Reward

As soon as Zhongli finished speaking, the entire arena of over 80,000 people fell into a stunned silence, lost in thought. This included both the audience and the participating contestants.

A reward?

For a moment, the contestants were filled with excitement. However, once they came to their senses, they could only smile wryly.

They knew their limits.

Rewards were usually reserved for champions only!

Could anyone really compete with the disciples of the Body Sect in this year's Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament?

The so-called reward would likely just be a matter of passing it from one hand to the other—a formality, really. This kind of thing was an open secret on the Douluo Continent.

When the Spirit Hall first announced that the champion of this year's tournament would receive three ten-thousand-year spirit bones, everyone assumed the Spirit Hall would be unbeatable, especially before the rise of the Body Sect.

The prize was there, and anyone who could defeat the Golden Generation could take it. But beating the Golden Generation? That was as difficult as ascending to the heavens!

Yet, with the rise of the Body Sect and its disciples participating, the odds of the Golden Generation maintaining their position as champions suddenly seemed shaky.

What puzzled many was that despite the presence of talents like Xiao Feilian and Du Siji, the Spirit Hall hadn't changed the prize! This was a rather peculiar situation.

Could it be that the Spirit Hall wanted to use these three spirit bones to build goodwill with the Body Sect?

Well, who's to say that wasn't the case…

Zhongli, however, paid no mind to the opinions of the crowd. After scanning the arena, he continued, "I'm not one for words…"

Everyone: "..."

Ha! Not one for words?

Who among the thousands in this massive arena hadn't heard of the Martial God Douluo, Zhongli? This was a man who, through sheer knowledge alone, became a guest elder of the Crown Prince's Mansion!

He was also a scholar whose poetry had won over traveling poets across the Douluo Continent, and his mastery of music had left Tang Yuehua, the master of the Moon Pavilion, and all her disciples in complete awe.

Such a man—one who was at the pinnacle of both intellect and combat—claimed that he wasn't one for words!

Marvelous!

This was exactly like someone saying they "know just a little" when they were actually a master.

Zhongli paused for a moment before continuing, "The team that takes first place in the preliminaries will receive a spirit bone from me."

Upon hearing this, everyone froze for a second before their whole bodies trembled in shock.

Wait, what did the Martial God Douluo just say?

The preliminaries? First place?

The crowd scratched their heads in confusion, looking at each other in disbelief.

If they heard correctly, Zhongli was talking about the preliminaries!

This was surprising because the Heaven Dou Royal Team wasn't participating in the preliminaries. So, clearly, the assumption that this was just some empty reward passed from one hand to the other didn't hold up.

Realizing this, everyone regretted their earlier suspicions, feeling ashamed for judging Zhongli with such a narrow mindset.

This was the Martial God Douluo, after all! How could he possibly stoop to such tactics?

The contestants swallowed nervously, their eyes now filled with longing.

A spirit bone—a genuine spirit bone!

Even a thousand-year spirit bone was a priceless treasure for spirit masters of their level!

"Those of you competing today are like the rising sun, bringing new colors to the world."

"The future is both ours and yours, but in the end, it will belong to you!"

"The world will be in your hands…"

Though Zhongli's tone wasn't particularly loud or impassioned, his words carried a reassuring calm and exuded a sense of immense confidence.

The contestants were taken aback, their expressions complex as they absorbed his words.

For commoners, their biggest concern might be their next meal. But for spirit masters, their worries were countless.

Although they were prodigies, the training they endured and the words they heard were often brutally harsh. This was the first time someone had used words like these to encourage them, filling them with confidence.

"Martial God Douluo!"

"Thank you, Martial God Douluo, for your guidance!"

"I am the Martial God Douluo's loyal follower!"

"???"

Some strange declaration had found its way into the mix.

This wasn't something Zhongli had planned ahead of time; it was more of a spur-of-the-moment decision.

A spirit bone, for ordinary spirit masters... No, it should be said that for all spirit masters, even Titled Douluo, it is a priceless treasure.

Though a thousand-year spirit bone might not be useful to such powerful individuals, the spirit bone itself is still a treasure. Even if they can't use it themselves, they could bestow it upon a younger generation, couldn't they?

Indeed, the reward is a thousand-year spirit bone.

To Zhong Li, spirit bones were merely collectibles.

A thousand-year spirit bone didn't even meet the threshold of being called a collectible. Powerful spirit bones—Zhong Li had them. Ten-thousand-year spirit bones were also part of his collection.

It wasn't that Zhong Li was unwilling to give a ten-thousand-year spirit bone as a reward; it's simply that he didn't have one to offer. Aside from the ten-thousand-year spirit bone that Chi Yu had dropped, there were no other ten-thousand-year spirit bones in his possession.

The "gifts" he had received earlier were already distributed within the Body Sect.

As for the one Shi Yu had dropped, though its age was low, it remained a keepsake and was not given away.

As for the ten-thousand-year spirit bones... Zhong Li could give them, but how many students would dare accept?

If someone were given a spirit bone in the morning, they'd be dead by noon...

When it's just a thousand-year spirit bone, while it might cause some envy, one would need to carefully plan and think before making a move.

But when it's a ten-thousand-year spirit bone, it's enough to push most spirit masters to take desperate risks, even to the point of two nations going to war, with rivers of blood flowing! Ten-thousand-year spirit bones are also known as "Blood River Treasures."

And if it were a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone? Heh... Even Golden Crocodile Douluo might not be able to resist such temptation.

The key point is that the one receiving the bone wouldn't even be a powerful individual—just a weakling, perhaps a Spirit Elder or Spirit Ancestor.

Unlike spirit rings, spirit bones aren't guaranteed to drop when a spirit beast is killed. However, if you kill a spirit master who possesses a spirit bone, the spirit bone will certainly drop!

Of course, there's a catch!

It must be one of the six regular spirit bones. As for external spirit bones, if they are fully fused with the spirit master, even if you kill them, the bone won't drop.

As if recalling something, Zhong Li gestured for everyone to quiet down.

In an instant, the entire arena fell silent—so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

With a wave of his hand, a spirit bone, only a part of a leg, appeared in the air before him.

Not all spirit bones are complete.

The more complete a spirit bone, the higher its age usually is.

Of course, some may have been damaged later.

The more complete the bone, the greater the boost it provides when fused with a spirit master.

This particular thousand-year spirit bone, though only part of the leg, would not hinder absorption or the acquisition of a spirit bone skill.

After all, when it dropped, it was already in this state...

"This is a 5,600-year-old strength-type left leg spirit bone. It will be the reward for the team that takes first place in the preliminaries,"