Chapter 670: Huge Discrepancy
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
While Lin Tong might be young, she fully displayed her prowess in the first few rounds of the competition. Besides defeating her own opponents, she managed to kill sufficient number of Wuyang beasts.
Those who watched the competition and were of higher cultivations were slightly stunned. They could tell that she was not ordinary.
"This girl doesn’t seem to be human?" The bunch of elders wondered.
The Marquis of Jinghuan stared at Lin Tong. After a while, he said, "So this is the case. She is the product of the Parasol Tree Wood as it converted to a human form."
"But I wonder when did the Parasol Tree Wood become human? If she became one before the Demon Phoenix tribe paid them a visit, there might be some insider news with regards to what happened previously. This will represent a discrepancy from what I expected."
The Marquis of Jinghuan tapped on his table and shook his head. He looked at the two people beside him, "Xiang Heng, Wang Le, have the both of you find your target?"
Wang Le shook his head gently, "Among those who participated in the competition, I did not spot the target."
Xiang Heng said, "There seems to be three possibilities now. Firstly, he did not take part in this competition. Secondly, he is one of the six disciples who made it to the last 16 directly. Lastly, he competed, but he conserved his powers."
The Marquis of Jinghuan waved his hand, "The first possibility can be ruled out. This internal competition involves all the Successive Disciples."
"As for the six of them, I believe that five of them are already very reputable. They also entered the sect in one of the two Sect-Opening Ceremonies in the past. Only Zhou Yuncong entered on his own within these three years."
"So, the person you are finding is either Zhou Yuncong or someone who has not revealed himself yet."
Wang Le and Xiang Heng nodded their heads, "This is what’s happening. I hope that he did not cause himself to be eliminated in a bid to conceal his identity. If this is the case, we still have an opportunity to seek him out during the social gathering later."
The Marquis of Jinghuan laughed, "Would the Celestial Sect of Wonders have known that I am finding someone? I don’t think that they will keep it a secret."
Not only just the Marquis of Jinghuan, Wang Le, Xiang Heng and the rest who were watching this competition were all observing the performances of the disciples of the Celestial Sect of Wonders carefully.
As the competition progressed, the standards of the disciples increased. The excitement of the competition also increased.
Many of the elders from the different sects would use this opportunity to guide their own disciples.
"All of you must be cautious of this lady. She may be another Shi Tianhao. Her potential is great." In the Sword of Radiance Sword Sect camp, the Purple Cloud Grandmaster said to his disciples seriously.
Everyone nodded their heads and watched Lin Tong. Around her, a white flame was burning. It was very pure and curbed all Yin energy. When the flame raged, the Wuyang beasts retreated as they were terrified.
The flame did not seem like it was ferocious, but as long as a little bit of it touched the Wuyang beasts, the Wuyang beasts would cry in pain.
It was the Pure Yang Primordial fire. The Wuyang beasts were demonic freaks birthed from the Tao Wus. They were the most afraid of the Pure Yang Primordial Fire.
The current environment they were in was similar to the natural habitat of the Tao Wu demonic tribe. In such a dangerous environment, the Wuyang beasts were like fishes in water. They replenished their own powers continuously. If a normal cultivator summoned the Pure Yang Primordial Fire, he might not have the ability to overcome them.
But Lin Tong was formed from the Parasol Tree Wood. In this world, besides the Demon Phoenix tribe, Divine Parasol Trees were the most capable of commanding the Pure Yang Primordial Fire.
Although Lin Tong was still young, she went through the cleansing by the Parasol Tree King and was guided by Xiao Yan throughout, thus her control of the Pure Yang Primordial Fire was quite good. Whenever she competed, the Wuyang beasts dared not get close to her.
In the Sword of Radiance Sect camp, there was a lady in white. On her ears, she wore green jade pendants. As they swayed, they let out a crisp sound.
The Purple Cloud Grandmaster looked at her before sighing.
This lady in white noticed the look on the face of the Purple Cloud Grandmaster and smiled, "Elder Purple Cloud, rest assured. I can fix my position."
She was Murong Yanran. After she lost to Xiao Yan on Xingyun Peak in the past, it was a blessing in disguise. She became the Immediate Disciple of the Sword of Radiance Swordmaster. After that, she continued to cultivate on Xingyun Peak.
Initially, the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster and the Sword of Radiance Sect wanted her to train tirelessly before challenging Xiao Yan again. But after the ties between both sides became better and the Celestial Sect of Wonders became more and more prosperous, this idea disappeared gradually.
Xiao Yan was no longer the rising talent in the Beginner Stage of the Aurous Core Stage. If he was someone Murong Yanran admired in the past, right now, he was so successful that she couldn’t even admire him.
The most exceptional disciple of the Sword of Radiance Sect, Tao Yaoyao, went to challenge Xiao Yan previously and was defeated instantaneously.
Even Shi Chongyun was no longer the match for Xiao Yan. If the Sword of Radiance Sect did not have the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster, Xiao Yan could easily wipe them out.
During the battle at Xiling City three years ago, Murong Yanran already knew the gap between Xiao Yan and her. Over these years, she had corrected her state of mind.
