...Meanwhile, in the third stage of the Monarch Horoscope Contest...
The voice of the Monarch Envoy had just disappeared when the main entrances of the palaces were blasted open by the geniuses who had reached the third stage.
At that instant, powerful auras were unleashed from all directions.
As soon as Qin Nan stepped out from the palace, his left eye emitted a brilliant purple glow as he glanced in the other directions. In addition to him, the others were doing the same thing as well.
Their first reaction was to learn who among the geniuses had reached the third stage.
Qin Nan immediately saw Tang Qingshan, Jiang Bilan, Sima Kong, Ao Cangtian, Jiu Jiu, Yang Qi, Ao Dongfang, Mu Mu, Xuan Yue, Shi Qingfan, Chen Zilai, Sorceress Qian Qian, Dao Qianzhong, Yu Qingtong, and the others.
A total of one hundred and fifty-three geniuses had advanced to the third stage, and Qin Nan was familiar with half of them.
The others saw Qin Nan too. Tang Qingshan wore a calm expression as if he had expected it. Sima Kong blinked in his direction with a deviant look, while Mu Mu’s icy gaze toward him was filled with a complicated look, not to mention the murderous intent from Dao Qianzhong and a few other cultivators.
Everyone reacted differently as different thoughts crossed their minds.
“Everyone, please enter the dojo. You won’t be able to communicate with each other for now.”
The Monarch Envoy’s voice appeared.
Qin Nan tried to transmit his voice, and as he expected, his Divine Sense and voice were sealed off by some magical force, forcing him to give up on trying to communicate with Sima Kong, Tang Qingshan, and the others.
The one hundred and fifty-three geniuses descended the stairs as they proceeded to the dojo at the center.
The dojo covered an area with a circumference of over a few thousand zhang. Its end was shrouded by a thick mist, preventing them from looking at the scene beyond the dojo.
“I’ll keep it short, the third stage begins now! There are no rules in the third stage. You can compete freely with one another! Those who are able to inherit the Monarch Horoscopes will be able to refine the Monarch Flesh, and achieve the Martial Monarch Realm——”
The Monarch Envoy blurted out, but suddenly halted halfway during his explanation.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind appeared from a rift and swept the place, blowing the mist surrounding the dojo apart, revealing its true appearance.
The dojo was, in fact, covering an area with a circumference of a hundred thousand zhang. Three of its sides ended in endless darkness, thus it felt like the giant dojo was floating in some endless space.
Furthermore, at the front of the dojo stood ten pitch-black ancient altars which were nine hundred and ninety-nine zhang tall. Their surface was filled with magical runes, causing them to feel heavier than a mountain.
On top of that, a golden illusionary human figure could be seen floating on each of the altars. The figures were sitting with their legs crossed within a bright glow, as their monarch aura was as immeasurable as the ocean. Their presence seemed to have surpassed the Heavens and Earth, granting them an utterly mysterious aura.
Even though the ten altars seemed quite powerful, it felt like they could barely hold the ten illusionary human figures on them.
These were the Monarch Horoscopes.
No matter how strong a Martial Progenitor Realm cultivator was, regardless of their Martial Spirit’s grade, they would be able to achieve the Martial Monarch Realm by inheriting the Monarch Horoscope, and become a great authority of the Canglan Continent, soaring into the sky!
The geniuses had imagined this moment before, but none of them were able to maintain their calmness after witnessing it with their eyes, as their hearts began to race.
Ten Monarch Horoscopes!
The Monarch Horoscope Contest this time had ten Monarch Horoscopes!
In other words, ten people among one hundred and fifty-three of them would be able to achieve the Martial Monarch Realm!
The Monarch Envoy in the third round seemed to be satisfied with everyone’s reaction, as it waited patiently. A moment later, it finally spoke in a loud voice.
“Now, the Monarch Horoscope Contest begins!”
Following this, the geniuses felt the magical force restricting their Divine Sense and voices be lifted.
They were no longer being restricted.
“Charge!”
“The Monarch Horoscope is mine! No one is allowed to take mine!”
“HAHAHA, I’ve finally waited until this day!”
Within a breath’s time, over thirty geniuses revealed their trump cards and charged toward the Monarch Horoscopes at a shocking pace.
Every second mattered now!
“The first Monarch Horoscope is mine.”
A calm yet imperious voice was heard, as Shi Qingfan placed his hands behind himself while stepping forward. Each step he took would summon a seven-colored lotus.
“Hehe, the second one is mine. I’ll kill anyone who tries to take it.”
Sorceress Qian Qian said in a pleasant voice, but it brought a great chill to the cultivators.
“Amitabha, it seems like I’ll be taking the third one.”
Chen Zilai placed his palms together as the leaves of the Bodhi tree surrounded his figure.
Each of the top three geniuses was imperious enough to ‘choose’ their Monarch Horoscope.
After all, there were ten Monarch Horoscopes in total, thus no one would dare to compete against the top three geniuses.
Following this, Dao Qianzhong, Ao Cangtian, Jiu Jiu, Yang Qi, the Heaven-Yin Daoist, the Faceless Cultivator, and Hua Dichen took their turns to voice out, selecting their Monarch Horoscopes.
However, their declarations were only used to intimidate others.
In the end, no one could guarantee the outcome of the battle. Even Shi Qingfan would have to face the combined attacks of countless geniuses.
“Senior Brother, Jiang Bilan, Sima Kong, Xuan Yue, if it’s possible, we’ll avoid competing among ourselves. That being said, if you happened to face against Ao Cangtian, Jiu Jiu, Yang Qi, Ao Dongfang, or Mu Mu, please go easy on them...”
Qin Nan was not in a rush to make his move, as he quickly transmitted his voice instead.
Many here were his friends, and it was fine for them to compete fairly against each other. However, Qin Nan was not willing to see them killing each other.
“Alright!”
Tang Qingshan, Jiang Bilan, Sima Kong, Xuan Yue, and the others nodded as they unleashed their auras and joined the battle.
As Qin Nan observed the countless flickers and heard the deafening blasts in front of him, the blood in his body that had gone silent for quite a long time began to boil, causing his eyes to be filled with excitement.
“Now...it’s my turn!”
Qin Nan’s lips curled upward as his right arm transformed into the Heaven-Shattering Saber. He stomped the ground and fired a shocking saber intent toward the Monarch Horoscope that the Faceless Cultivator had chosen.
The slash had no actual target, thus it would just kill anyone that was in its path.
Meanwhile...
The slash was like a brilliant meteor, grabbing the attention of the cultivators, whose faces became pale as they saw it coming in their direction.