The Bounty Arena lasted a total of half a month. The first twelve days were the regular period.
The final three days, however, were the most frenzied stretch of the entire Bounty Arena. It was during these three days that the truly high-end tasks would appear.
The highest-end of all were, naturally, the Supreme-level bounty tasks.
Supreme-level bounty tasks didn't merely consist of fresh bounties posted by attendees on the spot — they also included all the accumulated, uncompleted bounties that had been sitting in the Cleansing Furnace Hall.
By the time these final three days rolled around, even the smaller bounty tasks no longer had the qualifications to enter.
During these last three days, only tasks of sixth rank or above were qualified to appear on the Bounty Arena.
That meant every task showing up on the Bounty Arena carried a bounty of at least one million Saint Spirit Stones. Anything below that threshold simply wasn't allowed through the door.
As a result, most of the low-end bounties would automatically be shut out.
Of course, with the first twelve days already behind them, most of the low-end bounties that were ever going to come in had already done so.
Take Jiang Chen's side for example — over twelve days, across his two main arena platforms, his personal earnings alone had reached one and a half billion Saint Spirit Stones.
And among the eighteen sub-arena masters under his two main platforms, even the weakest among them had earned at least twenty to thirty million Saint Spirit Stones.
Those who were more powerful, or whom Jiang Chen held in higher regard, naturally came away with even greater rewards.
Lin Yanyu, for instance, had alone collected bounty amounts exceeding a hundred million.
Lin Zhirong was no slouch either. Despite his eccentric demeanor, the man had surprisingly deep reserves and had actually earned rewards nearly on par with Lin Yanyu's.
With high-level bounties continuing to pour in over the final three days, there might be even more opportunities to strike it rich. Everyone was raring to go, ready to make the most of these last three days.
Vice Temple Master Gao stood at an elevated position and called out in a booming voice: "Everyone, the final three days are the most spectacular part of the Bounty Arena — the grand finale! This time, we have collected twelve Supreme-level tasks. On top of that, we will also open up twelve Supreme-level tasks that had accumulated from before. In other words, each of you main arena masters will average two Supreme-level tasks. How many you can actually secure — this old Gao has only one thing to say: it's entirely up to your own ability!"
"Beyond Supreme-level tasks, these three days will only accept tasks of sixth rank and above. These tasks will proceed as before. But Supreme-level tasks operate under a different format."
A different format?
Jiang Chen looked toward Vice Temple Master Gao. He was curious — how exactly would these Supreme-level tasks be distributed? Would they just be split evenly from the big pot, two per person?
"Each of the twelve main arena masters will be assigned two Supreme tasks," Vice Temple Master Gao continued. "However, being assigned two Supreme tasks does not mean those two tasks are automatically yours. For each Supreme task you receive, you must evaluate it against your own strength and resources. If you determine that you are unable to complete it, you must hand it over promptly. If, three hours after assignment, you have failed to hand over a task, we will consider it accepted. Should you accept a task but ultimately fail to complete it, you will be required to pay a penalty equal to the task's bounty amount."
Hearing this, Jiang Chen finally figured it out.
So Supreme-level tasks weren't distributed on an egalitarian basis after all. If you couldn't handle a task, you had to hand it over.
Otherwise, you'd be on the hook for the full penalty.
That made these tasks something of a hot potato.
"Within three hours, if you hand over a task, other main arena masters may take it over. The arena master who hands over a task bears no responsibility whatsoever. Likewise, the person who takes it over — if they ultimately fail to complete the task — must also pay a penalty of equal amount."
"If the person who takes it over completes the bounty task, they must give ten percent of the reward to the arena master who handed it over, as a bonus."
Now Jiang Chen understood completely.
If you received a task you couldn't handle, the smartest move was to hand it off to someone else. If you handed it over and the other person completed it, you'd still collect ten percent of the bounty.
But if it rotted in your hands and you couldn't deliver, you'd have to pay the full amount out of pocket.
"These Supreme-level tasks really are more interesting — and more airtight," Jiang Chen mused. The way things were set up, he actually found himself looking forward to them.
After all, with all this buildup and secrecy, the bounty amounts on Supreme-level tasks were sure to be enormous.
Thirty million Saint Spirit Stones was just the floor — there was no ceiling.
That meant a task with a bounty of several hundred million popping up wouldn't be the least bit surprising.
Most importantly, completing a Supreme-level task brought not just monetary reward, but also fame.
As the grand finale, Supreme-level tasks naturally attracted enormous attention, and they weren't problems just anyone could solve.
The main arena master who managed to complete a Supreme-level task would surely reap both fame and fortune.
Right now, Jiang Chen wanted exactly that — both fame and fortune — so that in his competition with Mu Gaoqi, he'd have enough leverage and the upper hand.
"Alright, now — all main arena masters, please come to the stage to draw the two Supreme-level tasks assigned to you."
"The bounty amounts on these Supreme-level tasks vary considerably. How much you pull is entirely up to your luck."
While it came down to luck, a higher bounty wasn't necessarily better.
After all, a higher bounty meant greater difficulty. If the difficulty was too extreme, drawing it would be pointless. Many Supreme-level bounty tasks had been hanging in the Cleansing Furnace Hall for ages — some for hundreds or even thousands of years, without anyone able to complete them.
Even if such antique-tier bounty tasks carried staggering bounties, they were ultimately meaningless.