuan emerged once again, traversing through the Bloodforge World in search of peerless geniuses to fight.
…
“Bu Qu, let’s battle.” Wu Yuan descended from the heavens like a mighty roc, launching an attack on a plump elderly man who was in deep meditation.
Wu Yuan? Flee! Upon seeing Wu Yuan, the chubby elderly man’s face paled and he opted for escape. He had heard rumors that even Ao Qi stood no chance against Wu Yuan.
“Haha, run? Do you think you can escape?” Wu Yuan roared with laughter, swooping in like a gale, and sending a blade ray to chase down the elderly man.
With Little Black by his side, Wu Yuan’s movement technique was definitely first-rate among the many peerless geniuses, even if it wasn’t considered the top tier.
“Damn it, ahhhhhh!” The chubby elderly man, Bu Qu, gritted his teeth and exploded into action, his body swelling in size and his aura expanding.
Advanced ether art: Deity Form.
It was an advanced version of the basic ether art: Eldritch Form, and immensely powerful, somewhat similar to the Three-Headed Eight-Armed Form Ao Qi employed.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! On one side, blade rays howled, on the other, palm strikes filled the sky.
After a prolonged, intense battle, which saw them fighting while on the move, the peerless genius ranked 56th on the Blood Devil Token list, Bu Qu, was defeated after a grueling chase of over a hundred thousand li.
Retry? Wu Yuan looked at the chubby elderly man as he disappeared. A chuckle escaped his lips. With so little time left, do you have enough to start over?
This battle had increased Wu Yuan’s Blood Devil Token count by nearly two hundred thousand.
…
And so, Wu Yuan rampaged with reckless abandon, wielding his saber in the Bloodforge Battlefield, seeking one opponent after another. In doing so, he honed his saber technique.
He attacked mercilessly, fighting to the death without retreating. Even when faced with a joint attack of three to five peerless geniuses, he did not back down, obliterating these so-called genius teams with brute force.
Wu Yuan’s Blood Devil Token count continued to climb, finally breaking through ten million and once again making the countless spectators boil with excitement.
Ten million Blood Devil Tokens! Though not a legendary feat, it hadn’t happened in several decades within the Silvermist Division of the Bloodforge Devil Hall.
A billion Blood Devil Tokens? Now that was a legendary feat. It was a benchmark, only theoretically achievable.
Acquiring ten million Blood Devil Tokens was extremely difficult to accomplish. But, Wu Yuan did it.
…
In the final stages of the blood devil trial, Wu Yuan went completely berserk with slaughter.
By chance, he encountered the super genius ranked fourth in Blood Devil Token rank—Dongfang Hongguang, a peerless genius second only to Wu Yuan, Ao Qi, and Gao Yun in fame.
Upon meeting, both sides immediately erupted in a violent battle.
In the end, Wu Yuan emerged victorious. Dongfang Hongguang’s ether was exhausted, and he was forced into a dead end. Escape was not an option.
Although he still had a retry opportunity, there was only one day left. There was far from enough time for him to seize a hundred thousand Blood Devil Tokens.
“You can leave!” Wu Yuan let Dongfang Hongguang go.
“Why?” Dongfang Hongguang was taken aback.
“It’s pointless now.” Wu Yuan laughed heartily as he left.
Indeed, it was pointless. With all that incessant killing, the blood mist had once again reached its storage limit. However, no anomalies occurred.
As for his Blood Devil Token count? Wu Yuan had already surpassed twelve million. Adding a few hundred thousand more couldn’t even be considered the icing on the cake.
Besides, Wu Yuan knew that Dongfang Hongguang was highly valued by the devil hall. Since there was no need to kill, then so be it.
This was not Wu Yuan’s kindness, but his nature. To follow one’s heart is to walk the path of Asura.
I am the king of the Bloodforge Battlefield. I have the power to show mercy. Wu Yuan’s strength gave him enough confidence to continue searching for other peerless geniuses.
Dongfang Hongguang was left with a puzzled look on his face.
“He actually let Dongfang Hongguang go?”
“He has the strength to do so. If he wants to kill, he kills. If he wants to let someone go, he lets them go. Do you have a problem with that?”
“Wu Yuan, you monstrous prodigy.” The Archimmortals and Astral Lords chatted and laughed. Wu Yuan’s actions only made them smile.
Finally, the blood devil trial which lasted for a year came to an end.
“Participants who have fulfilled their Blood Devil Token quota but failed to acquire one hundred thousand tokens will now be teleported away. Ten, nine… one!” A cold voice echoed in the ears of countless participants, throughout the entire Bloodforge Battlefield.
Soon, a large group of participants were enveloped by an invisible force. After which, they left the Bloodforge World with regret.
“Participants who have failed to fulfill their Blood Devil Token quota will now be eliminated!” The cold voice rang out again: “Three, two…”
“No!”
“Don’t!”
“Give me another chance, I don’t want to die, please!” Countless talents from the Bloodforge Devil Hall who were forced to use their retry opportunity but failed to meet their quota, or those who hid themselves throughout the trial, all panicked at this moment.
“…One!” As the cold voice fell, an invisible wave enveloped the entire Bloodforge Battlefield. Over a million participants died simultaneously, their howls of despair cut short.
Countless Archimmortals and Astral Lords silently observed this scene. Over the long years, they had seen too many of such scenes.
Indeed, it was cruel, but this was the rule of the Bloodforge Devil Hall. Only through life and death, iron and blood, would one truly understand the truth of death and become a super powerhouse.
“A total of 1482 people will now enter the second stage. Get ready. Ten, nine, eight…one.” The cold voice rang again, every participant who met the criteria could hear it clearly.
An invisible power enveloped them all at the same time. Without a sound, these participants disappeared.
Thus, the Blood Devil Token ranking was finalized.
Wu Yuan ranked first!
And in the Bloodforge Immortal Voidrealm, the group of Archimmortals and Astral Lords in the observation space could no longer monitor the proceedings.
“They’ve all gone to the Bloodforge Spacetime.”
“That’s controlled by the divine court headquarters. Forget us, even the devil hall can’t spy on it.” These Archimmortals and Astral Lords discussed.
Suddenly, the icy voice reverberated once more across the deserted Bloodforge Battlefield.
“Preliminary estimates indicate that in Bloodforge Battlefield Number 893 (Silvermist), Wu Yuan takes the lead in the Blood Devil Token rankings with over ten million tokens.”
“He qualifies for the title of Bloodforge Marquis of the Golden Core, while simultaneously meeting the minimum requirements for the Bloodforge King title.”
“Wu Yuan also ranks first in the comprehensive talent assessment.” This cold voice echoed simultaneously in various observation spaces within the Bloodforge Immortal Voidrealm’s Redmoon Plane.
Furthermore, it resounded in the ears of numerous Archimmortals, Astral Lords, and countless spectators who were only able to watch the rankings.
“Wu Yuan shall hereby be directly granted the title of Golden Core Bloodforge King.”