Meng Chuan and Meng Dajiang pricked up their ears to listen.
They weren’t privy to a lot of intelligence. They hadn’t heard of many geniuses. After all, the Meng family was only an ordinary Godfiend family clan in Eastcalm Prefecture. The matriarch of the family clan, Fairy Meng, hadn’t been admitted into Archean Mountain. It was normal for them to be ignorant.
As time passed, more and more people gathered in the square. It was especially so for the locals of Archean City. Many of them were accompanied by three to five elders.
Boom!
Finally, the doors of Blazing Sun Palace closed. People were barred from entering after the appointed time.
It’s about to begin. The three hundred-plus youths felt their hearts tighten.
Chapter 75 - Imperial Capital's Chu Yong
“The Godfiends are here!” someone exclaimed.
Meng Chuan, Meng Dajiang, and Yan Jin raised their heads and saw three streaks of light fly over. They could barely make out the three figures flying towards them. The leader was a linen-clothed man. Behind him were a cyan-clothed woman and a sloppy man.
Huh? Meng Chuan and Yan Jin felt stabbing pain in their eyes. Their heartbeats quickened, and their lifeblood turned unstable. They hurriedly looked down, afraid of looking straight at them.
None of the mortals dared to take another look. Meng Dajiang also lowered his head slightly.
“Flight with just the body?”
“These three can actually fly with their bodies. Only Marquis Godfiends can fly.”
“Every Archean Mountain entrance examination would have a Regis Godfiend and two Marquis Godfiends presiding and managing it. The one leading the group is King East River!” As the bustling crowd lowered their heads, they conversed via voice transmissions. One could release their Quintessential Energy to transmit voice transmissions once they were in the Force realm. Most of the people present were capable of sending voice transmissions.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The three Archean Mountain Godfiends landed at another spot in Blazing Sun Palace.
“Everyone, King East River and the two Godfiends have arrived.” There were some stewards inside the Blazing Sun Palace as well. One of them, a goateed man, loudly said, “All who are participating in Archean Mountain’s entrance examination, line up according to the names I call out. The first one is Dragoncloud State’s Wu Chang. Second, Jiang State’s Zhang Ping. Third…”
Names were called out one by one. Youths lined up as their names were called.
“87th, Wu State’s Meng Chuan.”
After hearing that, Meng Dajiang immediately said, “It’s your turn now, hurry over.”
“Okay.” Meng Chuan immediately ran to the back of the long line.
“88th, Archean City’s Qi Chou.” Another young man stood behind Meng Chuan.
…
A total of 312 people were participating in Archean Mountain’s entrance examination this year.
“All of you, follow me.” said the goateed man loudly. He walked ahead, and the three hundred-plus geniuses followed him obediently. Be it princes or princesses, children of Regis Godfiends, or extremely talented geniuses, all of them followed the rules. When they saw the auras of the Regis Godfiend and the two Marquis Godfiends, they had felt the astonishing difference in strength.
Just a glance from a distance caused their lifeblood to become chaotic. This made them even more eager to become Godfiends.
After they left the square, they passed through a palace door.
They arrived at a small palace yard, where a group of Godfiends were seated in the distance. The Godfiends who had escorted the geniuses from the twenty-three states of the Great Zhou Dynasty—such as Marquis Southcloud and the others—were all chatting and laughing. King East River—who was in charge of presiding over the entrance examination—was seated at the seat of honor while the other two Marquis Godfiends were seated to his sides.
King East River was dressed in linen clothes. He restrained his aura, making him appear like an ordinary person. However, his bearing was dissimilar to a mortal’s.
“Marquis West Sea, your son comprehended Force at the age of thirteen. His talent can be said to be extremely high! He can be given an additional spot and directly enter Archean Mountain. Why did he participate in the test?” King East River laughed.