As she came this time, her opponent was no longer Xiao Yan. Rather, her opponents were Xiao Yan’s disciples. With such a huge discrepancy, if she did not adjust her state of mind, she might be too frustrated till she went mad.
Murong Yanran turned her attention to the battle arenas and remained calm. But as her figure landed in the eyes of her fellow sect members, they were all a little desolate.
Lin Tong emerged victorious again and qualified for the last 16.
After exiting the arena, Lin Tong smiled while running. She did not return to her resting area, but entered another room.
There was a lady in that room and she looked charming. She wore a light green robe, with a purple belt around her waist. She smiled as she looked at Lin Tong running into her arms, "Mother!"
Xiao Zhener smiled while carrying her, before pinching her nose. "Lin Tong, you did great."
Lin Tong laughed, "I cannot disappoint Grandfather, Father and you."
After hearing the words "Grandfather" and "Father", Xiao Zhener could not help but laughed. She naturally knew that Lin Tong was referring to Lin Feng and Xiao Yan.
If Xiao Yan was around, every time she called him Father, he would rush to correct her, "It’s Grandfather and Godfather!"
"You must be careful from now on. After you enter the last 16, you will be challenging the cultivators from the other sects." Xiao Zhener helped Lin Tong untie her braids before washing her hand. Lin Tong laid in her arms comfortably, "Don’t worry, I will give a good performance."
After seeing Lin Tong ran into the room where Xiao Zhener was at, Zhao Huan laughed and looked at Liu Xiafeng, "Senior Xiafeng, is the pressure very huge on you?"
Liu Xiafeng shrugged his shoulders, "It is naturally huge. It’s so huge until my arms and legs can’t take it."
He looked at Li Xingfei and laughed, "Just like Senior Dao, during the last internal competition, Youngest Junior did not participate. Otherwise, she would be standing here and I would be fighting the Wuyang beasts."
Besides Zhuge Wanqiu and Zhou Yuncong, Liu Xiafeng, Xu Yunsheng, Li Xingfei and Zhao Huan were all from the first batch of Successive Disciples. They were also the most familiar with one another. With regards to Liu Xiafeng’s words, Li Xingfei smiled, "Yes, we seem to be quite lucky."
Zhao Huan came before Liu Xiafeng, "Senior Xiafeng, Junior Lin Tong has inherited the Pure Yang Primordial Fire, what about you? Which Primordial Fire did you cultivate? I heard that after the disciples from the Inferno Precipice establish their foundations, they can choose a Primordial Fire to cultivate."
Liu Xiafeng did not hide the truth and nodded his head, "That’s right. I cultivated the Grand Sun Primordial Fire."
Xiao Yan possessed the five Primordial Fires. After his Successive Disciples established their foundations and cultivated the Burning Heavens Mantra, during the process of cultivation, they could cultivate a fire-type mantra and choose a Primordial Fire that they wanted to cultivate. Slowly, they would make this their own abhijna.
Besides the Scripture of the Great Heaven-Illuminating Sun, over these three years, Xiao Yan continued to perfect the other Primordial Fires. He even had his own collection of mantras, such as the Scripture of the Great Heaven-Illuminating Sun.
The Holy Lihuo Mantra from the Emperor of the Ancients was passed to him by Xiao Zhener. It was not convenient for Xiao Yan to infuse Celestial Sect of Wonders-type mantras into it, thus he comprehended the Nanming Primordial Fire and consolidated it, eventually forming the Nanming Saddharma.
Just like the Spell of the Grand Sun Primordial Flame of the Golden Crow demonic tribe and the Scripture of the Great Heaven-Illuminating Sun of the Celestial Sect of Wonders, which included the Grand Sun Primordial Flame within, the Nanming Saddharma and the Holy Lihuo Mantra included the Nanming Primordial Fire. But they were two different types of mantra. But they both pointed to the same destination.
Liu Xiafeng obtained the Grand Sun Primordial Fire from Xiao Yan and cultivated the Scripture of the Great Heaven-Illuminating Sun. He consolidated it for a period of time, before he managed to control a ball of Grand Sun Primordial Fire. Normally, it aided his cultivation. In battles, it was a lethal weapon.
The Pure Yang Primordial Fire was pure and powerful, but was not very effective in battles. The Nefarious Spectral Primordial Fire was the most ferocious, but was the most difficult to control too. The Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze was even more unpredictable. If one was not cautious, he might harm himself even before harming his opponent.
That was why most disciples cultivated the Scripture of the Great Heaven-Illuminating Sun and the Nanming Saddharma.
As the few of them chatted, they heard Shi Tianhao’s voice suddenly. "Right now, we have the names of the last 16 competitors with us."
"Now, the last 16 will gather in front of me."
Liu Xiafeng, Xu Yunsheng and the rest looked at one another before they walked out. They went to the battle arena of the Dharma Hall.
The disciples who were eliminated remain in the resting area. They consolidated what they had learnt and waited for the competition to continue. They also wanted to watch and learn.
Shi Tianhao clapped his palms lightly at this point. The various Small Worlds that were created also disappeared.
Besides him, the 16 competitors stood in the vast battle arena.
Shi Tianhao looked around and said, "The competition will continue along with the social gathering. Based on the performance during the gathering, the final rankings will be announced."
"For those who are interested, you can enter the arena now."