Chapter 17: Great Zhou’s Heaven Selection

Zhou Xuanji looked calm. He folded his arms in front of his chest and asked, "Is it very rare?"

　　He secretly felt satisfied when he saw the old fellow's face. He looked as though he had seen a ghost.

　　Is it satisfying to be a genius?

　　Satisfying indeed!

　　Qiu Baili held onto his shoulder and observed him as though he was looking at a treasure.

　　"Grandpa Qiu!" Little Jiang Xue's voice resounded. She ran over with the two dragon eagles.

　　Qiu Baili turned his head and looked. When he saw the dragon eagles, he was stunned.

　　"These two demons do not look ordinary. I think I have seen these somewhere before." Qiu Baili said.

 He did not expect that while he was gone, the two children even tamed demon pets.

　　Only after Little Jiang Xue brought the two dragon eagles close to him, did his shock become visible.

　　"Dragon eagle? How is it possible for you to get these demon eaglets?"

　　Qiu Baili was experienced and knowledgeable, and he quickly identified what these two demons were.

　　Little Jiang Xue pointed to the dragon eagles and said with a smile, "This is Ah Big, and Small Two. They are brother and sister."

　　Ah Big, Small Two...

　　Qiu Baili shook his head, laughing. They were kids after all, and the names they gave made people question whether to laugh or cry.

　　He seemed to have remembered something and solemnly said, "You must not be reckless in the future. Such rare demons will attract many others to fight over them. A year ago, there were a bunch of cultivators who fought for an adult dragon eagle. Some died, and others were injured. Even the infamous Yellow Gust Seventeen Fiends were eliminated during the battle."

　　Zhou Xuanji raised his brow and asked, "All of the Yellow Gust Seventeen Fiends are dead? Didn't you say that these evildoers are very strong, even comparable to you?"

　　Qiu Baili rubbed his head, and laughed while stroking his long beard, "It's all because of greed. There was another prominent figure in that battle. It was Zhang Tianjian, a powerful general of Southern Snow Kingdom. He claimed that the dragon eagles were snatched away by a master in the Way of the Sword. The master killed Madam Night Seven of the Yellow Gust Seventeen Fiends in an instant, and he is supposedly unmeasurably powerful."

　　"This is the power of sword cultivators. The Sword Monarch of Great Zhou once destroyed seven kingdoms with one strike. Xuanji, you need to train hard and not let your talent in the Way of the Sword go to waste." After he said this, he paused.

　　Zhou Xuanji reached the tenth level of Qi Nurturing at six years old, so he was not lazy and sluggish.

　　That said, did the master leave the two dragon eagles here?

　　Hold on!

　　He suddenly remembered the traumatic time when Zhou Xuanji cut Ye Feifan down with a sneak attack.

　　Back then, Zhou Xuanji was only two years old...

　　Ss --

　　Qiu Baili inhaled. He subconsciously pulled back his hand and no longer dared to touch Zhou Xuanji's head.

　　Little Jiang Xue blinked. She wanted to say something, but she did not.

　　Zhou Xuanji rubbed his chin and pondered, asking, "Grandpa Qiu, has the news already spread?"

　　"Naturally so, since the Yellow Gust Seventeen Fiends were so infamous. They were ranked in the top two hundred of Great Zhou's Evildoers Ranking."

　　Qiu Baili nodded and gazed at him, perplexed. He said, "Xuanji, tell grandpa, is there another soul hidden in your body, that is even older than me...?"

　　Zhou Xuanji rolled his eyes and said, "You are right. There is an unrivaled evil lord in me that eats people."

　　He even pulled a funny face at Qiu Baili.

　　Little Jiang Xue stepped in front of him, and snorted at Qiu Baili, "Zhou Xuanji is not some old demon!"

　　If Zhou Xuanji was an old demon, why did he become so pathetic when facing Madam Night Seven?

　　Qiu Baili looked at the little girl and shook his head with a bitter laugh. What a silly girl.

　　Ah Big and Small Two closed in as well, and were prepared to attack Qiu Baili.

　　Qiu Baili shrugged his shoulders and sighed, "Even if I were to tell others about you, no one would believe me. With your talent, you could surely participate in the Heaven Selection of Great Zhou in the future."

　　This is too devilish...

　　Zhou Xuanji took notice of this unfamiliar event and asked, "What is the Heaven Selection of Great Zhou?"

