"Kid, how do you want to die?"
The Lin brothers both stared coldly at Hong Yu.
In Shishui City, the Hong Family was undeniably dominant. The Lin and Wang Families only managed to rank among the three great families because they squabbled over trifles but united on important matters. More importantly, however, the Lin Family was incredibly tight-knit. Lin Yun also held a special status; generationally, Lin Tao and Lin Hai had to address him as Uncle, which was why they were so enraged that Hong Yu had injured him.
Hong Yu frowned. He was disgusted by how the two brothers had demanded his life the mont they opened their mouths, not even bothering to ask what had happened. Naturally, his expression wasn't pleasant. "You're the one who's going to die!" he said coolly.
"You..."
The faces of Lin Tao and his brother instantly changed.
The two of them were famous prodigies in Shishui City, counted among the Three Prodigies. Which of their peers didn't cower in silent reverence upon seeing them? When had they ever been challenged so disrespectfully?
"Good, kid. You're as arrogant as they say."
"Big Brother, let deal with him," Lin Hai said, licking the corner of his mouth with a savage grin.
Lin Tao nodded. "Don't let him die too easily."
Lin Hai's vicious smile grew as his imnse aura locked onto Hong Yu.
The tension was palpable, and a fight to the death seed imminent.
Just then, the referee from Arena Seven, unable to watch any longer, snorted coldly. "This is the Cyan Nether Sword Sect's Inter-Clan Tournant. Do you think I'll let you cause trouble here?"
"I'm Lin Hai! Do you dare stop ?" Lin Hai raged.
The soldier sneered. "I don't care if you're Lin Hai or Hai Lin. Here, you follow the rules. You want to kill soone? Fine. But be prepared to face sanctions from both the Cyan Nether Sword Sect and the City Guard Army."
"I..."
Lin Hai was about to erupt in fury, but Lin Tao stopped him.
Lin Tao whispered, "These referees are from the City Guard Army. More importantly, this tournant is a matter of face for the Cyan Nether Sword Sect. We can't be reckless." He then stepped forward, shot Hong Yu an arrogant glance, and said with indifference, "I'll let you live a little longer. After the tournant, I'll make sure your death is thodical."
"Idiot."
Hong Yu sneered.
'Is this the first ti I've faced a threat like this?'
'Seems like most people who dared to threaten in the past are now serving as errand boys for Grandpa King Yama.'
"Hmph. Let's go."
The Lin brothers helped Lin Yun up and departed.
The referee announced calmly, "The only contestants who still have a perfect record are Hong Yu and Liu Jiahao. You two, prepare to take the stage!"
With Lin Yun's defeat, the situation in Arena Seven had beco clear. The qualification spot from this arena would be decided between Hong Yu and Liu Jiahao. Thus, the referee skipped over the other contestants who hadn't yet fought their final match. The other contestants had no objections to this decision.
'Why insist on fighting when you know you'll lose?'
What no one expected, however, was for Liu Jiahao to suddenly step forward, bow respectfully to the referee, and declare, "There's no need for a match. I am not his opponent!"
"Hm? You wish to forfeit?" the referee asked.
Liu Jiahao nodded calmly. "Although I would like to fight him, I know I am not his opponent." Having said that, he turned to a slightly stunned Hong Yu and said with great seriousness, "You are very strong. I am not your match right now. However, the path of the Martial Dao is long. I believe that the next ti we et, we can have a true, all-out battle!"
The two locked eyes, neither speaking a word.
Staring at the completely composed Liu Jiahao, Hong Yu felt a little dazed. 'It's like he's not a boy my age, but a Martial Arts Grandmaster.'
After a long silence, the two looked at each other and smiled. Hong Yu replied with equal solemnity, "I'll look forward to that day!"
"I'll be watching for your performance in the finals! However, I have so other business and must be leaving..." Liu Jiahao paused, then added abruptly, "Shishui City is small. Even the Fengyue Kingdom is just a drop in the ocean on this continent. If you get the chance, you should go out and see the wider world!"
"Don't worry. The Cyan Nether Sword Sect isn't my ultimate goal,"
Hong Yu said with a smile. His voice was quiet, yet it held a pride and confidence that was bone-deep.
