The Prodigies War
Chapter 1879: First Selection Round

After quietly watching for a long time, Lin Xun also headed into the magnificent palace.

“Entry fee: one thousand dao crystals,” said a man guarding the entrance in a deep voice.

Lin Xun tossed him a storage bag. The man briefly scanned it before putting it away and handing a white jade token to Lin Xun.

The man waved his hand. “Take this token into the hall to register and take your test. You can move along. Next.”

Inside the hall was a whole other world as it was extremely spacious.

There were already many people standing inside, each of them appearing extraordinary. There were also some experts of the older generations among this crowd who exuded a different kind of might.

When Lin Xun entered, many gazes swept over.

Any ordinary person would have been scared out of their wits.

Lin Xun, on the other hand, acted as though he was completely oblivious as he calmly walked toward the center of the hall.

Here, there was a desk with seven figures sitting properly behind it. They all emitted a unique air of the quasi-Emperor Stage.

They were experts from each of the seven major lineages of Cloud State who were here to assess the participants.

Elder Hong Yu of Xuanji Dao Sect was among them.

Upon seeing Lin Xun, his pupils constricted slightly. He wanted to get up and greet him, but in the end, he held back and only nodded at Lin Xun imperceptibly.

“Place your hand on the Spirit Appraisal Pearl,” said a red-robed, white-haired old man in a deep voice.

On the desk was a fist-sized, crystalline spirit pearl that flowed with chaos light.

Lin Xun rested his palm on it.

In that second, he keenly sensed the eyes of many people in the hall falling on him.

Or rather, they were looking at the Spirit Appraisal Pearl.

Buzz!

The crystal-clear pearl surged with radiant light and gradually reflected golden runes in the air. Vaguely, one could hear the sound of a sage chanting sutras.

“Another supreme Saint-King!”

“It’s alright, he’s only at the intermediate level, not too strong.”

“You say that, but anyone who’s on the supreme path has extraordinary depths. If possible, it’s best that we can avoid a fight with them.”

In an instant, many experts in the hall revealed pondering looks, but there were also some who dismissed it and withdrew their gazes.

As for top-class famous geniuses like Chu Qiu and Gu Jianxing, they never even bothered paying Lin Xun any attention.

The most intuitive way to judge the strength of a cultivator was the level of their cultivation.

Obviously, an intermediate supreme Saint-King couldn't even be taken seriously by those like them who were at the top of the stage.

Noticing the changes in everyone’s gaze, Lin Xun realized why these people chose to stay here after they had registered.

The purpose was to observe the cultivation levels of other participants through the Spirit Appraisal Pearl, so that they could identify potential rivals and prepare in advance.

“Alright.” The red-robed, white-haired old man behind the desk nodded, then took Lin Xun’s white jade token and asked, “Name?”

“Jin Duyi,” replied Lin Xun.

Many people in the hall revealed a puzzled look. Jin Duyi…who is this guy?

Only Hong Yu knew, but how could he possibly tell them?

A month ago, a powerful group from Phantasm Empyrean Island had visited Xuanji Dao Sect to challenge their core disciples. They had ended up leaving after a crushing defeat at Lin Xun’s hands and hadn’t publicized the matter after that.

After all, it was Phantasm Empyrean Island that had lost face. How could they let the world know of their scandal?

Even until the end, they didn’t even know who Jin Duyi, the person that had defeated She Zi and She Ling, really was.

Meanwhile, Heng Xiao had soon issued an order that no one in Xuanji Dao Sect would divulge this matter, and no one dared to violate it.

This was why Lin Xun had the confidence to enroll as Jin Duyi.

The identity of Yu Xuan could not be used as it had already caused a huge commotion in Qing State. It was fortunate that ‘Jin Duyi’ remained to be a safe alternative.

After all, this name actually belonged to Toady and had nothing to do with the Imperial Jintian Clan.

“Origin?” the red-robed old man continued to ask while inscribing Lin Xun’s information into the token, which would be his credential in the Dao Debate Contest of Cloud State.

“Unaffiliated.”

When Lin Xun said this, many people were visibly surprised. An unaffiliated cultivator was able to become a supreme Saint-King?

This was truly rarely seen.

However, many of them also became relaxed. It was common thinking that there was nothing to worry about an unaffiliated cultivator even if they offended the other party.

Only Hong Yu sneered inside. If these fellows really think they can dismiss Jin Duyi because he’s a lone cultivator, then they cannot be more wrong!

“Be present at the Fierce Wind Show Arena for the first selection round five days from now. If you fail to do so, you will be disqualified.” The red-robed old man returned the white jade token to Lin Xun.

“Thank you.” Lin Xun accepted the token. Reading it with his spirit sense, he saw his image as well as an attached list of his information.

He carefully put it away as this token would also be a key item for his participation in the Dao Debate Assembly later.

“Wait, Little Friend,” the blue-clad woman sitting next to Hong Yu suddenly called out to Lin Xun.

Her voice was gentle, “You are so young, yet you possess such extraordinary attainments in the path of dao. Are you interested in joining our Cloud Star Sect?”

