Sou! The Shen Imperial Clan elders looked at the scene in surprise they also paid close attention to the form of the Feng Clan youngster and his group, as did many of the powers that remained hidden.
The woman in white looked at the six individuals who stood at the apex of the stairway with a strange gleam in her eyes, shorty, a smile could be seen on her face as she whispered to herself.
"Chosen are born... when Dragons rise, and Tigers fall...." Her voice trailed off into the wind which began to flow towards the stairs, trailing all the way upwards passing the struggling geniuses making its way to the apex of the stairway.
∞ ∞ ∞
It was an incredible work of art, at the limits of the sky that stood at the end of the stairway, was an unusually broad foothold stretching across a vast region of the space for many kilometers.
If one looked from a high angle, they would see only a single platform in this area that had two lifelike sculptures of a black and a white dragon coiled around its edges. These dragons gave off the impression that they could come to life at any moment in time as their eyes gleamed with a strange glow of intelligence.
Standing proudly on this platform were six figures each who seem to have the bearing of an expert of a different class. The pressure in this area was more than one hundred folds compared to the steps below the platform. As they stood within this overwhelming pressure, the sound cracking bones and ripping muscles could be heard as their bodies were pushed to its limits in resisting the terrifying force.
Soon, however, they were not alone.
Sou! Sou! Sou! Sou!
Quickly, a few more individuals appeared on the platform seems to have struggled through a fierce battle.
Ji Weng, Xuan Bei, Tang Wu, Xin Qing, Lang Kuang and Miren Fei looked towards the central platform before them with shock as they saw the forms standing there unmoving.
"What are they doing over---?" As Ji Weng was about to question what was happening on the platform in front of them, a change occurred.
Buzz! "Congratulations for making it to the limit of Dragon Stairway! You now have a choice: To leave now and be rewarded with a small dragon token or to partake in the 'Chosen Wars' by staying on the platform you see before you, withstanding its pressure for no more than an incense stick of time. Choose Wisely..." An ancient voice said which flowed into the minds of all the geniuses then faded away once more to nothingness.
"So, this is the final test," Tang Wu said as he looked at the figures of Feng Yu, Dai Lin, Hui Ying and the others that stood proudly on the platform with their hands behind their backs.
Xin Qing felt a fire in her body lit up as her competitive spirit rose upon seeing them standing on the platform without a sweat, "I will not lose to any of you..."
Lang Kuang and Miren Fei looked at Feng Yu and Dai Lin and gripped their fists firmly as they nodded towards each other making their decisions, "We cannot fall behind the Young Master and Squad Leader!"
Xuan Bei frowned as he saw Dai Lin and the others, he gritted his teeth and said, "Hmph! This Prince will not lose to a band of vagabonds and lower-class talents from my kingdom."
As if they were planned beforehand, they all responded in unison, "We will accept the challenge!"
As their voices reverberated throughout the space, a short moment passed before the ancient voice was heard once more.
"Very well! Let the final challenge of the Ascension Phase begin!" It said before fading away.
Phew! Instantly, multiple beams of light shot from the black and white dragons that teleported each of the geniuses onto the platform.
As soon as they appeared on the platform, the geniuses were instantly tossed into a state of peril.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Within a moment all of them had fallen to their knees unable to lift their bodies upward, as a towering pressure came over their forms. Their bones start crackling as if trying to break apart as their muscles began to show signs of rupturing.
"Arrghh! I will not give up!" Tang Wu roared as he gathered all his strength of his fleshy body and powered his willpower to force himself to stand as his leg muscles tore and blood started to flow from his legs.
Miren Fei and Lang Kuang also had a similar struggle as Miren Fei's body seemed to glow in a strange jade-like her body seemed to be identical to that of jade, as it helped her to mitigate most of the pressure allowing her to barely lift herself to her knees.
She thought to herself, "My body was also unusual since birth innately attuned to the forces of jade... but even with this I am only barely capable of barely resisting this force."
