Chapter 0771: The Crystal Array Bead

Chapter 0771: Crystal Array Pearl

Jian Linglong said, "Xiao Yun’s just a kid! Within a certain time limit, he can't carve totem runes so frequently, or it will cause severe damage to his *mental energy*!"

At this moment, many Mystic Rune Masters began to accuse the elder.

Qin Yun shouted, "Respected elders, to prove my innocence, I contributed the precious Fire Totem Rune, yet this old man swiped it for himself!"

"Now, shouldn’t he compensate us by contributing equally valuable runes?"

The elder from the Mystic Rune Hall, hearing this, glanced at the group of Mystic Rune Masters and felt as if he were like a wolf surrounded by a pack.

"That’s only fair! Since this young brother contributed a totem rune, this old man should at least hand over a dozen Dao Runes, right?"

"Exactly!"

"Old man, hurry up and hand over the Fire Totem and Dao Runes you possess!"

"This young brother generously shared the Fire Totem despite his youth. What use do you, an old coot on his last legs, have for so many Dao Runes?"

"Old man, you already snatched the Fire Totem Rune—what more do you want? Hand over the Dao Runes now!"

A group of Mystic Rune Masters, including those from the Long and Jian families, started heckling. Since this was beneficial to all, they stood united.

Jian Linglong silently praised Qin Yun’s brilliant move—by presenting a part-real, part-fake Fire Totem, he not only weaseled out of trouble but also flipped the script, possibly even gaining some Dao Runes in the process.

The elder from the Mystic Rune Hall was surrounded by multiple Mystic Rune Masters, all demanding he either hand over Dao Runes or reproduce the Fire Totem.

But the truth was, the elder had never mastered the Fire Totem.

Only he knew he had been framed, yet no one would believe him if he spoke out.

He was trapped like a rat!

The competition grounds went to hell.

The spectators watched in shock.

Just moments ago, the elder from the Mystic Rune Hall had led a crowd to pressure the young man into surrendering forbidden runes.

Now, nearly all the Mystic Rune Masters were besieging that same elder, demanding he hand over Dao Runes and the Fire Totem!

Yang Shiyue watched with silent glee. She knew exactly what was happening and even suspected Qin Yun’s past self was resurfacing—this was exactly the kind of scheme his past self would devise.

Xiao Xuanqin felt the same. Earlier, she had been as furious as Jian Linglong, but now she was loving every second of it.

The situation had gone off the rails. Even Jian Shitian and several Half-Immortals couldn’t hold back the enraged Mystic Rune Masters.

Jian Linglong shouted, "If this old man refuses to contribute Dao Runes and the Fire Totem, we won’t compete! We’re calling it quits!"

Jian Shitian cursed inwardly at Jian Linglong for fanning the flames.

Many Mystic Rune Masters echoed her call, yelling, "Boycott!"

"You damn vultures! I’ll strip your badges!" The elder from the Mystic Rune Hall was fuming.

"A worthless badge—good riddance! We Mystic Rune Masters have our pride, and we don’t even care about your Mystic Rune Hall’s pathetic perks!"

One Mystic Rune Master angrily crushed a badge in his hand.

Many others quickly joined in.

Jian Linglong said furiously, "Xiao Yun gave up his final shot at carving the Fire Totem Rune and contributed it to all of us, yet this greedy geezer kept it all for himself!"

"Forget him hogging the Fire Totem Rune! Just the fact that Xiao Yun so generously gave it to him—he should’ve returned the favor and given Xiao Yun some Dao Runes in return!"

"So what did he do?"

Seeing the momentum, those Mystic Rune Masters realized they might actually force the elder to hand over Dao Runes, so they piled on the pressure.

Qin Yun watched the drama unfold with glee from the sidelines, though his face remained innocent and sorrowful.

His sad puppy-dog look melted the hearts of many women present, who loudly cursed the shameless bastards of the Mystic Rune Hall.

This was also a push subtly orchestrated by Xiao Yuemei.

From the audience seats, shouts of "bullying a child" and "Shame on an elder!" echoed, all attacking the elder from the Mystic Rune Hall.

The elder deeply regretted provoking Qin Yun—otherwise, he would have been fine, but now he was neck-deep in crap!

The competition arena had been repaired!

No one backed off, instead relentlessly surrounding the elder from the Mystic Rune Hall.

"Two options: either hand over the Fire Totem Rune that belongs to everyone, or contribute an equivalent number of Dao Runes!" a middle-aged Mystic Rune Master declared.

"I never got the Fire Totem Rune! That paper burned up on its own!"

The elder’s face flushed red with rage as he yelled this for the hundredth time, but no one believed him.

Finally, the elder from the Mystic Rune Hall caved in.

"Fine! I’ll contribute one Dao Rune!"

"One’s a joke! Give us three!" someone yelled.

"Right, three Dao Runes!"

