Chapter 776: Examination (I)

“Report!” someone suddenly said from the City of Supernaturals contingent. “I have a fine of one hundred thousand. Does that mean I only need to face one puppet and defeat it to have my fine cleared? And I’ll receive a reward instead?”

“Correct!”

One hundred thousand!

Everyone looked at the speaker. That was a very low number. Of course, this likely had something to do with the level of destruction wreaked. Li Hao and his companions had damaged a lot of areas. On the other hand, Panther wasn’t hit with a fine because it hadn’t been part of the fighting at all. The little tree had destroyed the most and was levied with two million pieces of energy stones!

“Then I’ll challenge the puppet!” the speaker was overjoyed. “Sir, can I choose to leave if my challenge is successful?”

“You may!” The Black Armor was suddenly amenable to everything. “The school is sealed, but if your challenge is successful, that means you have the strength to venture out from the grounds. You can naturally choose to leave them!”

The answer brought smiles to everyone’s faces! They’d conversed among themselves and knew that Li Hao’s quartet needed to face at least ten puppets. The speaker from the City of Supernaturals only needed to defeat one. If he succeeded, he could leave and spread the word!

Whether it was bringing more people in or taking up a position outside, the entire world would come to kill Li Hao once these happenings became public knowledge!

They would be safe then! Even if no one came, they could leave ahead of time.

“Then I choose the challenge!”

“Very well!”

The one from the City of Supernaturals put his guard up when a puppet manifested. He suddenly erupted with force and punched outward, as domineering as a god!

RUMBLE!

A massive collision sounded; the puppet’s movements moved slowly and it remained entirely unyielding after taking the blow head-on. It swung its fists in return!

Bam!

The man flew back, vomiting blood in his wake. Disbelief brimmed in his eyes—he was an Arcanus! The puppet was completely undamaged after that punch, and he was the one gravely injured after the puppet responded in kind!

“Your fine is doubled to two hundred thousand pieces!”

“Sir, I...” The man looked on in dismay. He was afraid too now and quickly looked at Qian Wanhao. Who traveled with several million pieces of mysterious power stones on them? The Black Armor really would kill them! What kind of hellish place was this? Wasn’t it a grade two ruin that Novas could survive in? Why was it so terrifying??

There were at least thirty puppets that they could see and an unknown amount more hidden in the shadows. Combined with the Black Armor... this ruin was absolutely horrifying! Could even legendary Apexes make it out, much less Novas?

Li Hao had been observing the situation, trying to draw whatever conclusions he could from it. These puppets didn’t seem to kill without reason or that punch would’ve killed the challenger. The puppets were unbelievable constructs!

Evenround Martial...

Perhaps the greatest threat wasn’t Qian Wanhao or their plant spirits, but the ruins themselves! No wonder the little tree had said that there was great terror here. Li Hao was quite resigned by their circumstances. Could he defeat the puppets or the Black Armor?

Fifty-five million stones... Regardless of whether or not he could afford it, wouldn’t it completely negate the purpose of this expedition if he did pay it off? And was their exit guaranteed if he paid?

Various thoughts floated through his mind.

“Does anyone else wish to attempt the challenge?” asked the Black Armor. The assembly paled at its sonorous voice.

Challenge? Who was it kidding?

One puppet had easily defeated an Arcanus and was wholly unscathed after it. That made it at least a five element Arcanus! That was one thing, the other was that the rest of them had fines of much more than one hundred thousand. Theirs exceeded one million!

Anyone who’d participated in the battle had such a fine on their heads. Only Hou Xiaochen’s fine was lower because his attacks primarily centered on mental strength. As such, his level of destruction had been much smaller.

Arcanus was a cultivation level that easily wreaked havoc. Qian Wanhao’s fine was one and a half million stones because he was a four element Arcanus! Since Li Hao and Hong Yitang utilized their abilities in the form of word characters, the destructive power they brought to bear wasn’t as great. It was all concentrated on their enemies, whereas Qian Wanhao’s abilities were scattered.

The little tree had fought in the air. Although its aftershocks were strong, the level of destruction was mediocre. Hence, its fine was two million. It was clear to see that the Black Armor was impartial. His penalties were based on personal responsibility.

Qian Wanhao despaired to think that his fine would double if he failed to defeat any one of fifteen puppets. That would be three million energy stones!

“Report...” he said with one final ray of hope.

“Speak!”

“If... if I do not have energy stones, can I trade in other items?”

“You can!” the Black Armor responded calmly. “Everything can be converted to energy stones at a martial university!”

Qian Wanhao fell silent, whereas Li Hao’s thoughts spun rapidly. “Report, we are not students...”