Lang Kuang's body started to break as his muscles bulged and a bit of white silver wolf hair came over its surface. He cried out while thinking, "Arghh! If not for my Sacred White Wolf Physique, my state would be even worse that Tang Wu's."
A bit of blood could be seen flowing from his arms and legs at the places where his skin was torn.
Xin Qing could only lift herself to her knees and remain in crossed legged posture as she utilized all her willpower to keep conscious and prevented her body from being torn to pieces, while Ji Weng and Xuan Bei pushed all their efforts into standing to bear the pressure as a man should.
The influences of these geniuses could only offer cheers as they observe their geniuses struggling with the pressure.
"Good! That's my Qing'er! Do not give up! You have to grit your teeth and bear it!" Xin Zhu shouted excitedly as his old eyes looked proudly at his goddaughter.
"Now that is the Tang Family spirit!" Tang Fei said as he looked at his nephew proudly.
Xiang Tian looked at his son Xiang Shu in surprise as he had just realized that his son was standing on the platform as if it was like a breeze.
"When did Shu'er get so strong? What's going on here?" Xiang Tian said as he looked at the scene in shock.
The Town Lord seeing this complained, "Clan Leader Xiang, previously said that your son was not talented if that's so, then what am I seeing now? Did you hide his potential before to show off?"
"Haha! I didn't know, he hid his true strength from me too?" Xiang Tian replied with embarrassment and hints of surprise.
"Hmph!" Huan Mang snorted as he looked at Xiang Shu with killing intent in his heart.
On the side of the Feng Can, Elder Duan and Elder Chen were surprised as they looked at the few talents who were withstanding the pressure with ease beside Feng Yu.
"Such strength! It looks like Yu Child is going to be in for quite the fight," Elder Duan said.
"Un. These geniuses aren't too bad," Elder Chen commented.
"Indeed. That southern wasteland youth and those three from the Golden Dragon Empire are in no way inferior to the talent of the sacred domain. What they lack though is the different training environment," Feng Junling replied as he looked at them with interest.
However, he soon shifted his gaze and looked at Xiang Shu with a strange light in his eyes.
"Brother, that Xiang Shu is a rather strange one. I'm pretty sure he was not this powerful a few months ago. How do you explain this kind of strength?" Feng Yunlong asked as he was also looking at Xiang Shu's figure curiosity.
"There are a few theories... but those should be impossible..." Feng Junling replied vaguely.
"Hmm...." Feng Yunlong looked on silently.
Feng Xingyu looked at the trial and yawned before closing her eyes and not paying attention to the rest of the tests.
Back on the platform, Feng Yu looked at the individuals while controlling his strength to resist the pressure. Noticing the ease at which they were handling the force, he couldn't help but feel a bit curious regarding these geniuses.
He then glanced towards Dai Lin and saw that he was approaching his limits soon, he then looked around at the mysterious spear youth and the southern wasteland youth who returned a look of their own.
"You are strong..." The mysterious spear youth said calmly as if the pressure couldn't inhibit his speech.
"So are you bot
h..." Feng Yu replied as he looked at the two of them calmly.
The southern wasteland youth smiled oddly and closed his eyes paying no more attention to Feng Yu.
"Hmph! For a local aboriginal you are quite powerful but still not a match for me, Xia Rou!" The pretty young girl arrogantly said.
"For a pretty lady like yourself to have such a sharp tongue! You ought to be careful as men will only find it hard to be attracted to the young miss," Hui Ying retorted as he calmly stood by Feng Yu's side.
"You bastard! You dare to mock me! Ouch!" As she was angered by Hu Ying's statement, Xia Rou got distracted and suffered a minor injury because of the pressure.
"Haha! Sister Rou, even outsiders, are starting to become wary, I've told you once before. Now you've gotten warned by another and ended up getting injured," The brawny youth said adding fuel to the fire.
"Shut up!" Xia Rou roared as she channelled a strange kind of power that helped her resist the pressure.
