Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

”Hahaha, Jiang Chen, congratulations!”

”You’ve only been in the Sword Sect for a few months, yet you’ve already achieved so much. With nothing but your sword, you’ve subdued the entire Outer Sect. The Saint Martial Sword Sect is hailed as a gathering place for prodigies, with geniuses as common as clouds, but you’re the only one I truly admire!” Prince Gong’s face was full of smiles.

The Tower Guardian Elder laughed heartily, gently stroking his graying beard, and said with a smile, ”Little fella, you’ve done your master proud!”

Yuwen Xunyi looked at Jiang Chen with a gloomy expression, scratching his head in resignation. ”Jiang Chen, you tell me how you’re going to make this up to me. I thought that with Li Yunlong breaking through to the Heavenly Destiny Realm, I’d finally be able to take first place on the Spirit List. Who knew you would just come and snatch it away? I don’t care! Once this competition is over, you owe this Prince a night of drinking!”

”Since Prince Xunyi has extended the invitation, I certainly won’t be stingy. Once everything here is settled, I’ll treat you to all the drinks you want. But before that, let’s see what the rewards for this Outer Sect Grand Competition are!” Jiang Chen said with a grin.

’This Yuwen Xunyi’s straightforward personality is quite to my liking.’

’Befriending him wouldn’t be a bad thing at all!’

Yuwen Xunyi grinned, then lowered his voice. ”I got some news earlier. The Celestial Alliance was certain Li Yunlong would win the Outer Sect Grand Competition, so they pulled some strings behind the scenes to increase the reward for first place. It’s supposedly ten times what it usually is. As for what it actually is, I have no idea!”

”Oh?”

Jiang Chen’s eyes lit up.

’Ten times the usual reward for first place in the Outer Sect... That’s got to be worth a fortune!’

Jiang Chen couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation.

While he was waiting, Bai Ling walked up to Jiang Chen, gave him a sharp nudge with her elbow, and said through gritted teeth, ”You little brat, you really know how to keep a secret! You had me worried sick about you for so long!”

”Senior Sister, didn’t I tell you before that killing Li Yunlong would be as easy as killing a chicken?” Jiang Chen said with an innocent look.

Bai Ling’s face reddened, and she chided, ”Who knew you were telling the truth? I thought you were just bragging! Anyway, I don’t care. You’ve hit the jackpot this time, so you’d better treat me to a good meal later!”

”No problem!”

Jiang Chen slapped his chest in assurance and, under Bai Ling’s reproachful gaze, said slowly, ”When the time comes, this Junior Brother will treat you to some barbecue!”

”...”

Bai Ling rolled her eyes, speechless. ”Honestly... You won first place in the Outer Sect, and you’re treating me to barbecue? Only you would think of that...” After a pause, she continued, ”By the way, Jiang Chen, you’re now number one in the Outer Sect. This competition will definitely attract the attention of the Celestial Alliance’s higher-ups. Plus, you killed so many of their experts. You have to be careful!”

”I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. If the Celestial Alliance dares to come for me, I’ll make sure they don’t return!” Jiang Chen’s gaze was icy as he spoke with nonchalant confidence.

Bai Ling opened her mouth, but she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Lin Feifei, who was standing to the side, had wanted to approach them, but seeing Bai Ling and Jiang Chen chatting so enthusiastically, she hesitated and didn’t go over.

At the same time, the Outer Sect Elders finally finished cleaning up the Blood Battle Arena. Led by Grand Elder Zong Rui, a group of Elder powerhouses stepped forward.

His icy gaze swept over the crowd.

When his eyes landed on the seven people standing in the front row, his heart couldn’t help but tremble. Ten talented disciples were supposed to have made it into the top ten, but now only seven remained.

The three who had died were all experts from the Celestial Alliance.

It was like an invisible slap, stinging his face with a burning pain.

”Ahem!”

Zong Rui cleared his throat, his flat voice echoing through the Earth Martial Hall. ”This session of the Outer Sect Grand Competition has finally concluded. Congratulations to all of you for your significant progress and achievements. Next, this Elder will announce the rewards. All disciples who placed in the top one thousand will receive a reward of five hundred Contribution Points. Those in the top five hundred will receive one thousand Contribution Points...”

The rewards for the Outer Sect Grand Competition were indeed quite generous this time.

One Contribution Point was worth one hundred Spirit Crystals. For an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple, one thousand Contribution Points was truly a considerable sum!

Soon, it was time for the top ten’s rewards.

Zong Rui said flatly, ”Due to some unforeseen circumstances during this Outer Sect Grand Competition, there are only seven of you. Therefore, the rewards for eighth to tenth place are canceled. Seventh and sixth place will each receive ten thousand Contribution Points and one opportunity to cultivate in the Sword Pool.”

