Bai Hong's face turned ashen—hitting someone in the face was the ultimate insult, and Lord Goldwin of the Heavenly Gold Domain had just done that to him. The truth was, it wasn't that he was magnanimous enough to let Joe Di off the hook; as Lord Goldwin had said, Bai Hong had plenty of sons, some of whom he'd never even met or remembered their names. If a concubine's son was killed, his subordinates would handle it; why should he personally interfere?
It wasn't until he recently left seclusion that he learned the elder sent out from Starshatter Domain to avenge his son had failed. If Lord Goldwin hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't even have remembered that the friend of his son's killer was in Ascension City.
"That's nothing you need to worry about. Once the Genius Trials are over, I'll kill that Joe Di myself." Bai Hong, Lord of Starshatter Domain, spoke with a chilling tone. He couldn't do anything to Lord Goldwin, but Goldwin had a disciple named Lai He who was also participating in the Genius Trials. When the second round of duels began, Bai Hong would make sure his son, Bai Shaoxiang, killed Lai He.
"Just who is this Joe Di, anyway?" Barton May asked.
His son, Jason May, had to win first place in this True Domain Genius Trials. Even if Joe Di posed no threat to Jason, Barton May still needed to figure out what Joe Di was all about.
Zhuo Changgen spoke up, "I've heard that he's the strongest cultivator from Little Central World, and the only one who died on Cultivator's Mount and managed to revive, then descended from the mountain again. My family’s Victor Brooks was killed by him."
"Joe Di fell on Cultivator's Mount, and actually managed to come back to life from there?" Barton May's expression changed.
He himself had climbed Cultivator's Mount, but only made it to the 103rd step before retreating. He was sure that if he’d taken another step, he would have died there. He was one of the rare few to survive the mountain, but he knew how terrifying it was.
Anyone who fell on Cultivator's Mount shouldn’t have survived. If Joe Di managed to come out alive, even if he couldn’t win first place in the Genius Trials, Barton May wouldn’t let him go—because Joe Di must be hiding a tremendous secret.
"Hmph!" Barton May snorted coldly. "This man slaughters the innocent. The True Domain cannot tolerate him."
"Domain Lord May is right. People like him should be stripped of their qualification to participate in the True Domain Genius Trials and dealt with immediately," Laurence Brooks added, fanning the flames.
"I agree. Trash like Joe Di should be banned from the True Domain Genius Trials," said another man, so thin he looked like a bamboo pole.
This was Li Li, the head of the Oak Family in the True Domain. He was wary of Joe Di—anyone who could kill Liam Oak was not much weaker than himself. Now that Barton May was openly hostile to Joe Di, Li Li was quick to add fuel to the fire.
Everyone understood what Barton May really meant: not only did he want to clear the way for Jason May in the tournament, he also coveted the treasures Joe Di possessed.
Barton May was used to being domineering in the True Domain. No one dared to contradict him when he spoke like this.
Just as Barton May was about to settle things and have Joe Di captured, a refined-looking middle-aged scholar suddenly spoke up. "Master Brooks and Master Oak are mistaken. No matter how many innocent people Joe Di may have killed, it does not affect his eligibility for the True Domain Genius Trials. The Trials are about talent, not character. Up to now, only those who break the rules of combat have lost their qualification. I've never heard of anyone being banned for killing innocents. If personal grudges are used to retaliate against participants, then the Trials lose all meaning."
Laurence Brooks forced a laugh. "Domain Lord An is right."
Li Li chuckled as well and said no more.
The five great domains were the strongest forces in the True Domain. The speaker just now was Lincoln An, Domain Lord of Annong Domain, one of the five. Annong Domain was ranked fifth in strength. Lincoln An was at the sixth level of the Domain Stage, stronger than Laurence Brooks and Li Li, but far weaker than Barton May.
But Lincoln An was known for his bluntness—he always spoke his mind. Even now, with Barton May’s face darkening, nothing could stop him from saying what he thought.
If Barton May really tried to have Joe Di dragged out and barred from the tournament, he’d be openly declaring that he ruled the True Domain alone. In reality, he wasn’t that powerful yet.
...
Joe Di was working on the ninth question. Of the previous eight, he only knew how to answer one; for the rest, he found the answers in the World Tome.
The ninth question asked where the Beast Spirit Fruit grew and what its main uses were.