Sensing this energy Feng Yu became stunned, "Mageforce..." But soon he cleared his mood and thought once more, "These guys..." He looked at the side finally resting his vision on an indifferent form.
Xiang Shu looked at Feng Yu calmly in silence, seeing this Feng Yu felt it even stranger. He decided to face the matter with a cold glint in his eyes, "Who are you?" Feng Yu asked in a deep voice.
Xiang Shu hearing this was stunned, but soon a strange maleficent smile came over his face as he responded, "Young Master of the Feng Clan, who do you think I am? I am but who I am..."
Dai Lin who was listening as he heard this felt a strange sense of danger as he looked towards Xiang Shu silently and then towards Feng Yu who returned a glance before continuing to focus on the pressure.
Quickly time passed, and the incense stick of time soon ended for the last trials.
Buzz! Suddenly there was a change on the platform, as the coiling dragons soon erupted a bright light from their eyes.
Phew! In an instant, the pressure was lifted and the geniuses on the platform, all collapsed to the floor as they regulated their powers to heal their injuries. Now, there were about 50 different geniuses who made it to the final platform and withstood the pressure of the last trial.
Feng Yu and Dai Lin walked towards Miren Fei and Lang Kuang as they grouped at a corner of the stage.
"How was it? Did you enjoy the Trial?" Feng Yu asked them with a smile on his face.
"Reporting to Young Master! This Trial was very beneficial as it seems that my control regarding my special physique has increased," said Lang Kuang excitedly.
Miren Fei also smiled as she wiped the sweat from her forehead and responded, "This one had no problems, Young Master!"
"Hmm, good! Make the best of the time to heal up, we don't know what could happen next," Feng Yu as he walked turned around and faced the geniuses of the platform who were now readying themselves.
Soon, a voice could be heard once more.
"Well done! You have completed the first phase of the challenge. You remaining talents are now eligible for the battle of Chosen's. The battles will begin at dawn, so make use of the time you have to recover from your injuries!" The voice said as a beam scattered around the platform creating an invisible barrier as the talents of the influences were sent into a vast space.
Chapter 50
__
The Chosen Wars
Within the town of Machen, inside of the central square, the members of the Feng Clan calmly observed the scene before them as they looked at the figure who remained seated in a crossed-legged posture waiting for the battle of chosen to begin.
Feng Yunlong, Feng Junling, and Feng Xingyu were currently discussing matters amongst themselves.
"Are you certain Eldest Brother?" Feng Xingyu asked as she looked at Feng Junling with a severe expression.
Feng Yunlong also looked at Feng Junling with a pensive expression as the mood between the three of them became a solemn one.
"That's right! While I'm not certain for sure regarding the methods used by this divine prophet, I have a hunch regarding the energies used when summoning the Ascending Dragon Platform," Feng Junling replied with certainty.
He looked towards the beautiful white-robed woman that stood between the strange men and women on the platform and recalled the scene of her snapping her fingers causing the Ascending Dragon Platform to rise from its slumber.
"Hmm, Junling, if what you speculate is true. Wouldn't this mean that she is related to them?" Feng Yunlong stated as he looked at Feng Junling.
"It's best not to draw our conclusions too early. Maybe, it's nothing more than a coincidence..." Feng Junling then replied with a pondering expression but soon he cleared his thoughts and spoke once again but this time through voice transmission.
"Also, I am feeling a rather strange presence within the central square, I don't know what or who it is, so we should exercise a bit of caution..." Feng Junling said.
Hearing his elder brother's words Feng Yunlong was surprised, he promptly spread his spiritual sense about the square but found nothing unusual. Still, he did not show any confused expression on his face as he calmly replied, "I do not sense anything out of the ordinary, but I will have them keep on alert!"
Upon saying this, he looked towards his attendant with the crimson mask who stood silently by his side and nodded.
Sou! The crimson-masked man vanished as went towards the Feng Mansion at full speed.
