The most important thing in martial arts was the hierarchy of martial artists, and Feng Luo’s previous actions could practically be considered a grave breach of these unspoken rules, so even if he had killed him, the Feng Clan would dare not make a fuss about it.
“Brother Ling, congratulations!”
“Congratulations, Brother Ling, for having such an excellent son.”
“Brother Ling, this time you’ll have to host a dinner banquet in celebration.”
After looking up at the stage, many of the major characters of the various clans of Gray Cloud Town began offering their congratulations to Ling Dong Xing.
Ling Dong Xing naturally laughed loudly at this, absolutely delighted. Before, he had also imagined such a scene happening, but he knew this was not a realistic dream. He never thought that there would be a day that this dream would become reality.
“Hahahaha, this stupid brat is just lucky enough to obtain a place of enrollment into Hu Yang Academy. There shouldn’t be any chance of him advancing further than this,” he shook his head, looking very modest.
Actually, anyone could see that he was smiling so wide that the corners of his lips seemed like they were about to split apart from the effort. It was obvious that he was close to being beside himself with joy.
True, whoever it was that had a son that was qualified enough to enter into Hu Yang Academy, he would also smile so proudly.
“Brother Ling, you don’t have to be so modest. For those of us who came from Gray Cloud Town, it is already very impressive to be able to enter the top fifty! Moreover, your son is only seventeen years old this year. So he’d still be able to enter the Da Yuan Tournament that will be held three years later and six years later. Who knows, maybe in the next tournament, he’d qualify for the top ten, and in the one after, he’d place first,” someone said with a laugh.
Although Ling Han had fought a beautiful battle this time, but still, his opponents this time were really too weak. None of them thought that he, with his cultivation of only the fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier, would be able to enter the top ten, let alone defeat those in the ninth layer of Element Gathering Tier, like the Fourth Prince.
Ling Dong Xing laughed mischievously. He of course could not say that his son was full of grand ambitions, and that he was aiming directly to get the first place this time.
Honestly, he too did not dare believe it. After all, the gap between cultivation levels was too great.
Ling Han walked down the stage, and everyone stepped forward to offer their congratulations. After all, anyone who managed to enter into Hu Yang Academy had excellent prospects in his future. Who knows, they may be able to become an overnight celebrity and become a person that would hold immense status and power in this Rain Country.
As a result, no one would mind speaking a few words of praise at this moment. In any case, they wouldn’t lose anything from it, right? And if Ling Han managed to end up with great achievements in the future, they’d be able to climb to a higher status using their friendly relations with him.
Ling Dong Xing, as the Clan Head of the Ling Clan, was no stranger to this kind of social niceties. He took care of everything, making everyone feel that they have been paid adequate attention.
Father and son, as well as Liu Yu Tong, returned to Heaven’s Medicine Pavilion. After one night of rest, the battles to decide the top ten from the fifty who advanced into the second round would take place.
In truth, the top ten would all receive rewards. Of course, the further ahead your placement, the better your prize.
On the other side, Li Hao had also managed to advance into the top fifty, and had demonstrated extraordinary talent with his Saber Qi, causing many people to be very optimistic about his future prospects as there were no more than ten in this generation of young people of Da Yuan City that have managed to form “Qi”.
However, some of the senior members of the Li Clan had arrived with Li Hao, so naturally, they had to celebrate with their own people first the night before. Thus, they did not invite Ling Han, and neither did they invite Liu Dong and the others. But once they returned to Guo Rock Town, the Li Clan would definitely hold a grand celebratory banquet.
The next day, Ling Han and Liu Yu Tong once again arrived at the Wrestling Ring of the city. Meanwhile, Zhu He Xin and Zhang Wei Shan were in the process of concocting the Reverse Pill, and have long since entered the Oblivious Mode, so they did not come to watch Ling Han compete. [1]
“Big Brother Ling!” Li Hao walked over and stood by his side. He then directed a respectful gaze at the Fourth Prince, Li Dong Yue and the others. They had all been people that he had once idolized and looked up to. He’d never thought that he would be able to compete with them now, causing him to feel unreasonably exhilarated.
“Do not look down on yourself. You have already formed Saber Qi, so your future achievements will definitely exceed them!” Ling Han said, giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder.
“En!” Li Hao nodded seriously. In truth, the real difference between himself and the Fourth Prince and the others was his lacking cultivation level. But since he’s already managed to form Saber Qi, he too would be able to become a ruler amongst those of the same cultivation level in future.
“Brother Ling!” When they saw Ling Han approach, the Fourth Prince and the others clasped their hands politely and spoke up in greeting.
Li Hao could not help gaping at this. This Ling Han was really too popular, wasn’t he? As if he was the moon which the stars could only revolve around. Even the Fourth Prince was not as popular as he was!
