"Young man, why didn't you say earlier that you had a master? Never mind then. Actually, the disciple I really want is this lady here."

You Ying changed the subject and looked at Su Jin'er, before he said, "Just now, I didn't talk to you because it was a test. You have proved yourself to be calm and patient, which is great. You're a natural-born assassin. Follow me; I'll turn you into a frightening goddess of killing in this universe!"

Both Su Jin'er and Su Ping were stunned, not expecting him to abandon the latter right when he found out that Su Ping was unavailable.

Su Ping put on a bitter smile right after, but he wasn't really disappointed. In fact, he felt a lot more relaxed.

"Is your teacher also an Ascendant?" Huan Lieshen frowned regretfully. It wasn't easy for him to gather the materials Su Ping needed, yet it didn't help in the end?

"Well, sort of." Su Ping nodded. He thought for a moment and added, "Senior, I can exchange other things for the materials. Or if you need me to do anything for you, I'll be happy to help as long as I'm capable of doing it."

Huan Lieshen was silent for a moment. Suddenly, he turned his head and said to Su Jin'er, "Young girl, are you interested in being my disciple? My mysterious realm will be open to you all the time, including some of the secret places. Given your talents, you'll soon rise to the peak of the Star Lord State. I can also give you precious advice."

Su Ping: "??"

Su Jin'er: "…"

"See? Men are all like that; undevoted and two-faced!" said the mistress of the Black Phoenix Palace with a sneered, "Join the Black Phoenix Palace. You can get any man you want then!"

"As a matter of fact…" the Old Boxer thought for a long time, before he heaved a deep sigh and said, "I have to reveal a secret. Outsiders think that the Heavenly Fist Mountain techniques are for men. In fact, they are better suited for ladies…"

"!!"

Everybody was lost for words.

After being momentarily speechless, Su Jin'er could only interrupt their argument. "Seniors!"

Everybody paused to look at her; they became suspicious after seeing the look on her face. You Ying ventured, "Don't tell me you have an Ascendant State master too. Do you?"

Su Jin'er said helplessly, "Indeed I do. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for me to rise to this level."

Everybody fell silent.

The champion and the one in second place—the most distinguished—both had masters on par with them. It was highly unlikely that they would abandon such excellent disciples.

"I knew that this trip would be a waste of time."

You Ying heaved a long sigh and shook his head; he seemed ready to leave that heartbreaking place.

The mistress of the Black Phoenix Palace frowned regretfully. After hearing what You Ying said, she sneered and said to Su Jin'er, "It doesn't matter, even if you have a master. Feel free to visit the Black Phoenix Palace whenever you need anything. I like you, even if you can't be my disciple; you will always be welcome in my place."

Su Jin'er nodded. "Thank you very much."

The mistress nodded and flew back to the giant phoenix beyond the continent to leave.

The Old Boxer looked at Su Ping and said, "Your man, your fist technique was quite impressive. Although you might not be focusing on it, I can tell that you're a gifted boxer. The mysterious realm of the Heavenly Fist Mountain will always be open to you in the future."

Su Ping quickly said, "Thank you, senior."

The Old Boxer rose and steered the magnificent Heavenly Fist Mountain away.

You Ying looked both at Su Ping and Su Jin'er without saying a word. He had always been a wanderer in the universe; he had no interest in them if they couldn't be his disciples. He cupped his hands at Hai Tuo and disappeared.

Huan Lieshen heaved a sigh, not expecting that his trip to be futile. He was ready to go too.

Seeing Huan Lieshen about to leave, Su Ping quickly said, "Hold on a second, senior. Could I have the materials you mentioned?"

Huan Lieshen frowned and looked at him. After some thought, he said, "Fine, since you need them, they will be my gifts to you. You can repay me if you really can reach the Ascendant State."

Su Ping was overjoyed. He quickly said, "Thank you, senior."

Huan Lieshen nodded and closed his eyes. A moment later, he extended his hand and reached for a deep brown calabash in the void, before he threw it to Su Ping. "It's all there. Take a look."

After that, he waved his sleeves and left.

Soon, Lord Hai Tuo was the only one left outside the temple.

Hai Tuo smiled. Seeing how happy Su Ping was to receive the calabash, he asked, "Young man, what are the materials you're looking for? Maybe I can help."

He didn't mind expressing his friendliness to a genius like Su Ping. Just like Huan Lieshen said, it was an investment.

The return rate of an investment before Su Ping grew would be much higher when compared to a favor after he reached the Ascendant State, even though such an advance investment might turn out to be a waste.

Su Ping opened the calabash and found that it contained a large space; he quickly looked around and found three kinds of materials required for the fourth level of the Solar Bulwark.

Those materials were extremely precious; he didn't expect that Huan Lieshen would be able to find three of them.

There were nine kinds of materials in total, and six were missing.

After hearing what Hai Tuo said, Su Ping quickly focused his attention and placed the calabash in his storage to examine in detail later. He said, "Thank you for your kindness, my lord. Some of the materials I need may already be extinct; can I show you their appearances and names here?"

"Okay." Hai Tuo nodded.

Su Ping instantly engraved the appearances and names of the six materials, because it would be hard to look for them just by names alone.

He also left a brief description of every material.

For instance, one of the materials required was the feather crown of an adult Gold Fire Phoenix, which would be a very powerful Ascendant State beast when it reached adulthood.

"These materials…"

Hai Tuo was quite surprised to see the materials; he finally understood why Su Ping was having difficulty finding them, even though he had an Ascendant State master. Those materials were so precious that even he didn't know all of them.

