The State of the World Shrunk into a Single City

"First, the martial arts practitioners who receive the invitation, as well as those who provide assistance, must be no older than thirty, and their cultivation level must not have reached the Dao Seed Realm or the Mind Master."

"Secondly, Military Formation are prohibited within the city. However, Combined Attack Formation, insect swarms, runes, magical artifacts, etc., are not restricted."

Military Formation are the result of years of training, accumulating spirit, energy, and fighting will. They can even condense into the army's own Battle Intent, which are fundamentally different from the combined Combined Attack Formation of a few or a dozen martial artists.

If the military were involved, there would be no need to hold the Qianlong Lantern Festival.

"Third, Qiuzhou City is the arena for this battle for supremacy. Once you leave the outer city wall, you are considered to have voluntarily given up the competition. The South City has no outer city wall; the boundary is the City Protection Formation of Light Veil on the Soldier Ancestor Marsh."

"Fourth, many residents remain in the city; therefore, indiscriminate killing of innocents is prohibited, as is attacking martial arts practitioners without invitations without just cause. Violation of this rule Patrolling Immortal Envoy."

"The twelve Patrolling Immortal Envoy are the twelve disciples of the Du'e Temple behind me. For the next fifteen days, they will travel throughout the city, supervising whether everyone abides by the rules and exercising their right to expel and kill."

A young voice rang out loudly amidst the discussion. "Your rule is too vague! All the various forces will definitely invite many young martial artists and Great Mind Master to help them. How can we judge whether we can attack them arbitrarily without any reason? Can I make a move before they have arranged their troops? Can I strike first when the two sides are already hostile?"

It was the sound of Shi Shishi.

The chubby boy was located on the right side of Xuantian Plaza, near the outer perimeter.

After a moment's thought, Li Weiyi weaved through the crowd and moved toward the direction from which Shi Shishi's voice came.

The Du'e Temple Immortal Master smiled and said, "This rule is intended to restrict your indiscriminate killing of innocent people. The inspectors of Du'e Temple have long studied all of you, and they have their own judgment on right and wrong."

"In this Qianlong Lantern Festival, those with stronger cultivation levels seem to gain more, but they also face more targeting. They can only meet the challenges head-on, not retreat or hide. Conversely, those with weaker cultivation levels have more options."

The rules were announced further, "Martial artists participating in the Hidden Dragon Competition who acquire all Dragon Seed Ticket or Dragon Bone Ticket from any one of the four realms—East, South, West, or North—will receive an additional Longevity Pill. They will also gain the opportunity to cultivate at the Du'e Temple, where the Temple Master will personally use his most precious treasures to reshape their Trace Meridians, Wind Palace, and Ancestral Field, creating the strongest foundation for their cultivation."

These words caused a stir among everyone present.

A mysterious expert from the Northern Frontier, ranked as a first-class warrior. "Reshaping the Trace Meridians... can it forge golden veins?"

The Du'e Temple Immortal Master smiled and said, "These are the most precious treasures of Du'e Temple, and the Temple Master himself has given them. You can all weigh the value of these two rewards yourselves; I believe you will have your own judgment."

Once you break through to the Five Seas Realm, your Trace Meridians will have solidified.

There might be a way to reverse the trend and refine again, but just like the transformation of Pure Immortal Body, the difficulty increases exponentially with each higher realm.

The words of the Du'e Temple Immortal Master undoubtedly gave those top geniuses with Hundred Meridian Lines All Silver an opportunity to further advance their foundations.

The Golden Vein, known as the Dragon Vein within a martial arts practitioner's body, is highly praised even by Master Urn.

However, even as one of the top ten Law-Martial Experts in the Lingxiao Shengjing a thousand years ago, Master Urn only managed to forge eighteen Golden Meridian Lines in the Spring Realm. After that, the Trace Meridians solidified, and he could no longer make up for the deficiencies in his foundation.

