Chapter 633: Drinking on the Battle Platform
At the exit of the Dragon Lair Cave, the crowd's gazes remained fixed on that spot. Just then, light flickered, and a figure shot out from the exit, landing directly on the main battle platform.
"Who is it?"
Everyone's hearts trembled as they stared intently at the emerging figure. Who was the first to step out of the cave?
Focusing their eyes, what appeared before them was a slightly sallow complexion, clean eyes, and a somewhat disheveled appearance.
"Huh?" The crowd's gazes froze. This figure was completely different from what they had imagined. It wasn't Imperial Mausoleum, not Duan Wudao, not Jun Moxi or Blood Fiend, nor even any of the Eight Great Geniuses. It was Lin Feng, whose aura was only at the Mysterious Martial Realm Fifth Layer.
"How is this possible? How could he be the first one out?"
Countless thoughts raced through the crowd's minds. This was too unexpected. It was Lin Feng. Even Snow Wuchang was stunned. Even if Lin Feng had given up many checkpoints on the Dragon Bridge and obtained the twenty-first or thirty-first ranked Jade Key, that would still mean Lin Feng was the first to reach the Dragon Bridge, ahead of everyone else.
In the past, this situation had never occurred. Generally speaking, the first one out obtained the number one ranked Jade Key.
"Whoosh..."
Another figure rushed out. The second person followed closely behind Lin Feng. The crowd's gazes shifted to this second person, and their hearts trembled again.
This was madness, utter chaos. The second person was still not one of the eight most talented geniuses. To their surprise, it was a woman—a stunningly beautiful woman. However, this woman's strength was considerable, at least much stronger than Lin Feng. Although their shock was beyond measure, with Lin Feng leading the way, they could barely handle it.
Too unexpected. The first and second to step out were not the most formidable Eight Great Geniuses.
"Are you alright?"
Lin Feng paid no attention to the crowd's astonished gazes. He walked up to Tang Youyou. Her face was pale, and there was even a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth. Clearly, she had forcefully used the Thousand Shadows technique for the second time, causing her considerable injury.
"It's nothing. It was worth it."
Tang Youyou revealed a rare smile. In her palm, she also held a Jade Key, engraved with the number two. Lin Feng had obtained the first Jade Key, and she had the second. This way, they could freely choose their opponents.
"You worked hard."
Lin Feng's heart warmed. Without Tang Youyou, he might have been able to get past the ninth person's obstruction, but he definitely wouldn't have been faster than Tang Youyou, Imperial Mausoleum, or Duan Wudao. He would have fallen behind.
Moreover, Tang Youyou had let him take the first Jade Key. Although obtaining the first and second keys had the same effect, the meaning behind first and second was different.
"Boom! Boom!"
Two powerful auras erupted, and then the crowd saw two more figures step out. This time, they finally matched the crowd's expectations. The two who emerged were Imperial Mausoleum and Duan Wudao.
Imperial Mausoleum and Duan Wudao's expressions were not pleasant. Their gazes swept over Lin Feng and Tang Youyou. Those two had actually snatched the first and second ranked Jade Keys.
However, their expressions quickly returned to normal. Each walked to a separate area and sat down cross-legged, as if the outside world had nothing to do with them.
What they wanted was the final victory. Even if Lin Feng and Tang Youyou had obtained the first and second ranked Jade Keys, what did it matter? Only with supreme strength, even if ranked last, no one would dare touch them. Of course, no one could touch them either.
Snow Wuchang's gaze fell on Lin Feng, and he asked curiously, "The Jade Key you obtained—was it the twenty-first or the thirty-first?"
Lin Feng's gaze froze, and a strange expression appeared on his face. Twenty-first? Thirty-first?
Even without Tang Youyou, relying on himself, he could have passed the eighth person and obtained the eleventh ranked Jade Key, right? Of course, Snow Wuchang didn't know this, so his question was normal.
The crowd was also stunned by Snow Wuchang's question. Twenty-first? Thirty-first? Was there some hidden story?
"You should have given up on the last few checkpoints, right? Did you obtain the eleventh ranked Jade Key?" Seeing Lin Feng's strange expression, Snow Wuchang asked again.
"Gave up on checkpoints?"
