Chapter 206: Chapter 206: Our Good Fortune
After the fifth tier of the Qi Absorption Realm, it was soon time for the prodigies of the sixth tier to take the stage.
In the crowd, a few gazes were exceptionally heavy.
"I haven’t seen Xiaole."
The second master of the Golden Phoenix Tower said.
"There are too many people, perhaps he’ll show up at the Heart Inquiry Tower."
Meng Qi’s mind was a bit disordered.
By now, he was afraid that no power in the Cloud Triangle would be as anxious as they were.
According to their estimation, Shi Xiaole’s cultivation was most likely between the fourth and fifth tiers of Qi Absorption. There was only a two or three percent chance that he could be in the sixth tier, let alone the seventh.
After all, just over half a year ago, he was only at the fourth tier of Qi Absorption.
So, when all those in the fifth tier finished their test and Shi Xiaole had not appeared, the people from the Golden Phoenix Tower started to get uneasy.
"Maybe he’s still behind."
The third master said.
As the rounds went by, the test for the prodigies of the sixth tier of Qi Absorption ended, and eventually, six hundred and twenty-three successfully made it to the Heart Inquiry Tower.
"Still no sight of him."
The second master was stunned and retracted his gaze.
He had long since let go of his desire for the position of the tower master, and naturally he wished that Shi Xiaole would be as powerful as possible. To say that he was not disappointed with this result would be a lie.
Su Yanru’s charming face was extremely calm, only in her enchanting eyes, there was a hint of loneliness and worry, she stood in the same spot without saying a word.
"Seventh tier of Qi Absorption."
Upon hearing this, the dozens of top sect masters, including those familiar with the rules present, all perked up.
In the annual Heroes Competition, few people exceeded the seventh tier of Qi Absorption. It could be said that from the third tier onwards, many people had the potential to make it onto the list.
But this year was different.
Based on the situation from the previous rounds, nearly eight hundred people who had made it to the Heart Inquiry Tower before were not any worse than geniuses who made the list last time. And among those who made the list last time, many competitors who were not older than twenty-five had not yet made their appearance.
Moreover, who knows if there would be any new geniuses to watch out for.
Therefore, this year’s Heroes Competition was actually about to start with the appearance of this batch of competitors. The prodigious fifth and sixth tiers of Qi Absorption from the previous rounds, despite being impressive, would probably not rank too highly even if they made the list.
"The competition is even more intense than we thought."
The master of Snow Listening Mountain Villa could not help but comment.
"There’s going to be a good show this year."
The garden owner from one of the eight major sects, Spring Everywhere, took a deep breath and laughed.
As they spoke, figure after figure flew onto the platform. Each of them had a stern demeanor and a calm aura, all were under twenty-five and had reached the seventh tier of Qi Absorption.
"Is this even possible?"
"The seventh tier of Qi Absorption is a threshold. In the past Heroes Competitions, it was good to have seven or eight participants in this category. Why are there so many this year, not less than five or six hundred?"
The crowd was dumbfounded, and the buzz of discussion and exclamations instantly rolled over the entire mountain range.
Compared to the vast platform, five or six hundred people did look scarce, occupying only a corner of the space. But these people were like shining stars, attracting even more and more fanatic attention than the several tens of thousands of geniuses in the fifth and sixth tiers of Qi Absorption from the previous rounds.
"Do you see that, it’s my Big Senior Brother from our Golden Saber Sect, he ranked thirty-second last time!"
"Hahahaha, Big Senior Sister rank second on the last edition, she has improved a lot this time, making the top fifteen is hopeful!"
"These are the real heroes of our Qingxue State."
Countless people laughed loudly.
On the platform, the five or six hundred people were also not calm. They looked at each other, assessing each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
Just like the others, they knew that apart from a few that had not yet appeared, the people on stage were their biggest competitors.
"Chen Jinhua, I lost to you last time, but this time I want to redeem myself."
One of the young men’s eyes were as sharp as knives, quickly spotting his target.
"Redemption, let’s see if you have the ability."
The young man named Chen Jinhua snorted coldly, an invisible aura exploded out from him, like a roaring tiger.
Yes, aura.
In the world of martial artists, it’s commonly accepted that only those on the ninth tier of Qi Absorption can form their own aura. But that’s only relative to ordinary people.
For them, geniuses, rules are made to be broken.
"Lin Xuanyuan, nice to meet you."
Elsewhere, a young man dressed in green smiled faintly. A chilling murderous aura rolled off of him, making people shudder.
"Your aura is useless against me."
With his hands behind his back, a powerful aura that dominated the earth and heaven burst out from Lin Xuanyuan, instantly dispelling the murderous aura.
"Those who aren’t qualified should step down."
In the middle of the field, a young man whose pupils took up three-fifths of his eyes scanned around casually. Those far away who met his gaze felt as if their souls were being ripped away.
Many more young people found their old rivals from the last competition and quietly competed against each other.
All of a sudden, all kinds of terrifying and rampant auras shot up to the sky, rushing and roaring like wild beasts, causing a tempest of raging wind. The spectators watched in amazement and fright, their eyes wide and tongues tied.
In front of the Heart Inquiry Tower, nearly eight hundred prodigies waiting there had frozen expressions, deeply realizing the gap between themselves and the others.
"Kid, you think you can stay out of this?"
The young man with strange pupils continuously hunted for targets. Suddenly, he spotted someone without an opponent and immediately set his sights on them, his eyes full of delight.
The young man in blue turned around and recklessly met his gaze.
"Kneel."
The young man with the strange pupils spun his pupils slowly, more for entertainment than anything else.