Hidden Lord once said that being able to forge nine golden veins puts one among the top inheritors of the Hundred Meridian Lines All Silver lineage.

Golden Spring's role was not crucial.

The amount of gold veins that can be forged depends mainly on the strength of the martial artist's innate physique.

Those with less than a hundred Trace Meridians wouldn't even be able to forge a single golden vein.

Each additional skill may not significantly increase combat power, but it acts like a foundation, playing a crucial role in future training, its importance self-evident.

This is only the Trace Meridians!

Those top-tier martial artists at the Five Seas Realm also have extremely high expectations for the reconstruction of the Wind Mansion and the Ancestral Field.

"There are twenty Dragon Seed Ticket for the First Realm, which are held by the top twenty strongest individuals in the First and Second Classes."

"The twenty Dragon Bone Ticket for the first realm are held by the top two ranks, these twenty people."

"Whether you want to collect all the Dragon Seed Ticket or all the Dragon Bone Ticket, you can't bypass the top ten; you have to subdue them all."

The top experts from all realms were all discussing it animatedly, going crazy over the reward mentioned by the Du'e Temple Immortal Master.

But after analysis, they all felt it was as difficult as climbing to the sky.

Only the Xue Jian Tang Ting of the Northern Territory might be able to do it.

The North is the only powerful state, and only the Imperial Court can stop it.

The Du'e Temple Immortal Master said, "This test assesses the cultivation, combat strength, leadership, and persuasion abilities of top geniuses. As long as all the young martial artists in this realm who hold Dragon Seed Ticket or Dragon Bone Ticket submit to you and support you on the night of the Lantern Festival, it will count regardless of the methods you use."

"Of course, if you are strong enough, it would be even better to take it by force."

The voice of Dragon Immortal from the Dragon Palace emanated from a jade carriage parked by the street. "Subduing all forces within a realm! Is this extraordinary ability the hidden dragon you seek to restore order to the world?"

"The chances are high, but not certain."

The Du'e Temple Immortal Master continued, "Subduing a realm is not something everyone can do, nor is it something only one person can do. In this competition, the person with the most outstanding overall abilities can be called a Hidden Dragon, whose name can be ranked above Phoenix-born Unicorn-young and Ge Xiantong."

As night fell, Phoenix-born Unicorn-young voice boomed. "What if I want a definite answer?"

The Du'e Temple Immortal Master looked down at one of the courtyard-style buildings in the city. "The Du'e Temple issues eighty Dragon Bone Ticket and eighty Dragon Seed Ticket. If you obtain more than forty of each type of ticket, you will no longer be a hidden dragon, but a true dragon."

"The rewards from the true dragon will exceed your wildest imaginations."

"The Du'e Temple will fully support him and help him become the future master of the Lingxiao Shengjing. You, Phoenix-born Unicorn-young, also have this opportunity."

"Boom!"

These words shocked everyone in Qiuzhou City, including the older generation of powerful figures and extraordinary individuals from various factions.

This is the first time that the Du'e Temple has clearly stated its position!

Fortunately, this is the Qianlong Lantern Festival, not the Real Dragon Lantern Festival.

The conditions for a "true dragon" mentioned by the Du'e Temple Immortal Master are almost impossible to meet. To have half of the powerful figures submit to him would mean possessing the strength to sweep away all forces and unify Qiuzhou City.

Subduing a realm is very difficult.

Unifying the country is even more difficult.

Lu Cangsheng, the inheritor of the Lei Xiao Sect, muttered to himself, "This city is like a microcosm of the world's situation. The residents are the people of the Twenty-Eight Prefectures. There are also powerful enemies from beyond the realm represented by Phoenix-born Unicorn-young, and Yu Yaozi represented by Ge Xiantong. The next fifteen days will undoubtedly be a rehearsal for the struggle for power. Dragons and snakes clash, and only the victors will prevail."

"Isn't the advantage of Zuoqiu Courtyard a bit too great? They will have a continuous stream of troops in Qiuzhou City," Qin Qian said.

