Chapter 585: Four Dragon Veins Awaken
“The rules for this round are rather interesting. After fighting for a hundred matches, the strengths of all the partic.i.p.ants will be revealed for sure; it will be impossible for them to hide their strength.”
“However, the lineup of each round is not decided by the partic.i.p.ants themselves or by drawing lots. Instead, it is decided by the City Lord.”
“Ha ha! That is not a problem. The City Lord’s Residence is very reliable. They will not favor any partic.i.p.ants. My guess is that they did this to prevent some of the super geniuses from meeting each other too early.”
“If the super geniuses met each other too early, it would not be very interesting. It is best to leave those matches for later.”
Overall, the rules for these ranking matches conformed with the norms. There was nothing new or anything worth complaining about. All the sects and elder-leveled characters did not have any opinion about it.
When no one spoke up, Zong Liang continued, “Since there is no objection, then I invite all the hundred partic.i.p.ants to come up to the platform. We will begin the ceremony for gathering Luck. After this, the first round of the ranking matches will start.”
Luck is ethereal and formless; it is not tangible. How can one gather it? Xiao Chen felt very curious about this ceremony. As he went up, he was filled with antic.i.p.ation.
There was a total of eleven Wind Cloud Platforms. Aside from the tallest Wind Cloud Platform in the middle, there were ten people in each of the lower Wind Cloud Platforms.
Zong Liang closed his eyes and brought his hands together to form hand seals. These hand seals were extremely ancient and complicated. However, he changed the positions of his ten fingers more than a hundred times in an instant.
An ancient, dignified, imposing, and divine aura spread out from Zong Liang’s body. The tallest Wind Cloud Platform below him started shaking intensely.
“Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!”
At an unknown depth below the Wind Cloud Platform, four desolate dragon roars started to resound in an oppressive manner.
The dragon roars were deep and prolonged. There was a great difference from the dragon roars issued by the Dragon Qi. That ancient and wild aura laid a heavy pressure on the hundred partic.i.p.ants.
The partic.i.p.ants felt like their shoes were filled with lead; they could not even take a step. They also felt like there was a huge rock pressing on their chests; it was hard to bear.
“Did I hear wrongly? There were actually four dragon roars!”
“Four dragon roars mean that four Dragon Veins had awakened. In the past, there would at most be two Dragon Veins awakening.”
“The rumors of this being the era of geniuses are definitely true. All four Dragon Veins are awake. The partic.i.p.ants of this Five Nation Youth Compet.i.tion will obtain more than four times the usual amount of Luck.”
In the spectator stands, many of the cultivators who had seen past Five Nation Youth Compet.i.tions said that four Dragon Veins awakening meant that the era of geniuses had started. There would be a Martial Emperor appearing in the future.
During one such era of geniuses, there had been the Thunder Emperor, Sang Mu. He was someone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Great Tianwu Emperor. What kind of powerful character would appear this time?
The dragon roars stirred the dark clouds in the sky. Clap after clap of thunder boomed. The atmosphere of the entire place became oppressive and heavy.
“Xiu!”
When the thunder stopped rumbling, a hundred holes appeared in the dark clouds thousands of meters above Dragon Sealing City. A hundred beams of golden light descended from the sky, looking like pillars of light encasing all of the partic.i.p.ants of the ranking matches.
“Drip a drop of blood on the jade pendant at your waist and the ceremony will be complete. With four Dragon Veins awakening, how much Luck you can gather would depend on yourselves.” Zong Liang’s somewhat weak voice resounded.
When Xiao Chen heard that, he took out the dragon-shaped jade pendant. That little golden dragon was currently swimming carefreely in the translucent jade pendant.
Xiao Chen p.r.i.c.ked the top of his finger and squeezed out a drop of blood. The blood permeated into the jade pendant and infused into the little golden dragon’s body.
“Pu!”
Xiao Chen felt like his mind and spirit merged with the little dragon’s. That little dragon seemed to have became his incarnation. Furthermore, he seemed to have established a weak connection with a great existence. However, it felt very faint.