“Non-student trespassers in Evenround Martial will be executed with no exception!”

“We are students!” Li Hao immediately changed tack before the Black Armor finished speaking.

Who is that walking suit of metal kidding? Execution with no exception? Here I was thinking if our treatment would be better if we weren’t students. I obviously was thinking too much.

“The puppets... are fashioned out of incomparable treasures. Why don’t I try challenging them and seeing if the Broken Will Spear can defeat them...” Hou Xiaochen transmitted. His fine was five hundred thousand stones. Doubling that was one million, which didn’t seem to be much of a difference.

Li Hao looked blankly at him.

Are you serious? You’d be one against five!

From defense alone, these puppets look to be part of the Apex cultivation level in the ancient civilization.

They’re incredibly strong. I don’t think I’d be able to defeat them if I tried.

Could the little tree do so, armed with the imperial palace? It might! But it would have to fight twenty at once!

Don’t even think about it!

Its fine would double if even one puppet remained. It nearly broke Li Hao’s brain to think of a singular fine being four million.

There weren’t many survivors standing in the field—Li Hao’s quartet on one side, Qian Wanhao and three other ministers on the other. They were joined by the three from the City of Supernaturals and the lord of Buddha Mountain to make eight.

Twelve humans, one dog, one tree. The rest of the one hundred that’d entered were no more. The ruins would be sealed off for another five days—it’d only been half an hour thus far.

Indeed, half an hour.

The great battle had been over in the blink of an eye. How were they supposed to escape in the remaining time if nothing changed? They couldn’t even play for time!

The twelve were very quiet. Should they pay the fine? How? Even the weakest among the City of Supernaturals needed to scrounge up two hundred thousand stones, which was two million modern stones. They were all Arcanus present and, as such, had consumed a great quantity of resources to reach their level.

“Report,” Li Hao asked carefully when new inspiration struck. “How much can one drop of Water of Life be counted for?”

“Water of Life?”

“This!” Li Hao displayed one drop.

“Ah, that.” The Black Armor took a look. “Five hundred pieces... It’s difficult for plant spirits to cultivate, so we’ll put a higher price on it.”

The crowd paused.

How much? Did we mishear? Five hundred pieces? That’s five thousand mysterious power stones... and that’s a generous price?

Their fines reached the millions, but one drop of Water of Life was only good for five hundred drops?? This was a colossal joke!

Qian Wanhao’s face was turning a putrid color. When he asked if other items could be traded in for the fine, he’d been thinking about the cache of Water of Life he had on him. Prior to the expedition, he sold everything he owned for fifty drops so that his chances of survival and stabilization of cultivation would be greater. This was to be his final ace, and it was worth three million stones!

Since he’d traded for more drops, his plant spirit had lowered its price to a more reasonable sixty thousand stones per drop. It was still high, but the value definitely hovered around three million. However, the Black Armor would buy it back for two hundred and fifty thousand modern stones? That was less than one tenth of the price!

Qian Wanhao slowly turned beet-red with indignation. Just... how much had the plant spirits saved for themselves??

The little tree played deaf and dumb, not daring to say a word. Five hundred pieces was a decent buyback price as it only needed three hundred stones for one drop. But now, its scheme had been uncovered by the Black Armor. The tree charged Li Hao ten thousand stones per drop!

The young man didn’t mind the profit margin disparity—he was swiftly considering something and transmitted, “How many stones does Senior Tree need to coalesce one drop?”

“Um...”

“Don’t worry, I’m just thinking maybe we can save a bit for the fine!”

Oh, that was true.

“Um... er... I would need four hundred pieces of energy stones!” The little tree didn’t dare quote three hundred since there was a bit of energy it needed itself in the process. Inflating the price by a little might make Li Hao feel better, that he wasn’t losing out on too much.

Li Hao pursed his lips in thought. Meanwhile, the Black Armor grew impatient.

“Hurry and make your choice! Delaying time is wasting life. Wasting life... There will be no options available after fifteen minutes! All fines will be doubled!”

Dismay stole over the crowd, whereas Li Hao quickly asked, “Report! If uh... I... have a special identity... can that reduce my fine?”

“No identity will reduce your fine!” The Black Armor looked faintly at him. “Even ultimate powerhouses must follow the school rules, unless you are the descendant of the Human King!”

Alright then, pretend I didn’t say anything.

Li Hao had been hoping that the heir of the Lis, descendant of the Sword Sovereign, and division leader of Battle Heaven might lead to certain advantages. At the very least, it might lead to a certain reduction. But reality was merciless and such favoritism was available only for the descendants of the Human King.

What a pity!