Xiuxian: But It's Not a Game

Chapter 34: Consuming the Vermilion Fruit, the Second Mini-Test (Please continue reading)
After being teleported out of the secret realm, Su Yu discovered that she was not at the entrance of the secret realm, but on the deck of a giant wooden divine ship.

Looking around, he saw many high-ranking members of the guild. Chu Xiaoyu was waving to him. Only 33 people returned, exactly one-third, which meant that one-third of the people on this trip to the secret realm had died inside.

Guild logistics manager Jiao Ting clapped his hands to attract their attention and said:
"You don't need to participate for now. You can settle your contributions here and then go back to headquarters, or you can go back to headquarters to settle your contributions."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone gathered around and lined up to settle their contributions.

Soon it was Su Yu's turn. Jiao Ting took out his token and examined it, a hint of surprise on his face.

"Good job, young man, sixteen kills."

Dozens of eyes immediately turned to look.

"lucky!"

"This is no fluke."

Jiao Ting chuckled and said:

"As previously stated, killing one person grants 50 contribution points and 50 taels of silver; killing ten or more people doubles the reward. Since you're a newcomer, you get an additional 100% guild contribution. Hmm..."

"A total of 2400 contribution points and 16 taels of gold."

After completing the transaction, Su Yu smiled so broadly that her teeth were showing.

With the 12 gold coins he previously sold four Hundred Gu Banners, he now has 28 gold coins, 62 silver coins, and 3621 guild contribution points, which is considered a modest amount of assets.

At this moment, Chu Xiaoyu waved to him:
"Su Yu, this way."

He immediately went over:
"Sister Xiaoyu, is something the matter?"

Chu Xiaoyu smiled radiantly and patted his shoulder with a mature air:

"You did a great job, you made the young lady proud."

"Thank you for your concern, Commander."

"Work hard and strive for a good performance in the year-end exam."

"I will work hard."

"Well, let's go."

After saying goodbye to Sister Xiaoyu, Su Yu took off and flew towards the shore.

Back at the Poison Mist Swamp base, Zhuang Zhuo and the others immediately surrounded him, bombarding him with questions:
"So, how much did you make this time? Did you get anything good in the secret realm?"

He held up one finger, then made a six:

Sixteen heads?

"Nubi!"

Then, he took out the thousand-year-old Vermilion Fruit and held it in his palm. A faint medicinal fragrance wafted out, and everyone's eyes lit up:
"Holy crap, a thousand-year-old vermilion fruit?"

"I'm rich now, this thing is worth 500 taels of gold per piece!"

Gu Zhi Qiu asked:
"Are you going to use it yourself or sell it?"

"Of course I'll use it myself; I'm short of mana right now."

"That's right, +500 mana cap."

After chatting with them for a while, Su Yu returned to her residence and immediately took out the Vermilion Fruit and put it in her mouth. A rich and sweet aroma filled her mouth, flowed down her throat, and quickly turned into a warm current that flowed into her whole body.

He quickly circulated his energy for a full cycle, and the warm current transformed into a surge of new magical power that flowed into his dantian.

Upon opening the panel, you will see the following prompts: Maximum Mana +500, Innate Constitution +1, Maximum Lifespan +10.

The prompt changes in the next second:
"Note: Due to unknown factors, maximum mana increased by 1000, innate constitution increased by 2, and maximum lifespan increased by 20."

"hey-hey!"

As he expected, it was enhanced by the cheat system, just like the elixir.

With his innate physical strength increased by 2 points, plus the additional innate physical strength from the Sea-Suppressing Pearl, his innate physical strength has now reached 26 points, which is quite good even among the excellent ones.

"If only I could get two more Vermilion Fruits."

With an additional 2,000 mana, endurance will greatly increase, giving a significant advantage in battles where elixirs cannot be taken.

Although he already has a significant advantage, with the same level 50 Qi Refining Technique, others can only gain 2000 mana points, while he can gain 4000. In addition, the accessories and Vermilion Fruit add another 1300 mana points, bringing his total mana to 5400. This is far stronger than the two or three thousand mana points that others at the same level only have.

