Treasure-Hunting Plane.
Lu Jun slowly opened his eyes, feeling the dazzling brilliance within his spiritual world—five-colored lights flowing with boundless magic energy and his heart filled with joy.
This year-long National Institute training had actually allowed his cultivation speed at the Advanced level to keep pace with that of the Elementary and Intermediate stages—it was an unbelievable rate of progress, advancing an entire tier roughly every two and a half years.
Of course, this could not be separated from the opportunities he had gained along the way—far more than in his previous twenty years combined.
"Ring~!" The Mermaid girl beside him gave a soft chime, floating behind Lu Jun as her delicate, boneless hands gently kneaded his shoulders. Her jade-like fingers, smooth as flowing water, pressed with a tender rhythm.
Lu Jun felt extremely comfortable and sighed inwardly—raising a daughter really is the best.
He asked curiously, "How are you feeling now?"
"Ring~." The Mermaid Saint Spirit tilted her head adorably, the crown of sun, moon, and stars upon her head shimmering as three-colored radiance rippled over her body.
Very soon, Lu Jun understood the changes that had occurred within the Mermaid girl—she had comprehended two unique Ancient Skills: Reincarnation of Sun, Moon, and Stars and Elemental Will, corresponding to the two major traits upon her body.
The former was a rebirth-type technique, similar to Flame Empress who, after death, condensed into a flame fruit that could be reborn within a Fire-type Sacred Land after research and refinement. The latter greatly enhanced her control over the Water Element—allowing her to continue casting spells even when grievously wounded or on the verge of death.
"Improved strength and new innate abilities—not bad at all."
Lu Jun nodded in satisfaction. The key point, however, was her elevated potential, though that would only begin to manifest after she reached the Mature Stage.
Take, for instance, the Tri-Light Divine Water of the Water Element—a top-tier heavenly seed. Based on the Mermaid race's average standard, she was already at the level of a Great Heavenly Seed.
Now, after the baptism of the Evolution Aura, once she advanced to the Monarch Level, she might directly wield a half-step power beyond heavenly seeds—the Tri-Light Divine Water, a force equal to a Forbidden Curse, capable of rivaling a Middle Monarch.
At that moment, the Spatial Scroll given to him by Sai Fang in his arms began to glow, breaking free automatically and hovering in the air. It released a surge of spatial fluctuations, forming a silver vortex that sought to pull him in.
Seeing this, Lu Jun understood immediately—it was spatial feedback from the Space Element. Apparently, three hours had already passed since his Summoning System had broken through to Advanced Tier Level Three, meaning the Treasure-Hunting Tournament had finally reached its end.
Not only him—Jiang Shaoxu and Nan Jue's Spatial Scrolls also began to react in the same way.
Lu Jun didn't resist. He allowed the suction of the spatial vortex to engulf him, his figure vanishing from the spot as his vision twisted into chaos.
Before leaving, a thought flashed across his mind: "It's coming."
He had suppressed the members of fifteen National Teams, nearly capturing the entire next generation of elites from every great force around the world. Upon returning to the outside world, he would undoubtedly face a storm of repercussions.
But Lu Jun had long been prepared for it.
Buzz... buzz... buzz...
Moments later—within the Venice Arena—under the gaze of millions, only a dozen or so figures appeared upon the stage. Compared to the 160 young experts present at the start of the tournament, the scene was now desolate.
When Lu Jun's figure materialized, the entire arena erupted into thunderous cheers. Immediately, from the VIP seats, dozens of brilliant rainbow beams rose into the air, aiming straight toward the arena as if to approach him directly.
From the Nine Continents VIP box came a hearty laugh—Shao Zheng released his aura and said boldly, "Hahaha! My old friends, please, give me some face. If there's anything to say, let's sit down and discuss it calmly, shall we?"
"My team captain has just finished his battle and is exhausted. Let the young man rest for a while."
As his words fell, the high-ranking mages of various nations hesitated, reluctantly suppressing their impatience. The dozens of magical beams slowly faded away.