That was natural. Currently, there stood three dignified Black Grade alchemists behind him, so from a certain angle, he was even more influential than the Da Yuan King.
“The battles to decide the Top Ten will begin now!” The Chief Butler appeared. His eyes were squinted, making him look like a doddering old man. However, his voice was extremely loud and clear, spreading to every nook and cranny of the Wrestling Ring.
“The rules are very simple. There are ten tournament stages here. Choose any which one and walk onto the stage. If there’s no one there, then you will be the Stage Master. If there’s already someone, then you will challenge the Stage Master.”
“Everyone will only have a single chance to challenge the Stage Master.”
“By sundown, the ten people who are remaining on the tournament stage will be the Top Ten.”
This was indeed very simple. They simply had to battle it out.
When the Chief Butler had finished speaking, the majority of the participants all looked at the Fourth Prince, Li Dong Yue, and the others. These people possessed overwhelming power, so if any of the others wanted to obtain a place in the Top Ten, then they’d definitely want to avoid encountering these powerful warriors.
The Fourth Prince laughed loudly, and exuded the air of a ruler. He gave a great leap and landed on the first tournament stage, where he stood with his arms crossed behind his waist, waiting to be challenged.
“I’ll present myself first!” Li Dong Yue leapt onto the second tournament stage.
Jin Wuji, Baili Teng Yun, Xia Zhong and the others also respectively claimed a tournament stage, and in an instant, seven tournament stages were “owned”. These people all had absolute confidence and were not the slightest bit worried that they’d be tired out by fighting one battle after another.
Ling Han took one step forward, also preparing to step onto one of the remaining stages.
“Big Brother Ling, let’s just wait until the afternoon. We’ll have a bigger chance that way,” Li Hao hurriedly advised.
“Haha, it’s fine. There are not many here who can match me,” Ling Han gave a nonchalant wave of his hand. He gave a great leap and landed on the eighth tournament stage.
Soon after, the ninth and tenth tournament stages were also occupied, and with that, the ten Stage Masters have appeared. Now, it was time to see who would go up to challenge them.
“I’ll go
!” Someone jumped up onto the tenth tournament stage and the first battle began. Right after, another person leapt up onto the ninth tournament stage. But what made the audience feel very curious about was that no one actually went to challenge Ling Han.
There was no lack of elites in the ninth layer of Element Gathering Tier here, so naturally they should be able to sense that Ling Han was only in the fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier. So theoretically, this kind of cultivation level was the lowest of all ten Stage Masters, but why didn’t anyone go up to challenge him?
They didn’t understand. The majority of those who advanced into the top fifty had attended the Fourth Prince’s banquet just a few days ago, so of course they knew that Ling Han actually had the support of three Black Grade alchemists. Who would dare challenge him?
Do you not intend to give face to the three alchemists behind Ling Han?
In any case, aside from the Fourth Prince, Li Dong Yue, and other such powerful warriors, there were still two or three slightly weaker competitors. So there was no need for them to stir up the hornet’s nest that was Ling Han.
But of course, the unexpected could still happen.
“I will challenge you!” A young man jumped up onto Ling Han’s tournament stage. He was a dark horse that had suddenly appeared in the Da Yuan Tournament this time, so he had not received an invitation to the Fourth Prince’s banquet a few days ago. As a result, he naturally had no idea of Ling Han’s background.
Chapter 69
Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu
“My name is Du Zheng Ying. Remember my name, because soon, this name will be known all around the world!” The young man exclaimed proudly.
This man looked to be in his early twenties, and his cultivation level was the sixth layer of Element Gathering Tier. Who knew where he got such overwhelming self-confidence from.
But only he himself knew that he had only been in the ninth layer of Body Refining Tier two years ago, and could not manage to break through to Element Gathering Tier. Yet he obtained a fateful encounter, which caused his cultivation level to spike up. After only two years, he was already in the sixth layer of Element Gathering Tier.
After such instantaneous success, he naturally became condescending towards everything, and thought that he’d be able to reach the ninth layer of Element Gathering Tier next year and break through to Gushing Spring Tier in the year after, sweeping away all the other geniuses and elites of the world.
Ling Han smiled calmly, and said, “Being too idle would be a bit boring anyways, so I’ll play with you for a while.”
“How dare you!” Du Zheng Ying leapt forward suddenly, the long saber at his waist drawn. The light of the saber flickered, exuding a coldness like frost. He gave a loud shout and brandished his saber in a slash, which formed a terrifying cold flash that flew towards Ling Han’s waist.
The advantage of a sword was its lightness, while the saber had its ferocity. This saber slash was fierce and merciless, so it did have a certain level of standard.
Ling Han drew his sword, and with a ‘ding’, the blade of the sword screamed as it passed over the saber’s blade all the way to the hilt of the saber, easily dispersing the power of this slash as it kicked up a rain of sparks.
