Li Tie stood high above, his resonant voice echoing like muffled thunder across the Cyan Nether Main Peak.
An imnse roar erupted from the crowd.
Hundreds of thousands of Cyan Nether Sword Sect disciples roared in unison, a sound so imnse it shook heaven and earth.
Over a million scorching gazes turned simultaneously toward the massive plaza at the center of the Cyan Nether Main Peak. There, more than ten thousand powerhouses stood in neat, dense formations.
Although there were only ten thousand of them, the fluctuations of aura they emitted steadily overwheld those of the hundreds of thousands of experts in the audience seats on the main peak.
Li Tie swept a satisfied gaze over the ten thousand-plus Inner Sect Disciples and said flatly, "Outer Sect Disciples, to the stage!"
He was, of course, referring to the one hundred and ten Outer Sect Disciples who had qualified for the Inner Sect promotion tournant.
Led by Guo Fei and the other Top Ten Powerhouses of the Earth List, Hong Yu took the lead as over a hundred people slowly ascended onto the Cyan Nether Main Peak.
"Look, that's Guo Fei, number one on the Earth List! I hear his strength is unfathomable!"
"I heard there's a new guy from the Outer Sect who's been making big waves. Which one is he?"
"It's that handso-looking youth. His na is Hong Yu!"
Guo Fei glanced at Hong Yu, his expression as placid as an autumn lake. His flat voice carried a hint of coldness. "Judging by your aura's fluctuations, it seems you've already broken through to the Earth Soul Realm!"
Hong Yu looked at him but said nothing.
Guo Fei frowned and sneered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I'm taking very good care of those two friends of yours. For all three als, they're served the finest slop from the kitchen. You don't need to worry too much!"
Hong Yu's entire body trembled slightly.
His brow twitched, and a cold, sharp glint flickered in his left cyan eye as he stared intently at Guo Fei. "If anything happens to them, I'll make you pay it back a hundredfold."
"Oh? Are you threatening ?"
Guo Fei jeered, "I'm a timid person, you see. I'm most afraid of things like revenge. I often find that to prevent any retaliation, I prefer to pull up the weeds and dig out the roots! Of course, if nothing unexpected happens in this Inner Sect promotion tournant, I think... I won't risk violating the sect's rules to do such things!"
"Hmph!"
Hong Yu snorted coldly and said no more.
In truth, beneath his calm exterior, his heart was in turmoil, his thoughts racing. 'From the looks of it, as long as I don't face him and threaten his position, Lao Liu's and Gao Zijie's lives won't be in danger. That ans I still have ti.'
At this thought, Hong Yu's heart settled slightly.
Once the hundred-plus disciples had taken their positions, Li Tie turned to the magnificent main hall, his voice unconsciously rising a few notches. "Next, let's welco the ten greatest geniuses of our Cyan Nether Sword Sect's Inner Sect—the True Disciples!"
An uproar swept through the crowd!
In that instant, the entire Cyan Nether Sword Sect was in a frenzy.
The Ten Great True Disciples!
Every one of them was a supre Celestial Pride Son, and every one of them possessed a strength that made their peers look up in awe.
Their very existence crushed all other geniuses of their generation!
Their very existence set the standard for the peak of their generation!
These ten individuals represented the strongest power of the Cyan Nether Sword Sect's younger generation...
Led by Hong Renjie, nine others appeared in everyone's line of sight. The ten of them slowly ascended the main peak's arena, walking in perfect unison, all clad in the special Sword Robes of True Disciples, looking magnificent and high-spirited.
As he passed by Hong Yu, Hong Renjie paused for a mont. The corners of his lips curled into a cold, mocking sneer as he said faintly, "I hear you've been causing quite a stir in the Outer Sect recently. A pity. The Outer Sect is still the Outer Sect. Trash is still trash. In this Inner Sect promotion tournant, I will utterly humiliate you, leaving you with no face to remain in the Sword Sect."
