249: Attention, double commitment!

Shi Lei looked at Lu Sheng's smile, somewhat puzzled.

"He wouldn't think the top thirty is easy, would he?"

Shi Lei thought silently to himself, but after shaking his head, he immediately suppressed that thought.

"Forget it, he's still young after all. Defeating Shi Quan earlier must have given him some confidence."

"While this drive is good, young people should have confidence and drive. But martial arts competitions aren't that simple!"

"It's good to let him suffer a bit in the competition. The more of a Prodigy a person is, the more they need to be tempered."

Shi Lei thought this, but didn't say anything more. He led Lu Sheng towards the competition area.

The Lion Demon Army's competition grounds were located in a mountain range near the Lion Demon Army's garrison. This mountain range was called Lion Demon Mountain.

The environment of Lion Demon Mountain was extremely poor. Not only was Devilish Qi scarce between heaven and earth, but there were no living beings in this mountain range.

It had no development value whatsoever.

So, the Lion Demon Clan used this place as a detention area for captives.

The first round of the Lion Demon Army's competition was to kill the captives suppressed by the Lion Demon Army. The number of kills would be used as points, and those who could reach the top twenty in points would naturally enter the second round.

These captives suppressed in Lion Demon Mountain were captured by the Lion Demon Army through invading other Otherworldly Demon races.

The Otherworldly Demon World was not a monolithic entity; otherwise, Great Xia would never be able to resist the Otherworldly Demon World's invasion.

Even if the Devil King went into seclusion, they would not be able to resist.

It was precisely because of this that the Great Xia Human Clan was able to gradually grow and reach its current state through repeated Otherworldly Demon invasions.

Coupled with the end of the Profound Spirit Space, which resulted in the Devil King of the Sky Demon Royal Clan being suppressed by Lan Linglong in Yin Yang City, the turmoil throughout the Otherworldly Demon World became even more apparent.

The Three Great Royal Clans were once races that had given birth to Devil Kings. They stood at the Peak of the entire Otherworldly Demon World, with none willing to submit to another.

Only when the Devil King had not yet gone into seclusion could he suppress them and force them to unite, albeit reluctantly.

But with the Devil King's seclusion, the rifts between the Three Great Royal Clans grew even wider.

Under these circumstances, there were naturally frequent frictions between the Three Great Royal Clans, and even during the invasion of Great Xia Blue Star, none wanted to expend more power.

This gave the Great Xia Human Clan a chance to recuperate.

Now, with the Devil King of the Sky Demon Royal Clan suppressed, the Sky Demon Royal Clan's most powerful Devil King battle strength was gone. The other two Otherworldly Demon Royal Clans naturally smelled an opportunity.

They began to launch attacks against the Sky Demon Royal Clan.

As one of the three major races under the Beast Demon Royal Clan, the Lion Demon Clan naturally took on the responsibility of invasion. As a result, there were many captives in the Lion Demon Clan's Lion Demon Mountain.

However, it was impossible for the Lion Demon Clan to be responsible for the food and drink of these captives. Even suppressing them within Lion Demon Mountain incurred significant costs each year.

Under these circumstances, the competition naturally arose.

Through the competition, while demonstrating the Lion Demon Clan's strength, they could also kill these captives, reducing the Lion Demon Clan's expenses.

It was naturally beneficial.

Soon, Lu Sheng, led by Shi Lei, arrived at the foot of Lion Demon Mountain.

At this moment, there were already many figures at the foot of the mountain, impressively including other Great Commanders, Deputy Battle Group Leaders, and even Battle Group Leaders of the Lion Demon Army.

Shi Lei led Lu Sheng to the Scout Battle Group's area and found Shi Xuan.

"Sir, the Second Squad has assembled!"

Shi Lei bowed respectfully to Shi Xuan.

Shi Xuan smiled slightly, his gaze falling upon Lu Sheng behind Shi Lei. His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Another Breakthrough?"

At these words, Shi Lei, Shi Chong, and the Second Squad's Second Commander were momentarily stunned, and couldn't help but look at Lu Sheng, their eyes filled with surprise.

Seeing this, Lu Sheng remained calm and bowed respectfully to Shi Xuan.

"Just a stroke of luck!"

Lu Sheng was not surprised that Shi Xuan could perceive his cultivation.

After all, Shi Xuan was a Nirvana Realm expert, two Realms higher than himself.

It was naturally simple for him to discern his cultivation Breakthrough.

"Looking at your situation, you should have just had a minor Breakthrough not long ago. You still have some distance to go before the Late Stage of the Ninth Rank, but there isn't too much of a problem. My requirement for you is not to enter the top twenty and proceed to the second round, as you are still young. I will be satisfied if you can aim for the top thirty!"

Shi Xuan said to Lu Sheng with a smile.

"If you can achieve it, I can grant you one request!"

Listening to Shi Xuan's words, Lu Sheng's eyes immediately brightened, and he cautiously asked, "Then, Sir, if I can reach within the top thirty, can I apply to enter the Treasure Vault?"