Marquis West Sea—who was seated beside him—immediately laughed and said, “Senior Brother, that kid of mine has always had a mind of his own. Two months ago, he comprehended Force and insisted on participating in Archean Mountain’s entrance examination. He said that he was going to compete with all the elites in the world. This kid didn’t think through it. He has just comprehended Force, and his competitors are far older than him. Most of them are at higher cultivation realms and have richer battle experience than him. Isn’t he just seeking trouble for himself? But he still insisted on coming.”
“It’s good to broaden his horizons.” King East River smiled as he swept his gaze across the three hundred-plus geniuses walking over. His face changed slightly.
“Humph.” King East River suddenly let out a cold snort—it was as if thunder was echoing out in all directions of the palace yard.
The three hundred-plus people were shocked. Even the Godfiends were astonished.
“Our Archean Mountain limits participants’ age to twenty years old or younger,” said King East River. “Among the 312 of you, one of you has already exceeded twenty years of age. If you step out obediently, you will be punished lightly. If I catch you, I believe you will regret it for the rest of your life.”
“Exceed twenty?” Meng Chuan and company broke out in a commotion.
Suddenly, two youths walked out of the group. The two exchanged glances, both stunned.
One of them bowed respectfully in the direction of the Godfiends. “I am Yu Wanfeng from the Chang State. I was an orphan that was later adopted by the Yu family. I don’t know my true age either.”
The other youth said respectfully, “I am Tian Gu from the An State. When I was a child, my hometown was invaded by demons and I wandered the land. I was young back then, and I don’t know my exact age either. When the Tian family adopted me, they decided that I was five years old.”
“An State’s Tian Gu, you are twenty-one years old,” said King East River. “You have exceeded the limit and it’s against the rules of Archean Mountain. Since you’ve admitted it, go serve in the military for ten years.”
“Yes.” The youth bowed respectfully.
Normally, military service lasted five years.
However, some took the initiative to extend their military service. For example, Meng Dajiang had been in military service for ten years. The dean of Mirror Lake Dao Academy, Ge Yu, had spent twelve years in Qinyang Pass before he had created his saber art. Therefore, serving in the military for ten years was considered a slap on the wrist. This was also due to the fact that the other party had taken the initiative to step forward, and had been a vagrant during his childhood.
Regis Godfiends can tell the age of all three hundred of us at a glance? Meng Chuan was secretly surprised. He knew that Archean Mountain had the means to assess the participants’ ages, but he had never expected that it took only a glance from a Godfiend.
Tian Gu from the An State obediently left. He had no right to participate in the entrance examination.
As for Yu Wanfeng, he was somewhat glad. Clearly, his actual age had not exceeded the limits.
…
311 youths stood there, while a large group of relatives entered the palace. However, there were railings blocking them from approaching.
“Everyone.” The sloppy-looking man seated next to King East River rose to his feet. He took a few steps forward, then looked at the geniuses before saying with a laugh, “Archean Mountain’s entrance examination is held over two days. Today is the preliminary selection, and tomorrow will be the final selection.”
“The preliminaries are divided into three s
egments. Every segment requires one to reach the minimum threshold. Those who can’t reach the threshold will be eliminated immediately. After the three segments, an overall score will be tabulated. The top 100 will pass the preliminaries, and the rest will all be eliminated.”
“The first segment of the preliminaries…” The sloppy-looking man flicked his sleeve, and layers of light appeared in front of him. These light barriers were a hundred feet long, three hundred feet wide, and an inch thick. There were approximately two hundred of these dense light barriers.
“According to your order, each of you will use your full strength to attack me. Remember, you are not allowed to use forbidden Godfiend spells. The more barriers you break through, the better the result. The lowest requirement is twenty barriers. If you aren’t able to break through twenty barriers, you will be eliminated. Let’s begin.” The sloppy-looking man stood there, easily controlling the light barriers.
“First up, Dragoncloud State’s Wu Chang,” announced the goateed man immediately.
