Sitting cross-legged atop a mountain peak, beside an ancient pine, Lin Xiao slightly closed his eyes, beginning to cultivate according to the techniques of the Nine Nether Demon Body.
His physical body, already formidable due to refinement by the Martial Emperor’s essence blood and heavenly thunder, now had the addition of demonic body cultivation methods. He was eager to see how much stronger his body would become after cultivating the Nine Nether Demon Body.
However, the Nine Nether Demon Body was too profound, too complex, and its requirements were extremely high. With his current physical condition, even achieving an entry-level mastery would be considered great fortune.
The Nine Nether Demon Body required continuous cultivation, progressing step by step, until one truly became a “demon.”
Yet, cultivating to the level of a true demon had only appeared in legends, with almost no one ever succeeding.
In no time, Lin Xiao became immersed in cultivating the Nine Nether Demon Body technique.
On Lin Xiao’s body, his skin turned dark, and strands of black qi emanated from his surface, swirling towards the entire mountaintop.
Moreover, this black qi continued to spread.
While Lin Xiao was cultivating with closed eyes, news spread that Ling Jian Sect, along with two major families, had challenged the Spear Dragon Sect, only to be swept away by Lin Xiao. This news rapidly spread throughout the Southeast Region.
Even though the buzz from the Southeast Region Youth Assembly had not yet subsided, Lin Xiao once again became the topic of heated discussion among countless people.
In streets and alleys, in every tavern, countless people were mentioning Lin Xiao’s name.
“Heavens, a ninth-level Martial Venerable, even defeating an elder from Ling Jian Sect who suppressed their cultivation to half-step Martial Emperor. In the same realm, who could still be Lin Xiao’s match?”
“The half-step Martial Emperor from Ling Jian Sect is likely more terrifying than those from other forces. In the same realm, even Jian Tianjiao probably isn’t Lin Xiao’s match!”
“Jian Tianjiao is very strong, but in terms of combat power in the same realm, he’s indeed no match for Lin Xiao. In fact, Lin Xiao could even defeat Jian Tianjiao while suppressing his own cultivation by two or three levels.” “It’s truly exciting. Just one month after the assembly, Lin Xiao broke through two more Martial Venerable realms, and it wasn’t a forced breakthrough. In less than two years, Lin Xiao will surely step into the Martial Monarch realm. It’s just uncertain how many levels of the Martial Monarch realm he’ll reach.”
“In less than two years, Lin Xiao will surely have the strength to challenge Jian Tianjiao.”
“At that time, I’m afraid the title of the top among the Eight Great Prodigies of the Southeast Region will belong to Lin Xiao.”
…
The Eight Great Prodigies had been renowned in the Southeast Region for some time, each one the most arrogant among the younger generation, unmatched by anyone in their generation, with no one else rising to the title of prodigy.
This left many young people dissatisfied, yet no one could compare.
Now, with Lin Xiao emerging and having a battle agreement with Jian Tianjiao, the top of the Eight Great Prodigies, many secretly hoped Lin Xiao could defeat Jian Tianjiao and shake up the title of the Eight Great Prodigies.
This time, after Lin Xiao defeated a half-step Martial Emperor from the same realm, even more people became optimistic about him.
The reputations of Ling Jian Sect, the Xing Family, and the Duan Family were tarnished by many during this time.
However, not long after, shocking news spread like wildfire, quickly sweeping through the entire Southeast Region.
Jian Wudi had come out of seclusion and, upon emerging, boldly went to the Nine Heavens Sect to challenge another prodigy, Li Yunxiao, drawing countless eyes.
As one of the Eight Great Prodigies, Li Yunxiao, being challenged at his doorstep, naturally could not refuse.
In the end, the two clashed in a heaven-shaking battle before the gates of the Nine Heavens Sect.
Although Jian Wudi was hailed as the top prodigy, this was merely a title spread by word of mouth, as the prodigies had never truly clashed with one another.
This time, Jian Tianjiao’s bold move to directly challenge the Nine Heavens Sect shocked countless people.
Even more shocking was that Jian Wudi completely defeated Li Yunxiao in just three moves.
