The Prodigies War

Outside Cangwu Mountain.

"The first test is over!"

The cultivators waiting outside saw a purple glow rise from Cangwu Mountain and transform into a terrifying cloud of vortexes.

"Has the number of eliminated cultivators been tallied?"

It was a question many bigwigs were waiting for.

"There must be at least a thousand of them, right?"

"Over a thousand? No way it will be so little. I’ve heard from some of the already eliminated heaven prides that the first test was crazily dangerous this time. Many terrifying demonic beasts appeared, which has never happened before."

"So how many do you think will be eliminated?"

Many discussions were happening, creating quite a din.

Some of the eliminated heaven prides were feeling ashamed of their performance and hurriedly left with bitter hearts.

Their elders could only helplessly sigh at this sight.

There were heaven prides who were so angry that they refused to leave and stubbornly waited here to take revenge.

The reason for such behavior was simple. They had either been unluckily eliminated while competing with other heaven prides or had succumbed to some kind of sneak attack.

Under such circumstances, how could they possibly just let things go?

"It has been confirmed that between three thousand to four thousand heaven prides have been eliminated in the first test!"

It didn't take long for the Windspeaker Clan to release information that immediately caused a huge uproar. Even the bigwigs couldn't help but tremble when they heard this number.

More than ten thousand heaven prides had participated in the Dao Lantern Festival this time, which was more than ever before.

However, in the first test alone, more than three thousand heaven prides from the various provinces of the West Infinity World had already been eliminated! It was an insanely high elimination rate that would make anyone’s heart shudder.

At the same time, several pieces of shocking news were revealed, causing countless gasps of surprise and subsequent heated debates.

"The Unsolved Mystery Sword Alms’ successor, Ji Xingyao, captured a dragon-beard purple-scale fish from the Golden Light Lake in the Green Wood Secret Realm and obtained a supreme-grade dao art inheritance!"

"The Little Lightning Marquis of the Great Desolate Lightning Clan, Lei Qianjun, captured a Cold Snow Heavy Bamboo in the Blue Wave Sea of the Red Fire Secret Realm, and obtained a supreme-grade dao art inheritance!"

"Yu Lingkong of South Wonder World’s Longevity Land obtained a Dragon Blood War Soul Banner in the Gold Secret Realm Garrison Earth Battlefield and..."

……

Every piece of news caused an uproar that soon transitioned into heated discussions.

Even the bigwigs were unable to remain calm in the face of such news.

Supreme-grade dao arts!

Such dao arts were exceedingly rare and valuable even in the ancient sects of the West Infinity World!

A bigwig exclaimed in shock, "To think that supreme-grade dao arts would already appear in the first test. This has never happened in any of the previous Dao Lantern Festivals!"

"Granny Jin He was right. The Dao Lantern Festival this time is completely different from the past."

"A single supreme-grade dao art can significantly raise the strength of even a major faction!"

Many bigwigs sighed deeply.

Suddenly, an angry roar sounded from the distance, "What? You're saying that damned Demon God Lin snatched away a fire lotus that contained a supreme-grade dao art from our saint?"

"Abominable! How abominable!"

"It can’t be. Even our Azure Sea Sect successor, Li Qinghuan, failed to stop Demon God Lin?"

"He should be killed! If not for his interference, the nine-petal fire lotus would definitely belong to Brother Wu Duanya of our Dark Sun Sect!"

Only then did the nearby crowd realize that these angry voices originated from the experts of the Ocean Shark Clan, the Azure Sea Sect, and the Dark Sun Sect.

All of them had twisted and stormy expressions.

"Is it true? Is Demon God Lin that strong?"

Some people were doubtful, but they soon received confirmation.

"That isn’t even half of it. After Demon God Lin climbed the Fire Lotus Ice Mountain, he obtained a nine-petal fire lotus, two eight-petal fire lotuses, and a seven-petal fire lotus. He is so unreasonably strong that no one could stop him from start to end."

A heaven pride who had witnessed Lin Xun's feats on the Fire Lotus Ice Mountain but was subsequently eliminated gave this report.

Gasps immediately sounded as people were finally able to understand why the Ocean Shark Clan, the Azure Sea Sect, and the Dark Sun Sect experts were so enraged. After all, no one would be unable to remain calm in their situation.

"My goodness. Doesn’t that mean Demon God Lin has obtained a supreme-grade dao art and three first-class dao art inheritances?"

Many people were amazed and envious of the rewards Lin Xun had obtained.

After all, dao arts were far more precious and incomparable to secret arts.

In the West Infinity World, only the ancient sects with extremely strong foundations and long history would possess first-class dao arts.

How could anyone not be envious and jealous of Demon God Lin who obtained several first-class dao art inheritances in the first test?

Moreover, he had also learned a supreme-grade dao art!

