The young people participating in the snatch heaven marrow fruit lined up in order to be inspected and enter the designated area, while outside the area were the Elders of several Families and Martial Artists who were unwilling to leave.
"Name, cultivation level?" Every Martial Artist entering had to register their information before inspection.
"These Families truly have ruthless methods. If someone outside the Families manages to snatch the heaven marrow fruit, they will surely use various means to coerce and entice them," Shen Han was certainly not a rookie fresh out of the mountains; he saw through the intentions of the Families like a blazing fire.
"Wang Gang, Martial Spirit Second Level," Shen Han reported his information.
After completing their inspections, various Geniuses from Nanjiang Province arrived one after another under the heaven marrow fruit tree, nervously staring at the heaven marrow fruit that was about to ripen.
"How should I address you, Young Miss?" a voice drifted from beside him.
Shen Han turned his head, "Holy crap, a classmate from No. 5 High School." Although their interactions weren't many, they weren't few either. Had he been recognized?
"Wang Gang," Shen Han cleared his throat. He should not have been recognized, right? Shen Han was not very sure.
"I seem to have heard that name somewhere? Student Wang looks like a local, but why haven't I seen him?" Wen Tingting pondered slightly.
"I'm from the neighboring city," Shen Han could only make up a lie.
In the end, there were about one to two hundred people who managed to enter and participate in the heaven marrow fruit competition. Only a single digit number were locals from Yang City; the vast majority were Geniuses from the big Families in the provincial capital.
Shen Han activated his Sniff ability and scanned the area. As expected, the quality of Geniuses from the provincial capital was indeed high.
An S-Rank Awakening was already very rare in Yang City, but among these peer Geniuses from the provincial capital's big Families, there were even SS-Ranks. It was no wonder these people didn't take the locals seriously.
Name: Lu Yanlin
Mental Energy: Martial Spirit Third Level
Special Ability Rank: Lightning Element - SS-Rank, Fire Element - S-Rank
Name: Lu Jingheng
Mental Energy: Martial Spirit First Level
Special Ability Rank: Ice Element - S-Rank, Fire Element - A-Rank
Good heavens, just these two Geniuses from the Lu Family alone had Special Ability Ranks that could instantly kill all Martial Artists in Yang City.
Besides the Lu Family, Shen Han also noticed another big Family Genius,
Name: Luo Tingyun
Mental Energy: Martial Spirit Second Level
Special Ability Rank: Dark Element - S-Rank, Wood Element - A-Rank
Seeing so many high-Rank Special Ability talents, what better time to Copy them than now?
"SS-Rank Lightning Element, Copy."
"S-Rank Dark Element, I have that now too."
After scanning the area, Shen Han found that the average Special Ability Rank Awakened by the big Family Geniuses was one to two tiers higher than in Yang City, but they were all within the scope of the Five Elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) as well as wind, lightning, light, dark, and ice. He didn't see any eye-catching special Special Abilities, so it seemed that special variant Special Abilities were indeed extremely rare.
While waiting for the heaven marrow fruit to ripen, Shen Han mobilized his Mental Energy and channeled the copied SS-Rank Lightning Element and S-Rank Dark Element energy into his existing Lightning Element and Dark Element stars. The pain was excruciating.
This Fusion lasted for a relatively long time. It seemed that fusing high-Rank Special Ability energy would cause a considerable impact on the body and spirit.
Approximately ten minutes later, the Fusion was finally complete. Shen Han was covered in cold sweat. Fortunately, the entire process was thrilling but without danger.
Name: Shen Han
Mental Energy: 1103/1400 (Martial Spirit First Level)
Special Ability Rank: Chaos Element - SSS-Rank, Lightning Element - SS-Rank, Dark Element - S-Rank, Fire Element - S-Rank, Space Element - B-Rank, Ice Element - E-Rank, Wood Element - B-Rank
"Student Wang, are you feeling unwell? Why are you covered in so much cold sweat?" Wen Tingting asked with concern.
