Immortal of the Ages

Chapter 517: I Decide Your Fate!

In a hidden corner of the Black Demon Cavern, a woman named Li Qianxin, one of the Arbiters overseeing the examination, clutched a diagram of a magical formation in her hands. Her delicate brows furrowed deeply as she scrutinized the diagram.

At that moment, the entrance of the cavern flickered with light. Two men in platinum celestial armor soared in, their presence as formidable as mountains. They were the commander Yuan Gang and his deputy Lu Changfeng.

"Commander Yuan, Deputy Lu," Li Qianxin hastened to greet them, her voice grave, "There's a situation."

"Speak!" Yuan Gang said.

"You asked me to keep an eye on Lu Yao. Look at this."

She handed over the magical formation diagram to Yuan Gang and Lu Changfeng. "The blue numbers correspond to the candidates, and the red dots represent the Arbiter Tokens. Lu Yao is Number One, and he has gathered over 130 tokens, 80 more than the runner-up."

Their eyes followed her finger which pointed to a cluster of dense red dots around a certain blue numeral dot on the diagram.

"How can this be?" Lu Changfeng couldn't believe his eyes.

"This imposter... Lu Yao's return after ten years is indeed strange. He must have learned some obscure techniques to find these Arbiter Tokens, specifically to qualify as an Arbiter," Yuan Gang speculated.

"Give me the diagram and go back. I'll handle things here," Lu Changfeng said, not echoing Yuan Gang's thoughts but addressing Li Qianxin directly.

"Yes." Li Qianxin nodded. As she handed over the diagram, something else came to her mind. "Hey, wasn’t Xiaolu number two before on the rankings?"

"Yes." Lu Changfeng replied absently, "She boasts a lot, how many tokens has she gathered?"

"None," Li Qianxin said awkwardly.

"None?" Lu Changfeng paused, glancing at the diagram where Lu Xiaolu's blue dot was slowly moving, its surroundings completely devoid of any red dots.

"Xiaolu, last place?" Yuan Gang's expression turned peculiar.

She was supposed to be the top seed!

Due to her young age, she might not be the strongest, but with the initial phases of the examination—poise and the written exam—providing a maximum of 70 points, she was expected to score at least 68 points.

But now, their plans to cheat in the written exam were foiled, and Lu Xiaolu was last in the Black Demon Cavern! If she couldn't become an Arbiter, it would be a laughingstock for a lady of her pedigree.

"Alright, I understand." Lu Changfeng's expression shifted darkly as he took the diagram of the magical formation.

Li Qianxin made her exit.

"This isn't normal." Yuan Gang furrowed his brow.

"Let's split up and see for ourselves. Old Yuan, you take that kid down. I’ll check on what madness Lu Xiaolu is up to," Lu Changfeng said.

"There's only one diagram," Yuan Gang noted.

Lu Changfeng glanced at the diagram, which showed one point moving rapidly and another slowly.

"Take it, I know where Lu Xiaolu is."

After speaking, Lu Changfeng’s face tensed, and he turned to leave.

"Don't worry, this is the Skyruler Immortal Manor; nothing bad will happen!" Yuan Gang called after him.

"Right," Lu Changfeng didn't look back as he departed, adding, "Make it clean on your end!"

"A piece of cake," Yuan Gang smirked coldly.

Holding the diagram, he focused on the densely packed red points marked around Yun Xiao's blue dot, transforming into a streak of white light as he pursued it swiftly.

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BOOM! This was a desolate black mountain.

Surrounding the mountain was scorching magma, which resembled a gaping maw of crimson, spewing bloody mists of fire, while the mountain itself seemed like the tongue of this monstrous mouth, constantly at risk of being swallowed.

Atop the black mountain, a young man in white halted and sat down. It was Yun Xiao.

"There's a lot of demons here, but my Sword Aura is stagnating at 9,999,999 layers—a sort of hard cap, it seems. I need to ask Master about this," Yun Xiao mused quietly.

He had amassed many Arbiter Tokens through sheer strength.

"Just over 130 Arbiter Tokens, the last 30 points should be maxed out."

The 30 points for the Black Demon Cavern portion of the Arbiter examination were allocated according to rank.