Ruan Lingyun and Sun Yang stepped forward together and received a green Sword Order from Zong Han’s hands—the proof required for a cultivation session in the Sword Pool.

With this token, they could enter the Sword Pool to cultivate once!

As for the Contribution Points, the Sect would deposit them directly into their Identity Tokens.

”Thank you, Elder!”

The two of them retreated.

Zong Rui continued to announce, ”Fourth and fifth place will receive twenty thousand Contribution Points and two opportunities to cultivate in the Sword Pool!”

Qiu Yunbo and Bai Ling went up together to receive their rewards.

”Two sessions in the Sword Pool? Holy crap, the Sect is really bleeding for this!”

”They’re being really generous, too bad we weren’t strong enough!”

”If the rewards for fourth through seventh are already this much, how much will the top three get?”

Everyone wondered in shock.

Zong Rui continued, ”Third place, Lin Feifei, will receive fifty thousand Contribution Points, three opportunities to cultivate in the Sword Pool, and may also go to the Scripture Pavilion to select one Earth Tier Junior Secret Manual!”

”Thank you, Elder!”

Lin Feifei quietly clenched her fists as she received her reward.

Zong Rui gave a faint nod and continued, ”Second place, Yuwen Xunyi, will receive one hundred thousand Contribution Points, four opportunities to cultivate in the Sword Pool, plus the right to choose any one Earth Tier Mid-Level Secret Manual from the Scripture Pavilion.”

”Thank you, Elder!”

Yuwen Xunyi clutched the four Sword Pool Tokens, tossing them in his hand. He looked at Jiang Chen with a grin, his eyes filled with anticipation. ”Jiang Chen, after you get your reward, don’t forget you owe me drinks!”

”Of course!”

Jiang Chen grinned and looked at Zong Rui.

Their eyes met.

Zong Rui snorted coldly, his expression utterly foul. Thinking of the reward for first place in the Outer Sect Grand Competition, his heart was bleeding. He almost ground his teeth to dust as he forced the words out, one by one: ”First place in the Outer Sect Grand Competition receives two hundred thousand Contribution Points, ten opportunities to cultivate in the Sword Pool, and may choose any three Earth-Tier High-Level Secret Manuals from the Scripture Pavilion.”

The moment he spoke, it was like a thunderclap on a clear day, sending a wave of clamor through the crowd.

”Two hundred thousand Contribution Points? Three Earth-Tier High-Level Secret Manuals? And ten sessions in the Sword Pool? Holy crap, this... isn’t this way too much?”

”It’s terrifying! Those two hundred thousand Contribution Points alone are equivalent to twenty million Lower-Grade Spirit Crystals. Even an expert at the Peak of the Heavenly Destiny Realm probably only has that much to their entire name, right?”

”What are Spirit Crystals? A Heavenly Destiny Realm expert can earn a ton of them in minutes if they really want to. The truly terrifying parts are the ten sessions in the Sword Pool and the three Earth-Tier High-Level Secret Manuals!”

”Look at the Grand Elder’s face! It’s blacker than charcoal!”

”How could it not be? It’s obvious these rewards were prepared specifically for Li Yunlong, but they ended up in Jiang Chen’s hands instead. The Celestial Alliance tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice used to lure it!”

”Rice? I’d say they lost the whole rice jar...”

Amidst the whispers, Zong Rui, his face grim, handed ten Sword Pool Tokens and a Scripture Storage Order to Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen grinned and said, ”Thank you for your hard work, Grand Elder.”

Zong Rui snorted coldly and said through gritted teeth, ”Jiang Chen, that which is too rigid is easily broken. You’d best watch yourself!”

”Thank you for the reminder, Grand Elder. I, Jiang Chen, have my own principles when it comes to how I do things. For my friends, there is wine to drink and meat to eat. As for my enemies...” A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he said coolly, ”My sword is waiting for them!”

”Good, good, good! I hope you don’t live to regret this!”

Zong Rui snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve, and stormed away.

That Zong Han narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Jiang Chen, a grim killing intent flashing across his face. He then quietly followed Zong Rui and left.

Once Zong Rui and the other man were gone, the crowd surged forward to congratulate Jiang Chen and the others.

Yuwen Xunyi, being the naturally sociable person he was, had already thrown an arm around Jiang Chen’s shoulder and was dragging him off for drinks.

This made both Bai Ling and Lin Feifei grind their teeth in frustration.

But there was nothing they could do!

The Outer Sect Grand Competition had finally come to a close, and the generous rewards had been distributed to their new owners.

But the storm created by this Outer Sect Grand Competition swept through the entire Saint Martial Dynasty like a hurricane...