　　Although he was born in the royal palace of Great Zhou, he did not obtain much information, since he could not walk around freely, and only specific people looked after him.

　　"The Heaven Selection of Great Zhou is held once every ten years. The top prodigies are selected from the Great Zhou Empire and all the subordinate kingdoms. This is different from the empire's academic examinations. Other than testing your writing skills, you will also be tested on your ability in real battles."

　　"The champion of each Heaven Selection will go on and become generals or high officials in the Great Zhou Empire, and his fame will shake the world."

　　"It is because of how ruthless the Great Zhou Heaven Selection is that the Great Zhou Empire has such prosperity today."

　　Once every ten years, Great Zhou Heaven Selection!

　　Zhou Xuanji squinted his eyes and started planning.

　　The Empress resided in the royal palace and seldom left it. If he were to exact revenge, he had to enter the Great Zhou Royal Palace.

　　It was impossible to storm in.

　　Could he enter through the Great Zhou Heaven Selection, and then proceed to assassinate her?

　　Zhou Xuanji felt that there was hope since he could control his sword with willpower. When the time comes, he could hide a legendary sword and then slay the empress with one strike at night from afar.

　　"Don't think about it. It is extremely difficult to participate in the Great Zhou Heaven Selection. Either you must have the recommendation of powerful organizations, which even my Hidden Sword Sect does not qualify as, or the world has to know about you. Your fame must stir the world if you wish to receive an official invitation from the royal court. Failing that, you would have to place on the Great Zhou Hero Ranking Board."

　　Qiu Baili looked at his expression and knew what he was thinking about, so he said this to discourage him.

　　Zhou Xuanji had such great talent, he should not expose his ability before he had properly grown.

　　It was not always a good thing to be gifted.

　　Zhou Xuanji nodded and walked to the side. He took out his Frost Wave Sword and continued to practice the Fiery Sword Technique.

　　Qiu Baili shook his head as he saw how Zhou Xuanji looked, his thoughts wandering.

　　Shortly after, Qiu Baili brought Little Jiang Xue back to the front of the wooden hut and wanted to hear about how Zhou Xuanji slew Madam Night Seven.

　　Little Jiang Xue gave vivid and colorful descriptions of what she saw. With all the shocks and surprises, it did not frighten Qiu Baili, but Ah Big and Small Two trembled at times.

　　During the evening of the following day.

　　Zhou Xuanji had mastered Fiery Sword Will. He was enveloped in flames as though he was made of them. He slashed with his sword and the sword Qi that was ablaze split the river in half. Qiu Baili was speechless, with his eyes wide open.

　　This little brat was just practicing blindly, and now he has mastered another sword technique?

　　Heaven is so biased!

　　With Qiu Baili around, Zhou Xuanji did not take out the other legendary swords but focused on cultivating through internalizing Qi, attempting to reach the Foundation Building stage quickly.

　　...

　　Three months passed.

　　Zhou Xuanji was riding on Ah Big and was prepared to find a place that demons often appeared, to hone his skills in actual battle.

　　He already tried to ride the dragon eagle three days ago, and almost fell. Fortunately, Qiu Baili was around to help out. He could only stabilize himself after three full days of practice and establishing a basic connection with Ah Big.

　　Little Jiang Xue looked at the back of Ah Big and Zhou Xuanji's silhouette as they flew away, and she was full of admiration as she turned her gaze toward Little Two.

　　Qiu Baili rubbed her head and smiled pleasantly, "Xue'er, no hurry. Wait until you progress further in your cultivation, then you can try again."

　　Zhou Xuanji had mastered two sword wills, Qiu Baili was not worried about him encountering some danger.

　　Little Jiang Xue was different, however. She had only reached the fifth level of Qi Nurturing. She was still far away, and not only he was worried about her, but Zhou Xuanji also.

　　"Okay."

　　Little Jiang Xue nodded firmly. She turned around and continued her cultivation.

　　At the edge of the plain, Zhou Xuanji was joyous as he sat on Ah Big's back and felt the wind rushing against him.

　　He lowered his head and looked down. He was at least a mile above the ground.

He raised his head and looked ahead. The mountain range seemed endless. The majestic vista before him was like a painting. At the sight of this, he could not help but shout, "The fish leap freely in oceans vast, the birds fly freely in skies high!"