Genius

Watching Xia Qing ride the clouds and mist, Jiang Ping An's eyes were filled with envy and longing.

When he had time in the future, he would learn the Flight Technique too, or perhaps fly on a sword. That was far faster than running on the ground.

Standing atop the clouds, Xia Qing announced brightly, "I'll repeat the rules. Five months from now, those who can stand on the mountain's first ten floors will be qualified to participate in the Hundred Counties Tournament."

"Over these five months, you must cultivate diligently and climb as high up the mountain as possible. The higher your floor, the more resources you will receive each day."

"On the First Floor, you receive ten thousand Spirit Stones per day. On the Thirtieth Floor, you receive only one hundred Spirit Stones per day."

"Each person has three chances per day to challenge others and be challenged. Unless the challenged person is injured or lacks spiritual energy, they may not refuse a challenge."

"Killing is forbidden. You may not use non-combat Mystic Treasures or weapons beyond the Foundation Establishment Realm. You may not consume pills during battle, or you will be disqualified."

"Only one person may occupy each of the mountain's first twenty floors. Floors twenty-one through twenty-nine may hold two people each. The lowest floor has no limit on the number of occupants."

"If you want to become stronger, if you want to enjoy more resources, then climb with all your might. The path of cultivation is fraught with hardships and perils; the victor is king. Great Xia's future lies in your hands!"

Xia Qing's words were not particularly stirring, yet they made the youths' blood boil.

"The Quota Competition begins now!"

As Xia Qing descended, terrifying auras erupted from the youths' bodies one after another. The clouds above churned violently, wild winds howled, and fierce shockwaves drove back winter's chill.

A sixteen-year-old girl soared into the sky and flew straight toward the mountaintop. As her aura erupted, an illusory Divine Phoenix projection appeared around her, shrouding the heavens.

The moment the Divine Phoenix projection appeared, the world turned scorching hot, as though summer had arrived.

"I claim the First Floor. Who will challenge me?"

The Divine Phoenix girl looked down upon the countless geniuses like a blazing star, causing everyone else to pale into insignificance.

"Divine Phoenix Body! There's actually such a genius among us!" A knowledgeable genius from a great lineage stared at the phenomenon surrounding the girl in shock.

"Divine Phoenix Body? A descendant of the legendary Divine Phoenix Clan?"

"How can anyone compete with that? Across the entire Great Xia Dynasty, there aren't many geniuses who could stand against her!"

The youths who had still hoped to reach the summit immediately felt their hearts sink upon seeing her.

Since first place was impossible, they could only fight for second.

Just then, a youth rose into the air and landed steadily on the Second Floor.

There were no spiritual energy or Body Cultivator fluctuations around him, yet his appearance made wind and clouds change color. The energy released by the Divine Phoenix Body was repelled.

"Soul Cultivator!"

At once, everyone recognized his abilities. He was a Soul Cultivator.

There were three major types of cultivators in the cultivation world: Spirit Cultivators, Body Cultivators, and Soul Cultivators.

They cultivated spirit, body, and soul respectively.

Spirit Cultivators were the most common, Body Cultivators came next, and Soul Cultivators were the rarest.

The soul was an elusive thing. Cultivators with talent for soul cultivation were not much weaker than those with single spiritual roots.

Soul Cultivators controlled the mind. Their power was formless and traceless, strange and unpredictable. A powerful Soul Cultivator could overturn mountains and seas with a thought, or destroy a person's soul with another.

Not only was this youth a Soul Cultivator, he was clearly one of the best among them!

His tone was calm. "I claim the Second Floor. Who will challenge me?"

His voice seemed to carry strange ripples that made people afraid to resist.

The many genius youths swallowed hard. They simply had no way to contend with him.

Then they could only fight for third.

Boom—

A violent explosion rang out. A two-meter-tall youth pushed off hard with both legs, his body shooting forward like a meteor. Moving at astonishing speed, he crashed heavily onto the Third Floor.

The youth's entire body was covered in golden light. With a casual wave of his hand, his tremendous strength swept away the dust around him.

"I claim the Third Floor. Who will challenge me!"

A dull metallic voice echoed through the sky.

"Th-that looks like the Myriad Gold Body! Rumor has it that its physique is incomparably powerful. Even someone a major realm above it would find it difficult to break its defenses, while its attacks are utterly overbearing!"

Seeing the first three geniuses, many youths felt their mindsets collapse.