Not every Ascendant expert could gather all of them!

"I've taken note of them. I'll have someone look for the materials; I think two of them are in my warehouse. I'll have a look later," said Hai Tuo with a smile.

Su Ping was stunned by his response. He replied in delight, "Thank you very much, senior!"

If he gathered all the materials and reached the fourth level, he estimated that he would be able to resist the Star Lords' attacks easily with his body!

It wasn't until that moment that Su Ping finally realized the benefits of the competition. Sometimes fame could really be transformed into strength!

Otherwise, he would probably take forever to gather all the rare materials, even if he were to search for hundreds of years.

Su Jin'er watched in silence; her eyes glittered, but she didn't say anything.

"This is your prize, the Time and Space Source."

Hai Tuo took out the champion's prize at that moment, which was a glittering ball that was emitting waves of mysterious laws.

Su Ping felt as if he were having an epiphany the moment he saw the ball.

The ball carried a heavy aura of spatial laws that pointed at the origin of space!

He had a feeling that such laws could only have been perceived in deeper spaces, such as the sixth, the seventh and even the eighth spaces.

Furthermore, there was also the air of a very special law included. He felt that it was impossible for him to look at it without becoming distracted.

Is this the crystal of time and space? To be more precise, it's the foundation crystal of a 'world'… Su Ping's eyes glimmered; his last obstacle to the Star Lord State was no more.

His road to the Ascendant State would be smooth if he made it to the top ten in the finals and got access to the Divine Sea Mysterious Realm!

Su Ping expressed his gratitude and stored the Time and Space Source.

Hai Tuo smiled and encouraged Su Ping and Su Jin'er again. He also gave them some reminders about the Golden Star Zone. Then, he saw them off.

Once they returned to the arena down below, they saw that everybody was still fighting for third place.

Their arrival instantly attracted the attention of the top hundred players; they gave the pair looks of admiration and jealousy.

They could only dream about the privilege of being pursued by a few Ascendant State experts.

Su Ping and Su Jin'er weren't interested in those competitions. Su Ping established a barrier of astral power to seclude himself. Then, he started to examine the calabash.

The three materials contained were extremely precious; one of them was a rare fruit, and another was the blood of an Ascendant State beast.

He finally relaxed after confirming that they were the materials he needed.

I asked Xingyue Shen'er to look for materials of the third level; I wonder if she has collected all of them, Su Ping thought.

…

Time flew.

Third place was settled soon after Su Ping and Su Jin'er returned; Hayalim won the battle against Linghu Jian by a slim margin.

Linghu Jian ranked fourth.

The top ten players were soon ranked among the contestants who fought for the championship.

There really weren't any prizes for them except the fame, so none of them were really serious about the competition at that point.

Once the last battle came to an end, the Star Lord stepped up and said, "All contestants in the top hundred are to leave immediately for the Golden Star Zone and fight against the geniuses from other parts of the Federation on behalf of Silvy. I hope you will do your best, not bringing shame to your hometown!

"All the people in this galaxy will be waiting for your triumphant return. I wish you all a smooth journey!

"Fetch the wine!" After that command was roared, some Star State assistants took out six tanks of wine and emerald cups.

The Star Lord clapped his hand and opened all the tanks. He then raised a hand, and ten cups flew out to the ten Star Lords who were maintaining order; the wine from the tanks automatically flowed to fill the cups.

The Star Lord held the cup in front of him and announced, "Here's to you, genius contestants!"

His words were quite motivating. It was a real privilege for them to propose a toast to a hundred warriors.

The hundred contestants were also excited. Although a lot of them had the chance to become Star Lords, they had yet to reach that level, and only one of them got the Time and Space Source. Nobody was confident of becoming a Star Lord, except for the monsters who had ranked closer to the top.

All the Star Lords present, in comparison, were overlords in their territory. It was a soul-stirring experience to see them toast at the same time.

The audience was also swept with excitement. Although they didn't enjoy the games enough because of the change of schedule, they still had the finals to look forward to. Those hundred participants would soon fight on behalf of Silvy, winning appreciation and respect for Silvy!

A lot of students of the five academies were unable to fight the urge to stand up and pay respects.

Once the ten Star Lords finished their drinks, the other cups were also automatically filled with wine and distributed to them.

"Long live Silvy!"

"Bottoms up!"

The Star Lord was no longer as indifferent as before; he looked at all the contestants with hope and eagerness, as he seemed to really expect great things from them.

Su Ping finished the wine, also looking forward to the rest of the competition.

After everyone had finished their drinks, Hai Tuo showed up again gracefully and smiled. "All of you are the top geniuses among billions of candidates in Silvy. You'll be rewarded as handsomely as today's champion if you manage to enter the top hundred of the Golden Star Zone.

"If you don't need the Time and Space Source, you can ask for anything you want. I'll give it to you as long as it's within my abilities.

"You will also receive the recognition as Honor Generals of Silvy, and master five planetary systems!

"If you make it to the finals, no matter what your rank is, you will be taught by me and receive all the best resources you can imagine!"

There was a silent moment that lasted a few seconds, then the excitement broke loose.

The top hundred of the Golden Star Zone would be made official Honor Generals?

They could master five planetary systems, which was even more than what the normal Star Lords managed!

It had to be noted that they were only in the Fate State!

The prizes were truly lavish!

The prizes they would get if they made it to the finals were even more unbelievable. Didn't that mean that they could have anything in Silvy?