CHAPTER 234 EXCLUSION

"What on earth could be going on? Why are there so many superior talents here? Are they planning on

taking the examination, too?"

Everyone was greatly puzzled.

"I never expected that the Ancient Void Battlefield would suddenly open. Surely, a few among you will

be lucky to have the opportunity to enter it," the old man standing in the middle of the hall proclaimed at

last.

"But what is the Ancient Void Battlefield?" Almost everyone was still confused, most of them never

having heard of this before.

The elder from the Grand Void Manor explained its history in detail, and they finally understood it all.

Once they found out about it, some of them grew quite excited, while others felt rather worried. NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

The Void Battlefield, according to the elder, was a broken space that had remained active since ancient

times. It contained many treasures.

However, it was difficult to obtain these treasures, unless one could pass the grueling tests that arose

as they challenged every step of the way.

In its very essence, the Void Battlefield was an assessment space.

For the longest time, it had opened every few months and allowed several geniuses to enter. Even so,

the many talents who had attempted to reach its depths had gone no deeper than the periphery and

were only able to compete with each other there for the treasures. The most important and vital part of

the Void Battlefield was the Ancient Void Battlefield.

It opened every one hundred and eighty years. Legend said that its heritage was truly beyond

shocking. It had been thousands of years since the Grand Void Manor was established and from the

time of its birth, tremendously gifted talents had already ventured there, but not one of them acquired

the real, great heritage.

If all went according to plan, the Ancient Void Battlefield was expected to open twenty years later. That

was why its surprisingly early appearance startled many grand warriors.

The Void Battlefield opened only for one day. Only fifty warriors under the age of twenty-five would be

permitted to enter. The moment they heard the news, a few grand warriors immediately gathered the

superior talents under their command, fourteen in total.

Since it was a rare opportunity, the rest of the thirty-six places would be selected from the geniuses that

happened to take the examination on ordinary martial skills today. Since there were hundreds of talents

here, a quick selection must be carried out in order to guarantee the efficiency of the process. It was a

disappointing blow to some of them. Here was a great opportunity right before their very eyes, but the

chances of qualifying were slim for the more inferior ones. They felt really upset at missing this rare

chance to try and prove themselves.

"Elder, what is the distribution of the rest thirty-six places? Are the winners decided on the arena?" a

genius asked, confident in his strength.

The elder of Grand Void Manor just shook his head and replied, "Since time is limited, I have discussed

with the lords present to draw up the selection mechanism."

The elder paused, and then added, "Twenty-one of the rest of the places will be recommended by the

superior talents from the seven biggest alliances, and the other fifteen places will be selected from the

twenty talents ranking among the top five hundred on the Talent Roll."

"That's unfair! How about us?"

some cultivators from the other alliances complained about the unfairness of the process.

"Silence!" the elder from Grand Void Manor shouted. The loud din hushed. No one dared utter a sound

against his wishes. Then he continued, "Save your complaints! It is the lords, not you or I, that are

responsible for the selection mechanism.

Superior talents, you can start to recommend the geniuses in your alliances."

Each alliance had two representatives among the fourteen superior talents. Since they had already had

a framework of the geniuses in their alliances, the list of recommendations was accomplished quite

efficiently.

"Next, the twenty geniuses among the top five hundred on the Talent Roll will compete in the arena.

The winner will be decided within one round. The five weakest geniuses will be eliminated. If anyone

wants to drop out of the competition now, please do as you like. I won't oblige you to stay here," the

elder from the Grand Void Manor said, looking around at them. The Ancient Void Battlefield opened

only for one day, and half a day had already elapsed. Everyone looked around at each other, and

started to get worried. Time was running out!

After the elder's declaration, no one quit the qualifying battle. All of the twenty geniuses including

Darren yearned for a chance to enter the Ancient Void Battlefield.

"Darren, I have faith in you," Boyce smiled at him warmly.

"I will try my best," Darren said with a confident nod. The truth was, he was also convinced that with his

power, he wouldn't be among the five eliminated geniuses. His strength alone was able to deflect any

strike, so no one could knock him down in a single round.

"Well then, follow me to the arena!" the elder from Grand Void Manor commanded.

Darren began to walk forward, but was stopped by the elder's hand pushing firmly on his shoulder.

"You must be Darren. You don't have to go through with the competition," the elder said quietly.

"Why?" Darren was stunned.

