Chapter 199: Chapter 198: Jiang Qiu’s Dominant First Place
While the North Snow Tribe was under attack by Han Tianya’s Demon Race, Jiang Qiu was still in the Ancestral Ruins of the North Sea, undergoing a cleansing by the Water of Origin. His meridians and marrow evolved tremendously, and his Talent was sublimated.
As its name suggested, the Water of Origin guided the bloodline of the Human Race back to its source, allowing one to obtain a purer Talent and inherit the will of the ancestors.
The blood of the ancestors flowed within every human. The purer one’s Luminous Blood, the greater the gifts one could receive from them—it was a direct correlation. It wasn’t that the ancestors had intentionally restricted the development of their descendants; rather, as the ages passed, the concentration of the ancestral bloodline had simply grown increasingly dilute.
The current natives of the Northern Boundary could no longer withstand the various Treasures of Heaven and Earth or Cultivation Technique inheritances from Ancient Times. Thus, the optimal solution was to use the Ancestral Ruins to screen for individuals with the purest concentration of Luminous Blood, as they were the only ones qualified to receive its legacy.
Jiang Qiu had heard this from the Elder Witch Priest before he arrived.
He wasn’t worried about the legacy of the Ancestral Ruins being taken by someone else. When it came to bloodlines, a vast gap existed even among the Chosen Ones.
Since no one had been able to claim the legacy of the Ancestral Ruins for tens of thousands of years, it stood to reason that no one else was qualified to do so either. Perhaps all it needed was an anomaly.
’For example, my own bloodline concentration is extremely high. The purity of my Luminous Blood has already reached 99%. I’m just a tiny bit away, right on the cusp of it.’
’But perhaps this also has something to do with that tiny bit of Origin aura from Demon King [Chen]?’
It was the Origin aura of Demon King [Chen], who had survived since Ancient Times. Under these favorable conditions, Jiang Qiu continuously absorbed the power of the Water of Origin. His bloodline concentration grew higher and higher, and his Realm advanced faster and faster.
On the bank of the pool of the Water of Origin, a Square Stele was constantly changing as bar after bar lit up, signaling that his progress in receiving the inheritance was steadily climbing.
Of course, the other prodigies who had come to the Ancestral Ruins were also aware of the information on their own Square Steles. However, most of them knew it was impossible for them to claim the full legacy of the ancestors.
They could only hope for a few extra gifts. Their goal was simply to obtain an inheritance of two, or perhaps even three, bars.
That would grant them considerable power. It was even possible they might have a chance to become an expert of the Steel Bone Realm.
As for higher Realms, that was something only Chosen Ones like Jiang Qiu could achieve.
What they didn’t know, however, was that Jiang Qiu was continuously advancing his progress, leaving them far behind. They could only see the information and progress on their own Square Steles, not anyone else’s.
The Human Race Warriors standing guard outside the great hall, however, knew everything.
「Several months passed in the blink of an eye.」
Most of the Human Race Warriors who had been stationed outside the great hall had since set up camp on the North Coast; not all of them had remained waiting there. They needed to hunt for food; it was unrealistic for them to simply wait idly for months on end.
However, they still posted one or two Warriors to stand watch and check the progress on the Square Steles. Any changes were to be reported immediately to the tribal Leaders.
The Warrior guarding the Square Stele outside the great hall had yet to notice anything unusual. In other words, there had been no significant changes among the Chosen Ones and prodigies receiving the inheritance inside. The rankings hadn’t changed at all: Jiang Qiu was still first, followed by [Gold], [Cheng], and [Fan], all the way down to the last-place [Eight].
Interestingly, the last-place participant, [Eight], still hadn’t managed to obtain even a single bar of inheritance, which meant his Talent was exceptionally poor.
Such a thing was rare, but not unheard of. When a person’s Talent was truly lacking, it was possible for them to go months without obtaining a single bar.
After all, the stronger one’s ancestral bloodline—that is, the higher the purity of their Luminous Blood—the better their Talent, and vice versa.
The bloodline concentration in some smaller tribes was so diluted that it was impossible for them to produce a true, peerless prodigy. Still, they would send their most talented member here to receive the ancestral inheritance, hoping for some kind of transformation.
But it was clear their Talent was lacking and their bloodlines were insufficient. They were merely here to serve as a backdrop for the others.
It was difficult enough to even qualify for a single bar. Anyone who did was considered a prodigy, someone with a chance of breaking through to the Steel Bone Realm within the Northern Boundary.
However, no one paid much attention to people like that. After all, there had been plenty of them over the past tens of thousands of years. Besides, they weren’t from one’s own tribe, so why bother watching?
They were far more concerned with why Jiang Qiu’s rank was consistently at the top.
Now, Jiang Qiu had surpassed the second-place [Gold] by two bars. What did that imply?
[Hill] was now a six-bar prodigy, while [Gold] was only at four.
Such a gap was unprecedented. If it had ever occurred in history, it was in the distant past. The Talent gap between Chosen Ones was not supposed to be that large, let alone a difference of two entire bars.
A gap like this was rare even among the first generation of Chosen Ones. This fact only made everyone more nervous, as they knew the difference in Talent between Jiang Qiu and [Gold] would determine the future of the Human Race’s unification.
The members of the North Snow Tribe suddenly received news that their home was being invaded. They immediately dispatched a portion of their Warriors to return and defend against Han Tianya’s Demon Race.
The North Snow Tribe’s situation could only be described as precarious. If Jiang Qiu failed to secure first place, their hopes for survival would be slim.
The South Mountain Tribe had been hesitating about whether to ally with the North Snow Tribe. They all knew that the Chosen Ones were the deciding factor in the wars of the Northern Boundary. A fully grown Chosen One possessed limitless power.
For instance, when these Chosen Ones emerged from the ruins, they would possess immense power, having undergone a true transformation.
It was enough to decide the outcome of entire wars.
The current situation was that Jiang Qiu held a clear advantage over the West Ice Tribe’s prodigy. The people of the West Ice Tribe didn’t dare make a move; the pressure was making them break out in a cold sweat.
If Jiang Qiu truly emerged from this alive, especially if he completely surpassed [Gold], then leadership of the Human Race might fall into the hands of the North Snow Tribe.
Everyone knew that in the Northern Boundary, the fate of the Human Race was determined by the Chosen Ones. Only the strongest among them could lead their people to victory.
In other words, only the highest-ranked individual, the one who received the greatest share of the ancestral inheritance, would possess the power to save the Northern Boundary Human Clan.
