After the selection battle ended, Han Xuanji returned to Nine Mysteries City with Mo Chenxiao and the others.
Mo Chenxiao was in a great mood throughout the journey. After all, his disciple had topped the rankings, so his status as the master naturally rose as well.
In fact, it's not just about the benefits to his reputation. As a member of the Sacred Court with impeccable credentials, Mo Chenxiao will receive considerable rewards from within the organization for cultivating such a disciple.
This is also a strategy devised by the Sacred Court to cultivate talent; otherwise, some Holy Lord and Sage would not have put so much effort into nurturing their successors.
Mo Chenxiao used to have the fewest disciples in the Sacred Court. Although Leng Qianshuang was also good, she was his only disciple, so naturally he couldn't receive any rewards from the Sacred Court. In fact, some powerful figures in the Sacred Court had quite a few complaints about his attitude.
Now, with Han Xuanji's birth, all doubts have been dispelled.
Even some people who didn't usually get along with Mo Chenxiao had nothing to say.
This is a problem that even Mo Chenxiao himself didn't realize. In such a short time, he has already gained a lot of benefits from Han Xuanji.
He was clearly just an Eternal True God, but he had already reversed the Heavenly Gang and belonged to the Heavenly Gang.
In high spirits, Mo Chenxiao accelerated the flying boat's speed even more than when he arrived.
The group returned to Nine Mysteries City Nine Mysteries City, and the atmosphere there was completely different from usual.
Everywhere in the streets and restaurants, people were talking about Han Xuanji, who had topped the selection battle and ranked first on the Heaven's Chosen Ranking.
It can be said that Han Xuanji has become a topic of conversation for everyone, especially those who have had dealings with Han Xuanji, who feel somewhat dazed.
Han Xuanji once displayed invincible prowess at the Principle Conference, but compared to the Sacred Court, he seems to be nothing special.
Such prodigies emerge one after another; it can be said that quite a few appear every year.
But it felt like everything had changed so quickly since the Principle Conference.
In Nine Mysteries City, Han Xuanji's reputation was comparable to that of his master, and he was revered as a god.
The heated discussion in Nine Mysteries City is merely a microcosm of the entire Eternal Continent.
News of the Galaxy Mountain Selection Battle had already spread among the major powers, and for the first time, the name Han Xuanji truly stepped out of the Sacred Radiance Domain and entered the vision of other supreme powers.
Some say he was just lucky, as the Sacred Court was experiencing a generational gap in its prodigies.
Some people say that he has such combat power in such a short time, and his talent is terrifying. If he were given more time, what would he become?
In a hall of the Great Sheng Palace during the Great Sheng Sacred Dynasty.
The hall was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood, and sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, casting a soft glow on the floor.
Xiao Jiuyuan sat on a soft couch beside the hall, the aroma of the spirit wine in his hand wafting through the air, but he didn't touch it.
His complexion was not good, and his eyes held a lingering sense of melancholy from the past few days.
On the final day of the selection process, he gave it his all, but ultimately failed to hold onto his top ten position, finishing in eleventh place.
The top ten receive extra rewards and prestige, but the eleventh is nothing.
As the previous generation's divine son of the Great Sheng Sacred Dynasty, and as a descendant of the Saint King, this result was undoubtedly a crushing defeat.
After he returned to the capital, although no one in his clan said anything to his face, the stares he received made him feel like he was being pricked by thorns.
Of course, most members of the royal family could understand him. He was forced to use his full strength by Han Xuanji, who was ranked first, on the first day. Although he lost, he was still honorable.
Footsteps came from outside the hall. Xiao Jiuyuan looked up and saw that it was Xiao Yan walking in.
He subconsciously forced a smile, stood up, and took two steps to greet him:
"Brother Yan, what brings you here? Does Father have any orders?"
He guessed that his cousin had probably come to comfort him.
After all, the two had always had a good relationship. Although they were not born of the same mother and Xiao Yan was much younger than him, Xiao Yan was more talented and had a compatible personality, so there was not much of a rift between the brothers.
Strangely enough, neither of them actually had any interest in becoming the future ruler.
More than anything, they wanted to freely pursue the Great Dao. Of course, to put it bluntly, they didn't want to shoulder the responsibility of having their clan provide resources for cultivation.
Xiao Yan didn't respond to him. Instead, he sat down opposite him, looked at him intently, and asked:
"Big brother, isn't Han Xuanji very amazing?"
Xiao Jiuyuan's smile froze, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
No, he had just suffered a crushing defeat, and the first thing his brother asked him when he arrived was just how good the person who knocked him out of the top ten really was.
Is this still the same caring younger brother he used to know?
He stared at Xiao Yan for several breaths, confirming that his younger brother was serious, and for a moment he didn't know what to think.
He was silent for a moment, then picked up the flask of spirit wine and took a swig to vent his frustration before saying in a muffled voice:
"You know him?"
Xiao Yan nodded, a hint of reminiscence in his expression:
"He fought me back in the Thousand Souls City Principle Conference."
"I lost that battle."
"Wait, you've fought him before?"
Xiao Jiuyuan wasn't very clear about what had happened to Xiao Yan before; he only knew the general outline, that Xiao Yan had lost to someone, but he didn't take it too seriously.
Because Xiao Yan was too stubborn at that time, frankly speaking, he wasted his talent, and many people in the clan had some complaints about him because of this.
Looking back now, the person who caused Xiao Yan's defeat was Han Xuanji.
In that case, it seems perfectly understandable.
All he can say now is, "If you're so good, why don't you do it yourself?"
"That's right."
Xiao Yan nodded. When he said this, his tone was not unpleasant at all, but rather filled with emotion.
"Actually, we had a pretty good relationship, but I never saw him again after that. I never imagined that after all these years, he would have come to this."
It wasn't that he didn't want to visit Han Xuanji to catch up, but he hadn't been able to leave the house in recent years; he had been imprisoned.
"There's actually such a thing..."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiuyuan glanced at Xiao Yan with a complicated expression, unsure of what to say.
He let out a long breath, somewhat reluctantly, and after a while slowly said:
"Since that's the case, I'll be frank: this person is unfathomable."
"When I fought him, I used all the power of the Saint King Bloodline and unleashed my ultimate move, my trump card."
"But he never showed the slightest sign of fatigue. I even had the illusion that in his final battle with Ying Yuan, he didn't even use his true trump card, and that his fight with us might not have forced him to use his full strength."
Xiao Yan listened quietly, his face remaining expressionless, but his heart was already churning with turmoil.
As expected of him, he had a vague feeling when he fought Han Xuanji in Thousand Souls City, and now he has stood at the top of the Sacred Court 'Heaven's Chosen Ranking.
There was some emotion in his heart, but also some indescribable complexity.
He acknowledged that Han Xuanji was very strong, but he never stopped striving.
The reason he couldn't participate in the selection battle this time wasn't because he felt he wasn't good enough, but because another fortuitous opportunity fell into his lap, preventing him from going.
Seeing Xiao Yan remain silent, Xiao Jiuyuan couldn't help but ask:
"By the way, cousin, why aren't you participating in this selection competition?"
"Etc..."
Suddenly he noticed that the other person's aura was completely different from usual.
That kind of vast yet restrained power is something that no True God Realm.
Upon closer inspection, he was startled. "Brother Yan, you... you've broken through to the Eternal Sage?"