29: Top-grade magical artifact

Night fell, and the nightlife in the bustling city of the Imperial Capital had just begun.

Lu Yuan stroked his custom-made black and gold robe, which was embroidered with a fierce tiger descending the mountain.

Putting on the black and gold robe, Lu Yuan looked at himself in the mirror.

"Truly, only the elite among men are worthy of wearing this garment," praised a staff member from the Heavenly Sword Alliance.

Lu Yuan was 180cm tall and handsome.

Whether it was his physique or his temperament, they matched this black and gold robe perfectly, adding a touch of majesty while reducing his youthful immaturity.

The Huaxia Martial Examination awards ceremony would begin promptly at ten o'clock tomorrow!

This year's awards ceremony was grand in scale, with all the Alliance Leaders and the Hall Master of the Tribunal Hall of the Seven Alliances and One Hall in attendance, including all the elders and the principals of the five top academic institutions.

For them, this was more than just an ordinary awards ceremony.

It was a moment for Huaxia to showcase its foundation to all countries on Blue Star, including the Demon and Monster Races!

At dawn, at the awards ceremony venue capable of accommodating millions of people, over a thousand reporters carrying cameras and equipment were busy calibrating their gear.

At five in the morning, spectators began to arrive one after another, taking their seats to wait for the ceremony to begin.

At eight in the morning, a million spectators held their breath, watching the giant clock hanging high above.

Two hours to the countdown, fifty minutes to the countdown...

"There are so many people,"

Under the arrangement of the staff, Lu Yuan and the top hundred candidates nationwide were seated near the edge of the stage.

Jiang Tianxia said, looking at the multitude of spectators.

Some candidates looked nervous, afraid that their legs would tremble when they walked onto the stage later.

After all, the scale of this event was too grand; millions of spectators were watching them receive their awards simultaneously, and that did not include those watching the live broadcast in real-time.

Five hundred million, a billion?

In reality, it was not just the citizens of Huaxia watching the live broadcast; over ten billion people from more than three hundred countries around the world were watching simultaneously!

Lu Yuan, sitting in the front row, observed the grand awards ceremony venue.

Countless spectators had their gazes fixed on Lu Yuan!

Unlike the other candidates who wore black attire, Lu Yuan, ranked first in the nation, wore a black and gold robe!

Furthermore, it was embroidered with a fierce tiger descending the mountain. Although Chu Wushe and Jiang Tianxia were also wearing black and gold robes, they did not have the embroidered pattern.

This was an honor exclusive to the first place in the national Martial Examination!

Countdown fifty seconds, thirty seconds, twenty seconds...

The Huaxia Martial Examination awards ceremony officially began!

The sunlight was blinding. Under the gaze of the audience at the venue and those watching the live stream, eight distinct camps slowly walked towards the stage.

All the elders of the Seven Alliances and One Hall wore serious expressions, and when they reached the center, they collectively stopped.

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

The sound of swords humming was melodious!

A melodious dragon's roar rang out, and before anyone knew it, a Middle-Aged Man stood in front of the elder group.

He was not dressed luxuriously; his eyes were deep, and his expression was neither sorrowful nor joyful, making it impossible to discern any emotion from his face.

The moment the Middle-Aged Man appeared, a sound like a mountain collapsing and a sea roaring rushed towards them.

"Greetings to the Supreme Alliance Leader!"

The Middle-Aged Man before them was named Li Qingcang, the leader of the Huaxia Heavenly Sword Alliance, and also the Supreme Alliance Leader who governed the five alliances!

A rainbow appeared out of thin air, and a Middle-Aged Man with a kind smile stood beside Li Qingcang.

"Greetings to Hall Master Shen!"

Shen Duanhong, the Hall Master of the Tribunal Hall, whose faction, the Hall of Judgment, was second only to the Heavenly Sword Alliance in Huaxia.

Thunder rumbled and fierce winds raged, with terrifying natural phenomena shrouding a radius of a hundred miles!

The Alliance Master of the Thunder Alliance, Chu Yongsheng, the Leader of the Wind Rending Alliance, the Red Flame Alliance Master...

The Alliance Leaders of the Seven Alliances and One Hall stood in front of the elder group, with Li Qingcang in the center, and Shen Duanhong and Chu Yongsheng standing on his left and right.

The seven Alliance Leaders and one Hall Master walked towards the stage, with the elder group following closely behind.

Watching the live broadcast, the leaders of the powerful nations of Blue Star wore solemn expressions.

This Huaxia Martial Examination awards ceremony was far from just a simple awards presentation; more importantly, it was to demonstrate Huaxia's overall strength!

At the same time, the Nine Great Demon Venerables of the Demon Race and the twelve Demon Emperors of the Monster Race were also watching together.

