Sovereign of the Three Realms

The Bounty Arena was open for half a month. The first twelve days of the event were pretty much routine. The last three days were the craziest days. High rank bounties only appeared during this time. Of course, the highest rank available was sovereign rank. The sovereign rank bounties didn’t only include bounties that were posted on the spot by visitors. The incomplete bounties that were accumulating dust at the back of the Temple would also be making an appearance.

During these final three days, only bounties of rank six and above could to appear. This also meant that the reward for all bounties that appeared during this period were worth a million saint spirit stones at a minimum. No other bounties beneath this sum was allowed in the Bounty Arena. Although the rule barred low rank bounties from entering the arena, it wasn’t a problem because most of them had already made their appearances during the first twelve days.

For example, Jiang Chen alone had received one and a half billion saint spirit stones during the twelve days he spent managing two arenas. Even the weakest of the eighteen assistants he recruited had earned at least twenty to thirty million saint spirit stones. Naturally, the assistants who were stronger or more favored by Jiang Chen gained even bigger profits.

For starters, Lin Yanyu had earned over a hundred million saint spirit stones. Lin Zhirong himself had earned almost the same amount as Lin Yanyu. The guy’s foundation was quite solid despite his crazy attitude. Now that they had entered the last three days of the Bounty Arena, it was entirely possible to earn even greater sum of spirit stones from the continuous influx of high rank bounties. Everyone was eager to get started as they prepared themselves for the final three days.

Standing at a high place, Assistant Temple Master Gao declared loudly,  “Everyone, the last three days of the Bounty Arena are also the best part and the climax of the event. Not only have we already received twelve sovereign rank bounties this time, we are also announcing twelve more sovereign rank bounties that we’ve accumulated in the past. This also means that every arena will get to look through two sovereign rank bounties on average. Of course, it comes down to personal capability as to the number of such bounties you may receive in the end!

“Apart from the sovereign rank bounties, all rank six bounties and above are allowed to enter the Bounty Arena during these three days as well. These bounties will be processed in the same way as before. The same cannot be said about the sovereign rank bounties, however.”

The sovereign rank bounties won’t follow the same format? Everyone, including Jiang Chen, looked at the assistant temple master. They wanted to know exactly how the bounties were going to be distributed. Will they be distributed equally among the arena lords?

“We have twelve arena lords here, and each of you will receive two sovereign rank bounties each.” Assistant Temple Master Gao continued, “However, this doesn’t mean that the sovereign rank bounties are yours alone to take. Upon receiving the sovereign rank bounties, you must first appraise your strength and foundation before deciding if you are qualified to resolve these bounties. If you are not, then you must give up on them. If we do not receive your declaration of concession six hours after the bounties have been distributed, then we will assume that you’ve accepted the responsibility to solve them. If you fail to complete the mission on time, then you will be charged with the same amount of spirit stones as the bounty you accepted.”

Jiang Chen finally understood everything was going to be processed. The sovereign rank bounties weren’t actually distributed evenly among the arena lords. If an arena lord didn’t believe that they could solve a particular bounty, then they had to give it up back to the Temple. If they didn’t, they would have to pay a compensation fee. Because of this, the sovereign rank bounties might not be boons, but hot potatoes instead.

“If you gave up your bounty in time, the rest of the arena lords will have the opportunity to take the bounty themselves. The arena lord who gave up the bounty doesn’t need to bear any responsibilities. Just the same, the arena lord who took over the bounty must pay a compensation fee if they fail to complete the mission in the end.

“If the person who took over the bounty ultimately succeeds, they must pay the arena lord who gave up the bounty ten percent of the reward as a gesture of encouragement.”

The sovereign rank bounties are certainly more interesting and serious. Jiang Chen was starting to looking forward to them. Considering how mysterious they made the bounties, he was sure that the rewards were very high.

Thirty million saint spirit stones were just the beginning. In fact, there is no cap on the reward. It wouldn’t be surprising if several bounties that worth several hundred million were to appear. Most importantly, the person who solved a sovereign rank mission gained more than just spirit stones. They would be gaining fame as well.

The sovereign rank bounties were the climax of the entire Bounty Arena and were problems that not just anyone could solve, so naturally they garnered plenty of attention. This meant that the arena lord who managed to solve one would earn both money and fame. That was exactly what Jiang Chen was looking for. It was the key to acquiring sufficient right of speech and initiative when bidding for Mu Gaoqi.

“Alright, all arena lords, please come up to the stage and receive the two sovereign rank bounties that have been distributed to you.

“The disparity of rewards between these sovereign rank bounties is quite large. It all depends on your luck.” That was what he said, but getting a highly rewarding sovereign rank bounty might not necessarily be a good thing.

After all, the reward of a bounty was proportional to its difficulty. If a bounty was too difficult to solve, then there was no point getting it in the first place. This was especially true considering that many of the sovereign rank bounties had remained unresolved in the Temple for a very long time already. Some of them remained unsolved even though they had passed through the hands of hundreds or even thousands of people. Therefore, there was no point in getting those relic-like bounties no matter how high their rewards were.

