Chapter 2105: Spiritual Spring

Ye Bufan's heart suddenly stirred, and he asked, "Great Deacon, where did that hongyuan fruit come from? Is there only one, or are there any other extra fruits?"

According to his thoughts, if there were two hongyuan fruits, he wouldn't have to work so hard competing in the tournament; he could just take them and refine the medicine.

"I know what you're thinking, but it's not that easy."

Zhang He shook his head, "If this thing were that easy to get, this old man wouldn't need to waste words; I would have just taken it and given it to you.

Speaking of the hongyuan fruit, it's something the Three Great Sects jointly put forth, and it's currently still in the hands of those Grand Elders. I haven't even seen it, let alone have the right to dispose of it."

"Oh!"

Ye Bufan nodded, a hint of disappointment flashing across his Face. It seemed he was back to the old routine; he still had to win the competition.

Zhang He continued, "That hongyuan fruit is a spiritual item of heaven and earth. Many years ago, Disciples of the Three Great Sects obtained it from the Tianluo Secret Realm when they explored it in Tianluo State.

There's only one of these things. Although the Three Great Sects haven't used it, they treasure it immensely.

If it weren't for wanting to regain some Face in the Genius Demon Battle, they probably wouldn't have been willing to offer it as a reward this time."

Upon hearing these words, Ye Bufan immediately became excited again, because he had found the origin of the hongyuan fruit, and he still had a chance to enter.

According to the Ancient Medical Sect's records about hongyuan fruit, this kind of fruit usually grows next to a nourishing spirit spring.

This meant that if he could enter the Tianluo Secret Realm, he would have a chance to find this spring, which has an even stronger nourishing effect on Mental Energy.

The nourishing spirit spring is quite peculiar; it's usually an underground spiritual spring, completely invisible on the surface.

And those who don't know better have all their attention drawn to the hongyuan fruit, completely unaware that there's an even more precious spiritual spring beneath it.

In other words, even if he didn't get first place and didn't obtain the hongyuan fruit, as long as he entered the Tianluo Secret Realm, he would have a chance to find the nourishing spirit spring and repair his damaged Sea of Consciousness.

But this was only theoretical; even if he entered the Tianluo Secret Realm, who knew if he could find the location of the hongyuan fruit?

Therefore, the most pressing matter was to quickly get the hongyuan fruit into his hands and refine it into a Heaven Mending Pill.

Zhang He, however, didn't know any of this. Seeing his excitement, he immediately said, "The New Talent Ranking Tournament is full of talented individuals; it's not easy to get first place.

I know you've hidden some of your cultivation, but others are also not simple. In the team battle, you haven't encountered truly strong opponents…"

Next, Zhang He gave another introduction, emphasizing several formidable opponents: the Great Prince Tuoba Yang, Princess Tuoba Shuang, Garina, Hai Chenggong, and Liu Yijian.

(End of this chapter, please turn the page)

He finally said, "The little help I can give you is limited, and sometimes it's inconvenient for me to act.

So you need to be mentally prepared. To get the hongyuan fruit, you still have to rely on your own efforts."

"I know. Thank you, Great Deacon. As long as I get the hongyuan fruit, I will definitely give you a Heaven Mending Pill."

Ye Bufan was already very satisfied with this outcome. As long as this old eunuch didn't cause him trouble, it would be fine, and he had already offered help.

"Go back. Try not to leave the inn unless necessary."

Zhang He waved his hand, then instantly vanished from where he stood.

Ye Bufan returned to the inn with Xiao Qing.

At the Lingxiao Academy branch, the three people from the Zheng family waited all night. Until the sun rose the next day, the three still hadn't received any reply.

Zheng Yiheng asked, "Second Uncle, no news has come back yet. Has something unexpected happened?"

Even if he didn't say it, Zheng Wei knew there was a problem.

Normally, after the Mangshan Duo succeeded, they would send him a message once they reached outside the city, having someone deliver the medicinal herbs.

With no news until now, it was certainly a bad omen.

Zheng Long cursed bitterly, "I didn't expect a Young man from Tianfeng City to be so difficult to deal with!"

