The Four Great Geniuses of Wuzhou City

"If Shadow Assault is used well, it can produce tremendous results under certain circumstances!"

After testing its effects, Li Ye was extremely satisfied. Unfortunately, Demon Bat Transformation consumed too much energy. Unless it was a critical moment, he would not use it.

"With Shadow Assault, I can maintain it for roughly fifteen minutes, but Demon Bat Transformation can nearly drain all my strength."

After trying it several times, Li Ye became far more proficient with Shadow Assault. Unlike the Combat Techniques of the Cloud Soaring Continent, it did not require him to slowly ponder and cultivate it. Demon Bat Transformation, on the other hand, had only been used once. The moment he transformed into a pitch-black bat, he immediately felt nearly forty percent of his power drain away! Returning to human form consumed almost the same amount of strength, making him afraid to try it lightly.

"If it is nighttime, I have at least a seventy percent chance of defeating a Martial Dao Master-level expert!"

That was under the premise that Li Ye did not use the Sword Control Technique or Blood Eyes. Otherwise, in the darkness of night, even a Martial Dao Master might be instantly killed by him!

"Under the cover of night, with Shadow Assault, Blood Eyes, and the Sword Control Technique working together, perhaps even Martial Dao Grandmaster-level experts could fall by my hand!"

Even Martial Dao Grandmasters could not remain completely vigilant of everything around them at every moment. Li Ye's Shadow Assault was practically the first choice for assassination. If he suddenly appeared before an opponent, used Blood Eyes to strike their soul, then unleashed the Sword Control Technique without warning, even an expert at the level of a Martial Dao Grandmaster would die full of bitter regret.

"What a pity the Genius Summit is held only during the day. Otherwise, even Wuzhou City's Four Great Geniuses would be worth testing myself against!"

Of course, he could only entertain such thoughts in his heart. Even if it truly could be held at night, Li Ye would never expose these abilities in front of so many people.

Especially the Sword Control Technique and Shadow Assault—their perfect coordination could definitely produce miraculous effects! This was another enormous trump card of his.

Early the next morning, Li Ye sat up from his bed, and a string of crackling sounds erupted from his body.

"Late Spirit Martial Tier Six. I am still just a little short of peak Spirit Martial Tier Six."

One night of cultivation was almost equivalent to ten times the effects of daytime cultivation! Even Li Ye himself was startled. Combined with the nameless cultivation method within the Moon Dream Heart Sutra, the results were simply heaven-defying.

"For ordinary people to advance from early Spirit Martial Tier Six to the late stage would take at least several months, perhaps even years, but I accomplished it in one night."

Although he had not broken through to the seventh level of the Spirit Martial Realm, Li Ye was confident that at this Wuzhou City Genius Summit, he would easily enter the top ten! As for contending against those Four Great Geniuses, he did not yet have much confidence.

"Against an eighth-level Spirit Martial Realm Martial Dao Master, without using Blood Eyes or the Sword Control Technique, my odds of victory should be even. If I use the Sword Control Technique, I should have a seventy or eighty percent chance of at least seriously wounding them!"

This was confidence! Although Li Ye's cultivation level was not especially high, his combat strength far exceeded his realm.

The Genius Summit was Wuzhou City's grandest annual festival. Everyone in the city wanted to witness the clashes between the various geniuses.

At the same time, the Genius Summit was jointly hosted by the Three Great Families.

"The minimum requirement for every Genius Summit is Spirit Martial Tier Five! And participants must be under twenty-five years old!"

Perhaps worried that Li Ye did not understand the details, Li Yuan Jia slowly explained along the way, "It can be said that this is a grand gathering encompassing the vast majority of young geniuses throughout Wuzhou City and within several hundred li of its surroundings. It is also a game of contention in which the various Lineages and factions secretly compete."

"As one of the organizers, our Li Family has fifty spots that can skip the preliminary rounds and enter the finals directly."

Soon, Li Ye and the others followed the Li Family members to the Genius Summit grounds. They saw arenas of all sizes surrounding them, as well as groups from the Wu Family and Yu Family. Like the Li Family, they were overlords of Wuzhou City, and they too had arrived in a mighty procession.

"Look! Isn't that Wu Hao of the Wu Family? He made it into the top ten last year—his strength is terrifying!"

Someone immediately cried out nearby. Li Ye looked over and saw Wu Hao, who had previously come to the Li Family to provoke them. However, Wu Hao's face was gloomy.

Among the Yu Family, several young men around twenty years old also caught Li Ye's attention. The auras around them were scarcely weaker than Li Yuan Jia's. They had clearly all entered the eighth level of the Spirit Martial Realm and become Martial Dao Masters!

"As expected of families entrenched in Wuzhou City for centuries, even a thousand years. Their disciples alone possess cultivation of this caliber."

One had to know that in Wuzhou City, Spirit Martial Tier Four was already considered quite respectable, while a seventh-level Spirit Martial Realm Martial Master could establish a small Lineage! Yet among the younger generation of the Three Great Families, there were quite a few experts at the Martial Dao Master level!

The one leading the team this time was the Grand Elder of the Li Family. Perhaps because their results in last year's summit had been too poor, his expression was not very pleasant. Meanwhile, on the Wu Family and Yu Family sides, two middle-aged men who appeared to be their respective family heads chatted and laughed together, looking quite close.