Lu Cangsheng said, "What use are low-level troops? If top figures like Zuoqiu Ting and Cangli can't hold out, the whole thing will collapse! The New Year's bell will ring in a quarter of an hour, and we must return to Lei Ze Studio before then."

Qin Qian admired Lu Cangsheng to the extreme. Before the rules were announced, he seemed to be able to predict them, and mobilized all the Great Mind Master to create the impregnable Lei Ze Studio.

How many leaders of other forces possess such foresight?

Those forces that hire Mind Master to set up formations are utterly foolish.

In her view, Lu Cangsheng was the only candidate for Qianlong.

On Xuantian Plaza, the young martial artists from various factions quickly dispersed.

They knew very well that once the rules for competing at the Du'e Temple were announced, and the bell rang, looting and killing would immediately erupt.

Even though all the martial artists who received invitations were retreating rapidly, many were still being targeted and followed. They had been locked onto by hostile forces when they released their magical energy beams earlier.

"Shi Shishi!"

The elite troops of the Earth Wolf King Army were rapidly retreating.

Shi Shishi, who was walking at the front, immediately lit up when he heard Li Weiyi's telepathic message.

Li Weiyi, dressed in Nightwalker's Robe with the hood pulled up, stood in the shadows of the street. "Bring your men, let's do a job tonight?"

Since a bloody battle between the Imperial Court and the Zuoqiu Courtyard and the Jiu Li Tribe is inevitable tonight, Li Weiyi plans to take this opportunity to attack the Sui Sect and settle both old and new scores.

Shi Shishi responded telepathically, "It won't work! Your Jiu Li Tribe's Ninth Master has assigned a task, saying that the Imperial Court and the Jiu Li Tribe will go to war tonight. The Earth Wolf King Army is under immense pressure, as they must both help restrain the Sui Sect and keep an eye on Night City."

"Oh!" Li Weiyi said.

That's quite a coincidence!

Li Weiyi and six young martial artists from the Earth Wolf King Army gathered together and rode in a chariot pulled by four snow wolves, speeding towards the South City.

On the tank.

Shi Shishi to a tall, shrewish woman with a bronze-colored, Pure Immortal Body: "Our Earth Wolf King Army's strongest warrior under thirty years old in the Five Seas Realm, sixth in the Southern Realm's top three, Tao Yanyan. She is the Great Lord's adopted daughter!"

To be among the top three, their combat strength is naturally extraordinary.

Li Weiyi looked at Tao Yanyan, who sat opposite him like a magnificent mountain, her arms as thick as his thighs. It was the first time he had seen such a Pure Immortal Body, and he was deeply shocked. He cupped his hands and said, "I've heard so much about you."

Tao Yanyan's voice was deep and resonant, conveying a sense of composure. "The Dharma King Shi Shi often says that Young Master Li is a man of honor and a good brother to him. So we're all family, no need for formalities."

"He's even willing to give away Dao Lian; he's more than just a good brother, he's practically my second Shi Shishi father."

After laughing heartily, Shi Shishi pointed to another Pure Immortal Body woman sitting to Tao Yanyan's right. "Her name is Bai Shu, she is Sixth Brother's disciple, Calamity Fire Realm Great Mind Master, skilled in talismanic arts. She is the third strongest expert after Tao Yanyan and me!"

"The Love Flower Pleasure Boat, Bai Shu?" Li Weiyi asked in surprise.

Bai Shu has a graceful and slender figure, and her clothing is daring. Her breasts are snow-white and round, and sitting next to Tao Yanyan only accentuates her beauty.

She removed her veil, revealing a delicate face that looked to be eighteen or nineteen years old. Her bright eyes sparkled, and she said in a sweet voice, "Oh dear, you actually know my background. It seems that Young Master Li is a regular customer of my Love Flower Pleasure Boat. Why have you never let me accompany you? Is it because you're unwilling to spend the money?"