The blade of Du Zheng Ying’s saber stopped at a spot three inches below Ling Han’s rib, but its energy was completely exhausted and it was no longer a threat.
“You do have some ability,” Du Zheng Ying snorted coldly, “But in front of me, all that is pointless effort! I’m destined to be a genius that will become world-famous. Everyone else is only fated to become stepping stones on my path to advance, to be mercilessly swept away by me!”
He resumed his offensive. “Shua, shua, shua,” the saber flashed, striking with considerable power.
Those who were standing downstage were completely struck speechless. They have seen many proud people, but Du Zheng Ying was not just proud anymore. He was already arrogant to the point that he didn’t know his own measure.
Ling Han casually parried his attacks. In any case, the tournament stage battles would only end by sundown, so there was no difference whether he defeated Du Zheng Ying sooner or later.
Du Zheng Ying shouted and yelled, using all his ultimate techniques. From the look of it, he was at an absolute advantage.
He naturally thought that this was to be expected. His opponent was only in the fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier, a whole two layers below him, so how could Ling Han be a match for him? To be able to disregard the gap between cultivation levels and challenge one at a higher cultivation level was of course something that only he could do.
“Hahahaha, not bad, not bad. I have to admit that you really are not bad. But everything will cease at this point, I’m about to get serious!” Du Zheng Ying laughed loudly, causing everyone else to think that he was even more of an idiot than before.
His expression grew serious, and he once again brandished his blade. “Shua,” there actually appeared a flash of Saber Qi!
“Yi!”
“En!”
Gasps exploded downstage all of a sudden.
“Saber Qi!”
“It can’t be! That’s the sign of a ruler!”
“I didn’t realize that this egomaniac was actually quite capable.”
“This time, Ling Han should not be able to parry his attacks anymore.”
“I heard that there are no more than ten within this generation that have managed to grasp ‘Qi’!”
Du Zheng Ying was very proud of himself. If it was not because he had managed to form Saber Qi, how would he dare keep such a high profile? He laughed loudly, and said, “To be able to make me use Saber Qi, you should feel very honored!”
Ling Han shook his head and said in disappointment, “You only have one flash of Saber Qi?”
‘Hey, hey, hey, what kind of expression is that? Isn’t one flash of Saber Qi already very awesome?’ Du Zheng Yi was extremely displeased. After seeing him forming Saber Qi, this brat was still not scared witless?
“It’s enough to defeat you a hundred times!” He yelled loudly. He started brandishing his saber in a dance, and his Saber Qi moved unhindered. The power behind it was extremely terrifying.
Ling Han laughed, and casually waved his own sword in a slash, similarly producing a flash of Sword Qi.
“Pu!”
Everyone downstage choked in shock.
Those who managed to form “Qi” would have the potential to be a ruler in martial arts. But normally, four flashes of “Qi” would be regarded as a minor accomplishment, seven flashes as a major accomplishment, while ten flashes would be completion. And only those who managed to reach the level of minor accomplishment had the right to be named as rulers.
But even if only one flash of “Qi” was formed, that was already a very big deal, as it was extremely rare. Thus, now that there appeared two people who have both managed to form “Qi” and were even battling on the same stage, it naturally caused everyone to gasp in surprise.
…This was something that they had expected would only happen at tomorrow’s battle, at the very least.
“What, you actually also have Sword Qi?” Du Zheng Ying’s eyes were wide with astonishment. He looked extremely shocked.
“Is this very odd?” Ling Han said with a laugh.
“Heng, so what if you possess Sword Qi, you’ll definitely still be no match for me!” Du Zheng Ying raised his saber up high, standing in an attacking stance.
The fateful encounter that he had obtained included a book of Saber Arts and a bottle of alchemical pills. The alchemical pills allowed him to break through to Element Gathering Tier and also caused his cultivation to soar. The book of Saber Arts was also extraordinary. It contained two different stages. The first stage was a Yellow Grade high level martial arts technique, whereas the second stage was upgraded to Black Grade low level.
He was only in Element Gathering Tier, so naturally only managed to learn the first stage. Yet it al
ready allowed him to form Saber Qi, which was proof enough of the extraordinary power of this Saber Arts technique.
“Cleaving Mountain Saber Arts!” He roared loudly. He brandished his saber in a slash, and the Saber Qi he produced looked like a dragon, extremely dazzling and possessing a terrifying level of power.
Ling Han’s sword rose in a slant, using the Shocking Electricity Sword Arts, and the Sword Qi he possessed flew forwards.
“Peng!”
Sword Qi and Saber Qi crashed into one another and caused a sudden explosion. A dazzling light appeared, and it was visible that the Saber Qi was actually completely shattered by Ling Han’s attack. His Sword Qi, like a rainbow, continued forward to cut into Du Zheng Ying’s chest. Instantly, blood splattered.
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 42