Yuan’s Ascension

Within the Redmoon Immortal Voidrealm was a mysterious place filled with undulating mountain peaks and islands. This was the Moonsilver World's base in the Redmoon Immortal Voidrealm.

Within a gigantic hall, seven super powerhouses were seated, watching a projection of the battle between Wu Yuan and Xing Luo.

"Li Xia's rate of improvement is off the charts, alarmingly fast."

"Other than Haiyue, I’m afraid no one in my Moonsilver World can beat Li Xia when it comes to talent."

"He is indeed talented, eligible to join divine court headquarters." The super powerhouses discussed among themselves.

"Let's move on to Xing Luo." Mountain Master Xu spoke. "I propose a special recruitment for him. I won't go into the details, let's vote right away. I’m in favor."

"I object."

"I’m in favor."

"I object."

"I object."

"I’m in favor."

"Four votes against, three in favor, the proposal does not pass." The old man in white robes sitting at the host seat said calmly. "Mountain Master Xu, sorry to trouble you."

"No worries." Mountain Master Xu didn't mind.

He thought highly of Xing Luo, but the Moonsilver World only had ten special recruitment slots every ten thousand years, so they had to be ultra selective.

Xing Luo's performance had reached the standard of the Moonsilver World’s normal recruitment criteria, but it was not up to the special recruitment standard!

…

Within the Dragon Star Immortal Sect, tens of millions of viewers, including a large number of followers, continued discussing the battle between Wu Yuan and Xing Luo excitedly.

Meanwhile, Wu Yuan had already returned to the meditation chamber.

Who would have thought that I'd be forced to deploy all nine lifebound flying swords? Wu Yuan shook his head slightly.

I figured that assembling two Thousand Swords Arrays with three lifebound flying swords each, one for offense, one for defense, was enough to deal with any opponent.

But Xing Luo was just too powerful. During their head-on confrontation, Wu Yuan felt that his defenses were somewhat insufficient.

One must never underestimate any opponent.

My understanding of the Dao isn't deep enough. If I had advanced to the seventh-level Domain stage of the Celestial Body Dao, then I could hold my ground even if the sword array isn’t specialized for defense, even with only three lifebound flying swords. Wu Yuan muttered to himself.

Sadly, this was easier said than done. As an Intermediate Law, the Celestial Body Dao was much harder to comprehend compared to the pure Land Dao.

At present, Wu Yuan had yet to reach the fifth-level Domain stage of the Celestial Body Dao.

I should rest. Wu Yuan started cultivating silently.

…

Time flowed by and the bouts went on.

After the epic clash between Wu Yuan and Xing Luo, the battles that followed seemed dull in comparison.

Soon enough, the third round of the Dragon Star Tournament came around, and Wu Yuan was once again participating in the first battle, meeting his third opponent since the start of the Dragon Star Tournament.

This was his weakest opponent of all, having failed to conquer level forty of the two-star tower. Moreover, it was also someone Wu Yuan was well acquainted with – Bei Hua.

"Li Xia, I'm not your match, but I'll never concede voluntarily. Defeat me with your strongest power." The young woman in white declared.

Wu Yuan granted her wish.

After assembling a Thousand Swords Array, he defeated her in one move!

…

The four battles in the third round were uneventful. Wu Yuan, Chen Jing, Hao Shanjing - three acknowledged top talents - all won their battles with ease.

Thus, the top four finalists in the Golden Core hereditary disciples ranking battle were decided.

The first match of the fourth round, Wu Yuan versus Chen Jing, was a spectacle that drew all eyes.

After all, Chen Jing had made a name for herself. In the last tournament, she was ranked third. After which, she underwent another thirty years of grueling cultivation.

"Senior Sister Chen Jing is a force to be reckoned with. On top of that, it has been another thirty years. She might even be stronger than Xing Luo."

"Li Xia will likely face a difficult battle." Many of the outer and inner disciples speculated.

However, the fight was a shocking one.

Wu Yuan unleashed his full strength, assembling a Thousand Swords Array with his nine lifebound flying swords. Then, it only took three strikes to defeat Chen Jing.

"How is this possible?”

"Senior Sister Chen Jing lost?" A wave of disbelief swept across the disciples. Many found it hard to comprehend the scene before their eyes.

They believed that Chen Jing would win. After all, Chen Jing, who had been on par with Xing Luo before the Dragon Star Tournament, had won her first three rounds without breaking a sweat.

Yet she lost to Wu Yuan?

...

"It’s not surprising."

"Li Xia's attacks are too fierce. Xing Luo's defense was strong enough, and the Three Talents Cauldron Array held the sword array steady, managing to withstand dozens of Wu Yuan's strikes."

"In array cultivation, the arrays are often set up in advance to plot ambushes, carefully considering the geography and spatial trajectories of attacks."

"Chen Jing? Her arrays are exquisite, but the Dragon Star Tournament imposes many restrictions on the array materials she can use, so she cannot fully showcase her abilities."

"It’s natural that she would lose to Li Xia." The crowd of immortals watching the fight didn't find it surprising.

Array cultivation, talisman cultivation, artifact cultivation, and other cultivation classes were at a disadvantage in straightforward, head-on confrontations like the Dragon Star Tournament, as they could not make preparations in advance.

Array cultivators usually set up arrays before battles. Going head-to-head with sword cultivators and setting up arrays on the spot? Only a fool would do that.

