A Stone Stirred a Thousand Waves

Jiang Ming wore a strange expression. "Why are you so excited about someone crashing your wedding? You're the one who'll be embarrassed."

"What's that? The embarrassed one will be my old man, not me!" Xuanyuan Tian waved a hand.

Xuanyuan Tian's father, Xuanyuan Zhengdao, was also the current Holy Lord of the Xuanyuan Sacred Land.

"If you go crash the wedding, that old bastard definitely won't be able to beat you. Bring more powerful experts with you."

Watching Xuanyuan Tian grow increasingly excited, Jiang Ming felt that something was wrong with his head.

"The competition has ended. Next, the audience will vote to select the five people in your hearts!" the host announced loudly.

Soon afterward, slips of paper appeared in the hands of the audience.

"You need only use spiritual power to write the names in order."

Before long, a light screen appeared in the center of Tianwu Square, and names began appearing upon it.

First place, Jiang Ming

Second place, Xu Nuo'an

Third place, Zhuge Jinyue

Fourth place, Xuanyuan Tian

Fifth place, Zhang Wushuang

Sixth place, Xuan Wuying

Seventh place, Ouyang Yuegui

Eighth place, Chen Lin

Perhaps Xuanyuan Tian's earlier killing of the fourth-tier Demon King had left a deep impression on everyone, allowing him to rank above Zhang Wushuang. As for Chen Lin, he had been quietly contributing all along without any eye-catching performance.

"Weren't there only five spots? Why are there eight names?"

"Who knows? Let's see what happens."

The crowd broke into heated discussion.

Jiang Ming also spotted Wu Er and the others at this time.

"Brother Wu, how were your gains?" Jiang Ming asked with a smile.

"Not bad. I killed more than a dozen fourth-tier demonic beasts. The beast cores alone are a considerable fortune." Wu Er smiled, though those beast cores were of little use to him.

He looked up at the light screen and stared in surprise at Jiang Ming's name in first place. "Haha, Jiang Ming, you really hid yourself well."

"Ha ha."

"Brother Jiang Ming, you're amazing!" Mo Ling'er said from the side.

Jiang Ming gave Mo Ling'er and Xu Jiang a slight nod.

Under the host's arrangements, everyone withdrew from the center of Tianwu Square, leaving only the eight people on the rankings.

"Good! Now, those on the rankings, come forward and draw lots for one-on-one battles!"

"Huh? Since when did the competition have a new segment?"

"Yeah, but arena battles are pretty good too. We can watch these geniuses fight on the spot."

Xu Nuo'an and the others exchanged glances. Though they had rested for two days, they had not recovered to their peaks. Battles under such circumstances were fundamentally meaningless.

Perhaps some people were stronger at full strength, while others were stronger when injured.

"Did you arrange this?" Jiang Ming suddenly asked.

The host had clearly confirmed that Jiang Ming came from an Imperial Clan, so he answered politely, "This was Lord Lin Hao's arrangement."

"Lin Hao? Who's that?" Jiang Ming did not know him.

"Lord Lin Hao is the person in charge of this Hundred Domains Competition," the host explained.

"Was the Sky-Splitting Demon Ape in the Hundred Woods Realm also placed there by him?" Jiang Ming asked.

"This..." The host hesitated for a moment before saying quietly, "Lord Lin Hao wanted to witness the strength of those from the Imperial Clan."

Jiang Ming raised a brow. "The Imperial Clan has remained hidden from the world for so long. Do you people think the Imperial Clan is easy to provoke?"

"What is your name?" Jiang Ming asked.

"My name is Mo Fei." The host bowed.

Everyone believed that entering Jiang Domain would grant them better resources, and that was indeed true, but the oppression within Jiang Domain was overwhelming.

Mo Fei himself had entered Jiang Domain as the last-ranked person of the previous-to-last generation. His talent was inferior to the others', while Lin Hao had ranked first.

Oppression was severe within Jiang Domain. If one lacked strength, all resources belonged to others. Fortunately, the quality of divine abilities and cultivation techniques far surpassed those outside.

When Mo Fei entered Jiang Domain, he was at the Tenth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm. Yet after all this time, he was only at the fourth level of Tribulation Transcendence.

