But this was squeezing out their inner potential. It meant sacrificing their future rate of cultivation as a price, but to obtain a good ranking in the Prodigy Tournament, they couldn’t care about it anymore.
A single person could only use this kind of secret art in their whole lifetimes. If they used it a second time, their power would still increase greatly, but the problem was that their power would continue to increase uncontrollably until their physical body could no longer contain it. Their bodies would then explode and they would die.
Furthermore, this was only useful before the Flower Blossom Tier. After breaking through to the Flower Blossom Tier, the cultivator would have cast off his mortal shell, and this kind of technique to stimulate one’s hidden potential would no longer be effective.
Golden Needle Ferrying Acupuncture Points, combined with the hell training session, was what allowed them to possess the current shocking cultivation rate.
Ling Han and Hu Niu, on the other hand, were still at the peak of the ninth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier.
Ling Han possessed two Spiritual Oceans. One turned clockwise and the other counterclockwise, as if they were two millstones. Thus, when his cultivation increased, his Origin Power was only polished to become ever sturdy, but his cultivation rate was still a bit too fast and he still needed some more time to reach perfection.
It would happen within these few days; he would be able to break through to the Spiritual Pedestal Tier.
After a night of rest, all the young people gathered at the Great Arena of Extreme Yang City; this was the property of the Spirit Treasures Pavilion. And with the enormous amount of wealth in their possession, this Great Arena had been constructed for the purpose of the Prodigy Tournament that would happen every three years. Thus, this place appeared to be very majestic and grand, and could accommodate 200,000 spectators at any one time. The circular and high spectators stands looked as if they were mountains.
The first step was naturally to register.
The preliminary condition for registration was to be below thirty years old; there was no other restriction.
The second step was to test battle prowess.
There was a stone plaque used to test one’s battle prowess at the registration area. It was created by a great person in ancient times. After one shot out a full-power attack at it, it would show the corresponding number of Battle Stars. Everyone could be ranked according to Battle Stars, but exactly how many would be able to make it to the actual tournament?
That would depend on how many people had left the Prodigy Roll from the last round.
Subtracting those who had left due to age, as well as those that had not managed to make it in time or might even have died, the remaining people would automatically qualify for the actual tournament. There was a total of fifty-six this time round.
Thus, a total of one hundred and forty-four people out of all those who came to register would be able to qualify for the actual tournament.
These two hundred people would draw lots based on the concept of everyone on the rankings would encounter one another and enter into a knockout battle. The last hundred remaining would be the elites of the new Prodigy Roll of the Northern region. As for how the remaining would be ranked, that was simple. They would simply battle. Every person would have a battle with the other ninety-nine competitors, and their final rank would be calculated based on the number of their losses and victories.
“Then, let’s go first test our battle prowess.” Ling Han’s group headed towards the location of the Testing Stone Plaque. Because there was only two hundred people who could qualify for the actual tournament, those ranked below two hundred were naturally automatically eliminated, and there was no need for them to register.
“Hey, hey, hey. Did you all see that? A monster appeared just now. He is in the ninth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier, but his battle prowess is as high as twenty Stars; he can almost surge up to Spiritual Pedestal Tier!”
“I know, that guy’s name is Qu Xiu Zhu, but no one knows where he came from. He’s very mysterious.”
“This guy can almost stand equal to Shen Zhong Cheng from the previous round.”
“He should be slightly inferior to Shen Zhong Cheng. The White-Robed Sword King is one that could defeat opponents in Spiritual Pedestal Tier.”
“Shen Zhong Cheng, too, had reached the ninth layer of Spiritual Ocean Tier just slightly over a year ago, and he has continuously polished himself since. That was why he could slice a Spiritual Pedestal Tier opponent with his sword, and this Qu Xiu Zhu may not be inferior.”
“That’s right. Qu Xiu Zhu is only nineteen years old.”
