Chapter 561: Bitter Fight
Just at that moment, someone shouted, “The eight Noble Clans are here!” The cultivators on the many peaks immediately broke out in chatter.
“The eight Noble Clans are finally here. In every Five Nation Youth Competition, they would monopolize the top eight ranks. I wonder if it would be the same this year.”
“There probably will not be much change. Even the super geniuses of the Great Jin Nation’s ten great sects have given up. Who else would be able to change that?”
“That is hard to say. In this pool of geniuses, there are many who came from the Boundless Sea. I heard that the Eastern Sea’s Little Dragon King, Xuanyuan Zhantian, is very powerful. He has already become an invincible half-step Martial Monarch.”
The cultivators of the Great Jin Nation were unconvinced. They said, “Invincible half-step Martial Monarch? That is because he has not met the scions of the eight Noble Clans. He would not be able to defeat any one of them—much less the Sima Clan, which has already monopolized the first rank for three consecutive competitions.”
“The Sima Clan’s Sima Lingxuan obtained the first rank in the previous Five Nation Youth Competition. If he can defend his position this year, then the Sima Clan will obtain their fourth consecutive first rank.”
Eight warships, side by side, flew over from the distance. They were the Sima, Bai, Li, Qian, Wang, Weng, Nangong, and Beiming Clans. These were the warships belonging to the eight Noble Clans with Martial Emperor ancestors.
The people of the eight Noble Clans were very talented and strong. Even the ten great sects of the Great Jin Nation could not compare to them.
The moment the eight Noble Clans appeared, the excitement of the entire ring of peaks reached its climax.
Everyone knew that when the eight Noble Clans arrived, the first stage would start. Who could obtain the rights to step onto the Wind Cloud Arena? The answer would be known soon.
“All participants, please wear your dragon-shaped jade pendant. I will count back from ten and the qualifiers will officially begin.”
A few minutes later, a resonant voice rang out from Dragon Sealing City. The voice was reinforced with Quintessence, allowing all the cultivators in the large ring of peaks to hear it clearly.
“Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…”
As the countdown began, the clamor in the peaks stopped. The place become deathly quiet; no one spoke a word.
There was only the sound of wind and the countdown. All the cultivators focused themselves.
“Five…four…three…two…one!”
The instant the countdown finished, all the participants from the Ancient Desolate Land, Boundless Seas, barbarian tribes, and the five great nations in the towers moved.
“Xiu! Xiu! XIu!”
The sound of air breaking sounded continuously as cultivators quickly rushed to the center of Dragon Sealing City.
Young cultivators jumped off the towers and filled the skies in all directions. A dark cloud made up of cultivators spread throughout the air. There were at least ten thousand people.
After waiting for years, bitterly cultivating for days and nights, all the outstanding talents under this sky made their move on this very day, at this very moment.
Xiao Chen was in no rush to jump down. As he calmly watched the excited expressions of the outstanding talents, his heart was as still as water.
Under the influence of countless young disciples, the endless dark clouds above Dragon Sealing City roiled continuously.
A strong wind blew and dark clouds churned. Soon, resonant dragon roars came from the dark clouds. The dragon roars shook the heaven and earth, glorious and world-shattering. An imposing atmosphere assaulted the senses of the cultivators on the spectator platforms.
As the clouds roiled and the grand atmosphere pressed heavily on everyone, an ancient and dignified aura spread throughout the mountains and the air solidified.
“Pu!”
Suddenly, a small piece broke off from the boundless dark clouds. A beam of resplendent golden light tore through space as it descended.
Normally, Dragon Sealing City was very dark; there would not be any sunlight. The thick, dark clouds in the sky had not dispersed for several millennia. However, at this instant, golden light descended on it.
Immediately, someone in the crowd exclaimed, “That golden light is a divine light from the upper realm—the Kunlun Realm. Such a phenomenon did not happen in the previous Five Nation Youth Competition.”
“Indeed, it is a divine light. In the previous age of geniuses, there was this phenomenon as well. It looks like the era of geniuses has truly arrived. The vast auras of the ten-thousand-odd geniuses have attracted the attention of the upper realm.”
“According to rumor, the people who rank highly in this Five Nation Youth Competition have a chance to enter the upper realm and become a Martial Monarch. This looks like it is true.”
The intense fight over the four hundred dragon pillars had already started. Every pillar had thirty to forty geniuses fighting over it. The scene was very tragic.
For the sake of the four hundred spots, everyone used their full power. Everyone knew what this Five Nation Youth Competition meant. If they missed out on this opportunity, they would only be side characters in this era of geniuses, regretting it forever.
As for the ten tallest dragon pillars in the center, at this moment, they were very quiet. Not many people fought over them. Everyone knew what these ten dragon pillars meant.
The most intense battles would occur there. Without strength, one would only fall in the qualifiers if they tried to compete for it.
In the tower where the eight Noble Clans were at, the eight heirs of the Noble Clans stood carefreely at the top floor. They were all very calm.
For everyone else, it was extremely difficult to obtain one of the four hundred spots. However, these eight people did not care about them at all; they did not worry about it.
“He he, brothers, I, Qian Wen, will make my move first. You can continue chatting.”
