“No way, my attack strength only lit up seventy lamps? This must be a scam!”
“Be content. I only got sixty-nine, one less than you.”
“Don’t doubt it. This pillar isn’t an official test, but it’s said to have been here since before the holy dynasty, a weapon of some ancient demon king.”
Hearing the crowd’s chatter, Ling Xiao looked up.
The pillar, a hundred metres tall, sensed attack strength at each metre, lighting up accordingly.
The golden glow was striking.
If all lit up, it would be a hundred lamps. The two who spoke earlier didn’t have bad attack strength.
“Look at me! Ha!”
As Ling Xiao and Leng Hao walked closer, a young expert stood before the massive bronze pillar.
Boom!
His punch struck the pillar, and it instantly shone with dazzling light.
“Seventy-nine lamps!”
“That’s some serious power. Lighting seventy lamps means they’re celestial vein warriors!”
“Exactly. Many think this pillar tests pure attack strength, but that’s wrong. Some array in this divine weapon tests overall combat strength, including defence, true yuan, and attack.”
“What if someone hides their strength?”
“Then the test isn’t accurate, but why would they?”
“Brother Ling, I’ll try!”
Leng Hao, finding it fun, kicked the pillar.
“Sixty-five lamps, not bad!” Ling Xiao said with a smile.
Leng Hao’s cultivation wasn’t at the celestial vein level yet, so lighting sixty-five lamps was impressive.
Ling Xiao could sense Leng Hao hadn’t used his full strength.
It was just for fun, no need to go all out.
“Didn’t expect the holy city to have such an interesting thing. Let me try!”
Turning, Ling Xiao saw Li Xuefeng, a white-robed disciple of the Snow Mountain Sect, striding over.
He was a top contender in this Martial Arts Festival, a candidate for the six prodigies of the holy dynasty.
Boom!
A flash of golden light.
“My goodness, a record! Ninety lamps!”
The pillar, only a hundred metres, lit up to ninety, looking stunning.
“Truly a blazing young genius. His cultivation must be at the peak of celestial vein warriors, with Tianyuan force nearly fully formed.”
With his recent breakthrough, Ling Xiao’s insight, paired with his Mountain River Martial Soul’s analysis, easily gauged Li Xuefeng’s strength.
“The Snow Mountain Sect will likely shine in the finals.”
“Indeed, this divine weapon is fascinating. Each realm’s warriors can test it, but the light’s colour varies: white for martial vein, gold for ordinary realm, red for Celestial Realm, purple for Cave Heaven Realm. For the young geniuses here, a hundred golden lamps is probably the limit.”
“I wonder if anyone can surpass Li Xuefeng.”
The crowd was large, their discussions even more so.
Most looked at Li Xuefeng with envy and admiration.
Li Xuefeng remained calm, though his eyes held a hint of pride, which was natural.
“What’s so great? Watch me!”
Where there’s admiration, there’s defiance.
With over two hundred competitors under twenty in the finals, rapid breakthroughs meant today’s leader could be surpassed tomorrow.
A young warrior, not in last year’s top ten, slapped the pillar with a palm.
The pillar’s golden light flared, reaching eighty-nine metres.
Just one metre short, it wouldn’t go higher.
“How is that possible?”
Unconvinced, the youth tried again with his weapon, but the result remained eighty-nine lamps.
Though frustrated, no one mocked him.
Even Li Xuefeng’s expression turned serious.
Eighty-nine lamps meant strength close to Li Xuefeng’s, a formidable rival in the finals.
“Hey, you, Ling Xiao, right? You were sharp-tongued at the auction. How’s your strength? Want to try?”
The speaker was a core disciple of the Heavenly King Sect.
Ling Xiao had no interest in trying. With his Mountain River Martial Soul, he knew his own level clearly.
But since the Heavenly King disciple challenged him, he couldn’t back down.
“My strength doesn’t need proving to you. How about a bet?”
Ling Xiao asked with a smile.
“What kind of bet?”
The disciple asked cautiously.
“Simple. If I light more lamps than you today, you kneel and shout ‘Heavenly King Sect is inferior to Moon Flower Sect’ three times. How’s that?”
Ling Xiao replied.
“And if you lose?”
The disciple asked.
“You decide.”
Ling Xiao said calmly.
“Fine. If you lose, strip and run around the holy city’s main street, shouting ‘Ling Xiao deserves to die, Moon Flower Sect is shameless’!”
The Heavenly King disciple thought for a moment and said.
“Ruthless, but fine. Let’s start. You go first.”
Ling Xiao gestured invitingly.
“Did I say I’d compete with you?”
The disciple smirked slyly, whistled, and Dao Wuming emerged from nowhere.
“I’ll compete with you!”
Dao Wuming had long wanted to deal with Ling Xiao but lacked the chance. Today, though he couldn’t kill him, humiliating Ling Xiao and Moon Flower Sect would ease his frustration.
“Shameless! You said you’d compete with my senior brother!” Leng Hao cursed.
“Junior Leng, their shamelessness isn’t new. Why bother?” Ling Xiao stopped Leng Hao, then looked at Dao Wuming. “So, Dao Wuming, if you compete, will you kneel if you lose?”
“Yes, it’s me!” Dao Wuming nodded. “But don’t get your hopes up. You can’t beat me.”
“Heh, really? You can start.”
Ling Xiao thought, I didn’t seek you out, but you’ve come to get slapped. I won’t hold back.
Dao Wuming sneered, gathered his energy, and struck the pillar with both fists.
Buzz!
Golden light dazzled, flooding the entire square.
“Ninety-two lamps! Another record, surpassing Li Xuefeng!”
“Didn’t expect the Heavenly King Sect’s third-ranked core disciple to be so terrifying. Will another of the holy dynasty’s six prodigies come from their sect?”
