Genius Appears

The time finally came to the last few days before the preliminaries, and most of the Inner Sect Disciples who had been out on missions had returned.

This made the sect more lively than usual, with discussions everywhere.

"Look, that's Senior Brother Huan Shaoyue, ranked ninth. I heard he was influenced by Senior Brother Feng Chao, ranked eleventh, and also took on a Level 5 mission alone. He's finally back today."

On the main path of the sect, a tall, slightly tattered seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth was walking.

The disciples quickly cupped their hands in greeting, "Greetings, Senior Brother Huan."

Huan Shaoyue merely nodded at them and left directly.

"The oppressive aura Senior Brother Huan gives off is getting stronger and stronger. He just glanced at me, and I felt like a mountain was pressing down on me."

"I felt it too. He wasn't targeting us deliberately; it's probably because of the cultivation technique he's practicing."

"I heard Senior Brother Huan practices an externally and internally cultivated technique, the [Five Cauldrons Profound Technique], and has likely reached the Five Cauldrons Realm. He can probably withstand the power of the Five Cauldrons, and his pure physical strength alone might be tens of thousands of pounds."

"Hiss, tens of thousands of pounds of brute force! The actual competition will surely be something to watch."

"Huh, isn't that Senior Sister He Jianjun, ranked second?"

At this moment, another person appeared. It was a woman carrying a guqin, elegant and refined, with a serene demeanor.

As soon as she appeared, she attracted a crowd of gazes.

As everyone knew, the second senior sister of the Inner Sect was famously beautiful.

Unfortunately, they didn't get to admire her for long before she disappeared, as suddenly as she had appeared.

Only a lingering aftertaste remained.

However, the crowd's attention was soon drawn to another person.

And so, in the blink of an eye, it was the day before the preliminaries, the registration phase.

All the Inner Sect Disciples gathered in a huge square, waiting to register to determine their spots in the preliminaries.

On this day, the usually rarely seen prodigies all appeared, naturally causing another wave of discussion.

The topics of highest interest and the most gazes were naturally the disciples in the top ten of the Inner Sect.

Of course, those who had become famous recently were also a focus.

"That's Quan Fengqing, ranked thirty-seventh. Last time, I heard he took on a mission and killed a famous figure from the older generation, Tie Wudi, the 'Mad Wind Saber' who was at the late stage peak of the Zhen Qi Realm."

"That's You Wenxiao, ranked one hundred and forty-second. Last time, he achieved this ranking at the middle stage of the Zhen Qi Realm. He broke through to the late stage recently, so he'll likely break into the top one hundred this time."

Some people were well-informed and could rattle off outstanding figures like counting beads.

Since the Elders had not yet arrived, the disciples crowded around them, both to enjoy the excitement and to gather information.

After all, knowing oneself and one's enemy ensures victory in every battle.

"I heard that the genius Zhu Ningyun, who suddenly made a name for herself last time, has already broken through to the middle stage of the Zhen Qi Realm and will also participate in the competition this time."

"Hiss, how long has it been since she broke through to the Zhen Qi Realm? She's already in the middle stage now. It really makes you angry comparing yourself to others."

"Who says not? She's not even fourteen yet. She'll probably be in the Gang Qi Realm by fifteen."

"I don't think so. The Zhen Qi Realm threshold alone can stump many people, let alone the Gang Qi Realm, which can stump at least ninety percent of Martial Artists. Even for the most talented, getting stuck for half a year or so is common."

"I don't think it's impossible. After all, she's the apple of the Elders' eyes right now, and she doesn't lack any resources."

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

The crowd sighed with emotion.

"Don't you guys know that it's very impolite to gossip behind people's backs?"

Suddenly, a sharp voice cut through the air. Everyone turned to see a youth in a yellow robe with sharp eyes. Although he looked only fifteen or sixteen, he carried a considerable presence.

Seeing who it was, those who had been about to retort remained silent.

Because the newcomer was not simple.

His name was Li Biehe. In the last competition, he had defeated many disciples in the late stage of the Zhen Qi Realm with his middle stage Zhen Qi Realm cultivation, breaking into the top one hundred and reaching the high rank of sixtieth.

Compared to You Wenxiao mentioned earlier, this person was clearly more formidable and more talented.

Furthermore, he had another identity: he was the son of Inner Sect Elder Li.

"Hmph, remember, not everyone is worthy of being discussed."

This person's gaze was stern as he swept over the crowd.

The others dared not retort, but not everyone was afraid. One person sneered:

"Li Biehe, you're putting on a show here, but she can't even see you. Besides, we weren't saying anything bad about anyone; we were just having a normal discussion."

The speaker was a youth in green, at the late stage of the Zhen Qi Realm. He stood with his arms crossed, clearly looking displeased with the other.

"Yeah, we're just discussing normally."

Seeing someone step forward, the others chimed in.

His intentions exposed, a flash of anger flickered in Li Biehe's eyes. He said coldly, "I wondered who it was, but it turns out to be my defeated opponent from last time."

"What? Do you want to try your hand now?"

"Come if you want. It's a good chance to see how much you've improved," the green-robed youth said, lowering his arms without fear.

"You'll see."

Their eyes met, and they were about to fight when suddenly someone shouted that the Elders were coming and registration was officially starting.

Hearing this, the crowd forgot about watching the fight and surged forward.

"Hmph, I'll show you my power again during the official competition,"

Given the situation, it was clearly not appropriate to fight further. Li Biehe left those words behind and moved forward.

"I'll be waiting."

The green-robed youth also snorted coldly.

A confrontation was thus temporarily halted.

Seeing that registration was officially starting and Lu Ming had yet to appear, Cui Bai was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

"What should we do? He wouldn't have gone out on a mission and not come back, would he?"

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

However, just as he was looking around anxiously, someone suddenly patted his shoulder. "Who are you waiting for, looking around like that?"

Cui Bai was startled and quickly turned around. Upon seeing that it was Lu Ming, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who else would I be waiting for?"

He said with a hint of annoyance, "I'm telling you, your Lightness Skill is getting more and more inscrutable. You touched my back, and I didn't even notice."

Lu Ming smiled, ignoring the latter half of the sentence, and replied, "Then I'll trouble you to worry. See you at Cuiyun Tower later."

"That's more like it."

"Oh, right. You came late, so you didn't see the fierce battle that just happened here. I only just realized how many geniuses and experts there are in the Inner Sect."

"Tell me quickly." Lu Ming's interest was piqued.

Registration required queuing according to current rankings, divided into ten teams.

The first nine teams had one hundred people each, and the remainder formed the last team.

Lu Ming's current ranking was 969th, having entered the Inner Sect at 1001st.

The reason for this advancement in ranking was either disciples being expelled from the Inner Sect or them having died or gone missing.

In less than a year, thirty-two people had left, a rather high elimination rate.

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

As it happened, behind him, besides those from his cohort, stood twenty-three newly promoted Inner Sect disciples.

"Huh, Lu Ming, look quickly. Why is there a mid-stage Zhen Qi Realm cultivator at the very end of our team?"

As the team moved forward in an orderly fashion, Cui Bai suddenly said.

"Maybe he's cultivating fast."

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