Huang Xiaolong nearly roared with laughter when he heard the change in the rules. “We can’t admit defeat on stage? Yuan Wangfeng is really compassionate! His rule really screwed him over…”
It was perfectly in line with his plans! No! In fact, Yuan Wangfeng was doing him a huge favor!
Yin Zhangguo frowned when he heard what Huang Xiaolong said. “This time, the Myriad Origin Race, the Twin Dragon Race, and the Golden Buddha Race have sent a ton of geniuses over. All of those who signed up are stronger than Long Zhenyang, Yuan Yue, and others. Long Cheng of the Twin Dragon Race is one of those, who have signed up, and he is a Sixth Heaven True Saint! You’re not a match for him!”
“Since they plan to cripple me in the arena, I’ll shatter their hopes and dreams. Crippling them shouldn’t be against the rules of the battle, right?” Huang Xiaolong asked.
Yin Zhangguo’s expression turned extremely weird as he didn’t know what went on in Huang Xiaolong’s head. Didn’t he hear that Long Chen from the Twin Dragon Race is a Sixth Heaven True Saint?!
“About them… Are there disciples from those races with saint godhead ranking in the top ten?” Huang Xiaolong asked.
Yin Zhangguo nodded seriously. “There is someone of that level from the Myriad Origin Race, and his name is Yuan Changyao. His saint godhead ranks ninth among the godheads, and it’s the Boundless Light Complete Dao Saint Godhead. He is hailed as the second genius of the Myriad Origin Race after Yuan Qianxing.”
Huang Xiaolong nodded his head slowly. “Yuan Changyao…”
His saint godheads hadn’t progressed for a long time. With all the accumulations he had, Huang Xiaolong had a faint feeling that he would be able to push every single one of his godheads into the top ten ranks as long as he managed to devour someone who had a saint godhead of that level.
Even if he wasn’t a Third Heaven True Saint by then, his combat abilities would shoot through the roof.
Several days passed uneventfully, and it felt like the calm before the storm.
The day of the competition finally came!
It was held in the plaza where everyone had registered to become a member of the Otherworldly Mansion.
In the past, barely a hundred disciples had registered to participate in the selections. However, there were more than three hundred of them this time!
“Who would have thought that Grand Palace Master would interfere with making the rules personally? Wouldn’t this mean that Feng Jiu would be the eventual winner of the competition?”
“That might not be the case. Yuan Changyao registered for the competition too. His chance of winning isn’t small. After all, he is already a Sixth Heaven True Saint! With his cultivation half a step away from entering the Seventh Heaven True Saint Realm, Feng Jiu would find it difficult to win against him! No matter how strong she is, she is still a mid-Sixth Heaven True Saint!”
“There’s Long Cheng from the Twin Dragon Race too! He’s at the early-Sixth Heaven True Saint Realm and Feitian Longpeng is at the late-Fifth Heaven True Saint Realm!”
The disciples waiting for the competition to begin, started to discuss among themselves.
Huang Xiaolong eventually appeared with Hei Luo beside him.
“It’s Huang Xiaolong of the Purple Spider Race! Is he crazy? Who gave him the courage to appear today?”
“Grand Hall Master Yuan has already stated that humans are not allowed to make the first move in the arena. If Huang Xiaolong is unwilling to back down, he will probably suffer a terrible fate as soon as the battle starts! If Senior Brother Yuan Changyao, Long Chen, or Jin Xing meet him in the arena, they’ll cripple his cultivation!”
“That might not be true. If he kneels and begs them sincerely, our Senior Brothers might find him pitiful and allow him to live.”
Several disciples snorted at Huang Xiaolong’s foolhardiness.
Of course, those that mocked him were disciples of the Twin Dragon Race, Myriad Origin Race, and the Golden Buddha Race. There were also disciples of the Seven Souls Race who hated Huang Xiaolong to the bones, and members of their subordinate races couldn’t help but mock him along with their masters.
Huang Xiaolong had barely arrived when another ripple swept through the crowd.
“It’s the members of the Fiery Phoenix Race! Feng Jiu is here! Look! Feitian Longpeng is here too!”
“Looks like the rumors are true… The two races are probably going to form an alliance through marriage soon! Why else would they appear together?”
“That’s where you’re wrong. The alliance might be real, but the marriage is between other disciples.”
Heated gazes fell on Feng Jiu and Feitian Longpeng the moment they appeared.
Casually glancing over, Huang Xiaolong noted down their presence.
One had to say that Feng Jiu of the Fiery Phoenix Race was a beauty in her own right.
There were rumors that Feng Jiu had the ability to evolve her saint godhead, and no one knew if her complete dao saint godhead was really ranked-fifth.
Not too long after their appearance, Yuan Changyao, Long Chen, and Jin Xing appeared in the plaza. Once again, the spectators buzzed with excitement.
As soon as the three of them appeared, they went over to greet Feng Jiu and Feitian Longpeng.
Among the royal families, there would be a gathering every other year. Other than the higher-ups and several disciples whose talent they wanted to keep secret, everyone would attend to get to know each other better.
“Senior Brothers, if you meet Huang Xiaolong in the arena later, please go easy on him,” Feng Jiu hesitated for a moment before pleading with the three seniors. A look of shock flashed through their faces when they heard what she said.
Jin Xing sneered in response, “It looks like Huang Xiaolong went to beg Junior Sister Feng Jiu to plead for mercy on his behalf… What a joke?! How can a cultivator even think of something like this?”
Long Cheng chuckled coldly, “He didn’t seem to care when he laid a heavy hand on my junior brother before this. It’s too late for anyone to plead on his behalf now.”
Even though Yuan Changyao didn’t speak, he obviously agreed with the other two.
When Huang Xiaolong had injured Long Zhenyang and Yuan Yue on the Chaos Essence Holy Peak, he had embarrassed both super races. Before the three of them had arrived, they had already received an order to cripple Huang Xiaolong in the arena. Who would have thought that Feng Jiu would speak up for him? It was no wonder they misunderstood her intentions.
As a frown formed on her face, Feng Jiu felt a trace of irritation rising in her heart. She was only speaking up for Huang Xiaolong as she thought that his talent was hard to come by. She didn’t expect to be misunderstood by the three of them.
Shaking his head silently, Feitian Longpeng indicated for Feng Jiu to ignore the three of them. After all, the misunderstanding wouldn’t be cleared with a few sentences. There was no need to explain herself to them.
Soon, Yuan Wangfeng, Yin Zhangguo, Jin Kang, Jiang Shaohuang, and the others arrived. Other than the Mansion Master and the deputy Mansion Master, everyone had come to watch the competition. Ordinarily, the higher-ups of the Otherworldly Mansion couldn’t be bothered with the competition to select the participant to challenge the Dao Gate. However, things were different this time.
As soon as Yuan Wangfeng arrived, he stood on the podium and swept his gaze across those present. After staring at Huang Xiaolong and Hei Luo for quite some time, he started to read out the rules of the competition.
In the past, participants would draw lots to challenge their opponent. However, Yuan Wangfeng had changed the rules such that the vice hall master of the mission hall, Yuan Zongyuan, would be the one drawing the lots for the disciples.
Huang Xiaolong wanted nothing more than to praise them to the high heavens at that point as he would only be fed with the strongest talents the three races had to offer. His opponent for the first round would definitely be one of the three.
Indeed. Yuan Zongyuan raised two plates and yelled, “Arena sixty! Huang Xiaolong vs Yuan Changyao!”
