King of Ten Thousand Years

The elimination tournament was in full swing.

Jiang Daoyun was also a prominent genius. He remained undefeated, having easily crushed all his opponents.

”Brother Jiang, I just got word! Luo Tian defeated Dissection Saber, who’s on the Spirit List of the Seventy-Two!”

A heavy-set young man spoke up.

Both Jiang Daoyun and the heavy-set youth were geniuses nurtured by the Celestial Ring Alliance.

”Dissection Saber?”

”Excellent. If Luo Tian defeated Dissection Saber, he must be grievously injured!”

A savage sneer crept onto Jiang Daoyun’s face.

He immediately used his Celestial Ring Alliance Identity Token to send a message to his contacts: ”Whoever can provide Luo Tian’s exact whereabouts will receive a reward of two thousand Spiritual Essence Coins!”

In the Celestial Ring Alliance, interests reigned supreme.

Two thousand Spiritual Essence Coins just for providing a clue? The geniuses of the Celestial Ring Alliance had no reason to refuse such a good deal.

Geniuses from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, Purple Luo Hall, and Bishui Palace had all been defeated by Luo Tian, who plundered every last wisp of their Celestial Fate Qi.

Combined with the astonishing amount of Celestial Fate Qi Luo Tian already possessed, he had naturally drawn the attention of these factions.

’Where is Luo Tian? All the Celestial Fate Qi he has is mine!’

’I have to snatch his Celestial Fate Qi before the other factions find him!’

The three major sects also sprang into action.

Purple Luo Hall and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, in particular, were paying close attention to Luo Tian, their interest fanned by the Purple-clothed Demon and the Spirit Flower Dual Swords.

Luo Tian could easily deduce all of this.

The situation was gradually turning against him.

The elimination tournament still held many powerful opponents, and to make matters worse, people could form teams.

In the beginning, with the Celestial Fate Qi scattered about, most people had acted alone.

Now that most of the scattered Celestial Fate Qi had been gathered, collection had given way to plunder, and solo operations had turned into team efforts.

Just moments ago, a five-man team had approached him. Since they were led by someone at the Half-step Earth Element Realm, Luo Tian had chosen to avoid them.

”Luo Tian, come join our team!”

A message came through his Identity Token. It was from Cheng Wanli.

”No thanks!”

Luo Tian messaged back, declining the offer.

”You’re refusing? You brat, can’t you see what’s going on? It’s safer to be in a team! Besides, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, Purple Luo Hall, Bishui Palace, and the Celestial Ring Alliance are all after you!”

If Luo Tian joined the Yunxiao Sect’s team, he would undoubtedly be much safer.

But Luo Tian refused again, leaving Cheng Wanli completely baffled.

WHOOSH!

Luo Tian activated the Wind Manipulation Technique, transforming into an elegant gust of wind that vanished in a flash as he sped into the distance.

His actions caught the attention of many spectators.

At this stage of the competition, the more dazzling a contestant’s Genius Order, the more attention they received.

Luo Tian was one such contestant. As a dark horse, many people were rooting for him.

But right now, they couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t team up with the other Yunxiao Sect disciples. Wandering around alone, he was bound to run into a powerful enemy.

However, Luo Tian didn’t encounter anyone on his path.

He arrived at the edge of the arena, sat down, and began to practice his Cultivation.

”What the hell? What’s with this kid? He’s not teaming up or plundering Celestial Fate Qi, he’s just hiding here to cultivate!”

”Maybe he suffered an internal injury from all those intense battles earlier. He’s probably spent!”

”Looks to me like the kid is just scared and hiding!”

Luo Tian once again became the subject of heated debate.

The Celestial Fate Qi at the edges of the arena had long been collected, so few people lingered there. The vast majority of geniuses were active in the central zone, competing fiercely and giving it their all.

Many spectators were utterly disdainful of Luo Tian’s evasive behavior.

The people who had been following Luo Tian gradually lost interest and turned their attention to other geniuses and dark horses.

However, a small portion of the audience believed he was just recovering from his injuries and would surely return to the battlefield soon. They held on to a sliver of hope.

...

Luo Tian took out a few Spiritual Essence Coins and began his Cultivation, circulating the Guiyuan True Skill.

