When the morning light broke free of the clouds and fell upon the land, the Dragon Clan erupted into noise. A lively atmosphere enveloped the Dragon Domain.
By the time Yuan Gan arrived at the Clan Competition grounds with Long Jiuyyao and Yuan Xin, the place was already bustling. At a glance, there were quite a few people.
"Greetings, Patriarch." When Yuan Gan arrived, everyone present respectfully bowed to him and greeted him.
"Heh, since everyone's here, let's begin." Yuan Gan smiled faintly. An invisible majesty, powerful enough to shake the heavens and earth, radiated from him.
As Long Jiuyyao stepped onto the Clan Competition grounds, everyone taking part sized him up, as did the Dragon Clan Elders seated on the platform.
Long Jiuyyao sized them up in turn. At a glance, he noticed a man dressed in a green shirt. The man wasn't particularly striking in appearance, but his youthful face brimmed with unruly arrogance, making him impossible to forget after just one look.
At that moment, the Green-Shirted Man stood with his arms crossed over his chest, staring back at Long Jiuyyao.
He must be Liu Qing, the battle maniac. No wonder he's so wild; he's so young, yet already brimming with arrogance, Long Jiuyyao murmured to himself.
This is the Long Jiuyyao who was born in the Dragon Clan's Burial Ground with an Ancient Dragon Bone. Interesting. I wonder how strong he is. True to his reputation as a battle maniac, he couldn't go a single sentence without mentioning a fight.
The two nodded to each other in greeting. Then Long Jiuyyao looked at the people behind Liu Qing and asked, "Xin'er, who are those people behind Liu Qing?"
Yuan Xin replied, "The brothers Yan Shan and Yan Feng. They're both at the early stage of the Heaven Origin Realm. Ji Ling'er is at the middle stage of the Heaven Origin Realm, while her brother, Ji Wentian, is at the half-step Origin Core Realm."
"Most of them are grandsons of Elders, or people with great talent who've worked hard."
"Oh. So there aren't any clan members at the Earth Origin Realm?" Long Jiuyyao rubbed the tip of his nose.
"There are. The two of us," Yuan Xin said with a smile.
"I mean, besides the two of us, are there any others?" Long Jiuyyao asked again.
"No, just us."
As the siblings talked, a long blast of a horn rang out. Everyone except the teams taking part in the Clan Assembly moved away from the center of the grounds!
The Dragon Clan Great Elder, Tian Sha, looked down at the contestants and began to speak. "The Dragon Clan is prosperous, and countless prodigies have emerged. Our clan has decided to hold a competition every three years to encourage the cultivation of martial arts and bring glory to our outstanding talents!"
The Dragon Clan Great Elder Tian Sha's impassioned voice rang throughout the Dragon Domain. It seemed to possess a strange magic, stirring the hearts and blood of countless people!
The Great Elder remained composed as he gazed at the countless handsome young men below. As in previous years, nearly a hundred teams had come to take part in the Clan Assembly competition!
The Great Elder Tian Sha spoke again, his voice ringing out clearly. "Now, you may ascend the War Drum Ancient Path and beat the drums at its summit. Every contestant must strike the drums in succession. Anyone who fails to sound them nine times must leave of their own accord!"
Beating the war drums was the first stage of the Clan Assembly competition. The mirror-match arena in the final stage had limited space, while there were too many contestants. They had no choice but to eliminate a good number of them in the first round!
Ten war drums stood along the ancient path, allowing ten people to beat them at once. But they were extremely difficult to sound. Even someone at the middle stage of the Earth Origin Realm might only manage one strike with all their strength. Sounding them nine times in a row would be no easy feat!
Moreover, the drums had to be struck continuously, without letting the sound die away. If someone sounded them a few times, rested for three breaths, and then continued, the later strikes wouldn't count!
One by one, the hundred contestants stepped forward and onto the ancient path, their expressions solemn. No one joked around. Even Yuan Xin was on her best behavior. Everyone climbed the path one step at a time, showing their respect for the Clan Assembly competition!
Before long, the first contestant reached the drum platform and walked up to one of the Giant Drums. His robe billowed as a powerful aura spread from him. He stopped a step away from the drum, his body seemingly clad in armor made of Yuan Power. A heavy presence surrounded him!
"That's Tai Feichen, the Sixth Elder's grandson. I hear he's already reached the late stage of the Heaven Origin Realm. He's a strong contender for the top ten in this year's Clan Assembly competition!"