They had planned to compete for the top three, but with those three standing there, no one could fight them.

"I, Feng Yuchen, claim the Fourth Floor. Who will challenge me!"

Feng Yuchen, dressed in a golden robe, flew to the Fourth Floor, his tone as arrogant as those before him.

He possessed a trace of Dragon Race bloodline. When he unleashed his aura, it carried an overwhelming pressure.

"Get down! The Fourth Floor belongs to me, Qian Feng!"

A youth refused to accept this and charged up to fight him.

The other youths rushed toward the mountain one after another.

Not many were aiming for the top ten, but they could still fight for the other floors.

Every extra day spent above meant another day of resources.

Several thousand Spirit Stones a day was an enormous resource. They had no choice but to fight for it.

Only one person could stand on each of the first twenty floors, so the competition was especially fierce.

Meng Jing drew her Blue Flower Saber and said to Jiang Ping An, "Woodhead, work hard. I'm going to fight."

"Blades and swords have no eyes. Be careful," Jiang Ping An said.

Meng Jing nodded. Lightning flickered across her body, and she flashed onto the mountain in an instant.

Jiang Ping An stared fixedly toward the mountain. A group of exceptionally gifted youths rode clouds and mist; some cleaved the heavens with Sword Qi, some shattered mountain rocks with a single punch, some turned the clouds with a flip of their hands...

Every genius was like a little sun, radiating their own brilliance.

Jiang Ping An envied them for being born with fine talent, fine backgrounds, and fine resources.

But he did not let that give rise to negative emotions.

He calmly walked toward a house on the lowest floor.

Every floor had places to rest and cultivate. The Thirtieth Floor had the most houses, because the houses on the lowest floor did not need to be fought over.

The Maid beside Xia Qing noticed Jiang Ping An's actions and frowned.

"He actually chose the lowest floor right away. He has no fighting spirit at all."

Xia Qing glanced at Jiang Ping An and said indifferently, "He only just broke through to Martial Master at most. He has never learned any advanced cultivation techniques before, so he cannot compete with the others."

"Although the Limitless Fist is a good technique, he only obtained it recently and needs time to absorb it. Studying it earnestly now is the wisest choice instead."

The Maid pursed her lips. "That may be true, but giving the Heavenly Profound Pill to someone like him still feels like such a waste."

"If Miss Meng could take this pill, she might shine brilliantly in the Hundred Counties Tournament. Then Princess could also have a chance to return to the imperial city."

Xia Qing smiled. "It won't matter. With the Divine Phoenix Body, Little Jing, and the other four geniuses, it will be enough."

She had never placed her hopes on Jiang Ping An.

Cultivating Jiang Ping An was only for Black Wind County, for Great Xia.

"Ah..."

The Maid sighed. The more she thought about Jiang Ping An wasting a Heavenly Profound Pill, the more distressed she felt.

There were still some youths who had not gone up to fight. They silently observed from the foot of the mountain, searching for an opportunity.

Among them was Ma Wei of the Vast Mist Sect.

The reason Ma Wei had not rushed up first was because he was waiting for someone. Once that person climbed the mountain, he would go challenge him and teach him a lesson.

That was right. The one he was waiting for was Jiang Ping An.

But he had never imagined that Jiang Ping An would not compete at all and would instead go straight to the lowest floor!

It nearly made him explode with rage.

"Coward! Trash!"

At the very least, everyone else was rushing toward the Twenty-Ninth Floor. Jiang Ping An alone had not fought for anything.

Ma Wei was beside himself with anger, but there was nothing he could do. The Thirtieth Floor was the lowest floor, so it could not be challenged.

Gritting his teeth, he climbed the mountain and went to challenge Meng Jing.

If he could not beat up Jiang Ping An, then he would beat up this woman.

Sword glints and saber shadows collided as all sorts of dazzling cultivation techniques danced through the sky. Lightning, flames, and Ice Cones echoed one another.

Every youth was fighting with all their strength in cultivation.

On the Thirtieth Floor, inside one of the houses.

Jiang Ping An activated the barrier, sat upon the Cultivation Platform, and took out the pill Meng Jing had given him.

The moment he opened the bottle, seven-colored light instantly illuminated the room.

The strange fragrance quickened the blood flowing through Jiang Ping An's body. In only a brief moment, he touched the realm barrier of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

"This pill... is so powerful."