They had just reached the place when they already heard the crowds embroiled in heated discussions. There would appear a few monsters with every Prodigy Roll. The last round could deserve the name of the Golden Roll, whereupon such extreme geniuses like Zhu Xuan’er, Zuo Yu Da, Lu Yang, and Shen Zhong Cheng. It was yet unknown how this round would be.
Chapter 433
“Shi An Ping!”
“Never heard of him.”
“Indeed, never heard of him.”
“According to the information when he registered, he came from abroad!”
“Hey, hey, hey. Then that means he’s come from the ocean outside the north region; really?”
“Who knows!”
“No wonder we never heard of him.”
Some of them had already arrived here early in the morning. As a result, they had not missed anything from start to finish and knew what amazing new geniuses had appeared in the process of registration. In truth, some of these new geniuses were not really that young in age; they had just missed participating in the last tournament for various reasons, but managed to make it for this one.
That was very common. After all, being ranked on the Prodigy Roll was only an empty name; if they were at the crucial point in the fight for precious treasures, who would be willing to give up the battle and rush all the way here to participate in the tournament?
“Grandmaster Ling!” Ling Han and the others were standing in the queue when they saw someone ahead of them call out to them, even deliberately walking towards them. Furthermore, there was quite a number, and they were precisely the few people that they had met at the Falling Moon Gorge.
Gu Feng Hua, Chi Hua Lan, Lin Xiang Qin, and the others. Now that over half a year had passed, their respective cultivation levels have all arrived at the ninth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier, but not one had managed to break through to the Spiritual Pedestal Tier yet. From the look of things, it was not that they were not able to, but rather that they were strengthening their foundations.
To force their cultivation level to rise just for an empty title? That would be spoiling things through excessive enthusiasm, causing too much damage to their future cultivation; how could anyone who managed to be ranked in the Prodigy Roll not understand that fact?
How long would they be able to maintain their pride due to being ranked on the Prodigy Roll? At most a dozen or so years, but they were people who could possibly break through to the Flower Blossom Tier in future, whereupon their lifespans would be as long as three hundred years, so what did a mere dozen or so years of fame count as?
How could they choose to gain little at the price of a greater loss?
“It’s been a long time!” Ling Han raised his clasped hands in their direction in greeting.
They all began to chat about recent events, and it was naturally inevitable that they would talk about the aggressive battle between the Rain Emperor, Yao Hui Yue, and the Demonic Ape in the Dark Demon Forest.
“Anyone would want to be like Yao Hui Yue. I will become the Second Spear Master in this world,” Xu Wen Tong laughed.
“If one could be like Grandmaster Ling and become an Earth Grade alchemist, wouldn’t they similarly be well-known and acclaimed all over the world?” Lin Xiang Qin laughed lightly, her seductive charms overflowing. She and Yin Hong had different kind of c
harms but achieved the same result; they were both natural beauties.
“This guy and Yao Hui Yue are both monsters. However, one is a monster in martial arts, and the other is a monster in alchemy,” Gu Feng Hua said ruefully.
Yet Chi Hua Lan said very seriously, “Grandmaster Ling’s talent in martial arts is not low, either!”
All of them were momentarily stunned. They had subconsciously forgotten about his talent in martial arts primarily because Ling Han’s achievement in alchemy was too dazzling since he had already become an Earth Grade alchemist at the mere age of seventeen.
When this guy was in the Gushing Spring Tier, he had already slashed an opponent at the Spiritual Ocean Tier, and now that he had broken through to the ninth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier, would he be able to defeat a foe in the Spiritual Pedestal Tier? Furthermore, he was currently only eighteen years old.
“Don’t you all worry. I am not going to participate in this Prodigy Tournament.” Ling Han smiled.
“You almost scared this pervert to death. If you were going to participate, you would definitely snatch one place, and perhaps I’ll be out of the running as a result,” Gu Feng Hua said, patting his chest in an exaggerated expression of relief.