A man in gorgeous sky-blue embroidered robes among the eight Noble Clan heirs smiled faintly, performing a cupped-fist salute before he left.
“Xiu!”
It was unknown if it was an coincidence but when he left, another hole appeared in the thick, dark clouds above. A beam of dazzling golden light, like a sharp sword, descended from the sky.
Soon, out of the eight Noble Clans, only two were left: the Bai Clan’s Bai Qi, and the Sima Clan’s Sima Lingxuan. These two were the first and second ranks of the previous Five Nation Youth Competition.
Every time a Noble Clan scion jumped off, a resplendent beam of light would descend from the sky. When attentive people noticed the coincidence, they were amazed.
Sima Lingxuan was tall and slender. He had sharp facial features and eyes like stars, like he was the work of superb craftsmanship.
There were certain persons in the world who were extraordinary from birth. Even in a sea of people, they would be easily picked out with one glance.
Without a doubt, Sima Lingxuan was one such person. When he stood there, everyone felt a heavy atmosphere, a strong pressure in their hearts.
Bai Qi took a deep breath and calmed himself. He stood before the railing and prepared to jump down.
Sima Lingxuan tilted his body a little and looked at Bai Qi. He said, “Bai Qi, I heard that you have fully comprehended the hardest Martial Technique in your Bai Clan, the Four Season Saber Technique.
“In the past three thousand years, you are the first person under the age of thirty to practice this Saber Technique to Great Perfection.”
Bai Qi did not confirm or deny the rumor. He smiled gently and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you afraid?”
“You must be joking.” Sima Lingxuan laughed loudly. “Bai Qi, I only hope that you will not lose as badly as you did the last time. Give me a little bit of pressure.”
After Sima Lingxuan finished speaking, he laughed loudly again before jumping onto the railings. Then, he stared at the tallest of the four hundred dragon pillars, exuding a strong aura.
“Hu! Hu!”
A boundless wind immediately blew from the distance, making Sima Lingxuan’s clothes flutter about noisily.
When Sima Lingxuan’s aura reached its peak, he pushed off heavily against the railings and flew directly towards the tallest dragon pillar.
“Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu!”
Eight dazzling beams of golden light descended from the sky encasing Sima Lingxuan in the middle, aiding him as he moved in the air.
“Damn it! The divine light is helping him. How strong exactly is Sima Lingxuan?!”
Such a strange phenomenon immediately attracted the attention of all the cultivators in the ring of peaks.
Bai Qi clenched his right fist tightly. He had an unsightly expression on his face. Although he had obtained the second rank in the last Five Nation Youth Competition, he had not lasted more than ten moves against Sima Lingxuan.
Sima Lingxuan had managed to climb to the peak without any pressure at all.
“Sima Lingxuan, the Four Season Saber Technique is not as simple as you think it is. This time, I, Bai Qi, will regain the glory that belongs to me.”
Bai Qi pushed off the floor and soared into the air. Unexpectedly, his target was also the tallest dragon pillar.
Four beams of golden light descended from the sky, but they did not move together with Bai Qi. This was very different from what happened with Sima Lingxuan.
After five or six minutes, no one had managed to climb onto a dragon pillar yet. Amidst the saber lights and sword lights, several cultivators had fallen, injured.
There were many miserable cries. Those who were unfortunate suffered from many sneak attacks. They would probably meet with a violent death.
Xiao Chen looked around in the crowd. Soon, he had a rough idea of how he was going to get a spot. He fixed his gaze on a dragon pillar at the periphery.
“Xiu!”
Xiao Chen pushed off heavily against the floor before shooting out like an arrow. Instantly, eight holes appeared in the dark clouds.
It looked like eight beams of lights would descend. However, for some reason, the holes that opened instantly mended.
Of course, no one managed to notice this tiny detail.
Xiao Chen went far away from the center, where the most intense battles were taking place. Instead, he headed to the periphery, to the most unremarkable dragon pillar. Even so, there were thirty people fighting over this dragon pillar.
The battle around the dragon pillar was unusually fierce. The top of the dragon pillar was empty; no one dared to step onto it. The people who had stood on it earlier suffered from a group attack and had not lasted long.
“Xiu!”
Just as the thirty people fought among themselves, a figure suddenly appeared on the dragon pillar. That person was dressed in white and a long, slender saber hung at his waist. His expression was calm, like nothing could cause him to panic.
“Where did this brat come from? How dare he steal our spot? How reckless!”
“Attack him!”
When the thirty people fighting among themselves saw Xiao Chen standing on the dragon pillar, they stopped fighting without a word and sent all sorts of attacks at Xiao Chen.
The weakest of this group was a Martial King; most of them were peak Superior Grade Martial Kings. There were a couple of them who were half-step Martial Monarchs.
Coincidentally, the first person to attack was a half-step Martial Monarch—the Breaking Saber Gate’s Song Qing. When he saw Xiao Chen standing on the dragon pillar, he smiled coldly to himself.
This brat is merely a Great Qin Nation disciple. Does he really think that just anyone can stand on this pillar?
Even I, Song Qing, am not in a rush to stand on it. It is not that easy to endure the focused attacks of the group for one minute.
I have to wait until the Essence of the group is more or less exhausted before I have the confidence of standing on it for one minute.