I Haven't Even Made a Move, and You've Already Struck First

In a vast, boundless forest.

A dozen or so ordinary Luoxiao Race experts, dressed in various styles but all possessing the strength of the ninth rank of the Universe level, gathered together.

"Naluo, are you sure you want to take action against the Sacred Land?"

The man called Naluo, a Luoxiao Race with a full head of red hair, seemed to be the organizer of the gathering. He sneered, "There's precedent for this before. What's so untouchable? Are you scared?"

"Hmph, I've even taken on Desperate Level Mission like the Blood Demon Continent, do you think I'd be intimidated by the Heavenly Star Holy Temple of the Luoxiao Race?"

"I agree with this proposal. It's one thing for those people from the Holy Temple to hunt me down, but these so-called Sacred Land clans also dare to plot against me. The slaughter of more than a dozen Domain Lord from that Jiaohe Clan last time has not quelled my anger at all."

"Haha, Kuilu, you were chased across half the continent by that Jiaohe Clan's realm lord, how did you escape?"

"Alright, let's get down to business," Naluo said. "Making an example to deter other Sacred Land clans, or venting our anger, is secondary. The most important thing is the Holy Star Stone and the wealth and treasures accumulated by these Sacred Land over millions of years. I think everyone here has collected Holy Stone through various means and is qualified to participate in the Sacred Altar Trial."

"But whether or not they can accept the Sacred Altar Baptism is still unknown. After all, at that time, it will not only be the Core Member of our five major forces competing, but also the Luoxiao Race's universe-level royal family who are meditating in the Holy Temple."

"The final outcome is uncertain, so it's better to recoup some of our losses first. These Sacred Land clans have accumulated a considerable amount of wealth and treasures over generations. Slaughtering more than a dozen Sacred Land, taking one from each of them, would make our trip to the Nine Star Sea worthwhile. Not to mention the star stones from these Sacred Land clans. Even the Glittering Star Stone are a considerable fortune, whether auctioned or exchanged with our respective forces. As for how precious the Holy Star Stone are, everyone knows."

A man wearing a silver helmet asked, "These Domain Lord of the Sacred Land clans, whether they've fused with the Glittering Star Stone or are Domain Lord themselves, are naturally no problem for us. But what about their Holy Lord? He's a ninth-level Realm Lord, not just a powerful Star Beast. I'm confident I can escape from him after fusing with the Glittering Star Stone, but that doesn't mean we can kill him."

Naluo laughed and said, "As far as I know, the youngest of you here is at least five thousand years old. You're not newcomers who just joined the Core Layer the five major powers. Each of you has the strength of the seventh or even eighth level of the Heavenly Bridge. Why bother pretending?"

"I'll be frank. I have a Wushen Thorn. You know it's a specialty of the Third Outer-Region Battlefield. It's coated with Kelin Venom, which can last for a hundred epochs. Even if a World Lord is only slightly touched by it, his Inner World will be severely corroded and he will suffer serious damage."

After a few breaths, a woman wearing only a purple robe and no battle armor spoke up, "I have a Laser Gun, an E8 grade one, which only takes 0.05 seconds to charge. It can even damage a ninth-level World Lord, but if the opponent has protection at the level of the Heavenly Star Holy Armor, it will be difficult to inflict any damage."

Someone else said, "I have World Lord Third Stage's Moyun Vine; even a ninth-tier Realm Lord can be trapped for a period of time..."

These words drew everyone's attention.

"Damn, are all the members of the Blood Drop Secret Realm First Universe Bank, this rich?"

Most people present could afford to cultivate a World Lord Level Moyun Vine, but for these elite disciples of the five major powers, any wealth must be spent wisely. Purchasing secret manuals and auxiliary cultivation treasures that can enhance their Law Comprehension are the most needed items. It is difficult for them to allocate a large portion of their wealth to cultivate plant life.

Naluo smiled and said, "It seems that killing those Sacred Land clan lords shouldn't be too difficult now."

The man who claimed to possess World Lord Level Moyun Vine suddenly spoke up, asking a Luoxiao Race dressed in white armor, "Hey, Laiyi, where's Jiang Yao from your Virtual Universe Company? Didn't he come?"

Before he could finish speaking, whispers broke out in the room.

"I really want to meet him. The Controller the Universe Divine Weapon, the 11th level of the Heavenly Bridge... tsk tsk, this kind of monster..."

"Given his level of Law Comprehension, if he were to fuse with the Glittering Star Stone, he would be able to rival a powerhouse at the eighth or ninth level of the Realm Lord. If he could join Sacred Land that could completely sweep across the Nine Star Continent, he would be a force to be reckoned with."

"Hmph, what are you thinking? Do you think the Holy Temple is invisible? Even if Jiang Yao is strong, can he contend with those high -World Lord Level warriors from the Holy Temple? We can't attack the Sacred Land many times before the Holy Temple sends out those World Lord Level warriors in their Sacred Armor to besiege us."

"So what? We just fire a shot and move on."

"Ahem." Naluo interrupted the discussion, "Whether Jiang Yao comes or not doesn't matter much to us. We are enough to deal with the world lords of the Sacred Land clans. As for dealing with the world lords of the Holy Temple, or even the legendary Holy Temple Commander, one more Jiang Yao won't make a difference."

"I've decided that our first target will be the Chengyun Sacred Land. The Holy Lord of the Chengyun Clan doesn't have any powerful defensive treasures, and he's not very fast. Moreover, he's the only World Lord level expert in the Chengyun Clan, making him the most suitable target."

I agree.

"I agree. It's best to play it safe for the first operation and choose a weaker opponent."