It was 30 points for first place, 29 points for second, and so on and so forth…

Yun Xiao, having collected 133 Arbiter Tokens, saw no need to continue his search. He was perched atop the black mountain, waiting quietly.

Soon, a platinum light shimmered before him, and from it, a burly middle-aged Arbiter stepped forth, his fierce eyes locking onto Yun Xiao as flames roared around him.

Yun Xiao looked up, meeting the fiery gaze.

"Greetings, Commander Yuan," Yun Xiao said.

"Why have you stopped moving?" Yuan Gang asked, his voice booming like thunder.

"Moving?" Yun Xiao glanced at the magical diagram in Yuang Gang's hand and asked in confusion, "Are you monitoring me?"

"Just patrolling," Yuan Gang responded.

"Oh." Yun Xiao smiled, showing off his handful of Arbiter Tokens. "I've already gathered 133 Arbiter Tokens. Based on past events, that should secure first place in the Black Demon Cavern, so I thought it best to stop."

"If you're stopping, why not head out?" Yuan Gang pointed toward the cavern's glowing entrance.

Yun Xiao grinned. "I was just wondering whether I should look for more."

"Oh…" Yuan Gang nodded while studying the young man in white.

Yun Xiao's face showed no fear.

After a moment of silence, Yuan Gang's expression chilled. "You seem quite indifferent to death?"

"Death?" Yun Xiao paused, puzzled. "I'm not sure what you mean. I’ve gone through great lengths for these tokens, aiming to become an Arbiter. Why would I face death?"

Yuan Gang shook his head, his imposing figure advancing toward Yun Xiao, his eyes suddenly flashing coldly.

"Young man, you dare to covet a morsel from Sky Soaring City. Should I call you foolish?" With a cold laugh, Yuan Gang's formidable presence bore down like countless mountains upon Yun Xiao’s head.

Yun Xiao stood his ground, his voice filled with shock and anger, as he barraged Yuan Gang with questions. "Are you trying to intimidate me? I've earned my place as an Arbiter fairly; my family has dedicated their lives to this duty for generations! What wrong have I done? This is a solemn place for the Arbiter examination. As a commander of the Arbiters, are you openly planning to violate the rules and seize my Arbiter Tokens? Who would you even give them to?"

"What solemn place? This is my territory, Yuan Gang's domain, and I decide the fate of all you lowlifes here!" The thought of this young man ruining his son's year ignited a fire in Yuan Gang's heart.

It was his first time seeing someone so audacious without merit!

With a thunderous motion, he launched a devastating punch, much stronger than his son's by tenfold, like a platinum mythical beast tearing through the air, stirring up a tempest of flames as it barreled towards Yun Xiao.

"Yuan Gang, you dare openly defy the Celestial Laws! You will die for this!" Yun Xiao roared defiantly.

"Ha." Yuan Gang advanced with a cold gaze.

With a massive punch, the violet Runic Umbrella in front of Yun Xiao shattered explosively. The force of the blow sent him plummeting like a meteor into the magma below in the Black Demon Cavern.

Gurgling sounds filled the air as the magma, dark as a monstrous beast, swallowed Yun Xiao whole, his screams faintly echoing.

"The black demon magma should reduce his bones to ash," Yuan Gang muttered, hovering above the magma. He waited a while but heard no further sounds.

Ten years earlier, the real Lu Yao had been reduced to ashes here, in this very magma that drew demons with its ancient fiery power.

To be certain, Yuan Gang searched a bit more, but even he couldn't stay long in such conditions.

Checking the magical diagram, he frowned. "This batch of Arbiter Tokens and his identifier have sunk to the deepest parts of the magma."

That was a place where even he would turn to ash.

Assured that Yun Xiao had met the same fate as Lu Yao, Yuan Gang sneered, "A speck of dust in chaotic times, a wisp of smoke after death," and then he departed.

About a quarter of an hour later, he and Lu Changfeng met at the entrance of the Black Demon Cavern.

"What happened to that impostor?" Lu Changfeng's face seemed shrouded in dark smoke.

"He's gone," Yuan Gang said with a cold smirk.

"My sister's gone too!" Lu Changfeng said, his expression turning grim.

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