Age of Evolution#

Chapter 970: Chapter 973: The Final Gamble_1 Chapter 970: Chapter 973: The Final Gamble_1 A wave of cheers erupted from the side of the Ground Clan.

Lin Zhen had done them proud by managing to eliminate the veteran Strong One from the Endless Species, Yama.

It was a victory of extraordinary significance.

Dong Xuehan, Tiannie, Yama – these three were the linchpins of the Endless Species, rarely experiencing defeat.

Even Ye Xingcai, the Ground Clan’s second-best, would hesitate to claim victory over Yama.

Yet, surprisingly, Lin Zhen succeeded.

Lin Zhen’s victory saved the Ground Clan from the awkward circumstance of facing five opponents with only three fighters, preserving the dignity of the Ground Clan.

…

With this, the challenge round had ended, and all qualifiers had been determined.

In total, eight people advanced directly.

These included Qiong Jing, Ye Xingcai, Augustine, and Lin Zhen from the Ground Clan.

From the Endless Species, the qualifiers were Dong Xuehan, Tiannie, Edward, and Tian Zhuo.

Those contesting for the fifth and sixth spots were Yama, An Luoqi, He Ying, and the Mixed World Demon King.

Contesting for ranks seven to ten were the Giant Dragon King, India, Dark Phoenix, Split Sky Tiger King, Sky Swordsman, Sky Patroller, Red Widow, and Elemental Controller.

Since the Endless Species had one more runner than the Ground Clan, the Ground Clan could only rank up to ninth.

After ninth place, the next is eleventh as there was no tenth spot.

For the Ground Clan, this was a disgrace; luckily, Lin Zhen had done exceptionally well.

Without him, the Ground Clan would have had one less representative in the top four.

Every rank was worth fighting for.

The difference between fifth and sixth was significant, as was the gap between eighth and tenth.

Therefore, the strong ones had to prepare for the next round of battle.

The next round of battles was scheduled for tomorrow, which would be the final day.

However, Lin Zhen had grown somewhat weary of the fighting.

Out of the top eight, the only person Lin Zhen wanted to fight was Augustine.

His whole motive for striving to enter the top four was to battle Augustine.

As for the others, Lin Zhen had no desire to fight them at the moment.

So, when the group placements were announced, Lin Zhen made a request.

He didn’t use the Dimensional Universe communication system to speak.

Instead, he stood from his seat and addressed the presiding platform: “Ladies and gentlemen, I have a request!”

Both Han Xuan and Old Man Canjing had good impressions of Lin Zhen and paid close attention when he began to speak.

“The ultimate objective of my participation in the challenge is to fight Augustine, the manager of the Ground Clan in Skyfire City.

Now that I have entered the top four, I request a duel with Augustine, to decide who is stronger!”

Han Xuan was taken aback and then asked with a serious expression, “Could you explain a little more clearly?”

“It’s simple.

In any battles with others, I, Lin Zhen, will concede, but not in the battle against Augustine.”

With this, Lin Zhen pointed at Augustine: “Augustine, if you have the courage, let’s have a one-on-one duel.

As for the others, I don’t think you need to compete with them.

Without your trump cards, you won’t achieve much.

Let’s decide the third and fourth places of the Ground Clan in our duel and settle our grievances.

What do you say?”

After discussing with Old Man Canjing, Han Xuan believed that they should leave the decision to Augustine and Lin Zhen, and reminded them that the real host of the challenge was Bai Xue.

Their approval didn’t matter.

Augustine’s face changed unpredictably as he calculated in his heart.

Lin Zhen was right.

He had no confidence in winning against any of the remaining six.

Dong Xuehan, Qiong Jing, Tiannie – these three were unbeatable to him.

He would also struggle against Ye Xingcai and Edward.

Only Tian Zhuo seemed slightly weaker, but he relied on marksmanship, not trump cards.

Augustine had no confidence in beating him either.

Augustine did want to duel Lin Zhen, but he felt fear in his heart.

He had dared to bet with Lin Zhen before because their positions and strengths were vastly different.

Augustine believed he could easily subdue Lin Zhen, which was why he dared to make the bet without any reservations.

But the situation had changed.

Lin Zhen’s strong pursuit had brought him into the top four of both races.

This pressure was immense for Augustine, like a person fleeing for his life with a pursuer closing in; the feeling was unbearable.

With the advancement to the top four, Augustine was no longer sure he could gauge Lin Zhen’s abilities.

However, under so many watchful eyes, he found it difficult to refuse Lin Zhen’s proposal—if he did, wouldn’t it seem like he was wimping out?

After pondering for a while, Augustine replied to Lin Zhen: “Lin Zhen, you can’t assume things.

This is a group competition with eight contestants, not a personal duel.

We will have to see whether the others agree.”

With that, Augustine sought support from Qiong Jing and Ye Xingcai, hoping they would say something.

Qiong Jing crossed his arms and replied, “This is your personal matter.