Lin Hao, who had entered at the same time, had obtained countless resources through his outstanding strength. He was now a Lesser Saint, calling himself the "Haotian Lesser Saint."

"Tell that whatever-his-name Lin Hao to get his ass over here!" Jiang Ming said.

"Young Master Jiang is being rather discourteous." Lin Hao stood in the air, dressed in black.

"Come down!" Jiang Ming frowned slightly.

Lin Hao smiled faintly. "I should still give Young Master Jiang this much face." He descended and landed before Jiang Ming.

Xuanyuan Tian and the others stood to one side, watching Jiang Ming curiously, wondering what he intended to do.

"Is the Hundred Domains Competition your playground? You casually threw in a fifth-tier great demon?" Jiang Ming demanded.

"In recent years, each generation of youths has been worse than the last. They need a little pressure." Lin Hao spoke calmly.

"If Young Master Jiang is displeased, I can apologize." Lin Hao spoke indifferently and casually bent at the waist.

"That should do it. Does Young Master Jiang have any other questions?" Lin Hao asked.

If Jiang Ming had not displayed heaven-defying prowess in the Hundred Woods Realm, Lin Hao would not have bothered saying so much.

Ever since Lin Hao entered Jiang Domain, he had faced oppression from powerful people every day. He told himself that he had to become stronger and trample everyone beneath his feet.

In the end, he succeeded. He became a Saint Realm cultivator and entered the center of power in Jiang Domain.

But he had thought he would be able to come into contact with the so-called Jiang Imperial Clan, only to find that he had never even met a member of the Jiang Clan.

The world believed that entering Jiang Domain meant cultivating alongside members of the Jiang Clan, but in truth, he had never seen one.

Other than cultivation resources far surpassing those outside, Jiang Domain's cruelty also far surpassed the outside world. Jiang Domain guaranteed only one's safety; everything else had to be fought for personally. No one would grant fairness or justice, and newcomers could only suffer oppression.

At first, he had wanted to leave Jiang Domain, but rumor had it that all who left had vanished. And if one fled, Jiang Domain would hunt them down under the charge of desertion.

His strength had been insufficient before, but now, Saint Realm cultivators stood at the peak.

Jiang Ming looked at Lin Hao with an indifferent gaze. "What gave you the courage to speak to me like that?" As he spoke, he rubbed the Imperial Heir Ring on his hand.

The Imperial Heir Ring was the symbol of the Jiang Clan's Imperial Heir, but no one outside the Jiang Clan recognized it.

Naturally, Lin Hao did not recognize it. Frowning, he said, "Young Master Jiang, you should understand what kind of person you are facing."

"Nothing more than a dog raised by Jiang Domain." Jiang Ming sneered.

The moment those words fell, the entire venue was shocked. No one had expected infighting within Jiang Domain. The whole place became silent as death, and no one even dared breathe loudly.

After a long silence,

Lin Hao's gaze turned sharp. "I have entered the Saint Realm. Young Master Jiang had best watch how you speak!"

"Heh heh!"

"The Hundred Domains Competition is not a place for you to run wild. More importantly, I don't like people disgusting me!" Jiang Ming said in a deep voice. He had thought the intelligence was wrong.

"I merely wanted to see what the so-called Imperial Clan genius was truly like."

"Now you've seen it. You must pay the price for your actions."

"Hahaha, do you intend to kill me?" Lin Hao suddenly laughed loudly. "Do you think I don't know that the Heavenly Profound Realm no longer has a Great Emperor? Your so-called Imperial Clan is nothing more than Saint Realm cultivators! Since I have entered the Saint Realm, I fear nothing under heaven!"

A stone stirred a thousand waves, and the people present burst into discussion.

"The Haotian Lesser Saint means that there are no Great Emperors within the Imperial Clan either. In other words, Saint Realm cultivators are now the strongest!"

"That's what he means."

Xuanyuan Tian and the others looked at Jiang Ming with complicated expressions. Since the Imperial Clan had no Great Emperor, its prestige would be far less than before, while the Saint Clans and Sacred Lands would gain greater authority.