Hundred Kingdoms Competition

"Miss has been in seclusion for two and a half days, there shouldn't be any problems, right?"

Outside the seclusion chamber, Xiao Qing paced anxiously by the door. If her Divine Sense hadn't confirmed that Li Qingping's condition was still stable, she would have already barged in.

Inside the seclusion chamber, Li Qingping was in the process of forging her Dao Foundation. After two days, her Dao Foundation had been successfully refined to a size of ninety-nine zhang. However, Li Qingping didn't break through immediately; she chose to continue refining it.

"I must push harder, or I won't be able to catch up to him."

Li Qingping thought to herself. It was this belief that allowed her to break through the bottleneck, successfully refining her Dao Foundation past the hundred zhang mark. Finally, she refined it to a size of three hundred and ninety-nine zhang, which was quite good.

Rumble. A low rumble echoed from within the seclusion chamber. Xiao Qing's steps faltered for a moment before she exclaimed happily, "The County Princess has broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage."

Even after breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, Li Qingping did not emerge from seclusion. She continued to consolidate her realm. Three days later, she finally emerged, her cultivation now stabilized at the early Foundation Establishment Stage.

"Congratulations, Miss, on breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage."

Xiao Qing rushed to congratulate her upon seeing Li Qingping emerge. Li Qingping, however, shook her head.

"Xiao Qing, thank you for guarding outside during this time."

"Miss, it's my duty."

Xiao Qing replied with a serious expression. Li Qingping let out a helpless laugh.

"I don't know what to do with you. I've already broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, so you should go back and get some rest."

Xiao Qing was about to refuse, but seeing Li Qingping's firm gaze, she could only agree.

"Understood, Miss."

In the capital city of Yuanwu Kingdom, Li Xuanran sat solemnly in the imperial palace. Before him stood the high-ranking officials of the entire Yuanwu Kingdom.

"Everyone, what do you think?"

As Li Xuanran finished speaking, he tossed out an envelope. On it were written seven large characters:

Invitation to the Hundred Kingdoms Competition.

Upon seeing the invitation to the Hundred Kingdoms Competition, the expressions of all the high-ranking officials of Yuanwu Kingdom changed. It was clear that the Hundred Kingdoms Competition was not a good thing.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, ten years ago, Yuanwu Kingdom's ranking in the Hundred Kingdoms Competition was not high. Perhaps we should not participate this time."

Soon, a high-ranking official stepped forward, but he was quickly refuted.

"Li Chengtian, what do you mean by that? If we don't go, won't we disgrace Yuanwu Kingdom? In the eyes of others, won't Yuanwu Kingdom be seen as cowards?"

A burly man with a full beard snorted coldly.

"Cheng Wukou, what good will it do if we go? Can we change Yuanwu Kingdom's current situation?"

Li Chengtian retorted. Cheng Wukou then stood up.

"It's better to go and die than be called cowards."

As the two argued, the hundreds of people present began to take sides, and the scene became extremely chaotic. Li Xuanran took a deep breath, letting them argue.

Finally, the two looked at Li Xuanran and bowed.

"Please, Your Majesty, make the decision on this matter."

Good grief, I didn't expect this hot potato to be tossed back to me, Li Xuanran thought, raising an eyebrow. He sighed and said, "Since that's the case, the five spots for participating in the Hundred Kingdoms Competition will be allocated starting now. If anyone can achieve a top-hundred ranking in the competition, this king will bestow great rewards."

Li Xuanran stood up, an imposing aura emanating from him. Cheng Wukou, upon hearing this, exclaimed excitedly, "Your subject obeys!"

After the officials present had left, only Cheng Wukou and Li Chengtian remained.

"Your Majesty, may I ask why you kept us here?"

Li Chengtian bowed, as did Cheng Wukou.

"Alas, in recent years, the number of prodigies in Yuanwu Kingdom has been dwindling. We are far weaker than other countries, which greatly worries me."

Li Xuanran sighed, his face filled with worry. Cheng Wukou quickly replied, "Your Majesty need not worry. According to my knowledge, in the past few years, Yuanwu Kingdom has seen an increase in young prodigies. Some have even broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage before the age of thirty. I believe they can help Yuanwu Kingdom achieve a better ranking."

Li Xuanran merely shook his head upon hearing this.

