After the timer ran out, the man's voice spread around again, announcing the end results. "Those in the top fifty step toward the formation that has appeared in the middle of the arena. Those who didn't and survived, you can leave through the formation that will appear after all fifty top rankers are transported."
Yasenia stepped forward without hesitation with her group, and many others did the same.
On the top fifty, Yasenia could see most of the leaders from the groups that initially challenged her. The ones missing were those she defeated. 'Did they have a deal with each other? Most probably.'
Yu Lei walked toward her and stopped a few meters before her. "Yasenia. This is your last chance at redemption. Give up the keys and treasures you've accumulated, or you will regret it."
The dragoness looked at Yu Lei and sneered outwardly. "I refuse."
However, inside, she was thoughtful.
'I will regret it? Her tone doesn't sound like a threat, and since she has seen my strength, she wouldn't act like this unless she was 100% sure that I wouldn't be able to deal with whatever is going to fall onto me.'
Yu Lei nodded indifferently. "As you wish."
Then, she turned around and left her side, not insisting.
This made the dragoness even more sure that she had prepared something. 'Think, think… What can she do to threaten me with absolute certainty…'
Yasenia's golden eyes flashed with intelligence, and she thought of a few scenarios. 'Will her powers pressure mine outside of main cities? If they decide not to accept us and slowly block our routes, it might be a bit of a headache.'
However, her thoughts didn't stop in the far future.
'What threats can involve her words in the short run?'
The dragoness's long tail swished, taping the ground as it moved while she thought. 'Hm… Secret Realm, valuable treasures, top powers…'
Her eyes flickered. 'Ambush? No… Considering the attitude these people have shown me, and because I've killed a few high-ranking people, more than an ambush, it will be a frontal confrontation.'
Yasenia's lips arched. 'They want to show the World that my power is not that strong and regain their previous untouchable reputation. For that, if they group before me, ignoring their own rules, and force me to cough the treasures I've gathered, it will intimidate the powers that have started gaining courage after my successful face-off with them.'
The dragoness thought of many things, and her reptilian eyes locked on Yu Lei's back, looking at her deeply with a smile.
Yu Lei looked back, frowning at Yasenia's expression. "What are you looking at?"
The dragoness chuckled. "Nothing. Thank you for warning me."
Yu Lei's frown deepened. "What are you talking about?"
Yasenia shook her head. "Don't worry. It doesn't really affect you."
Yu Lei snorted. "Acting high and mysterious, you are really hateful."
The dragoness smiled, not answering.
A light surrounded the complex formation below their feet, and their bodies disappeared.
To Yasenia's surprise, she saw someone who wasn't in the top fifty throwing himself inside and being transported with them.
Once they arrived, their bodies had changed places, appearing in a relatively humble and large room.
Touching the walls, there were forty columns, and a square formation covered the entire wooden floor.
Each pillar had different colored markings and symbols, and there were four types of pillars.
Bronze pillars, crystal pillars, silver pillars, and golden pillars.
Moreover, the wooden floor was separated into four equal segments, each with the color corresponding to the pillars in that area.
The entire room gave an ancient feeling while maintaining a humble but profound look.
It didn't look like a normal library, but Yasenia wasn't discouraged.
"Hahaha, I made it!"
Curious, the dragoness looked at the man who came with them. 'Did the original owner think about this?'
The answer came a few seconds later.
Ten swords appeared in the air out of nowhere, each giving quite a violent aura, and before the man could speak, he was skewed by them, dying instantly.
Evelyn sighed. "Stupid."
The dragoness wanted to take the ring, but a few people rushed forward. Not wanting to fight in an area where she could be killed instantly, she moved her gaze away from the corpse and focused on her surroundings.
The man's voice echoed in the room, this time much clearer and closer. It felt as if he was standing in front of them, even though no one was there.
"Welcome, victorious and proud sons and daughters of the heavens. The rewards for your valorous efforts are ahead. Depending on what key you have, a step toward the same-colored pillars. Remember to keep your feet inside the same-colored area. For example, if you have a silver key, go to the silver pillars and stand in the silver area."
"Once inside, you will be collectively transported to the place where you will choose your rewards. Depending on your achievements during the trials, you will be given extra rewards."
Yasenia and the girls moved toward the golden area together, and other than them, there was one person walking with them.
It was Yu Lei.
The dragoness smirked. "Ho? You got the golden key from the other group?"
Yu Lei snorted. "Isn't that obvious?"
