In the Foreign Realm, the Great Dao was firm and stable, making such grand phenomena a rare sight.
The Crane Clan Ancestral Land.
"Half a step into Escape One!" He Xian's eyes were half closed. The sound of scripture recitation streamed endlessly from between his brows, as though an ancient figure sat cross-legged within his mind, gathering the great momentum of heaven and earth for him.
Several more days passed before He Xian finished cultivating and walked through the Crane Clan Ancestral Land.
A flower garden held all manner of immortal blossoms and wondrous flowers in a riot of colors. A young man leisurely watered them with divine dew.
Alternating relaxation with exertion was the best path of cultivation.
The young man was staring intently at a crystalline divine lotus. Its thirty-six petals concealed some profound truth of heaven and earth.
Suddenly, an old man approached him. It was a familiar face, Elder He.
"The ranking tournament for the younger generation is about to begin, young ancestor!"
"What about He Ziming?" He Xian paid no attention to this competition to determine the leading figures, asking about him instead.
His face was expressionless.
"Ziming is still in seclusion in Ancient Ancestor Yu Tuo's ancient land, invigorating his blood and tempering his body. That is why he has not come to pay his respects. Once he emerges, this old servant will immediately instruct him to come before you."
"Tempering blood in a living body." He Xian seemed to remember this, and he rose to his feet.
The ranking tournament for the younger generation was an immensely grand event even in the Foreign Realm. All young people would compete for supremacy. It was held only once every tens or even hundreds of thousands of years, and the top ten thousand would be blessed with the fortune of the Heavenly Dao.
The highest-ranked competitors would also be bestowed titles.
His father had been the champion of the previous tournament at the end of Immortal Ancient, earning the title Peerless.
This tempestuous contest had been launched ahead of schedule.
Naturally, he had worked behind the scenes. Three Emperor Clans had jointly proposed and pushed it forward: Crane, Crimson, and Saber.
Even a reclusive Emperor Clan had come forward to push for it. No one had expected that.
Rumble! Terrifying auras erupted one after another, shaking every corner of the Foreign Realm. Everyone looked up as a vast fluctuation spread from within the World Tree.
The stagnant waters of the Foreign Realm, tranquil for so long, had been disturbed.
Enormous ancient arenas hung in midair from the branches of the World Tree.
In an instant, an eternal aura of blood and slaughter rushed toward them. Every arena resembled a prehistoric beast.
Majestic, towering, and imposing, they slowly materialized in the void.
Black tiles, ancient reliefs, and black blood that could scarcely be washed away made them look ancient, weathered, and eerie, as though they had crossed the river of time from the previous epoch.
The Title Ranking Tournament began outright, without excessive preparation or delays.
Such was the Foreign Realm: decisive and swift.
"Heavens, is the Title Ranking Tournament about to begin? So suddenly!"
"Will I soar into the heavens in this lifetime? What incredible luck!"
The uproar swept in every direction like a flood filling the heavens!
Every figure harboring ambition and desire raised their head to gaze upward.
Although most of them had not known that the Title Ranking Tournament would begin, they all knew what those arenas in the sky meant.
Heroes would vie for supremacy, King Clans would clash, and Emperor Clans would fight bloody battles. Who was the greatest under heaven?
Who would ultimately win fortune's favor and receive a title? It would all be decided upon those ancient arenas!
Especially the arena at the very center.
It was immensely vast, like an island suspended in the sky that would never fall.
It could accommodate a battle between a hundred people.
This arena had no luster or Undying aura. It looked dull and plain, with dark red bloodstains across its surface.
There were also broken weapons, mottled with scars.
Yet the moment it appeared, people felt towering killing intent rushing straight toward them.
Even from far away, it could make weaker beings' legs buckle and send them fainting to the ground.
It was far too terrifying, despite its ordinary appearance.
It seemed capable of devouring souls. Even a single glance made hearts pound with fear and bodies tremble uncontrollably.
This was the Title Deathmatch Arena, the unrivaled arena reserved for the Foreign Realm's leading figures! From ancient times to the present, no one knew how many had died upon it. All had been the strongest of their clans, beings of the very highest caliber of prodigy. Even members of Emperor Clans had spilled their blood there.
He Xian's father, He Wushuang, had torn apart a formidable Emperor Clan foe with his bare hands upon this very arena, securing his position as the foremost figure of the Foreign Realm's younger generation.
He had also established a precedent unseen throughout the ages.
Thus, people would never forget the glory of those days. Even the older generation of Undying beings could not help marveling when they recalled those scenes.
Some still remembered He Wushuang's first emergence into the world: his divine bearing radiant, his gaze disdainful of all heroes, battling bloodily for months, tearing an Emperor Clan opponent apart alive, and standing alone at the pinnacle.
Others remembered their own unparalleled valor as they fought their way into the top hundred. In their most grueling battle, they had encountered an unrivaled foe and launched an earthshaking showdown that set everyone's blood boiling, drawing cheers as they slew their opponent before the crowd.
It was incomparable glory.
Others still remembered the sight of the Undying King An Lan settling heaven and earth with a single spear strike, sealing the arena as enemies in every direction exploded at the same instant!
Every spectacular battle had been preserved in recorded images.
When the tournament opened again, those images would be replayed upon the World Tree. That was the highest honor.
In those bygone days, heroes had emerged in abundance, and every generation had its mighty figures. Each great final battle would set the Foreign Realm ablaze, make blood boil, bring transformations as profound as shedding flesh and bone, and overturn heaven and earth.
"The arenas have all descended. We can practically climb onto them now. I imagine the battles will begin within the next few days!"
Members of the older generation who had experienced the previous ranking tournament spoke up. They could not help lamenting how swift and sudden it was, yet neither could they suppress their anticipation.
Boom!
An enormous mass of light enclosing a humanoid figure appeared, startling beings on all sides.
"Someone has emerged! Another reclusive prodigy has entered the world. This aura is overwhelmingly powerful!" Someone nearby exclaimed in shock, and everyone looked up toward the mass of light.
They had already lost count of how many secluded prodigies had emerged.
Crack!
Elsewhere, in a forbidden land of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, strange phenomena erupted one after another. World-shaking lightning formed a vast ocean. This was a cursed place that no one dared approach under ordinary circumstances, where even Supreme beings kept a respectful distance. Yet today, a young man walked out from within.
People saw a man with fierce, jutting horns charge out, transcendent and sacred.
"A being of the Heavenly Corpse Demon Spider lineage!" Someone trembled as they cried out the clan's name.
This was an exceptionally bloodthirsty and murderous half-step Emperor Clan, with a Quasi-King presiding over it.
Unparalleled auras erupted throughout the Foreign Realm as beings emerged. Most terrifying of all were the ancestral lands of the Emperor Clans. Though they remained calm and silent, there was no doubt that their heirs would emerge.
This was a struggle for fortune and a contest between traditions. Securing a place in the tournament's top ten would bring extraordinary benefits even to an Emperor Clan.
Every tournament was the occasion when the greatest number of Emperor Clan beings appeared in the world.
Over the next few days, the Foreign Realm became a sea of people. Such bustle was rarely seen even once in hundreds or thousands of years. Even some ascetics could no longer bear their solitude, and every major city was packed.
He Xian stood within the Crane Clan's core ancestral land. This was precisely the sight he had wanted. Visiting them one by one would take too long; he could not afford the time, and it was not worth the cost.
"Let them all stir!" he murmured.