"I hope so. However, in the last Hundred Kingdoms Competition, there were even prodigies at the mid-Nascent Soul Stage. I wonder if there will be any monstrous talents this time."

Li Xuanran's words left Cheng Wukou speechless. Yuanwu Kingdom had suffered a crushing defeat in the previous Hundred Kingdoms Competition.

They had originally thought that sending cultivators at the Golden Core Stage would be enough to achieve a good ranking. To their surprise, cultivators at the Golden Core Stage under thirty were commonplace, and there were even cultivators at the Nascent Soul Stage.

The Hundred Kingdoms Competition was organized by Tianquan Kingdom, a fourth-rate force in the vicinity. Yuanwu Kingdom, being a fifth-rate force, was naturally on their invitation list.

The purpose was to facilitate the ranking of prodigies from various forces, targeting those under thirty years old.

Tianquan Kingdom was guarded by a great power at the peak of the Human Immortal stage, so Li Xuanran naturally had to show some respect.

Soon, news of the Hundred Kingdoms Competition spread throughout the Yuanwu Kingdom, and many prodigies felt quite interested.

Deep in the mountains and old forests, a ten-meter-wide giant bear charged towards a slender figure. At first glance, it was a young man. Facing the charging bear, the young man showed no fear, instead assuming a ready stance.

Just as the giant bear reached him and opened its mouth to bite, the young man struck. He directly punched the giant bear's head, and the terrifying force shattered its skull.

As the giant bear's corpse fell to the ground, an old man appeared out of nowhere. He looked at the young man with eyes full of pride.

"Tian'er, you have now broken through to the peak of the Golden Core Stage. It's time for you to leave the mountain."

The old man said calmly. Looking at the giant bear's corpse, a faint aura of the Golden Core Stage emanated from it.

"Yes, Master. But where should I go if I leave the mountain?"

The young man put on his clothes and asked respectfully.

"Very well, the Hundred Kingdoms Competition is about to begin, and not many people from Yuanwu Kingdom are going to participate yet. I will go and secure a spot for you."

The old man pondered for a moment, then said. He was the renowned early-stage Tribulation Transcender cultivator of Yuanwu Kingdom, named Zhe Jianren.

Sword Immortal Sect of Yuanwu Kingdom.

In the Sword Immortal Sect, a young man was practicing swordplay. His movements were extremely slow at first, but soon his speed increased dramatically. Eventually, only streaks of afterimages could be seen, or it seemed as if the young man stood still while sword energy permeated his entire body.

The young man only stopped when an elder from the Sword Immortal Sect approached him.

"Elder Wu, is there something you need?"

The young man asked neither subserviently nor arrogantly. Elder Wu looked at him with a hint of respect in his eyes.

"Sword Child, the Sect Master requests your presence."

A short while later, the young man followed Elder Wu to the Sect Hall, where a group of elders had been waiting for a long time.

"Zhang Chengfeng greets all the elders and pays respects to the Sect Master."

On the Sect Master's seat sat a white-bearded old man with a smiling face as he looked at Zhang Chengfeng.

"Chengfeng, if my memory serves me correctly, you seem to have already broken through to the peak of the Golden Core Stage."

"Replying to the Sect Master, I was fortunate enough to break through to the peak of the Golden Core Stage a while ago."

Zhang Chengfeng replied neither subserviently nor arrogantly.

"Very good. Are you willing to fight for some glory for our Sword Immortal Sect?"

With that, the Sword Immortal Sect Master, Xie Jianxian, explained the matter of the Hundred Kingdoms Competition.

"With my reputation, I can get you an opportunity."

Xie Jianxian said with a serious expression. What Zhang Chengfeng was concerned about was not this, but whether there would be any prodigies at the Hundred Kingdoms Competition.

"Will there be any prodigies?"

"Naturally, there will be."

"Then what is there to fear? I accept."

Zhang Chengfeng shouldered his sword and immediately rushed towards the capital city.

At the same time, various major powers in Yuanwu Kingdom dispatched their own prodigies towards the capital city. It was evident that they all wanted to make an appearance at the Hundred Kingdoms Competition and, by extension, receive rewards from Li Xuanran. Clearly, they didn't believe that anything Li Xuanran offered would be subpar.

As the Princess of Yuanwu Kingdom, Li Qingping naturally also received the news.