In the center of the main city of Chengyun Sacred Land,

The temporary, enormous testing ground covered a vast area, where thousands of the Star Realm youths and young people lined up to wait for the exam.

Aside from its own holy son, the Chengyun Sacred Land only has ten slots available to participate in the Star Realm Sacred Altar Trial. This means that out of the tens of thousands of the Star Realm present, only ten will be able to stand out, making the probability extremely low.

However, Jiang Yao, who was in charge of maintaining order as the captain of the Jingan Guard squad, was not worried about Chiling clone.

The selection process at Chengyun Sacred Land is not a battle like a arena competition, but rather a multi-item assessment, divided into three categories: strength, speed, and reaction.

Those who rank in the top ten based on their combined scores across the three assessments will secure a spot in the Sacred Altar Trial.

This poses no problem for Chiling clone; he just needs to be careful not to be too conspicuous and to keep a low profile.

Jiang Yao and Daiqin stood side by side.

Daiqin transmitted his thoughts with some worry. "The Luoxiao Race requires all Star Realm geniuses who undergo the Sacred Altar Baptism to show their true names and verify their souls. If this kid You Luan Chiling really obtains Star Realm Sacred Altar trial spot, the Youluan Clan will definitely be able to find out, and I'm afraid trouble is coming. We might be exposed."

Jiang Yao shook his head slightly. "The Sacred Altar is about to open, and we will also be participating in the Sacred Altar Trial. Even if the Youluan Clan wants to cause trouble, they may not have time to react. If we are exposed, so be it."

Daiqin was still somewhat worried. "I'm not afraid of the Youluan Clan causing trouble. If I can't beat them, escaping is easy. But I'm afraid it will be the Holy Temple's World Lord Level warriors. The Holy Temple's Domain Lord- level warriors are a bit troublesome. World Lord Level warriors will probably be quite difficult to deal with, and I might not even be able to escape."

Before Jiang Yao could even offer his comfort, the person in charge of the assessment announced the assessment results.

Chiling clone secured a spot in the Sacred Altar Trial with a combined sixth-place ranking across the three categories.

This is already a very modest result, mainly because we were afraid that if we performed any worse, we might not even make it into the top ten.

"Brothers Yao Jiang and Yibo, His Holy Lord summons you."

The captain of the guard team, who was familiar with the two, approached Jiang Yao with a strange expression and read out the orders.

Jiang Yao and Daiqin quickly obeyed and entered the tower behind the trial platform.

The Holy Lord of the Chengyun Clan is of Elite Bloodline with three Tail Feathers, clad in dark blue armor, and exudes an imposing aura without anger.

"Greetings, Holy Lord!"

The Holy Lord of Chengyun Clan remained calm, revealing no emotion, and looked at Jiang Yao, saying, "Is this Chiling your disciple?"

"Yes."

Jiang Yao calmly replied that although he and Chiling clone were one entity, they still needed to have a similar relationship in public. Being brothers was a bit strange, since he was a ninth-level cosmic-level being far inferior to Chiling clone. A master-disciple relationship would be more appropriate.

"A little fellow who is not even a hundred years old and whose cultivation level is only at the seventh level of the Star Realm has actually performed exceptionally well in all three assessments, far surpassing those geniuses at the ninth level of the Star Realm. This shows that you have indeed taught your disciple very well."

Jiang Yao's heart skipped a beat; he could sense a hint of doubt in the tone of the Holy Lord of the Chengyun Clan.

In the Luoxiao Race, a race with a strict hierarchy and huge differences in bloodlines, it is questionable that Jiang Yao, a cosmic-level guard of ordinary blood who did not come from a major clan, could teach such an outstanding disciple.

The Holy Lord of Chengyun Clan took out two Glittering Star Stones: "I have witnessed your hard work and dedication over the past few decades. You have both reached the ninth level of the Sky Dome Realm. I have long wanted to bestow Glittering Star Stone upon you. Now, let's fuse them together."

Sure enough, this was a test!

Not only Jiang Yao, but Daiqin, who was standing next to him, also began to tense up.

If Jiang Yao were a genuine member of the Luoxiao Race, even if he had fused with the Glittering Star Stone, the Cheng Yun Clan's Holy Lord, being of superior bloodline, could easily extract the Glittering Star Stone from his body with a single thought.

Therefore, once Jiang Yao and Daiqin merged with the Glittering Star Stone, the Holy Lord of Chengyun Clan would immediately know whether they were truly from the Luoxiao Race.

Over the decades, Jiang Yao had heard of many outsiders being identified using this method.

"It seems there's no way to keep up the pretense any longer."

Jiang Yao picked up the Glittering Star Stone and was about to fuse it into his body, and immediately launched an attack. With his current strength, once he fused with the Glittering Star Stone, he would be able to subdue an ordinary ninth-level Realm Holy Lord of the Chengyun Clan in an instant.

The moment he picked up the Glittering Star Stone, a powerful aura descended from nowhere!

Not just one share, but more than a dozen!

Before the trial platform, among the city residents watching the assessment, there were more than ten ordinary Luoxiao Race whose auras suddenly became powerful, radiating the fluctuations of Domain Lord Ninth Stage, and they broke the city's prohibition and flew into the air.

"An outsider?!"

The Holy Lord of Chengyun suddenly widened his eyes, his body tensed, and he could no longer care about Jiang Yao and Daiqin. He shouted sharply, "How dare you appear openly in the Holy City!"

"Haha, of course we're bolder now, because starting today, the Chengyun Sacred Land will be removed from the list!"

Accompanied by a loud and murderous voice, more than a dozen outsiders revealed their true identities.

Jiang Yao and Daiqin were dumbfounded.

Why did you attack before I even made a move?