Longevity Martial Arts: Starting from Inner Core Skill-Chapter 257 - 210 Unexpected Gains?

Within the Treasure Bead, every reduction in internal space caused the protective flames from the external world to diminish slightly.

This scene easily revealed the condition of the Treasure Bead.

"No wonder you all mentioned that the Treasure Bead has not matured yet."

Upon witnessing this scenario, Wang Sheng subconsciously believed that the Treasure Bead was not yet ready to emerge, and needed to wait.

Of course, the protective flames were also a crucial reason.

The temperature of the flames was extremely high; ordinary Martial Artists couldn’t break through it at all. At least, if a Grandmaster tried, they would undoubtedly face a severe backlash and might even be devoured by the flames.

It was estimated that only a Great Grandmaster could withstand the current flames unharmed.

Although it was unclear why the Treasure Bead, capable of causing severe drought, did not have as powerful flames as imagined, no one gave up, believing the Treasure Bead to be miraculous.

For Great Grandmasters, they were the strongest contenders, fully capable of waiting until the maturation of the Treasure Bead.

Wang Sheng extended his Divine Thought to probe the specifics of the Treasure Bead.

However, as he approached, his Divine Thought felt a burning sensation, and beneath the Golden Light Divine Ability, Wang Sheng’s facial expression subtly altered.

His Divine Thought actually experienced a burning sensation; what exactly was this?

Wang Sheng’s desire to obtain the Treasure Bead grew stronger.

This kind of item that could affect Divine Thought—he had to get it and examine it.

Of course, his choice was the same as other Martial Artists’, to wait until the Treasure Bead matured before making a move. If someone else tried to act prematurely, he would also intervene to prevent them.

This Treasure Bead must mature!

"Do you understand why now?"

Wang Sheng understood what Zhu Xiao meant and nodded.

"Let’s wait for the Treasure Bead to mature; it should happen in the next day or two and needs to be closely monitored."

"Of course!"

The two moved to a farther position, knowing that those at the forefront would suffer more attacks during the struggle—even if unafraid, there was no need to suffer such undeserved misfortune.

The magma flames here wouldn’t affect them.

Upon reaching the back, a female voice suddenly transmitted, "Zhu Xiao, is this the help you sought? You also sought allies!"

"Zheng Xueyue, mind your own business. Speaking of seeking help, no one compares to your Divine Lady Peak’s people," replied Zhu Xiao.

The speaker was Zheng Xueyue, an Overlord from the Overlord Level power, Divine Lady Peak.

As female Great Grandmasters, although the two hadn’t clashed significantly, they couldn’t help but compare themselves; it had been this way for a long time.

Whenever they met, they had to exchange a few sharp words.

After Zhu Xiao spoke, Zheng Xueyue’s teeth itched with hatred but she said no more.

Due to strategic reasons, their Divine Lady Peak indeed had many connections with the outside world, and she couldn’t refute it.

Caught on this point, Zheng Xueyue could not continue and thus shut her mouth.

Many people at the scene had hidden their appearances, with only six not doing so, each standing in different locations and occupying a range of the area.

At the same time, Zhu Xiao also introduced these people who had not hidden their faces to Wang Sheng.

"The six people without hidden faces are the leaders of the six major forces, besides the Border Army, Stargazing Valley, and the Wen Palace. Our recognizability is too high, so there is absolutely no need to hide our identities."

"That woman, you should know her, Zheng Xueyue; then that man on the left is the Great Grandmaster Sun Qing from Lihai City... and the last one is King Yong Nian!"

When introducing King Yong Nian, Wang Sheng looked him over a few more times.

King Yong Nian held a large sabre, majestic and dignified, maintaining the aura of the Imperial Family.

Wang Sheng, however, didn’t feel anything special; his additional glances were mainly because he remembered his previous "promise."

If given the chance, he wanted to strike King Yong Nian with a sabre, avenging a grudge for the Martial Artists.

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It seemed he had the opportunity now!

A promised single strike was just that, no more—but since he was not skilled with a sabre, he would use his flying sword instead.

Hopefully, he could withstand it.

King Yong Nian, while meditating with closed eyes, frowned. He always felt something was amiss, as if some terrifying entity had its eyes on him.

But he couldn’t locate the source of this malice.

Why did he have this feeling?

The matter of the treasure seemed to have leaked, bringing many formidable and varied entities here this time.

He himself being targeted also made it difficult to identify the culprit.

Speaking of which, he had hoped to see if he could find the person who had killed Zhou Hu...

Unaware of King Yong Nian’s brooding over him, Wang Sheng shifted his gaze and began using his Divine Thought to check the identities of those hidden.

Apart from figures like Zhu Xiao, few were top Great Grandmasters, the six unhidden ones being the easiest to identify. Ordinary Great Grandmasters were the least in number, only three, making him wonder if others hadn’t received the news.

Then, the majority were Grandmasters, all among the elite.

As for the rest—

There were also two top Great Grandmasters, a surprise for Wang Sheng; one of which remained undisclosed, its origin unknown.

His Divine Thought focused on a figure in a black robe.

"How familiar!"

This figure, whom he had encountered when he first attained Blood Qi like Dragon, had also provided critical materials for his flying sword at that time.

The black robe, not only unchanged in outfit but even the aura remained the same, confirmed that indeed, the Blood Locust King had a doppelganger.

Of course, this was good news for him.