As long as you decide, it’s fine.

As for competition for the top spots, I’ve never really expected you to be of any help anyway.

I don’t really care.”

Ye Xingcai remained silent, seemingly in agreement with Qiong Jing’s sentiment.

However, their opinions didn’t matter.

The final call belonged to the four individuals from the Endless Species.

Dong Xuehan spread his hands slightly: “Why not?

If we can reduce the number of fights, I think everyone would be delighted.

So the two of you can just handle this separately.”

Tiannie and the others wanted to voice objection, but seeing Dong Xuehan stepping in, they couldn’t find words and so held their tongues.

Seeing this situation, Augustine felt somewhat dissatisfied and protested, “No!

What you’re saying doesn’t count.

Only the Princess Bai Xue of the Endless Species can have the final say in this matter.

Since she’s absent at the moment, it cannot be counted.”

Just as he had finished speaking, a massive water mirror appeared on the stage, and Bai Xue appeared within it.

No one knew how this ever-absent princess of the Endless Species had managed to show up this fast.

Her beauty was absolutely enthralling, with charm and glamor in every move she made that was enough to make people’s hearts skip a beat.

Bai Xue delicately parted her lips: “I’m aware of what’s going on, and I agree with Lin Zhen’s suggestion.

The first match tomorrow will be a direct confrontation between the two of you to resolve conflicts and determine the third and fourth place of the Ground Clan.”

Having said that, she looked around with her beautiful sparkling eyes.

Almost everyone felt as if Bai Xue was looking at them, which was a peculiar sensation.

Many of the men present were captivated by her charm, spellbound by her beauty.

Lin Zhen gritted his teeth and thought to himself, ‘What a seductress she is!

She uses her charm to its fullest.’

However, he also somewhat felt an inexplicable familiarity with Bai Xue.

“The comparison ends today, and the final ranking will take place tomorrow.

You may leave now.”

The water mirror suddenly disappeared, and Bai Xue was nowhere to be found, leaving many feeling a sense of loss.

Augustine’s efforts were in vain.

He glared at Lin Zhen, “Lin Zhen, don’t think you can win against me like this.

Tomorrow, you won’t even be able to produce a single tear!”

Augustine turned and vanished into the Dimensional Universe, returning to the real world.

Lin Zhen also left the Dimensional Universe and returned to his hidden residence.

First, he checked on Lin An’s condition through the Dimensional Universe.

Seeing that Lin An was still safe, he finally relaxed.

He closed the Dimensional Universe and gazed at the dim twilight of Skyfire City.

Suddenly, Lin Zhen wanted to take a stroll.

The previous night was the most thrilling experience Lin Zhen had ever had, and he missed it tremendously.

He craved for it to happen once more.

But as a Martial Artist, reason could easily suppress desire.

He didn’t want to take unnecessary risks at this critical moment.

He suppressed these thoughts and decided to stay and cultivate instead.

However, just because he didn’t go out didn’t mean that nothing would happen.

*********

Over at the Endless Species’ administration center in Skyfire City, there was originally Tiannie’s territory, but it was now occupied by Princess Bai Xue from Qingqiu Mountain.

Tiannie had been managing Skyfire City for a long time and had built up considerable power there.

He was now receiving a report from one of his subordinates.

“Sir Tiannie, the princess’s people are still searching every house, but on a lesser scale.

It appears they are still looking for Lin Zhen.”

“Have they found him yet?”

“Not yet, but I guess it should be soon.

The people got soul detectors, which can display every person’s soul fluctuations.

If Lin Zhen controls someone to hide himself, there’s no way he can escape from this detector.”

Tiannie nodded slightly.

It looks like the princess is serious about catching Lin Zhen.

But what exactly does she want to do?

“Have you figured out what happened last night?”

“We’ve found something.

Our people discovered that last night, Dong Xuehan and Lin Zhen were at the Chaos Bar, where they both had dozens of cups of ‘Rainbow After the Rain’.”

“Rainbow After the Rain!”

As the manager of Skyfire City, Tiannie knew what the drink meant.

It was something he didn’t dare to drink much of, and they both had dozens of cups!

“And afterwards?”

“After the drink was finished, they both seemed to be drunk, especially Sir Dong Xuehan.

He was almost carried out by Lin Zhen.

We’ve checked the bar’s monitor footage and confirmed this.”

“And then?”

“Then Lin Zhen took Sir Dong Xuehan back to the Skyfire Inn, probably to sleep.

This morning, Lin Zhen left the inn alone, and it took a long time for Sir Dong Xuehan to leave.”

A ruthless look appeared on Tiannie’s face: “Just slept?

Could it be that simple?

As you said, they seemed to be good drinking buddies.

So why has Princess Bai Xue been hunting down Lin Zhen all over the city since this morning?

And why hasn’t she called off the search yet?

Have you considered all this?”

The subordinate stalled, unable to answer.

“There’s no need to hurry.