His goal remained clear: to place in the top twenty of the Celestial Pride Conference.

For Luo Tian, this elimination tournament was merely a stepping stone toward that goal.

After a series of battles, he felt the need to calm down, reflect on his experiences, and stabilize his Cultivation in order to properly increase his strength.

HUUU... HUUU...

A vast vortex of Spiritual Qi formed around him. The Spiritual Essence Coins in his hand swiftly dimmed and crumbled into dust.

Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from all directions was drawn into his body. After several full circulatory cycles, it merged with his True Qi and flowed into his Qi Sea.

His Eighth-Layer Spirit Sea Vortex began to slowly rotate.

It had originally been only thirty-five percent complete. But after Luo Tian cultivated for just one hour, it reached forty percent. His cultivation speed was astonishingly fast.

Half a day passed in a flash.

The completion of his Eighth-Layer Spirit Sea Vortex reached forty-five percent.

At this point, his rate of Cultivation began to slow.

Luo Tian stopped circulating the Guiyuan True Skill. He took out a piece of Celestial Yin Jade, activated his Nether Dragon Divine Vein, and began to draw out the Yin Cold Power from within it.

「On the tournament grounds.」

The geniuses from the Three Major Sects, as well as the Celestial Ring Alliance, were all searching for any trace of Luo Tian.

But it was as if Luo Tian had vanished into thin air; there wasn’t a single clue to his whereabouts.

”Could he have run into one of the top fifty geniuses on the Spirit List, been seriously injured, and gotten eliminated?”

Someone speculated.

As time went on, these factions gradually gave up their search for Luo Tian.

By the second day of the elimination tournament, there was still no news of Luo Tian. Even Jiang Daoyun was about to give up his search.

To him, the Celestial Pride Conference was more important than revenge.

Within the arena, the fight for Celestial Fate Qi grew increasingly fierce.

The various geniuses discovered something.

The faint golden starlight seemed to be automatically drawn to living creatures.

Some of the local Demon Beasts had absorbed a significant amount of Celestial Fate Qi. This was especially true for the Earth Level Demon Beasts, whose vigorous qi and blood exerted a powerful pull on the Celestial Fate Qi.

This meant that killing Demon Beasts was another way to obtain a large amount of Celestial Fate Qi.

”CAW CAW CAW! Why is there so much Celestial Fate Qi here? This is good stuff!”

”Although this god’s luck is already astonishing, my fortune as vast as the heavens, I don’t mind a little more.”

There was faint golden starlight high in the sky as well. Being able to fly, the Crow had swallowed a great deal of Celestial Fate Qi, and its entire body now radiated a golden light, looking incredibly flashy.

But because of this, it had also attracted the attention of the contestants.

”If we kill that Crow, we can take its Celestial Fate Qi!”

A genius below roared.

The elimination tournament was entering its final stage.

The many geniuses at the Half-step Earth Element Realm fought frequently, and the large-scale battles between teams were even more chaotic.

The green-robed woman and the yellow-robed man, two Earth Element Realm geniuses from the Ten Hidden Families, also made their moves frequently. They crushed their opponents with absolute power, becoming the most dazzling figures in the elimination tournament.

Explosive new topics emerged one after another, as did new dark horses!

The number of golden lights gradually dwindled. Meanwhile, the Tokens of the most powerful geniuses grew ever more brilliant, shining like beacons in the night.

Occasionally, someone would remember Luo Tian, the dark horse who had once been a leader in the top tier.

But now, Luo Tian was still hiding at the edge of the arena, the starlight on his Genius Order about to dim enough to drop him into the second tier.

「In the spectator stands.」

The upper echelons of the Yunxiao Sect glanced at Luo Tian, their expressions souring.

”What is the matter with this Luo Tian?”

”Is he still not going to make a move? Has he fallen asleep?”

The Yunxiao Sect leadership was quite dissatisfied with Luo Tian’s behavior.

The Celestial Pride Conference was such a rare opportunity. All the other geniuses were fighting fiercely, yet he was just hiding off to the side.

Luo Tian wasn’t just losing face for himself; he was losing face for the Yunxiao Sect.

