The Art of Chaotic Divinity-Chapter 1219: The Finals

"One waited silently, while the other was driven mad by love. If, from the beginning, it had been the two of them together, perhaps the story's ending would not have been so tragic..."

Ling Feng shook his head. Madam Zhuqu had become a monster, neither human nor spirit, left behind that pitch-dark cabin. Yangshu Zi would be left to keep company with loneliness, living out the rest of his bitter life in solitude.

Thinking of this, Ling Feng's fists clenched unconsciously as he recalled himself and Mu Qianxue.

"Qianxue, I hope that our ending will not be a tragedy..."

He carefully folded the map that Yangshu Zi had given him, then turned and entered the training room. He intended to use the top-grade Blood Jade Silkworm to elevate his cultivation to the king-tier.

On the surface, it seemed that Ling Feng had spent only two or three months rising from the first level of the Spiritual Element Realm back to the ninth level. Yet, within the Hourglass of Time, he had spent three years in grueling practice, strengthening his foundations thoroughly. Now, his breakthrough would not result in any instability or hollow cultivation.

...

The next morning, Ling Feng pushed open the door to his room.

It was the day of the finals for the Tianlan Sea Token Tournament. Although there were only five tokens to be awarded from the ten Inner Sea geniuses, making the competition not exceedingly fierce, a contest of this scale still caused a major stir throughout Tianhuang City.

"Big Boss Ling! (Ling Feng!)"

Seeing Ling Feng emerge from the training room, Tuoba Yan and Yang Huanzhi hurried to meet him. They sensed no significant change to his aura.

"You haven't reached king-tier?"

Tuoba Yan's eyelids twitched. Ling Feng's aura still lacked the presence of a king-tier expert.

"Just a little short."

Ling Feng replied with a hint of helplessness. He recalled the breakthrough attempt yesterday, everything had seemed ready, yet at the final moment, his two soul manifestations had preemptively absorbed most of the Blood Jade Silkworm's energy. Although the soul manifestations themselves made huge progress, his cultivation did not rise as expected to the king-tier.

In other words, he had one foot in the king-tier, but he had not yet fully formed the Sea of Stars.

The Spiritual Sea Realm was defined by possession of the first level of the Sea of Stars. Ling Feng was still just shy of this threshold.

He did not feel overly disappointed. After all, the advancement of his soul manifestations was equivalent to increasing his strength. There was no one he could gain experience from for someone with double soul manifestations, he could only feel his way forward step by step.

Just one final step remained. Ling Feng was confident he would reach king-tier before formally joining the Dongling Immortal Pool!

"A single Blood Jade Silkworm isn't enough to push Big Boss Ling to king-tier? My goodness!"

Yang Huanzhi stared in shock at Ling Feng. If it had been him, he might have already jumped from the sixth to the seventh level of the Spiritual Sea Realm.

"Though I did not fully break through, my strength has still improved significantly,"

Ling Feng said calmly. "Let's go. The Tianlan Sea Token competition has reached its final stage. If we claim one more token, we can enter the Sea of Miracles together."

This trip to the Sea of Miracles had two purposes. First, to explore the "hidden treasures". Second, to locate the Heaven-Patrolling Angels hiding within the Sea of Miracles.

Ling Feng was determined to seize both, along with his immortal cores!

It wasn't long before Ling Feng and his companions arrived at the central arena.

By early morning, the stadium was already packed.

Aside from Long Fei, Di Xuan, and Shui Wuhen, who were almost certain to advance, the remaining seven participants were visibly tense.

Each silently prayed not to encounter those three, fearing that the Tianlan Sea Token would slip from their grasp.

Finally, the finals began. Murong Zining appeared gracefully on the stage.

Under countless admiring eyes, she moved to the center, offering a gentle bow.

"The finals of the Tianlan Sea Token Tournament officially begin today. I believe all contestants are fully prepared after five days of rest."

"Without further ado, we will decide matchups by drawing lots. Winners advance, while losers will have to wait until the next time Murong Clan travels to the Sea of Miracles for another attempt."

She raised her hand, prompting staff to bring an iron box to the contestants. Each drew a number in turn.

Only then did someone realize that Shui Wuhen, who had excelled in the preliminaries, had yet to arrive!

"Eh? Shui Wuhen isn't here? Did he forget the date?"

"No way. Something so important couldn't be forgotten."

"Perhaps an emergency forced him to leave early?"

The spectators murmured, speculating why Shui Wuhen had not appeared, even though he seemed guaranteed a Tianlan Sea Token.

Ling Feng, however, silently smirked. Shui Wuhen had already perished on that ruined ship. If he had somehow shown up, that would have been shocking indeed.

Seeing Shui Wuhen absent, Murong Zining frowned slightly. After a pause, she declared: "Since Shui Wuhen is not present, he forfeits his qualification. The draw will continue as usual, and the contestant who draws an empty slot will advance automatically, receiving a Tianlan Sea Token."

"Wow!"

The less skilled contestants cheered. What could be better to advance without fighting?

Soon the draw concluded. Fortune did not favor Ling Feng this time, and the automatic advancement fell to Di Xuan.

Even without this luck, Di Xuan would have advanced easily, yet the twist still caused murmurs among the spectators.

The finals officially began.

Ling Feng's opponent was a late-stage Spiritual Sea Realm expert skilled with a spear. He did not yield immediately but, under Ling Feng's measured attacks, was defeated in three moves.

Ling Feng claimed one of the five remaining Tianlan Sea Tokens.

Three hours later, all matches concluded.

Murong Zining once again ascended the stage, distributing the remaining five tokens. She announced that in roughly ten days, the Murong Clan would lead all Tianlan Sea Token holders into the Sea of Miracles to explore.

This schedule was nearly a month ahead of the original announcement. For martial artists eager to seek treasures within the Sea of Miracles, it was excellent news.

For they had been impatiently waiting for this moment!