Chapter 407 - 259: Resource Exchange, Old Acquaintance (Part 2)

Chapter 407: Chapter 259: Resource Exchange, Old Acquaintance (Part 2)

The Golden Crow Fruit ripened once a year, with only three to five fruits per harvest. Yu Fei had learned from Cloud Brocade Platform that this year’s yield would be smaller, with only three available.

The Golden Crow Fruit grew on a Yang-attribute Divine Tree called the Fusang Divine Wood. This Divine Tree could survive the high temperatures of the Red Sun Realm, and this environment tempered the Golden Crow Fruit, allowing a new batch to ripen each year.

Although the Red Sun Realm was an open realm, the annual harvest of Golden Crow Fruit was so small that it was completely monopolized by the Seven Greats. There were no channels for it to be sold to the outside world.

Every year, a Grandmaster would be dispatched to oversee the harvest, allowing all Martial Artists to compete for it fairly, with the restriction that participants must be at or below the Gang Qi Realm.

This seemingly fair rule was not fair at all. In terms of combat power, unaffiliated Martial Artists were no match for their counterparts from the great powers, even at the same realm. Over time, only the celestial prides whose Cultivation Techniques specifically required the fruit bothered to compete.

After gathering this information, Yu Fei returned to the Red Sun Realm. He calculated that there was still a month until the fruit ripened, so he planned to use the ubiquitous Yang Qi of the Red Sun Realm to cultivate, hoping to push his own Inner Qi Realm a step further.

「Time flew by.」

By June, the temperature in the Red Sun Realm had risen even further. The ambient temperature was now approaching 200 degrees Fahrenheit, an abnormal heat.

Yu Fei discovered that even the auras of the ubiquitous little fire sprites had risen to a Tier 4 level, making them equivalent to Inner Qi Martial Artists.

These little puffballs, originally only about three feet tall, had now developed faint humanoid shapes with short limbs, growing to be around five feet tall.

If anyone got close, these little creatures would proactively attack by spitting fireballs. They were adorably ferocious.

Yu Fei casually crushed one, and it actually dropped a material: a low-tier, fiery red Crystal Stone that exuded a potent flame aura.

The Fusang Divine Wood was quite easy to find. From a great distance, Yu Fei spotted a gigantic, golden-yellow tree over a thousand feet tall. Halos of light flowed around it, and scattered across its branches were numerous clusters of energy, each rich with a transcendent aura. Three of these clusters in particular glowed with a golden-red light, their auras exceptionally potent.

When Yu Fei arrived at the scene, he found that there were not many people, only about a hundred or so.

In his senses, all of these Martial Artists possessed auxiliary abilities. Countless perception fields overlapped, and before Yu Fei could even get close, his Illusory Sword Intent lost its effect.

This was the first time he had been actively forced out of his Illusory Sword Intent’s stealth state.

In other words, everyone present was a celestial pride.

As Yu Fei drew closer, he found that he recognized almost no one. Most of the crowd were in the Divine Realm, but there were also many in the Gang Qi Realm, with the two groups split about evenly.

His vision was flooded with auras of orange, red, silver, and gold.

Yes, for the first time, Yu Fei had discovered a celestial pride of his own generation who possessed a golden-tier talent.

He watched silently for a moment before looking away. ’I need to see how the Golden Crow Fruit competition works, and whether I’ll have an opportunity in the fight.’

Yu Fei would absolutely not let a golden-tier celestial pride of his generation get away. Whether he assimilated or dismantled them, the rewards would be immense.

At the front of the crowd, Yu Fei saw the very same Grandmaster he had once spotted from a distance at the Thousand Mountain Crater.

"Yu Fei! Long time no see! Over here!"

As he got closer, he saw an extremely sturdy and honest-looking man, who was bare-chested.

A distant memory suddenly surfaced, and he realized this was none other than Zhuge Zhigang, whom he had met during the Celestial Pride Positioning Competition!

"Mr. Zhuge! Long time no see!"

As he spoke, he raised the faceplate of his Flowing Silver Frost Wind Armor.

"I have to ask, how did you recognize me?"

Yu Fei was surprised. ’Unless Zhuge Zhigang also possesses some kind of X-ray vision,’ he thought. ’But I haven’t detected any similar perceptive abilities.’

’My Void Clearing Mirror has the ability to detect perception fields due to its passive nature. Even though I was just forced out of my Illusory Sword Intent’s stealth, I didn’t sense any kind of X-ray vision ability.’

For celestial prides, X-ray vision was not a high-priority ability among the many available Pupil Skills.