"The Mangshan Duo must have encountered some trouble, or perhaps that Young man has a master by his side, very likely that woman from before."

Zheng Wei's expression was terrifyingly gloomy, "But what can be done about that? Even if he has a master guarding him, they can't always stay by his side."

At this point, he turned to Zheng Yiheng: "Send my message to Liu Yijian: once he encounters Ye Bufan, he must cripple him!"

"I understand, Second Uncle!"

Zheng Yiheng nodded, then left the room.

Because something had happened yesterday, Zheng Wei was no longer allowed to watch the event in person today, so only Zheng Yiheng went.

On Ye Bufan's side, the night passed uneventfully. The next day, he led everyone to the Royal Training Ground again to participate in the ranking tournament.

Since today was the individual finals stage, the atmosphere on site seemed even more enthusiastic than yesterday. In the center of the venue, three more temporary sword-fighting platforms had been erected.

The competition was still presided over by Zhang He. He once again appeared above the sword-fighting platform, announced today's competition rules, and then officially began.

Today's individual competition was different from yesterday's team strategy. The thirty-six individuals were divided into nine groups, and only the first-place winner of each group was qualified to continue the subsequent matches.

The drawing of lots was random, and the method was the same as yesterday: everyone went up and touched a small round ball enveloped in light.

After everyone had drawn their lots, Zhang He waved his hand, and the balls in everyone's hands revealed their original colors.

(End of this chapter, please turn the page)

This time, Ye Bufan got a white ball. Looking to the side, Liu Yijian, Zheng Yiheng, and Chu Lingxi were in his group.

A smile couldn't help but appear at the corner of his mouth. It was clear that the old eunuch was helping him.

It seemed that the strength of this group was by no means weak, but with Zhang He's ability, he must have sensed that the relationship between himself and Liu Yijian was unusual.

And putting Liu Yijian aside, Zheng Yiheng and Chu Lingxi posed no difficulty for him.

The others, unaware of this, cast puzzled glances this way, wanting to know how strong this Young man, who had never made a move, truly was, and if he could pass this time.

The most excited was Zheng Yiheng. He had originally worried that Liu Yijian and Ye Bufan wouldn't be in the same group, as the probability of drawing them together with this lottery method was very small.

He hadn't expected them to be grouped together right at the start; it truly was a narrow path for enemies.

After the competition began, the group drew lots again. In the first match, Ye Bufan drew Chu Lingxi, while Liu Yijian and Zheng Yiheng were grouped together.

Upon seeing the result, Chu Lingxi didn't even step onto the sword-fighting platform and directly announced her surrender on the spot.

Everyone was not surprised by this outcome. After all, they all came from the same group, and it was normal to admit defeat, knowing their strength was inferior.

After all, there was no need for members of the same team to mutually deplete each other's strength, and such situations also occurred in other groups.

In other words, the match ended before it even began, and Ye Bufan won one round.

Zheng Yiheng walked onto the stage, glared fiercely in this direction, then looked at Liu Yijian opposite him.

"Senior Brother Liu, my Second Uncle's words have already been conveyed to you. Now, let's pretend to spar a bit, then I'll concede, and you can focus all your strength on Ye Bufan later."

Liu Yijian didn't speak, raising his hand and striking a palm towards Zheng Yiheng's chest.

In Zheng Yiheng's view, the other party must have accepted his suggestion, and not speaking was to avoid revealing too much.

Because of this, he didn't even use half of his strength, raising his hand to meet the punch.

According to his thoughts, Liu Yijian would definitely just go through the motions and not use his true strength.

The two would spar for three or two moves, and then he would concede, making it look better.

After all, they weren't from the same Empire, and conceding directly would easily draw criticism.

But when his fist met Liu Yijian's palm, his expression suddenly changed drastically. A mountain-toppling force surged over, and the other party had not held back at all.

"You…"

Zheng Yiheng was both shocked and enraged, but before he could even speak, Liu Yijian's powerful palm had already knocked his fist aside and slammed heavily onto his chest.