Supreme Dragon Lord-Chapter 363: The Battle for the Gold Beads!

"What a pity! I didn’t make it through."

"I can’t believe it! If I had been just one second faster, I wouldn’t have been eliminated!"

"Deacon, could you give us another chance?"

"..."

The faces of those who were eliminated were filled with sorrow, clearly disheartened by the result. A disciple from the Jinglei Sect stepped forward and spoke to the crowd, "Those who have been eliminated, please make your own way down the mountain. You may not linger in this area." At these words, the eliminated contestants left the Jinglei Sect, dejected and bitterly unwilling to accept their fate.

"Your performances were all quite good. Successfully passing the first trial proves you have some strength," Lei Yiqun said calmly, addressing the fifty contestants present. "Of course, we can’t rule out the possibility that some of you passed purely on luck. The next two trials, however, will have nothing to do with luck. They will be a contest of strength!"

"I hope you are all mentally prepared!"

Upon hearing Lei Yiqun’s words, everyone looked at each other, their minds filled with curiosity. They were all wondering what the next assessment would be. The venue fell into a brief, dead silence. Everyone was waiting for Lei Yiqun to speak. Even Long Chen and his two companions were curious.

Lei Yiqun stroked his white beard before addressing the fifty contestants again. "The second trial... will be a Capture Operation!"

A Capture Operation?! What sort of test is that? When everyone heard the name, they were all baffled, having no idea what the test would actually entail. For a moment, the area erupted with discussion.

"Silence!" a disciple from the Jinglei Sect suddenly commanded, and the noisy venue immediately quieted down.

All eyes were on Lei Yiqun, waiting for him to speak. With a grand wave of his hand, thirty Gold Beads materialized, shining with golden light as they circled around him. Instantly, everyone’s attention was captured by these Gold Beads.

Lei Yiqun announced to the crowd, "There are a total of thirty Gold Beads here. I will disperse them to different locations. Your task is to pursue and capture them. Each person may only take one Gold Bead. Within the allotted half hour, anyone who obtains a Gold Bead will advance. Those who do not will be eliminated!"

As he finished speaking, Lei Yiqun circulated the Battle qi in his body and blasted it upward. Suddenly, a Rune Inscription materialized above Long Chen and the others, hovering over them.

"Rise!" Lei Yiqun let out a low shout. The Rune Inscription began to spin faster and faster before sweeping down to envelop all fifty contestants. As the Rune Inscription covered them, Long Chen and the others vanished, arriving in a virtual space.

"Where is this?"

"What’s going on?"

Finding themselves in this unfamiliar environment, the contestants all wore puzzled expressions.

A spatial formation? Even Long Chen felt a flash of surprise. That Lei Yiqun could activate a Formation and transport so many people into this space in an instant... it was certainly no simple Formation.

But Tang Le shook his head and said to Long Chen, "Brother Long, you’re mistaken. This isn’t a spatial formation."

Hearing this, Long Xin stared at Tang Le, perplexed. "If it isn’t a spatial formation, then what is it?"

Long Chen was also confused, his gaze falling on Tang Le.

Tang Le explained, "This is a virtual projection. We haven’t actually left; we’re still standing in the same spot. Everything we’re seeing now is just a simulation created by the Formation!"

"It’s so realistic," Long Xin exclaimed in amazement. Then, she turned to Tang Le and asked, "How do you know so much?"

Tang Le smiled in response. "It’s all thanks to the research I did on Formations."

Long Xin nodded, and Long Chen also accepted his explanation without question. Tang Le breathed a sigh of relief. He was thankful they weren’t suspicious. Otherwise, it would have been much harder to explain the situation away.

Just then, Lei Yiqun’s voice suddenly rang out. "You will receive points for retrieving a Gold Bead and returning it here within the time limit. Now, I announce that the second round of the assessment officially begins!" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

As his voice faded, the thirty Gold Beads gathered above before scattering in all directions. The beads dispersed with incredible speed, and in no time at all, all thirty had vanished from sight. Seeing this, the fifty contestants present immediately shot off in pursuit of the Gold Beads. After exchanging a glance, Long Chen, Long Xin, and Tang Le also joined the chase.

Zhang Cangsong was moving forward at a rapid pace. His brows were tightly knit, his gaze resolute. This time, I must come in first! No one else is taking this from me!

But just as the thought crossed his mind, a figure suddenly flashed past him. The speed was so incredible that it left Zhang Cangsong completely dazed.

Huh? What was that? Zhang Cangsong looked ahead, faintly making out Long Chen’s figure. He snapped back to his senses, his face twisting with ferocity. "Damn you!" he snarled. "You don’t dare face me head-on and only resort to these underhanded tricks! Just wait, I’ll teach you a lesson!"

Zhang Cangsong snorted, immediately picking up speed and charging straight ahead.

Using his Divine Demon Eye, Long Chen instantly locked onto the locations of the Gold Beads. He headed directly for the nearest one. But to his surprise, as he neared the bead, it suddenly darted away.

Huh? Can this Gold Bead actually dodge? Long Chen reached for the bead again. The Gold Bead, as if sentient, once more cleverly evaded his grasp.

Long Chen snorted. "I refuse to believe I can’t catch you."

With that, he renewed his pursuit of the Gold Bead. Long Chen was already incredibly fast, but the Gold Bead’s speed was simply extraordinary. Even for him, capturing one was proving to be difficult.

Just then, the Gold Bead suddenly came to a rest on a large tree. Caught off guard, Long Chen lunged for it. This time, to his surprise, the Gold Bead remained on the tree, showing no sign of moving.

Long Chen approached it. Seeing it stay perfectly still, he couldn’t help but smile. Could it be tired? Is that why it’s just sitting here?

But in the very next second, he realized his assumption was completely wrong.