I don’t know how much time had passed, but Ling Xiao’s eyes slowly opened from their tightly shut state, and in his bright pupils, there was a faint misty sensation.
Success!
He had broken through to the fifth level and comprehended the fifth celestial power: the Celestial Power of Mist.
Moreover, his cultivation had officially stepped into the Half-Step Heavenly Venerate realm!
This was a breakthrough of immense significance.
In the past, with his ninth-level mortal realm cultivation, fighting a Half-Step Heavenly Venerate required special circumstances. Otherwise, he had to enter his Human-Dragon form, and it had to be the tenth form at that.
Such battles left Ling Xiao uneasy, for if he lost, there was almost no way out. He would have to enter the Ancient Golden Dragon form.
However, entering the Ancient Golden Dragon form could lead to bloody pursuit and slaughter, which would be truly troublesome.
Thus, in battle, he needed absolute confidence.
This required elevating his own cultivation.
On the day he emerged from seclusion, he heard news that Lan Yuer had broken through to sixty percent Half-Step Heavenly Venerate power, Leng Hao had advanced to the peak of the ninth-level mortal realm, and Dai Yuling had similarly reached the peak of the ninth-level mortal realm. These two had now become direct competitors.
However, it was considered friendly competition.
As for Zhao Zhi, his progress during this period was likely the greatest. His cultivation had reached the early eighth-level mortal realm, ranking just below Dai Yuling among the ten core disciples.
Yet, when they saw Ling Xiao, they still showed looks of disbelief, simply unable to comprehend.
“Senior Brother Ling, you’re just too incredible. I thought I was getting closer to you, but you’ve gone and become a Half-Step Heavenly Venerate. The gap has widened again,” Leng Hao said, shaking his head with a wry smile.
Ling Xiao thought to himself, isn’t that obvious? I’ve spent so many spirit stones to boost my cultivation and even fought a battle in the Northern Han capital. If I didn’t progress faster than you, wouldn’t that be too embarrassing?
At this point, only five days remained until the Holy Dynasty Martial Arts Festival. Wu Xiang summoned all ten core disciples of the Moonlight Sect to the council hall.
“The Holy Dynasty Martial Arts Festival stipulates that each of the twelve sects can send up to one hundred disciples to participate, divided into preliminaries and finals. The preliminaries will take place in the True Demon Forbidden Land, the former palace of the True Demon Empire. That place is fraught with danger but also filled with opportunities,” Wu Xiang explained. “The preliminaries will eliminate most disciples. From over a thousand participants across the twelve sects, only about two hundred will advance to the finals, which will be held in the Holy Dynasty’s capital, Heavenly Dragon City. The preliminaries start the day after tomorrow, so prepare yourselves and set out today.”
In truth, had it not been for waiting for Ling Xiao to emerge from seclusion, this timeline would have been earlier.
Wu Xiang had the highest expectations for Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao appeared calm and composed, standing there without revealing the slightest trace of a martial artist’s aura, as if he were perfectly natural.
But the more ordinary he seemed, the more reassuring it was.
His divine light was restrained, something not just anyone could achieve.
Previously, Ling Xiao wasn’t confident in defeating Jian Wuji without entering the Ancient Golden Dragon form, possibly even needing to use a sealing card.
Now, however, he was ninety percent certain he could defeat Jian Wuji.
As for the Holy Son, he had a fifty percent chance.
But this wasn’t enough; he needed to improve further. The True Demon Forbidden Land mentioned in the preliminaries would be the key to enhancing his strength in the next stage.
That place was both a preliminary and an opportunity.
“Additionally, the True Demon Forbidden Land can only be entered once by each martial artist. For some reason, if you try to enter a second time, a terrifying force will forcibly eject you. So, you’re fortunate. The top fifty ranked martial artists, essentially seed contestants, won’t participate in these preliminaries,” Wu Xiang continued. “For most of our sect’s participants, the preliminaries may be the end of the road, but I hope everyone can gain something from the True Demon Forbidden Land.”
“Sect Leader, we’ll do our best!” Zhao Zhi said excitedly.
Having raised his cultivation to the early eighth-level mortal realm before the Martial Arts Festival, he was thrilled.
He didn’t expect to rank in the top hundred. As long as he could achieve good results in the preliminaries, that would be enough.
“Haha, don’t put too much pressure on yourselves. If our Moonlight Sect can have two people enter the finals this time, that’s already progress!” Wu Xiang said, though he felt a bit embarrassed. The Moonlight Sect’s best performances had only seen one person reach the finals, and they never made it into the top hundred.
It was humiliating to admit.
No wonder other sects mocked and belittled the Moonlight Sect.
“Senior Brother Wu, shouldn’t Senior Brother Ling have the qualifications to become one of the new Holy Dynasty’s Six Young Masters? By then, our Moonlight Sect will truly shine,” Leng Hao said excitedly.
“Speaking of which, Junior Brother Ling, are you confident in defeating Jian Wuji?” Wu Xiang asked, not daring to mention the Holy Son, as he lacked confidence himself.
“Absolute confidence!” Ling Xiao replied. An eighty percent chance was, to him, absolute confidence.
“Junior Brother Ling, you may not know, but Jian Wuji has recently broken through as well. It’s said he’s reached ninety percent Half-Step Heavenly Venerate power. As such, all six of the Holy Dynasty’s Young Masters have reached ninety percent power. The differences lie only in martial arts, strength, and combat experience,” Wu Xiang cautioned.
“With his aptitude, a breakthrough is normal. Nothing surprising. I’ve already accounted for it,” Ling Xiao said calmly. “To be honest, Senior Brother Wu, my goal has always been the Holy Son. As for Jian Wuji, if he doesn’t provoke me, I can’t be bothered with him.”
Hearing this, Wu Xiang shook his head with a wry smile. Just how much strength was this junior brother hiding, to not even take Jian Wuji seriously?
The other core disciples were stunned.
In their eyes, the Holy Son was an invincible existence. Yet now, someone among their peers wanted to challenge him.
Did he truly have the ability?
Or was he just bluffing?
Ling Xiao didn’t care what they thought.
He was currently at ten percent Half-Step Heavenly Venerate power because he hadn’t fully absorbed the spiritual liquid, nor had he completely digested the power left by the Human King from the seabed.
Through these preliminaries, he estimated his cultivation could break through further. By the finals, reaching fifty percent Half-Step Heavenly Venerate power shouldn’t be an issue.
Perhaps even higher.
After all, no one could predict what might happen in the True Demon Forbidden Land. If luck was on his side, he could gain immensely.
“Alright, go prepare. Gather at the square in fifteen minutes!” Wu Xiang said, though he had some doubts about Ling Xiao’s words.
He knew Ling Xiao was strong, but could he really defeat the Holy Son?
That seemed a bit too difficult.
He had seen the Holy Son before. Though still young, the Holy Son’s martial soul was undeniably powerful, possibly even one of the nine Ancient Dragon King souls.
The higher one’s cultivation, the clearer this became.