"He's the first to beat the drums. Is he telling everyone that he, Tai Feichen, is going for first place?"
At that moment, everyone's gaze converged on him. Tai Feichen, grandson of the Dragon Clan's Sixth Elder, was a leading contender for the top ten in this year's Clan Assembly competition—a seeded contestant!
Tai Feichen's fist seemed to transform into a mountain as he suddenly swung it forward. An ear-splitting drumbeat rang out at once, shaking the heavens!
Terrifying gusts whipped through Tai Feichen's hair as the drum continued to sound. It rang nine times in a row. A tremendous force rebounded from the drum and slammed into him, but Tai Feichen stood as steady as a mountain, without moving an inch!
"To earn the name of a Dragon Clan prodigy, I'll start by beating the war drums. Today, I'll make sure everyone knows the name Tai Feichen!"
As soon as Tai Feichen finished speaking, while the drum's echo still lingered, he swung his fist again with terrifying force!
The crowd watched as the fearsome force slammed into Tai Feichen. The drum sounded three more times, but his fist didn't stop. He struck again, sending another wild torrent of air crashing forth and lifting his robe. Tai Feichen stepped forward and stood before the drum, letting the gale batter him, yet his body remained utterly unmoved!
The contestants beating the drums beside Tai Feichen all turned to look at him. They had been ready to strike their own drums, but were so stunned that they forgot to move!
In the end, Tai Feichen sounded the war drum nineteen times. Its lingering echoes reverberated throughout the Dragon Domain!
"Nineteen beats! That's incredible!"
Beside the ancient path, Sixth Elder Tai Chenshan smiled with satisfaction. Seeing Tai Feichen's performance filled him with delight!
Many elders had come along as well, eager to witness their children and grandchildren's performances.
After Tai Feichen, the others took turns beating the drums. Most achieved fairly ordinary results, and many failed to sound the drums nine times and left in dejection! No one else managed nineteen beats!
The hundred contestants tested themselves at the ten drums. Even with ten drums, the process took quite a while. Yet the crowd lining both sides of the ancient path remained completely quiet and patient!
The Clan Assembly competition came only once every three years. Even the first test, the contest to beat the war drums, was a chance they valued greatly!
And yet, from the very first test, the clan's talented young people were already showing signs of rivalry!
"Half of them couldn't even manage nine beats. Just how terrifying are these drums?"
Long Jiuyyao stared at the drums ahead and muttered to himself. Before him, hardly anyone had passed. The rate of elimination had left him stunned!
After all, those who came to compete were all prodigies with great confidence in their own abilities. Surely none had come merely to make up the numbers and humiliate themselves!
"Twenty beats!"
Just then, a drumbeat that shook the heavens rang out. Long Jiuyyao stared at the figure on the platform. Of the hundred people who had tried, half hadn't even managed nine beats. Twenty—what a terrifying result!
"It's Ji Xian! The Fourth Elder Ji Ming's grandson! He's beaten Tai Feichen's record of nineteen. I hear Ji Xian has always had the edge over Tai Feichen. Looks like it's the same today!"
Someone explained who Ji Xian was. His strength was indeed formidable. After the ninth beat, every additional strike required him to resist a rebound force many times greater than before. The fact that Ji Xian had managed twenty strikes made his strength plain to see!
Not far away, Tai Feichen saw Ji Xian surpass his record and snorted in displeasure, but did nothing else. Ji Xian's strength spoke for itself, and there was nothing he could say!
"Ji Xian is incredible. Yan Shan's gone up too, but he only managed eighteen beats. That should've been an impressive result, but Tai Feichen and Ji Xian have stolen the spotlight!"
Though beating the war drums wouldn't determine the final rankings, it was still a contest between the clan's prodigies. Especially after Tai Feichen's impressive nineteen beats, none of the young talents were willing to fall behind!
Next, many other formidable contestants took their turns!
Yan Feng managed seventeen beats! Ji Ling'er managed eighteen! Ji Wentian managed twenty!
"It's Liu Qing! Liu Qing's about to take his turn!"
At that moment, countless eyes converged on one person: Liu Qing, disciple of Qing Zhi, the former Punishment Elder!
Among the clan's talented young people, he was in a league of his own.
Liu Qing strolled up to the drum, his expression calm, then struck it. The drum sounded twenty-three times in succession, stunning everyone!
Liu Qing had just stepped forward and already broken the record with his very first strike. And from the look of him, he still had strength to spare. His combat power was tremendous. Could he already have reached the small perfection stage of the Origin Core Realm?
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