Chapter 168 - 168
Chapter 168: The Tiansheng Grand Tournament (2)
Lu Xiaoyao's opponent was Xiao Feng, the Holy Son of the Thousand Spirits Sect--a cultivator of prodigious talent who had broken through to the Saint King Realm in a mere three hundred years of cultivation.
The Thousand Spirits Sect itself was a powerful force with a Saint Emperor at its helm.
Hearing Lu Xiaoyao's supremely arrogant words, Xiao Feng was instantly enraged.
Even if you're the Holy Son of the Primordial Sacred Land, I, Xiao Feng, am no pushover. Even if I lose, I will absolutely not surrender.
With that resolve, Xiao Feng erupted with power, unleashing everything he had as he charged at Lu Xiaoyao.
In an instant, Lu Xiaoyao was engulfed by Xiao Feng's attacks.
Seeing this, Xiao Feng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, believing himself the victor.
But in the next moment, a chill ran down his spine from behind. Before he could react, Lu Xiaoyao appeared at his back and, with a single finger, shattered the jade pendant on his body.
"You lose."
"I've lost."
Seeing this, a look of utter defeat washed over Xiao Feng's face. He hadn't realized the gap between himself and Lu Xiaoyao was this enormous.
He had been completely unable to react before Lu Xiaoyao appeared behind him.
Had Lu Xiaoyao wanted to, he could have ended him before he even realized what was happening.
He had lost--utterly and completely.
Seeing the dejection on Xiao Feng's face, Lu Xiaoyao offered some consolation.
"You did well. At least compared to most people, you're already very impressive."
"Keep at it. Maybe one day you'll catch up to me."
It was just a polite platitude, but Xiao Feng took it to heart. And one day, far in the future, he truly did catch a glimpse of the back of Lu Xiaoyao's neck.
Xiao Feng jerked his head up and looked at Lu Xiaoyao, his spirit blazing with renewed determination.
"Just you wait! Someday I will catch up to you!"
With that, Xiao Feng walked out of the arena with his head held high, as though it wasn't he who had lost.
Lu Xiaoyao paid this no mind. After all, he could never have imagined that a three-hundred-year-old Early Saint King could catch up to a twenty-year-old Peak Saint Emperor.
On the other fronts, Lu Qingyun and Luo Qianxue's matches went equally smoothly, dispatching their opponents with ease and advancing.
As for Wu Wang and his three companions, whether due to the extra training Lu Xiaoyao had given them or something else, they all managed to advance as well--though just barely.
When they defeated their opponents, all four of them could hardly believe they were standing on the stage of the Tiansheng Grand Tournament, let alone that they had actually advanced.
So the moment the round ended, the four rushed to Lu Xiaoyao and, without a word, dropped to their knees.
"What are you doing?"
Lu Xiaoyao furrowed his brow and immediately pulled them to their feet.
He hated it when people kneeled to him.
The four of them looked at Lu Xiaoyao, tears streaming down their faces, their voices trembling with emotion.
"Boss, we advanced."
"Isn't that perfectly normal?"
"No, boss, it's not normal. The four of us only have Top-Grade Spiritual Roots. Forget about participating in the Tiansheng Grand Tournament--breaking through to the Emperor Realm before thirty shouldn't have been possible."
"We'd given up on ourselves. But you kept encouraging us, boss. So you deserve this bow from us."
"And boss, from now on we're yours. Whatever you need us to do, even if it means dying, we won't hesitate for a second!"
Wu Wang and his three companions spoke from the bottom of their hearts, their voices choked with tears.
But Lu Xiaoyao looked thoroughly exasperated.
"I already told you, this is the result of your own effort."
"And I told you, you four are my underlings. If my underlings can't even get past the first round of the Tiansheng Grand Tournament, where does that leave my reputation as your boss?"
"You don't need to thank me. If you really want to show your gratitude, then train hard and ascend to the Immortal Realm as soon as you can."
Lu Xiaoyao could help them for a time, but not forever.
So all he could do was guide them this far. As for ascending to the Immortal Realm, as long as they cultivated diligently, that day would eventually come.
The four of them nodded solemnly.
"Boss, rest assured. The four of us will train our hardest and ascend to the Immortal Realm as soon as we can."
"Alright, go get some rest. Your opponents are only going to get stronger from here!"
Lu Xiaoyao waved them off and led the four back to rest.
Not far away, Feng Qingyu had just come down from her arena and spotted Lu Xiaoyao's figure. She was about to rush over and confront him, but Lu Xiaoyao had already left.
So she could only swallow her questions.
But this scene was witnessed by Gu Tiansheng.
"That damned Primordial Sacred Land Holy Son is causing my Qingyu this much distress."
"Just wait. I'll kill you before you even have a chance to surrender!"
Gu Tiansheng thought viciously.
Of course, his killing intent was picked up by Lu Xiaoyao.
Not that Lu Xiaoyao cared. A mere defeated rival. Even if Gu Tiansheng had been fortunate enough to break through to Saint Emperor, all it would take was another beating when they met.
Another half month passed.
A full fifteen rounds of competition had winnowed out the vast majority of participants. Those who remained were virtually all at the Peak of the Emperor Realm or above.
As for Wu Wang and his three companions, their luck hadn't been great. They were eliminated in the third round.
But the four were not the least bit discouraged. This was the Tiansheng Grand Tournament, after all. Making it to the third round, with none of their opponents being weak, was already a remarkable achievement.
As for Feng Qingyu, whether through luck or some other stroke of fortune, she hadn't encountered a single Saint King. Nearly all of her opponents had been at the Emperor Realm.
Though she had faced Peak Emperor Realm opponents twice, she had ultimately prevailed both times through the strength of her deep foundations.
But when she saw her next opponent, Feng Qingyu's expression turned grim.
Luo Qianxue.
That was right. Feng Qingyu's next opponent was Luo Qianxue.
After seeing the matchup, Feng Qingyu drew a deep breath.
She knew her run was likely over.
Though Luo Qianxue had never gone all out, judging by how easily she dispatched Saint King opponents, her strength was at minimum at the Saint King level.
Combined with Luo Qianxue's equally formidable foundations, Feng Qingyu's chance of victory was essentially zero.
Recalling how Luo Qianxue had humiliated her before, a terrifying aura erupted from Feng Qingyu's body.
"No. I can't lose. I absolutely can't lose!"
With those words, the bottleneck of the Peak Emperor Realm shattered, and in that instant, she successfully broke through to the Saint King Realm.
At the very same moment that Feng Qingyu broke through to the Saint King Realm, Lu Xunxian's expression changed drastically. He dropped everything--including Lu Xiaoyao and Lu Qingyun beside him--and vanished, reappearing in the Immortal Realm in the blink of an eye.
"This is... I'm about to break through to the Dao Practitioner Realm!"
Feeling the terrifying energy surging from within his body, Lu Xunxian was overcome with excitement.
He had originally assumed that even with Feng Qingyu breaking through to the Saint King Realm, he would still need considerable effort to reach the Dao Practitioner Realm.
But the system was far more powerful than he had expected. There wasn't the slightest obstacle.
Indeed, he had underestimated the system.