In a mysterious space stood a vast circular metal plaza about ten li in diameter. It was a perfect replica of the plaza where Wu Yuan had landed previously.
Hundreds of figures draped in blood-red robes already occupied the plaza, their numbers growing by the second.
Whoosh! Wu Yuan materialized silently in a nondescript corner of the plaza, his gaze swiftly scanning the sea of robed figures.
All of them bore the exact same aura.
Wu Yuan instantly understood – every single one of these people were Bloodforge Kings of various first-tier divisions.
Not a single one of them spoke, remembering the words of the white-robed woman: don’t reveal your identity!
Wu Yuan also remained silent, waiting patiently.
In a matter of moments, all 1163 Golden Core Bloodforge Kings had assembled on the plaza.
“Firstly, congratulations on making it to the Overlord Hall,” A cold voice resonated across the plaza. The woman in white appeared out of thin air, hovering high above.
As she looked down upon the Bloodforge Kings, no one dared meet her gaze.
“The Bloodforge Spacetime bestows a certain opportunity upon each participant who arrives here,” the white-robed woman said slowly, her voice echoing across the plaza. “However, such opportunities are limited and difficult to attain.”
“These opportunities range in rarity from Ordinary, Moderate, Superior, Mystic, Legendary, Overlord.”
Everyone listened quietly, etching her words in their memory.
“The most common Bloodforge participants who enter the Bloodforge Spacetime can only obtain Ordinary opportunities.”
“Even the humblest Golden Core Bloodforge Marquis can hope for a Moderate opportunity at least, and a Legendary one at most.” The white-robed woman spoke indifferently, her gaze sweeping over the figures clad in red.
These shrouded figures were indistinguishable from one another.
“As for you Golden Core Bloodforge Kings, you can expect at least a Superior opportunity, with a chance to obtain an Overlord opportunity.”
“However, the opportunity you end up with will depend on your strength and luck.” The white-robed woman pointed into the distance.
The gazes of the Bloodforge Kings followed her finger.
There, a massive light screen appeared in the space, displaying numerous lines of text:
First stage: Ordinary, Moderate, Superior
Second stage: Moderate, Superior, Mystic
Third stage: Superior, Mystic, Legendary
Fourth stage: Mystic, Legendary, Overlord
Fifth stage: Legendary, Overlord
Sixth stage: Overlord
The Bloodforge Kings glanced at each other, puzzled.
“These are the rewards for the six stages of the Overlord Hall.” The white-robed woman slowly explained, “Depending on the stage you reach, you may seize a corresponding opportunity.”
“If you can’t even pass the first stage, then you can only expect a Superior opportunity.”
“If you pass the third stage, there’s a chance that you’ll obtain a Legendary opportunity, though the chances are very slim.”
“A Legendary opportunity would benefit all of you greatly,” the white-robed woman said softly. “As long as your life isn’t cut short, you’ll easily become an Astral Lord in the future.”
Under their robes, the eyes of the Bloodforge Kings lit up with fervor.
Astral Lord? How vast was a single immortal continent? Yet, a single Astral Lord might not emerge over hundreds of millions of years.
How many peerless geniuses emerged from the immortal continent over the long years? On top of that, many of them only revealed their potential at the Amethyst Cradle phase or Void Refiner stage.
Geniuses abounded, but talent was just talent, achievement was a separate thing altogether.
The vast majority of geniuses perished mid-way.
If obtaining a so-called Legendary opportunity could help one easily become an Astral Lord, it was unimaginably valuable.
Legendary opportunity? Wu Yuan murmured.
He suddenly thought of a person—Zhuo Haiyue.
Zhuo Haiyue participated in the Golden Core Bloodforge Battle a century ago. At that time, she wasn’t too well known and barely managed to seize the title of Bloodforge Marquis.
But after the Bloodforge Battle, she rose in fame, becoming a recognized peerless genius of the immortal continent, leaving the other geniuses behind in the dust.
Eventually, she became the universally recognized number one genius of the immortal nation, her brilliance blinding!
Could it be that Zhuo Haiyue is the genius Senior mentioned, the one who seized the Legendary opportunity? Wu Yuan quietly speculated.
He could not be sure, it was just a guess. But judging from the time and growth trajectory, it fit.
“If you clear the fourth stage, you will obtain a Mystic opportunity at least. With that, you stand a high chance of becoming an Archimmortal.”
“There is even a slim chance that you will obtain an Overlord opportunity. However, the probability is extremely low.” The white-robed woman said indifferently, “Clearing the fourth stage is a difficult challenge.”
“If you clear the fifth stage, you will obtain a legendary-level opportunity at minimum…Hmm, it’s been a long time since a peerless genius who can clear the fifth stage has appeared.”
“Give it your all.”
“If you clear the third stage, you may consider this challenge a success.” The white-robed woman spoke faintly.
Passing the third stage could mean obtaining a Superior, Mystic or Legendary opportunity.
“You have ten breaths to prepare.” The woman in white said coldly, “After which, the Overlord Hall will open.”
“You will be transported ten at a time, starting from Number 1.” The woman in white closed her eyes.
Each robed figure was deep in thought, their hearts filled with desire.
Mystic? Legendary? Overlord?
Superior opportunity? As a Bloodforge King, I am destined to obtain a Superior opportunity at minimum. But those Bloodforge Marquisese surely aim to obtain Legendary opportunities. I, a king, must surely aim higher.
Overlord opportunity? That’s unrealistic. I must try my best to seize a Mystic opportunity. I must make it to the third stage at least.