“Brother Shao, do you want me to help draw the lot for you?” Lin Zhirong asked cheerfully. “My luck has always been pretty good. You may not know this, but I’m a gambling addict since young. My luck is so good that I’ve never failed to get what I wanted in a casino. That’s why every casino in my area turn me away politely every time they see my face.”

Jiang Chen ignored Lin Zhirong’s offer however. He walked straight up to the stage. As much luck as Lin Zhirong might have, Jiang Chen still wished to do this himself.

“Emperor Peerless, you are the number one arena lord of this Bounty Arena. You may draw the first lot.” Assistant Temple Master Gao was very respectful towards Emperor Peerless. He allowed the great emperor to make the first pick. In reality, the order didn’t matter much. No one could read the contents of the bounty after all.

Emperor Peerless didn’t stand on ceremony either. After randomly picking two bounties from the lot, he returned to his own arena. The second person to go up was Pill King Blue Phoenix. He too randomly selected two missions. It was Wang Xuetong’s turn to draw the lot. The formation master turned around and smiled at Jiang Chen. “Young friend, do you wish to draw first?”

“It doesn’t matter who goes first, so feel free to make your pick, Master Wang.” Jiang Chen didn’t care who went first.

Wang Xuetong chuckled and rubbed his hands together. “I sure hope I could get two sovereign rank bounties that are suitable for my level of skills. It will be saddening if they turn out to be too easy or too difficult.”

Formation Master Wang Xuetong spoke everyone’s mind. Sovereign rank bounties were uncapped. So of course the best one was the one most suitable for him. After Wang Xuetong was done, it was Jiang Chen’s turn to draw.

Jiang Chen controlled two arenas, so he could draw a total of four sovereign rank bounties. He received two pill dao and two general zone related sovereign rank bounties. He returned to his own arena after he had obtained all four mission scrolls. 

Lin Zhirong immediately moved closer to him. “Come on, let’s have a look at the scrolls already.”

Lin Yanyu berated in a somewhat annoyed tone, “Don’t you think you’ve overstepped your line a little, sir? The arena lord has the first right to the sovereign rank bounties. They will only be passed down to the assistants if the arena lord decides to forfeit his right.”

It wasn’t that Lin Yanyu was jealous of Lin Zhirong. He just thought that Lin Zhirong was being very rude to his master. 

But Lin Zhirong was an easygoing person, so he laughed and replied, “Don’t worry, that’s not my intention. I just want to see what a sovereign rank bounty looks like.”

“Do take a look, everyone.” Jiang Chen lifted his hand and hung all four bounty scrolls on the arena. He showed the bounties to everyone without hesitation so that they all had an idea of what they were dealing with. 

At first, everyone was momentarily distracted by the arena lord’s generosity. Then, they all looked at the scrolls. A moment later, the assistants’ expression began to crumple one after another. It was obvious that the contents of these four bounties had shattered their delusions in an instant. Forget completing these missions, they found that even understanding the questions was a chore.

There was no such thing as an ‘easy’ sovereign rank bounty. Every single one of them was a highly difficult problem that almost no one could solve. Why else would the bounty posters offer such a high sum of reward?

Lin Zhirong clicked his tongue while sighing. “Holy shit, the lowest bounty is worth eighty million, and the highest bounty is worth five hundred million. Arena Lord Shao, your luck is downright extraordinary. Even my luck cannot get any better than this.”

The guy didn’t forget to praise himself even as he praised Jiang Chen. The latter smiled calmly. “All those who believe that you can solve any one of these bounties, take your pick.”

Temptation reared its head for a quick second when he said this. However, groans of lamentation quickly overtook them. Their desire to challenge was there, but they just didn’t possess the ability to realize their ambition.

Lin Zhirong said gloomily, “This is unfortunate. None of these missions are my kind of mission. Forget it, I guess I’m just not good enough to challenge a sovereign rank bounty.”

It was impossible that a normal assistant could take on a sovereign rank bounty. In fact, most arena lords had to give up on them. There might be many who could complete a bounty below one hundred million. But a bounty with a reward of one hundred million and above exceeded the capabilities of a normal arena lord.

Lin Yanyu had kept quiet up to now because he was thinking about the two pill dao bounties. One of the bounty was worth eighty million, and the other one was worthy five hundred million. The gap of difficulty between the two of them was enormous. The five hundred million bounty caused Lin Yanyu to feel dizzy just by looking at it, so he immediately tossed it out of his mind. On the other hand, the eighty million bounty felt doable to him.

“Why don’t you pick one, Yanyu?” Jiang Chen smiled encouragingly at Lin Yanyu.

A hint of eagerness appeared on Lin Yanyu’s face. Truth be told, he didn’t have one hundred percent confidence that he would be able to solve the eighty million bounty, but it didn’t feel completely hopeless either. Seeing the light of encouragement in his master’s eyes, Lin Yanyu clenched his teeth and declared, “Alright, I’ll pick one then.”

The rest of the assistants looked at Lin Yanyu in surprise. They were obviously shocked by the courage he displayed.