Many participants were surprised upon hearing this. Cloud Star Sect was ranked second among all lineages in Cloud State. Xie Yuhua, who was currently a supreme heaven pride known throughout the state, was a disciple of this ancient sect.

Apparently, the blue-clad woman was interested in the unaffiliated Jin Duyi!

“I’m sorry. I’m used to roaming freely by myself.” Lin Xun shook his head and humbly declined.

A good number of people felt his decision to be a pity and showed it on their faces.

Cloud Star Sect was a lineage that not just any cultivator could join. Also, becoming its disciple meant one could just skip the first round of selections and go straight into the second round!

“Alright, but if you have any intention of joining a sect in the future, you can always come to replace me.”

The blue-clad woman wasn’t one bit angry after her offer was declined and instead issued another invitation.

This actually made many people rethink their evaluation of Lin Xun one more time.

Even Lin Xun himself was caught off guard a little and smiled wryly in his heart. Didn’t think I’d still be treated differently as a small unaffiliated cultivator.

“Alright.” He gave her a nod before leaving the hall.

After Lin Xun was out of sight, the blue-clad woman said, “Since this Dao Debate is also an opportunity to select potential talents for our sects, we are destined to replace many, many of them. So I implore you, my fellows, please don’t compete with me over Jin Duyi.”

Hearing this, the other quasi-Emperors at the desk revealed different expressions.

Just as the blue-clad woman had said, this contest was not only to decide who would be sent to the Dao Debate Assembly, but also for the major sects to pick out outstanding cultivators through heavy screening.

It would naturally be best if they could absorb such talents into their own sects!

In order to stand tall with time, every ancient lineage constantly needed new blood.

Unfortunately, Hong Yu was the only one here who knew that the blue-clad woman was likely going to be disappointed.

……

After signing up, Lin Xun found an inn and holed up in there. Time quietly passed as he remained uninterested in the hustle and bustle of the outside world.

Fierce Wind City kept getting more and more dynamic over the next few days. Word had it that the price for a ticket to the first round in Fierce Wind Show Arena had been inflated to one hundred thousand dao crystals.

On top of that, it was very difficult to buy one.

The market also began to circulate a list of the strongest participants, on which their names, origins, cultivation levels, etc. were displayed in a way that anyone could understand at a glance.

In particular, top outstanding names like Chu Qiu and Gu Jianxing were put at the most eye-catching positions.

Lists like that were sold for ten thousand dao crystals each!

At the same time, all big casinos in Fierce Wind City started getting busy. Anyone who was interested could bet on or against any participant of the first selection round.

This instantly attracted many cultivators. It was said that within just a day, the amount of cumulative dao crystals from the betting had reached eighty million!

Lin Xun had never paid any attention to all of this.

When he was alone, he was either cultivating or studying the All-Inclusive Plant Index. His state of mind was peaceful and transcendent.

On the fifth day after the registration, in Fierce Wind Show Arena.

This arena was like a mini world covered in ancient restrictive arrays.

Eighteen rings that looked like eighteen floating islands were suspended in the center

When Lin Xun arrived, the audience seats all around the arena had been filled. Everywhere one laid eyes on were silhouettes, and all the ear could hear was a sky-shaking hubbub.

This unprecedentedly bustling scene was a novelty for even Lin Xun.

Holding the ‘Participant Token,’ he was quickly brought to an open area by a valet designated for the task.

This was the selection area, where all of those who had signed up for the contest would wait.

At this point in time, many participants of all genders, races, and ages had gathered here as they sat or stood based on their personalities. There were outstanding talents of the younger generations, as well as ruthless menaces of the older generations who could call the wind and summon the rain.

There were at least over a thousand people here!

In other words, this area alone had gathered over a thousand Saint-King experts!

Among them, there was no lack of supreme Saint-Kings!

Even Lin Xun was shaken by this.

In the Ancient Wasteland Domain, a Saint-King was already the strongest pillar of a lineage and was hardly ever seen.

Now, in Fierce Wind City, which was merely one of the thousands of cities in Cloud State, which was only one of the forty-nine states of the Primordial Chaos World, over a thousand Saint-Kings were present. It was simply as grand as a spectacle could be!

As a matter of fact, not only Lin Xun, but every other person also felt their hearts racing.

An event of this scale was something that only happened once in ten thousand years for the whole Cloud State. It was the first time that the vast majority of people here had seen something like this as well.

There was only one reason for this: the Dao Debate Assembly hosted by the Great Six Courts together had made too much noise.

Not just in Cloud State, but similar unprecedented events were also unfolding one after another in all the other forty-eight states of the Primordial Chaos World.

Even numerous supreme overlords from other starry worlds outside had come in order to participate.

And by sheer chance, Lin Xun was able to be present at the right time to witness the curtains of such a grand event being drawn!

Ding dong~

Before long, the majestic sound of a bell echoed. It vibrated through the entire Fierce Wind Show Arena, suppressing all the other noises.

At that instant, everything fell into utter silence as a solemn atmosphere took over.