Fight!
The Legendary opportunity is my goal. Even the Astral Lord praised my talent. These thoughts flashed through the minds of the Golden Core Bloodforge Kings.
All of them were peerless geniuses who fought their way to the top of an immortal nation. All of them held their heads high.
Even knowing that this so-called Overlord Hall was no easy challenge. They were still filled with ambition.
Is it going to be a test of strength? According to my knowledge, most of the Bloodforge Kings from each first-tier division have either second or third-degree immortal roots, and an understanding of the Lesser Law at the ninth-level True Intent stage. Wu Yuan pondered.
Those who had broken through to the Dao Field stage were ultimately few and far between.
However, these Bloodforge Kings had several months to cultivate in the Bloodforge Spacetime. Perhaps some peerless geniuses like Gao Yun had stepped into the Dao Field stage.
From what the white-robed woman said, I can go all out. There was a hint of yearning in Wu Yuan’s eyes. The Celestial Body Dao and Longevity Dao in combination… Even if it fails to reach the first-level Dao Field stage in power, the gap should not be too big.
On top of that, my immortal root is strong. In a full-out, life or death confrontation, my strength should place me within the top ten of these thousand plus Golden Core Bloodforge Kings. Wu Yuan contemplated.
Wu Yuan had never seen other Bloodforge Kings in action, thus he was not entirely confident. He was just making an approximate estimation.
I should strive to pass the third stage, and do my best for the fourth. Wu Yuan set a goal for himself.
The fifth and sixth stages? It was unrealistic to aim for them.
Give it my all, and leave the rest to fate. Wu Yuan decided.
He finally understood what the white-robed woman meant.
One could only pass the fifth and the sixth stages if their strength was at the peak of their cultivation level. Otherwise, whatever one obtained was highly dependent on luck.
“Ten breaths of time are up.” The white robed woman suddenly opened her eyes. “Numbers 1 to 10, enter the Overlord Hall.”
Boom! A massive hall appeared behind the white-robed woman, with exactly ten entrances in the form of spatial vortexes.
The inside of each vortex was hazy and unclear.
“Enter in numerical order.” The white-robed woman coldly commanded.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Ten figures in blood-red robes flew out from the crowd of thousands and sequentially entered the vortexes.
Buzz~Buzz~ As these blood-robed figures entered, the same text appeared above each vortex – None!
A quarter of an hour later.
Buzz~ The text above the sixth vortex changed to Stage One, while the others remained at None.
One after another, the text above the other vortex entrances also changed to Stage One.
Shortly after, the text above the sixth vortex bounced to Stage Two. Quickly, the text above the other vortexes also changed to Stage Two.
But it didn’t last long.
Whoosh~ From the sixth vortex, a disheveled figure in blood-red robes flew out, landing heavily on the ground.
He staggered to his feet.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! In a blink of an eye, figures in blood-red robes flew out one by one from the other nine vortexes, each more disheveled than the last.
At this point, all ten Bloodforge Kings were eliminated.
“All of you cleared the second stage. You have a glimmer of hope of acquiring a Mystic opportunity,” the white-robed woman said expressionlessly. “Wait on the sidelines for now.”
The ten Bloodforge Kings exchanged glances, then bowed respectfully and stepped aside.
The thousands of Bloodforge Kings who had yet to enter the Overlord Hall felt their hearts tighten.
Not a single one of the ten made it past the third stage?
“Numbers 11-20, enter in order,” ordered the white-robed woman once more, and another group of red-robed Bloodforge Kings flew into the vortexes.
Not long after, they were also eliminated one after another, all only making it past the second stage.
Just like this, group after group proceeded into the hall, each group consisting of ten kings.
Out of all eight groups, seventy-eight participants passed the second stage, two only passed the first stage.
The number of participants who cleared the third stage? Zero!
Such a horrific elimination rate left all Bloodforge Kings who had yet to challenge the hall on edge.
One could argue that a single group was too small a sample size, but the failure of eight whole groups was enough to prove the immense difficulty of passing the third stage.
“Numbers 81 to 90, proceed.” The woman in white robes issued her command.
The challenges ended quickly.
“Number 83 passed the third stage. You have a slim chance of obtaining a Legendary opportunity, with a high probability of obtaining a Mystic opportunity.” The woman’s voice softened somewhat. “Not bad.”
Immediately, the thousands of Bloodforge Kings present memorized Number 83. Someone who could pass the third stage had to be ridiculously strong.
Before the challenge had begun, all thousand-plus Bloodforge Kings had been filled with confidence. But as batch after batch of Bloodforge Kings failed, the remaining participants began to face reality. It was clear that passing the third stage was a truly remarkable feat.
“Yes.” The Bloodforge King known as Number 83 was clearly excited, and quickly retreated to the side.
Time passed.
Batches of Bloodforge Kings entered the Main Hall, but one by one, they were stuck at the second stage.
After half a day, more than eight hundred Bloodforge Kings challenged the Overlord Hall, but only six managed to pass the third stage!
The number of participants who cleared the fourth stage? Still zero.
The high elimination rate made every Golden Core Bloodforge King acutely aware of the formidable challenge posed by the Overlord Hall.
The title of Overlord was indeed justified.
“Participants 841 to 850, proceed to the Overlord Hall in order.” The white-robed woman’s voice remained indifferent. However, her gaze subtly swept over the unremarkable figure entering the tenth vortex.
Wu Yuan, Participant Number 850.