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Chapter 228: The Eve of the Competition

Mirror Valley.

Within the Ancient Spirit Realm, there are ten perilous places, some filled with poisonous miasma and dark swamps, where a small misstep can cost one their life, while others are home to extraordinarily violent and bizarre creatures, leaving people shuddering in fear like tales of horror.

Ordinary people, if ever entering these ten perilous zones, would almost certainly have no chance of escape and face certain death, except for one exception.

That would be this “Mirror Valley.”

The dangers within Mirror Valley won’t directly lead to death, and there exists a sort of “probability trigger” mechanism; furthermore, even if someone truly goes missing in Mirror Valley, it cannot be proven that they are dead, as their bodies have never been found.

Thus, Mirror Valley is also known as the “Valley of Lost Footsteps” or the “Valley of Devouring.”

And the location for the final round of the “Four Saints Selection Tournament” has precisely been chosen in this Mirror Valley.

After approximately half a month of rapid marching, over fifty thousand troops representing the Dongyuanzhi Kingdom crossed the border and arrived at the vicinity of Mirror Valley.

The descent of the Fairy Island and the commencement of the finals occur at fixed times that cannot be changed. When the Qiguo army reached their destination, the main forces of the other three kingdoms had already arrived in succession, converging into a grand army of over two hundred thousand and over a thousand elite participants, setting up camp in the area surrounding Mirror Valley.

This group can almost be considered the finest force that the Ancient Spirit Realm can currently offer.

Next, all that remains is to wait for the most crucial batch of people to appear.

“Miss Baihong, Master Mo has requested everyone to proceed to the main tent.”

“Oh, got it.”

Seeing the urgent message from the messenger, Miss Vilyric, having just dismounted from the carriage and observing the surrounding terrain, greeted her companions and casually asked,

“Do you know what it’s about?”

Stealing a glance at the black-haired girl, rumored to be a secret disciple of the Spirit Fox and a recluse, the young messenger replied with utmost respect.

“I do not know, but Master Mo has instructed that everyone must go at once.”

“Um… Alright, you can head back. We’ll leave immediately.”

“Yes!”

The soldier quickly departed, and Miss Xiao Kong along with Hen and others happened to arrive by her side.

“What’s up, Vilyric?”

“It seems the people from Lingyin Fairy Island have arrived. Let’s go… They seem quite anxious too.”

The Eastern Yuan Holy Monarch holds a prestigious status and is vital for the stability of the kingdom’s capital; he certainly wouldn’t personally lead the troops to another country. Therefore, this time, the responsibility of leading the army falls to Master Mo Ziqing, along with the other two heads of the Wuyuan Sect, and the general of the Black Scale Army, Wen Zhengyang, who has also come along to command a portion of the army.

Such a lineup can be considered quite luxurious.

Passing through layers of guards and entering the particularly spacious main tent, many people had already been waiting inside. Among them, the heads of the Wuyuan Sect and a few top-eight participants from the Qiguo tournament were recognized by Vilyric, but most were still unfamiliar faces.

Based on hair color and seating distribution, all four kingdoms’ official representatives should be present, and the remaining individuals were either strong fighters from their respective kingdoms or high-ranking officials in charge of leading the army, totaling nearly a hundred people.

With a sweep of her gaze, the Priestess noticed several familiar faces, including Ming Lianyun, among a few fox-eared youths and maidens sitting at the main table veiled in white silk, and the gray-haired girl from the spirit kingdom who she hadn’t seen in a long time along with her bodyguard.

Ling Feng was as composed as ever. Although she had seen Vilyric, she didn’t immediately greet her; instead, she held down Bai’er’s hand, which was about to be raised, and smiled subtly with her eyes in their direction.

Understanding the hint, Vilyric decided to pretend she hadn’t seen her and walked directly toward the area designated for the Qiguo representatives.

The meeting appeared not yet to have formally started, as everyone was murmuring softly within their little circles, discussing various matters. However, the entrance of the Priestess and her companions drew nearly everyone’s attention, especially as many strong fighters’ gazes turned sharp.

“Is that her?”

“Black hair, white robe, petite figure—yep, that’s her. Look at that silver-haired girl beside her; she must be the long-lost Princess Ling, and with the ‘Silver Cat’ here, this must be ‘Miss Baihong.'”

“Wow, you really can’t judge a book by its cover…”

“This flat little girl is supposed to be a fairy? Where’s the logic in that? I feel like I could take her down with just a finger!”

