by Dragon King
If Su Han were here wearing a silver silk robe, it would be easy to find her.
Many inspectors wearing silver robes were walking around the arenas while the examinees wearing brown robes were standing beside the fields.
Jia Yin, Yi Yin, Bin Yin, Ding Yin… Jia Mao, Yi Mao, Bin Mao, Ding Mao…
Before each small arena stood a sign, and there were altogether 24 of them.
Ren Yin 245 and Ren Yin 247, Hao Ren’s neighbors during the writing exam, saw the sign ‘Ren Yin’ and hurried toward that arena.
Hao Ren realized that the preliminary competitions were arranged in the order of the numbers, and he quickened his steps to the sign.
Built with thick white rocks, the arena was ten meters long, ten meters wide, and one meter higher than the platform. In the middle of the arena were two vigorous characters formed by darker stones: Jing Zhe.
Obviously, this arena was called Jing Zhe, and all 24 small arenas of the Dragon God Shrine were named after the 24 Solar Terms.
“101 versus 102; 103 versus 104…” The level 2 inspector responsible for Jing Zhe Arena declared in a loud voice.
245 versus 246!
Hao Ren suddenly turned to look at the cultivator who was his neighbor on the left during the written exam last night, and this examinee who looked to be in his forties also turned to look at Hao Ren alertly.
“Uncle!”
While Hao Ren was about to do some warm-up exercises for the competition, a clear voice sounded in the sky.
He looked up and saw Zhao Hongyu’s dharma treasure, the Mountain-River Qian-Kun Painting, floating over.
As the energy sphere of the Dragon God Shrine opened again, Zhao Hongyu flew in with Zhao Yanzi and others.
As a top-tier dharma treasure, the Mountain-River Qian-Kun Painting was bright and fast, attracting people’s attention when Zhao Hongyu maneuvered it to the arenas with her group on it.
“Gongzi!” Lu Linlin and Lu Lili jumped down from the dharma treasure and called out to Hao Ren cheerfully.
Dressed in green and cyan ancient dresses with their hair coiled up, they returned to their original, unique look. They were so beautiful that Hao Ren’s eyes lit up.
“Uncle!” Seeing Hao Ren staring at the Lu sisters, Zhao Yanzi called out again, displeased.
She was wearing a radiant patterned dress, looking quite vivacious among the brown robes of the surrounding cultivators.
“Cough! Cough!” Hao Ren cleared his throat, not pleased with Zhao Yanzi calling him “uncle”.
“Hao Ren, we are rooting for you.” Xie Yujia stepped down from the painting and said to Hao Ren while blushing.
It was her first time watching Hao Ren compete in a formal match, and she could only think of such simple words to encourage him.
“Ok. I’ll try my best.” Hao Ren nodded at Xie Yujia.
Seeing Hao Ren ignore her, Zhao Yanzi’s face reddened with anger.
“Zi, this is the Dragon God Shrine. Behave yourself.” Zhao Hongyu reached out to stop her.
“Mom…” Zhao Yanzi felt wronged and looked up at Zhao Hongyu. However, Zhao Hongyu seemed to be on Hao Ren’s side and didn’t show any intention of scolding him.
Looking around, Zhen Congming crossed his arms in front of his chest and seemed unconcerned about how far Hao Ren could go in the competition.
The senior members of the dragon palace who came with Zhao Hongyu’s family were only Premier Xia, Elder Lu, and Elder Sun.
“Ren, have you seen Zi’s Third Uncle since you came here yesterday?” Zhao Guang asked.
Zhao Yanzi who was gritting her teeth at Hao Ren heard this question, and she stared at Hao Ren with widened eyes as well.
407 Winning Streak?!
“Third Uncle…” Hao Ren thought for a bit and replied, “He should be in this big exam area; I think I saw him in the written exam area.”
“Oh, really?” Zhao Guang’s eyes brightened up.
“With his cultivation strength, Third Uncle will win the first few competitions for sure. It’ll be easy to find him by that time,” Hao Ren said.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Zhao Guang lowered his head and thought for a few seconds before turning his gaze to Hao Ren again. “I’ll go into the Dragon God Shrine. You can focus on the competition.”
“Dad! Don’t you want to watch Hao Ren compete?” Zhao Yanzi called out immediately.
