A Chaotic World

Chapter 140: The Lifebrand Courtyard

As expected, none of the participants chose to accept the beast cores.

Be it Nanlan Qianxue, Nanhuang Jiansheng, the member of Bluenight Palace, as well as every other youngster here at the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet, all of them made the same decision as Lu Tianzi.

However, this led to another question.

There were hundreds of participants who had fought in the battle royal. Would all of them be allowed into the Lifebrand Courtyard then?

The answer was no.

In the end, only the top two hundred participants would be allowed into the Lifebrand Courtyard.

As for the rest of them, they had no choice but to accept low ranked beast cores as reward.

Even though the amount of low ranked beast cores given was quite generous, they still could not help but feel disappointed.

After all, in comparison to an opportunity to cultivate in the renowned Lifebrand Courtyard, these low ranked beast cores truly looked like a lacklustre reward.

While Nanlan Qianxue and Nanhuang Jiansheng who were within the top two hundred managed to squeeze in, the member of Bluenight Palace unfortunately fell just outside of the cut off, losing his chance to enter the Lifebrand Courtyard.

With that, he had no choice but to return to the rest of his companions with a dejected look on his face.

Seeing the look on his face as he rejoined their group, Nanqing Haowen and the rest could not help but feel slightly bitter.

At least he gained the experience of battling other top geniuses and managed to obtain low ranked beast cores out of it.

If he was so depressed even after all that, then just how were the rest of them supposed to feel?

***

"Now then, I hereby announce the end of the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet!" the Scarlet Moon Overlord said. "Thank you once again for your participation, and I hope that the next time we meet, it would be to celebrate our victory over the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom!"

"Long live Your Majesty! Victory shall be ours!" the Scarlet Moon Overlord's subordinates yelled in unison.

"Long live Your Majesty! Victory shall be ours!" the rest of the spectators echoed.

"Then I shall take my leave!"

The Scarlet Moon Overlord chose not to leave the way he entered.

Without waiting for a response from the crowds, the Scarlet Moon Overlord soared into the skies, flying off into the distance.

It was a grand and magnificent exit from the Battle Arena, and much more convenient for him as well.

However, his poor personal servants, specifically those who were still below the Origin Core realm, had no choice but to hurry out after him.

Upon the departure of their King, the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet had officially come to an end.

In terms of hospitality, the Scarlet Moon Palace was not lacking in any manner. They arranged a glorious banquet for everyone, most of whom were more than eager to attend.

Be it for networking purposes or simply as an eye opener, they certainly would not turn down this kind gesture from the Scarlet Moon Palace.

But with the absence of their King the Scarlet Moon Overlord, those who stood at the peak of the kingdom no longer had any interest in staying.

Apart from them, another group of people who did not attend were the top two hundred rankers of the battle royal.

The banquet might be an eye opener, but it was nothing in comparison to the Lifebrand Courtyard.

Rather than torment them with the agony of anticipation, the Scarlet Moon Palace had decided to simply allow them to skip the banquet, leading them straight to the Lifebrand Courtyard!

***

"Speak up, speak up! Just how much have you been hiding from us exactly?" Nanlan Qianxue eyed Lu Tianzi suspiciously while they were proceeding to the Lifebrand Courtyard.

"Hahaha, I just got lucky this time!" Lu Tianzi laughed.

"That's what you said after the Nine Suns Trial too!" Nanlan Qianxue retorted.

"I guess I got lucky twice then!" Lu Tianzi answered carelessly.

Nanlan Qianxue knew that Lu Tianzi was deliberately trying to avoid answering, and could only glare at him with a pout.

Faced with the playful glare coming from this beautiful girl who was known to others for her cold temperament, Lu Tianzi could not help but laugh in response.

Seeing the interaction between them, Beihua Wanlei could not help but feel a sense of rage well up within him once more.

He might be temperamental, but he was not slow.

Even without anyone telling him, Beihua Wanlei had already figured out that the one who backstabbed him during the battle royal was highly likely to be none other than Lu Tianzi.

As for how he defeated Fourth Prince Mosha, Beimu Fei must have done most of the job while he reaped the results at the end.

A sneaky bastard who only knew how to rely on others for glory, and yet he still dared to flirt with Nanlan Qianxue in his presence?

If not for that sneaky backstab, would that bastard ever be able to defeat him in a frontal fight?

Beihua Wanlei clenched his fist in rage.

He had decided that after they left the Lifebrand Courtyard, he would immediately look for his master to discuss about his revenge!

From the side, both Beimu Fei and Beiqian Ming of the Four Stars shot occasional glances at Lu Tianzi as well, each of them with their own thoughts in mind.

Even though they were not hurrying, since all of them were martial artists of at least the Essence Condensation realm, their speed was not slow by any measure.

Before they knew it, they had already arrived before the entrance to the Lifebrand Courtyard.

"Follow me," an elderly man stepped in front of the huge door and gave it a gentle push.

The moment that heavy looking door creaked open, a wave of World Origin Energy surged out from within, rushing right towards them.

If this wave of energy had been material in nature, all of them might have been knocked over due to how dense this rush of energy was!

Without further hesitation, the elderly man stepped through the door and entered.

