"Brother Rock?" Liu Wencai excitedly ran to Jiang Chen's territory to ask for an explanation, only to find that the courtyard was already empty and deserted.
"Gone?" Liu Wencai stared blankly at the vacant courtyard, realizing that Brother Rock must have departed for registration in the Heavenly Spirit Area.
"Thank you, Brother Rock."
Though the person was gone, Liu Wencai still bowed respectfully outside Jiang Chen's courtyard.
"In three months, I will definitely break into the Heavenly Spirit Area and reunite with you as brothers!"
At this moment, an unprecedented confidence surged within Liu Wencai.
...
The Heavenly Spirit Area was much as Jiang Chen had imagined—a place brimming with spiritual energy.
Compared to the Heavenly Spirit Area, the Earth Spirit Area was completely lacking.
"Welcome to the Heavenly Spirit Area." An examiner greeted them warmly.
In the Heavenly Spirit Area, there were four main overseers, each from one of the four great sects.
"According to the rules, your identification numbers will be placed at the bottom ten of the Heavenly Spirit Area. All trial results in the Heavenly Spirit Area start from zero."
All results starting from zero?
Jiang Chen was slightly taken aback—was this announcement even necessary? A new trial period naturally starts from zero.
"Heh, judging by your expressions, you must find it strange why I would say this. Don't be surprised, because this is the Heavenly Spirit Area. The trials here are different from other areas. Every period's points here are cumulative. Every challenger who comes up from below starts with zero accumulated points."
"Examiner, I was in the Heavenly Spirit Area during the first period—I had results before. Later I dropped to the Earth Spirit Area, but I performed well there and fought my way back. Can't I recover my previous points?"
There were several martial artists like this.
They had been in the Heavenly Spirit Area during the first period, ranked in the bottom ten, and were demoted to the Earth Spirit Area. In the second period, they performed excellently in the Earth Spirit Area and fought their way back.
Now, in the third period, they had returned to the Heavenly Spirit Area. Naturally, having heard that points were cumulative, they wanted to reclaim their previous totals.
The examiner gave a faint smile. "I'm afraid not. Once you leave the Heavenly Spirit Area, your points are cleared. Even if you fight your way back, you must be treated as a newcomer and start from zero."
The expressions of those martial artists changed instantly. "This... this is unfair! They've already completed two periods here, so their points must have accumulated a lot. If we start from zero, isn't this trial just a formality for us? How can we compete with them?"
"A formality?" The examiner smiled coldly. "If you lack confidence even in yourselves, what's the point of your participation? This selection is for true geniuses. A real genius should possess the ability to overcome adversity. Otherwise, you're just mediocre—what use are you? If you truly had the skill and talent, why were you demoted from the Heavenly Spirit Area? Did we deliberately drive you out?"
That martial artist was left speechless.
Jiang Chen stood to the side, silent throughout. Though he felt the rule was somewhat exaggerated, he didn't seek trouble by protesting.
Rules were set by others; challenging their rules would only bring unnecessary problems.
"All right, as per the usual, everyone who arrives here must first understand the rules of the Heavenly Spirit Area trial. The trials here are completely different from other areas. Here, the challenges you face won't be limited to arena battles."
"Come up and collect your contestant plaques, each with a set of trial rules—go study them!"
Although some among them had originally come from the Heavenly Spirit Area, upon returning, they were all newcomers and would be reassigned contestant numbers.
The Heavenly Spirit Area had a total of one hundred people. Those who had just been promoted would naturally receive numbers 91 to 100.
Jiang Chen had been the champion in the Earth Spirit Area, so his number was 91.
He collected his numbered plaque and a copy of the trial rules.
"All right, as usual, there will be no trial content on the first day. Starting tomorrow, the third period of the trial officially begins."
"Remember, the Heavenly Spirit Area only welcomes true geniuses, not useless people who only know how to complain without putting in the effort. All of you study the rules well. Arriving late doesn't necessarily mean you'll lose! Dismissed!"
Jiang Chen saw the examiner finish speaking and didn't linger; he went directly to find his living quarters.
The Heavenly Spirit Area's area was at least five times larger than the Earth Spirit Area's. Each martial artist was assigned a private courtyard, very quiet, with no worries of disturbance.
Jiang Chen arrived at Courtyard 91, looked at the tranquil courtyard, and muttered to himself, "For these three months, this will be my base."
Jiang Chen pushed open the door and entered. As usual, he first checked the premises. After circling around three or four times and finding no surprises, he finally sat leisurely in a chair in the courtyard and began to read the trial rules.
The Heavenly Spirit Area was indeed completely different from the other trial areas.
In the Heavenly Spirit Area, it seemed the organizers intentionally protected the various geniuses, not arranging for them to constantly clash in battles.
In the Heavenly Spirit Area, the focus seemed to be more on the cultivation of the martial artists.
In the Heavenly Spirit Area, trial results were calculated based on points.
The ways to earn points were divided into two major categories.
These were Basic Points and Advancement Points.
Basic Points were the same for everyone, divided into four domains, each with five trials, for a total of twenty basic trials.
Each trial was worth five points, totaling one hundred points.
For these basic trials, you earned the corresponding points based on how much you completed. Incomplete trials did not deduct points.
As for Advancement Points, there were many ways to earn them.