“Oh, come on! Keep blowing your hot air. Even at this level, you’re still judging based on looks? Don’t you know that those who reach the upper four realms can retain their youth and live as long as the heavens? I reckon she could knock you down with a single finger!”

Not minding the chatter from various representatives, Vilyric simply led her group straight to where Master Mo Ziqing and the other Qiguo high-ranking members were seated, giving a casual nod as a greeting.

“Sorry for being a bit late.”

“Not a problem, Miss Vilyric… cough! Everyone arrived just in time; the meeting is about to start now.”

Under the deathly glare of the Priestess, the old geezer Mo wisely stopped calling her “Miss Vilyric” in public and awkwardly chuckled a few times, gesturing subtly towards the several significant figures sporting fox ears.

Though the finals of this four-nation competition were held in Mirror Valley, the specific rules and format had not been publicly announced in advance. While some felt puzzled about this, it was nothing unusual given that the Fairy Island’s operations were notoriously unpredictable.

Now, it seems the true host, Lingyin Fairy Island, was about to formally announce the competition rules to the four-country participants.

Among those seated there, it seemed that a few were from Lingyin, serving as envoys for their nations, however, the number was slightly more than expected, likely all the personnel the Lingyin Fairy Island dispatched to the lower realm.

In other words, the Fairy Island had gathered all its available resources around Mirror Valley, clearly placing great importance on this area.

After waiting for a bit, and with no one else entering or leaving the main tent, the individual seated at the main place, the representative of the Fairy Island—who was the only one not veiled in white silk—stood up and bowed slightly toward the representatives of the four kingdoms.

As everyone hurriedly returned the gesture, her crisp and pleasant voice echoed throughout the tent.

“Everyone, the 32nd Four Saints Selection Tournament finals will officially commence tomorrow. We have confirmed that a total of 1,220 personnel have been sent from the four kingdoms, including 864 participants in the martial competition, all having arrived at Mirror Valley.”

“The finals consist of only one round, divided into multiple stages. After fulfilling the various objectives set by Fairy Island, we will comprehensively evaluate the winners based on the final results.”

“The literary finals will be held in a different venue after the martial competition concludes, due to the numerous sessions involved.”

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

The format of the Four Saints Selection Tournament finals has always been martial before literary, and due to the discrepancy in the number of participants, the slots for those who ascend to Fairy Island in the martial competition are significantly higher than in the literary competition. If broken down into smaller categories, like the “Earth Spirit Pulse” that Vilyric had previously signed up for, there might be only one or two people from the entire Ancient Spirit Realm who could even manage to advance.

While it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to say they favor martial competitions more, they certainly had to take into account the larger number of participants, so the Fairy Island’s arrangement was quite expected.

But then the envoy girl changed her tone.

“Additionally, there might be some dangers during the martial competition, so we advise those literary competitors without combat abilities to stay within the camp and avoid wandering outside until further notice from Fairy Island.”

Danger? What kind of danger could there be for those who aren’t participating?

Some strong fighters, unaware of the competition’s true nature, were momentarily taken aback. Before they could voice their inquiries, the fox-eared girl gracefully continued.

“Next, I will explain the specific rules for the finals being held in Mirror Valley.”

Hearing the envoy’s mention of the key points, the strong fighters perked up, immediately pricking their ears, no longer distracted by the minor details.

The girl waved her hand lightly, and amidst the uncontrollable gasps from the crowd, a map completely formed of light and shadow appeared before everyone, even causing Vilyric, sitting at the side, to furrow her brows slightly.

This… is the map function from the “Phantom World”?

After observing quietly for a moment, the Priestess was fully confirmed in her belief.

People from the Ancient Spirit Realm might not understand this novel concept, but as a seasoned player, Vilyric had used the in-game map daily, knowing every detail well. While she could no longer summon that interface now, this was undoubtedly the “Map.”

The virtual projection style even closely resembled the “Panel” she could still summon, except that hers could only be seen by the user, while the former floated before everyone.

Expect the unexpected or is it all within reason…

From the silver-haired girl, Hen—the Princess Ling—pulling out those game props, along with previous indications of potential connections with Lingyin Fairy Island, Vilyric had vaguely suspected that these three entities might be interlinked.

She subtly turned her head to glance at the silver-haired girl sitting beside her, who still bore an expressionless face.

Something feels… off about her lately. Am I just overthinking it?