"the reward for second place is a heavenly rank low grade battle technique and a meteorite iron weapon personally crafted by a great refiner," song heng announced once more.

    everyone''s eyes widened.

    a weapon crafted personally by a great refiner—wasn''t that reward a bit too generous?

    let''s not even talk about how precious the material of a meteorite iron weapon is, just the involvement of a great refiner itself speaks volumes of its value, and such custom-made weapons are sought after, to say the least.

    contestants from the ten great colleges also grew excited, their eyes gleaming with eagerness.

    such rewards held tremendous appeal for them.

    xu nian, on the other hand, was indifferent. as for meteorite iron weapons, what he bore on his back right now was precisely that, and in his storage ring lay a xuan iron sword.

    but for others, even a xuan iron sword was a coveted treasure, something only powerful factions within the star battle sect could afford.

    as for meteorite iron weapons, not to mention xuantian-level battle generals, even marquis level powerhouses seldom had them.

    "the reward for first place is a heavenly rank low grade battle technique, a piece of mysterious metal, and personal cultivation instruction from the lord governor for three days," song heng declared.

    at these words, the venue erupted in uproar.

    mysterious metal!

    that was material used for weapons by saint level warriors—utterly priceless. the governor mansion was really offering such a precious treasure to the first-place winner this time.

    of course, what shocked people the most was the last reward: personal cultivation guidance from the lord governor for three days, a blessing one could hardly ask for.

    being personally instructed by the lord governor meant, in some sense, becoming the lord governor''s disciple, and naturally, one''s relationship with the lord governor would be extraordinary. in the future, one''s status in the whole east field county would be incomparable to others.

    "haha, i enjoy interacting with young talents the most. i wonder which genius will have the opportunity to spend three days with me?" the lord governor laughed heartily.

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    with these words, competitors clenched their fists, their gazes burning with passion.

    sharing three days with the lord governor was undoubtedly a colossal opportunity, richer than any material reward.

    xu nian, however, just smiled wryly. the lord governor''s personal guidance didn''t concern him; even if the governor were formidable, could he be as powerful as emperor ye tian?

    but that mysterious metal did catch his fancy; it would be the perfect gift for leng yanran.

    in fact, xu nian could''ve told leng yanran that he already possessed the spiritual sense cultivation method. but he didn''t want to disappoint her, so he pretended to accept the gesture.

    since he had accepted it, he naturally had to reciprocate, and so he must secure first place.

    yet it seemed not so easy to clinch first place, but challenges were what made things interesting.

    "i''ll take my leave first!" dugu jingcheng turned his head to xu nian and chen xifeng and said, then transformed into an afterimage and appeared on the plaza.

    "what incredible speed!"

    not only were the audience surprised, but the few people on the battle platforms also paused for a moment, then their gaze towards dugu jingcheng filled with seriousness.

    next, song heng continued to call out names one by one, naturally following the order of the rankings from the governor mansion previously.

    when he called out the seventh name, qin tian rushed onto the battle platform.

    xu nian looked at the once-admired figure, the past reverence was completely gone, replaced more with emotion.

    "xu nian!"

    soon, the twenty-ninth name was called out.

    with a slow pace, xu nian walked towards the battle platform. he didn''t have the same ability as others; carrying such a heavy tie chui, he couldn''t show off if he wanted to. better to just take it step by step.

    xu nian''s movements left the whole audience of 100,000 dumbfounded.

    as xu nian walked slowly, the gaze of those 100,000 spectators also followed his figure, speechless to the extreme.

    even song heng in the sky paused to look at the slowly walking xu nian.

    wait, wait!

    it took xu nian a full two minutes to get onto the battle platform.

    when xu nian stepped onto the platform, the whole audience started cursing out loud.

    damn it, others leap onto the platform in three to four seconds, and it took him an entire minute.

    "show-off!"

    "acting all high and mighty, wasting our time!"

    "trash, get off the stage!"

    ...

    the jeers continued endlessly.

    the competitors on the battle platforms also looked at xu nian with disdain and mockery.

    chen xifeng in the crowd couldn''t help but feel both amused and exasperated at this scene.

    others received applause when they entered, but this guy managed to draw the ire of 100,000 spectators the moment he showed up. it really made one wonder if he was naturally inclined to attract hatred.

    but then, thinking of the tie chui on xu nian''s back, chen xifeng couldn''t laugh anymore. if it were him, let alone walking, he probably would have to crawl his way up step by step.