The Southern Continent’s Prodigies
The first battles of the Xuqi Sect entrance exam were the highest level, but not necessarily the most intense, nor the most exciting. The Xuqi Sect Elders were only here to test the candidates, they were not going all out and would admit defeat once they acknowledged that their opponent was superior. As for the participants themselves, those at the Peak Origin Soul Realm were all above their examiners in terms of cultivation level, so almost all of these challengers won their matches without much difficulty.
However, the ordering of this stage of the exam made it such that the most experienced peak stage cultivators went first, followed by those who had been at the peak of the realm for a shorter period of time, until finally, there were three individuals who had only recently reached the peak.
Shockingly, two of these three battles ended in a draw!
The Xuqi Sect Elders were truly formidable. Although they were only at the late stage, a few of these elders could match weaker peak stage cultivators! This wasn't unheard of, but it also wasn't common. For so many of the Xuqi Sect Elders to possess battle power surpassing their cultivation base, showed that the Xuqi Sect was able to provide its members with spells and treasures beyond the normal standard for the Southern Continent.
After the peak stage challengers, came those at the late stage.
There were many more late stage cultivators participating in this exam compared to those at the peak stage, but this made sense when considered logically.
Not only were Peak Origin Soul Realm cultivators less common, but why would they wait until reaching the peak stage before entering the Xuqi Sect in the first place? Entering the Xuqi Sect was not a decision that someone would make on a whim, they would likely know early on in life that they wished to do this. Since this was the case, most cultivators chose to take the entrance exam as soon as they believed that they had the ability to pass. For this reason, the majority of the participants were at the mid and late stage, whilst early and peak stage individuals were less common, and initial stage cultivators were scarce.
In the battles with the late stage entrants, the ferocity was clearly much higher. Those challengers struggled to keep up with the Xuqi Sect Elders, even though they all possessed the same cultivation levels. Of course, there were some differences between the exact cultivation level of each individual within the late stage, but the Xuqi Sect Elders' advantage was not caused by these differences, but instead was due to their superior spells and treasures.
Yaan's eyes shone with intelligence as he watched these battles.
In the previous battles, neither the challengers nor the elders went all out, they did not reveal their trump cards. Now though, the late stage participants were fighting for their chance to enter the Xuqi Sect, they could not afford to hold back!
Because of this, they began to display some rather unique methods, methods that not everyone present could comprehend. Yaan however, could clearly see the utilisation of dao comprehension in their spells and techniques!
When Yaan displayed his dao comprehension via combat techniques, both himself and his surrounding environment would become affected by different types of illusions. He could not find anyone here practising the dao of illusions, but Yaan was still able to discern the various types of daos displayed here anyway. This was definitely a useful experience for him, since he had not seen other daos displayed to this extent before now.
Whoosh!
Hukon Foo displayed his full might, utilising his fire dao comprehension to bring his spell to the next level. He used no treasures, but stretched out both of his arms, colliding each limb into the fire dragon which manifested mysteriously above his head. This dragon was made entirely from fire, but when it slammed into Hukon Foo's arms, it transformed into countless burning runes. Small dragon tattoos which emanated an intense heat could be seen flying about and battling one another on his arms, but Hukon Foo didn't stop to look at this.
BANG!
With a tremendous clap, a shockwave of fire spread out from his body, enveloping the entire podium in a sea of red. The flames grew stronger and stronger, until eventually, the two individuals within could no longer be seen.
When the flames subsided a few seconds later, Hukon Foo could be seen standing there calmly…but his opponent, Xuqi Shan, was unconscious on the ground!
This was the first time that a Xuqi Elder had been knocked unconscious before they even had the chance to concede the match!
"This junior of your Hukon Clan is not bad at all…" The Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord said this casually, but she narrowed her eyes and stared at the man on stage with intense focus.
"Haha, there's no need to overthink this matter, I'll tell you both right now; Hukon Foo is my direct descendant. Specifically, he's my 7th generation grandson."
"I see." The female immortal nodded." "So that's why he is able to use that technique. But even so, you must value him quite highly to teach him this."
The Hukon Clan Ancestor smiled faintly, but he didn't reply to her probing.
"Which lineage is he from?" The Immortal Ancestor suddenly spoke up, surprising both Yaan and the Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord with his interest in this matter.
"Yuli's."
After saying this one name, the Hukon Clan Ancestor glanced at the white-haired immortal, but he appeared to have lost interest again.
It wasn't just the immortals who were impressed by Hukon Foo, the crowd were spiritedly discussing his performance right now.
"What was that spell? Its might is simply too incredible!" Sect Master Brase sighed in appreciation for a fellow powerhouse at the peak of the Southern Continent's public cultivation world.
