139: Won the Rookie of the Year award, shocking the world

Compared to the 702 Novice Zone, which Ye Xiao had turned upside down, the other Novice Areas were naturally much quieter.

Perhaps due to the lead of the disciples from various top factions, the overall leveling speed of all new Professionals this year was faster than in previous years.

Currently, some new Professionals of average strength had already reached around level 60, and even the lagging main force had a minimum level of nearly 50.

Such a situation was rare in previous years.

However, in contrast, the leading group of new Professionals had already entered level 80.

Don't be fooled by the fact that these leading new Professionals had the reckless resource investment of their respective backing factions; the result was only a 20-level difference from the middle group.

It's important to know that the higher the level, the experience required for leveling increases exponentially. This means the later it gets, the longer it takes to level up.

This point, no matter how many resources, cannot be changed.

But such a speed was actually enough to surpass any previous year's new Professionals. Even Zhao Hao, the genius whom the Zhao Family hailed as a once-in-a-century Talent two years ago, had a leveling speed that was nothing more than this.

However, even though the speed had more than doubled, Qin Bing was still very dissatisfied at this moment.

He even flew into a rage, cursing at the Qin Family personnel sent to assist him in leveling.

"Useless!!! All of you are useless!!! My Talent is clearly not inferior to Zhi Zi Jiu of the Zhi Family, so why is he already level 87 while I am only level 85??"

In front of him, all of the Qin Family members bowed their heads, not daring to speak.

Just now, Qin Bing received news that Zhi Zi Jiu, the new Professional disciple of the Zhi Family this year, had reached level 87, and Qin Bing had been cursing for half an hour.

Actually, these people were also very aggrieved.

They could only play an auxiliary role here; the true determinant of leveling speed was the Professional himself.

Furthermore, the leveling speed of some Professions was inherently not fast, belonging to those that exert their power in the later stages, and Qin Bing was of this type.

To reach level 85 in such a short time was already the limit; even if the family was willing to invest more resources, it wouldn't improve much.

However, facing the furious Qin Bing, they dared not say these words and could only silently endure the scolding.

Qin Bing knew this well, but he couldn't suppress the anger in his heart.

Shortly after he received the news of Zhi Zi Jiu reaching level 87, his family also sent him a notification.

The meaning was simple: stop the continued investment of resources.

This was what infuriated Qin Bing the most.

Although he also knew that at the current speed, he definitely had no hope of winning the title of Rookie King, he was simply unwilling, so these people in front of him became his punching bags.

After cursing for a long time, Qin Bing finally vented his anger, then waved his hand, telling these people to go back and report.

A moment later, he looked in the distance, gritting his teeth and muttering, "Damn Zhi Zi Jiu, let you be proud for a while. Once we reach the Intermediate Zone, I'll let you know that being fast at leveling alone is useless."

And as Zhi Zi Jiu's level was discovered and spread.

Qi Bai of the Qi Family, Wei Jun of the Wei Family, and new Professional disciples from various other top factions all had expressions as if they had eaten excrement, some reacting even more intensely than Qin Bing.

There was no other way; this was the title of Rookie King.

Everyone had put in so much effort and spent so many resources, only to find in the end that all their efforts were in vain. How could they remain calm?

For a time, these new Professionals and their backing factions all turned their attention to the Zhi Family.

Although also one of the Alliance Eight Great Families, the Zhi Family had been low-key for decades, so low-key that it was an ancient family that would almost be overlooked if no one mentioned it.

At this moment, many people suddenly realized: was the Zhi Family, which had been suppressed by several other factions, trying to use this to announce that they were no longer low-key?

In an instant, undercurrents suddenly surged throughout the entire Alliance.

After all, there were only so many resources. If the Zhi Family truly wanted to make a strong comeback, it would inevitably disrupt the current resource allocation.

This was something many people did not want to see.

---

"Has it already started to become restless?"

In a level 90 secret realm somewhere, Zhi Zi Jiu stood before a mirror image, a mocking smile on his lips, speaking with an emotionless expression.

If an outsider were present, they would likely be shocked by the identity of the mirror image: Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family, the Zhi Family Head.

Who would have thought that he would descend as a mirror image into the Novice Area?

Although the Zhi Family had declined somewhat, it was still one of the Alliance Eight Great Families. As the Family Head of such a faction, Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family rarely appeared in front of outsiders.

Yet, at this moment, he had appeared, and it was for a new Professional in the family.

The signal this represented was extraordinary.

At this moment, Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family looked at Zhi Zi Jiu, who stood tall with a calm expression, his eyes shining with relief.

But the next moment, he shook his head helplessly and sighed, "It's just the title of Rookie King; doing this is not worth it."

Zhi Zi Jiu heard this, looked at Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family, and chuckled, "Father, put away your old-fashioned thinking. If we continue to be low-key and endure, do you believe that the other seven families will soon devour our Zhi Family until not even bones are left?"

Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family looked at Zhi Zi Jiu and did not refute.

How could he not know this point?

As the Zhi Family Head, he naturally knew exactly what kind of character the other seven families possessed.

Especially the Han Family, Zhao Family, and Wei Family. If they hadn't secretly sided with those three people back then, how would his Zhi Family have ended up in its current predicament?

To this day, these three families, who were once like docile hunting dogs in front of them, now rode roughshod over their Zhi Family.

Particularly the Zhao Family; its power had developed increasingly rapidly over the years, and it increasingly disregarded their Zhi Family.

Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family, as the Family Head, kept all of this in his heart.

However, what was the use of just hating?

With the suppression of the Three Illusions Alliance, his Zhi Family found it difficult to develop. If they weren't low-key, perhaps they wouldn't have survived until today.

This was also why he sought refuge with the Qin Family, putting on a show in front of them and willingly acting as an obedient dog.

At least this way, his Zhi Family would not be annihilated.

Only by surviving was there hope.

However, after enduring for so long, and finally reaching the current situation, everything was completely ruined by his own son, Zhi Zi Jiu, who stood before him.

Thinking of this, Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family looked at Zhi Zi Jiu with a complex expression, sighed deeply, and said, "Xiao Jiu, it's still not too late to stop now. The Zhi Family isn't ready. Exposing yourself like this will only bring trouble to the family."

Zhi Zi Jiu didn't listen at all, saying coldly, "So, for the sake of a damn family, you'd rather watch me die?"

Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family was stunned, then shook his head and said, "I won't let you die. Besides, that matter actually has benefits for you; you shouldn't reject it."

Zhi Zi Jiu sneered, "So in your eyes, as long as this body is still here, it doesn't matter who is inside it to you?"

Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family's face darkened, wanting to scold him, but meeting Zhi Zi Jiu's ashen expression, the words caught in his throat could not be spoken.

"Alright, Father, don't say anything. Even without those things, I believe I can lead the Zhi Family back to its peak. Please believe me."

Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family heard this, but shook his head.

He didn't blame Zhi Zi Jiu for this naivety; it was simply that his son didn't know what kind of existence they would face in the future.

At that time, what role could he play alone?

However, he already knew that Zhi Zi Jiu could not be persuaded, and furthermore, no one in the family dared to harm or restrict Zhi Zi Jiu now.

Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family could only sigh helplessly.

According to the current situation, it was a foregone conclusion that Zhi Zi Jiu would win the title of Rookie King.

He could only go back and quickly devise countermeasures to deal with the chain reaction that would follow.

However, just as Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family was about to leave.

The chat channel automatically popped up for all Professionals in all Novice Areas.

Immediately after, three bright red announcements popped up without any warning.

---

[Ding! World Announcement: Night Shadow has successfully leveled up to 90 and completed the Professional advancement quest, successfully completing the Third Job Advancement. As the first new Professional to successfully achieve this goal this year, he has been awarded the title "Rookie King" and a Rookie King's Treasure Chest.]

[Ding! World Announcement: Night Shadow has successfully leveled up to 90 and completed the Professional advancement quest, successfully completing the Third Job Advancement. As the first new Professional to successfully achieve this goal this year, he has been awarded the title "Rookie King" and a Rookie King's Treasure Chest.]

[Ding! World Announcement: Night Shadow has successfully leveled up to 90 and completed the Professional advancement quest, successfully completing the Third Job Advancement. As the first new Professional to successfully achieve this goal this year, he has been awarded the title "Rookie King" and a Rookie King's Treasure Chest.]

---

For a time, throughout the entire Eternal Continent, all Professionals stopped what they were doing and stared intently at the striking three-line announcement in the chat channel.

"Swish!"

After a moment of silence.

The entire chat channel erupted like a lit powder keg.

"Holy crap! What's going on? I didn't see it wrong, did I? Night Shadow won the title of Rookie King?"

"No, wasn't it just recently said that this year's Rookie King title would definitely belong to Zhi Zi Jiu of the Zhi Family? How did it become Night Shadow?"

"How is this possible? Wasn't Night Shadow being hunted by the Zhao Family all over the world? Where did a common person like him get the resources to level up? Relying solely on wild monsters isn't enough, right?"

"Yeah, not to mention the Zhi Family, even the new Professionals from other factions this year received more than double the resources compared to previous years. For Night Shadow to still win the title of Rookie King, that's something I didn't expect."

"What do you know? Don't you know that not long ago, Night Shadow single-handedly slaughtered the Dragon Abyss Legion of the Zhao Family in the Novice Area? And it was in front of thirteen of the Zhao Family's top combatants. I had long guessed that this year's Rookie King would definitely be Night Shadow."