"The second mini-exam will be in about ten days."

"I hope to get a good ranking."

Su Yu clenched her hands together, making her bones crack.

Nothing happened that night, and the next day, Su Yu got up and threw herself back into leveling up.

For the next ten days or so, he didn't go anywhere and stayed in the swamp to level up, gaining about a million kill experience points a day. By the time the small test was about to begin, he had accumulated another 1450 million kill experience points.

Including what I had accumulated before, I have now accumulated a total of 4379 million killing experience points and 76 points of Taoist cultivation.

After staring at the panel for a while, Su Yu finally decided to keep it for now.

This amount of cultivation points and Taoist cultivation is not enough to cause a qualitative change in his strength. He can defeat those he can defeat now, and he still can't defeat those he can't defeat even if he uses up all his cultivation points and Taoist cultivation.

Su Yu got up very early that day and saw that Zhuang Zhuo and the others were already prepared when she went out. Gu Zhi Qiu was hanging a sign that said "Temporarily Closed" at the entrance of the base.

The group exchanged smiles, then raised their heads and tossed them aside.

"go!"

The five of them took to the air and flew towards the guild headquarters.

Upon returning to Thousand Feather City, Su Yu immediately opened the regional channel to check if anyone had opened a trading platform.

However, when he typed in his own name to check, his face fell the next second.

The ranking rewards are the same as last year, but his odds have plummeted.

The odds for the top 16 have been eliminated. The starting point is to enter the top 8 with odds of 1 to 1.1. This means that if you bet 10 gold, you will have 11 gold to win, but you will only earn 1 gold.

The odds of ranking fourth are 1 to 1.5.

The odds for third place are 1 to 2.

The second place odds are 1 to 3.

The odds for first place are 1 to 5.

"Damn, why have the odds dropped so much this year?"

Gu Zhi Qiu and the others had also finished looking at the odds and were all speechless.

They all looked at Su Yu and asked:
"So, which number did you buy?"

Su Yu scratched his head and said:
"I'll go for second place; I'm not sure about first."

"Sure?"

"Sure!"

"Okay, how many do you want to buy?"

"All in, 28 gold!"

"Okay, I'll go buy it for you."

After handing over 28 taels of gold to Gu Zhiqi, Su Yu was instantly broke.

Watching Gu Zhi Qiu and several companions enter Qian Yu Lou, he felt inexplicably nervous.

"Hopefully it doesn't crash, or we're doomed."

The mini-test was held in the same place, but this time there were nearly twice as many participants as last time. Many newcomers felt that their skills had improved after several months of training and decided to show off.

People like Gu Zhiqi and Zhuang Zhuo gathered dozens of golden-winged centipedes, believing themselves to be quite strong, and wanted to give it a try.

The rules remain the same, but because there are more participants than before, the first stage has changed from three rounds to five rounds of battles, and at least four wins are required to advance to the next round.

However, this has nothing to do with Su Yu. He ranked eighth in the last quiz and was a seeded player, so he could skip the first stage.

So he's sitting on the stage watching Gu Zhi Qiu and the others challenge below.

The huge arena was divided into 108 smaller arenas. At the same time, Gu Zhi Qiu, Shi Ning, and Meng Chen all took to the stage, while Zhuang Zhuo had not yet had his turn.

As the bell rang, the competition began, and his gaze fell on the arena where Gu Zhi Qiu was. Although the others had all refined a batch of Golden-Winged Flying Centipedes, Gu Zhi Qiu had the most, and he cultivated the Myriad Gu Gathering Spirit Scripture, which increased his Gu worm qi and blood by 30 points, Gu worm attack by 10 points, and speed by 2 kilometers per hour with each level.

Even with only thirty layers, it can increase all Gu worms' health by 900 points, attack by 300 points, and speed by 60 kilometers per hour.

The Golden-Winged Flying Centipede is a level 40 elite template Gu worm. It already has high HP and high attack, and with further buffs, its combat power becomes even stronger.