The applause and cheers, sounding like a mountain collapsing and a sea roaring, rose and fell one after another.

"After seven days of the Martial Examination, Lu Yuan has ultimately claimed the crown, becoming the national first place, Chu Wushe has taken second place, and Jiang Tianxia has taken third place. Let us congratulate them!"

"We invite the top hundred candidates of the national Martial Examination to the stage!"

The voice of Great Elder Liu Zhiyuan, Liu Zhiyuan, was as loud as a bell.

Under the gaze of the seven Alliance Leaders, the Hall Master, and millions of spectators, Lu Yuan was the first to stand on the far right of the stage, while Chu Wushe, Jiang Tianxia, and the other candidates took the stage in order.

"Lu Yuan!"

"Lu Yuan!!"

"Lu Yuan!!!"

As the candidates took the stage, the atmosphere reached its climax!

The spectators shouted Lu Yuan's name in unison. Every year, Huaxia holds a Martial Examination awards ceremony.

But this year was the most grand!

There have been many national first places in the Martial Examination, but Lu Yuan is the only one who has broken the score record!

"What is the reward for first place in the nation?"

Lu Yuan wondered, filled with anticipation.

The awards for the top three were presented by the Supreme Alliance Leader Li Qingcang, followed by the Hall Master of the Tribunal Hall Shen Duanhong, the Alliance Master of the Thunder Alliance, the Leader of the Wind Rending Alliance, and so on, in order of ranking.

"Ah, are the candidates ranked 90th to 100th being rewarded with a mid-grade spirit tool?"

Seeing the Wood Element Alliance Master lift the black cloth covering the mid-grade spirit tool, the viewers in the live broadcast room filled the screen with question marks.

A mid-grade spirit tool is worth tens of millions; in previous years, they were only awarded to candidates ranked 80th to 89th.

But this year, they are giving them to the top 90 candidates directly!

"Holy crap, holy crap! A 400 cubic meter storage ring worth eighty million!" The audience was stunned to see the reward the Extreme Cold Alliance Master gave to the top 60 candidates.

The higher the ranking, the better the reward. Overall, this year's rewards were two or three times better than in previous years!

mid-grade spirit tool, mid-grade spirit treasure, high-grade spirit treasure...

The top 10 to 19 candidates were even rewarded with an Earth Tier High-Grade Spirit Skill. A Spirit Skill of this level cannot be measured by money!

"It's almost my turn!"

Lu Yuan watched the Supreme Alliance Leader Li Qingcang lift the black cloth.

"I have seen your performance in the Martial Examination; it was very good," Li Qingcang said to Jiang Tianxia, who was ranked third in the nation.

"Thank you for the praise, Supreme Alliance Leader."

Jiang Tianxia was flattered; her reward was a high-grade spirit treasure and a long sword that was a high-grade spirit tool.

"Keep up the good work; your father has high hopes for you." Li Qingcang looked at Chu Wushe and took out a pair of gauntlets that were flashing with lightning from the tray.

As the national second place, Chu Wushe was only rewarded with a high-grade spirit tool, but it was a custom-made high-grade spirit tool!

When it was Lu Yuan's turn, Li Qingcang did not speak; instead, the Hall Master of the Tribunal Hall, Shen Duanhong, walked over with a smile.

"Little one, do you know that you have disrupted our plans?" Shen Duanhong said.

Lu Yuan was stunned.

Compared to the stern Supreme Alliance Leader, he preferred the Hall Master of the Tribunal Hall, who had a kind smile and always looked cheerful.

It felt like having a highly prestigious elder in the family who was very kind to the younger generation.

"Originally, we planned to reward the national first place of the Martial Examination with a Heaven-Tier mid-grade Spirit Technique," Shen Duanhong explained.

Lu Yuan: "..."

Hearing "Heaven-Tier mid-grade Spirit Technique," Lu Yuan's first reaction was that it was impossible!

This was a Heaven-Tier Spirit Technique, the treasure at the bottom of the box for various great families and factions. Even a low-grade Heaven-Tier Spirit Technique could cover a radius of ten miles, let alone a mid-grade one!

But Lu Yuan thought again that he was a Puppet Master, a special profession. Forget about Heaven-Tier; there were no Earth-rank Spirit Skill on Blue Star.

No wonder Hall Master Shen said he had disrupted their plans.

"Targeting your profession, we discussed it overnight and decided to reward you with a spirit artifact of the same value as a Heaven-Tier mid-grade Spirit Technique."

"What spirit artifact?" Lu Yuan had a guess in his heart.

As Shen Duanhong spoke, the Supreme Alliance Leader Li Qingcang lifted the black cloth held by the staff member standing in the first position.

"A top-grade spirit artifact!"