Chapter 1560 - Show Starting
An hour later, the Thunder Sect and Heavenly Blade Pavilion finally arrived. Only the Profound Sky Sect was left out of the eight powerful sects.
When Lin Yun sensed two gazes directed at him, he raised his head and looked at the two gazes with surprise flashing through his pupils. It turned out that there were two acquaintances from the Thunder Sect.
One was Zhang Jin, whom he met back at Profound Wither Island. Back then, he was the leader of the Empyrean Realm party, and he wasn’t surprised that he would be here one year later. As for the other one, it was surprising because it was Dugu Yan of the Azure Thunder Sect.
Lin Yun didn’t have much impression of this person whom he had defeated, but this person usually kept his eyes closed because of his Azure Thunder Sword Eyes. Since his appearance was too striking, Lin Yun naturally had some impression of this person. But he was surprised that this person joined the Thunder Sect.
Then again, it wasn’t surprising if he thought about it again. The two sects had similar martial techniques, and the Thunder Sect would naturally welcome him if he was willing to join.
There was another acquaintance from the Heavenly Blade Pavilion, Nangong Ze. But this person was too aloof and didn’t place anything in his eyes. He was only paying attention to the leader of each sect before he closed his eyes and started meditating. He didn’t even spare a glance at Lin Yun or the Elysium Core Realm geniuses from the other sects, as though he didn’t consider those geniuses his opponents.
He only showed interest in Dragon Pulse Realm geniuses like Mu Xueqin, feeling that he would soon become one of them.
“This Nangong Ze is a little arrogant. After returning from the Profound Wither Island, I heard that his blade intent soon reached the Firmament Blade Sword Intent, which has already reached the pinnacle of the fourth-grade blade intent.”
“How did he manage to do it? Isn’t this a little too unbelievable?”
“Who knows? Perhaps he had his encounters on the Profound Wither Island. “ Nangong Ze was famous amongst the younger generation, and his aloof attitude soon attracted everyone’s attention.
Lin Yun’s eyes flickered when he looked at Nangong Ze. It seemed like Nangong Ze had received some benefits on the Profound Wither Island. He discovered that not only Nangong Ze, but Zhang Jin, Cang Yun, Tang Jin, and Luo Shuyi had also gotten much stronger than before.
“Why isn’t the Profound Sky Sect’s party here?”
“Coming late on purpose? They’re too arrogant to let us wait for them!”
“Ha, nothing to be arrogant about. The Profound Sky Sect didn’t even dare to let out a fart when the patriarch of the Nether Divinity Clan was killed. Did they really think they were invincible in the Ancient Barren Domain?” Several unhappy voices resounded.
The banquet wouldn’t start until everyone was there. So everyone naturally became unhappy after waiting for so long.
“Luo Yuan apologizes for being late, and I’ll punish myself by drinking three cups.” A loud voice echoed as a group appeared in an empty pavilion. They were naturally from the Profound Sky Sect, and the one leading was donned in black with a jade ornament on his waist.
He was Luo Yuan of the Profound Sky Sect, with his cultivation at the pinnacle second-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm. The strongest amongst the younger generation was in the third-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm, and only those who had reached it could be considered influential figures in the Ancient Barren Domain.
If anyone could reach the third-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm before thirty, they could be considered part of the golden generation in the Ancient Barren Domain. By far, in the Sword Sect, only Gu Ruochen had achieved that.
As for Ye Xuanqing and Mu Xueqin, they still needed to be improved. After all, it was completely different after reaching the Dragon Pulse Realm. The condensing of each pulse was equivalent to a tribulation, and the price of failure was death.
So without absolute confidence, no one would take the risk of condensing another pulse before they were well-prepared. Luo Yuan was a formidable figure because he could evenly fight against a golden generation genius from the Thunder Sect for a hundred moves, thus becoming famous. He was known as the strongest existence beneath the golden generation. Many people speculated that he could reach the third-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm before thirty.
So the leader of every sect wore a grave expression when he appeared with fear flashing across their pupils. This included Mu Xueqin, who had always considered Luo Yuan her rival.
But Lin Yun wasn’t too bothered by Luo Yuan. His gaze was on the person standing to the left of Luo Yuan, instead. This person was wearing an ordinary yellow robe and a golden mask. This banquet had nothing to do with Dragon Pulse Realm experts, and Lin Yun had some distance to go compared to the Dragon Pulse Realm.
He might not be afraid of Luo Yuan, but it was practically impossible for him to win. Regardless of how terrifying his foundation was, it was nothing compared to the vast differences in their cultivation. He might be able to deal with ordinary Dragon Pulse Realm experts, but it was another story if he faced a genius who had condensed dragon origin. But with Mu Xueqin around, he didn’t have to worry about the Dragon Pulse Realm experts.
“Who’s he?” Lin Yun asked Jin Xuanyi because he was more curious about the masked person.
“Don’t know.” Jin Xuanyi shook his head. “Maybe he’s Qin Cang!”
But Lin Yun didn’t think that it was possible. With Tian Xuanzi’s means, Lin Yun didn’t doubt that Tian Xuanzi could restore Qin Cang’s injuries. But this person couldn't be Qin Cang. Lin Yun had dug out Qin Cang’s dragon bone, and he significantly understood the latter’s aura. So if this masked person was Qin Cang, Lin Yun would recognize this person immediately.
During this period, Luo Yuan was done drinking three cups as he looked at Mu Xueqin with a smile, “Pretty impressive formation from the Sword Sect. All the saints’ disciples are here. It looks like you guys are pretty determined.”
