Something’s not right?
Li Nan frowned. "What’s not right? I don’t see anything wrong."
Fairy Jinghong said, "They’re all listless."
At the previous Holy Spirit Assembly in the Upper Realm, the disciples were all incredibly excited when they came out of the Holy Spirit Secret Realm, showing off the Treasures they’d found.
This time, however, not a single person was speaking.
Everyone was clenching their fists, their faces etched with anger and shame.
"Is that really the case?"
the Middle-aged Steward asked in surprise.
Fairy Jinghong noted with her keen eye, "Not only are they listless, but every single one of them is covered in dirt and battered. They’re all injured, with no exceptions for even Bai Luoxue, Xiao Fan, or Hua Tianmen."
Hm?
Li Nan looked up and saw that Bai Luoxue, Hua Tianmen, and Xiao Fan were indeed injured. They looked completely dejected, without a shred of a victor’s joy, and their Realms hadn’t improved in the slightest.
After all, the Holy Spirit Secret Realm was filled with countless Treasures. Finding and consuming just two stalks of Spirit Grass would be enough to raise one’s Realm by a significant margin.
’What in the world happened?’
The elders were completely baffled.
Li Nan sighed helplessly. "Forget it. Let’s tally up the Treasures first, determine the rankings for these geniuses, and start the third round of assessment. As for everything else, we can ask about it after the Holy Spirit Assembly is over."
"Very well!"
Fairy Jinghong and the Middle-aged Steward nodded.
Li Nan stood up and announced, "We will now begin tallying the Treasures. The two hundred participants with the most Points will advance to the third round, the finals of the Holy Spirit Competition."
After speaking, Li Nan waited for the disciples to cheer.
However, everyone remained silent.
Li Nan’s face darkened.
’Are all the young people these days so listless?’
’They aren’t even excited about winning rewards.’
Little did he know...
A young man in blue robes asked, "Brother, how many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures did you find this time?"
"Find my ass! Everything got stolen," the tall young man next to him replied.
The young man in blue sighed. "Sigh... Mine got stolen too. Dammit, we’re equally unlucky."
"It’s not just the two of us who are unlucky. Those guys over there got robbed too."
The tall young man pointed to a few others nearby.
The men nodded, looking utterly dejected.
The young man in blue was dumbfounded. "So you’re saying... we all got robbed? We all have zero Points?"
"It’s not just us. I heard that Bai Luoxue, Hua Tianmen, and Xiao Fan got robbed too," one young man said.
"What?"
Everyone simultaneously turned to look at Bai Luoxue, Hua Tianmen, and Xiao Fan, only to see the three of them with their heads lowered in frustration.
Hua Tianmen couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, "Bai Luoxue, how many stalks of Spirit Grass did you find?"
"Two!" Bai Luoxue answered.
Hua Tianmen blurted out, "That’s it?"
A bitter expression crossed Bai Luoxue’s face.
She had gone to great lengths to hide those two stalks of Spirit Grass in her shirt. The Demon Beasts had nearly stripped her bare for it.
"Xiao Fan, what about you?" Hua Tianmen continued to ask.
Xiao Fan said awkwardly, "My clothes were torn to shreds, and my Storage Ring was stolen. I barely managed to hide one Spirit Fruit in my mouth."
"Don’t laugh, you two, but I only have one stalk. I hid it in my crotch," Hua Tianmen said, his face beet red.
Every time he found a Treasure, those Demon Beasts would charge at him. He was left with no other choice but to resort to such a desperate measure.
"It’s fine. We’re all in the same boat," Xiao Fan said with a small smile.
Hua Tianmen agreed. "Right. Since everyone got robbed, it’s not like I’m the only one. There’s nothing to be ashamed of."
The point exchange began.
Li Nan looked at the disciple in blue at the front of the line and said, "Take out all the Treasures you found in the Holy Spirit Secret Realm."
The young man in blue tightly clutched the hem of his robe and said nothing.