This was a truly obscure question. If not for the World Tome, Joe Di wouldn’t have known what it was. The Beast Spirit Fruit formed when a Star Apricot ripened and fell onto a fiend beast. Star Apricots have a trait: once their flesh falls away, the kernel automatically attaches itself to the beast. If the kernel sprouts, it immediately begins absorbing the beast’s blood essence.
By the time the beast realized the kernel had sprouted on its body, it was already dying. After the beast died, its flesh and blood became nourishment for the Star Apricot kernel. When the kernel matured, it was no longer a Star Apricot—it had become a Beast Spirit Fruit.
Star Apricots were just ordinary spirit fruits, but Beast Spirit Fruits were extraordinary—they were ninth-grade spirit fruits. Their most miraculous effect was that consuming one allowed a cultivator to comprehend the innate abilities or techniques of the beast that nourished it.
Finding the right conditions for a Beast Spirit Fruit to grow was extremely difficult, making them very rare. Another trait was that the kernel had to sprout naturally on the beast; any human interference would destroy its spirituality and render it useless.
Most people would struggle to answer this question, but it wasn’t a problem for Joe Di.
After finishing the ninth question, the tenth seemed much simpler: could Dao Fire be upgraded to ninth grade using Earthcore Flame Crystal? The answer was obviously yes—Earthcore Flame Crystal was a ninth-grade flame material, and even the highest-level fire could be advanced with it.
However, Joe Di knew very well that his Cosmic Flame could not be upgraded to ninth grade with an Earthcore Flame Crystal. To advance his flame to the ninth grade, he would need either a natural flame or an earthfire vein. He possessed a Cosmic Flame himself and had previously tried using Earthcore Flame Crystal to upgrade it.
When he used the Earthcore Flame Crystal, his Cosmic Flame was still at a low grade. Later, when his Cosmic Flame reached grade six, he no longer had the Earthcore Flame Crystal. But because he had used it before, Joe Di was certain that the Earthcore Flame Crystal could not push his flame even to grade seven. If it couldn’t reach grade seven, grade nine was out of the question.
In just the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Joe Di had finished all the questions. After writing his name, he made no further moves—handing in the paper early would not earn extra points, so there was no need to rush.
At that moment, the big screen in Ascension Plaza already displayed some of the submitted results and rankings. With questions like these, either you know them or you don’t. If you don’t, even sitting for a year wouldn’t help.
At the top of the massive scoreboard was Jason May, with a score of eighty-seven, marked as being from May One Domain.
Second place was Joanna Brooks, scoring seventy-three, from the Brooks Family of the True Domain.
Third place was West Kamine, also with seventy-three points, from Kamine Domain. The scores were the same but the rankings differed, since factors like submission time and age were considered.
From his seat in the suspended pavilion, Barton May gazed at the rankings on the big screen, feeling very satisfied. The written exam for the True Domain Prodigy Trials was always extremely difficult, and Jason May’s score of eighty-seven was truly outstanding. The gap between first and second place was more than ten points.
“Haha, it looks like I was right—Jason May is first.” Bai Hong said, then turned his gaze to Lord Goldwin. “Lord Phantom, didn’t you say Joe Di was impressive? Why don’t I see his name on the leaderboard?”
Lord Goldwin replied calmly, “Perhaps he hasn’t handed in his paper yet.”
“With these questions, either you know them or you don’t. Not handing in the paper won’t change that.” Laurence Brooks, surprisingly, dared to retort to Lord Goldwin.
It wasn’t just the suspended pavilion; Ascension Plaza was abuzz with discussion. Especially about Jason May, whose legendary feats were being recounted again and again.
Xian Ze sighed inwardly. Joe Di certainly had strength, but this kind of competition was extremely unfair to him. No matter how much a rogue cultivator knew, he could never compete with the major sects. Their sect libraries contained every kind of knowledge, while Joe Di, as a rogue, had likely spent all his time seeking cultivation resources and training.
He could only hope Joe Di could recover some points in the second round; otherwise, making the top three would be difficult.
An hour quickly passed, and the City Lord of Ascension City, Boyan West, suddenly announced in a loud voice, “Time’s up! Whether you’ve finished or not, stop writing now. Anyone who continues after I finish speaking will have their score voided.”
No one dared ignore Boyan West’s words. Seeing that everyone had stopped, he continued, “Now, all contestants please submit your answers. Soon, your scores and rankings will appear on the big screen in Ascension Plaza. Anyone ranked below five hundred will not qualify for the second round, which will begin in three days.”