Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Chapter 146: 146 Yun Xiao’s sign number

”Outer Disciples who haven’t drawn their numbers, please come forward to draw!”

Watching the expressions of the disciples, Su He felt a mix of amusement and resignation, but he did not pay much attention. Such occurrences were just minor interruptions that happened every year. After he spoke, the remaining Outer Disciples had no choice but to reluctantly draw a green token.

”Cao Luo, green token number twelve!”

”Zhao Ningshu, green token number thirty-three!”

”...”

As Su He announced these names, Yun Xiao could clearly see the relief on the faces of Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo, likely relieved they didn’t draw opponents like Feng Hang or Guan Tong, thus potentially having a better chance.

”Song Tian, green token number eight!”

At some point, while everyone was drawing green tokens, Su He suddenly shouted this out, causing everyone to be momentarily startled, then shifting their gazes onto the unlucky Song Tian.

Why call Song Tian unlucky? Because with green token number eight, his first opponent would be Feng Hang, ranked first on the Mortal List and currently the strongest among the Outer Disciples.

For a moment, everyone felt rather emotional. Firstly, they sympathized with the pale-faced Song Tian, and secondly, they felt fortunate for not having drawn the green token number eight themselves. A mix of emotions filled the air.

Following that, green token number sixteen, which paired with Guan Tong, was also drawn, but the drawer was an old genius at the peak of the Meridian Gathering Realm who wasn’t as disheartened as Song Tian, seeing that he might have a chance to win over Guan Tong if he went all out.

”You go ahead and draw!”

Seeing that the number of wooden tokens in the green tube was dwindling, Yun Xiao patted Ling Wan on the shoulder, his face wearing a smile with a hint of emotion in his voice.

Because Ling Wan was no longer at the Meridian Gathering Realm Middle Stage he was at ten days ago in the Task Hall; astonishingly, he had broken through to the Late Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm within these ten days.

Even Yun Xiao, the initiator, felt envious of Ling Wan’s rapid advancement. The innate Mixed Element Qi is something that others could only dream of possessing no matter how envious they might be.

It’s laughable that the Zhao Family in Ningfeng City considered Ling Wan a disgraceful monster, even letting the Zhao brothers secretly attack him. If the Family Head of the Zhao Family knew of Ling Wan’s current cultivation talent, who knows what his feelings would be?

Yun Xiao did not bring the Fire Cloud Rat Chi Yan to the Arena Hall for the Outer Sect tournament, as such a fair competition would not allow external assistance.

To prevent any unforeseen incidents, Yun Xiao left Chi Yan in his room with strict instructions not to wander off, worrying that Chi Yan might intervene at a crucial moment in the fight, possibly costing him his qualification in the competition.

Hearing Yun Xiao’s words, Ling Wan did not delay. Having broken through to the Late Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm, he was brimming with boundless confidence, no longer the timid, chubby boy Yun Xiao had first met. He felt confident even facing the seasoned geniuses of the Outer Sect.

”Green token number thirty-four!”

Su He did not pay much attention to the plump boy at the Late Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm, and routinely called out the number of the token Ling Wan drew. However, upon hearing this, both Ling Wan and Yun Xiao were momentarily startled, then turned their gazes toward a familiar figure.

This figure was naturally Ling Wan’s ruthless older brother, Zhao Ningshu; both Yun Xiao and Ling Wan remembered clearly that Zhao Ningshu had drawn green token number thirty-three.

According to the rules of the Outer Sect tournament, the first round pairings were determined by drawing, but in the second round, winners are matched based on their token numbers. For instance, the winners from tokens thirty-three and thirty-four would inevitably meet in the second round.

This was why Ling Wan and Yun Xiao found the situation incredibly coincidental. These two were siblings from the Zhao Family of Ningfeng City, but due to Ling Wan’s special constitution—the Mixed Element One Qi Body—he had always been ostracized within the family, which led to deep-seated enmity between the brothers.

Moreover, within the Jade Pot Cave, Ling Wan had accidentally caused the death of his second brother, Zhao Xingwu, due to an uncontrollable burst of energy from his Mixed Element One Qi Body, making reconciliation with Zhao Ningshu impossible.

As Ling Wan scrutinized Zhao Ningshu, the latter sensed it but felt a sudden unease seeing that fleeting mocking look in Ling Wan’s eyes.

Previously in the family, Ling Wan was timid and overly cautious, and his cultivation progressed incredibly slowly, making him a target for bullying by Zhao Ningshu and his brother.

Who would have thought that upon joining the Jade Pot Sect, Ling Wan’s cultivation would advance by leaps and bounds, elevating from Meridian Gathering Realm Middle Stage to Late Stage in just over two months?

This happened while Zhao Ningshu didn’t yet know that Ling Wan had broken through to the Late Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm. Otherwise, he would probably be even more depressed and wary. Now, Ling Wan was no longer someone he could easily control.

”Hey, kid, what are you staring at? Come and get your token number!”

