Chapter 129: The Candidates

In the end, Iron Tail made the decision to pursue and kill.

Of course, this time he did not foolishly take his own men to hunt down Fang Qingyun. He took a portion of his own wealth and ordered his subordinates to contribute as well, pooling resources to hire a group of powerful experts to join them in the hunt.

His subordinates breathed a sigh of relief and immediately agreed. They did not want to go back like this—it was humiliating! Although losing some wealth was painful, it was better than losing their lives. Furthermore, for a group of high-ranking officers or elite martial artists, earning money was not particularly difficult.

...

In the void, a giant beast with horns on its head drifted silently. Suddenly, its massive nose twitched slightly. It seemed to have caught a scent. Opening its eyes abruptly, it shot a sharp, piercing gaze into the distance. With a low growl, it propelled its body forward, rushing toward that direction.

A day later, it arrived at its destination. It was not the first to arrive; it didn't even rank in the top hundred. Countless void beasts floated there, letting out low growls from time to time. Many of them were mortal enemies; if they had met elsewhere, they would have fought to the death. But at this moment, they had no time to spare for each other, silently staring down at the continent below.

Storm Continent!

Countless members of the Monster Race had gathered as well. They looked up at the gathering of void beasts, cold sweat streaming down their brows without pause. Even the weakest void beast possessed the strength of a General-rank, and the slightly stronger ones were Divine Generals. At this moment, nearly three hundred void beasts had gathered in the void near Storm Continent.

The number was simply too high—so high that the person in charge, Thunderstorm, was drenched in cold sweat. Even as one of the twelve Heroic Generals of the Storm, he knew he would be instantly obliterated if he faced such a vast number of beasts. Moreover, he knew very well that so little time had passed; many more powerful void beasts had yet to arrive, or perhaps they had already arrived and were simply hiding in the void, waiting to reveal themselves. When they truly appeared, nothing would be able to stop them.

Fortunately, reinforcements arrived quickly. As the core continent of the Monster Race, Storm Continent naturally possessed formidable military power. Before long, two more monsters with auras just as potent as Thunderstorm’s appeared, looking at the void in shock.

One of them turned his gaze to Thunderstorm and asked, "Is it confirmed? Is this the place?"

"Yes!" Thunderstorm said with absolute certainty. "Unless that thing has been birthed, I cannot imagine any other reason why so many void beasts would gather."

"If that is the case, then notify the Human Race and the Demon Race," said one of the twelve heroes, his face calm and his voice indifferent.

Thunderstorm said with reluctance, "Must we tell them? The birthplace this time is our core continent. Can't we handle this with the power of the core continent alone?"

"We could, but the cost would be too great," the lead hero replied coldly. "If we do not follow the rules, the humans and demons will have an excuse. Once they intervene, we might lose control of half the continent." He stared at Thunderstorm with a sharp gaze. "Do not do anything foolish. Back then, a certain Demon King had the same thought as you do now, and that is why the Human Race exists today. Otherwise, they would have been wiped out long ago."

Thunderstorm said bitterly, "Understood! I will send the notification immediately."

...

Fang Qingyun also sensed that something was different. It wasn't just the environment that was changing; the atmosphere within the Monster Race had shifted, and a layer of grey, hazy substance had appeared in the surroundings. A third of the continent seemed to be shrouded in a thin veil.

"What's going on?" Fang Qingyun frowned. He smelled something different—a powerful scent, reeking of ill omens.

"Did the Snake King send me to Storm Continent just for this? And he didn't even explain it clearly!" Fang Qingyun felt a headache coming on. He seemed to have found the cause, but he had no idea what this thing actually was. What did the Snake King want him to do regarding something so unknown?

"Bang!"

A bullet flew past. Fang Qingyun tilted his head slightly to dodge it, then turned his gaze. These mercenaries were still refusing to give up even now.

"Fine," Fang Qingyun picked up his sniper rifle and sneered. "If you want to play, then we'll play until our hearts are content. Whoever admits defeat is a coward!"

"Bang!"