Lu Sheng looked at Shi Xuan expectantly.

Shi Xuan was momentarily stunned, then smiled and said, "I thought it was some big request, but it's just to enter the Treasure Vault. As a Deputy Battle Group Leader, I can enter the Treasure Vault once a year. As long as you can enter the top thirty, I'll give you my quota for this year!"

Listening to Shi Xuan's words, the smile on Lu Sheng's face grew wider.

The top thirty was not a big problem for Lu Sheng. This way, he could also avoid appearing too much of a Prodigy.

It was also a good thing for Lu Sheng.

"Alright, the Battle Group Leader has asked me about you several times. Come with me to see the Battle Group Leader!"

Shi Xuan looked at Lu Sheng, and the smile on his face grew even wider.

He liked this ambition in Lu Sheng.

In the Lion Demon Clan, martial prowess was respected. Only powerful battle strength could earn others' respect, and those in higher positions preferred ambitious subordinates.

In their view, this was a sign of ambition.

He wasn't afraid of Lu Sheng showing his ambition; he was only afraid of Lu Sheng being too calm.

Shi Lei, and even the other two Great Commanders, now looked at Lu Sheng with envy.

Meeting the Battle Group Leader, that was a Devil King-level expert, whose status was extremely transcendent throughout the entire Lion Demon Clan.

Even as Great Commanders, they didn't have many opportunities to meet the Battle Group Leader privately; having one chance a year was already very lucky.

Even Shi Kuang, who was extremely at odds with the Second Squad, didn't act passive-aggressive at this time.

He was certainly annoyed that Shi Lei was ahead of him, but with Lu Sheng's sudden emergence, he naturally understood that now was not the time to cause trouble.

He should be honest when he needed to be. Those who could become Great Commander-level individuals were naturally not fools.

Shi Xuan led Lu Sheng towards the core area of the Scout Battle Group amidst everyone's envious gazes.

Soon, Lu Sheng saw a figure in dark gold armor, extremely prominent, at the very center of the figures clad in light gold armor.

Dark gold armor... only Battle Group Leader-level experts could wear it!

Dark gold armor was not only a symbol of status but also an extremely rare Spiritual Artifact, capable of withstanding many attacks.

Shi Xuan led Lu Sheng to the side of the figure in dark gold armor and respectfully said to the person.

"Sir, Shi Ming has been brought!"

At these words, the surrounding conversations gradually quieted. The Deputy Battle Group Leaders, who, like Shi Xuan, were clad in light gold armor, all turned their gaze to Lu Sheng, their eyes filled with curiosity.

"Hahaha, so you are the Prodigy of my Scout Battle Group?"

At this moment, the figure in dark gold armor burst into laughter. His voice was rough and filled with a domineering Aura.

"Subordinate Shi Ming, greetings to Battle Group Leader Sir!"

Lu Sheng took a deep breath, withstood the oppressive Aura, and bowed respectfully.

"Not bad, not bad. It's your first time meeting this King, and you're able to remain calm in the face of danger. Shi Xuan said you were a Prodigy rarely seen in a hundred years in my Scout Battle Group, and this King was a bit skeptical, but now it seems you're quite good!"

The man laughed and spoke, and Lu Sheng slowly raised his head at this moment, clearly seeing the appearance of the person before him.

This person wore dark gold armor, and his black fur stood up like steel needles. Just standing there, he exuded an extremely domineering Aura.

As if with a wave of his hand, he could suppress countless living beings.

According to the memories in the Jade Slip, Lu Sheng also knew this person's information.

Battle Group Leader of the Scout Battle Group, Shi Qing!

A Late Stage Devil King expert.

An existence comparable to a Late Stage Creation Realm expert.

He was even slightly stronger than his Senior Sister, Kong Xin.

While Lu Sheng was observing Shi Qing, Shi Qing was also observing Lu Sheng. Then Shi Qing slowly said, "This competition is extremely important to my Scout Battle Group. I won't hide it from you, the Legion Commander Sir will personally attend later. If you can achieve good results in this competition, this King will give you many benefits!"

"Although this King doesn't know what benefits Shi Xuan promised you, this King pledges here that as long as you can enter the top thirty, the benefits Shi Xuan promised you will be directly doubled!"

"If you can aim for the top twenty and enter the second round... four times the benefits!"

Shi Qing's low voice slowly sounded.

At these words, the faces of several Deputy Battle Group Leaders of the Scout Battle Group around them also showed shocked expressions.

Doubled, four times!

Top thirty, top twenty!

These two terms were not unfamiliar to them, but to fall on a young man who was only in the Middle Stage of the Ninth Rank, it was perhaps a bit too exaggerated.

One must know that to enter the top thirty, one needed at least the Peak of the Ninth Rank cultivation.

Not to mention the top twenty.

They were basically the cream of the crop among Peak Ninth Rank experts.

The Legion Commander Sir seemed to be placing too much importance on this young man.

Some Deputy Battle Group Leaders exchanged glances, and all saw the shock in each other's eyes.