The rest of the ushers stopped outside of the entrance, looking on at the participants with looks of envy when the participants followed the elderly man through the door.

Reining in his excitement, Lu Tianzi did not rush to enter. But when he finally did, Lu Tianzi could not help but feel slightly confused.

On the other side of the door was nothing but a simple looking open courtyard.

Below their feets was also regular grass. Though it had been strengthened by the dense World Origin Energy within the courtyard, all it amounted to was just a more resilient form of grass.

Apart from that, there was only an ancient looking tree that stood erect in the middle of the courtyard, stretching out its branches that were filled with lush green leaves. Even though half the day was already over, the dew on each leaf still glistened beautifully under the sunlight.

So that was the Lifebrand Ancient Tree that Beimu Fei was talking about?

Lu Tianzi could not help but feel slightly disappointed.

Perhaps it was due to his high expectations, but this supposedly amazing ancient tree actually looked quite ordinary?

If there was anything special about this place, it would be that the density of World Origin Energy within the Lifebrand Courtyard was extremely high.

However, that alone should not have been sufficient to attract even Origin Core realm martial artists to cultivate here!

At this moment, the elderly man who had led them into the Lifebrand Courtyard finally turned around to look at them.

Lu Tianzi immediately took this chance to take a good look at him as well.

The elderly man had short hair that was entirely white, but just like any other Origin Core realm martial artist, his eyes reflected the strong vitality of his physique. But the main thing that caught Lu Tianzi's attention was that of the Nine Cycles of Origin, this elderly man was already at the Ninth Cycle!

In other words, he was an entity at the very peak of the Origin Core realm!

After the elderly man took a good look at all of them, he finally spoke with a calm tone. "Some of you may not know me, and that is not important. But what you cannot afford not to know is the Lifebrand Ancient Tree, so let me fill you in before we begin."

"Marshal Xianming must be joking. How would anyone not know the second in command of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom?" Beiqian Ming interjected with a smile.

This Marshal Xianming gave him a kind smile in response before continuing.

"The Lifebrand Ancient Tree might not look like much, but do not underestimate it! It is a spiritual tree that has stood strong in this land for at least hundreds of millennia, since the days even before the formation of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom. It has borne witness to a history that included occurrences beyond our imaginations, baptised by the very elements of nature. All of this has made their mark one way or another onto the Lifebrand Ancient Tree. As time passed, the Lifebrand Ancient Tree has grown into a spiritual tree, and these marks have also evolved into remnants of the world laws! If anyone manages to establish even the slightest of connections with the Lifebrand Ancient Tree, they will stand a chance of comprehending these world laws that has been embedded into its very body!"

Lu Tianzi's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing the words of Marshal Xianming.

The world laws!

They were intangible and elusive concepts that many martial artists fail to touch upon despite spending all their lives in pursuit of it.

However, as long as a martial artist managed to gain even the most superficial of understandings in just one of these laws, the martial artist would be able to amplify his strength by countless times!

This could be seen from how much Lu Tianzi's combat capability had improved because of his comprehensions in the Law of Water.

But even Lu Tianzi's current level of comprehension was considered shallow when seen from the eyes of true experts.

Upon fully understanding just a single one of the world laws, a martial artist was said to be able to stand toe to toe with the heavens, wielding divine strength that could sweep away all enemies!

No wonder even Origin Core realm martial artists would be attracted to cultivate here!

The world laws were deep and unfathomable.

Even at the Origin Core realm, most martial artists only have a shallow understanding of the world laws. Thus, it was not surprising for them to invest their time in trying to improve their comprehensions in this aspect.

At the same time, this also explained why the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet only catered to Essence Condensation realm martial artists, putting those at the Essence Building realm in an obvious disadvantage.

After all, only after stepping into the Essence Condensation realm would a martial artist be qualified to come into contact with the world laws.

If martial artists of the Essence Building realm were to be let into the Lifebrand Courtyard, it would only be a waste of their time since they stood no chance at touching upon the concept of the world laws!

Marshal Xianming smiled meaningfully. As expected, all of them had determined looks on their faces after being fed with the prospect of coming into contact with the world laws.

"Now that you have been allowed in here, it will be a shame if you left without any takeaways. Try not to let that happen."

"Yes, Marshal Xianming!" all of them responded enthusiastically.

"Very well!" Marshal Xianming felt his enthusiasm being riled up by these hot blooded youngsters as well. "Now then, I will be showing you to your positions. Top four rankers, follow me!"

Even though the Lifebrand Courtyard was large enough to accommodate all two hundred of them, there was only one Lifebrand Ancient Tree.

The positions where they were allowed to cultivate, and their respective distances from the Lifebrand Ancient Tree, directly affected the chances of establishing a connection with the tree.

Thus, this was where each youngster's rank came into play.

Those with a higher rank would be allowed to cultivate nearer to the Lifebrand Ancient Tree, while those with a lower rank would be relegated to the edges of the Lifebrand Courtyard.

As for Lu Tianzi and the others who were in the top four, they were allowed to sit directly under the Lifebrand Ancient Tree, granting them an absolute advantage for the coming week of cultivation!