Having said his piece, Hong Renjie turned to leave, not bothering to wait for Hong Yu's reaction.
Hong Yu, however, curled his lip, a mocking, half-smile on his face. "So people's hair really grows back fast. It's only been a few months, and your eyebrows and hair have all grown in!"
"You..."
Hong Renjie choked on his words, nearly stumbling. He glared furiously at Hong Yu. "Fine, fine! Just you wait."
He ignored Hong Yu and turned to leave.
The eight True Disciples who followed behind all gave Hong Yu strange looks. Naturally, those who belonged to the Heaven and Earth Alliance stared at him with undisguised hostility. In contrast, the powerhouses from the Wind and Snow Association looked at him with a hint of goodwill.
Tie Shou, who was ranked eighth, paused as he passed Hong Yu and gave him a thumbs-up. "You've got guts, kid. You even dare to mock Hong Renjie like that."
"He stuck his face out and asked to slap it. Wouldn't it be rude of not to oblige?"
Hong Yu spread his hands, a perfectly harmless look on his face. After a mont, he asked, "Senior Brother Tie Shou, why isn't Senior Brother Feng here?"
That foodie Feng Xue Xin was incredibly powerful. Even at his current realm, Hong Yu still found Feng Xue Xin to be unfathomably deep.
Moreover...
In his half a year or so at the Cyan Nether Sword Sect, he had also learned Feng Xue Xin's identity—number one on the Celestial List, the leader of the True Disciples!
Not seeing Feng Xue Xin among the ranks of the True Disciples now, Hong Yu naturally found it very strange.
Tie Shou gave a wry smile. "Brother Feng's movents are erratic, and his hobby... *cough cough*, you know... he often loses track of ti searching for good food. We can't get in touch with him either. But he shouldn't miss this promotion tournant!"
"Mm."
Hong Yu nodded.
He deeply sympathized with Tie Shou's wry smile.
Feng Xue Xin's pursuit of food was bordering on obsession!
After all...
What normal person would fight a bloody battle with a powerful Dominating Demon Ape just to taste a Fiery Fla Vermilion Fruit?
"Hm?"
Li Tie scanned the crowd, frowning slightly. He felt a sense of helplessness and thought to himself, 'Where has that Feng Xue Xin run off to find food again?'
Apparently, this was far from the first or second ti this had happened!
He shook his head helplessly. 'But knowing his personality, he'll never miss the promotion tournant. Besides, with his strength, being a little late won't make much of a difference.'
Li Tie's resonant voice rang out, "All of you are the most outstanding and talented disciples of our sect. The sect is proud of you. This year's Inner Sect promotion tournant will be the sa as before, divided into three stages. This first stage..."
The first stage of the Inner Sect promotion tournant would send these ten thousand-plus disciples into the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm.
This Secret Realm was a massive Illusion Array. Any disciple who entered would find it as real as life itself. Aside from not being able to truly die, everything else was indistinguishable from reality.
Within the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm, all participating Sword Sect disciples would fight one another.
For every powerhouse killed, one could obtain a certain number of points. For example, killing an Outer Sect Disciple was worth 100 points, killing an Inner Sect Disciple ranked below 5000 on the Celestial List was worth 200 points, killing a Celestial List Disciple ranked between 4999 and 3000 was worth 300 points, and so on.
If one could slay a True Disciple, the points gained would be even more substantial.
True Disciples ranked below the top three were each worth 3000 points, while the top three True Disciples were worth 5000 points each.
In short, the higher the rank of the opponent hunted, the more points one would receive.
This round would eliminate over ninety percent of the participants, leaving only the top one thousand powerhouses with the highest total points.
The details of the second and third rounds were not announced.
Li Tie said flatly, "The ti has co. Cyan Cloud Secret Realm—activate!"
A dazzlingly golden Sword Order shot out from Li Tie's hand, hovering above the Cyan Nether Main Peak.
A faint golden light spread out, like a brilliant sun hanging in the void.