”This boy is treating the Celestial Pride Conference like a joke! With such a lack of initiative, he’s doomed to achieve nothing great!”

The Third Elder chided.

Gradually, the Yunxiao Sect leadership couldn’t even be bothered to watch Luo Tian anymore.

The elimination tournament soon neared its third day.

「Outside a swamp.」

The two prominent Earth Element Realm geniuses stood quietly.

”Song Luyao, in this entire elimination tournament, you and I are the only two at the Earth Element Realm!”

The yellow-robed man said with a faint smile.

”So what?”

The green-robed woman, Song Luyao, remained impassive.

”Only you are worthy of being my opponent.”

The yellow-robed man’s face was a mask of arrogance.

The implication was clear: aside from Song Luyao, he looked down on every other genius in the tournament.

”There’s a Triangular Viper at the Peak of Earth Element Realm First Layer in this swamp. Let’s use it to decide who is superior!”

The yellow-robed man’s eyes gleamed.

”I’d be happy to oblige!”

Song Luyao transformed into a streak of green light and shot into the swamp first.

The yellow-robed man followed right behind her.

The next moment, a heaven-shaking, baleful roar erupted from within the swamp.

BOOM! RUMBLE!

The battle between the three Earth Element Realm beings was terrifying. Shockwaves and explosions shot into the sky, alerting everyone in the vicinity.

Several teams were hiding nearby.

The elimination tournament was in its final phase. Besides plundering Celestial Fate Qi from others, the only option left was to kill the powerful Demon Beasts in the area.

That Triangular Viper at the Peak of Earth Element Realm First Layer was a major prize that had gathered an immense amount of Celestial Fate Qi, but no one had dared to challenge it.

”We’ll wait until they’ve worn each other down, then we charge in!”

”Stay sharp. The team from Bishui Palace is watching this spot too.”

...

「Meanwhile.」

Elsewhere, another great battle was unfolding to hunt down a Demon Beast.

”CAW CAW CAW! You ants dare to hunt this god? You must be tired of living!”

A crow, gleaming with golden light, flapped its wings frantically.

Below, a total of thirty-four geniuses were in hot pursuit, unleashing a sky-blotting barrage of attacks at the crow.

But the Crow’s luck was incredible. It managed to dodge many of the most threatening attacks, suffering only minor injuries as it continued to flee for its life.

”Damn it, what is with this Crow?”

A man holding a folding fan said with a frown.

His Cultivation was at the Half-step Earth Element Realm, making him one of the top experts in his team.

Yet every time he attacked, he couldn’t land a hit. In contrast, some of those whose Cultivation was only at the Eighth or Ninth Layer were performing surprisingly well, occasionally managing to injure the Crow.

”There’s something freaky about this Crow. It doesn’t look strong, but it’s held out against our pursuit for this long!”

Another man, a one-armed giant, said with a focused gaze.

No one was giving up.

The amount of Celestial Fate Qi on the Crow was simply too great; it looked like a small, golden sun.

”We have to finish it off quickly, before any other strong teams show up!”

The one-armed giant said grimly.

His team and the folding fan man’s team were the strongest among the group.

If they could just kill the Crow, they would be able to split the massive amount of Celestial Fate Qi.

...

「At the edge of the arena.」

Thirty percent of the Yin Cold Essence from the second piece of Celestial Yin Jade in Luo Tian’s hand had been absorbed.

The area for dozens of meters around him was covered in frost. Flowers and grass had withered, completely devoid of life.

HUUU...

Luo Tian let out a long breath and opened his eyes, drawing all the surrounding cold qi back into his body.

’The Divine Vein Power has grown a bit stronger!’

Furthermore, his Cultivation had also advanced considerably. The completion of his Eighth-Layer Spirit Sea Vortex had reached fifty percent.

In addition, he had gained new insights into the Nine Heavens Sword Technique, Wind Manipulation Technique, and Celestial Sword Technique.

Luo Tian’s overall strength had increased significantly.

’The elimination tournament is almost over. I can still find a few more people to test my skills against!’

Luo Tian placed the Celestial Yin Jade back into his Storage Ring.

Just then, the sounds of a fight erupted in the distance, and several figures began to approach his position.