"This is actually a spell recorded in history." Keasal smiled slightly, but his gaze towards Hukon Foo became serious. "It is called Dragon of Flames, it's the Hukon Clan's bloodline spell. Very few individuals have been able to practice this spell, no matter display it in combat like this…"
If Yaan were to hear this conversation, he would certainly feel moved. He had witnessed a bloodline spell once before, back in the inheritance's 3rd Trial Realm. Back then, Aque Li used the Goddess of the Seas spell to turn the dire situation around - back then, that one spell created a shocking effect, summoning the image of a goddess in the sky above and causing the entire battle to come to a halt.
Bloodline spells were very mysterious, not many people outside of bloodline spell practitioners really understood this method.
Zue Yin overheard the lively discussion between Brase and Keasal, but even though she was burning with curiosity, she bit her lip and kept her silence.
Currently, she was accompanying the main group from the Fragment Sect, which had joined together with the higher ups from the Hukon Clan. This was a common occurrence, since the two groups shared a close relationship.
Zue Yin was left feeling totally stunned after witnessing Hukon Foo's fiery display. As someone who practised fire based techniques herself, and as a possessor of a fire element bloodline, she understood just how incredible this person and his spell was. The intensity of the fire contained within those temporary tattoos on his arms was simply incredible, Zue Yin felt breathless just watching those moving tattoos, not to mention that final explosion!
After the late stage competitors, were those at the mid stage. Unsurprisingly, almost all of these cultivators lost their battles. They were going up against those at the late stage, but not only were their opponents at the late stage, they were carefully nurtured Xuqi Sect Elders.
The Xuqi Sect would only permit their most impressive elders to participate in the examination. This way, they further imposed their prestige into the minds of all those people watching on. Seeing so many cultivators with battle power surpassing their realm truly gave the impression that the Xuqi Sect was extraordinary.
Out of the tens of mid stage participants in this examination, only two won their matches, whilst another seven managed to obtain a draw. All of these peoples' success could partially be attributed to the elders they faced being somewhat tired after fighting multiple consecutive matches. Even though the elders were rotating with others every now and then, anyone would still feel tired after fighting multiple battles in a row.
When the early stage competitors took the stage, everything went as expected; they all lost.
That is, until the last early stage individual entered the arena.
'Xuqi Laila…' Yaan narrowed his eyes, watching closely as this match began. This person was the genius who reached the Origin Soul Realm in under 100 years. Yaan didn't know how long it had been since she ascended to the Origin Soul Realm, but it was apparent that she had reached the early stage quite recently.
Xuqi Laila looked young, older than Yaan, but still young. It was rare for QI refiners to possess such a young appearance, but it wasn't unheard of. However, retaining this youthful appearance all the way into the Origin Soul Realm was exceedingly rare; this achievement was already proof of Xuqi Laila's heaven defying talent!
When Yaan focussed on this girl, he felt surprised. He did not see the usual arrogance held by most young prodigies on her face, but neither did she look modest…
Her expression was uninterested, completely indifferent to everything around her. It was as if, this young looking girl with her hair tied up in a pony tail, simply didn't place those around her in her eyes.
In a way, she lacked arrogance, but in another sense, she was so arrogant that she did not even feel it worth her energy to look down on others.
But Xuqi Laila had every right to disdain others in this way.
She was the disciple of an immortal.
She was a genius Qi refiner, charging through the realms at a speed unheard of in the Southern Continent. None of her peers even came close to her.
But that wasn't all…Xuqi Laila also possessed shocking combat prowess!
Whoosh!
As soon as the match began, Xuqi Laila stretched out her pale hand. Like some other members of the Xuqi Sect and Xuqi Dynasty, it seemed that her methods involved the usage of the seven coloured light. As the seven colours of light formed a slowly rotating vortex around her palm, gentle in its flow and aura, the Xuqi Sect Elder attacked.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The elder wore a serious expression, not holding back in the least. Hundreds of flying daggers surrounded Xuqi Laila, pointing at her threateningly, before all shooting inwards at the same time.
Bang!
"Ugh…"
In a shocking turn of events, the elder was blown backwards as a flash of seven coloured light shone out across the podium! He grimaced and clutched his chest, but stood up straight and prepared to attack again.
Without even looking at the elder, Xuqi Laila turned away and unhurriedly walked out from the stage.
"You…"
The elder trailed off, suddenly feeling an intense dizziness overcome him. He did not understand what had happened as his eyes rolled back and he dropped to the floor, unconscious.
The surroundings became silent, all eyes landed on Xuqi Laila. Hardly anyone in the audience even saw her attack.
Xuqi Laila…this name was now firmly cemented in the minds of every single person spectating and competing in this event!