"It's nothing, I'll be fine in a moment."
"A bumpkin from a small city, never seen a scene like this before, have you? You're scared like this, yet you still have the guts to compete with us for the heaven marrow fruit."
A discordant voice came from a big Family in the provincial capital; it was that guy from the Lu Family named Lu Yanlin. Considering he contributed an SS-Rank Lightning Element Special Ability talent, Shen Han didn't want to bother with him.
Shen Han ignored these people, closed his eyes, and meditated, adjusting the Mental Energy he had just consumed to resist the pain.
"Student, I see you have good strength. In a small city, you could be considered a top Genius. How about assisting me in competing for the heaven marrow fruit later? I will give you unimaginable rewards." Lu Yanlin continued to chatter.
Shen Han smiled faintly and coldly refused, "Not interested, you should find someone else." He had no habit of being someone else's dog.
"I hope you don't fail to appreciate my kindness. You might not know in a small city, but the foundation of a big Family is beyond your imagination," Lu Yanlin continued endlessly.
"If you want to show off your superiority, go somewhere else. I'm not interested. 'Big city, big Family' this and that, is it really that impressive?"
"You, hmph, you'll see later." Seeing that Shen Han was impervious to persuasion, Lu Yanlin turned to Wen Tingting, "I wonder what this student thinks?"
"You should find someone else," Wen Tingting said indifferently.
Lu Yanlin was furious after hearing this. "A bunch of frogs in a well." He snorted coldly, clearly disdainful of these "country bumpkins."
Just then, a low, smiling voice interjected, "Lu Yanlin, showing off your superiority again? What, did you hit a wall?" As he spoke, a young man with an elegant demeanor and composed bearing slowly approached, a hint of playfulness on his face.
"Hmph, none of your business. A bunch of country bumpkins pretending to be noble."
"Can't you just rely on your own strength to snatch the heaven marrow fruit? You have to form gangs, it's simply a disgrace to your Lu Family."
"You, Luo, I have Awakened an SS-Rank Special Ability talent. If you want to fight, you're no match for me."
Luo Tingyun smiled without speaking, too lazy to waste more words with him. He turned to Shen Han and said with a hint of goodwill, "Don't worry, student, this competition is fair play. So many people are watching outside, don't be afraid of the Lu Family. May I ask your name, student? Would you do me the honor of sharing a drink after the competition?"
Shen Han was secretly surprised—what was going on? Something seemed a little off. But he remained calm and said, "Thank you, Student Luo. Let's talk about it after the competition."
Seeing that Shen Han didn't directly refuse, Luo Tingyun smiled contentedly, nodded slightly at him, and returned to his position.
"Shen Han really didn't come?" Meanwhile, on another side, Zhu Wenhan, Li Mingxuan, and others from Yang City gathered together.
"Our Yang City's number one, with only this much courage, is truly embarrassing," Li Mingxuan snorted coldly, clearly somewhat displeased.
"Perhaps he just thought he had no chance of getting the heaven marrow fruit," a classmate beside him shook his head, a hint of disappointment in his tone.
"I was still hoping he would come and make a name for our Yang City," Zhu Wenhan sighed lightly, looking at the Genius Martial Artists from the big cities, his heart filled with pressure.
"But how could it be that easy?" Li Mingxuan pointed to the surrounding participants, "Look at those people, there are more than ten S-Ranks, and quite a few SS-Rank Geniuses. It's simply a Dragon-fight!"
Zhu Wenhan smiled bitterly after hearing this, "When I Awakened S-Rank, I still thought I had a good chance of getting a good ranking in this National Higher Education Entrance Examination. Now I realize that there are simply too many true Geniuses." His eyes dimmed slightly. Although unwilling, he also understood that the small-city Geniuses of Yang City were far inferior compared to these top powerhouses from the provincial capital.