The sniper rifle roared. In the distance, among the group of figures rushing over, one was hit in the head and dropped instantly. Fang Qingyun let out a cold snort, left a trap, and turned to leave. A moment later, an explosion sounded behind him, followed by a chorus of cursing. Fang Qingyun didn't look back, muttering to himself, "No one is allowed to run. It's a fight to the death!"

At the same time, in Fang Qingyun's field of vision...

[Origin +1]
[Origin +1]
[Origin: 15213]

"I'm still getting stronger. I'm not afraid at all. I have plenty of patience. Let's keep playing!" Fang Qingyun sneered, though deep in his eyes, there was a flicker of worry. The effect of the poison beads was getting weaker and weaker. It probably wouldn't be long before they were useless to him.

"Poisonous substances! In this situation, where am I supposed to find them? Or do I have to use the final resort?"

...

Human Race, Military Department!

All the Marshals had gathered—a rare occurrence. Even those who couldn't attend in person, like the Snake King, used projections. Furthermore, those present noticed that the conference room was filled with many subtle, hidden auras. Each one was more powerful than the last; one of them even made the Marshals feel a sense of trepidation.

Human King level!

The Snake King’s projection trembled slightly. He quickly steadied his mind, not daring to probe further. The others were the same; to probe further would be an offense to a Human King, and even a Marshal would be reprimanded.

"Everyone, how many years has it been since we gathered like this?" The meeting was presided over by a woman—a woman who looked ordinary, with indifferent eyes. She was not tall, even appearing somewhat petite. However, her aura was so sharp that one dared not look directly at her.

Seeing this woman, even the Snake King lowered his head slightly to show respect. This was Pure Fire, the First Marshal of the Human Race. She was a ruthless figure who had truly fought her way to the position of First Marshal with her own fists. Even among the monsters and demons, the name Pure Fire was enough to strike fear into their hearts. Decades of military life meant that even her breath carried a thick scent of blood.

"Thirteen years!" one Marshal said calmly. "To be precise, thirteen years, six months, and seven days!"

"Heh," Pure Fire chuckled. "You’re still the same." She stopped smiling. "Alright, the meeting officially begins! Everyone knows why we are gathered here, right?"

"Of course!" The Marshals' eyes burned with intensity. "Has the continent begun to give birth to Origin again?"

"Correct!" Pure Fire’s eyes were also full of heat. "Every hundred years, a continent in the Green Moon World gives birth to Origin. This time, it is Storm Continent."

Storm Continent! Many Marshals looked grave.

"The core continent of the Monster Race... this will be difficult," one muttered. "Who knows how many troops the Monster Race will deploy."

"Then we shall deploy more!" a Marshal said coldly. "They don't deserve to gain an advantage in numbers."

"The tripartite talks are about to begin!" Pure Fire said. "The Human Race will dispatch a large number of troops to the Monster border and launch probing attacks. The Demon Race will likely do the same. But Storm Continent is, after all, the core of the Monster Race. No matter how much pressure we apply on the periphery, the Monster Race will still hold the geographical advantage."

The Snake King said, "There is no other way. We can only hope that those little ones can hold their own."

"Little ones..." Pure Fire smiled. "Everyone, the lists you have should be submitted. All experts below the Divine General rank must be handed over."

The Marshals felt a headache coming on. Xiang Tian asked, "Who are the Kings of the three races presiding over this competition?"

"For the Monster Race, it is the Spider King of the Spider Demon clan."
"For the Demon Race, it is the Demon King Mourinho."
"For the Human Race, it is the Human King, Xuanji."

"These three..." The Marshals present exchanged subtle glances. There were few King-level experts among the three races: five for the monsters, six for the demons, and five for the humans. The three mentioned by Pure Fire were considered powerful even among the King-level experts. Did they really value this Origin so highly?

"Thump, thump." Pure Fire tapped the table. "This time, all three major races are clearly playing for keeps. So don't hold anything back; send out all the experts below the Divine General rank!"

The Marshals looked at each other. In the past, during such battles for Origin, many Marshals would hold back some of their forces. It wasn't that they weren't tempted by the Origin—with it, one could almost certainly reach the Divine General rank, and even for an existing Divine General, it could lead to significant improvements. It was said that the item even had some effect on King-level experts.