“Hehe…” Zhao Guang smiled but didn’t answer.
Hao Ren immediately felt that Zhao Guang didn’t hold high hopes for him in the competition. His purpose for coming to the Dragon God Shrine was to look for Zhao Kuo and negotiate with the Dragon God Shrine.
“Elder Lu and Elder Sun, come with me,” Zhao Guang looked back at Lu Qing and Sun Yun and said.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The two elders followed Zhao Guang immediately.
Seeing them leave, Zhao Yanzi immediately grabbed onto Zhao Hongyu.
Zhao Hongyu looked down at Zhao Yanzi and smiled. “Ok, I’ll stay here and watch the competition with you.”
Zhao Yanzi was relieved since she thought Zhao Hongyu would also go to the Dragon God Shrine.
While Zhao Guang led two elders to the gate of the Dragon God Shrine, the participants and the dragon clan forces who were here recognized Zhao Guang.
“Isn’t he Zhao Guang from the East Ocean Dragon Palace? And behind him are two elders from the East Ocean. Why are they here?”
Instantly, questions rose in the mind of the people in the area.
From the gate of the Dragon God Shrine walked out two inspectors wearing robes embroidered with four-clawed golden dragons. They welcomed Zhao Guang and the two elders of the East Ocean into the palace.
Since its establishment hundreds of years ago, the Dragon God Shrine had never allowed any dragon cultivators except inspectors and criminals into the interior of the Dragon God Shrine, not even the dragon kings! Obviously, they made an exception for Zhao Guang.
The present dragon king of the East Ocean Dragon Palace brought only two elders into the Dragon God Shrine, and it brought all kinds of speculations to people’s minds.
Watching Zhao Guang disappear into the Dragon God Shrine, Hao Ren was also a bit worried as well.
However, on the second thought, he thought that Zhao Guang’s high-profile entrance into the Dragon God Shrine was probably an act for Zhao Kuo’s sake as well.
If Zhao Kuo were around, he would undoubtedly know that Zhao Guang was also in the Dragon God Shrine. If he wanted to know the content of the negotiation between the East Ocean and the Dragon God Shrine, he would have to find Zhao Guang. It was Zhao Guang’s way of forcing Zhao Kuo to show himself.
“Ren Yin 101 and Ren Yin 102!” The inspector responsible for Hao Ren’s arena called out.
The two cultivators were ready, and they jumped into the arena simultaneously.
Hao Ren looked around at the other arenas and saw that competitions had begun.
Unlike the written exam, the combat exams were open to the public, and some elders stood around the arenas where participants from their respective forces were battling.
Almost ten thousand dragon cultivators gathered around the east area alone, not to mention the other three big areas. It showed that the general exams in the Dragon God Shrine were indeed a grand event for the Dragon Tribe.
These dragon clans came from different places on the land, and their elders who were responsible for internal business rarely had an opportunity to meet each other. The Dragon God Shrine’s general exams provided such a meeting place.
The cultivators who were recommended by different forces to enter the Dragon God Shrine’s general exams represented the highest cultivation strength of their generation in their dragon clan. According to their performances and rankings, the elders from different clans would determine their statuses in the entire dragon tribe and strategize for the near future: keep low or advance aggressively.
Bang! While Hao Ren was looking around, one cultivator fell from the Ji
ng Zhe Arena.
The identity token hanging on the waist of the fallen cultivator automatically flew into the hand of the inspector before turning black immediately.
The Zhen-level cultivator who fell to the ground looked a bit upset. Standing up immediately, he brushed the dust off his robe and walked away.
No elders came to him, which meant that this cultivator entered the general exams on his own instead of being a ‘future star’ of a dragon clan.
While Hao Ren was looking at this cultivator who was walking away, another pair of opponents stepped up into the arena.
Bang! Bang… While cultivators fell from the 24 arenas, the elimination matches went on quickly.
“Ren Yin 245 versus Ren Yin 246!” the inspector called.
Hao Ren leaped into the arena instantly.
His opponent, the cultivator in his forties, kicked the ground lightly with his toes and jumped into the arena as well.
Wearing the brown robe with embroidered silver dragons on it, Hao Ren immediately attracted people’s attention.
