224: Who is the ghost on the standings?

At the base of a cliff, Lin Fan's figure quietly emerged. The aura of the Peak Late Stage Soul Transformation realm flashed briefly before being perfectly concealed by the "All Things Turtle Breath Art," returning him to his status as the unremarkable Cuiyun Sect Elder.

He straightened his robes, his face once again wearing a heavy and uneasy expression as he walked toward where Liu Qingqing was hiding.

“Elder Lin!”

Seeing Lin Fan return unscathed, Liu Qingqing almost thought she was hallucinating. She lunged forward, unable to hold back her tears any longer.

“You... just now... I saw you swallowed by that black thing...”

She spoke incoherently, her voice trembling with lingering fear and the relief of his return.

Lin Fan chuckled inwardly, but his face timely showed a pale look of lingering fear.

He raised his hand to wipe the tear stains from the young girl's face and explained in a raspy voice.

“That was a secret death-substitution technique of our sect. I used a Clone to block a fatal blow for me.”

“However, the price was immense. My current cultivation has plummeted to rock bottom.”

As he spoke, he deliberately emitted a faint, incredibly weak fluctuation of spiritual energy, making him look as if his Origin Qi had been severely damaged.

Hearing this, Liu Qingqing's heart tightened. She looked at him worriedly, no longer doubting his explanation.

In her view, only such an explanation made sense.

“I'm sorry, Elder Lin. It's all because of me... If it weren't for me...”

“Don't say such silly things.”

Lin Fan interrupted her, took her hand, and looked into the distance with a deep and resolute gaze.

“Let's go. This is no place to linger; we must find a more hidden location.”

...The following days were the beginning of a nightmare for all the prodigies on Suspended Blood Hell Island.

A mysterious trial-taker codenamed "???" was like a ghost, causing massive waves on the leaderboard.

At the southwestern corner of Blood Hell Island, beside an active volcano that erupted year-round.

Several Disciples wearing Lieyang Sect robes were carefully bypassing a river of scorching lava.

“Everyone be careful. This lava river contains Earth Core Poison Fire. Soul Transformation Realm Cultivators will die upon contact, and even Void Refining Realm experts dare not set foot in it lightly.”

The leading Senior Brother warned in a low voice.

Just then, from the corner of their eyes, they caught sight of a figure standing on a rock upstream, seemingly observing the terrain.

It was Lin Fan and Liu Qingqing.

“Elder Lin, it's too dangerous here. Let's find another way.”

Liu Qingqing's face turned pale as she felt the scorching heat waves hitting her.

Lin Fan nodded with a solemn expression.

“You're right. Let me scout the path ahead a bit more.”

As he spoke, he took a few steps forward and "accidentally" stepped on a loose piece of gravel.

Ah!

A short cry of alarm.

Under the horrified gazes of Liu Qingqing and those Lieyang Sect Disciples, Lin Fan lost his balance and fell directly into the rushing river of lava below.

Without even a splash, his figure was instantly swallowed by the crimson lava.

[Ding!]

[Host bathed in the lava river and died from the incineration of Earth Core Poison Fire, causing shock to onlookers!]

[Death Evaluation: B+ Grade!]

[Congratulations to the Host! Reward: Permanent increase in Fire Resistance, and one piece of special material: 'Earth Fire Essence Gold'!]

Simultaneously, on the Blood Trial leaderboard.

The points for the "???" that had been silent for a while suddenly jumped up significantly.

[Trial-taker: ???]

[Points: 800]

...Three days later, Thunderous Marsh.

The sky was covered in dark clouds, and bolts of blood-colored lightning as thick as water buckets danced like wild dragons, tearing through the firmament.

“Elder Lin, are we really going to set up a defensive Formation here? The heavenly thunder in this place is too terrifying.”

Liu Qingqing watched the apocalyptic scene overhead, her heart racing with fear.

Lin Fan held the Formation Plate, his face filled with a tragic "I have no other choice" expression.

“Only by utilizing the power of heavenly thunder can we temporarily avoid those people's pursuit. This is the only way.”

As he spoke, he inserted the last Formation Flag into the ground.

Boom! Crack!

A massive blood-colored bolt of lightning, as if it had eyes, descended precisely from the sky, striking his body while he held the Formation Plate high.

Lin Fan's body was instantly turned to charcoal in the electric light, then torn to pieces by the violent power of the thunder.

[Ding!]

[Host failed to use thunder for Body Tempering and suffered Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering after being struck by Blood Hell Divine Thunder!]

[Death Evaluation: A Grade!]

[Congratulations to the Host! Reward: Insight into Thunder-type Dao Laws, cultivation increased to Early Stage Void Refining!]

Boom.

A brand new power, far more majestic than the Soul Transformation Realm, exploded within the resurrected Lin Fan.

He had officially stepped into the Void Refining Realm.

And on the leaderboard.

[Trial-taker: ???]

[Points: 1,500]

The ranking of "???" soared, breaking directly into the top twenty... Ten days later, Bone-Rotting Poison Swamp.

Lin Fan "accidentally" slipped into the depths of the poison swamp and died from ten thousand poisons consuming his body.

[Points: 2,300]

...Fifteen days later, Endless Blade Mountain.

Lin Fan "lost his footing" while climbing and was sliced into a hundred million pieces by endless spatial blades.