Talisman cultivators also typically prepared a wide variety of powerful talismans ahead of time, ready to unleash them all once the battle began.

…

In the second battle of the fourth round, the burly Hao Shanjing effortlessly defeated his opponent with just one ether art, just as he had in previous rounds.

"The finals."

"Whoever wins will be the new Golden Core Great Senior Brother."

"Hao Shanjing sure has it easy. Li Xia fought back-to-back battles with Dong Shan, Xing Luo, and Chen Jing, knocking down powerful opponents one by one before reaching the finals."

"Hao Shanjing? He breezed through every battle until now."

"The final battle should've been between Xing Luo and Li Xia." Countless spectators engaged in discussion.

The general sentiment was that Hao Shanjing barely had to exert any effort. Compared to Hao Shanjing's performance, Xing Luo was clearly a notch superior.

…

Within the special observation space.

"Abbot Wu, the match-ups don’t seem well planned." Mountain Master Xu noted with a chuckle, "Xing Luo and Li Xia should've been separated."

"Only then would the final battle be thrilling enough when they meet at last, capable of igniting the fighting spirit of countless disciples!" Mountain Master Xu commented.

"Patience, Mountain Master Xu." Abbot Wu nonchalantly responded.

"Oh? Could it be that this Hao Shanjing possesses some sort of special ability?" Mountain Master Xu expressed his curiosity.

…

Amidst the ongoing discussions of countless spectators, six hours swiftly passed.

The fifth round of the Golden Core hereditary disciple ranking battle, the final match between Li Xia and Hao Shanjing, was finally here.

Countless eyes focused on the spherical arena.

Two figures appeared on either side of the arena. One was a man clad in billowing black robes. He stood in mid-air, his divine sword-like aura erupting towards the sky.

The other towered over three meters tall. Clad in bronze armor, he was imposingly muscular.

They stood facing each other from afar.

Hao Shanjing. Wu Yuan stared at the figure hundreds of li away. The figure’s body was fully covered in armor and his gaze was subdued.

Hm? This Hao Shanjing, he's not an easy opponent. Wu Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly as he felt an invisible aura of dominance radiating from his opponent.

It was a sensation he had never experienced before.

Even Xing Luo, who was very powerful, did not pose as much of a threat as the present Hao Shanjing.

Hao Shanjing is stronger than Xing Luo? Wu Yuan mused to himself inwardly.

A Golden Core cultivator stronger than Xing Luo? Such odds were fewer than one in a million!

"Junior Brother Li Xia." Hao Shanjing stared at Wu Yuan. He was entirely covered in battle armor, with only his eyes visible.

With a booming voice, he announced, "I thought I could easily secure first place in this Dragon Star Tournament. I never believed Xing Luo or Chen Jing to be worthy opponents."

He did not communicate using Soul Force. Instead, he projected voice throughout the arena via his mana.

Immediately, there was a buzz of surprise. Everyone looked at Hao Shanjing in shock.

Such arrogance?

The expressions of Xing Luo and Chen Jing, who were watching the battle from the sidelines, immediately darkened. He didn’t consider them worthy opponents?

"But you are strong! You are truly powerful!" Hao Shanjing fixed his gaze on Wu Yuan. "In all honesty, Junior Brother Li Xia, I'm not entirely certain I can defeat you. Regardless, I can't afford to hold back my true strength when facing you."

"Feel free to unleash your full power, Senior Brother Hao Shanjing," Wu Yuan responded indifferently. "You won’t have many opportunities left to call me your junior brother."

Wu Yuan's words were equally audacious.

At that moment, both Hao Shanjing and Wu Yuan were acutely aware of their unshakeable conviction to win – a belief no words could sway.

No further words were exchanged.

Boom! Hao Shanjing was the first to act. His body instantly began to swell, his vital aura escalating violently.

It rose to a level stronger than any previous duel. Much stronger!

Following that, countless vines sprouted from his body. An overwhelming torrent of intertwined green and red qi streams flooded everything in a hundred li.

A horrifying pressure enveloped the entire spherical arena, 800 li in diameter.

This? Wu Yuan's pupils constricted.

So powerful! Just from his vital aura alone, Hao Shanjing was the strongest Golden Core opponent Wu Yuan had encountered thus far. There was no comparison.

"This?"

"Hao Shanjing?"

"Heavens! Even an Amethyst Cradle cultivator's aura wouldn't be much stronger, would it?" Countless onlookers were shocked, especially those watching in the real world.

The overwhelming feeling from one's primal instincts couldn't be faked.

In the special observation space, the numerous immortals who initially looked indifferent now showed astonished expressions.

"The Longevity Dao!"

"It's actually the Longevity Dao. He's only at the Spiritual Body phase, yet his comprehension level has surpassed the initiate threshold." Mountain Master Xu looked on in shock.

His eyes blazed, as though beholding a precious piece of uncut jade.

"The Longevity Dao," Abbot Wu stated calmly. As the sect's abbot, he had knowledge of all the sect's affairs, whether large and small.

He naturally had his reasons for arranging the matches in such an order.

From the judgment of the sect's upper echelons, Xing Luo was a genius, but he wasn’t comparable to Hao Shanjing, let alone to Wu Yuan.

At this moment, within the arena, the fierce battle between the two peerless geniuses began.

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