Liu Jiahao froze for a mont. He gave Hong Yu a long, searching look before turning to leave.
As he watched Liu Jiahao's retreating figure, Hong Yu's gaze grew profound. 'That man is anything but simple!'
Liu Jiahao's forfeit disappointed many, but that disappointnt was quickly overshadowed by the referee's announcent: "The winner of Arena Seven is Contestant #222, Hong Yu! Congratulations on becoming one of the top ten in the Inter-Clan Tournant and successfully advancing to the finals!"
"Top ten in the tournant and on to the finals. That Hong Yu is definitely this year's dark horse!"
"Dark horse my ass! Didn't you see Lin Hai and Lin Tao lay down a threat? If Hong Yu runs into those two in the finals, he has no chance of winning."
"It can't be helped. After all, those two are prodigies who've been famous for a long ti, not to ntion part of the Three Prodigies. A re dark horse can't hope to match their strength!"
"Does he really have no chance?"
The crowd below the stage whispered amongst themselves.
Shortly after Arena Seven concluded, the matches in the remaining Arenas Eight and Nine also finished. Advancing from Arena Nine was a young prodigy at the Late Ninth Layer of the Essence Realm nad Cao Bo. As for the winner of Arena Eight, it was the mysterious cloaked figure Hong Yu had been watching. This person's victories were rather strange—it seed all his opponents were knocked from the arena in a daze.
With these two matches complete, the qualifying rounds officially ca to an end. Ten groups had produced ten winners.
These ten winners represented the most powerful young prodigies in this year's Inter-Clan Tournant.
They were also the ten strongest mbers of Shishui City's younger generation!
The mont their ten nas appeared on the finals roster, a title representing honor and extraordinary talent was born: the Ten Great Celestial Prodigies!
The Three Prodigies and the Overlord all advanced without question.
The other six were, without exception, young prodigies whose cultivation had reached the Mid-Ninth Layer of the Essence Realm.
The ten of them slowly walked up to the central arena.
「anwhile...」
The high-ranking mbers of the great families, who had been seated on the elevated platform, finally revealed themselves and walked down. The earlier qualifying rounds had not been important enough for them to make an appearance. Only these ten prodigies, representing the greatest talents of Shishui City's younger generation, were qualified to be greeted by them.
"Excellent, excellent! As expected, this tournant is brimming with talent!" said Lin Haoran, Patriarch of the Lin Family, with a refined smile.
Wang Tong, Patriarch of the Wang Family, nodded in agreent. "Especially Hong Hu, Wang ng, and those two boys from your family. They are on par with the legendary Four Kings of the past. Their future accomplishnts will be imasurable!"
"Congratulations, Patriarch Lin. It is a joyous occasion for the Lin Family to produce two such talents!"
"And Wang ng of the Wang Family is incredibly formidable!"
The leaders of the surrounding factions began to shower them with praise, and the two patriarchs bead with pleasure.
"Hmph!"
Hong Tiande snorted coldly and said with contempt, "That Wang ng is decent enough. As for Lin Hai and Lin Tao... if my grandson, Hong Luàn, were still alive, would the two of them even be qualified to advance?"
Another white-bearded elder standing beside him was the Hong Family's Third Elder, Hong Tianduan, who was on bad terms with Hong Tiande. He smiled faintly. "Co now, no need to be so resentful. Even if Hong Luàn were alive, he'd be over eighteen and ineligible to participate in the tournant."
"Third Elder, what is the aning of this?" Hong Tiande demanded angrily.
Hong Tianduan waved his hand dismissively. "It ans nothing." As they spoke, they walked down from the platform, their gazes falling upon the ten youths on the stage. Suddenly, Hong Tianduan let out a cry of surprise. "Who is that young man? Why is he wearing the attire of a Hong Family side branch?"
"Hm?"
Hong Tiande froze, his eyes snapping toward the stage.
As soon as he saw him, his expression turned rigid. 'How can it be him?'
"Oh? Seventh Elder, you know this young man?" Hong Tianduan asked.
Hong Tiande's heart sank. 'This is bad,' he thought.
He had, of course, recognized Hong Yu.
