A Genius Makes His Appearance

The days before the preliminaries finally arrived, and the inner disciples who had been out on missions had basically all returned.

This made the sect livelier than usual, with discussions audible everywhere.

"Look, that's Senior Brother Huan Shaoyue, ranked ninth. I heard that, influenced by Senior Brother Feng Chao, who ranks eleventh, he also took on a fifth-level mission alone. He finally returned today."

On the sect's main avenue walked a tall youth of seventeen or eighteen, his clothes slightly tattered.

The disciples hurriedly clasped their hands and greeted him. "Greetings, Senior Brother Huan."

Huan Shaoyue merely nodded at them before walking straight on.

"The pressure Senior Brother Huan gives off is getting stronger and stronger. He only glanced at me just now, yet I felt as though a great mountain had come crashing down on me."

"I felt it too. He wasn't deliberately targeting us. It should be because of the cultivation technique he practices."

"I heard Senior Brother Huan practices the inner-and-outer cultivation technique, the Five Cauldrons Profound Technique. By now, he's probably reached the Five Cauldrons Realm. He can withstand the strength of five cauldrons, and his physical strength alone is probably ten thousand jin."

"Gasp, ten thousand jin of tremendous strength! The actual tournament is going to be a real spectacle."

"Eh? Isn't that Senior Sister He Jianjun, ranked second?"

At that moment, another person appeared—a woman carrying a zither on her back, elegant and otherworldly, her expression tranquil.

The moment she appeared, she attracted countless gazes.

Everyone knew that the second-ranked senior sister of the inner sect was famous for her beauty.

Unfortunately, before anyone could watch for long, she vanished, just as abruptly as she had appeared.

Only a lingering aftertaste remained.

Before long, however, everyone's attention was drawn to another person.

Just like that, the day before the preliminaries arrived, and registration began.

All the inner disciples gathered in a huge square, waiting to register and determine the spots for the preliminaries.

On this day, the prodigies of heaven who were rarely seen ordinarily all appeared one after another, naturally provoking another round of discussion.

The most discussed and most closely watched were naturally the disciples ranked within the inner sect's top ten.

Of course, those who had become extremely famous recently were just as noteworthy.

"That's Quan Fengqing, ranked thirty-seventh. I heard that during his last mission, he killed an established figure of the older generation—the Raging Wind Swift Blade Tie Wudi, who possessed the peak of the late Zhen Qi Realm."

"That's You Wenxiao, ranked one hundred forty-second. He reached that ranking while only in the mid Zhen Qi Realm last time. He broke through to the late stage recently, so he'll probably enter the top one hundred this time."

Some people were well informed and could name outstanding figures as easily as counting their treasures.

Since the elders had yet to arrive, everyone gathered around them, both to enjoy the excitement and to gather information.

After all, knowing yourself and your enemy meant victory in every battle.

"I heard that Zhu Ningyun, the genius who suddenly rose to fame last time, has already broken through to the mid Zhen Qi Realm, and she'll be participating in the tournament this time too."

"Gasp, how long has it been since she broke through to the Zhen Qi Realm? She's already in the mid stage? Comparing people really is infuriating."

"Who says it isn't? She isn't even fourteen yet. She'll probably reach the Gang Qi Realm at fifteen."

"I don't think that's necessarily true. The threshold of the Zhen Qi Realm is enough to trap many people, and the Gang Qi Realm is even more difficult. It can trap at least ninety percent of Martial Artists. Even for a genius, being stuck for a year or two is common."

"I don't think it's impossible. After all, she's the elders' favorite now, and she lacks nothing in terms of resources."

"That makes sense. Sigh, geniuses really are enviable."

Everyone sighed with deep emotion.

"Don't you know that gossiping about people behind their backs is very uncultured?"

Suddenly, a grating voice rang out. Everyone hurriedly looked over and saw a youth in yellow robes. His eyes were sharp, and although he looked only fifteen or sixteen, he possessed quite an imposing presence.

Upon seeing who had arrived, those who had been preparing to argue back fell silent.

The newcomer was no ordinary person.

His name was Li Biehe. During the last tournament, while only in the mid Zhen Qi Realm, he had defeated many disciples in the late Zhen Qi Realm and forced his way into the top one hundred, reaching the lofty rank of sixtieth.

Compared to You Wenxiao, who had just been mentioned, this person was clearly more formidable and even more talented.

Moreover, he had another identity: he was the son of Elder Li of the inner sect.

"Hmph. Remember, not everyone can be discussed."

His gaze was cold and stern as it swept over everyone.

No one dared to argue with him, but not everyone was afraid. One person gave a cold laugh and said,

"Li Biehe, you're making such a grand show of currying favor here, but she can't even see it. Besides, we didn't say anything bad about her. We were merely discussing things normally."

The speaker was a youth dressed in green robes. His cultivation was in the late Zhen Qi Realm. He had his arms crossed before his chest and wore an expression that showed how much he disliked Li Biehe.

"Exactly, we were only discussing things normally."

Seeing someone step forward, everyone chimed in.

With his thoughts exposed, anger flashed through Li Biehe's eyes before vanishing. He said coldly, "I was wondering who it was. So it's the defeated opponent from last time."

"What? You want to test your hand first right now?"

"Then come on. I happen to want to see how much your strength has improved." The youth in green lowered his arms, showing no fear of his opponent.

"You'll see."

The two locked eyes. Just as they were about to clash, someone suddenly shouted that the elders had arrived and registration was officially beginning.

Hearing this, the crowd had no time to watch the show and surged forward.

"Hmph. When the official tournament begins, I'll show you what I'm capable of."

The situation clearly wasn't suitable for fighting, so Li Biehe tossed out those words and headed forward.

"I'll be waiting."

The youth in green also snorted coldly.

The clash was temporarily halted just like that.

Registration had officially begun, yet Lu Ming had not appeared. Cui Bai was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

"What should we do? Could he have gone out on a mission and not made it back yet?"

"If he misses registration, he won't be able to participate in the preliminaries."

Just as he kept looking around, someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder. "Why are you looking left and right like that? Who are you waiting for?"

Cui Bai jumped in fright and hurriedly turned around. When he saw that it was Lu Ming, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"Who else could I be waiting for besides you?"

He wore an exasperated expression. "I'm saying, your movement technique is becoming more and more unfathomable. You got right behind me, and I didn't sense a thing."

Lu Ming smiled, directly ignoring the latter remark, and replied, "Sorry for making you worry. Cuiyun Tower later."

"That's more like it."

"By the way, you arrived late, so you missed the fierce clash that just took place here. I only found out now that there are actually so many talented experts in the inner sect."

"Tell me about it." Lu Ming became interested.

Registration required lining up according to one's current ranking, but the disciples were divided into ten lines.

The first nine lines each had one hundred people, while everyone else formed the final line.

Lu Ming was currently ranked nine hundred sixty-nine. When he had first entered the inner sect, he had been ranked one thousand and one.

The reason his ranking had advanced, aside from cases where disciples ahead of him had been expelled from the inner sect, was that some had died or gone missing.

In less than a year, thirty-two people had left. The elimination rate was indeed very high.

Of course, where there was elimination, there was naturally replenishment.

Besides those who had entered at the same time as him, twenty-three newly promoted inner disciples were standing behind him.

"Eh? Lu Ming, look quickly. Why is someone in the mid Zhen Qi Realm at the very end of our line?"

The line moved forward in an orderly fashion. Cui Bai suddenly spoke.

"Maybe he cultivated quickly."

As Lu Ming said this, he turned his head to look, only to freeze in place immediately.