The Era of Gods - Chapter 121

Chapter 121: Chapter 121: The First Metamorphosis Evolution of the Black Scale Naga

Translator: 549690339

The clash between the teams was not a matter of public bidding but rather private negotiation. Still, it was evident to everyone that a fierce discussion was taking place among the three groups.

Sitting on the Stone throne opposite the chairman’s platform, Lin Xiao faced a barrage of surprised and scrutinizing gazes from the crowd.

In the group chat, someone directly asked:

“Lin Xiao, are you playing the pig to catch the tiger here?”

“I wish I could, but my strength just doesn’t allow it!”

He posted a shrugging emoji and added:

“If I were that amazing, I’d have already challenged for the Black Iron or Bronze Tier by now—for the chance to get one or two more Mythical Grade Cards.”

In truth, he wanted to admit that he didn’t have enough cards to challenge, but feared saying so would make people accuse him of showing off.

The crowd was speechless for a while, not knowing what to say. After all, his lack of resources was a known fact, and if he really had the capability, he certainly wouldn’t pass up the opportunity for more rewards.

But what they didn’t realize was that he was even poorer than they thought, almost lacking even the cards he needed for a challenge.

Lin Xiao himself couldn’t utter the truth behind such posturing; he was afraid of being attacked.

On a level invisible to them, several consciousnesses were engaged in heated debate.

A mentor from the Holy Crystal Team spoke vehemently:

“I discovered this person first.”

Immediately, someone objected:

“What evidence do you have that you found him first?”

“I left a mark on him; according to the default rules, he should be mine.”

“What mark?…”

There was a moment of silence before the voice spoke again, this time clearly lacking the force of before:

“Then why didn’t you say so earlier? You wanted to quietly snag him at the lowest cost, right? If that’s the case, then you can’t blame us. Now he belongs to our War Throne, so you’d better come up with something better.”

After a brief pause, someone spoke up:

“A trade for one Bronze Student.”

“Not enough.”

“Two Students.”

“Still not enough.”

“How much do you want?”

“One Silver Student.”

“Don’t push your luck.”

“Then just forget it.”

“You….”

“I offer one Silver Student.”

“Colonel Xie, why are you getting involved? I spotted him first.”

“Sorry, but I took an interest in him long ago too.”

Ignoring one party’s protests, a cool voice addressed the other:

“Yuan Xingchen, will you trade for a Silver Student?”

Now, the War Throne mentors were at a loss. Two mentors vying for him, willing to trade a student at the Silver Level, certainly implied something extraordinary. However, they had not noticed this student before and had no idea about his performance or potential, making it hard to make an informed choice.

According to the rules among the Summer Camp mentors during crucial trade stages, they couldn’t use Divine Arts to retrospectively view previous battle footage—this wasn’t allowed, and even if it were, interference from the others made it impossible.

This was not only a rule of the Summer Camp but also the competition between teams and mentors.

Students had to compete for thrones, and mentors and teams inevitably had to establish a pecking order.

Without specific information, decisions had to be made based on experience alone.

They wouldn’t be considering a trade if they could avoid it, but the rule among mentors was that if multiple parties couldn’t reach an agreement, the student’s own preference would become the deciding factor. At that point, as long as the student was willing, the final offer could become the price for switching teams.

At this critical moment, the host’s voice rang out:

“Sixty seconds left. War Throne mentors, please make your choice. If a trade is not agreed upon within the time limit, student Lin Xiao will be free to choose which team to join based on the current offers.”

“Damn!”

This left not only the mentors in a bind, but also Lin Xiao himself.

How could he make a free choice?

Without considering the War Throne, the mentors from Holy Crystal and Fury Flame were both looking at him with hopeful eyes; whom should he choose?

The worry wasn’t that choosing one would offend the other—as the mentors weren’t likely to hold a grudge over this—it was about the envy of others.

As the only student being traded and the subject of a three-way tug-of-war, he was receiving a level of attention that not even the students seated on the Golden Throne enjoyed. No matter which team he joined, there would be plenty of students, both inside and outside the team, eager to test his mettle. He was in for a tough time.

And, he imagined that the one who hated him the most would be the student traded away as a bargaining chip. To be exchanged for someone from the Stone Tier, while holding a spot at the Silver Tier, would leave anyone frustrated and resentful. Given the chance, they would definitely come after him.

However…

It seems there’s no need to wait; I’ve already been marked.

He covered his head, not daring to look up, silently praying that the mentors would quickly reach a deal and spare him from having to make a choice.

Perhaps his prayers were effective, as it only took about ten seconds for the War Throne to make a decision, declaring,

“If you wish to trade, our starting price is at least one Silver Student. Make your bids, and the highest offer wins.”

“One Silver plus one Black Iron Student.”

That was the offer from the Holy Crystal side. After giving their price, they looked towards the Fury Flame Team, only to hear a cold voice from a Fury Flame mentor respond,

“Two Silvers!”

“Pfft!”

Everyone was stunned, even Lin Xiao himself. If it weren’t for the inappropriateness of the moment, he would have thought it was a joke.