Seeing this, Lu Jun was slightly surprised. The voice from the China VIP room was familiar—someone he had often seen on television. It should be Shao Zheng, one of the more reliable high-ranking officials in the original records.
It was this man who proposed the Five-Thousand-Mile Sea Defense Line and had protected Mo Fan for quite some time.
Enjoying the crowd's thunderous applause, Lu Jun felt a bit confused. He had crushed countless elites—male and female alike—from all nations. In the eyes of the global public, he should have been seen as a "Demon King."
So why was he receiving such long and enthusiastic cheers now?
In the distance, National Institute mentor Feng Li approached slowly, eyes complicated as he sighed, "I didn't expect you to be the one who slew the Red Cardinal and even serve as an Honorary Councilman of the Ancient Capital."
"So, I suppose I should call you Councilman Lu."
Hearing this, Lu Jun finally understood—Han Ji had publicly revealed the truth of the Ancient Capital incident.
No wonder the crowd was cheering wildly. On one hand, Westerners naturally admired the strong; on the other, the fame that came with slaying a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican was immense.
Many nations had suffered repeated attacks from the Black Vatican—the common people had endured endless pain and were deeply grateful to this hero who had stood up against them.
That was where he and Mo Fan differed. The latter, even in his own generation, was still enormously famous and adored by millions within the Ancient Capital, yet outside the Nine Continents, his reputation could not compare to Lu Jun's.
Through these two grand achievements, Lu Jun had already cemented his position—standing above the level of his entire generation.
He joked to Feng Li, "Then I'll call you Mentor, and you'll call me Councilman Lu—each of us addressing the other as we should."
"You brat." Feng Li cursed with a laugh, then lowered his voice and said, "Comrade Shao Zheng wants to see you. Don't worry, what you did in the Treasure Hunting Plane was a huge morale boost. We won't be blaming you for anything."
Lu Jun nodded slightly. It seemed his associated interests were preserved, and he already guessed that the high authorities of other nations wouldn't dare play any underhanded tricks against him.
After all, he had slain Salan, a great merit to the Five Continents Magic Association. With that golden achievement protecting him, he would naturally be sheltered by the higher-ups, and everything would be handled according to proper procedures.
On the other side, Mo Fan, after learning about Lu Jun's deeds in the Treasure Hunting Plane, was dumbfounded. "I was wondering why I hadn't run into any other contestants for so long—damn it, Lu Jun single-handedly suppressed them all. Unreal!"
Both of them received Shao Zheng's invitation and stepped into the Huaxia VIP lounge.
Shao Zheng was in a great mood, his demeanor warm like a spring breeze, as he shook hands with Lu Jun and Mo Fan separately, praising, "Hua Zhanhong has spoken to me about you two. Now that I've met you, you truly are young heroes—pillars of our nation."
"The future of humanity will depend on you both to uphold it."
Lu Jun responded politely, "Thank you for the praise."
Suddenly, a female Mage approached from not far away. Her face was full of exhaustion as she looked seriously at the two of them, then bowed ninety degrees solemnly and apologized, saying, "I'm sorry. My careless words caused damage to both your reputations."
"I, Zhu Huiyin, hereby apologize."
Mo Fan was caught off guard, shocked. "Councilman Shao… what's this about?"
Shao Zheng cast her a calm glance and said, "No need to be surprised. The two of you deserve this courtesy. She's simply paying the price for her own words."
Lu Jun, sharp-minded as always, caught her name and instantly understood what had happened. He sneered inwardly—such a jumping clown wasn't worth paying attention to.
Zhu Huiyin, already in chaos, had been attacked and condemned by the entire nation. With no choice but to swallow her humiliation, she publicly bowed before them and apologized in front of the massive audience and live broadcast, then immediately announced her resignation to take responsibility.
Only by stepping down in disgrace could she quell the public's anger.
The Zhu family's influence shrank even further because of this, yet there was nothing they could do—Zhu Huiyin had only herself to blame for her stupidity.
After Mo Fan left to rest, Shao Zheng discussed serious matters with Lu Jun regarding the request to release the one hundred National Institute members he had subdued.
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