The Prodigies War

To Lin Xun’s astonishment, the ten Buddhist scriptures that each represented an unrivaled inheritance melted into golden liquid and transformed into a golden Buddhist shrine!

The Buddhist shrine bore an uncanny resemblance to the Three Thousand Stupa Tower but was only a foot tall. It was entirely golden as if it was made from divine gold, and a drizzle of peaceful light sprinkled from it.

A heart was enshrined inside the shrine!

The pure and clear heart was pure and clear and shone blindingly like a ball of light.

Thump thump thump!

The moment Lin Xun gazed upon the heart, it seemed to come alive with a powerful, thunder-like rhythm as a horrifying pressure burst from it.

An infinitely large Buddha silhouette that could fill the cosmos once again filled his vision.

This time, however, Lin Xun clearly sensed the Buddha silhouette giving him a slight nod as it said, "My Buddhist name is Xingjia, greetings Dao Friend!"

Lin Xun's heart violently shuddered. When he looked again, there was no longer any trace of the Buddha silhouette.

It made him recall Battle Emperor Mo Yang who had also addressed him in the same manner. She believed he was a ‘fellow traveler’ on the cultivation path. Hence, there was no difference in seniority between them and they could refer to each other as Dao Friends!

It was also then that Lin Xun realized the weight of the words ‘Dao Friend’ in the eyes of these supreme powerhouses!

In the journey of seeking the dao, fellow travelers could be regarded as friends!

Evidently, Saint Buddha Xingjia also regarded him as a companion like Battle Emperor Mo Yang!

Hence why he had addressed Lin Xun as a ‘Dao Friend!’

The one-foot-tall Buddha shrine withdrew its aura, becoming plain and unremarkable.

Inside the shrine, the crystalline heart was sealed under a thick layer of Buddhist runes.

"I leave my life-killing Stupa heart to break open life and death with thou!"

A majestic voice echoed in Lin Xun’s mind.

With that, the Buddhist shrine descended into Lin Xun's arms, and he immediately understood its value.

In a life-or-death situation, he could unseal the shrine and use the power of the life-killing Stupa heart to strengthen himself and break out of the predicament!

……

Inside the Stupa Tower, the lines of golden Buddhist text disappeared along with the eighteen murals.

However, upon learning that Lin Xun had turned down the opportunity to obtain one of the inheritances, both Toady and the big black bird widened their eyes and stared at him as if he were an idiot.

"Are you actually stupid? Old Blacky and I toiled on this project for more than a year and finally unlocked the heaven-defying blessing only for you to...turn it down?"

Toady looked exasperated.

"Idiot, what an idiot."

The big black bird also lamented.

"What do you guys know?" Lin Xun replied in a light-hearted manner. He was certain that they would immediately go crazy with jealousy if he showed them the Buddhist niche!

"Why do I get the feeling that he obtained some kind of unimaginable benefit?"

Toady felt deeply suspicious. Having known him for so long, he refused to believe that Lin Xun was someone who would spit out the meat that had already entered his mouth.

"I’m also very suspicious."

The big black bird suspiciously eyed Lin Xun.

"Stop talking nonsense, we should get going."

Lin Xun hurriedly changed the topic.

"It’s indeed time to go. Damnit, I can’t believe this wasted more than a year of this king’s time and energy. I wonder what the Upper Nine Realms have become nowadays."

Toady immediately grew impatient.

They had already spent almost two years in the Stupa Tower.

Two years might be insignificant in the outside world, but in the Upper Nine Realms, many things could happen in two years!

After all, it was a place filled with countless opportunities and where the most talented geniuses of this era vied for supremacy. Innumerable rising stars had appeared from time to time ever since the Supreme Realm descended.

As such, the current Upper Nine Realms was certain to be completely different from two years ago.

The big black bird suddenly asked, "Are we no longer waiting for Yun Qingbai?"

It knew that besides honing his cultivation and improving his battle prowess, Lin Xun’s main goal was to wait for Yun Qingbai!

"Nope."

Lin Xun shook his head. Waiting was equivalent to being passive.

Rather than killing Yun Qingbai, he was more concerned about A’lu's whereabouts.

Less than two months remained until the appointment with Saintess Lin Xue. If things went as expected, the seal covering the Ancient Land of All in the Thunder Jolt Realm would soon disappear.

However, it was still imperative to first locate A’lu.

Lin Xun and the others left Stupa Brahma Land that very day and headed to the Thunder Jolt Realm.

……

Half a month later.

Lin Xun and his group appeared in the Thunder Jolt Realm.

Unlike the Mythic Fire Realm and the Root Mountain Realm, the Thunder Jolt Realm was filled with berserk thunder qi.

The rocks, grass, trees, and even the rivers and lakes were filled with thunder qi. Moreover, thunderstorms would gather every night and fill the night with dazzling lightning that tore apart the darkness and danced in the skies like silver snakes.

It was a place that cultivators would not dare to traverse until their cultivation had reached the King stage.