A formless illusion aura spread out and surged into the blue-clothed young man’s eyes. However, in the next moment, it was like a clay ox into the sea, leaving no trace or impact.
"Huh?"
The young man with strange pupils looked surprised before he started to laugh: "This newcomer is interesting, I hope you can climb to the Hero’s Mountain."
There are many more surprised than he is.
"Young Master!"
Meng Qi shouted, his gaze seemed to freeze.
The others from the Golden Phoenix Tower couldn’t remain calm either, they looked suspiciously at the calm young man in blue standing on the platform. Could he be an impersonator?
"Lele!"
Su Yanru was so excited that her body trembled, her mind blank, her lips only able to utter these two words.
"Xiaole."
"Junior Brother."
The shouts came from the disciples of the Huajian Sect.
"How can he appear in the ranks of the Seventh Tier of the Qi Absorption Realm?"
Yue Xunxian shouted, his expression filled with disbelief.
The first time they met two years ago, Shi Xiaole was only at the seventh tier of the Hidden Qi. Now he has actually become at the seventh tier of the Qi Absorption Realm. Can someone tell him what happened in these two years?
"Shi Xiaole."
Zhu Ling uttered these words deeply, with a complex expression on her face.
The Sect Master and the Grand Elder of the Truth Sword Sect looked at each other and froze, unable to believe it.
They thought Shi Xiaole was only at the fifth tier of the Qi Absorption Realm, and might have even been eliminated. But he waited until the Qi Absorption Realm reached the seventh tier, and then he appeared, this, this...
"This damned kid!"
The Suzerain of the Iron Bone Sect, Zhou Yilou, clenched his fists so hard they creaked. God knows what kind of shock he felt when he saw Shi Xiaole.
If he remember correctly, barely more than half a year ago, the latter was at the third stage of the Qi Absorption Realm. Could he have consumed some heavenly treasures?
"He gave us another surprise. Yan’er is only at the sixth tier of the Qi Absorption Realm."
Including Shangguan Xing and the Grand Elder, everyone in Will Sect was also shocked. But beyond their surprise, there was more joy.
After all, Shi Xiaole got along well with them, the better he performed, the better.
"This is really unexpected."
The Three Flower Ladies were standing on a big tree. Their attention was focused on ’Mr. Handsome’ Pan Yue, but when they saw Shi Xiaole, all three of them couldn’t remain composed.
"It seems that he is very lucky and has encountered a great opportunity."
Madam Silver Flower giggled.
"Even if he has obtained a great opportunity, his foundation is not solid. In just half a year, his martial arts realm definitely can’t catch up to his Qi Realm. He is just putting on a show."
After being startled for a moment, Madam Jade Flower sneered disdainfully.
"No matter what, he is still a character."
Madam Gold Flower was also smiling, but differently from the other two. She always felt that Shi Xiaole was not that simple.
"Bastard."
On the platform, a red-dressed girl was also greatly affected, staring intently at Shi Xiaole without blinking, unable to comprehend.
She was Xu Nianxue.
No matter how Xu Nianxue thought about it, she couldn’t imagine that Shi Xiaole would appear here, standing on the same stage with her. She thought the incident at the Astonishing Dragon Castle was their last encounter. After all, they were not from the same world and shouldn’t have had any intersection.
"Even if you used some method, forcefully raising your strength to this level, when you meet me, I will still make you understand the true power."
Xu Nianxue moved her gaze away, no longer paying attention.
Shi Xiaole didn’t care about the attention of countless people around him.
The five to six hundred people on the field were indeed considered elite talents of the Qingxue State, but unfortunately, his strength had already reached a higher level.
At least among these people present, there was no one that he saw as a threat, at most a few individuals would catch his eye from time to time.
"Begin."
With the command of the ruler of the Asura Mansion, the elites on the field stopped their probing and raced towards the Heart Inquiry Lake.
For ordinary people, this was a test that they could only complete with their full efforts, but for them, the question was not whether they could complete it, but who would complete it first.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Hundreds of figures took to the air, some shooting straight forward, some making sideway maneuvers, their moves varied. They all reached the Heart Inquiry Tower one after another without falling into the water.
Shi Xiaole didn’t want to stand out, so he followed the regulations and joined the second batch.
After them, it was the turn for the prodigies of the Eighth Tier of the Qi Absorption Realm.
What was astonishing was that there were as many as eight people at this level.
It should be known that the Seventh Tier of the Qi Absorption Realm was a watershed. Before that, they could struggle to advance one tier in a year, but afterwards, they might not be able to advance one tier even in two to three years.
"These eight people, if placed in the previous rounds, all have the potential to fight for the first place."
"Eight of the top fifteen in this round have basically been reserved by them."
The surprise of the crowd grew higher and higher with each wave.
A quick improvement in cultivation level didn’t mean that one’s aptitude would definitely be high, but it generally followed this rule. And considering their small age difference, these eight people seemed to be more talented than the previous five to six hundred people.
Therefore, it’d be unlikely for anyone to overtake others from a lower rank.
Unless there were some individuals who were particularly outstanding and were significantly younger than the average.
"Ninth Tier Qi Absorption."
As the ruler of the Asura Mansion made his voice heard, another four people distinguished themselves from the crowd.
This time, even the eight prodigies of the Eighth Tier of the Qi Absorption Realm looked serious.
"My god, it’s been many years since a Ninth Tier Qi Absorption prodigy under 25 has appeared in Qingxue State. And this time, there are four?"
"The prosperity of this round is definitely the best in hundreds of years! We don’t know how many years we have to wait to see such an event again. To witness such a grand occasion is really our luck!"
