Chapter 189
The two sword intents collided violently in mid-air, unleashing a deafening roar, like two meteorites meeting, unleashing earth-shattering power.
A vast aftershock spread out, causing the surrounding stone walls to crack inch by inch.
Cracks stretched into the distance, reaching all the way to the distant horizon.
"Puff..."
The guardian coughed up blood, his face turned deathly pale, and he staggered back a few steps.
A wisp of flame followed closely, clinging to his body, and the flames spread rapidly, covering his entire body in the blink of an eye.
Sizzle...
A burnt smell filled the air.
Wisps of smoke drifted away, and the guardian's clothes had been burned to ashes.
His body had become extremely dry, as if it had been charred, and emitted a burnt smell.
Clang!
The longsword in the guardian's hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
His withered, charred face and murky eyes were filled with shock as he stared at Xiao Minghuang. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.
Thump!
He collapsed to the ground, his body billowing thick smoke.
Those who participated in the Trial Tower died from sword intent enhanced by Innate Fire.
Xiao Minghuang sheathed her sword and stood there, calmly looking at the corpse of the guardian on the ground, her eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.
At the same time.
Another space within the Trial Tower.
A gray-robed man wielding a long sword sensed something and was immediately taken aback.
Who is it?
"You actually defeated me!"
The man in the gray robe was the guardian of the eighty-ninth floor.
Jian Chen!
The rule of the Trial Tower is that the guardian of each floor is the person who clears that floor the fastest.
If you cannot defeat it, proceed sequentially until you clear the current level.
However, if you fail to pass after several attempts, it means that your ability has reached its limit, and there is no need to continue the challenge.
Continuing to fight would only be a waste of time.
Jian Chen defeated the guardian of the 89th floor, but after some twists and turns and using all his strength, he was still no match for him. Only after many failures did he finally achieve the Great Perfection of Sword Intent in the midst of battle, and thus successfully cleared the level.
"It seems that getting first place in this trial will be very difficult..."
Jian Chen sighed softly and continued to adjust his state. He had already failed three times on the 90th floor, each time being instantly killed by the guardian with a single palm strike. If he failed again next time, there would be no point in continuing the challenge.
At the same time.
Outside the tower.
Under the watchful eyes of countless people, Xiao Minghuang's name rose to the top spot!
"Xiao Minghuang! She's the Ninth Princess of the Xia Kingdom in the Southern Border. I know her! She bought something from my stall before!"
"The absolute dark horse of this year! He surpassed Qi Mingdao of the Ziwei Sacred Land and Lin Tianyang of the Yang Prefecture Lin Clan to win first place in the Trial Tower!"
"A prodigy! I can almost see the birth of a forbidden genius, peerless in his talent, sweeping aside the younger generation!"
Countless people were discussing it, all with expressions of shock.
Among the crowd, an ordinary-looking young man had an extremely grim expression.
This person was none other than Han Li.
"Damn it! Princess Xiao actually won the championship!"
Previously, most of the opportunities he encountered in the Marketplace had been seized by Xiao Minghuang, and what he obtained were mostly ordinary quality magic treasures and some spiritual herbs of relatively short age.
If it weren't for the Small Green Bottle's ability to accelerate growth and enhance the quality of magical artifacts, he probably wouldn't even have been able to advance to the Spirit Seed Realm!
Because he missed many opportunities, he didn't stay in the top 100 for long before falling out of the list.
"Princess Xiao! Stealing someone's opportunity is an unforgivable crime! You just wait!"
Han Li said angrily, then turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
Given his personality, once he takes action, he is absolutely certain that it will be foolproof.
He would not reveal any extraordinary abilities to Xiao Minghuang until he had sufficient power and was certain that he could eradicate this formidable enemy.
They wouldn't even easily reveal their whereabouts.
Caution is the first principle of his cultivation path!
The rankings in the Trial Tower have been solidified, and many people have emerged from the tower.
Some people are beaming with joy after achieving great results, while others are dejected, realizing they were actually terrible at the job.
The top 100 geniuses also emerged from the tower one after another.
These people are all core disciples of major holy lands, aristocratic families and dynasties, the best of the younger generation, and the hope for the future.
This trial not only made them realize their shortcomings, but also filled them with confidence in their future.
They looked back at the notice board on the Trial Tower, saw their rankings, and did not show excessive surprise.
These people are quite clear about their own abilities, and as long as they don't make any major mistakes, making it into the top 100 shouldn't be a problem at all.
As for rankings within the top 100, most people have a general idea of what those are.