The ranking matches would all take place in the same Wind Cloud Platform. After the ceremony was over, four referees appeared on the Wind Cloud Platform.
“Ranking matches, match one of round one: w.a.n.g Quan versus Lin Fei.”
w.a.n.g Quan was the scion of one of the eight n.o.ble Clans. Having ranked sixth in the previous Five Nation Youth Compet.i.tion, he was a true giant of the younger generation. The weapon he used was the relatively hard-to-use Dragon Fiend Whip.
The Dragon Fiend Whip. According to stories, the expert ancestors of the w.a.n.g Clan had killed a Fiend Dragon. Then, they extracted its spine and refined it into the Dragon Fiend Whip, giving it to the w.a.n.g Clan’s younger generation to use.
Lin Fei was one of the experts on the newcomer ranking list. His Earth Vein Saber Technique was very unpredictable. What was even rarer was that he had comprehended saber intent to twenty percent.
Although Lin Fei had lost to Xiao Chen, no one would deny Lin Fei’s strength. The crowd guessed that while he would not be able to defeat w.a.n.g Quan, he would be able to put up a fight.
If Lin Fei could put up a fight, he would be able to keep fighting, dragging this out. Even if he could not obtain victory, a fight against an expert could increase his comprehension, helping him raise his cultivation.
w.a.n.g Quan kept the Dragon Fiend Whip tucked into his belt. He looked at Lin Fei with a relaxed expression and smiled. “You are Lin Fei, right? I have been paying attention to you and have wanted to give your Earth Vein Saber Technique a try. Make your move.”
w.a.n.g Quan’s att.i.tude made Lin Fei feel very unhappy. He said, “Don’t put on a look of a.s.sured victory. Be careful of an unexpected failure.”
“Ha ha! Then let me see how are you going to make me meet with an unexpected failure.”
w.a.n.g Quan smiled faintly, not taking Lin Fei’s words to heart. Lin Fei had already revealed all his strength in his fight against Xiao Chen.
w.a.n.g Quan did not feel any pressure going against Lin Fei. If not for the fact that Xiao Chen’s fight with Lin Fei had piqued his interest, making him want to try the strangeness of the Earth Vein Saber Technique for himself, he would not even bother saying anything.
“Weng!”
Lin Fei immediately drew his saber. He did not have any intention of hiding his strength when going against w.a.n.g Quan. From the very start, he used his saber intent.
Lin Fei sent out a strand of saber Qi from his feet and his figure flickered, quickly arriving before w.a.n.g Quan. He had a seven-meter-long saber light as he hacked down. With the support of the saber intent, the saber light pulsated with a cold gleam.
w.a.n.g Quan was not in a rush to clash with his opponent. He pushed off the ground and dodged the saber light.
For the next ten moves, w.a.n.g Quan kept dodging, not wanting to attack. He weaved through the saber lights that Lin Fei sent at him.
“Earth Vein Saber Technique!”
After w.a.n.g Quan dodged another move, Lin Fei finally executed his Earth Vein Saber Technique. He fired out a saber Qi from his feet and, at the same time, attacked with the saber light on his saber.
“Chi! Chi!”
Even though w.a.n.g Quan had already antic.i.p.ated this move, the saber Qi from Lin Fei’s feet still managed to tear a hole in the area around his chest. If not for his good Movement Technique, this attack would have injured him.
“Not bad! Continue!” A strange light flashed in w.a.n.g Quan’s eyes and he smiled faintly.
Seeing that w.a.n.g Quan did not have any intention of taking out his Dragon Fiend Whip, Lin Fei was completely infuriated. He combined his saber intent with his Earth Vein Saber Technique, executing them at their limits.
Suddenly, the saber light shone brightly, causing a strong wind to howl. Before Lin Fei’s unpredictable Saber Technique, danger sprung up all around w.a.n.g Quan; he was like the dead leaves in the wind. It seemed like he would be injured by the saber Qi at any moment.