The bigwigs present were unable to retain their composure as their various expressions changed subtly.

"Shit!"

Bai Fengliu was also present and instantly realized that this information would bring trouble to Lin Xun.

The only silver lining was that he was still inside Cangwu Mountain. Otherwise, the jealous cultivators would have already made a move.

"Damnit, I have to hurry up and distract everyone. I can't have everyone focused on Demon God Lin alone."

Bai Fengliu stroked his chin as he fell into thought. In the end, he gritted his teeth and decided to make a few scapegoats to divert attention from Lin Xun.

Although it was quite despicable, Bai Fengliu couldn’t care less at this juncture.

After learning that Lin Xun had obtained several dao arts, Bai Fengliu was anxiously waiting for him to come out and share some of them.

It didn't take long for Bai Fengliu to sneakily spread a few pieces of news.

"The Blue Luan Clan saintess, Qing Lian'er, chanced across a white bone filled with saintly aura in the Green Wood Secret Realm. It is suspected to be the remains of a Saint expert!"

Wow!

The news immediately caused a commotion.

Some people scoffed, believing it was fake news while others highly suspected that it might be true.

The Blue Luan Clan experts’ faces immediately turned ugly, and they tried to explain that it was untrue. However, this instead made the other cultivators more suspicious.

Although it was a rumor, it had too many details and sounded very believable. It wouldn’t be a surprise for anyone who didn’t know the truth to be easily tricked.

The Blue Luan Clan experts suddenly felt a strong murderous impulse, wishing they could strangle the unethical bastard who had employed such a dirty trick against them.

Soon after, another piece of news was released, claiming the Jade Emptiness Temple successor, Mu Jianting, had obtained something even better than Little Thunder Marquis Lei Qianjun in the Red Fire Secret Realm. It seemed to be a book made from mysterious beast skin that contained an earth-shaking secret!

"No way, is that really true?"

"It should be. I heard Mu Jianting came prepared this time and brought the ultimate treasure of the Jade Emptiness Temple, the Myriad Spirit Umbrella, which has the ability to discover secrets no one else can find!"

"That's right. I recall that the Myriad Spirit Umbrella is a sentient treasure with unfathomable abilities. It is definitely possible that Mu Jianting relied on such a magical treasure to find many opportunities and blessings."

The news caused another stir and made many people secretly envious.

The Jade Emptiness Temple experts’ faces turned grave at this development. What a vile rumor! It immediately pushed them into the limelight!

However, this wasn’t the end. The crazy old bat, Bai Fengliu, was absolutely someone who wished the whole world would fall into chaos. Soon after, he gritted his teeth and decided to drag Unsolved Mystery Sworld Alms down into the dirt as well.

"Rumor has it that Ji Xingyao and Yu Lingkong are cooperating to seize a secret blessing in Cangwu Mountain that might be related to the astonishing secret of becoming a King expert!"

The atmosphere outside Cangwu Mountain immediately exploded at this news.

Everyone knew that Yu Lingkong had specifically come to meet Ji Xingyao.

However, no outsiders knew the reason behind their meeting.

More importantly, Yu Lingkong was an expert who didn’t belong to the West Infinity World. Hence, his participation in the Dao Lantern Festival had already made many cultivators unhappy.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible to remain composed in the face of such news.

"Someone is trying to muddy the water..." Horrifying icy light flashed in Granny Jin He’s eyes when she learned of this.

For a time, the many news and discussions dispersed attention from Lin Xun.

The mastermind, Bai Fengliu, could not help but secretly feel pleased with himself at this development, feeling their Windspeaker Clan was indeed the best at spreading the news!

Bai Fengliu secretly muttered to himself, "Ahh, my good brother Lin, in order to help you, I’ve broken even the integrity of the Windspeaker Clan. If you have a conscience, you must bring back an amazing blessing for your good brother..."

……

Cangwu Mountain.

Omm!

Space rippled as Lin Xun emerged.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a misty gray world before him. It felt as if he was the only one left in this seemingly endless world.

"Is this the second testing ground?"

The moment this thought appeared in his mind, a loud rumble was heard as a dark and ancient stone monument rose from the ground.

Several hundred words had been carved upon its surface. The text was squiggly like an earthworm and appeared to be some kind of ancient language.

"The Realm of Limits!

"Disciples who are participating in the test should do their best to fight to the other side of this realm.

"The time limit is one incense stick[1]. Those who are defeated mid-way will be eliminated; those who do not arrive within the time limit will be eliminated.

"Remember, the difficulty of the test is based on your strength. Only by using your full power will you be able to surpass your limits!

"When the test is over, the top three performers will receive various rewards."

As Lin Xun read ancient texts, a peculiar feeling suddenly rose in his heart. Disciples’ who are participating in the test?

What an interesting choice of words!

1. 1 hour ☜