Chapter 361 - Gathering of the Old Geniuses
Qin Nan’s left eye emitted a brilliant glow, as an endless stream of suppression was fired from it.
The ferocious gusts of wind sweeping the palace instantly froze as Xiao Feipeng’s hand halted in mid-air, as if there existed an invisible barrier before him, preventing his hand from moving any further forward.
“Left Hand of the Demonic Roc!”
Xiao Feipeng uttered a roar as his left hand was engulfed in clouds of black air, as if it had turned demonic at that instant, allowing it to shatter the suppression and penetrate forward.
It was no longer a simple grabbing motion. There was no doubt that Lin Xiaoyu would be severely injured if the hand ended up landing on her.
“Be gone!”
Qin Nan’s figure shuddered violently, as if his body was engulfed in blazing flames while he hurled his punch forward.
BANG!
Xiao Feipeng was immediately sent flying. His body was continuously knocked back in mid-air, leaving a trail of twisted air which ended up exploding in the process.
The crowd in the palace was left with blank expressions.
In just the brief battle between the two, they felt like they had just witnessed an atavistic beast uttering a roar and revealing its fangs.
Who exactly was this young man, to possess such an incredible strength?
“HAHA!” Xiao Feipeng withdrew his aura and surprisingly burst out laughing, “As expected of Qin Nan, someone whom the two Sacred Areas fight for, extraordinary indeed!”
The words served as a great shock to the crowd.
Qin Nan?
This young man in front of us is the famous Qin Nan?
“Senior Brother Qin Nan…”
Lin Xiaoyu almost burst out crying.
She had not expected to cause so much trouble for Qin Nan for her sake.
“It’s fine. They are just using you as an excuse, I am their actual target!”
Qin Nan shook his head, before he gave Liang Kai and the others a sign with his eyes. He then glanced at Xiao Feipeng and said in a cold tone, “I’ve got no personal conflict with you. Why would you do such a shameless act, despite your ident.i.ty?”
“Shameless?”
Xiao Feipeng showed no sign of being affected. Instead, he let out a hollow laugh and said, “Qin Nan, even though you are a peerless genius, you’ve offended someone you shouldn’t have. Well, enough with the bulls.h.i.+t, today is not the day for us to fight. When the Martial Ancestor Mystical Ground is activated, I’ll try my very best to put you to death!”
After saying this, Xiao Feipeng’s figure vanished like a flash of lightning, while unleas.h.i.+ng gusts of wind.
The crowd exchanged glances with one another.
They had not expected Xiao Feipeng—one of the three sons of Slaughter City’s City Lord—to come here just to purposely test Qin Nan’s strength and challenge him to an upcoming duel.
This caused the crowd to feel excited, The legendary peerless genius Qin Nan versus Xiao Feipeng—who would stand victorious?
“Senior Brother!”
Liang Kai and the rest came up to Qin Nan.
“Don’t worry.”
Qin Nan waved his hand as his face turned rather dark.
Who exactly was behind all this, to have the influence to send Xiao Feipeng here to target me?
Although Qin Nan was not scared of battles, the sense that he was being targeted by someone behind the scenes was not a pleasant feeling for him.
“Let’s go.”
The old blue-haired man approached the group of disciples. As a custodian, he clearly knew that the news regarding Qin Nan partic.i.p.ating in the Martial Ancestor Mystical Ground trial could no longer remain a secret. There was no way of knowing how the Martial Ancestor Mystical Ground trial would turn out in the end.
The Maple Emperor and the Maple Prince showed no signs of stopping the crew from leaving the palace.
With the old blue-haired man leading the way, Qin Nan and the others exited the Maple Kingdom palace and arrived at a small city named Seaside City. As the name suggested, this Seaside City was located close to the ocean. Besides that, the Martial Ancestor Mystical Ground was actually an island lying deep within the ocean. Once every year, the island would automatically float to the surface as its forbidding seal was opened, allowing cultivators to access the Mystical Ground.
The Seaside City was initially under-development, but it turned lively due to the Martial Ancestor Mystical Ground, especially when the date of its activation was approaching, causing the city to be crowded with cultivators of the lower district.
Qin Nan and his crew went straight to an inn without startling anyone.
“Three days left until the Mystical Ground is opened.” The old blue-haired man spoke in a dull tone, “Now that our information has been leaked, what should we do now, in your opinions?”
“Handle the soldiers with the generals, and the flood with the soil!”[1]
“That’s right!”
“We aren’t afraid of them!”
“……”
Liang Kai and the rest responded.
After witnessing how Qin Nan had protected Lin Xiaoyu, they all realized that Qin Nan was extremely protective toward his companions, and would not easily forgive his enemies. Furthermore, with their pride as the geniuses of the Qinglong Sacred Area, it was impossible for them to flee straight away after being threatened by Xiao Feipeng.
“I’ll attract the firepower.” Qin Nan smilingly said after a slight ponder, “I believe I’m their main target, thus I will be able to attract their attention. In the meantime, you guys should take hold of the opportunity to execute an ambush, and we’ll attack them from both sides, how’s that?”
