Duke first picked a spot by the spring.
The soil there was soft and moist, close to the spring but not submerged.
Duke used his fingers to dig a small pit and placed the first Silver Moonlight Grass, along with the soil around its roots, into the pit.
His movements were gentle, as if afraid of disturbing something.
Then, he covered the roots with surrounding soil, pressed it lightly, and drew some water from the spring to water the roots.
The leaves of the Silver Moonlight Grass trembled slightly, as if adjusting to the new environment.
A moment later, those silver-white leaves spread out, and under the nurturing of the spring water, they shone with an even brighter luster than before.
Watching it, Duke observed it for a while, confirmed there were no issues, and turned to plant the second one.
Flame Flowers require dry soil, so he chose a high ground spot a bit further from the spring.
The soil there was sandy with good drainage, perfect for Flame Flowers’ root growth.
Similarly, he carefully moved the plant into the pit and watered it with a small amount of spring water.
The fiery red petals of the Flame Flowers glowed slightly upon contact with the spring water, like a flame lit candle.
Ancient Vine Root was the most troublesome to plant.
Its roots intertwined with the wooden frame, almost becoming one.
Duke hesitated for a moment, then buried the wooden frame along with the Ancient Vine Root, leaving only the top of the vine exposed.
Though this wasn’t aesthetically pleasing, it was most beneficial for the plant’s growth.
After watering, he stepped back and looked at the piece of withered vine.
Under the nurturing of the spring water, the golden light seemed to flow a bit faster through the cracks on the vine’s surface.
The remaining seven plants Duke didn’t recognize, so he had to rely on past experience and on-the-spot judgment to choose planting positions.
Overall, it seemed there shouldn’t be problems; the area beside the Spring of Life is an excellent environment rarely disliked by plants.
...
Two weeks quietly slipped by in the corners of the Broken Land.
Duke hadn’t encountered another super resource point like on the first day.
He navigated the Gobi and explored underground caves, occasionally finding some small resource points guarded by low-level creatures.
In total, they amounted to just over four hundred points.
Adding to the previous six thousand two hundred points, he now had six thousand six hundred points.
He was still ranked first on the leaderboard.
But the second place had caught up with five thousand five hundred points.
The figures behind the name Audric climbed in the past two weeks, with two to three hundred points gained almost daily.
Vera was in third place, with four thousand eight hundred points.
Leon was also in the top ten, with three thousand two hundred points.
Some names Duke didn’t recognize squeezed into the top ten, all strong individuals from places like the Golden Continent, East Coast, and Scavvy Continent.
Elimination day was scheduled for noon on the fifteenth day.
Duke didn’t know where the elimination would occur or how many would be eliminated.
He only knew he had to maintain his lead before then.
On the evening of the fourteenth day, Duke was in an abandoned mine counting supplies.
In his Space Ring, he had a substantial reserve of Magic Potions, and the Black Tortoise Shells and Witch Arrays had not been used.
He was in good physical condition, his Spiritual Sea was stable, apart from some fatigue, everything was fine.
He was about to rest for a while when his badge suddenly vibrated slightly.
Spiritual Power entered, and a line of red text appeared on the leaderboard:
Elimination countdown: 12 hours.
All those ranked lower were fighting desperately.
On the morning of the fifteenth day, Duke walked out of the mine.
The sunlight was dazzling, and heat waves were radiating from the Gobi.
He glanced at the leaderboard; his rank hadn’t changed, but the figures behind him had increased.
Audric had caught up to six thousand one hundred points, narrowing the gap to just five hundred, and Vera had surpassed five thousand.
He withdrew his gaze, ready to continue on, when he suddenly sensed energy fluctuations in the distance.
It wasn’t combat energy fluctuations, but a transmission.
Duke squinted, looking towards that direction.
On the horizon, a golden beam shot into the sky, lasting several breaths before dissipating.
That was the elimination mechanism in the exam venue, where those ranked lower would be forcibly teleported out.
Here in the exam venue, strength is the foundation, luck is the leverage.
If luck isn’t on your side, you might go a whole month with little to show, edging close to elimination.
Duke checked the leaderboard; this time, twenty-two people were eliminated at the bottom.
But those gray names were far more than twenty-two.
Some were teleported out earlier due to severe injuries in battles triggering a protection mechanism.
Others, like Andre, encountered unforeseen opponents during resource point battles.
Those names had long turned gray, quietly lying at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Duke counted all the gray names, thirty-nine in total.
Seventeen were eliminated early, twenty-two were ranked eliminations.
Adding it up, thirty-nine people.
Another month quietly slipped by in the corners of the Broken Land.
Duke’s ranking slipped from first to third.
It’s not that he was slack; it’s just luck wouldn’t always favor someone.
In the past month, the resource points he found were scattered, and the largest was worth only eight hundred points.
He always seemed a step behind in reaching those super resource points hidden deep within dangerous lands.
By the time he arrived, they were either taken or the guardian groups were alarmed, leaving traces of battles everywhere.
Duke didn’t rush recklessly; he knew that in this exam venue, staying alive is more important than anything.
Many who risked grabbing resource points had already become gray names on the leaderboard.
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