"Because your realm is too low, young man. The Ancient Void Battle field will be too tough for you. I

think you should make room for the other qualified geniuses rather than waste the rare opportunity," the

elder replied.

"Don't look down on me! You're right; my realm is lower than the others, so what? As you can see, I am

still among the top five hundred on the Talent Roll!" Darren yelled at the elder in rage, clenching his

fists. He was fuming. How dare this old man push him aside in public!

"Young man, it is no use shouting at me. I'm not the one making decisions." The elder looked unhappy,

but he went on, "Don't hide the truth. All the lords know that you have cultivated a body refining skill.

That's why you're on the Talent Roll. Exploring the Ancient Void Battlefield requires power, real power.

Do you understand?"

With a serious nod, the elder left Darren alone as he led the other nineteen geniuses toward the arena.

Standing in the middle of the hall, Darren could sense the scornful looks from all directions lingering on

him. They began whispering, someone even smirking directly, "Oh, what a waste! Fortunately, you

didn't join the Dragon Alliance, or it will be really humiliating!" the members of Dragon Alliance jeered,

rolling their eyes at Darren with distain.

Even some minor alliances which had tried to bond with Darren started to sneer at him too. "You're just

a hypocrite. A weak man shouldn't have such unfounded pride and pretentiousness. You make us feel

sick."

The jeers came from almost every group there. Though Darren was furious at their words, he failed to

defend himself.

Darren sneered at those lords, who had made such a rash decision. The Ancient Void Battlefield

seemed not to be worth his painstaking striving. Then and there, he made up his mind. He resolved to

never help any grand warrior to find the Primitive Stone once he was among the top one hundred of the

Talent Roll.

As Darren turned to leave, a girl by his side held him back.

"Darren, don't go. We have faith in your power. We will give you our place."

Both Betty and Boyce were the chosen ones to enter the Ancient Void Battlefield.

"That's right, Darren. You can join Skywalker Alliance temporarily. Betty has decided to give you her

place. And you can quit whenever you like," Boyce said.

"Never mind. Forget about the Ancient Void Battlefield. I can't do that to Betty. I don't want the

opportunity that badly." Darren shook his head proudly.

"Darren, don't refuse it. Now they look down on you. What better way to prove to them that you are

even more qualified? Show them who's really on top! I believe in you. I'm sure we can obtain some

treasures this time," Boyce said encouragingly.

"Yes, Darren. I think I am nowhere near your tremendous power, so you had better take my place. It

makes much more sense! If you manage to acquire something, don't forget to share it with me," Betty

smiled sweetly.

Darren meant to decline their kindness, but Boyce and Betty tried hard to persuade him to accept the

place. Finally, he grudgingly agreed.

"What! How dare you give your precious place to such a worthless guy?" Don Zhou yelled loudly at

Boyce and Betty. Since each alliance could recommend three geniuses, he had been the third chosen

one of Skywalker Alliance.

"Don, you'd better keep your mouth shut! I have brought up the matter to Tom and he has already

agreed." Boyce had always been on bad terms with Don Zhou.

"Humph, you bastard. I've watched you for a long time. If your decision proves a waste of time, you will

suffer the consequences when you come back to Skywalker Alliance," Don Zhou said with venom.

Darren didn't take heed of his empty threats. He was in a place where his actions would speak much

louder than his words.

...

Seven men were talking and drinking tea in a quiet yard of the Grand Void Manor.

"Chad, how could your disciples make the lad join your alliance? I hear that he didn't deserve to be on

the Talent Roll," a big man sneered.

"Brian, are you gloating over me? Or are you laughing at me?" Chad Lou said with great displeasure.

Just now, it had been Brian You who proposed to exclude Darren from the qualifying battles. The other

masters of the seven alliances also found that the reason why Darren was able to withdraw the

warriors at the middle age of the Wonder Realm was that he had just cultivated a body refining skill, but

his real power was only in the Mysterious Realm. How could he overcome the severe challenges in

Ancient Void Battlefield? Based on this consideration, they concurred that excluding Darren right away

was justifiable.

Then one man acted as a peacemaker. "Well, no more arguing. We can personally reiterate the

decision later. By the way, if anyone of them reaches the eleventh round of Ancient Void Battlefield,

there will be a sumptuous harvest."

"Good point. Many Primitive Stones are stored there. Chad, since you have Darren, the so-called super

genius, I have a feeling that you will make a fortune this time. Ha-ha!" Another man laughed

sarcastically. Well, they would have to wait and see just how things would turn out!