Chapter 426: Chapter 424: The Battle for the Spots Ends
After leaving the back mountain, Tian Ao quickly returned to the plaza. A few Elders were there maintaining order and had now managed to calm everyone down.
"Sect Leader, what happened? Was a Spirit Emperor Powerhouse here for revenge?" Seeing Tian Ao rush back, the Elders immediately went up to him and asked anxiously. The disciples below also grew tense when they heard an intruder had come.
Seeing the nervous looks on the Elders’ and disciples’ faces, Tian Ao waved his hand dismissively. With a slightly awkward expression, he said, "It’s fine. There wasn’t any Spirit Emperor Powerhouse."
"Then the back mountain...?" Hearing Tian Ao’s words, the Elders and the disciples below were stunned and asked in confusion.
"That was just Shen Haoran practicing a Martial Skill in the back mountain. He lost control for a moment, and that’s what caused it!" Tian Ao said helplessly, rubbing his forehead.
"What? It was caused by Shen Haoran practicing a Martial Skill in the back mountain?" Hearing Tian Ao’s words, the Elders and disciples were utterly shocked, their expressions a sight to behold. For a disciple’s practice to cause such a huge commotion, just how powerful must that Martial Skill be? Moreover, to cultivate such an abnormal Martial Skill, how formidable must his own strength be? For a moment, no one dared to let their thoughts run any further.
"Oh, right. Weren’t you all looking to challenge Shen Haoran? I’ll go get him right now!" Tian Ao said loudly, looking at the disciples below as if he’d just remembered something.
Hearing Tian Ao’s words, the older disciples below looked a little awkward. They quickly waved their hands and said, "Sect Leader, you must have misheard. Junior Shen has such high cultivation at such a young age, and his courage is extraordinary. Of course he’s worthy of the spot. Why would we object?"
"Yes, yes, yes! We all agree that Junior Shen doesn’t need to participate in the competition for the spots and can advance directly. The decision of the Sect Leader and the Elder Council is definitely not wrong!"
"We agree too!"
Hearing that Tian Ao was going to bring Shen Haoran over to compete with them, the disciples participating in the competition for the spots quickly waved their hands and spoke up, having long since thrown their earlier disdainful remarks about Shen Haoran to the back of their minds.
"Are you sure?" Tian Ao asked teasingly, looking at this group of disciples who changed their tunes faster than flipping through a book.
"Certain! Absolutely certain!" the disciples shouted in unison, their voices exceptionally resonant. Are you kidding? After hearing Shen Haoran’s terrifying roar, who would still dare to fight him? The blast was that powerful even from so far away; what would it be like to face him directly? Hadn’t they seen how he’d nearly flattened the back mountain? Were their bodies tougher than a mountain peak? These disciples couldn’t care about their pride right now; saving their necks was more important...
"Alright then. Since you all agree, I now declare the competition for the spots officially open! Everyone, show me your full strength!" Tian Ao shouted to the now exceptionally well-behaved disciples.
Afterward, the competition for the spots began in earnest. It had to be said, these disciples were truly worthy of being the Elite Disciples of the Celestial Spirit Sect. Once they entered a combat state, they quickly forgot the earlier incident and threw themselves wholeheartedly into battle. These disciples did not disappoint, displaying formidable strength and putting on a truly stunning spectacle of combat that ignited the passion in the chests of those not strong enough to participate!
The competition for the spots lasted a full three days before finally coming to a perfect conclusion. The eight spots were also decided. What was most surprising was that of the seemingly powerful older disciples, only one made the cut. The rest were all new disciples. Murong Wanqing also snatched a spot, but Han Xu’s luck was a bit worse. He ran into a Tier Nine Spirit Marquis, an older disciple, and despite fighting with all his might, he was regrettably defeated...
The final eight spots went to Xu Lin, Murong Wanqing, an older disciple named Zhang Hua, Ling Feng, and the remaining four were all recently risen new disciples whose strengths were between Tier Eight Spirit Marquis and Tier Nine Spirit Marquis.
As evening fell, Shen Haoran finally returned from the back mountain. After ten days of cultivation, he had finally reached the Minor Achievement stage with Broken Soul. At the very least, he could now freely control its power.
In truth, with Broken Soul, louder wasn’t better, nor was greater destructive power the goal. Within the Soul Shattering Celestial Assault, the function of Broken Soul was control—to silently control the enemy while Celestial Assault delivered the killing blow. Therefore, Broken Soul was more like a hidden Sharp Sword thrusting directly into the opponent’s soul. Naturally, the more silent this Sharp Sword, the better. While the first time Shen Haoran had unleashed it, the sound had been immense and the destruction extreme, that was only effective against ordinary disciples. Anyone with a modicum of strength could react and find a way to block it. Experts from the Hidden Dragon List like Xue Shitian and Jian Wushuang would absolutely be able to defend against it.
Because of this, Shen Haoran had been constantly compressing the intensity of Broken Soul ever since. After several days of attempts, he finally succeeded. The current Broken Soul still caused a considerable commotion, but its attack speed was now countless times faster than before. Shen Haoran was confident that even experts like Xue Shitian would have a hard time reacting to it now. He had finally added another trump card to his arsenal, giving him a greater guarantee of success for the trip to the Desert Ancient City.
When Shen Haoran returned to Hua yuan, he learned the results of the competition for the spots. He could only comfort Han Xu and tell him not to be too discouraged. After all, there would be other opportunities, and the trip to the Desert Ancient City wasn’t an absolute must.
In the end, with everyone’s consolation, Han Xu finally came to terms with it. All in all, his strength was still insufficient; otherwise, he definitely would have been able to fight for one of the spots for the Desert Ancient City. After this incident, Han Xu went into a frenzy of closed-door training. Seeing this, Shen Haoran and the others could finally rest assured.
After the competition for the spots ended, the time to enter the Desert Ancient City drew closer and closer. On the night before their departure, all the disciples were too excited to sleep. The Desert Ancient City was the largest Secret Realm in the entire Northern Domain! Finding even a single treasure inside could allow one to soar to the heavens.
Shen Haoran, of course, was among them. The news that the Earth Spirit Profound Nether was in the Desert Ancient City was a monumental blessing for him. Two years after devouring the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, he had finally received news of another of the Heaven and Earth Spirits. The last time he devoured the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, his body had undergone an earth-shattering transformation, and one-fifth of his Chaos Divine Body had awakened. ’I wonder to what extent my strength will grow after I devour the Earth Spirit Profound Nether this time?’
At this thought, Shen Haoran’s body couldn’t help but tremble. ’I’m getting stronger step by step. That means I’m getting closer and closer to my mother and Ji Lingxuan.’
Shen Haoran raised his head to gaze at the bright moon hanging high in the sky, a silent roar echoing in his heart. ’Wait for me. I’ll definitely get you out!’
The night passed quickly amidst the disciples’ excitement. At the crack of dawn the next day, the disciples of the Celestial Spirit Sect poured out of their dwellings and gathered in the plaza once more. Today was the day they would depart for the Desert Ancient City. Excitement was written on every disciple’s face. Everyone looked full of spirit; the sleepless night seemed to have had little effect on them, and if anything, had only made them even more thrilled...
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