Just as a schadenfreude thought started to form in Yun Xiao’s mind, a sharp voice suddenly rang in his ears, snapping him back to reality. His face couldn’t help but become a bit awkward.

Because at that moment, only one wooden token was left in the green token container. It seemed that while Yun Xiao was distracted, other people had come forward to draw their own token numbers, which is why Su He became a bit impatient.

”Hehe, it seems there’s no choice left!”

Yun Xiao smiled dryly, took a step forward, and drew the last green token. Looking at the number ”28” on it, he once again seemed contemplative.

”Green token number twenty-eight!”

Su He didn’t care at all about this boy in tattered clothes only at the Late Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm. In his view, among the Outer Disciples participating in the big contest, there was a hefty number with such cultivation level — doubtful they’d even pass the first round. So why bother taking notice?

If Su He knew that the two influential Elders who came here today were precisely because of this scrawny youth in front of him, I wonder what he would think?

Holding the number twenty-eight green token in his hand, Yun Xiao’s gaze shifted to a direction, where he saw a familiar old acquaintance, sizing him up.

The young figure clad in white belonged to the Third Prince of Xuanzhi Empire, Xuan Zhi, who held a black token number twenty-seven. It seemed he had also been fortunate enough to grab a black token.

But just like Zhao Ningshu’s Ling Wan, although Xuan Zhi and Yun Xiao wouldn’t face each other in the first round, if both progressed from the first round, they’d absolutely meet in the second.

This was the set battle pattern after the first-round drawing — winners of adjacent token numbers formed a group, then fought until a champion from the upper and lower brackets was decided.

At this moment, Xuan Zhi’s mood, somewhat similar to Zhao Ningshu’s, was darkened even though he too had broken through to the Late Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm and had the Royal Family’s high Spiritual Rank Cultivation Technique or Meridian Techniques, not to mention an impressive Grade Ancestor Vein.

But even so, when Xuan Zhi heard the sound from Su He, his expression clouded. No matter how deep his hatred for Yun Xiao, no matter how much he wished to kill him, he already had some mental shadows regarding the young man.

In the Medicine Valley, at the place where they exchanged herbs, and later inside the Jade Pot Cave, Xuan Zhi had fought Yun Xiao three times — each time, the Third Prince was utterly disgraced.

Even now, the scars slashed by Yun Xiao’s Meridian Qi Sword still marked Xuan Zhi’s left and right cheeks. Though the wounds had greatly healed, the humiliation from those two occasions was branded deep within Xuan Zhi’s mind just like those scars.

Nevertheless, although Xuan Zhi was glum, he would not shrink back. His visit to the Jade Pot Sect was driven by a great scheme. To embark on this plan, he needed to join the Inner Sect of Jade Pot Sect as a core disciple.

Whether or not he could overcome Yun Xiao didn’t matter at this moment; during this Outer Disciple contest, Xuan Zhi was determined to make sure the important figures of Jade Pot Sect recognized his presence and his unrivaled talent among this batch of newcomers.

Their gazes intertwined in midair, but the next moment, a mocking smile surfaced on Yun Xiao’s face. Compared to Xuan Zhi, he was quite pleased with this result.

Due to Xuan Zhi’s involvement, Yun Xiao had almost died at the hands of the Guan brothers in both Jade Pot Cave and Yurong Mountain — it could be said that he and the Third Prince of Xuanzhi Empire had irreconcilable enmities.

Yun Xiao believed that once an opportunity arose, Xuan Zhi would definitely not spare him, so he also had no reservations. If he could eliminate Xuan Zhi in the Arena Hall of the Outer Disciple contest, it would be a clean resolution.

As Guan Tong mentioned before, the Jade Pot Cave was the only place in Jade Pot Sect where life and death were not forbidden. In fact, he overlooked the Arena Hall — under certain circumstances, it too was unrestricted regarding life and death.

For example, if two disciples of Jade Pot Sect bore a grudge over some matter, or if two families had age-old blood feuds, they could agree to settle it with an arena duel under the witness of a Sect Elder, fighting to the death.

And like this Outer Disciple contest’s arena battle: as it contested for entry into the Inner Sect, if they applied rules like stopping at the slightest touch or no lethal moves, it would significantly reduce the full strength of the fighters.

Yun Xiao had already learned about the rules of this Outer Disciple contest arena battles from Tan Yun, which made him quite content with his drawn token number. Regarding the status of the Third Prince of Xuanzhi Empire, Yun Xiao didn’t care at all.

Since his enemy was prepared to put him to death, Yun Xiao didn’t think that showing mercy would dissipate Xuan Zhi’s intent to kill.

He knew this guy’s nature all too well — thus, should they meet on the arena, he’d be ruthless.

As Yun Xiao drew the last green token, the matchups for the first round of this Outer Disciple contest had now been determined. Aside from a few geniuses looking gloomy, everyone else appeared eager and filled with anticipation.