Li Nan frowned. "What are you afraid of? We’re not going to steal it. After we calculate the Points, you can take it right back."
The disciple in blue remained silent.
Li Nan roared, "Are you exchanging for Points or not?! If not, then get lost! Don’t waste my time! Next!"
The disciple in blue scurried away dejectedly.
However, the next disciple also said nothing.
Li Nan couldn’t hold back any longer. He threatened, "Did you find any goddamn Treasures or not? Say something! If you don’t talk, I’ll smack you dead."
"Don’t!"
The disciple stammered, "Elder Linan, the Treasures I found were all stolen. I can’t produce a single stalk of Spiritual Medicine."
’Stolen?’
Li Nan’s brow twitched. He then waved his hand dismissively. "Get lost. Zero Points for you!"
This disciple let out a heavy sigh of relief.
"Zhang Sanmin, zero Points!"
"Li Sibei, zero Points!"
"Wang... zero Points!"
The Middle-aged Steward was dumbfounded. "Something’s not right. Why are there so many with zero Points? Is it possible none of these guys found any Treasures?"
"Impossible!"
Li Nan retorted, "Before the Holy Spirit Competition began, I visited the Holy Spirit Secret Realm myself. Although the Treasures weren’t as plentiful as last time, there was still a considerable amount. Unless they’re blind, they should have been able to find something just by walking a few steps."
"But..."
"Just continue!"
After a dozen more zero-point scores were announced, Li Nan finally cracked a smile and praised, "Ren Fan, not bad at all! You actually managed to dig up two pieces of ore."
In the previous Holy Spirit Assembly, two pieces of ore would have been nothing, only good enough for last place.
But this time was different.
With everyone else at zero Points, two pieces of ore seemed exceptionally brilliant.
"Thank you for the praise, Elder Li."
Ren Fan’s face was full of pride.
Li Nan said, "That’s eight hundred Points for you. You may step down."
Ren Fan swaggered over to Mu Qing and Wu Hao and sneered, "You two unlucky bastards. Don’t tell me all your Treasures were stolen?"
Mu Qing said confidently, "It’s not yet certain who’s won and who’s lost."
"Tch... You think I’d actually believe you?"
Ren Fan walked up to Man Shan and continued his taunts. "And you! You’re so swollen you look like a pig’s head. I almost didn’t recognize you."
"Watch your fucking mouth! Who are you calling a pig’s head?"
Man Shan’s face was contorted with fury.
Ren Fan just chuckled. "I love watching your impotent rage. You think my mouth is foul, but you can’t do a thing to me."
Finally, Ren Fan came to stand before Su Mo.
He looked furious.
However, before he could speak, Su Mo said, "Piss off, or I’ll smack you dead."
"You just fucking wait!"
Ren Fan stalked off, his face red and veins bulging in his neck.
"Bai Luoxue, two stalks of Spirit Grass, fourteen hundred Points."
"Xiao Fan, one Spirit Fruit, eight hundred Points!"
"Hua Tianmen, one stalk of Spirit Grass, seven hundred Points."
Li Nan watched the three of them with a deep frown.
’The others might have found few Treasures because they were robbed, but surely these three weren’t robbed too?’
’Why are their totals so low?’
Soon, it was Man Shan and Mu Qing’s group’s turn.
Ren Fan sneered, ’Those guys were beaten until their heads swelled up like pigs. Their Treasures must have been completely stolen. They’ll definitely get zero Points.’
"Man Shan: twelve stalks of Spirit Grass, seven Spirit Fruits, twenty pieces of ore. Total Points: eighteen thousand."
"Mu Qing: nine stalks of Spirit Grass, nine Spirit Fruits, twenty-five pieces of ore. Total Points: seventeen thousand five hundred."
"Wu Hao: five stalks of Spirit Grass, eleven Spirit Fruits, thirty pieces of ore. Total Points: nineteen thousand."
Hearing their ridiculously high scores, Ren Fan subconsciously yelled, "Holy shit! How do the three of them have so many Points?!"