Several more days passed, and at last, the blood-stirring, thrilling ranking tournament was about to begin.
A majestic, ancient voice of the Dao resounded in every living being's ears.
It belonged to a Quasi-King.
"Anyone under five hundred years of age may take the stage and battle beneath the heavens!"
Rumble!
The World Tree trembled with it. Drawing on the World Tree's might, that voice of the Dao spread throughout the entire Foreign Realm.
Rustle!
The World Tree stood vast and imposing, its pressure spanning past and present. As its leaves turned, stars rolled and the sun and moon rumbled. Every ancient arena on its branches opened.
"Yes!"
"It's finally begun! This old man can hardly wait!"
A crowd of young people cheered, along with some powerful figures of the older generation.
"You're getting on in years, old Daoist. What are you so eager for?" someone asked disdainfully.
"What do you know? Can't an old man enjoy a good show? Shoo, shoo! Whose brat are you?" The white-bearded old man puffed out his beard and glared.
"Has it begun?" Standing in the Crane Clan's ancestral grounds, He Xian heard that ancient, weighty voice of the Dao as well.
He raised his head and looked toward the sky, at the ancient battlefield at its very heart.
He had not cultivated over the past few days, only gathered his momentum. Neither excitement nor anxiety disturbed his thoughts.
His talent was truly extraordinary, scarcely matched throughout all eternity. He had the potential to ascend to kingship.
If he could not even sweep through this ranking tournament and break through an entire realm, what could he possibly rely on to rise against heaven and survive in the future?
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Streak after streak of light flew toward the arenas. Every ambitious young person had long since made their preparations.
They stood upon the ancient battle platforms, heads high and chests lifted, brimming with youthful vigor.
Who had not been wild in their youth? Who had not believed themselves the master of this world?
Members of the King Clans could be seen everywhere.
Though the Foreign Realm had an enormous population and vast territories, King Clans were still exceedingly rare.
Only when an immortal arose within a clan could that clan be called a King Clan!
Immortality was an incredibly powerful realm, granting a lifespan equal to heaven and earth. Even among the Emperor Clans, after countless years of accumulation, the immortals within a clan could be counted on one hand. Some had no more than one or two.
An entire era might struggle to produce even a handful of immortals.
In other words, members of the King Clans were descendants of true immortals, sacred from birth and endowed with immense potential.
"Since none of you are willing to take the stage and fight first, I'll go." A lion spoke in human language. He had not assumed human form, remaining a beast, his golden fur shining, his body powerful and imposing.
The Fearless Lion.
Unlike the King Clans native to the Foreign Realm, his kind came from the Nine Heavens.
The lion leaped into the center of an arena.
He feared neither exhausting his strength nor suffering a disadvantage by going first.
The ranking tournament was brutally straightforward, but fair. Once a contestant's combat strength reached the required level, they would immediately be transported to the next battlefield, regardless of how many battles they had fought.
They would advance level by level until they reached the final arena tournament.
In fact, as long as their combat strength met the threshold, casually unleashing a single Ancestral Art would send them to the next arena.
"I'll test your strength." A vicious beast took the stage as well.
It had six legs, each as thick as an enormous pillar and densely covered in qilin scales, unlike the thick hide of a rhinoceros. An ancestral crocodile's tail grew from its rear, bright crimson and translucent.
It had a rhinoceros's body, a ferocious beast's head, and eighteen horns atop its skull. Fierce and powerful, it stood dozens of meters tall, like a small mountain, and was extraordinarily imposing.
A Void King Beast.
This was one of the Foreign Realm's strongest King Clans, born with control over space. The precious techniques they mastered were said to lead straight to the great Dao of the void.
The battle erupted at once, and in the end, the King Beast won.
With a flash of multicolored light, it was transported directly to the next arena.
This stirred tremendous cheers and excitement among the crowd.
"I'll join too!"
"I'll join too!"
The Golden Demon Bird, the Three-Headed King, the Snake Yaksha, and members of the Cold-Blooded King Clan-over a dozen figures resembling demons and gods stepped onto the arenas.
Battles like these could be seen everywhere across the countless arenas densely arrayed in the void.
The Foreign Realm was truly immense, having merged multiple universes and holding countless trillions of living beings.
This selection would continue for a long time.
A month later, a sudden commotion erupted around one arena. Every member of the King Clans could not help looking toward a certain figure with profound reverence.
He was a spotless young man, even his shoes and socks snow-white. His bearing was as flawless as jade, and he could be called a peerless handsome man, like a child of destiny!
As he strode through the air, heaven and earth shook with thunderous rumbling. The ground beneath his feet cracked, rocky hills collapsed, and huge stones blasted upward, scattering the clouds overhead.
A divine halo enveloped his body, dazzling and intimidating, as though a terrifying demon king were approaching.
"Who will fight me?" the white-robed young man demanded bluntly.
"Zhan Feng! That's Zhan Feng!" Someone recognized the young man, their heart trembling.
Many others, however, remained puzzled.
"Zhan Feng's mother is a descendant of that supreme being. Some of that clan's true blood flows through his veins!" someone explained.
"To be precise, Zhan Feng's maternal grandmother came from that family. That's why he possesses a quarter of that surname's true blood!" the speaker continued with a sigh.
"That's right. A quarter of my true blood comes from the An Lan Clan!" Zhan Feng said coldly.
Still, anyone could see his conceit.
When he spoke the surname An Lan, a startling brilliance flashed through his eyes. He was immensely proud.
"Ah! Ancient Ancestor An Lan!"
"A quarter of the blood in his veins belongs to Ancient Ancestor An Lan! So that's why." The crowd was stunned, their faces paling in shock.
An Lan was an Immortal King.
Beings who bore this surname were scarce. The clan was terrifying, but its numbers were truly limited. For the white-robed young man Zhan Feng to possess a quarter of its bloodline was already astonishing.
After all, who knew how many years had passed since a young person last emerged from the ancient land belonging to the surname An Lan!
Members of the Emperor Clans were genuinely rare sights.
The entire gathering fell silent. Not a single person was willing to take the stage and fight him.
Seeing this, Zhan Feng showed an almost imperceptible look of satisfaction. It was exactly what he had expected.
Suddenly, a young man whose golden hair fell to the backs of his thighs stepped onto the arena, drawing everyone's attention.
Here was a truly beautiful man, his looks so enchanting that one glance made him impossible to forget. Even Zhan Feng looked ordinary beside him. He was peerless, beyond the mundane.
"Who is he...?"
"He's so beautiful..." A dreamy look filled many people's eyes.
"But does he have a death wish? That's Zhan Feng, a king with a quarter of An Lan's bloodline." Someone came to their senses and spoke regretfully.
"Shh! Don't say anything." A person beside the speaker immediately covered their mouth. "He... he might be the Crane Clan's founding ancestor's son, the one who defeated Lord Chi Menghong. I've seen his portrait."
"He's... he's He Wushuang's own son!"
"It really is him, the son of the Crane Clan's founding ancestor!" someone confirmed with a shout.