[Points: 3,800]

...More than half of the month had passed.

All the trial-takers on the entire Suspended Blood Hell Island had fallen into a state of collective madness and confusion.

“Who exactly is this '???'?!”

“Is he a devil? Why are his points growing so fast!”

“Lava River, Thunderous Marsh, Bone-Rotting Swamp, Endless Blade Mountain... he's been to all these death traps, and every time he gains a massive amount of points. How on earth does he do it?”

“It's impossible! Absolutely impossible! Even a King at the Body Integration Realm wouldn't dare play like this!”

Voices of discussion and speculation rang out in every corner of the island.

The codename "???" became a mountain weighing on the hearts of all prodigies, a nightmare that wouldn't go away.

He never took the initiative to attack anyone, but his points crushed ninety-nine percent of the trial-takers at an inconceivable speed.

Currently, on the leaderboard.

First Place: Crown Prince of the Ten Thousand Demon Divine Dynasty, Yao Tianqi—9,800 points.

Second Place: Saint of the Nine Luminaries Star Palace, Lu Xinghe—9,300 points.

Third Place: ???—9,100 points.

That ghost-like name had impressively surged to the third spot, and the gap between him and the top two was narrowing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At the center of the island, atop a throne built from countless skeletons.

A young man wearing a black-gold dragon robe, with an eerie and handsome face, stared coldly at the leaderboard in front of him.

Surging Demonic Qi surrounded him; just sitting there caused the surrounding space to distort.

Crown Prince of the Ten Thousand Demon Divine Dynasty, Yao Tianqi.

“???”

He slowly spat out those three characters. His voice carried no warmth, yet it contained a murderous intent that could freeze one's Divine Soul.

“This Prince doesn't care who he is or what shameful methods he used.”

“Before this Prince, all Evil Paths will be crushed.”

His gaze fell upon a burly man with ox horns kneeling on one knee below.

“Niu Mang, use the 'Thousand-Mile Soul-Locking Mirror' to drag this rat hiding in the gutter out for me.”

“This Prince wants to personally crush his bones and see what kind of thing he really is.”

The man named Niu Mang respectfully took the order and retrieved an ancient bronze mirror from his storage Magic Treasure.

He channeled demonic power, and light flowed across the mirror's surface, gradually revealing a blurred, constantly shifting landscape of mountains and rivers.

“Your Highness, this person seems to have a secret treasure protecting him; I cannot pinpoint him exactly.”

“However, the 'Thousand-Mile Soul-Locking Mirror' has locked onto his general location—it's in the area of Fallen Soul Valley to the southwest.”

Yao Tianqi slowly stood up, overlooking the southwest direction, his lips curling into a cruel arc.

“Very well.”

“Pass down the order. Everyone, follow this Prince to Fallen Soul Valley.”

“This Prince will set an inescapable net, so that he cannot escape even if he had wings.”

...Meanwhile, inside Fallen Soul Valley.

In a hidden cave, Lin Fan sat cross-legged, consolidating the Void Refining Realm cultivation he had just broken through to.

During these twenty-plus days, he had died over a dozen times in various ways.

He had received A-grade evaluations three times, B and B+ grades seven or eight times, and the rest were low-tier C-grades.

The richness of the rewards made even him feel shocked.

Now, in terms of true combat strength, even without using his resurrection trump card, he was sufficient to face those top prodigies head-on.

Beside him, Liu Qingqing had gone from initial terror and worry to her current state of numbness.

She sat silently to one side, organizing Medicinal Pills while looking at Lin Fan with a complex expression.

She completely failed to understand this Elder Lin anymore.

He was always creating miracles in desperate situations, yet in the next moment, he would always place himself in an even deeper desperation.

The mysteries surrounding him were growing.

Suddenly.

Lin Fan opened his eyes, his brow furrowing imperceptibly.

Just now, he felt an extremely subtle sense of being peered at sweep across him.

Though the feeling was fleeting, his keen Divine Soul still captured it.

Someone was using a secret technique to track him.

Lin Fan didn't feel the slightest bit of tension.

Instead, his blood, which belonged to a death-seeking maniac, began to boil slightly.

He had been fishing for so long.

Was a big fish finally going to take the bait?

He stood up, walked to the cave entrance, and looked out of the valley.

His facial expression remained that of heavy foreboding, but deep in his eyes, a flame of excitement was burning fiercely.

“Qingqing, I'm afraid we're in trouble.”

He turned and spoke to Liu Qingqing in a heavy voice.

“It seems people have surrounded this place, and they come with ill intent.”

Hearing this, Liu Qingqing's face instantly turned pale, and she stood up nervously.

“Then... then let's leave quickly!”

“No.”

Lin Fan shook his head, his eyes flashing with a crazy and resolute light—a light Liu Qingqing had never seen before.

“This time, we're not leaving.”

“We'll play a big game with them right here.”

He had already started calculating.

To be surrounded and hunted by the favorite to win this trial, the Crown Prince of the Ten Thousand Demon Divine Dynasty, who had set an inescapable net and personally led the team.

In the end, failing after a hard-fought battle and being blasted to dust by the opponent's supreme demonic arts.

This death script... surely it had to be at least an S-grade evaluation, right?

Maybe there was even a chance to push for an S+?