The Dao Platform activated. Then, the figures of Xiao Chen, Yun Fei, and Nangong Feng turned blurry. The space around them changed, and they could only see blurry seven-colored energy flows.
That was the chaotic stream of space and time. It should not be touched or messed with. Otherwise, one might get lost in it.
When Xiao Chen’s vision returned to normal, he found himself on a larger Dao Platform.
There were many other Sovereign Personages on the Dao Platform, each of them with deep cultivation and hidden strong auras.
Each of these people harbored a heart-pounding sharpness; all of them were powerful Sovereign Personages.
These people showed either cold or proud expressions. Like Xiao Chen, most of them sized up the other Sovereign Personages.
These must be the other one hundred nine Sovereign Personages entering the Heavenly Alliance.
Which four are the heaven-defying Sovereign Personages?
Saber Demon Wu Meng, Grim Reaper Lin Feng, Spear Venerate Gongzi Lan, and Spear Sovereign Mo Yu.
Xiao Chen wondered curiously as his gaze landed on a man with stubble, thick eyebrows, and large eyes.
This stubbled man carried an ancient saber with crisscrossing spikes. It looked strangely ferocious as if it might turn into a ferocious beast at any time and bring disaster to the surroundings.
Xiao Chen thought back to the descriptions that Lei Hao gave him. This bladesman seemed to be Saber Demon Wu Meng.
Saber Demon Wu Meng sensed Xiao Chen’s gaze and smiled. However, his smile did not look pleasant on his face. Instead, it made him look even more terrifying.
Xiao Chen nodded slightly in reply to the other party’s smile.
How cold!
Suddenly, many people started shivering as a terrifying chill swept through the place.
A cold-looking youth carrying a spear on his back appeared on the Dao Platform. Then, he swept his eyes around the Dao Platform.
The chill came from his gaze, spreading out from there.
This person should be Spear Sovereign Mo Yu, who had probably comprehended his Ice Dao Domain to a certain level already.
After some thought, Xiao Chen concluded that his Thunder Dao Domain could not compare.
“Whoosh!”
Before the shock from Spear Sovereign Mo Yu’s arrival faded, death Qi spread throughout the Dao Platform, giving people goosebumps and causing discomfort. Everyone had to drive their Veritable Essence Energy to scatter this death Qi.
“Grim Reaper Lin Feng,” Nangong Feng said sullenly. He frowned heavily as he looked at a black-clad youth that appeared on the Dao Platform.
“You know him?” Yun Fei asked, finding it strange.
Nangong Feng nodded. “We were in the same secret realm for the first stage, and he nearly eliminated me. He is unrivaled; for the people in that secret realm, he was simply a nightmare. No one wanted to run into him. His Death Dao Domain inspired despair.”
Death Dao Domain. This was materialized from the Death Dao, something one hundred times—one thousand times—harder to cultivate than an elemental Great Dao.
This person must have paid an extremely terrifying price to comprehend a Dao Domain derived from the Death Great Dao. If one were careless while cultivating such a comparatively negative Great Dao, one might accidentally enter a state of Berserking Qi Deviation and go mad. Such a person should not be provoked.
The participants that came with Lin Feng all maintained a certain distance from him, not daring to get close.
After all the participants arrived, an enormous silver ship appeared above the Dao Platform. This silver ship flickered with a cold light, clearly made of a special alloy of divine materials that had undergone tempering for thousands of times.
The door to the ship’s hold opened, and a handsome, azure-clad, middle-aged man walked out. Then, this person looked at the crowd and asked softly, “Is everyone here?”
A stylized plum blossom, similar to Shangguan Yun’s, was embroidered on the chest of his clothes. It had seven petals inlaid with gold thread, and the center looked like snow. The symbol gave off an air of pride and nobility; it seemed very unconventional.
“Lord Mu, these are the new members from this test. They are all here already,” an old man responsible for receiving the newcomers said respectfully.
The azure-clad man nodded slightly before speaking some words of praise. “Not bad. The potential and strength of this batch are indeed higher than the previous batches. We probably will not get so many powerful Sovereign Personages joining the Heavenly Alliance like this again for a long time.”
More than one million Sovereign Personages from all over the Great Thousand Realms had undergone a selection, killing each other until only one hundred and ten people remained. These people gained the right to enter the Heavenly Alliance. With such strict standards, it would be strange if the survivors were weak.
“Good. Before we go to the Heavenly Alliance’s headquarters, you will all undergo a final test to determine your ranking. This ranking actually does not have a significant purpose; it is just to determine the rewards. Hence, I hope that you will not take this as a battle to the death. Just stop at exchanging moves. It will be my Heavenly Alliance’s loss if you end up with hidden injuries or internal injuries.”
This Lord Mu looked at the participants and paused for a while before continuing, “Hence, finish the battles fast and stop when appropriate. Don’t worry. I can see your strengths. Even if there is no victor, I will know who is stronger.”
Xiao Chen and the others felt stunned upon hearing this. Unexpectedly, this third stage was so casual.
However, this made sense, as well. The first stage and second stage were extremely cruel, making everyone extremely tense. Another intense round of killing might result in an accidental loss of life. That would be a loss for the Heavenly Alliance.
“We will start the exchange now. The losers remain in the bottom fifty, and the winners progress on. The top ten rankers from the first stage will go straight to the final round.”
This was the privilege of seeded participants. The remaining one hundred people would have to fight.
As this was just an exchange, everyone held back. The battles proceeded exceptionally quickly. When one felt that they could not defeat their opponent, they would decisively admit defeat.