However, to his surprise, Gu Zhi Qiu did not initially summon the Hundred Gu Banner and the Golden-Winged Flying Centipede, but rather the fifth-tier magic treasure, the Hundred Gu Gathering Spirit Bag, which contained 1000 level 12 Ink Ball Bees.

The black bees, originally the size of a fist, expanded by a size under the enhancement of the cultivation technique. The enhancement of the cultivation technique was even higher than the black bees' original attributes. They gathered together and transformed into a black cloud nearly an acre in size, which then rushed forward.

The Inkball Bee, which could be easily killed with just two or three hundred HP, suddenly gained 1,200 HP, increasing its combat power more than tenfold.

The swarms of swarms frantically gnawed at the shield, causing it to crumble rapidly. In less than a minute, the shield was completely destroyed.

One trick is fresh, eat all over the sky.

His technique is unmatched at lower levels; few can withstand an attack from thousands of Gu worms with combat power comparable to level 30.

Even if someone can withstand the siege of the Inkball Bees, he still has forty-five Golden-Winged Flying Centipedes, each with seven or eight thousand HP, which can't be taken down in a short time.

They swept through the competition, quickly winning five consecutive matches and advancing to the next round.

Compared to his overwhelming power, Zhuang Zhuo and the others did not have his strength. They all used ordinary Qi Refining techniques, and their Gu worms could not be enhanced. They only had a dozen or so Golden-Winged Flying Centipedes. They had both wins and losses along the way.

Although most of the time they will concede defeat when they see they are outmatched, there will always be some losses.

After they completed five rounds of battle, they all lost several golden-winged centipedes.

Zhuang Zhuo had three wins and two losses in five rounds, meaning he was eliminated early. Back in the audience, he couldn't help but say to his companions:
"Damn it, I still need to save up money to get a high-level Gu Dao Qi Refining Technique."

Su Yu was surprised:

"Isn't it in Thousand Feather City?"

"No, the Gu Dao school is a niche school, mainly located in the wild mountains in the southwest corner of Blue Mountain Island. Apart from the poisonous fog swamp, there is no place in Thousand Feather City suitable for insects to breed, so there are naturally no Gu Dao schools, and naturally there are few Taoist books on this subject."

Does the Xuanzhen Immortal City exist?

"Of course there is one in Xuanzhen Immortal City, but it's too far away. It would take a month or two to make a trip there, and I didn't have much money before, so I never got around to going."

"But this time is different."

Zhuang Zhuo looked at Su Yu with a grin and said:
"Brother Su, if you can get second place, we can make a lot of money, so it's worth a trip."

"Then I certainly can't let you down!"

"come on!"

Time passed by in casual conversation, and soon the first round of challenges came to an end. A few minutes later, the host announced the start of the second round.

The arena quickly changed from 108 to 4, and then names were called out one by one.

"Now, please invite contestants number 8 and 81 to step onto ring number 1."

Zhuang Zhuo immediately reminded him:
"Brother Su, it's your turn."

Su Yu nodded and stood up. He glanced back at the stage behind him. Many guild leaders had also arrived, but Chu Xinyue was not there this time. Instead, Chu Xiaoyu came. When she saw him turn around, the girl waved to him with a smile.

He waved his hand, and an invisible force enveloped him, teleporting him away.

As the eighth-place finisher in the last quiz, his number was also eight.

On the stage was an unfamiliar contestant; I hadn't seen him in the last mini-test. He was clearly someone who was previously unknown but had made tremendous progress in the past three months.

The man noticed Su Yu seemed a little nervous and clasped his hands in a respectful greeting.
"Qi Bo, please enlighten me!"

"Su Yu, please give me your guidance!"

As soon as the countdown ended, Su Yu pointed and pierced the sky, appearing as if to cover the sun.

Qi Bo's expression turned solemn. The precious pearl above his head lowered down to protect him. He then used a mirror to freeze Su Yu in place. He then used his second magic weapon, the gourd. However, before he could activate the magic weapon, the Sun-Covering Sword Light, it rushed towards him. The sword light, like a serpent, circled around the protective magic weapon. The pearl shook violently, and its defensive power instantly plummeted to its lowest point.