A dark-skinned youth came forward solemnly. He drew his thick saber, took a step forward, and chopped down furiously. Instantly, a black saber beam cleaved the light barriers with a furious roar, causing the light barriers to be penetrated.
“37 layers. Next, Jiang State’s Zhang Ping,” shouted the goateed man.
…
Each person only had one chance and could only use one move. Grievances about not performing up to mark was useless. In a life-and-death battle with demons, there were no retries.
“29 layers. Next, Imperial Capital’s Chu Yong.” This person’s name attracted the attention of many people.
“Imperial Capital’s Chu Yong?” Meng Chuan also paid more attention. Although he didn’t know much about all the geniuses in the world, he had heard of Chu Yong. He was recognized as the number one genius of the imperial capital’s younger generation. Seven years ago, his name had already spread throughout the world. He had also joined the Archean Mountain’s test this year.
The tall Chu Yong wore black robes and carried a large saber on his back. He immediately drew his saber, and his body was covered by black lightning. The terrifying might alarmed all the geniuses present as they felt a sense of oppression.
Meng Chuan was also alarmed. The pressure this person exuded was even stronger than those demon commanders.
“Open!” He shouted like thunder.
The saber struck the light barriers with black lightning. Boom—
The light barriers were instantly destroyed, leaving only a small number intact.
“191!” shouted the goateed man loudly. The crowd was in an uproar. There were already fifty-three geniuses who had their turn. None of them tore through the hundredth layer, but Chu Yong had managed 191 layers! The difference was indeed astonishing.
Everyone present stared at him.
This was too shocking.
Many spectating relatives were shocked as well. Only a one-eyed elder was laughing. “Haha, that’s my grandson. How’s my grandson? Say something!”
What a powerful strike. Meng Dajiang was amazed as well. He had prided himself over his son, but the power of this strike still shocked him. This was a strike that could match a newly-advanced Godfiend. He was terrifying even without using a forbidden Godfiend spell!
Chapter 76 - Meng Chuan’s Turn
Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon
Meng Chuan was also impressed by Chu Yong. It was no wonder he was so famous. He was indeed very strong!
After Chu Yong executed his slash, he calmly retracted his saber and turned around to leave. A new genius stepped forward and pierced through the 32nd layer with his sword.
One by one, geniuses executed one move. Each one of them was extremely attentive whenever it was their turn to attack the light barriers.
“Next Yan Feng from Yuan State,” shouted the goateed man.
No one present really cared about him.
Yan Feng was tall and handsome; he had a unique pair of blood-red eyebrows. He was a man, but had the feminine name “Feng,” meaning phoenix.
As he held his black spear, the red tassels on its grip fluttered.
“Break!” Yan Feng suddenly charged forward. After three steps, he thrust his spear forward.
The spear shot out like a dragon! It transformed into a wyrm that pierced through the light barriers, creating a huge hole. His result was very close to Chu Yong, causing everyone present to be shocked.
“182 layers!” The goateed man’s voice was high-pitched as he carefully observed the red-browed man.
“Yan Feng?”
“Yuan State’s Yan Feng? Where did he come from? Why is he so strong?”
“Over 70 geniuses have attacked the light barriers, but only two—Chu Yong and Yan Feng—can break a hundred light barriers. The former cleaved through 191 layers, and the latter pierced through 182 layers. They are much stronger than the others.” Many people were speechless.
Even the Godfiends found it unbelievable.
“Brother Gongsun, your Yuan State was too secretive. There are very few records of this Yan Feng on Archean Mountain. He was treated as an ordinary genius,” said a Godfiend with a laugh as he looked at the dossier. When they came to watch the competition, they received a dossier. It recorded every geniuses’—that were present—information.
“I really didn’t know.” Gongsun Qi laughed as well. “You might not believe me, but according to what I know, Yan Feng is from an ordinary mortal family and not from a Godfiend family clan. When he was twelve years old, his hometown was invaded by demons, and his parents died. From then on, he wandered the world… He’s nineteen this year. When he returned to his hometown, he displayed his strength and came to participate in Archean Mountain’s entrance examination.”