After another few dozen moves, w.a.n.g Quan shook his head slightly. The Earth Vein Saber Technique is indeed powerful. Unfortunately, Lin Fei has not comprehended the state of earth and cannot bring out its full power.
w.a.n.g Quan completely lost interest in the Earth Vein Saber Technique. Clutching the Dragon Fiend Whip at his waist, he said softly, “It is time for the game to end. It is time for you to lose!”
He gently swung his hand up, coiling the Dragon Fiend Whip around himself and encasing himself. He formed several wind blades flying in all directions.
The instant the violent storm of wind blades was sent out, the power of Lin Fei’s Saber Technique broke off. He initially intended to build up some power for the Earth Vein Saber Technique. However, before he could do so, the power he had stored was dispersed.
w.a.n.g Quan had grasped his opponent’s rhythm, and when he attacked, he disrupted Lin Fei’s Saber Technique.
He gently shook his hand and the Dragon Fiend Whip uncoiled from around his body and flew towards Lin Fei’s chest.
At this moment, w.a.n.g Quan’s aura changed completely. He no longer smiled, and his gaze became as sinister as a venomous snake’s, without a shred of emotion.
A strong aura poured out and immediately suppressed Lin Fei’s.
Lin Fei just had his Saber Technique broken. When he looked at the whip approaching him, it was like a savage Fiend Dragon flying at him. He simply could not help but be distracted for a moment.
“Ka ca! Ka ca!”
By the time Lin Fei reacted, his body had already been sent flying into the air. When he landed on the floor, he vomited a large mouthful of blood. He had also broken several ribs.
Immediately, the jade pendant at Lin Fei’s waist sent out a strand of golden light into w.a.n.g Quan’s jade pendant. The little golden dragon in Lin Fei’s jade pendant turned slightly dimmer.
As for the little dragon in w.a.n.g Quan’s, its glow became richer.
When Xiao Chen saw this incredible scene, a serious look flashed in his face. He asked doubtfully, “What is going on?”
First Elder Jiang Chi explained, “This is seizing Luck. The little golden dragon in the jade pendant is the Luck you obtained from the Dragon Vein. Every time you defeat someone, you can forcefully seize some of your opponent’s Luck. When a certain amount has acc.u.mulated, this golden dragon will break out. By then, you will be able to seize more Luck.”
Xiao Chen suddenly understood. He said, “I see. No wonder the City Lord said that the amount of Luck we can obtain would depend on us.”
Seizing power by force like this seemed very cruel to the weaker partic.i.p.ants. The law of nature, where the strong preyed on the weak, was clearly demonstrated here.
Xiao Chen lamented to himself, Regardless of whether is it the best era or the worst era, in the end, the era of geniuses is a stage for the strong. The weak can only become stepping stones for the strong, allowing them to climb further.
The compet.i.tion continued. There was a total of fifty matches; everyone would have the chance to fight once. Now, it was Bai Qi’s turn. His opponent was a Small Perfection half-step Martial Monarch bladesman.
Faced with Bai Qi, who had a Small Perfection saber intent, that partic.i.p.ant decisively chose to admit defeat. That bladesman’s jade pendant immediately sent out a strand of golden light into Bai Qi’s jade pendant.
“Match thirty-six: Xiao Chen versus Duanmu Qing.”
When Xiao Chen heard Duanmu Qing’s name, he was somewhat surprised. He had not expected that someone else from the Great Qin Nation had made it into the top one hundred. Furthermore, it was someone he knew.
On the Wind Cloud Platform, Duanmu Qing looked at the white-robed Xiao Chen. Her cold eyes revealed a helpless expression.
In the past, Xiao Chen could not even withstand a palm strike from Duanmu Qing. However, after the battle at the Heavenly Saber Pavilion, which made him famous, she found that she could no longer catch up to him.
Now, Xiao Chen was a famous talented newcomer, one of the hot favorites for the top ten ranks in the Five Nation Youth Compet.i.tion. On the other hand, Duanmu Qing had to fight so bitterly and she only barely made it into the top one hundred.