128: Chapter 128 Absorbing the Extreme Spirit Fruit
The matter of the Dongyun City Youth Beast Armor Master Tournament was put on hold just like that.
It wasn't canceled, but suspended.
Thirty-four trialists had gone missing in the Secret Realm. Most of them were tournament contestants, while the rest were other Beast Armor Masters who had entered the Secret Realm for training during the same period.
The families of the missing and deceased blocked the entrance of the Association building, holding up banners and wailing, demanding an explanation.
President Ye Wenyuan had to hold three meetings a day, soothing public opinion, coordinating with the military, and tracking down clues about the Xutai Society. He was so busy his feet barely touched the ground.
Who still had the heart to bring up the tournament?
Lin Fan, however, was happy to have some leisure time.
In any case, the championship was already a certainty; it was just a matter of receiving the prizes a day sooner or later.
Only occasionally, when they met at the training field, would Ye Qing appear slightly worried.
"My dad's hair has turned white from worry."
Lin Fan thought for a moment.
"Go back and tell him that white hair can just be dyed black, so don't worry about it."
Ye Qing rolled her eyes.
...
Back home, Lin Fan sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the extreme spirit fruit.
The fruit was crimson, the size of a fist, with fine golden patterns on its surface. It felt warm to the touch, like a beating heart.
He stared at it for a long time and sighed.
"What a pity, it's not of much use to me."
He had already opened four armor apertures, so 'low-level' goods like the extreme spirit fruit were simply useless to him.
He still needed to find an opportunity to sell it.
Just as he was about to put the extreme spirit fruit away, his left eye suddenly felt a slight warmth.
A line of text appeared in his vision.
[Absorbable item detected: extreme spirit fruit]
[Absorb? After absorption, it can be exchanged for source energy: 2,000 points]
Lin Fan was stunned for a moment.
Absorb?
Exchange for source energy?
He rubbed his eyes and looked again. 2,000 points.
He only averaged 2,000 points for killing a level thirty-plus Beast Armor Master.
This single fruit was actually worth a human life.
The corners of his mouth slowly curled up, and without hesitation, he made a thought. "Absorb."
The extreme spirit fruit suddenly glowed in his palm. The crimson light grew brighter and brighter, and the golden patterns flowed over the skin as if they were alive.
Then the entire fruit turned into a streak of light and merged into his left eye.
Lin Fan only felt a burst of warmth in his left eye. That warm current spread from his eye socket to his entire body, like taking a hot bath.
The warm current quickly receded, and the information in his left eye reappeared.
[Absorption complete. Obtained source energy: 2,000 points.]
[Current source energy: 56,000 points.]
[Fifth armor aperture can be opened.]
Lin Fan stared at that line of text, stunned for a long time.
This is actually quite cost-effective!
These low-level Heaven And Earth Treasures were useless to him, and even high-level Heaven And Earth Treasures carried the risk of failing to open an aperture.
In that case, it was naturally more practical to directly exchange them for source energy points.
He still had a tianyan spirit fruit that he hadn't collected yet. Its grade was much higher than that extreme spirit fruit, so he wondered how many source energy points it could be exchanged for...
Lin Fan collected his thoughts.
His source energy points were already at 56,000, which had long exceeded the amount required to open the fifth armor aperture.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and sank his consciousness into his body.
Inside his body, the positions of the four armor apertures were clearly visible—left hand, left eye, right arm, and right leg.
"Open the fifth armor aperture."
With a thought, a warm power gushed out from deep within his body, actually converging toward his back.
That Acupoint began to heat up and swell. Invisible power condensed, rotated, and expanded, tearing through that invisible barrier.
Pain followed, but it wasn't a sharp pain. Instead, it was a kind of aching swelling sensation, as if something was growing outward from the inside.
Lin Fan clenched his teeth, and fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead.
Time passed minute by minute.
Finally, that Acupoint suddenly loosened, and a brand-new power gushed out from there, flowing through his entire body.
