The Moonlight Treasure Ship seemed to have slowed down, with soft sunlight streaming in through the window.
“Truly worthy of being a treasure from the True Demon Forbidden Land. It’s incredibly difficult to cultivate, but the results are astonishing. Just reaching the first stage has evolved my Heavenly Vein to the growth phase. Quite interesting!”
Ling Xiao’s cultivation speed was still remarkably impressive. For something like this, an ordinary person wouldn’t even grasp the basics in a day, yet he had already reached the first stage. This was truly rare.
“Have we reached the Holy City?”
Ling Xiao pushed open the door and stepped out to ask.
“Not yet. From here on, we’ll encounter many terrifying flying beasts with formidable strength, so we need to slow down. You should continue cultivating,” Golden Light Venerable said, sitting outside Ling Xiao’s door.
He was guarding Ling Xiao.
This scene touched Ling Xiao deeply.
It seemed he had truly become the fervent hope of everyone in Moonlight Sect. He absolutely could not let them down.
No matter what, he had to take first place in the Martial Arts Festival finals!
He returned to his room, chuckling to himself. He had thought he had cultivated for a full day, but it was only half a day. It seemed there was still time.
He closed his eyes again and continued cultivating according to the previous method.
The beginning is always the hardest. Once you find the right path, cultivation becomes smooth and natural.
Meanwhile, as the Holy Dynasty Martial Arts Festival finals drew closer, the entire Tianlong Continent seemed to be stirring with excitement.
Besides the twelve sects and numerous smaller factions, countless independent martial artists were also heading to the Holy City.
These independent martial artists generally had strong cultivation, with the weakest being Heavenly Vein warriors.
There was no choice. Those below Heavenly Vein warriors lacked Heavenly Essence Power, making survival in many parts of Tianlong Continent impossible.
Although the Holy City was large, its space was limited. For a better spectating experience, this time, external martial artists were restricted to Heavenly Vein warriors.
Moreover, you had to arrive early. If you were late, you couldn’t get in. Once the Holy City’s capacity limit was reached, unless you were royalty or nobility of the Holy Dynasty, you had no chance of entering.
Of course, sect disciples were an exception.
Especially the disciples of the twelve sects. Each sect was allowed to bring up to one hundred spectators, and participating disciples were not counted in this number.
The Holy Dynasty Martial Arts Festival, held only once every few years, was a grand event for the entire Tianlong Continent. Anyone with the ability didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
Moreover, news of the preliminary rounds had already spread across Tianlong Continent. Nearly all martial artists knew that this Martial Arts Festival was the strongest in ten thousand years.
Missing it would mean never seeing such an event in a lifetime.
After all, few martial artists lived to ten thousand years.
While the entire Tianlong Continent was buzzing with excitement for the Martial Arts Festival, the various sects were also preparing for the finals.
This year’s Holy Dynasty Martial Arts Festival had an overwhelming number of geniuses. Despite the preliminaries eliminating many, it was still the most prosperous in ten thousand years.
Rumour had it that the person who ranked first in the Martial Arts Festival would become the Chosen One, receiving the full support and cultivation of the entire Tianlong Continent.
The next six would become the new Six Young Masters of the Holy Dynasty, granted the honour of “Chosen Guardians” and accompanying the Chosen One on the journey of the Chosen Path, naturally reaping significant benefits.
Of course, the rewards didn’t stop there.
It was said that when the Human King chose the Holy City as the capital of the Holy Dynasty, he forged nine cauldrons to anchor its fortune.
This fortune wasn’t some mystical nonsense but something tangible and real.
Fortune could affect a person’s prospects and a sect’s future.
Though the Holy Dynasty had declined, it still stood firm because of the nine cauldrons anchoring its fortune.
Now, that fortune was gradually leaking. Whoever achieved a higher ranking in the Martial Arts Festival could gain more of this leaking fortune.
This fortune might sound mysterious, but it was better than any miraculous elixir or treasure.
With fortune, you would be blessed with good luck.
Whether in combat, adventure, alchemy, or cultivation, everything would go smoothly. The more fortune you had, the more pronounced the effect.
Because of this, the various sects and these young prodigies were frantically vying for high rankings.
It was said that the strongest fortune was equivalent to nine cauldrons!
Only the Human King of old had achieved this. Later generations of martial artists, even the strongest, like Holy Emperor Ji Wu, who fought the True Demon Emperor without losing, only had eight cauldrons of fortune.
To put it simply, with nine cauldrons of fortune, the success rate for anything you did was over ninety percent!
Though failure was still possible, the chance of it was greatly reduced.
The less fortune you had, the lower your success rate.
Some people had no fortune at all and were even plagued by bad luck, failing at everything and encountering misfortune everywhere.
Ordinary people had some fortune, but most didn’t even reach one cauldron.
Ling Xiao’s fortune was higher than most, around two cauldrons, but this was only after he gained the Mountain River Martial Soul. Before that, he had only bad luck.
To achieve greater success, he had to secure a better ranking in the Martial Arts Festival.
And he wasn’t the only one who thought so. Others did too.
Jade Water Palace.
Deep in an emerald lake, like a piece of jade, stood a palace hidden among coral.
Despite the immense water pressure, the palace remained steadfast and sturdy.
Near the palace, in the dark lake waters, lurked a ferocious giant whale. Anyone who approached would be mercilessly devoured.
Inside the palace, the master of Jade Water Palace sat on a throne, looking down at two figures.
She was a noble woman, as if she overlooked the entire world.
“Bai Qianjiao! Hong Li! Though our Jade Water Palace has many disciples participating in the Martial Arts Festival, only you two have a real chance at competing for the Six Young Masters of the Holy Dynasty!
Bai Qianjiao, you’re the chief core disciple of Jade Water Palace. Last time, you ranked third, securing considerable fortune for our palace. But third place isn’t enough. This time, I want you to defeat the Holy Son!”
Below stood a girl in white and a girl in red.
Both were strikingly beautiful, clearly extraordinary.
Bai Qianjiao was, of course, the girl in white.
She bowed slightly and smiled, “Palace Master, rest assured. In this Martial Arts Festival, I will definitely defeat the Holy Son and take first place, increasing fortune for our Jade Water Palace, our Storm Legion, and our entire Sea Clan!”
“Well said. Tens of thousands of years ago, the True Demon Emperor recklessly attacked the Holy Dynasty but failed because the dynasty’s fortune hadn’t run out. We mustn’t repeat that mistake. We must seize as much fortune as possible.”
The noble woman nodded slowly.
