Chapter 176: Santa

The Sacred Tablet still glowed, but compared to half a month ago, it had undergone a monumental transformation. The most noticeable change was the significant increase in the number of names inscribed on the tablet.

Originally, only a handful of names like Yaoyao, Wu Huang, Ye Ming, and Zhou Yuan were on the Sacred Tablet. Now, however, the number of names on its surface had reached thirty-eight!

"Thirty-eight people have managed to get their names on the Sacred Tablet?" Zhou Yuan exclaimed, a little astonished.

When did inscribing one's name on the tablet become so easy?

Lu Luo also looked up, her pretty face upturned, and said, "You wouldn't believe it, but during the half-month you were cultivating, opportunities kept appearing in the Sacred Remains. After intense battles, some fortunate individuals managed to acquire them."

"The most apparent result of acquiring these opportunities is a rapid boost in strength, allowing one to ascend to new heights in a single step."

"Many prodigies who were stuck at the late Heavenly Pass Stage took advantage of this to break through their bottlenecks and enter the Initial Qi Stage!"

"And the rules of the Sacred Tablet seem to go beyond just battle achievements; as long as one obtains an opportunity and enters the Initial Qi Stage, they can have their name inscribed."

"In other words, all thirty-eight individuals whose names are now on the tablet possess the power of the Initial Qi Stage!"

Zhou Yuan's eyes widened in surprise. So, as long as one genuinely entered the Initial Qi Stage, they could ultimately have their name inscribed on the Sacred Tablet. However, before entering the Sacred Remains, the number of prodigies who had reached the Initial Qi Stage could be counted on one hand. Now, that number had surged to thirty-eight, clearly showing how beneficial the Sacred Remains truly were.

Zhou Yuan sighed with emotion, then began to examine the Sacred Tablet carefully.

"Hmm?" As he continued to look, his gaze suddenly sharpened, for he saw a familiar name: Li Chun-jun.

This sword-wielding blind man from the Sword Dynasty had previously helped him by blocking Wu Huang.

"Li Chun-jun, defeated Fang Zong (Eastern Xuan Continent)."

"Fang Zong? This person must be one of the four top prodigies from the Eastern Xuan Continent who follow Ye Ming. It seems Ye Ming and his group have targeted Li Chun-jun again," Zhou Yuan muttered to himself.

However, Li Chun-jun's strength was clearly formidable; he had, in fact, defeated that top prodigy from the Eastern Xuan Continent.

"Although Li Chun-jun defeated Fang Zong, he later encountered Ye Ming. The two reportedly engaged in an extremely fierce battle, with Ye Ming ultimately emerging victorious," Lu Luo explained.

Zhou Yuan's gaze sharpened, and indeed, he saw another line of text beneath it: "Defeated by Ye Ming by a single move."

Zhou Yuan frowned slightly. "These people from the Eastern Xuan Continent are deliberately targeting top prodigies, trying to demoralize others and discourage them from competing."

Simply put, Ye Ming and his group were trying to make an example of others. And the most well-known figures, like Lu Luo and Li Chun-jun, were the perfect targets.

"That Ye Ming certainly has considerable skill." Zhou Yuan had interacted with Li Chun-jun before and knew how strong he was. He figured Li Chun-jun could even hold his own against Wu Huang, yet he had still been defeated by Ye Ming.

Zhou Yuan continued reading, when his gaze suddenly halted.

"Ning Zhan, fought Wu Huang for one hundred and eight rounds, ultimately defeated."

"Who is this Ning Zhan? To be able to contend with Wu Huang like that..." Zhou Yuan was surprised. Wu Huang's strength was unfathomable; even though Zhou Yuan had encountered him repeatedly, he felt that Wu Huang had been holding back. He hadn't expected someone named Ning Zhan to be able to fight him for so long.

"That guy is also a top prodigy from the Cangmang Continent, the Ning family's martial arts fanatic. Haven't you heard of him? He's a battle maniac. He and Wu Huang met at a place of opportunity and fought so fiercely that the mountains collapsed and the earth split, but in the end, Wu Huang still gained the upper hand," Lu Luo said with a giggle.

Zhou Yuan sighed, saying, "Indeed, there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers."

He finished reading the Sacred Tablet. Essentially, those whose names were inscribed on it had become the biggest beneficiaries of the Sacred Remains this time.

"It seems both of you have also entered the Initial Qi Stage?" Zhou Yuan turned his gaze to Lu Luo and Zhen Xu. He could feel that the Genesis Qi within their bodies had become much more powerful; the fluctuations clearly indicated they had reached the true Initial Qi Stage.

"Thanks to this Golden Pool, we've also taken that step," Zhen Xu said hoarsely.

Both he and Lu Luo were originally just a step away from the Initial Qi Stage. Zhen Xu, in particular, could even be considered a quasi-Initial Qi Stage cultivator before this. Now, with the help of the Golden Pool, they had truly entered the Initial Qi Stage.

"Those in the Initial Qi Stage can connect with the Primordial Heaven and draw in Primordial Qi to refine their Genesis Qi, but since we just broke through, we haven't dared to act rashly," Lu Luo added.

The Primordial Heaven, as it was called, was rumored to have formed when heaven and earth first opened. It was an extremely mysterious space, but only those in the Initial Qi Stage could sense it and, consequently, attract the Primordial Qi to temper their own Genesis Qi. This was also the origin of the name "Initial Qi Stage."

Zhou Yuan nodded, a hint of emotion in his eyes. It seemed he wasn't the only one making progress; these top prodigies were all rapidly improving themselves with the help of these opportunities. He imagined that Wu Huang, Ye Ming, and the others had also gained significant improvements over the past half-month. If they were to meet again, there would undoubtedly be an earth-shattering battle.

"When will this Sacred Remains end?" Zhou Yuan asked.

Both Lu Luo and Zhen Xu shook their heads. "Each instance of the Sacred Remains seems to be different, so no one knows exactly what will happen. But generally, once the greatest opportunity is obtained by someone, the Sacred Remains will undergo a change..."

"The greatest opportunity?" Zhou Yuan frowned, just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt a slight prickling sensation from his glabella. An ancient light pattern seemed to flash briefly at his glabella, and at that very moment, all the prodigies across the Sacred Remains discovered that the Sacred Tablet high in the sky was emitting a rumbling, unusual sound.

Billions of light rays slowly emanated from the Sacred Tablet. The Sacred Tablet itself also began to change, its light extending. From within this light, a colossal tower slowly emerged into everyone's view. In front of the colossal tower, light converged to form a platform.

At the same time, an ancient voice, as if piercing through time and space, resonated throughout the land, filled with indescribable majesty and mystery.

"Those whose names are inscribed on the tablet may enter the Sacred Pagoda."

"Those who ascend to the top of the Sacred Pagoda shall obtain a great opportunity."

When that voice reverberated across the land, the entire Sacred Remains instantly erupted into an uproar. Countless prodigies cried out in lament, simply because they hadn't managed to get their names inscribed on the tablet. Now, they could only watch helplessly, unable to contend for that greatest opportunity.

On the Sacred Tablet, each name suddenly burst into light, transforming into pillars of light that descended from the sky. In the direction where those light pillars fell, thirty-eight figures were enveloped and drawn in...

The contest for opportunities within the Sacred Remains had truly begun at this moment.