“How can a mortal from an ordinary family produce such strength? His Godfiend body is comparable to Chu Yong’s. The Chu family used eight precious treasures to nurture Chu Yong.”
Everyone discussed.
Marquis Southcloud laughed. “I remember that 3000 years ago, Godfiend Kou Cheng had consumed Undying Grass when he was a youth, and his eyebrows turned blood-red. Yan Feng’s eyebrows are also blood-red. Could it be that he has also consumed Undying Grass?”
“Undying Grass? A single portion of Undying Grass is indeed capable of forging an incomparably robust Godfiend foundation.” King East River nodded.
“To have Undying Grass directly consumed by a mortal is quite a waste. It only allows for 30% of its medicinal effects to be utilized.”
“Yan Feng’s strike is quite extraordinary. He’s already reached the peak of Spear Force and is only a step away from gaining insights into Spear Intent. It wouldn’t be a waste for him to consume the Undying Grass.” These powerful Godfiends casually commented. Most of them were Marquis Godfiends. They were here to watch the competition only because they had to escort the geniuses from their respective states.
They didn’t care about ordinary geniuses. They hoped that a truly peerless genius would appear and fight alongside them in the future.
…
After Yan Feng, seven more people went up before it was finally Meng Chuan’s turn.
“33rd layer. Next one, Wu State’s Meng Chuan,” the goateed man shouted. Many gazes landed on Meng Chuan.
In the eyes of some people, Meng Chuan was one of the top ten youths at this year’s entrance examination. There was only one well-known achievement to his name: Killing two demon commanders in a row with one strike each!
Marquis Southcloud sat and watched from afar.
Chuan’er. Meng Dajiang watched nervously.
Meng Chuan calmly walked forward.
This was the Archean Mountain entrance examination, so he naturally had to go all out. Other than not using the Power of the Soul, he didn’t hold back at all.
I’ve waited twelve years for this day. In an instant, he merged his body and mind completely.
He had been pushing his limits all these years,
and his meridians were extremely resilient and wide. His Quintessential Essence instantly increased fifteen-fold to the normal volume. After his Saber Force merged with his Quintessential Essence, he used some of the secrets to Five Lightning Descent. Lightning began to snake around his body and became denser as time passed.
Whoosh.
An aqueous saber beam lit up and cleaved through the light barriers. Following that, the saber beam disappeared, and he sheathed his saber. The drawing and sheathing of his saber happened so quickly it was as if he hadn’t even moved.
Strength really isn’t my forte. Meng Chuan sighed inwardly and turned to leave.
“79 layers. Next is Archean City’s Qi Chou,” the goateed man shouted. A new genius came forward to attack.
The Godfiends were all puzzled as they flipped through their dossiers.
“Only 79 layers? Brother Southcloud, isn’t it said that he killed demon commanders with a single strike? He even killed two of them in a row. He did that with such strength?” asked a Godfiend.
“Demon commanders have tenacious bodies, and although Meng Chuan’s saber art is considered not bad among human geniuses, he will take a few dozen strikes to kill a demon commander. One strike? I’m afraid he’s not powerful enough to do that.”
They had sharp eyes.
“He only managed to kill two demon commanders in a row in order to save Liu Qiyue.” Marquis Southcloud smiled. “He’s normally not that strong.”
“I see.”
“He unleashed greater strength while saving others?” All of the Godfiends were somewhat disappointed. They wanted to find a peerless genius among the three hundred-plus geniuses. Meng Chuan—who was a promising candidate—was weaker than they had expected.
…
Soon, it was Yan Jin’s turn.
“26 layers. Next, Wu State’s Yan Jin.”
“137 layers!” A slightly high-pitched voice rang out. He was the third person who had passed 100 layers.
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