"The rankings have changed again. The top spot has once more been taken by that expert called Shaohao!"

A group of experts gathered in front of the Thunder Jolt Battle Tablet and were excitedly discussing the recent ranking changes.

A peculiar battle tablet was present in each of the Upper Nine Realms. It was through these battle tablets’ tests that cultivators could find out if they were qualified for the Genius Gold Rankings and what ranking they could obtain.

It was possible to undergo the test at any of the nine battle tablets.

"Shaohao? He’s rumored to be a remarkable and extremely low-profile ancient-era genius. It was only a year ago that he finally challenged the battle tablet and reached the top on his first try, pushing Yun Qingbai down the rankings! It was an event that shook the entire Upper Nine Realms!"

"He’s definitely a frightening individual. Who could have anticipated that someone so amazing would hold back for so many years only to astonish everyone overnight?"

"Have you guys noticed that the woman called Ruowu in second place is also extremely terrifying? For the past year, she and Shaohao have been constantly tussling over first place. The details of their clashes alone would amaze anyone."

"Fairy Ruowu! That’s a legendary existence!"

"It’s a pity that Yun Qingbai has remained silent despite being pushed to third place. Could he be in secluded cultivation?"

"It’s not just Yun Qingbai. Demon God Lin hasn’t been sighted for a long time as well. Nowadays, the most dazzling individuals in the Upper Nine Realms are the ancient-era geniuses such as Shaohao, Ruowu, Yuan Fatian, and Bai Longting!"

"Sigh, those ancient-era geniuses again. Except for Yun Qingbai, every other person among the top ten of the Genius Gold Rankings is an ancient-era genius. Are the heaven prides of our generation incapable of matching those from the ancient era?"

"It's a pity that the Demon God Lin has never challenged the Genius Gold Rankings. Given his combat capabilities, he should be able to clinch one of the top ten spots, right?"

"Hehe, that might have been the case two years ago. Haven’t you noticed that most of the top thirty rankers are formidable individuals who rose to fame over the past two years? It will be tough for Demon God Lin to break into the top ten!"

The crowd of experts didn’t notice Lin Xun suddenly appear amidst them while they were engaged in discussion.

Toady winked and teased, "Heh, people are looking down on you after two years of absence."

Lin Xun dismissed him with a laugh and thoughtfully said, "Speaking of which, it might be hard to believe but I met the current top ranker, Shaohao, long ago when I entered the Ancient Wasteland Domain."

He couldn't help but recall the time when he was at Fallen Star Peak in the West Infinity World.

Back then, the Young Master of the Astral Imperial Clan, Shaohao, had been slumbering within the Constellation Egg while protected by a Saint-grade array.

Although his conversation with Shaohao had been brief, he left a strong impression on Lin Xun as someone with a big heart, charisma, and huge ambitions.

Shaohao was someone who was destined to become famous when he finally appeared in the world!

Lin Xun's thoughts were now proven. When Shaohao appeared, he immediately became number one on the Genius Gold Rankings and shot to stardom overnight in the Upper Nine Realms!

Even Lin Xun couldn’t help but marvel at such a feat.

Toady’s and the big black bird’s eyes widened upon learning Shaohao's origins from Lin Xun

"Heh, the Astral Imperial Clan was one of the first hegemons in the ancient era. They lorded over more than a thousand factions and were definitely a faction that deserved the title of Imperial Clan."

Toady’s reaction consisted of conflicted amazement.

"Hmph, any clan that can call themselves an Imperial Clan naturally can’t be ordinary. At the very least, it proves that a true Emperor expert had been born from their clan! "

"Unfortunately, as far as I know, the Astral Imperial Clan suffered a sudden catastrophe in the ancient era and was almost wiped out in a single year. Any history or records about them are nearly impossible to find nowadays!"

From the big black bird’s reaction, he did not seem to have any good feelings toward the Imperial Clans.

The big black bird’s and Toady’s expressions soon turned solemn as they warned Lin Xun to be extra careful because Shaohao was absolutely a terrifying existence if he was truly a descendant of the Astral Imperial Clan and even its Young Master.

"My first impression of him was pretty good. I feel that it will be best if we can be friends."

Speaking of which, Little Silver, the God Devourer Insect King, was also the Guardian God Insect of the Astral Imperial Clan!

Lin Xun suddenly asked, "Right, have you guys ever heard of the Jiang Emperor Clan?"

He recalled that Senior Brother Xuan Kong had handed him a green bamboo leaf-shaped jade pendant and asked him to return it if he encountered anyone from the Jiang Emperor Clan in the future and tell them it belonged to Jiang Xingque.

"Nope."

The big black bird and Toady shook their heads in unison, indicating that they didn’t know much despite being born in the ancient era.

The Emperor Clans in particular were something from the very beginning of the ancient era. By the time they were born, it was already several tens of thousands of years later.

This surprised Lin Xun. He instantly realized that if Shaohao was indeed the Young Master of the Astral Imperial Clan, wouldn't that mean that he had been born in the early days of the ancient era?