“I dare not to be determined.” Mu Xueqin indifferently replied.
“Haha, why don’t you dare with all the saints’ disciples here?” Luo Yuan wore a playful smile and continued, “I’m only curious. After all, if the Sword Sect can’t even make it into the top three like last year, doesn’t that mean that the saint lords of your Sword Sect are nothing impressive?”
As a cold light flashed across Mu Xueqin’s pupils, she replied, “The saints’ disciples only joined the sect for a year. So it’s understandable for them to be defeated. After all, who can claim to be invincible in this world? As for whether the saint lords of our Sword Sect are strong, you can ask the Nether Divinity Clan that question yourself.”
Sparks flew between their eyes, and anyone could smell the gunpowder between them. It was well-known that the Profound Sky Sect had a deep relationship with the Nether Divinity Clan. So the death of the Nether Divinity Clan’s patriarch was a massive blow to the Profound Sky Sect’s reputation.
So when Mu Xueqin said those words, the smile disappeared from Luo Yuan’s face. After all, Qin Xiao’s death greatly affected the Profound Sky Sect’s reputation. But Luo Yuan soon calmed down and smiled, “There isn’t an invincible person in the world? I’m afraid someone might disagree with that.”
As he spoke, he turned to look at the masked man standing beside him. This person had a mask covering most of his face and quietly drank wine.
Sensing Luo Yuan’s gaze, the masked man indifferently replied, “There are naturally invincible people in the world. The Nine Emperors were invincible when they emerged. Jian Jingtian of your sect eighteen years ago can be considered invincible among the same generation. So we naturally have to have the mentality to be invincible!”
His words shocked many people as Jiang Cheng squinted his eyes and asked, “How can I address you?”
“Yi Xuan, an ordinary disciple of the Profound Sky Sect.” The masked man replied.
“Yi Xuan? Never heard of you before.”
“What capability does someone who only knows how to hide his identity have? For a Profound Sky Sect’s expert, you’ll have to look at the likes of Zhao Feng.” The other sects’ disciples whispered amongst themselves because they had never heard of Yi Xuan before, not to mention that this person only knew how to put on a pretense as though he was a genius.
“Ha, invincible? You’re qualified to say that?” Nangong Ze spoke out and snickered, “Don’t tell me that you wear a mask because you’re ugly?”
“Ha.” The masked man smiled and didn’t bother to argue. But the other sects’ geniuses, such as Cang Yun, Dugu Yan, Zhang Jin, and Ning Feng, didn’t dare to be careless around this person.
Right then, a saint aura descended and the Heavenly Pool Manor’s Heavenly Pool Saint Lord appeared from the main pavilion. Following his appearance, the Sword Sect and the Profound Sky Sect calmed down.
“The rules of this gathering are the same as in the past. There are three segments, and two sects will be eliminated with each segment. The top four will be determined in the last round. The first will have four quotas, the second will have three, the third will have two, and the fourth will have a quota. The sects eliminated in the first two segments will only keep two quotas. Does anyone have any opinion about that?” The Heavenly Pool Saint Lord asked.
Mu Xueqin naturally had no opinion because the eight sects set the rules a long time ago, and the Heavenly Pool Saint Lord was only going through a ceremony.
“Whoever can win three rounds will make it through, and those who lost three fights will be eliminated…” The Heavenly Pool Saint Lord continued his explanation while nodding his head.
Everyone was already familiar with the rules. Each sect could only send out Elysium Core Realm disciples to challenge another sect, and they could also wait to be challenged. They just had to focus on winning three rounds and were not limited to how many times a person could fight.
This meant that if you were strong enough, you could sweep through the Elysium Core Realm geniuses of the other sects alone. That meant one round was all it needed, but it was practically impossible.
The gathering was a fight between Elysium Core Realm geniuses. Although the competition was intense, the rules were rather casual. The Ancient Barren Battlefield was where it was brutal because it was simply a slaughterhouse between sects. Since the Heavenly Pool Saint Lord was around, no one’s life would be harmed there.
“Since no one has any opinion about the rules, who will be first?” The Heavenly Pool Saint Lord looked around. Everyone here for this gathering was much stronger because the chief Empyreans of many sects had all reached the Elysium Core Realm.
Furthermore, they had a high ranking on the Empyrean Ranking. With their accumulation, they would undergo a transformation upon reaching the Elysium Core Realm, and they could even get the top hundredths in the future.
When the Heavenly Pool Saint Lord was done, a person flew out from the Profound Sky Sect’s party and landed on the vast stage.
“Profound Sky Sect’s Liu Xu requests to challenge the Sword Sect’s saint disciple, Ye Ziling.” This person cupped his hands in the Sword Sect’s direction, and his words instantly caused a commotion. Everyone was surprised that the Profound Sky Sect wanted to challenge the Sword Sect for the first fight.
Mu Xueqin had no change on her face as she raised her wine cup. Jin Xuanyi and Ji Shuxuan exchanged glances before Jin Xuanyi stood up and smiled, “You’re not qualified to fight a saint disciple. Let me face you, instead.”
Mu Xueqin would naturally not agree to a nameless person challenging Ye Ziling. At the very least, they had to probe the other party’s strength.
Meanwhile, Luo Yuan raised his wine cup with a playful gaze because he knew the show was finally starting. In this gathering, he was determined to embarrass the entire Sword Sect, and not a single saint disciple could escape.