If their own innate talents were not strong enough, they were more inclined to add combat-enhancing abilities like Insight, Mental Pressure, or Vital Energy Perception.

Zhuge Zhigang laughed heartily. "Once I’ve met someone, I remember them. I can’t believe it’s already been a year since we last saw each other!"

"You’re right. Which school did you end up going to?"

"I went to Wanren Mountain. Come on, let me introduce you to my classmates..."

It had been a long time, but Yu Fei’s impression of Zhuge Zhigang was still quite positive. He recalled that everyone used to say Zhuge had the heart of a child—pure and simple, yet remarkably perceptive.

Through Zhuge Zhigang’s explanation, Yu Fei learned the rules of the competition for the Golden Crow Fruit.

As an ultimate treasure of the Yang attribute, the Golden Crow Fruit had immense medicinal value. Consuming it directly could improve one’s aptitude, advance their cultivation realm, and temper their physical body, among other things.

Of course, direct consumption was the least efficient method of use. It was best to combine it with other ingredients to concoct a precious elixir and unleash its full, potent effects.

Because the Golden Crow Fruit’s yield was low and its effects were extraordinary, the Seven Greats had long ago established rules for the competition. Any Martial Artist at the Gang Qi Realm or below could participate, but each person was limited to one attempt per event.

As a result, Martial Artists who were not celestial prides from the Seven Greats had mostly given up on competing. Over the years, it had become a small-scale, internal contest for the treasure among the Seven Greats.

Although the Golden Crow Fruit was rare, its applications were narrow. Martial Artists without a Yang attribute could not use it, and it was not without substitutes. Therefore, the number of competitors was not particularly large.

Yu Fei did a quick count and found there were just over a hundred people present.

Zhuge Zhigang enthusiastically continued to explain the rules of the competition.

"There are only three Golden Crow Fruits this year. In a bit, my teacher will divide the area into three zones. Any Martial Artist who wants to compete must enter one of the zones beforehand. The last person left standing in each zone is the winner.

Oh, right, Teacher also said the three battles will happen simultaneously, and each person can only compete once..."

Yu Fei asked curiously, "How do you know all the details?"

Zhuge Zhigang pointed proudly at the Grandmaster beneath the tree. "See? That’s my teacher!"

Yu Fei looked over and saw the elder, whose hair and beard were silver-white, looking at him amiably.

He even offered him a smile and a nod.

He immediately bowed to show his respect.

’With a Grandmaster’s perceptive abilities, he probably noticed my conversation with Zhuge Zhigang long ago.’

In fact, it was more than just that. Zhuge Zhigang’s teacher had noticed Yu Fei back at the Thousand Mountain Crater. Such powerful and versatile techniques were not something an unaffiliated Martial Artist could possess.

But that was the extent of it. The man wouldn’t pay him any special attention; he was just another celestial pride, and every university had hundreds of those.

The crowd waited for a day and a night. During that time, more people arrived in succession. Yu Fei even recognized one of them—a person who had appeared during the Celestial Pride Positioning Competition.

Yu Wen Baji!

The familiar spiky purple hair, a cigarette dangling from his lips, an outfit straight out of the heavy metal rock scene, and a long, straight-bladed sword hanging from his waist.

He swaggered over, glaring disdainfully at everyone, his powerful aura instantly suppressing the entire crowd.

Yu Fei stared at him for a moment, only to receive a scornful glance in return. He realized with a start that in just one short year, this man had completely forgotten him.

’We have that so-called five-year pact,’ he thought, ’but it seems he never took it to heart at all.’

Then again, Yu Fei had forgotten how much he had changed in the past year. His aura was practically reborn. Besides, his faceplate was down again; it would be a miracle if Yu Wen Baji recognized him.

Two people followed behind him: a young man with small eyes and a beautiful, dignified-looking young woman.

Yu Fei scanned the area. The caliber of these hundred-odd people was extremely high. Over seventy percent possessed red-tier talent, while the few with orange-tier talent looked rather insecure.

There were thirteen celestial prides with silver-tier talent, and one with gold-tier talent.

Yu Fei’s attention was completely fixed on this golden-tier celestial pride. The young man was at the Five Realms Divine Intent Realm and possessed a cold and aloof temperament, as if nothing in the world could stir his heart.

Yu Fei could sense the man’s immense self-confidence. From the crowd’s whispers over the past couple of days, he had managed to learn his name.

Lu Bufan.

A perfectly ordinary name.

Yu Fei cast aside his stray thoughts. Today, he had to end up in the same battle zone as Lu Bufan.

"My young friends! The Golden Crow Fruit will ripen in about an hour, so let’s begin!"