The woman in the white robes seated on the platform observing the scene smiled as she looked on the platform with a slight amount of reminiscence visible in her eyes.
However, the melancholic atmosphere soon faded as she looked towards her attendant and spoke, "The Chosen Wars will soon begin, are the preparations complete?" She asked in a soft voice.
"Reporting to the Young Lady! All preparations have been completed," One of the individuals dressed in white said.
"Good!" She said as he focused her gaze back on the scene with a slightly excited light shining deep within her eyes.
The Sky Splitting Sword School elders seeing this sighed slightly as they looked on in reverence.
Xuan Lie frowned as he saw this scene, he looked around the central square at the various influences and saw that a few of them had individuals that were missing. Feeling something was off he whispered something to Fei Tan who then left the platform.
"Dear, is there a problem?" Madam Xuan who was standing beside Xuan Lie asked.
"Un. It appears that this 'Chosen War' may be the prelude to what we seek," Xuan Lie replied as a determined look appeared on his face.
The man from the Midnight Temple smiled with a strange light in his eyes, he then swept his gaze towards the Southern Wasteland Group, the Golden Dragon Empire's Group and the group at the side of the female Prophet.
As the major influences started to make their moves, the spectating practitioners observed the scene in glee.
"Did you see that? How those guys treated the pressure as if it was nothing but air? These youngsters certainly are the top amongst their generation," An individual said in excitement.
"Not necessarily, this was a trial that tests willpower, not strength. It won't be guaranteed that these kids could perform the same in actual combat," A different individual said.
"Hmm, so that's the reason. No wonder that youngster from the Feng Clan could keep up with those top characters. It seems that while he's a troublemaker, his strength of will is quite good." Another said.
Xiang Tian who was looking at the scene at his son Xiang Shu frowned when he overheard the groups’ conversation, "Could he truly be just a simple troublemaker? Or has he ascended to a new level of strength hiding his true power as Xiang Shu did?" He thought to himself.
The Town lord and his Wife were also discussing amongst themselves regarding the unusualness of the Feng Clan and Xiang Clan's son.
"Dear, don't you think it strange of the performances shown by both kids from these two clans? When did the Xiang Clan have anot
her Xiang Fang? And why is the Feng Clan child said to be troublemaker displaying such incredible ability?" His wife asked.
"..." The Town lord looked at the two figures on the screen and frowned slightly not bothering to reply to his wife's questions.
∞ ∞ ∞
As the talents stood within the space they were sent by the ancient voice, they quickly recovered from their injuries and observed the environment.
Feng Yu feeling the energies from the environment couldn't help but feel surprised as he said, "The energies gathered are about three times that of Tydol Mountain Range, while it is not at a level comparable to these sects or sacred grounds, it is still an ideal place for cultivation."
As he said this, he couldn't help but sit himself down and sensed the fire elements gathered with the energies.
Within a moment a stream of red essence-energies from the surroundings flowed towards Feng Yu's form as if he was a bottomless pit, the red energies poured into his body strengthening his inner veins and organs causing it to become purer a few tens of times quicker than in the outside world.
Feng Yu feeling this change was stunned as he stopped for a moment before pondering, "Such a terrifying cultivation speed! Is this the true extent of my aura pulse? It seems that due to cultivating in an environment with a severe lack of elemental essence-energies, I was not able to fully utilize its potential."
Feng Yu couldn't help but feel slightly excited as he found that his body was more incredible than he had previously thought, a few of the talents who were near Feng Yu looked around in shock as they had no idea what just occurred.
However, there were a few special ones that noticed the source of the cause.
The mysterious spear youth, the southern wasteland youth, Hui Ying and a few others looked towards Feng Yu with a thoughtful expression.
"His latent talent should be at the very least comparable to my own. I wonder, what kind of aura pulse does he have?" Thought the mysterious spear youth.
"Interesting, a little meaning..." The southern wasteland youth spoke with a tone of increased interest.
Dual Sword God Box Set Page 33