291: Chapter 291 World Tree Branch Acquired

"Zhang Huaiyuan, Saintess Jiang Nian, Fang Qingran."

After the students of the Time Book House finished their excitement, the High Priest of the Elf Race spoke up with a smile to call their names.

"It is time for you to collect your rewards for the individual top three."

With a light wave of the staff in his hand, a floating magic circle quietly formed beneath the feet of the three, carrying them toward the branch of the World Tree.

"Ah? Me?"

Feeling her body float, Fang Qingran pointed at herself and blurted out in shock.

It was only then that others noticed that the third place on the individual leaderboard was actually this Seventh Princess of the Silver Splendor Empire.

Of course, compared to the first two, her points were not even a fraction of theirs, totaling a pitiful 46 points.

"Oh, congratulations, Senior Sister."

Zhang Huaiyuan naturally noticed as well and offered his congratulations in a soft voice.

"I just got lucky. Honestly, it's all thanks to you, Junior Martial Brother, hee-hee. Once we're back at the academy, I'll treat you to a huge feast."

Fang Qingran snapped out of it and laughed happily.

In the first round, aside from these two monsters, only one student from Leviathan Academy had managed 31 points, while she had 30.

In the second round, because Zhang Huaiyuan had single-handedly eliminated all ten examinees from Leviathan Academy, the student who was originally leading only managed to get single-digit neutral points. As for the others, they had mostly traded lives for lives, only gaining a dozen or so points.

Furthermore, because the students of the Holy Light Monastery had yielded all the neutral points in the second round to Saintess Jiang Nian, their Saintess, it resulted in her ascending to third place by a narrow margin.

Realizing this, Fang Qingran couldn't help but turn her head slightly, stealing a glance at Zhang Huaiyuan, who seemed to be deep in thought. Her eyes unconsciously filled with a bit more affection and respect.

The other students and accompanying mentors from the Time Book House were also beaming with joy.

Not only did they take first place this time, but two of their students had also secured top-three rewards. The Time Book House had suddenly become the biggest winner. They would return with shared glory, and this would be a significant achievement for their professional rank evaluations.

Meanwhile, the others, especially the students and mentors of Leviathan Academy, were feeling quite miserable.

Setting aside the massive loss of face, it was said that the Elf Queen had specifically prepared many precious treasures for the winners to choose from. Now, they were all going to outsiders.

The onlookers all had their own conflicting thoughts.

As the floating magic dissipated, Zhang Huaiyuan and the other two landed lightly on a platform extending from the World Tree branch.

"Your Excellency High Priest."

"No need for such formalities."

The High Priest of the Elf Race nodded with a light smile and waved his staff, causing over a dozen brilliant phantoms of treasures to appear in the air above.

"These were specifically selected by Her Majesty the Queen from the treasury; they are all rare, high-quality items. As the top three winners of this competition, you may each choose one."

He looked at Zhang Huaiyuan and gestured for him to step forward.

"Zhang Huaiyuan, you are the first place in points, so you have the right to the first choice."

"Thank you, High Priest."

Zhang Huaiyuan looked up with burning eyes and immediately spotted a branch about half a meter long, emitting a faint emerald green glow.

That was exactly his primary goal for participating in the competition.

An intact World Tree branch worth over ten trillion!

One of the most perfect materials for constructing a body!

"The construction of the Statue of Liberty's body is finally within reach."

Zhang Huaiyuan toyed with the integrated device on his right wrist, a smile involuntarily appearing at the corners of his mouth.

Though he knew his Second Senior Brother wouldn't lie to him.

Seeing it with his own eyes was always more reassuring.

And if he remembered correctly, back then, to get him to enter the competition, his Second Senior Brother had even promised that if he led the team to take first place, he would cover the remaining 500 billion time coins in material costs!

Thinking of this, Zhang Huaiyuan's heart felt at ease, and he relaxed as he glanced at the other items.

A longbow shimmering with light, its body inscribed with dense runes, clearly no ordinary item.

A set of light armor made of an unknown material, exquisitely shaped, adhering to the Elf Race's consistently refined style...

Zhang Huaiyuan's gaze swept over them quickly without lingering.

He had protective treasures gifted by his two teachers, and he had the World Fire obtained from the ruins as his trump card for attacks, so he didn't have much need for this equipment.

"Oh, this is..."

Zhang Huaiyuan's gaze suddenly paused, stopping on a deep red limb that looked like a sharp blade.

[Exuviae of an Elite Claw Bug]

The remaining exuviae of a king that evolved through slaughter from among ten million Claw Bugs.

Contains Knowledge Rule Level: 6.

Detailed Information: Not yet analyzed.

"The aura is countless times stronger than the Insect Beasts summoned by those Leviathan Academy students in the second round melee. It seems somewhat similar to the aura of the Insect Beast that Emperor Luo once manifested as."

He activated his True Sight ability and could clearly see some of the complex biological sequence combinations arranged within it.

However, most of it seemed to be encrypted by an incomprehensible power; even True Sight could not fully see through it.

"Student Zhang seems very interested in biotechnology? You have a good eye."

The High Priest of the Elf Race noticed his gaze and immediately smiled.

"This is a limb left behind by a main combat unit from an early sequence under the Great Sovereign. If you choose this, a related decryption file will be included."

"Although it is quite outdated compared to current sequences, for the biotechnology of the All Heavens and Myriad Realms, it is an absolute dimensional strike. I didn't expect the Queen to bring this out; in a sense, it is indeed one of the most precious items here."

As he spoke, he asked in a gentle voice:

"Well, have you decided which one to choose?"

Toward such an exceptionally outstanding student, one would always subconsciously be more well-disposed.

"Thank you for your explanation, Your Excellency High Priest. I have decided."

Zhang Huaiyuan pointed at the branch about half a meter long and gave a slight bow.

"I choose that segment of the World Tree branch."

"Hmm?"

The High Priest of the Elf Race paused.

The World Tree branch was certainly a precious treasure, but given the boy's status, opportunities to obtain one weren't rare. However, the chance to obtain the exuviae and decryption files of a Zerg main combat unit sequence was not common.

"But then again, a genius of this level should have his own ideas."

The High Priest looked at the boy's clear and calm gaze and said no more, merely tapping his staff lightly.

Instantly, a branch of the World Tree pierced through space, and a small section quietly snapped off from its lush fork and fell.

"It's actually freshly broken off?"

Zhang Huaiyuan couldn't help but chuckle inwardly as he reached out with both hands to catch it carefully.

He saw that it emitted a dense aura of life; just holding it in his hands made the cells in his body feel increasingly active.

"Junior Martial Brother, take this."

Mild, who had been watching from the side, suddenly tossed out a glazed box and said with a smile:

"Although this small loss of life force has a negligible impact on the World Tree branch, since you want to create the best possible body for your intelligent lifeform, it's better to keep it in its most perfect state."

"Thank you, Second Senior Brother."

Zhang Huaiyuan gave him a grateful look, then opened the box and carefully placed the half-meter branch inside.

"Using a World Tree branch to create a body for an intelligent lifeform?"

The High Priest of the Elf Race now understood the reason for the choice, and the appreciation in his eyes grew a bit more.

Their Elf Race also liked to do things as perfectly as possible.

"Handsome, highly talented, and even his style of doing things is similar to our race. It's truly a waste for him to stay at the Time Book House."

He looked at the smug Mild and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. After a long moment, he looked away with regret and said, "Miss Saintess Jiang Nian, it is your turn to choose."

...