This caused an uproar. Those hailed as prodigies were the most outstanding talents under thirty in the entire Southeast Region, the strongest in terms of strength.
As fellow prodigies, both at the sixth-level Martial Monarch, Li Yunxiao couldn’t even withstand three moves from Jian Wudi.
One could imagine how terrifying Jian Wudi’s strength was!
This was even more formidable than people had expected.
With Jian Wudi’s strength revealed, the previous optimism for Lin Xiao began to shift.
Compared to Jian Wudi, who had already reached the sixth-level Martial Monarch, many began to favour Jian Wudi in the next two years.
As if to solidify the claim of being the top of the Eight Great Prodigies, after defeating Li Yunxiao, Ling Jian Sect sent battle challenges to the other six major sects.
The targets were the prodigies of the six sects, excluding the Nine Heavens Sect.
The battle locations were at the doorsteps of the six sects, and the battle times were open to any time.
This challenge caused a massive stir. Jian Tianjiao was too bold, clearly provoking the dignity of the other prodigies.
Not long after the news spread, the Nether Sect announced that their prodigy, Ming Tian, accepted the challenge.
As a result, Ling Jian Sect openly led a group to the Nether Sect, with countless people going to watch.
Jian Wudi and Ming Tian engaged in a grand battle, and in the end, Jian Wudi defeated Ming Tian in three moves, without even using his phenomena.
This shocked countless people once again.
Jian Wudi won again, and again with just three moves.
Afterwards, the prodigies of the Evil Sect and the Absolute Blade Sect accepted the challenge, but without exception, all were defeated by Jian Wudi in three moves.
Within a month, four of the great prodigies had fallen to Jian Wudi.
Jian Wudi’s name instantly swept across the entire Southeast Region.
Later, the Burial Sect and the Demon Sect announced their refusal to fight Jian Wudi.
This left countless people sighing, while also marvelling at Jian Wudi.
Refusing to fight was akin to bowing their heads. The prodigies of two major sects had actually yielded to Jian Wudi.
One could imagine how Jian Wudi’s strength had intimidated them.
Now, among the Eight Great Prodigies, the only one who had not made a statement was the prodigy of the Spear Dragon Sect, Zhan Lan.
Zhan Lan was in seclusion, and the Spear Dragon Sect had not made any statements either.
Everyone was eagerly awaiting Zhan Lan’s emergence.
Due to Lin Xiao, the Spear Dragon Sect and Ling Jian Sect had a significant clash in terms of reputation.
Many wanted to see which sect would come out on top in this confrontation.
Of course, almost everyone was more optimistic about Jian Wudi.
After all, Jian Wudi had already defeated four other prodigies and made two others yield.
This time, no matter what, the Spear Dragon Sect was likely to lose face to Ling Jian Sect.
A few days later, the Spear Dragon Sect announced that Zhan Lan had come out of seclusion and accepted Jian Wudi’s challenge.
The day of the great battle was set for after Lin Xiao came out of seclusion.
This surprised many. Daring to accept the challenge showed that the Spear Dragon Sect was unwilling to yield, and Zhan Lan was unwilling to admit defeat.
The timing of the battle, involving Lin Xiao, made the Spear Dragon Sect’s intentions clear.
They wanted Lin Xiao to observe the battle and gauge Jian Wudi’s strength.
There were two possibilities. First, if Zhan Lan lost, it would force out Jian Wudi’s various trump cards, preparing Lin Xiao for future battles.
Second, if Zhan Lan won, it would greatly dampen Jian Wudi’s morale, clearly benefiting Lin Xiao in his future battle with Jian Wudi.
However, most believed the first possibility was more likely.
Moreover, it was highly likely that even Zhan Lan wouldn’t be able to force out Jian Wudi’s trump cards.
Regardless, the battle of prodigies attracted countless eyes.
As soon as the news spread, countless people rushed to the Spear Dragon Sect. Those nearby had already arrived, ready to watch the two clash at any moment.
Even the other defeated prodigies had set out to witness the battle. While countless people awaited Lin Xiao’s emergence and the clash between the two, Lin Xiao, who determined the battle’s timing, was still in seclusion on a peak within the Spear Dragon Sect.