Yasenia sighed. "You are so stiff."
Yu Lei countered. "Why would I bother conversing with you?"
The dragoness shrugged. "Believe it or not, I'm not fond of conflict. If I can avoid it, I will. Of course, I'm also not afraid of it. That's why our relationships are getting more and more tense. After all, your groups are continuously trying to test, steal, and provoke me."
Yu Lei kept silent, her four green wings folding neatly behind her.
After a while, everyone was in position.
There were ten people on the golden pillars, nine being our girls; nine on the silver pillars, five being Laurina, Gorena, Sirae, Razar, and Frisk; twenty-four on the crystal pillars, one being Du Xian; and seven people on the bronze pillars, for a total of fifty.
Thomas looked around and frowned. "Weren't there three golden keys?"
Mei Xinyan, the poison master who traded information with Yasenia at the beginning of the competition, spoke. "Won't it probably be in the hands of one of the others?"
Thomas answered. "It doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't they sell it? It is useless if you didn't rank in the top fifty."
Yasenia sighed, feeling regretful about not being able to get Sarah's golden key. 'I couldn't get her key…'
Her mind wandered for a second, thinking about the deaths of Sarah's human lovers. 'Mom told me they killed them to avoid complications…' She didn't feel bad about it. It was something she herself would've done. While Astarea and Bai Ling didn't do much wrong besides defending Sarah, she didn't want someone who might resent her loitering around.
Many people died for being careless about revenge coming from the most unexpected places.
Mentality was a big part of increasing cultivation, and revenge was a freaking nice fuel to advance through the cultivation ranks.
That's why, when defeating enemies, most powers cleaned things down to the single disciple, regardless of their involvement. As long as someone was part of that sect, killing them was the correct thing to do to cut every possible unfavorable outcome besides those they couldn't control.
It was a cruel but widespread practice.
After waiting for a few minutes, the formation lit up again, and their bodies were transported once more.
The place they landed on was very mystical.
It was a dark room but also illuminated in the sense that they could see each other clearly.
Around the entire room, many white lights danced around, showing a mystical appearance.
The people here were our girls and Yu Lei. There was no one else.
Yu Lei felt many pairs of eyes landing on her, making her muscles tense. "What."
Her tone was curt and cold, but inside, she was nervous. 'What if they attack? What if there is no protection here?'
While she would have been unafraid at first, she now knew fairly well that Yasenia was unafraid when killing "high-ranking" people that others wouldn't consider even badmouthing.
The dragoness looked around and spoke slowly. "Yu Lei."
Yu Lei jumped backward while flapping her wings, creating as much distance as the room allowed her.
Yasenia laughed. "Don't worry. While your golden and silver keys are interesting, I'm not going to attack you here and risk losing qualifications."
Yu Lei spoke bluntly. "What do you want?"
The dragoness was about to speak, but the owner's voice ethereally reverberated.
"For the first time, a group that arrived with a Golden Key managed to last until the end without losing a single person."
Yasenia refocused and listened to him.
"Due to this rare occurrence, your original [Golden Key] will evolve to a [Diamond Key]."
"The benefit of a [Diamond Key] is choosing one of the 20 Unique Cultivation Methods."
'20? Quite a few.'
21 was a particular number in Yasenia's world because the basic, advanced, and rare elements were 21. Therefore, for it to be 20, a number near it, made Yasenia's mind spin with many theories.
'Unique… Unique… Could it be?' Her eyes moved toward Andrea, but the formation below them shone, stealing her attention.
The flickering lights in the ceiling became brighter than before, and twenty dots of different colors appeared in the middle of the ceiling.
The dragoness looked at them and saw one of the lights being dull, increasing her suspicions.
The dark room and bright lights made it feel like they were in space, surrounded by stars.
Meanwhile, Yu Lei's eyes opened. '[Diamond Key]? This wasn't in the information. I need to inform the seniors quickly.'
The dragoness looked at Yu Lei and smiled. "Yu Lei. Choose first."
Yu Lei frowned, wanting to stay and see what Yasenia and the others chose. "Why?"
Yasenia laughed gently, summoning Tatyana's attack talisman and releasing a strand of its aura toward her. "Because I told you so."
Yu Lei's entire body erupted in chills as her soul fell to the depths of despair for a second, making her body tremble. 'W-What kind of treasure is that!?'
Her usual arrogance was long gone, and she quickly walked forward. The talisman's aura was too scary not to obey Yasenia's words.