If any other Hong Family disciple had made it into the ranks of the Ten Great Celestial Prodigies, Hong Tiande would have been ecstatic, and he would have even moved to recruit them into his faction. But seeing Hong Yu, he felt no joy at all. The reason was simple: after Hong Yu had defeated Hong Lin, Hong Tiande had not tried to recruit or cultivate him for his talent. Instead, he had used his authority to suppress what had happened that day, deliberately keeping Hong Yu out of the spotlight so the other family elders wouldn't notice him.
But now...
Hong Yu had actually beco one of the Ten Great Celestial Prodigies. It was like a vicious slap in his own face!
Under any other circumstances, Hong Tiande would have continued to suppress Hong Yu. Unfortunately, his old rival, Hong Tianduan, was right there and had already taken a great interest in the boy. Hong Tiande knew he couldn't hide the truth any longer, so he could only say coldly, "He's called Hong Yu. An ordinary disciple from a side branch."
"An ordinary side-branch disciple?" Hong Tianduan repeated, stunned. He frowned. "To qualify as one of the Ten Great Celestial Prodigies, his cultivation must be no weaker than the Mid-Ninth Layer of the Essence Realm. And from the looks of it, he's probably even younger than Hong Hu. A disciple like that should be treated as a 'hidden dragon' and given the family's full support to cultivate. How could he be an 'ordinary' disciple?"
"What? Are you questioning ?" Hong Tiande snarled.
Hong Tianduan didn't even bother to respond, his mind already spinning. 'That old fox Hong Tiande is as cunning as they co, and he seems to really dislike this boy. Is there so history between them? Heh heh. Hong Tiande, oh, Hong Tiande, since you hate this kid so much, then I'll just have to make sure I nurture him well!'
Having ford a plan, an inscrutable smile spread across Hong Tianduan's face.
This only agitated Hong Tiande further. His glare toward Hong Yu turned icy. 'This damn little bastard...'
The factions of Hong Tiande and Hong Tianduan were engaged in endless struggles, both overt and covert. This ti, thanks to Hong Hu's exceptional performance, Hong Tiande's faction held a clear advantage. But if Hong Tianduan managed to recruit Hong Yu, he would gain an outstanding disciple from the Ten Great Celestial Prodigies, which in itself was a major accomplishnt.
What's more, Hong Tiande knew perfectly well that the mysterious Tiger Instructor looked upon Hong Yu with favor. If Hong Yu joined Hong Tianduan's faction, wouldn't that an winning over the Tiger Instructor as well?
That was the last thing Hong Tiande wanted to happen.
Though he was seething, Hong Tiande had no imdiate way to deal with Hong Yu. He could only suppress the urge to slap him to death right then and there. In a booming voice, he announced, "Congratulations on your victory in the qualifying rounds and for advancing to the tournant finals. The finals will take place in three days. All of you may return to rest for now. We will reconvene here at high noon in three days for the final competition!"
"Yes!"
The Ten Great Celestial Prodigies shouted in unison.
His mood soured by Hong Yu's presence, Hong Tiande wasted no more words. He declared the day's events over and stord away with a flick of his sleeves.
Hong Tianduan, however, walked smilingly over to Hong Yu, who was now off the stage. "Young man, do you recognize ?"
"You are the Third Elder?" Hong Yu asked.
Hong Tianduan let out a great laugh. "Hahaha! You really know how to hide your talents, young man! To think the family never discovered your incredible strength. If it weren't for this tournant, were you planning to keep it a secret forever?"
"Well... This junior had his reasons," Hong Yu said, scratching his head.
Hong Tianduan clapped him on the shoulder. "It's fine. It's good for a young man to understand patience. Co with for now. With what you've accomplished, I must reward you generously on behalf of the family!"
Hong Yu followed close behind Hong Tianduan as he left.
He had a good feeling about this Third Elder, who had a reputation for being a "kind old man," and so he wasn't opposed to his offer of patronage.
One old and one young, the pair gradually disappeared into the crowd.
However, neither Hong Yu nor Hong Tianduan noticed...
...that within the crowd, two figures had their gazes fixed on Hong Yu from beginning to end. Their stares were filled with resentnt, fury, and hatred—but more than that, an inexplicable, venomous satisfaction...
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