Even the moderator paused for a moment before asking,

“Colonel Xie, are you certain this is your bid?”

“Is there a problem?”

“None at all!”

The moderator waved his hands repeatedly; he had no objections, but he was genuinely curious about Lin Xiao. A student who had just filled the lowest Rank 1 spot had somehow made a mentor willing to trade two Silver Students for him. This was puzzling, as adding just one Silver could already trade for three Gold Students, aside from those six.

Even if they shared some private relationship, the price seemed too high. The moderator was very curious about what she saw in him.

Shaking his head, he turned to the Holy Crystal Mentor Group.

At this time, there was a dispute within the group. Two of the three mentors believed that two Silvers were an excessive bid, while one thought it was worth the high price. He urged his colleagues,

“Though his strength is only equivalent to a Bronze First Level now, his potential is extremely high. With more than half a month left in the camp and under our guidance, he will certainly reach the capabilities of the second tier. If all goes well, advancing even further is possible.”

However, his two companions disagreed,

“I don’t deny that his potential is indeed very high, but potential is uncertain. We cannot trade two proven third-tier Silver Students for an uncertain future.”

“I agree with Old Guo’s point of view. The price has already exceeded our expectations, and I suggest we give up bidding.”

“But we could…”

“Old Li, we’ve made our decision.”

The mentor known as Old Li fell silent. After a moment, team leader Liu Wuji told the moderator,

“We give up on bidding!”

……

“You’ll regret this.”

“Perhaps we will, but at this moment, I believe my decision is the right one.”

“We shall see!”

The bid was withdrawn by the Holy Crystal Team, and to everyone’s disbelief, the Fury Flame Team secured a Stone Tier student from the War Throne Team in exchange for two Silver Throne Students—a trade that could only be described as fantastical.

Soon after, the blood flame fist mark above Lin Xiao’s head was replaced by a blazing inferno.

With this trade concluded, the four teams each made one or two additional trades. There were transactions involving Gold Tier Students, but none were as shocking to the onlookers as the first trade.

Ten minutes passed quickly, and the trading time ended. The moderator returned to the stage and announced,

“According to the rules of this year’s Summer Camp, the second phase now officially begins. Next will be the internal competitions within each team, lasting for three days. After that, the four major teams will contend against each other. We’ll see each other again in three days.”

Having finished his speech, the moderator transformed into a streak of light and vanished. The four team mentors also turned into beams of light and soared into the sky while Lin Xiao saw the space before him distort; his vision stretched, signaling that he had been transported away from the location.

About five seconds later, the twisted and elongated scenery slowly returned to normal, and the distorted space gradually settled. Once his feet were firmly planted and a sudden brightness filled his view, he saw the back of a head just in front of him.

People were everywhere around him, with no familiar faces to be seen. Beneath his feet was the rough, frosted steel floor of an open plaza that stretched for kilometers.

A hundred meters above, the ceiling was dotted with metallic platforms as thick as one meter and as large as basketball courts, floating in the air. The edges of each platform were lined with thick railings, crowded with burly men in short-sleeved military uniforms, curiously watching them.

Suddenly, Lin Xiao heard a burst of female laughter, swiftly turned his head, and saw a group of female soldiers lounging on the edge of another platform in the air, giggling and pointing at them mischievously.

Clearly, they had been taken directly back to a military camp, most likely the Fury Flame Battalion’s base.

While they were curiously looking around, a slightly smaller metal platform moved over, carrying a woman in a tight green military uniform with a pronounced waist and ample bust, her shoulders adorned with the rank of two bars and three stars. She stood poised and looked eye-catching as she addressed them.

Without a doubt, this was likely a Saint Avatar of Colonel Xie from the Fury Flame Team.

Given that her True Body must be that of a True God, even the natural radiance exuded by a Divine Incarnation would be too much for them to withstand; they had to make do with a Saint Avatar. It was similar to what Lin Xiao had used before: a mere shard of Divine Thought descended into a specially chosen physical vessel to walk in the mortal world, while the True Body remained hidden within a personal Divine Realm.

In fact, when their True Bodies entered Subspace or the Outlands, there were no limitations between the Divine Realm and the True Body; they could summon their Divine Realm anytime and anywhere, calling upon their followers from within it.

This was a fundamental difference from Native deities, and it represented a significant advantage for such New Gods compared to Aboriginal Deities.

Unlike the fixed Aboriginal Gods Nation that could only accommodate Prayers, New Gods had the benefit of integrating Material Planes and their God Country, carrying all of their followers and realm with them. In times of need, they could unleash all their forces instantaneously, and with the Divine Realm as their shield, they could counter the rule suppression encountered when invading an Aboriginal Country.

The extent of countering rule suppression varies by the strength of resistance; however, at the same level, it can predominantly block nearly all rule suppression from the same tier Aboriginal Nation. This means that a God Country with Weak Divine Power is ineffective against a New God with Weak Divine Power.

In such scenarios, New Gods could directly invade the Aboriginal Gods Nation, open their Divine Realm, and summon their disciples to strike at the core of the natives’ God Country.

This is the greatest advantage of New Gods compared to Indigenous Deities.