117: Can't roll it, can't roll it

After Holy Sun left, Su Ze returned to the Imperial Capital at top speed with Xiao Sheng's help.

But even so, half a day had already passed.

By the time he followed the instructions to find the formation arranged for the students entering the elimination rounds, everyone else had already entered a meditative state and begun their cultivation.

He sat in his seat; the surroundings were indeed filled with dense power.

Even without meditative cultivation, Su Ze could still feel his Spiritual Power strengthening at every moment.

However, compared to the other positions, the concentration of power at Su Ze's spot paled in comparison.

That was because he had arrived late. After an afternoon of competition and vying for power, the situation within the formation had basically taken shape.

Those with outstanding talent had a massive vortex above their heads, a full one or two meters in size, like a funnel continuously absorbing and pouring power down to temper their Spiritual Power.

The vortexes above the heads of those with slightly lesser talent were smaller, and so on, until no cultivation anomalies could be seen at all.

Currently, three people had massive vortexes above their heads. Su Ze didn't recognize any of them; he estimated they were likely three of the five people from Imperial Capital Beast Taming University who didn't need to participate in the elimination rounds.

There were six others with slightly smaller vortexes. Four of them were naturally the number one seeds of the four Beast Taming Universities, while the other two were likely the number four and number five seeds of Imperial Capital Beast Taming University.

Among these six, Kuang Yi and Luo Xingyu performed the best, and the gap between them and the top three wasn't that large.

The remaining people were much worse. The small vortex above Liu Yiyi's head was only the size of a palm and flickered in and out of existence, as if she were still competing with others.

Jiang Jianbin didn't show any cultivation anomalies at all; it felt no different from his usual meditative cultivation.

But in reality, his current cultivation speed was more than ten times faster than an average person's!

Su Ze's arrival did not wake these people focused on meditation, nor did it cause any ripples.

Only the teachers from various schools who were acting as protectors on the side noticed the late-arriving Su Ze: "Teacher Xu, this is someone from your Azure Dragon Beast Taming University, right? As expected of the best-performing school in this competition, even the students are so individualistic, actually arriving only now."

"I remember this kid is only your school's number four seed? It's normal for him not to be prioritized."

"You can't say that. Although he isn't a favorite to win, he is the youngest—a freshman who just enrolled this year. His potential is staggering. This should have been an opportunity for him, but now... what a pity."

"Who can he blame if he can't seize the opportunity himself? These fifteen days, built with national resources, would be enough to change one's fate if grasped, but he doesn't cherish it!"

Xu Yiming couldn't help but argue: "Su Ze isn't someone who doesn't understand things. He must have been delayed by something urgent."

"Only half a day of the fifteen days has passed. I believe in him; he can definitely catch up!"

A teacher from another school nearby couldn't help but sneer upon hearing this: "Teacher Xu, what kind of dream are you talking in? Although only half a day has passed, you and I both know very well that the situation in this formation is already set. The strong will only get stronger, widening the gap with the weak."

"This Su Ze you have high hopes for can only pick up the scraps left by others now. Wanting to catch up is simply wishful thinking!"

Just as he finished speaking, another teacher nearby tugged at his sleeve: "Wait, something seems wrong. Why do I feel like the power in the formation... is all pouring toward one direction!"

Inside the formation, as Su Ze entered his meditative state, his staggering talent for Spiritual Power finally began to show its head.

Under the astonished gazes of everyone, a massive vortex emerged above Su Ze's head, frantically extracting the power within the formation.

Because their positions were divided by school, Su Ze pulled most of the power in the formation toward his side.

The vortexes above Kuang Yi and Liu Yiyi's heads didn't just stay the same; they merged with Su Ze's massive vortex, absorbing power together. Of course, Su Ze, who occupied the dominant position, absorbed the most.

Even Luo Xingyu from the nearby White Tiger Beast Taming University benefited from this.

However, the several people from Imperial Capital Beast Taming University on the opposite side of the formation weren't so lucky.

The moment the vortex above Su Ze's head took shape, the large and small vortexes above the five people's heads instantly vanished. Several of them even woke up from their meditative states.

Feeling the incredibly barren power around them, they thought the formation had already ended.

It wasn't until they looked up and saw the ten-plus-meter vortex on the opposite side that they all couldn't help but curse.

"Holy crap, what's going on?!"

Not only were they stunned, but even the protecting teachers were dazed, until someone reminded them: "Not good, that kid is draining the formation dry! Quick, replenish the monster beast crystal cores and quenching thought beads!"

As thousands of quenching thought beads and massive monster beast crystal cores were filled in, the vortex above Su Ze's head actually grew even larger.

But at least the Imperial Capital Beast Taming University side no longer felt barren.

"Those guys from the backwaters seem to have joined forces to create such a massive vortex to snatch the power!"

They didn't know that this vortex was formed entirely because of one person.

"How despicable. Let's join forces too!"

The five people from different families glanced at each other. They would normally never cooperate, but now... looking at that further expanding vortex and the power around them that was about to run dry again, they finally gritted their teeth and nodded.

With their cooperation, a vortex about half the size of Su Ze's formed on the opposite side.

Although it was more than half as small, it at least secured their share of the power.

However, this move caused the students from the other schools to wake up one after another. Looking at the two vortexes on the field, they instantly understood everything.

After a brief thought, they moved their seats toward Su Ze's side.

They could easily tell at a glance which side was stronger.

With their addition, the vortex on Su Ze's side grew even larger, nearly causing the vortex formed by Imperial Capital Beast Taming University to collapse.

"I refuse to believe it! How could we lose to you country bumpkins in a contest of talent!"

...A moment later, the five people from Imperial Capital Beast Taming University also gathered around Su Ze's side.

They really couldn't outcompete him... Enduring the humiliation in their hearts, the moment they joined, they felt that under this massive vortex, power was constantly pouring in even without they themselves cultivating. It was even much faster than when they meditated on their own.

So they instantly regretted why they had struggled just now. Wouldn't it have been better to join earlier?

Thus, while sighing, "This is great!"

They also wondered in their hearts: just what kind of monster could cause such a massive vortex to take shape?