The east area had about 10,000 cultivators around the 24 small arenas, and each of the arenas was a center of attention.
The arena Hao Ren was on was only one meter higher than the ground, but he felt entirely different compared to when he was standing on the ground.
“Hao Ren! Go!” Xie Yujia clenched her fists and yelled.
Standing by Zhao Hongyu, Zhao Yanzi stared at Hao Ren with her big eyes.
Zhen Congming looked unconcerned, but he glanced at Hao Ren from the corners of his eyes.
The hunch-backed Premier Xia stood straighter and looked up at Hao Ren’s dashing figure in the arena.
“Gongzi, Go!” Lu Linlin and Lu Lili yelled at the same time, attracting the attention of the nearby young cultivators.
“After you…” Hao Ren’s opponent bowed.
“After you!” Hao Ren stepped back half a step and made a gesture as well.
Swoosh!
The cultivator in his forties released a long sword from his palm.
Natal dharma treasure!
His aura was also released!
Gen-level!
In a flash, this Gen-level cultivator rushed to Hao Ren’s side!
Standing around the arena, Zhao Yanzi gripped Zhao Hongyu’s hand.
Dang… Hao Ren lifted his right hand to block the sword.
Upon a closer look, one could see a pale green light in Hao Ren’s palm!
His left foot took half a step forward, and his right hand pushed out onto the Gen-level cultivator’s shoulder. The push looked casual, but it sent the cultivator flying!
Bang! The Gen-level cultivator flew out of the arena, crashing onto a few watching cultivators. He stumbled back a few steps before regaining his balance.
“Thank you!” Hao Ren cupped his hands and said crisply.
His attack was quick and determined, blocking his opponent’s attack and pushing him out of the arena in one move. More importantly, he maintained a calm expression like a master during the whole process!
Zhao Hongyu expected Hao Ren to win, but she was surprised that he defeated his opponent so quickly.
“Mom, uncle is awesome!” Seeing Hao Ren defeating his opponent with one attack, Zhao Yanzi grabbed Zhao Hongyu’s arm and yelled in excitement.
Zhao Hongyu gave her a hard look, and Zhao Yanzi immediately changed her words, “Hao Ren is awesome…”
However, her tone was not as excited as a moment ago.
Hao Ren jumped out of the arena and looked up to watch the next competition.
Glancing at the calm expression on Hao Ren’s face, Zhao Hongyu admired his calmness, modesty, and brains, thinking that he could become a great figure one day.
Hao Ren didn’t use the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll so that he could hide his technique. He injected nature energy into his palms to defeat his opponent with the fundamental boxing techniques to save most of his nature essence for future battles.
“Hao Ren is careless about minor things, but his clear thinking and careful strategies on major issues far surpass my expectation,” Zhao Hongyu thought.
Back on the ground, Hao Ren watched the next battle in the arena silently without blinking.
“Hey! Stinky Uncle!” At Hao Ren’s silence, Zhao Yanzi walked over and bumped into him.
Hao Ren had been watching the battle with all his attention and stumbled forward when Zhao Yanzi bumped into him.
“Zi!” Zhao Hongyu immediately scolded her.
Zhao Yanzi turned her head; she had never seen Zhao Hongyu so sternly before.
Immediately, she walked to Xie Yujia’s side.
“Ren’s assessing his potential opponents; don’t disturb him,” Zhao Hongyu continued.
Zhao Yanzi looked at Zhao Hongyu and then at Hao Ren.
At this moment, Hao Ren looked stern with intense eyes; he looked aloof but was more dashing this way.
After all, he was not watching for fun; he wanted to find out about the cultivators’ techniques and methods of defense and attack since any one of them could become his future opponent…
Zhao Yanzi understood the situation instantly, and she stood obediently by Xie Yujia’s side.
Hao Ren was representing the East Ocean Dragon Palace, and Zhao Yanzi hoped that he could protect the honor of the East Ocean Dragon Palace with his excellent performance.
In the arena, Ren Yin 247 who was Hao Ren’s neighbor to his right during the written exam lost in the competition shortly.
After half of the Ren Yin cultivators were eliminated, the second round began.
“Ren Yin 244 versus Ren Yin 246!”