Seeing this, many people felt a strange unease rise in their hearts.

Even Li Ye frowned slightly. On the surface, Wuzhou City's Three Great Families appeared harmonious, but in private they fought to the death, each wanting to dominate all of Wuzhou City. Their grudges stretched back hundreds of years.

He nudged Li Yuan Jia beside him, gestured toward that direction, and said quietly, "The Wu Family and Yu Family seem rather close."

Li Yuan Jia had noticed it as well. A trace of worry appeared on his face as he nodded. "It is a little strange. Although the Yu Family and Wu Family have always been somewhat better with each other than with our Li Family, they have never been this close! Let us watch the situation first."

In truth, Li Ye knew that the Three Great Families of Wuzhou City had originally been roughly equal in strength. None could suppress the others, and they had maintained a balance all along. But more than twenty years ago, Li Kainian's emergence shattered that balance in one stroke. Afterwards, the Wu Family and Yu Family had even shown signs of secretly joining forces, but after Li Kainian disappeared only a few years later, the matter was dropped.

"If the two families join forces, the Li Family will be in grave danger!"

As this thought surfaced in his heart, he could imagine it clearly. After Li Kainian left, the Li Family was not stronger than either of the other two families. Once those two joined forces, the Li Family would be wiped out in an instant!

"I hope I am overthinking it."

Shaking his head, Li Ye decided that no matter what, this was not something he needed to consider.

At this moment, several focal points of the crowd stood within the grounds. They were three men and one woman. Naturally, the one Li Ye knew best was Li Mo, but the other two young men and the beautiful young woman beside him were unfamiliar.

"Who are those people?"

Having never attended the Genius Summit before and having always lived at the bottom, Li Ye found many of the people present utterly unfamiliar.

"The other three of the Four Great Geniuses. That big fellow is Wu Batian of the Wu Family, said to possess divine strength from birth. I heard that while at the eighth level of the Spirit Martial Realm, he directly defeated a ninth-level Spirit Martial Realm Martial Dao Grandmaster and even killed him outright. Even Li Mo, last year, could only hold out for a hundred moves before ultimately losing to him."

Li Ye looked over and happened to see the young man, at least one meter ninety tall, with muscles bulging all over his body and seemingly filled with explosive power. As though he had noticed Li Ye's gaze, Wu Batian turned and looked over. But when he saw that Li Ye was merely a Spirit Martial Tier Six kid, he immediately lost interest.

"Do you see that person?" Li Yuan Jia pointed at another refined-looking young man. Beneath that elegant exterior, Li Ye detected an aggressive sharpness. With just one glance, he felt a terrifying aura so piercing it stung his eyes, making his heart churn.

"This man is the Yu Family's peerless genius, one seen only once in a thousand years. Who knows what dogshit luck the Yu Family had, but Yuwen Wushuang seems to have been born for cultivation. Every bottleneck is child's play before him. Since the age of ten, his cultivation has advanced without obstruction. Before even reaching eighteen, he stepped into Spirit Martial Tier Nine and became a Martial Dao Grandmaster. Some even say he may be the only person in Wuzhou City capable of entering the Innate Realm before the age of twenty-five."

Entering the Innate Realm before twenty-five—upon hearing this, even Li Ye felt deeply shaken.

One had to know that although the Spirit Martial Rank was merely the foundation of martial cultivation on the Cloud Soaring Continent, after the seventh level of the Spirit Martial Realm, every further breakthrough was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Had they not seen countless people remain trapped in one realm for their entire lives, unable to advance a single step?

Many Martial Dao Grandmasters were already fifty or sixty years old, or even older. Yet every one of Wuzhou City's Four Great Geniuses was under twenty-five! And still, they possessed such cultivation!

"When Yuwen Wushuang broke through to Spirit Martial Tier Nine at eighteen, it caused quite a sensation! Some even said he might be a peerless genius surpassing Li Kainian."

Quite a few people around them whispered among themselves. It was clear that Yuwen Wushuang enjoyed immense popularity within Wuzhou City.

As for the last person, Li Ye looked toward the sole woman among the Four Great Geniuses. Her white dress made her seem like a fairy stepped out of a painting. Her elegant and noble bearing resembled that of a princess in the imperial palace, while her lovely face intoxicated countless men. Combined with her status as the Yu Family's eldest young lady, who knew how many men of Wuzhou City wished to fall beneath her pomegranate skirt?

Without needing an introduction, Li Ye knew that this woman had to be the Yu Family's genius second only to Yuwen Wushuang—Yuwen Lihua.

"This Yuwen Lihua is Yuwen Wushuang's biological younger sister. Though she is not as monstrous as her brother, there are still only a handful of people in all Wuzhou City who can defeat her! Even Li Mo last year had to fight her fiercely for a long time before barely winning by half a move! A year has passed now; who knows what level her cultivation has reached!"

These were the four strongest people among Wuzhou City's younger generation!

Li Ye gazed deeply at them. Although his current strength was clearly still insufficient, it did not frighten him. Instead, it stirred up an intense fighting spirit within him.

Just then, several sounds of air tearing rang out. Everyone's expressions tightened, and even the upper ranks of the Three Great Families changed color.

At the same time, Li Ye saw several people striding through the air from afar. The instant he saw this scene, his pupils contracted slightly!