"It seems another flying sword could be added now!"

Wang Sheng felt that his goals had increased this time.

In addition to the Treasure Bead, the Blood Locust King, this robed Demon King, was also an important target that absolutely could not be missed.

He even felt that the Blood Locust King was more important than that Treasure Bead.

Such materials were definitely not simple; it was unknown what had given birth to them.

There was also the Treasure Bead that was absorbing flames, which was definitely not simple. It was completely unknown what it was; according to the information obtained, its birth was very deceitful.

It seemed like these things were appearing for the first time.

"Forget it, no matter what, let’s deal with the matters at hand first."

His arrival here could also be considered as having unexpected gains, not only could he possibly obtain a Treasure Bead, but he also unexpectedly "harvested" a Blood Locust King.

…

As time slowly passed, the flames inside the Treasure Bead filled up more and more.

During this period, many people also set their sights on Wang Sheng and Zhu Xiao.

Primarily, the other five Great Grandmasters had mostly come alone, at most with several Grandmaster-level subordinates.

Only Zhu Xiao had sought exceedingly mysterious external assistance.

They knew that with the collapse of the empire, many variables could easily arise; they feared the external help Zhu Xiao had brought would be a powerhouse similar to them.

During this period, Zheng Xueyue even tested the waters by trying to use reverse psychology to separate Zhu Xiao and Wang Sheng.

"Zhu Xiao, it seems that you are the weakest among us six, are you afraid you won’t be able to compete with us?"

Zhu Xiao’s response was also very simple, "Competing for treasures, only the result matters, not the means!"

Zhu Xiao, unlike the other Great Grandmasters who were largely fostered by forces, had risen against the current on her own talent and suddenly emerged, completely indifferent to the means used.

Seeing Zhu Xiao, who could not be persuaded by words or gifts, the other Great Grandmasters had no choice.

Some tried to provoke Wang Sheng, but Wang Sheng did not even respond.

Finally, the other five Great Grandmasters exchanged glances and seemed to have reached some sort of tacit agreement, coming together.

"Let’s deal with Zhu Xiao first, his and that mysterious person’s threat are the greatest. If we spread out, we might only fail."

"Alright, since we are forming an alliance with others, then prepare to be surrounded!"

"Hmph, that mysterious person has used some trick to conceal himself, acting all mysterious. Watch me break his shell!" said Jiang Dao, the Sword Master, who had the most explosive temper.

"It’s decided, let’s deal with Zhu Xiao and that mysterious figure first. I hope they put up a good fight; otherwise, I have no clue what might happen!"

Wang Sheng, watching the five people gather together, spoke with a relaxed tone, "It seems our alliance has caused them to be alert, does that count as a clever ploy gone awry?"

"It’s unexpected, but don’t worry. They will only choose to drive us back. The Treasure Bead is what’s most important. Even some might not make a move, hoping to compete for the Treasure Bead in the moment others strike."

Zhu Xiao understood these people and knew what was most likely to happen.

She shifted her tone.

"And even if five people truly form an alliance, are you afraid?"

"Haha!"

Wang Sheng could only give a resigned laugh. Zhu Xiao was very confident, whereas he was even more confident.

He had used Divine Thought to scout the area; although there were unexpected figures here, purely in terms of strength, he and Zhu Xiao were indeed the strongest.

Zhu Xiao’s path was extremely powerful.

Therefore, regarding the alliance of five people, neither Zhu Xiao nor Wang Sheng cared in the slightest and were still waiting for the Treasure Bead to mature fully.

Half a day passed again.

The Treasure Bead swallowed the surrounding flames for the last time, filling the internal space. Now one could see the complete appearance of the Treasure Bead.

The Treasure Bead was incredibly smooth, only about the size of a small fist, clearly a vibrant, fiery red, but one could easily see inside.

It seemed like a world of flames, poised to burn everything to ashes.

It just floated there quietly, without any movement, appearing as if one could just reach out and grab it.

However, no one made a move initially, all quietly watching.

Before long, someone finally couldn’t hold back!

This was a Grandmaster-level Martial Artist.

He knew being the first to make a move was very dangerous, but he also knew, to obtain this object with his level of power, he had to take the risk.

As he got closer and closer to the Treasure Bead, still no one made a move, but—

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the diminishing flames flared up, turning into a sea of fire that directly engulfed the approaching Grandmaster.

"Ah!"

The Grandmaster screamed, and before he could do anything else, he was directly burnt to ashes.

Yet, the sea of fire did not cease, instantly spreading around, seemingly intent on burning everyone to ashes as the high temperature directly distorted the air and perspective.

This scene immediately frightened out those Grandmasters who were secretly observing and planning to make a move; they then started to frantically flee.

They realized this was not a battle they could participate in!

Even the Treasure Bead itself was not something they could contend with; it could easily kill them. The Grandmaster just now couldn’t even resist!

It wasn’t long before all the Grandmaster-level Martial Artists had left.

"That’s good, saves us the trouble of clearing the field." This was said by a Martial Artist who hadn’t left.

Those who remained were all Great Grandmasters; they had never considered those Grandmasters worth their attention, even without the Treasure Bead, they would have taken action.

The fire from the Treasure Bead was strong, but they could resist.

"It’s our turn to make a move now!"

At the same time, the five Great Grandmasters also surrounded Zhu Xiao and Wang Sheng…