Hao Ren got onto the arena again, and he used two attacks before he sent the Zhen-level cultivator flying this time.
“Ren Yin 246 versus Ren Yin 249!”
“Ren Yin 210 versus Ren Yin 246!”
“Ren Yin 132 versus Ren Yin 246!”
With the calls of the inspector, Hao Ren went onto the arena and beat all his opponents with crisp moves.
While she watched, Zhao Hongyu saw some clues.
She found that Hao Ren was using the fundamental boxing techniques that were familiar to all the soldiers of the East Ocean Dragon Palace!
With Hao Ren’s winning streak, Zhao Yanzi got more and more excited; she almost cheered.
She suddenly felt like Hao Ren very powerful!
None of Hao Ren’s cultivators could last three rounds of attacks!
“Good move!”
While Hao Ren won another match, cheers exploded in the audience around the Li Xia Arena, the fourth small arena to his left.
A sturdy man with a black face and black beard stepped to one side and launched a punch, sending a Dui-level cultivator with yellow light around him fly more than ten meters out of the arena!
It was the fundamental boxing techniques of the East Ocean Dragon Palace!
408 Number: Ren Yin 246!
Zhao Kuo!
This time, Hao Ren clearly saw Zhao Kuo withdrawing his fist and standing there magnificently in the Li Xia Arena.
After winning, Zhao Kuo looked around, and his gaze finally turned to Hao Ren who was three small arenas away.
The 24 arenas were one meter higher than the platform.
Therefore, the people who were in the arena could see the battles in the surrounding arenas.
At this moment, Hao Ren and Zhao Kuo had defeated their respective opponents and stood in the Jing Zhe Arena and Li Xia Arena, looking at each other across the space.
Dozens of meters away, Hao Ren could still feel the piercing and dominating energy in Zhao Kuo’s eyes!
“Ren Yin 168 and Ren Yin 197!” the inspector of the Jing Zhe Arena declared.
After casting another glance at Zhao Kuo, Hao Ren jumped off the arena.
The cultivators around the arenas were densely packed together, and they couldn’t see what was going on more than one arena away.
“Gongzi, you were awesome!”
&
nbsp; Lu Linlin and Lu Lili immediately walked to Hao Ren, handing him water and a towel like two cheerleaders.
Seeing Hao Ren’s victories, Zhao Yanzi’s face flushed with joy, but she didn’t want to admit it to him; instead, she snorted with a pout.
“You have won six battles consecutively,” Xie Yujia smiled lightly and said.
“Everyone who is still in the game all won consecutively.” Zhen Congming dampened their enthusiasm with his words.
His words didn’t sound encouraging, but he spoke the truth. After all, this was only the initial selection process, and anyone who wanted to continue forward had to win seven or eight battles in a row.
Zhao Hongyu smiled at Hao Ren. “It’s Hao Ren’s first time participating in the exam, and he is doing a great job.”
Then, she frowned slightly and glanced at the direction of the Dragon God Shrine.
Four hours had passed since the combat exams began, Zhao Guang had been in the Dragon God Shrine with the two elders for four hours as well.
Glancing at Zhao Hongyu, Hao Ren thought for a while and decided not to tell her about Zhao Kuo. From the look of things, Zhao Kuo would definitely win out of the Yi Mao cultivators.
Since Zhao Hongyu was worried about Zhao Guang, Hao Ren decided not to mention Zhao Kuo for the time being.
In the Jing Zhe Arena, a Dui-level cultivator was in a fierce battle with another Dui-level cultivator.
As the competitions went on, the cultivators with weaker cultivation strength were gradually eliminated.
The Zhen-level cultivators would be lucky to get to the second or the third rounds, but they couldn’t win in the fourth or the fifth round. The cultivators who would be last standing in the arenas were going to be at least Dui-level cultivators. At Gen-level, Hao Ren was a rare exception at this point.
In the arena, the cultivator with the Ren Yin 168 identity token hanging on his waist suddenly lifted his wooden bowl, emitting a bright light.
The cultivator with an identity token of Ren Yin 197 condensed a thick layer of yellow armor around him, and the two big hammers in his hands released dazzling yellow lights.
With equal strength, they couldn’t reserve their nature essence anymore and unleashed their true strengths.