Chapter 384: The Final Reward!
[Sun Wukong: The Battle Challenge Card is an incredibly rare and valuable item. You can't miss out on this! Just look at how much Ye Tian has gained from this kind of reward!]
Sun Wukong and the Tathagata Buddha never had a good relationship. Having been suppressed under the Five Elements Mountain for so long, Sun Wukong naturally wouldn't offer any helpful advice to him.
If given the chance to trick the Tathagata Buddha, Sun Wukong wouldn't hesitate in the slightest. And this time, he certainly had such an idea in mind.
Of course, the Buddha was well aware of Sun Wukong's intentions and completely ignored his words.
[Guanyin Bodhisattva: Half a Saint's Relic is an exceptionally rare treasure. The Battle Challenge Card itself is highly unstable. Even if you choose it, who knows if you can actually win the battle? If you lose, things will get very troublesome!]
[Lingji Bodhisattva: Losing would bring more than just a little trouble. Who knows if the battle will require one of the two to die before a victor is decided? After all, that's exactly how Ye Tian fights!]
This was precisely what the Tathagata Buddha feared the most. No matter how great the rewards from the Battle Challenge Card might be, they could only be obtained upon victory. If he were forced into a life-or-death battle and lost, he would perish.
While the Tathagata Buddha was powerful, he knew that many beings across the myriad worlds surpassed him.
A moment of carelessness could be fatal. To ensure his survival, the Battle Challenge Card was absolutely out of the question.
The half Saint's Relic, on the other hand, was a guaranteed benefit.
[Taiyi Zhenren: It's a pity that I lack the strength. If I had Ye Tian's level of power, I'd take the Battle Challenge Card without hesitation! Why even hesitate over choosing the first reward?]
Only those as confident in their strength as Ye Tian—who could secure victory without question—would choose such an unstable Battle Challenge Card.
[Ancestor Minghe: That depends entirely on what the Tathagata Buddha truly desires. If he's greedy and wants more, he might take the Battle Challenge Card—provided he has no fear whatsoever. Otherwise, he definitely won't choose it, since no one knows what the consequences of losing might be!]
[Queen Mother of the West: Both the half Saint's Relic and the Battle Challenge Card are great rewards, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. But it's precisely because of this uncertainty that makes the choice so exciting!]
[Guangchengzi: The explanation for the Battle Challenge Card is too vague. Last time, Ye Tian used it to kill a peak Saint-level powerhouse. If even someone like Jehovah could fall, how can anyone guarantee their safety? If the Tathagata Buddha isn't strong enough to protect himself, there's no way he'll go for it!]
For the Tathagata Buddha, this was merely an opportunity to improve his strength. He absolutely wouldn't gamble his life for a better reward.
If he failed, he might end up as nothing more than a relic himself.
[Samantabhadra (Puxian) Bodhisattva: The Tathagata Buddha is wise and has seen far more than we have. This is his reward, so it's up to him to decide what he wants to do!]
[Tathagata Buddha: Rest assured, the Battle Challenge Card is not even under my consideration. I choose the half Saint's Relic!]
The moment both rewards were presented, the Tathagata Buddha didn't hesitate for a second. He knew exactly what he needed and understood that the Battle Challenge Card was something he absolutely couldn't afford to touch at this stage.
Before the others could continue discussing, he made his choice.
[Tathagata Buddha: I choose the first option—the half Saint's Relic!]
His choice did not surprise anyone, though Sun Wukong felt a little disappointed.
After all, the Tathagata Buddha remained unscathed. Not only that, but with the half Saint's Relic, his power would undoubtedly increase. Even if the odds of reaching the Saint level were slim, this at least granted him the possibility of ascending.
This meant that in the future, the Tathagata Buddha still had a chance to rise further in power.
Meanwhile, Sun Wukong had failed to make the Tathagata Buddha suffer in any way. Naturally, he was very frustrated. After all, the Buddha had suppressed him under the Five Elements Mountain twice already—he couldn't just let that grudge go so easily.
Even though this attempt failed, there would be another chance next time. He wasn't about to give up just because of one setback.
However, what troubled Sun Wukong the most was that he hadn't been able to get on the ranking this time. His strength remained stagnant, which was the last thing he wanted. The longer he stayed in place, the further he would fall behind.
But there was nothing he could do. He could only hope that he'd appear on the next ranking.
Unlike Sun Wukong, the others had no such concerns. They all believed that the Tathagata Buddha had made the right decision in choosing the half Saint's Relic.
…
As the rewards continued to be distributed, time kept flowing. Regardless of whether the rewards were good or bad, all recipients were ultimately satisfied.
At the very least, their strength had increased—that was undeniable. Some gained more, some gained less, but dissatisfaction only arose from comparing themselves to others.
That was unavoidable. If they had received their rewards in isolation, they would undoubtedly be pleased.
But no matter how much they might grumble, what could they do? It wasn't as if they could complain to the Golden List, let alone take their frustration out on it.
Even someone as powerful as Laozi had to swallow his losses when he suffered at the hands of the Golden List. He had no choice but to accept it as if nothing had happened.
As for those who dared to defy the Golden List?
There was only one outcome—death.
[Rank 100 on the Technique List Reward: One Leaf Obscures the Eye]
[This technique conceals one's presence from heavenly observation, evades the scrutiny of the Heavenly Dao, and grants perfect invisibility, rendering the user undetectable by all beings!]
This was an extremely rare spell that hid one's presence and traces. But what made it truly exceptional was its power.
While there were many similar concealment techniques in the Primordial World, the difference lay in their effectiveness.
The One Leaf Obscures the Eye technique, as ranked by the Golden List, was so powerful that not even the Heavenly Dao could track it.
This made it incredibly useful in many situations. Once learned, it ensured that no one in the Primordial World could calculate or detect the user's existence.
In critical moments, it could be a lifesaver.
However, such a technique would only reveal its full potential in the hands of someone who truly needed it.
Otherwise, it would simply be a wasted treasure.