At the banquet venue, some discussions about Lin Yun also began to surface.
“That Blood Calamity Lin Yun hasn’t even made it into the top 1,000?”
“It’s not that surprising. Back in the Mountain and Sea Realm, he only managed to dominate the disciples of other sects because of his pet. If he had relied solely on his own strength, would he have achieved such glorious results? This competition is all about personal strength, and now his true colors are showing.”
…
Lin Yun’s absence from the top 1,000 of the Ten Thousand Flowers Leaderboard naturally sparked some discussions.
Of course, with so many guests present, only a small portion were talking about Lin Yun, mainly those from various sects.
The Sect Master of the Soul Refining Sect leaned back in his chair and sneered, “It seems now that Lin Yun isn’t all that impressive. He just relied on his pet.”
“He was overestimated. His reputation was exaggerated, and he doesn’t live up to the hype,” the Sect Master of the Qingyuan Sect added.
At this moment, Jin Yaor and several other princesses and princes went forward to toast the Star Martial Emperor, congratulating him on his birthday.
“Yaor, Yi, you two stay behind and watch the competition with me while we have a drink.”
The Star Martial Emperor pointed out two of them to stay.
The other princesses and princes reluctantly left, leaving only Jin Yaor and Prince Jin Yi, the emperor’s most favored princess and prince.
Servants quickly brought over tables and placed them on either side of the emperor, close to him.
Jin Yaor and Prince Jin Yi took their seats.
The Star Martial Emperor looked at Jin Yaor and said, “Yaor, have you seen Jiang Fengyu at the top of the leaderboard? He’s a true prodigy. He doesn’t belong to any family or faction. He’s the closed-door disciple of Old Man Huo Chen. That’s what you call a prodigy. Yesterday, Huo Chen personally brought him to meet me. In my opinion, he has the highest chance of winning the championship.”
“After the competition ends, I’ve decided to publicly take him as my disciple and nurture him properly. In a thousand years, he will undoubtedly become a great general of the empire.”
The Star Martial Emperor then shifted his tone, “As for the Lin Yun you think so highly of, he hasn’t even made it into the top 1,000. Although the competition has just started and there’s still room for change, anyone with real strength would have easily made it into the top 1,000 at the very least.”
“Father, he…” Jin Yaor was momentarily at a loss for words.
This competition didn’t have a live broadcast of the battles inside, only the leaderboard. Jin Yaor had no idea what Lin Yun was doing.
“Lin Yun’s greatest reliance is his pet. Without it, he’s not as impressive as you think,” the Star Martial Emperor said slowly.
“Father, if I were allowed to participate, winning first place would be as easy as taking something out of a bag! What do these so-called geniuses mean in front of me?” Prince Jin Yi said with full confidence.
Jin Yaor, on the other hand, stared at the massive Ten Thousand Flowers Leaderboard in the air, feeling puzzled.
“Yi, you have excellent talent, but you’re too arrogant and impulsive,” the Star Martial Emperor shook his head.
“Father, young people should be ambitious. If cultivators lose their competitive spirit, how can they become stronger?” Jin Yi replied with a smile.
As for Jin Yaor, she continued to stare blankly at the leaderboard.
Could it be… that Lin Yun really couldn’t even make it into the top 1,000? That shouldn’t be the case!
The names on the leaderboard kept changing rapidly.
At this moment, Lin Yun’s name suddenly appeared at the bottom of the leaderboard.
**997th place: Lin Yun.**
“It’s Lin Yun’s name! He’s on the leaderboard! Father, look!” Jin Yaor’s face lit up with joy when she saw Lin Yun’s name.
“997th place? What’s the use of that?” The Star Martial Emperor chuckled coldly, with a hint of mockery.
Then, he turned back to drink and chat with the eternal beings.
“Come on, you idiot. Show some strength,” Jin Yaor muttered under her breath as she stared at the leaderboard.
Below.
“Lin Yun! Sect Master, look! Lin Yun’s name has appeared!” Elder Mei Gu exclaimed in excitement.
They had been staring at the leaderboard, hoping Lin Yun would make it onto the list. After all, breaking into the top 1,000 shouldn’t be too difficult.
“Finally, he’s on the leaderboard,” the Sect Master said, feeling slightly relieved.
However, their anxiety didn’t completely dissipate, as Lin Yun needed to break into the top 100 to advance.
“Sect Master, look! Lin Yun’s name is skyrocketing!” The Sect Master became excited.
On the massive Ten Thousand Flowers Leaderboard in the air, Lin Yun’s name was climbing at an astonishing speed, as if riding a rocket.
981st, 965th, 927th, 894th…
Lin Yun’s name was soaring up the leaderboard at an incredible pace!
“Lin Yun is finally starting to show his strength in the competition,” the Sect Master said, his deep eyes filled with anticipation.
Lin Yun’s rapid rise caught the attention of many people present.
“That Lin Yun, the Blood Calamity from the Thousand Sects War, right? His ranking is skyrocketing. He does have some strength after all. I wonder if he can break into the top 100.”
…
At the front.
“Father, look! Lin Yun’s ranking is soaring! He’s in the 400s now! No, the 300s! The 200s!” Jin Yaor exclaimed in delight.
Hearing this, the Star Martial Emperor also looked up at the leaderboard.
At this moment, Lin Yun’s name was still climbing.
The Star Martial Emperor kept watching, curious to see how far Lin Yun could go.
On the Ten Thousand Flowers Leaderboard, Lin Yun’s name continued to rise until it finally stopped at 147th place, no longer climbing.
“Even with such a rapid rise, it’s useless if he can’t break into the top 100. If he could make it into the top 20 or even the top 10, that would prove he has some real strength,” the Star Martial Emperor said, shaking his head.
After saying this, he turned back to drink and chat with the eternal beings, laughing and talking.
For the Star Martial Emperor, if it weren’t for Jin Yaor repeatedly bringing up Lin Yun, he wouldn’t have paid any attention to him. He didn’t care about anyone ranked below 100.
This Ten Thousand Flowers Competition gathered almost all the top young talents of the Star Martial Empire. Making it to the top ranks in this competition would almost certainly prove that one was among the best of the empire’s younger generation.
Even Hao Yuntian from the Soul Refining Sect was barely holding onto 117th place. It’s worth noting that Hao Yuntian had taken second place in the Thousand Sects War. If it weren’t for Lin Yun directly taking first place, Hao Yuntian might have been the champion.
Here, even breaking into the top 100 would require considerable effort.
On the other hand, Gao Yuan from the Soul Refining Sect was currently ranked 32nd on the leaderboard, and his ranking was still rising!
Gao Yuan’s strength was indeed formidable. Back in the ancient ruins, Lin Yun couldn’t defeat him in a one-on-one fight.
The Ten Thousand Flowers Competition was truly a gathering of the strongest!
The previous Thousand Sects War was only a competition among the younger generation of sects, with an age limit of 200. This time, it included the entire younger generation of the Star Martial Empire, with the age limit raised to 300. The scale was completely different!
With a population of nearly two trillion in the Star Martial Empire, even if the proportion of top-tier geniuses was extremely low, such a massive population base naturally hid many talents. There would undoubtedly be many dark horses who had never been heard of before.
For example, the current second-place holder, Li Shi, was someone no one had heard of before, yet he was firmly holding onto second place. That was the mark of a dark horse!