"Shit!"

He was taken aback and was about to inject his magic power into the magic weapon to replenish its defenses when the flying sword tore through the defenses before it had even completed its second rotation.

With a flash of sword light, he was forcibly teleported away from the arena before he even had time to activate his protective aura.

"City One, Contestant Number 8 wins!"

"Wow, that's awesome, bro!"

Back in their seats, they all gave a thumbs-up.

Su Yu smiled without saying a word.

At this moment, countless people nearby and far away looked at him in surprise and whispered among themselves, while his opponents had different expressions, some surprised and some understanding.

The next battle was a carbon copy of the first one; no matter who the opponent was, he would defeat them with a single sword strike.

After several rounds, they successfully advanced to the round of 16.

To everyone's surprise, Gu Zhi Qiu also made it into the top sixteen. In the previous rounds, he defeated several of the top thirty-two contestants from the previous season. His exquisite Qi Refining Technique was terrifying.

"Now, please welcome contestant number 8 and contestant number 4 to the number 2 ring."

Su Yu jumped onto the ring; her opponent was Xu Lulu.

Before the countdown ended, she summoned a black gourd, which rapidly expanded and spewed out endless river water, turning the area beneath her feet into a waterway tens of meters deep in a short time.

She stood on the water, her right hand clenched as if gathering water to form thunder.

"Gui Water Divine Thunder!"

"Suppress the Sea!"

An invisible wave exploded, the water beneath Xu Lulu's feet paused, the waves froze, and the rising Gui Water elites were forcibly suppressed.

Xu Lulu was startled and immediately activated her magic weapon, but the magic weapon, which was usually as easy as an arm or finger, became extremely stiff today, as if it had been frozen.

She swiftly unleashed the Gui Water Divine Thunder in her hand, and with a deafening roar, Su Yu emerged unharmed.

"2200 damage."

"Without the Sea-Suppressing Pearl reducing damage by 50%, the damage would be 4400."

"As expected of thunder magic, its power is truly formidable."

Su Yu clicked her tongue, and the Sun-Covering Sword Rainbow pierced the air, spanning the arena.

Xu Lulu gently patted the back of her head, and a large bell rose from behind her head and hung above her head, casting wisps of yellow light to protect her.

"clang!"

"clang!"

Sword light swirled around, bells rang melodiously, and precious light trembled violently.

Her precious bell was at least a sixth-tier item with a defensive power of tens of thousands. Normally, it could stand firm even when facing a horde of monsters. But today, under this flying sword, it was like a floating duckweed in the wind, shaking violently.

"So strong, he's much stronger than last time."

"I'm no opponent."

Xu Lulu didn't hesitate for long; she only lasted three seconds before recognizing reality and choosing to give up.

"They've made it into the top eight."

Back in his seat, he noticed that Gu Zhi Qiu wasn't there. Looking towards the arena, he saw that Gu Zhi Qiu was in arena number four, and his opponent was Cao Ze.

Both sides are summoners. One side uses exquisite Taoist magic, and the Gu worms can gain Taoist magic bonuses to become stronger. The other side uses a combination of strengths. The Ten Thousand Crow Pot has a total of thirty-six elite template three-legged fire crows. After three months of upgrades, their average level has reached over 60.

In addition, the three-legged fire crow possesses the fire attribute, making it a natural counter to Gu worms.

Countless black bees gathered to form a black cloud covering nearly an acre, seemingly overwhelming. However, it was powerless against the fire cloud formed by the thirty-six three-legged fire crows. With continuous crackling and popping sounds, black bees were burned and fell to the ground.

Only those forty-odd golden-winged centipedes were strong enough to hold out for a while, but that was all they could do.

The two sides fought for only two minutes, and the Mogu Bees lost more than 20% of their strength.

It also had a 900 HP boost from a sophisticated Taoist technique; if it were a normal Inkball Peak, it would have been burned to ashes long ago.

The battle ended, and Gu Zhi Qiu was eliminated in the round of 16.

(End of this chapter)