“Senior Brother, you…”
Liang Kai and the others shuddered violently. Although the plan was effective, it would place Qin Nan in a more dangerous position.
Qin Nan waved his hand with a firm look on his face.
He could easily tell that Xiao Feipeng was not the main culprit behind the incident. There must be someone else behind him, someone that was even more powerful than him.
Before knowing the details, Qin Nan had no intention of placing Liang Kai and the others in danger.
“Sounds good.” It was as if the old blue-haired man had already expected Qin Nan to come up with this plan, as he said while nodding his head, “For the next few days, you guys should rest up here. I’ll notify you if there’s anything worth knowing.”
Liang Kai and the rest nodded their heads, before they were all immersed in their own deep thoughts.
Qin Nan said nothing further as he sat down with his legs crossed and began meditating while waiting for the Martial Ancestor Mystical Ground to be activated.
Three days were gone in the blink of an eye.
The entire Seaside City turned incredibly lively on this particular day.
“Hey, did you guys know? I was told that the Eight-Armed Raging Saber is taking part in the Martial Ancestor Mystical Ground trial!”
“Hehe, who the f**k cares about the Eight-Armed Raging Saber? Don’t you know? Qin Nan is here too!”
“What? Qin Nan is here? Is that a joke?”
“Gasp, a peerless genius that caused the two Sacred Leaders to battle against each other! Rumors said that even Tang Qingshan could not match his talents!”
“You have literally no idea—not only did Qin Nan attract nine hundred and ninety-nine Dao Seeking Fish, he also ranked up to the Martial Emperor Realm on the same day. Do you know how wide the stormy cloud of his Tribulation was? Listen carefully: nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine zhang. Apparently it was wide enough to cover the entire Qinglong Sacred Area!”
“F**k! That crazy!”
“……”
In years past, only a certain amount of disciples could take part in the Martial Ancestor Mystical Ground trial. The other cultivators were only here to witness the strength of these genius partic.i.p.ants.
However, this year, it appeared that Qin Nan was the only limelight of the scene!
...Meanwhile, at the square of Seaside City….
The dojo was thoroughly crowded with cultivators, most of them possessing a cultivation of the Martial Emperor Realm. They were all waiting patiently for the Martial Ancestor Mystical Ground to be activated.
“Look!”
“The Qinglong Sacred Area is here!”
“That’s Qin Nan!”
“……”
The crowd was instantly immersed in an uproar, as they directed their focus to the approaching group.
The old blue-haired man led the way, and behind him were Qin Nan, Liang Kai, and the rest respectively. Qin Nan wore a calm expression under the crowd’s gaze, showing no sign of being influenced.
At that instant, a powerful aura was fired into the air without any warning, which turned out to be Xiao Feipeng.
“Xiao Feipeng is here too!”
“It is said that he challenged Qin Nan to a duel at the Maple Kingdom!”
“……”
An uproar took place among the crowd once again, as their faces were filled with high antic.i.p.ation. That being said, it was swiftly replaced with disappointment when they realized that Xiao Feipeng and Qin Nan did not even exchange glances with one another.
“The Feiyang Sacred Area is here!”
A scream was heard from the crowd all of a sudden.
Normally, the arrival of the Feiyang Sacred Area would no doubt attract the attention of the crowd. However, as Qin Nan was now the focus of the cultivators, only a few among the crowd glimpsed at the Feiyang Sacred Area’s partic.i.p.ants, but were utterly shocked soon after.
“Hey look, it’s Jiao s.h.i.+yi, and Jiao Zhe!”
“What? The two brothers of Jiao Clan are here too?”
“……”
Jiao Zhe and Jiao s.h.i.+yi were quite well known in the lower district. Although their performances during the selection that took place at the Qinglong Sacred Area were incomparable to Qin Nan’s, they were still geniuses who were highly-antic.i.p.ated by the public.
Now, these two geniuses had both arrived to partic.i.p.ate in the Martial Ancestor Mystical Ground trial.
Behind Jiao Zhe and Jiao s.h.i.+yi stood three other disciples, followed by a palanquin.
The palanquin was carried by eight Martial Ancestor Realm experts, resulting in an eye-catching sight while the crew was approaching the dojo.
It immediately attracted the attention of the crowd, Who is in that palanquin, to arrange such a grand entry?
The palanquin eventually came to a stop, as a white-s.h.i.+rted woman came out from it. The crowd slightly lost their minds after seeing her appearance, as their eyes were filled with a hint of affection.
The white-s.h.i.+rted woman approached Qin Nan one step at a time, and when she arrived before him, a smile blossomed on her face as she said, “My friend Qin Nan, it’s been a long time. I’ve been missing you a lot lately.”
The woman was Jiang Bilan!
Translator: XephiZ
Editor: DOCuinn
[1] TL Note: I believe I’ve explained this idiom before, it means handing the problems as they come, according to the situation when the time comes.