“Grandmaster Ling does not think that this Prodigy Roll is worth his time!” Lin Xiang Qin threw him an enchanting glance, tempting one’s emotions to stir. In truth, she was not actually trying to seduce Ling Han, but rather she was just born this way. Unintentionally and without conscious will, she would be tossing out seductive glances left and right.
“Haha, what bold words!” Someone at the side immediately wanted to express their disbelief. Crossing his arms over his chest, the man wore a disdainful expression. When they saw that their eyes had turned to him, he gave himself a thumbs up, “I am Diao Wen De from the Blood Flame Valley. If you are unconvinced, I will thrash you all to mush!”
The Blood Flame Valley; no wonder he spoke with such arrogance.
There were four most powerful parties in the north region: one valley and three sects. The single valley was the Blood Flame Valley, which even managed to develop a genius of the likes of Zuo Yu Da.
They were all young and rash, so they were naturally unwilling to concede and all directed furious glares at the intruder. Yet Ling Han merely waved his hand and said, “You don’t have to drop down to the level of such minor characters.”
“That’s right. Who are we? Why do we need to bear a grudge against this kind of minor character?”
“If we really come up against him, we should just directly kill him in a single strike!”
Gu Feng Hua and the others nodded respectively, yet it caused Xi Wen De’s face to turn ashen in fury. He had deliberately provoked them because he saw that there were a few extremely gorgeous beauties among their group. The reason why he had done so was naturally to attract the attention of the beauties, but he had not foreseen that they would completely regard him as unimportant.
‘Damn guys, wait until you witness my battle prowess! I’ll see how scared you will be then!’ Xi Wen De thought, but restrained himself from making any move. Martial artists would naturally express themselves with their fists; without enough power, whatever they said would merely be empty words.
‘It’s the turn of the Seven Sons of the Ao Clan!’ someone exclaimed ahead, and indeed, Ao Xing Lai and his brothers filed out and arrived in front of the Testing Stone Plaque. However, Ao Xing Lai and Ao Yuan Wei were already on the Prodigy Roll, and thus automatically gained the right to enter the actual tournament.
Now that half a year had passed, there were actually three among the Seven Sons of the Ao Clan that have managed to break through to the Spiritual Pedestal Tier. They were Ao Xing Lai, Ao Yuan Wei and Ao Jian Cheng. Ao Jian Cheng was the seventh yet actually managed to surpass those before him, which was quite strange.
The remaining five sons of the Ao Clan that did not automatically gain the right to participate in the actual tournament tested their battle prowess respectively, and they all were judged as having fifteen Battle Stars and above of battle prowess This showed that even though there was no increase to their cultivation level in this half year, there was much increase in their battle prowess.
Furthermore, Ao Jian Cheng actually had the battle prowess of three Battle Stars at Spiritual Pedestal Tier. He would definitely qualify into the top forty in the Prodigy Roll. Of course, this was based on the average battle prowess of the last tournament. It may not be a sure thing this year.
“I and Yuan Wei want to test our battle prowess too. Would you mind?” Ao Xing Lai said with a smile to the few people who were responsible for registration.
“Of course not, please.” They all nodded. They of course had to give some face to the heroes and elites on the Prodigy Roll.
Ao Xing Lai nodded and said to Ao Yuan Wei, “Second, you first.”
Ao Yuan Wei nodded expressionlessly. Ever since he had broken through to the Spiritual Pedestal Tier, he had always been unwilling to concede to being ranked as second, and wanted very much to replace Ao Xing Lai as the strongest. Yet there was never a good chance for that, so he would take advantage of this opportunity to let the latter witness his battle prowess.
He drew a long saber from the weapons rack at one side. This was forged from Level Five materials, and could absolutely withstand the overwhelming power of Spiritual Pedestal Tier.
He focused, calmed himself, and after at least three breaths, he suddenly struck out with a powerful slash.
Hong!
Seven flashes of Saber Qi surged forth, yet they slashed the same spot on the stone plaque together with the actual blade, which focused all the attack power on such a small area whereupon it exploded.