Moreover, unlike Tengliu, who could, at least, maintain some semblance of reason, Yu Lei was too weak mentally, making her not dare look at the dragoness.
Once she reached the middle of the room, the man spoke aloud.
"The stars on the ceiling are cultivation methods. You can either choose one suitable for you that will be marked by the stars shining when you step forward or one from the [Library List] displayed in your mind when you step forward. You possess one [Golden Key], two [Silver Key], two [Crystal Key], four [Bronze Key], and four [Library Tickets]."
Our girls were surprised. Angel commented. "Wow, so many."
Evelyn looked at Yasenia, who was licking her lips in regret, and she laughed. "What, do you want to kill her?"
Yasenia sighed. "Well, I don't want to become a bandit that robs people without any reason, but it's really tempting."
The girls laughed.
Yu Lei used a few minutes to calm down her beating heart and then began choosing things.
After a while, she pointed at one of the lights on the ceiling. "For the [Golden Key], I choose high-level Heaven-ranked [Tornado Reversal Body Technique]."
That star streaked across the large, dark room and stopped in front of her. Then, it transformed into a greenish scroll with images of gales.
Our girls looked at her, confused. 'Why not choose a transcendent rank like Andrea's cultivation technique? She didn't even choose a peak-level one.'
With the [Silver Keys], she chose one peak-level Earth-ranked cultivation technique and one skill of the same level.
Then, with the [Crystal Keys], she chose middle-level Earth-ranked skills, and with the [Bronze Keys] and [Library Tickets], she used them for peak-level Magical rank items. Library Tickets were similar to Bronze Keys, and they were small extra rewards.
Our girls blinked. 'Oh? We can choose other things besides techniques and skills.'
After using everything over the course of an hour, Yu Lei disappeared, leaving our girls by themselves.
The dragoness smiled excitedly. "How do we do this?"
*************************************************************
Evelyn: I can't wait to choose mine. Do you think he has a lightning and light technique?
Tatyana: A technique with a combination of elements is probably scarce if there are any.
Yasenia: We must plan this perfectly to gain the maximum advantage! Is there a time limit?
Tatyana: Hahaha, while we haven't heard one… If we stay for too long here, there will probably be some kind of warning.
Author: There is a time limit, but it's long, so be unafraid and plan.
Yasenia: But… I can't tell myself what you just told me, T_T.
Author: Hahaha. Let's move on! I summon you!
Randomplant: Hello!
Kali: Welcome.
Randomplant: So, seniors, more otherworlder questions.
Tatyana: Shoot.
Randomplant: Tatyana, you spoke about Otherworlders as if they had a flaw. What problems does it bring to themselves: their way of thinking, how easily they ascend in cultivation levels and obtain power without the need for deep understanding?
Tatyana: Well, it's more of the mindset they have. While not all of them, most otherworlders feel like they are the 'protagonists.' While, in truth, they couldn't be more wrong.
Tatyana: The cultivation world is ruthless. Most of the time, their naivety brings disaster to those around them because they think they have this primal need to "correct" everything they see. Or worse, that everything is theirs.
Tatyana: I've seen otherworlders get upset because a woman or man they liked became a partner with another person. And when I say upset, I mean to the point that they killed the other person, thinking that their crush was stolen by force, like some novel plot. They can't fathom that maybe the person they liked didn't like them back because they spoke to them for a few seconds.
Randomplant: Yikes.
Tatyana: Well, it's a matter of that and also underestimating the cultivation world because, to be honest, they have the tools to do so.
Randomplant: What do you mean?
Tatyana: What would've happened if we, seniors, weren't here when Yasenia pushed Sarah to the limits?
Randomplant: Oh… Well, dead.
Tatyana: Well, she has life-saving treasures, and she probably would've been less reckless. However, the probability of death would've been high.
Tatyana: Naturally, Yasenia wouldn't have provoked Sarah in the first place if we weren't here since it was something I sneakily induced. The previous secret realm is a good show of Yasenia's carefulness toward the unknown… Well, besides Fu Jing Jing's situation. But we all have our silly moments, right? I'm more specifically talking about how she handled Sarah.
Randomplant: Hahaha, right.
Tatyana: Well, that's most of it. I think you get an idea of what I want to say now.
Randomplant: I think I do, thanks. If I want to ask more, I'll go to the comment section!
Author: And with this, we are done. Have a nice day!