The elder silently cursed their ancestors. He had never imagined that his attempt to force Jian Linglong and Qin Yun out would blow up in his face so spectacularly.

"Two!" the elder from the Mystic Rune Hall compromised.

Otherwise, he’d be leaving in a coffin.

"Two top-grade Dao Runes!" Jian Linglong demanded.

"Fine!" The elder from the Mystic Rune Hall’s eyes blazing with rage as he roared.

With that, he slapped down two pieces of beast hide.

The Dao Runes on them were indeed legit top-tier!

Those Mystic Rune Masters shut up real quick and took out their tools.

The mirror-like devices recorded the Dao Runes with a quick scan of the two hides.

Jian Linglong also went over to record them, overjoyed and even more impressed by Qin Yun.

The elder from the Runes Hall was so frustrated he wished he could die—what a total backfire!

Qin Yun also went to record the Dao Runes and even expressed some gratitude: "If you had just done this earlier, could’ve saved us the hassle!"

"You little punk, just you wait!" The elder’s face turned livid with rage, his eyes flashing with killing intent.

Qin Yun didn’t bat an eye. He stood grinning next to Jian Linglong and took hold of her soft as jade hand.

The matter finally settled down, much to the great relief of the Mystic Rune Masters.

After all, many of them had already been eliminated, yet now they had unexpectedly gained two Dao Runes.

With so many Mystic Rune Masters mastering those two Dao Runes, they would soon become commonplace.

Still, they were at least premium-grade Dao Runes, which remained relatively valuable.

Seeing the situation resolved, Jian Shitian also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now, begin the fourth round!" Jian Shitian announced. "This round decides the final standings!"

"The first-place Runes Master will receive a Sun Pattern as a reward. The second-place winner will receive a Dao Rune and a Moon Pattern, while the third-place winner will receive a Star Pattern and a Moon Pattern!"

The rankings would be decided so soon, and only ten teams were left for the final round!

The Runes Masters listened quietly.

Jian Shitian continued, "The final round will be a team effort, but the results will be evaluated individually!"

"That is to say, it’s possible for both Runes Masters in a single team to earn rankings!"

This came as a surprise to many!

They had originally assumed only one award could be won per team.

And this final round was no walk in the park.

Jian Shitian explained, "The last challenge is to craft array beads!"

He produced a waist-high crystal bead and went on, "We will provide King-Grade Profound Runes. Your task is to engrave them inside the bead—only those that pass inspection will count toward your score!"

"Rankings will be determined by the number of successfully engraved beads. If two participants have the same number, the higher precision will decide the winner! The time limit is three hours straight!"

These beads were primarily used for setting up formations, and their effects were top-notch.

The Sword Immortal Pavilion was now making these Runes Masters earn their keep.

"Sister Linglong, how many can you carve if it were you?" Qin Yun asked.

"One per hour, so three in three hours. If I go all out, maybe four!" Jian Linglong replied.

Jian Shitian had the King-Grade Profound Runes distributed.

After examining them, Qin Yun found them pretty straightforward.

Once the Runes Masters had half an hour to study them, Jian Shitian also declared the start.

Qin Yun used the Spirit-Penetrating Profound Brush for engraving, ensuring razor-sharp precision.

He didn't know what kind of Mystic Rune it was, only that it was quite peculiar.

Qin Yun, like the other Rune Masters, channeled his Blood Soul Power and carefully engraved the King-Class Mystic Rune.

"I should be able to complete one within an hour too!"

At this moment, Qin Yun felt immense pressure because the power levels of those Mystic Rune Masters were much higher, giving them a clear advantage over him.

"This won’t do—I’ll definitely lose!" Qin Yun noticed that many Rune Masters were working faster than him.

Since this was a competition, Jian Linglong was also pushing beyond her limits!

After more than half an hour passed, all the Mystic Rune Masters except Qin Yun had completed one!

It took Qin Yun a full hour to finish just one!

"This isn’t working—I won't even place!" Qin Yun glanced at Jian Linglong and saw that her speed was among the fastest, making her likely to make top three.

"Xiao Yun, at this pace, you'll lose!" Ling Yuner suddenly spoke up.

"I know!" Qin Yun sighed. "I haven’t even reached the Xuanwu Realm, yet I’m competing against a group of Martial Kings and Emperor Wu—it’s completely unfair!"

Ling Yuner said, "I have an idea! You can layer multiple beast hides, then use the Piercing Mystic Art to inscribe multiple sets of the same King-Class Mystic Runes on them at once. Finally, use the art of soul refinement to transfer the runes from the hides into the orbs!"

"Since the runes are inscribed using Blood Soul Power, transferring them with the art of soul refinement should work!"

"Now, this is just a theory—I’m not sure if it’ll succeed, and you only have two hours left!"

"Whether it works or not, I have to try—it’s the only way!" Qin Yun considered, growing excited, believing it might just work.