For a test like this, rather than battle prowess, it would be more appropriate to say that it was a test of the most powerful destructive attack. Under normal conditions, there was no chance for you to prepare for three breaths before striking. If you really did such a stupid thing, who knew how many times you would have already been killed.
Weng, weng, weng . The letters on the fifth row lit up consecutively. One, two, three, four, five!
Five Stars of Spiritual Pedestal Tier of battle prowess!
This was very uncommon. Because when one had just broken through to the Spiritual Pedestal Tier, one would naturally focus on raising one’s cultivation level; when would they actually have time to polish their Origin Power? It was more natural to leave strengthening one’s foundations for when one had reached the ninth layer.
“He really deserves the name of the Second Son in the Ao Clan. That kind of battle prowess would be the seventh or eighth place in the last tournament. So strong!”
“Who knows, he may be able to surpass the Eldest Son of the Ao Clan this time.”
“Hehe, if the Second Son of the Ao Clan could improve so much, how could it be that the Eldest Son can’t?”
“Let’s just see how Ao Xing Lai measures up.”
The spectators all focused their stares on Ao Xing Lai.
Chapter 434
However, compared with Ao Yuan Wei, one had to prepare for three breaths before he could strike out a blow worth five Battle Stars of Spiritual Pedestal Tier, whereas a casual strike from the other possessed such might. There was an extremely obvious gap between the two of them.
Ao Yuan Wei could not help his expression darkening, and none of the other five Ao Sons looked any better, either. The gap between them and Ao Xing Lai was increasing further and further.
“Please come here to fill in your information,” one of the people in charge of registration said with a smile. Although the other five Sons of the Ao Clan were all participants of the last tournament, they did not manage to enter the ranks. Thus, they would be considered new entries every year.
The five Ao Sons advanced to fill their information. There would be another test of age later on, whereas Ao Xing Lai and Ao Yuan Wei were invited into the resting room.
Everyone else continued
to stand in the queue.
“Yi, isn’t that Yu Kun Lun?” A commotion arose among the crowd. All turned in its direction, whereupon they saw a slender, tall young man’s figure appear. He exuded a powerful aura that was absolutely incredible.
But there was another slender, shapely, extremely gorgeous beauty beside him who was actually not suppressed by Yu Kun Lun’s overwhelming aura at all. Not only did her standing by his side not result in her paling in colour. Instead, the comparison made her even more shiningly brilliant.
“Who is that girl?”
“So beautiful, my soul is about to leave my body just from the sight of her!”
“She’s not inferior to Fairy Zhu at all, is she?”
“Pei, that’s because you’ve never seen Fairy Zhu. If anyone who has ever seen Fairy Zhu sees any other woman after that, they would think that she was as ugly as a pig.”
“Hey, hey, hey. Is Fairy Zhu really that beautiful?”
When she heard the spectators’ discussion, Hua Ying Han had at first been rather pleased with herself, but the more she heard, the more her beautiful face froze over. For a beauty, the thing that she most hated was hearing that her beauty was inferior to someone else, what more when she was being looked down upon by others as if she were nothing.
‘Zhu Xuan’er, during the Prodigy Tournament, I will disfigure your beautiful face; let’s see how you will be beautiful then!’ she thought venomously.
Yu Kun Lun advanced with big strides. His cultivation level at the ninth layer of the Spiritual Pedestal Tier was considered invincible among the current younger generation. Merely his aura was enough to cause one to collapse. As long as he had yet to break through to the Flower Blossom Tier, he was still mortal. Breaching that step was really much too difficult. Perhaps, ten years or even twenty years later, he would still be at the same level he was now.
However, for now, Yu Kun Lun was much too powerful. As he passed, everyone could not help but lower their heads. Firstly, it was because they were suppressed by the former’s aura, and secondly, it was out of respect for someone who had once been the strongest on the Prodigy Roll.
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 231