The crowd was stunned again. So that was it. No wonder Lin Feng was the first out. It seemed he had given up on the difficult checkpoints, which was why he came out first. But he could only obtain a lower-ranked Jade Key, not qualified for the higher ones.
Lin Feng and Tang Youyou exchanged a glance and both smiled. Looking at Tang Youyou, Lin Feng's lips curled up in an interesting expression. Then he raised his head, his clean, clear eyes meeting Snow Wuchang's. He extended his hand and slowly opened his palm. In his palm lay a Jade Key, emitting a faint glow. On it was engraved a single character: One!
"First!"
Snow Wuchang's eyes froze as he stared at the Jade Key in Lin Feng's palm. His heart trembled violently. Lin Feng had obtained a Jade Key that was not the thirty-first, not the twenty-first, and not even the eleventh.
Lin Feng had obtained the first.
The crowd's hearts also trembled. First. Lin Feng had indeed obtained the first.
"I knew big brother could get a high ranking." Among the crowd, Xiao Ya smiled lightly. Han Man and Po Jun also clenched their fists. First. On the stage of the Snow Domain Grand Competition, where geniuses gathered, Lin Feng had obtained first place. Although it was only the second round, it was still something to be proud of.
"Interesting."
Yue Qingshan glanced at Xiao Ya, who was not far away. This mysterious youth claimed to be from the Snow Moon Kingdom, and he had actually obtained the first ranked Jade Key, giving everyone a huge surprise.
"I wonder what rank Tianming will get."
Yue Qingshan thought to himself, his gaze fixed on the exit of the Dragon Lair Cave.
Meanwhile, Yu Liushui and the people of the Tian Feng Kingdom had unpleasant expressions. They didn't know what kind of luck Lin Feng had stumbled upon to get the first ranked Jade Key. But when the real Snow Domain Grand Competition began, he might not be so lucky.
"You're called Lin Feng, right?"
Snow Wuchang said to Lin Feng. Lin Feng nodded slightly, a little surprised that Snow Wuchang actually knew his name.
"Lin Feng, this first Jade Key carries a tremendous opportunity. You must strive hard and not waste it." Snow Wuchang said to Lin Feng, causing Lin Feng's gaze to freeze. The first Jade Key carried a tremendous opportunity?
Did the ranking of these Jade Keys relate to something else?
He remembered that before the second round of the Snow Domain Grand Competition, Snow Wuchang had mentioned jade tokens, but what they had obtained were Jade Keys.
Keys. Keys.
These Jade Keys were indeed shaped like keys.
"I will." Lin Feng nodded. Snow Wuchang said no more.
Lin Feng glanced at Tang Youyou, and the two tacitly retreated to the side, sitting down at the edge of the battle platform.
"Will your injuries affect the upcoming battles?"
Lin Feng asked Tang Youyou. Her expression remained calm, and from the outside, he couldn't tell how serious her injuries were.
"Have you forgotten that I am from the Tang family?"
Tang Youyou said with a faint smile, causing Lin Feng to pause, then he smiled. Right, he had almost forgotten. Tang Youyou was the daughter of the Tang family.
Light flickered, and a row of wine flasks appeared on the ground, dozens of them.
"The Blazing Essence Wine you like to drink."
Seeing the row of flasks, Lin Feng grinned and directly opened one, holding it to his lips and drinking wildly. In an instant, a whole flask was downed.
The true essence within his body stirred. Unsatisfied, Lin Feng opened ten more flasks in succession. The sound of gulping echoed as the Blazing Essence Wine continuously entered his body, burning his true essence, making his meridians scorching hot. His face and body turned red.
"So satisfying!"
Lin Feng let out a long breath. His breath was hot, faintly carrying a hint of flame intent.
"Is it really that good?"
Tang Youyou muttered, then picked up a few flasks of Blazing Essence Wine and started drinking. Instantly, her whole body became hot, and her face flushed red.
"Cough, cough!"
She coughed a few times and glared at Lin Feng with a hint of grievance, leaving Lin Feng speechless. This was really unfair. He hadn't said anything!
Although the Blazing Essence Wine suited him, it might not suit Tang Youyou. If it did, the Tang family would have had her drink it long ago!
PS: Sister, half of the fiery enthusiasm has been extinguished... Ninth chapter.