"Hiss! That exaggerated? How come I haven't heard of it?"

"Nonsense, the Zhao Family would definitely control news of such a shameful incident. I also only found out by chance."

...At this moment, the entire chat channel was in an uproar.

Compared to someone winning the title of Rookie King so quickly this year, everyone was clearly more shocked by the ID of the person who won the title—Night Shadow.

A common person, under the layers of blockade by the Zhao Family, one of the Alliance Eight Great Families, and without any secret realm resources, he managed to overpower a group of heaven-blessed Talents from top factions and ascend to the Rookie King.

This achievement was truly incredibly fierce, so fierce that it made people feel despair.

However, compared to ordinary people.

This despair was even more intense for those disciples of various factions who were originally determined to win the Rookie King title.

Qin Bing looked at the world announcement in the chat channel, his face fluctuating between green and red, his eyes practically spitting fire.

The disciples of several other families were the same as him.

However, after a brief period of shock and anger, these people suddenly laughed inexplicably.

The reason was simple: their families had originally given up on having them contend for the title of Rookie King.

Now, with Night Shadow's sudden emergence, snatching the title of Rookie King was not a loss for them.

On the contrary, because of Night Shadow, Zhi Zi Jiu of the Zhi Family did not get this title, which brought them a certain degree of inner satisfaction.

Since I can't get it, no one else should either.

They held such a thought.

At this moment, the Zhi Family father and son, who had just finished talking, were also stunned by this sudden announcement.

Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family reacted faster. After regaining his composure, he couldn't help but look worriedly at Zhi Zi Jiu.

Sure enough, Zhi Zi Jiu's face no longer held its previous calm and composed expression; it became distorted, yet his eyes still revealed a look of disbelief.

Seeing this, Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family sighed softly.

"This is good too; at least our Zhi Family has avoided a problem."

However, at this moment, Zhi Zi Jiu couldn't hear any of Zhi Jixin, Current Head of the Zhi Family's words, his gaze fixed on that announcement.

Night Shadow!!

It's Night Shadow again!!!

It's him every time!! Why? Why??!

---

At the same time, in the underground altar within Linhai Village in the 702 Novice Area.

Ye Xiao was also looking at the world announcement somewhat lost in thought.

Earlier, preoccupied with happiness, he had forgotten about this matter.

Rookie King!

Now, seeing the announcement, Ye Xiao, who was slow to realize, was in a daze for a while before a smile appeared on his face.

However, he quickly refocused his gaze on Greluo in front of him.

As he put the ring of resentful souls into his possession, Greluo, who was sitting on the ground, became increasingly weak.

Ye Xiao wasn't surprised by this.

Xiao Jin had already told him that Greluo's refining method involved using himself as the source container for the ring of resentful souls.

All of his power came from the ring of resentful souls, so now that the ring of resentful souls had been taken by Ye Xiao, it was equivalent to cutting off Greluo's last chance at life.

Even if Ye Xiao didn't act, Greluo would die in a while from exhausting his last trace of life.

Ye Xiao naturally had no sympathy for this.

Even if Greluo was fine, he would still personally act.

"Save... save me... I am already bound to the ring of resentful souls. If you save me, you'll have an extra free combatant. I can do many things for you..."

Unfortunately, Greluo hadn't finished speaking.

Ye Xiao's fireball had already completely engulfed him.

He had stolen Greluo's painstaking efforts of decades; this guy's hatred for him would probably not be erased for hundreds of years.

Furthermore, the ring of resentful souls was refined by the other party. What if that guy still had some hidden tricks that Ye Xiao was unaware of?

Given such circumstances, how could Ye Xiao keep such a ticking time bomb by his side?

Naturally, it was better for him to die.

Looking at the corpse burned to ashes by the fireball, Ye Xiao shook his head.

"Don't worry, although you can't live to work for me, you can still contribute to me in death."

Saying that, Ye Xiao opened the ring of resentful souls.

Sure enough, a display of the number of resentful souls had been added.

At the same time, the original characteristic was to increase all attributes by 50%.

After absorbing Greluo's resentful soul, it also became 50.1%.

The 0.1% increase might not seem like much.

But one must know that this was only the energy provided by one resentful soul.

The more resentful souls he collected, the terrifyingly powerful this characteristic's amplification would become.

After dealing with all this, Ye Xiao was about to leave.

However, as he passed by the original location, his mind stirred.

Soon, he found a black stone.

Ye Xiao casually destroyed it.

The next moment, the entire altar began to shake violently.

It looked like it was about to collapse.

However, Ye Xiao, on the contrary, showed a smile.

---

[Ding! The Restriction Barrier has deciphered the rules of the Evil Spirit Furnace Array and undergone an anomaly.]

---

Sure enough, after deciphering the array around the altar, the Restriction Barrier once again underwent an anomaly.