Some people clearly could not defeat their opponents. However, they stubbornly dragged the fight out. Lord Mu lectured these people and directly declared their loss.
Xiao Chen was pretty lucky. He won twice in a row and entered the top twenty.
This attracted many people’s attention. Clearly, many people had heard that Xiao Chen was the youngest member in the history of the Heavenly Alliance.
Besides the four heaven-defying Sovereign Personages—Saber Demon Wu Meng, Grim Reaper Lin Feng, Spear Sovereign Mo Yu, and Sword Venerate Gongzi Lan—the other one that everyone knew about was the White Robed Bladesman Xiao Chen.
“I can’t tell that he is actually that young. To think he managed to make it to the top twenty.”
“He has a few tricks up his sleeves. How incredible!”
“However, this is not a fight to the death, so we can’t be too serious.”
As the discussions continued, the final round was about to begin. Ten people, including Xiao Chen, would face the top ten rankers of the first stage.
“In the last round, you have one final advantage. You can choose your opponent. Whoever wins can enter the top ten and participate in the finals,” Lord Mu said softly as he looked at the top ten rankers of the first stage.
Xiao Chen and the other nine immediately felt somewhat nervous. They hoped that the four heaven-defying Sovereign Personages would not choose them.
The four heaven-defying Sovereign Personages were already acknowledged as unrivaled among Sovereign Personages. The others could not possibly be a match.
Whoever the four heaven-defying Sovereign Personages chose would definitely lose; they would have no possibility of entering the top ten.
“My opponent is him!”
Xiao Chen looked around. Very unfortunately, the one who chose him was the Sword Venerate Gongzi Lan, one of the four heaven-defying experts.
Even though Xiao Chen felt slightly disappointed, he quickly adjusted his mental state.
Xiao Chen remained calm as he stepped forward. Then, he performed a cupped-fist salute and said, “Peach Blossom City’s Xiao Chen. Please give me your guidance.”
“You can remain so calm when facing me. This is startling for me.”
Sword Venerate Gongzi Lan’s handsome appearance gave off a Righteous Qi that made him look upright, lacking any evil influence.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and did not deny it. He stretched out his hand and gestured. “Please make your move.”
“As you wish.”
“Clang!”
Gongzi Lan frowned slightly, and a sharpness immediately burst out. He was like a treasure sword being unsheathed, releasing a sharp sword move launching at Xiao Chen.
Speedy, sharp, upright, open, and righteous. The attack looked like a terrifying arrow that would crush everything. This was Gongzi Lan’s sword Dao, the sword Dao of sovereigns.
“Ding! Ding! Dang! Dang!”
In that instant, Xiao Chen made his move too. However, his feet did not budge. Instead, he moved the saber intent in his heart, executing a saber move with his entire body using the Flawless saber Dao: using the body as a saber, the hair as a saber, and the clothes as a saber.
Xiao Chen’s fine black hair and clothes fluttered. While he did not move, his flowing hair and clothes created a saber move that seemed like a vast army charging.
As Gongzi Lan charged over, Xiao Chen drew his Tyrant Saber and clashed with the other party’s vast sword move containing the upright way of the sovereigns.
“Dang! Dang! Dang!”
The weapons clashed. In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged more than one hundred moves. Figures crossed, and afterimages flashed in the air. The saber and the sword danced wildly, producing a magnificent and chaotic scene.
Many people did not expect such a scene. To think that Xiao Chen could hold out for so long against Gongzi Lan.
“Whoosh!”
After exchanging one hundred moves, the two separated amid the boundless mysterious phenomena.
There were some sword wounds on Xiao Chen’s body. However, all Gongzi Lan had was a faint saber wound on his face.
The two appeared equal. After fighting like that, neither emerged victorious.
“Lord Mu did not tell us to stop. It feels like defeating you with my sword Dao is going to be somewhat difficult. However, I have a way to make you admit defeat now.”
Gongzi Lan sheathed his sword. His lips curled up slightly in a confident smile.
Xiao Chen retorted calmly, “Bring it out, then. Let me see!”
With a faint smile, Gongzi Lan held two fingers together. Then, a sword light suddenly appeared at his fingertips.
“Whoosh!”
The instant the sword light appeared, Xiao Chen’s eyes prickled. Feeling some fear in his heart, he quickly took a few steps back.
Xiao Chen squinted and saw a dancing golden line in that sword light.
Divine Energy!
This Gongzi Lan had managed to cultivate a strand of Divine Energy as a Sovereign Personage, the Divine Energy that only Divine Vein Realm Sovereign Emperors could grasp.
Xiao Chen smiled bitterly. There was indeed no need to continue. Gongzi Lan clearly already cultivated this strand of Divine Energy to perfection.
If Gongzi Lan combined it with his sword Dao, Xiao Chen did not feel confident of blocking it even with the Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram.
More accurately, whether Xiao Chen dared to block it was questionable. If he failed to block such a move, the sword light containing Divine Energy would instantly severely injure him.
If this were a true fight, the best choice would be to flee quickly after seeing the other party use Divine Energy.
Xiao Chen would not bet on an unknown possibility.
Indeed, Gongzi Lan deserved to be one of the four heaven-defying Sovereign Personages. To think that he managed to cultivate a strand of Divine Energy. This made one feel too helpless; there was no need to continue.
Xiao Chen smiled bitterly and shook his head. He sheathed his saber and performed a cupped-fist salute. “I have lost.”
“You went easy on me.”
Gongzi Lan smiled faintly and scattered his sword light, then moved back while holding his sword.
Xiao Chen only made it to the top twenty in the final ranking battles. As for his exact rank, that depended on Lord Mu.