Lin Fan opened his eyes and let out a long breath.
[Fifth armor aperture opened successfully!]
[Armorization part: Back]
[Current armor apertures: 5]
[source energy required to open the next armor aperture: 100,000 points]
Lin Fan stared at that line of "100,000 points," and the corner of his mouth twitched.
"One hundred thousand... this is robbery..."
He glanced at the source energy count on the back of his hand—46,000 points, still 54,000 short.
If killing one person averaged 2,000 points, that meant he still had to kill 27 people.
He comforted himself with a chuckle.
"Just 27 people... I just need to kill a few more."
He moved his back. The position of the new armor aperture was faintly warm. He hadn't contracted an Armor Spirit yet, but he could feel a blank space there, waiting to be filled.
Five armor apertures—left hand, left eye, right arm, right leg, and back.
Adding the bonus from the ten thousand armor beast record and the support of various spirit liquids, his Cultivation speed was already no weaker than that of average geniuses with six or seven armor apertures.
Although he couldn't compare to a monster like Ye Wushuang with eight armor apertures, he was still among the front ranks.
Immediately, Lin Fan took out a bottle of Intermediate Meditation Liquid, swallowed it in one gulp, and closed his eyes to Cultivate.
...
A week later.
The banners in front of the Dongyun City Armor Beast Master Association building were finally removed.
It was unknown what methods President Ye Wenyuan had used—likely related to the military. After all, the military couldn't distance themselves from the matter of the Xutai Society.
In short, this storm was considered temporarily suppressed.
Of all the contestants, some were dead and some were missing.
Only one team came out—Lin Fan, Ye Wushuang, and Ye Qing.
The championship was naturally theirs, without any suspense.
And today was the day to receive the rewards.
As soon as the three of them stepped into the Association lobby, a group of people poured out from the side door, blocking their way.
The leader was Vice President Zhou Liangzhu of the Dongyun City Armor Beast Master Association, Zhou Yuan's father.
He wore a dark gray robe, his hair was combed meticulously, and his face was expressionless, but his eyes were terrifyingly sinister.
Behind him followed seven or eight people, including Association staff in uniform, strangers in suits, and several reporters carrying cameras.
Lin Fan sneered. Vice President Zhou Liangzhu hadn't reacted at all these days; it turned out he was waiting here.
"Vice President Zhou, is something the matter?"
Vice President Zhou Liangzhu didn't look at him. His gaze passed over him and fell on Ye Qing.
"Ye Qing, where is your father?"
Ye Qing frowned slightly. "In his office."
Vice President Zhou Liangzhu nodded and finally shifted his gaze to Lin Fan's face.
He sized Lin Fan up.
"Lin Fan, right? President Ye Wenyuan's prized Disciple."
He paused. "Regarding what happened in the Secret Realm, don't you have anything to say?"
Lin Fan blinked.
"What happened in the Secret Realm? What matter?"
Vice President Zhou Liangzhu's smile vanished. "The matter of Zhou Yuan."
People coming and going in the lobby stopped in their tracks. Someone recognized Vice President Zhou Liangzhu.
This was the scent of gossip.
More and more people began to gather around.
Several reporters had already set up their cameras, aiming the lenses at Lin Fan and Vice President Zhou Liangzhu.
Lin Fan glanced at those reporters, then at Vice President Zhou Liangzhu, and understood in his heart.
This old geezer wasn't here to stop him; he was here to put on a show.
In front of so many people and the reporters' cameras, as long as he could pin the blame for Zhou Yuan's death on Lin Fan...
Regardless of whether it was true, as soon as the words were spoken, public opinion would rise.
He was the President's Disciple, Ye Qing was the President's daughter, and Ye Wushuang was a direct descendant of the Ye family.
The three of them came out alive, while everyone else was missing.
If this got out, no amount of explanation would make it clear.
This was clearly an attempt to drag President Ye Wenyuan down...