The entire Cyan Nether Main Peak responded in concert. Four resplendent rainbows of light shot into the sky, enveloping the ten thousand-plus people in a massive do of light. Bathed in the glow, the powerhouses all closed their eyes and sat cross-legged on the ground in unison.
They had already been transported into the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm by this massive Illusion Array.
"Everyone, this first round of the competition will last for half a month. If you wish to follow the results, you can view the point rankings on the Invitation Jade Scrolls in your hands!"
Everyone took out their Jade Scrolls.
Just as everyone was about to activate the ranking boards on their Jade Scrolls, a bizarrely accented shout suddenly echoed from beyond the Cyan Nether Main Peak.
The voice was hearty and heroic, quite pleasant to the ear. However, the lyrics were less than praiseworthy: "The sky is so clear tonight, Master Xin's awesoness shakes the heavens! Riding a Violent Dragon, rum-pum-pum-pum..."
"A chicken in my left hand, a duck in my right, dragging a big old toad behind , hey-diddle-diddle-dum..."
Elder Li's eye twitched. He slapped a hand to his forehead, his old face flushing with embarrassnt. "For the dignified First True Disciple to return in such a manner... it's... it's so damn disgraceful!"
"Who is that guy?"
"Holy crap! Look at what he's riding—isn't that a Tier Three Desolate Beast, the Red Jade Tyrannosaurus? It's a legendary powerhouse of a Desolate Beast said to have the blood of the Dragon Race!"
"And look at what's in his hands! Aren't those the Tier Three Desolate Beasts, the Yufeng Chicken and the Celestial Sea Duck? He actually roasted them and is eating them?"
"Damn! Is that lump he's dragging behind him the Tier Three Desolate Beast, the Thousand Feather Toad? Your sister! These are all powerful Desolate Beasts! Who the hell is this guy? How is he so badass and flashy?"
Everyone's gazes followed the sound.
They saw a youth, so handso it would make n jealous and won swoon, straddling a ferocious, seven-ter-tall Desolate Beast. In his left and right hands, he held a chicken and a duck Desolate Beast respectively. Dragged behind him by a huge rope was a massive toad two ters tall and over three ters long, making for an incredibly flashy entrance as he galloped toward the Cyan Nether Main Peak.
This person was none other than the long-vanished number one on the Celestial List—Feng Xue Xin!
The Yufeng Chicken and Celestial Sea Duck in Feng Xue Xin's hands were already roasted, and he was taking bite after bite while riding toward them on a miserable-looking Red Jade Tyrannosaurus.
The Red Jade Tyrannosaurus covered ten ters with every heavy, thunderous step.
It didn't stop until it reached the Cyan Nether Main Peak.
Feng Xue Xin vaulted off the Red Jade Tyrannosaurus, let out a loud belch, and grinned at the thoroughly embarrassed Elder Li. "Hey, Elder Li, long ti no see!"
"L-Long ti no see."
Elder Li forced a smile.
Feng Xue Xin walked up, slung a greasy hand around Elder Li's shoulder, and said with a grin, "Sorry about that. I got a little held up catching this Red Jade Tyrannosaurus."
"It's fine, it's fine," Elder Li said, shaking his head.
Feng Xue Xin chuckled, shoved the half-eaten roasted chicken and duck into Elder Li's hands, and then wiped his greasy palms on Elder Li's brand-new black robe, leaving shiny streaks of oil.
He tossed his flowing long hair and said, "The Cyan Cloud Secret Realm is already open? Then I'll head on in. Oh, right, Elder Li, save this Red Jade Tyrannosaurus for to eat when I get back. And find soone to butcher that Thousand Feather Toad and make a soup. It should be just about ready to drink by the ti I'm back from the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm!"
Saying this, Feng Xue Xin whistled an off-key tune and slowly walked toward the do of light.
He left a speechless Elder Li, who wanted to cry but had no tears, to stare down at the leftovers in his hands and mutter resentfully...
"Damn it, foodies are invincible!"
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