But, as in this case where the Origin was born on Storm Continent, the Marshals first had to consider what would happen if their subordinates below the Divine General rank died there. Don't say it was impossible—it was highly likely! On Monster territory, those with more experience might be safer, but the younger ones below the Divine General rank would almost certainly face encirclement. That was the enemy's core continent; even the monsters themselves didn't know how many experts they had!

Although the three King-level experts would work together to set up a barrier preventing Divine Generals from entering, those at the peak of the General rank still could not ignore sheer numbers. If the enemy truly launched an all-out assault without regard for casualties, their forces could be wiped out entirely.

The Marshals frowned, contemplating who to select.

"Knock, knock, knock." A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in!" Pure Fire’s secretary walked in and handed her a list. Pure Fire sighed after reading it. "Everyone, the lists from various martial arts schools have been submitted. They are almost entirely their best students; the schools are effectively sending out everyone they have."

If this had been said by a school principal, none of the Marshals would have believed it. But coming from Pure Fire, they believed it. This woman never knew how to lie.

"What is going on?" a Marshal asked in surprise. "Are they crazy?"

Schools were different from the military. For young experts, schools were just a midpoint, while the military was the ultimate destination. However, schools still valued young experts highly. It was extremely rare for them to send out all their young talent. Weren't they worried about all of them being lost there?

Pure Fire hesitated slightly. "Lord Xuanji graduated from the Imperial Capital Martial Arts School. Perhaps he received some news."

"Oh!" Everyone realized, then fell into deep thought. As a King, Xuanji surely knew many things they didn't. He had given the schools a vague answer, suggesting he wasn't certain himself, yet the schools had made the resolute decision to empty their ranks. What about them?

"Well, what is everyone's decision?" Pure Fire looked at each Marshal in turn.

"Let's do it!" a Marshal shouted, his face turning grim. "If the schools dare to do it, and we don't, wouldn't we be worse than a bunch of students?" By "students," he didn't mean the pupils, but the school leadership—the principals. In the eyes of these Marshals, principals with status equivalent to their own were just a bunch of students.

"In that case, let's give it our all!" Pure Fire quickly made the decision. She looked at the Snake King and smiled. "Marshal Liu, I heard that you have a young expert under your command who is practically unrivaled among his peers!"

The Snake King smiled faintly. "Just a brat. 'Unrivaled' is too high a praise from Marshal Pure Fire; I worry it will crush the little one."

Pure Fire smiled slightly. "Will this little one appear?"

"He is already on Storm Continent."

"Oh!" Pure Fire smiled. "Marshal Liu is quite anxious."

"Marshal Pure Fire is pushing hard; I have no choice but to be anxious!"

The other Marshals lowered their heads, frowning, seemingly deep in thought about who to send. They acted as if they hadn't heard the exchange between the two. What was the most sensational thing among the Marshals recently? It was nothing other than the Snake King’s breakthrough.

Divine General rank was the baseline for becoming a Marshal. Most were level four or higher Divine Generals. Very few could reach level seven or higher to become a Superior Divine General. Both Xiang Tian and the Snake King had originally been level six peak Divine Generals—top-tier experts across the Green Moon World. But recently, for reasons unknown, the Snake King had broken through to level seven, becoming a Superior Divine General. A Divine General at this level commanded immense respect, even from the Imperial family.

Marshal Pure Fire had originally been the strongest, holding absolute dominance in both military strategy and individual strength. She held thirty percent of the military department alone—a figure that could not be ignored, one that even Kings would covet. But as the Snake King ascended to the rank of Superior Marshal, the gap between him and other Marshals emerged, and his distance from Pure Fire began to close. As the second Superior Divine General-level Marshal, he was destined to become a banner for many, a banner to oppose Pure Fire. Even though the Snake King had not yet returned to the military department to report, many had already pushed him forward, leading to a collision with Pure Fire.

In terms of pure strength, the Snake King still had a significant distance to cover before reaching Pure Fire, but that didn't stop many from standing behind him. Thus, a clash between the two was almost inevitable.