The disciples of these powerful factions often spar and compete together, and they are very clear about who is truly strong and who is merely all show and no substance.
"Huh! How come Wang Zhuan is only ranked eleventh?!"
Everyone was taken aback when they saw the rankings on the stone tablet.
Wang Ao!
Innate Chi Dragon Spirit Body! Possessing the inheritance of a supreme expert who has reached sainthood, he is highly valued by the elders of the sect, and among the younger generation, he is second only to the first true disciple Qi Mingdao!
Given Wang Yan's talent, making it into the top five shouldn't be a problem. How come he can't even get into the top ten now?
Is there something wrong with this ranking?
At this moment, Wang Ao had just emerged from the Trial Tower. He had fought his way through all the levels and reached the ninetieth floor!
Although he failed more than twenty times on the 90th floor, he barely managed to defeat the guardian after giving it his all.
But this is a genuine success in passing the challenge!
But he knew in his heart that with his half-baked combat skills, he had no chance of even making it to the first level, so he left early on.
However, he was all too familiar with the younger generation of the aristocratic families of the Holy Lands!
There are only a handful of people who are stronger than him.
His own senior brothers Qi Mingdao, Lin Tianyang of the Lin family, Qi Houbu of the Immeasurable Sacred Land, Su Changge of the Su family, and Ning Houbu of the Primordial Sacred Land, were originally on par with him in strength.
However, he had previously spent a large sum of money at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion to buy a Heaven-Rank magic weapon, which greatly enhanced his strength, so surpassing Ning Houbu was no problem at all!
Therefore, according to his prediction, he should rank fifth in this trial!
The ranking in the Trial Tower can roughly predict the ranking in the second and third stages, so he really made a name for himself in this trial!
The thought of the Holy Land's reward almost made Wang Yan burst out laughing.
"Hey-hey..."
Just then...
A voice suddenly rang out.
"Senior Brother Wang! How come you're only eleventh?"
"Um?!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yan abruptly turned his head.
Upon seeing that it was his own junior brother, he frowned, realizing that things were not so simple.
"What happened?"
The junior brother pointed to the ranking stone tablet.
Wang Yan's gaze shifted, and when he saw the rankings displayed above, he was immediately taken aback.
"What?!"
"Eleventh place: Wang Yan! Ninth floor!"
"Tenth place: Ning Weiwei! Ninetieth floor!"
"Ninth place: Ru Lu! The 90th floor!"
"Eighth place: Ye Ruoshui! Ninth floor!"
"Seventh place: Lin Wanqiu! Ninetieth floor!"
"Sixth place: Qi Wangshu! Ninetieth floor!"
Fifth place: Lin Tianyang! 90th floor!
"Fourth place: Su Changge! Ninetieth floor!"
"Third place: Qi Mingdao! Ninetieth floor!"
"Second place: Jian Chen! Ninetieth floor!"
"First place... Xiao Minghuang! 90th floor!!!"
One name after another leaped out from the trial stone tablet.
These rankings caused Wang Yan's pupils to dilate instantly, and his face revealed an expression of utter shock.
The predicted fifth place is completely gone!
They didn't even make it into the top ten!
Moreover, he was familiar with only half of the names in the top ten!
"Ru Lu, Ye Ruoshui, Lin Wanqiu, Jian Chen... Xiao Minghuang! Who are these four people?!"
Wang Yan was extremely shocked and immediately asked the question.
Not only him, but most of the cultivators present had never heard of these names.
Although every trial produces a few dark horses, this year's trials seem to have a bit too many.
Five of the top ten spots were taken!
Beyond the top ten, and within the top one hundred, there were many completely unheard-of names.
People like Tang Bei, Lin Fan, Fang Wen, and Li Xuan may seem ordinary, but they are all ranked in the top 100, which has greatly overshadowed the big powers!
"Xiao Minghuang, she is the Ninth Princess of the Xia Kingdom in the Southern Border. It is said that a year ago, a demon crossed over to the Southern Border, and the Holy Academy even sent an elder to fight against it."
Someone explained.
Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized what was going on.
"I see. This Princess Xiao must be someone cultivated by the elders of the Holy Academy... But since she is already valued by the elders, why does she still want to challenge the Trial Tower?"
It's important to know that if you are chosen by an elder of the Holy Academy and granted the Dragon's Den Token, you can skip the first stage.
This Dragon's Den Token isn't something just any genius can obtain.
One must possess exceptional talent and be a strong contender for the position of the Eastern Pole Holy Son to obtain it.
"You are all mistaken. Princess Xiao probably just had some good fortune. The Dragon's Den Token is not something that can be granted so easily!"