Chapter 117: Signing Up for the Competition

  The second update!

  ——

  Longyuan City!

  The core hinterland of the southern region, where eight major sects, three universities and six major clans gather. Any one of these forces has a profound foundation and is extremely ancient.

  A city that can accommodate such a large number of mighty objects, it can be imagined how vast its scope is and how magnificent its prosperity has reached.

  As soon as Chen Yuafu entered the city gate, he saw that the bricks and stones on the road were all green, bright and smooth, without a speck of dust. Everywhere was resplendent with gold and jade, palaces and pavilions, streets wide enough for hundreds of carriages to drive side by side, and monks of all shapes and sizes walked in the streets like a tide, without any feeling of crowding.

  Every shop in Longyuan City is tall, wide and deep, with a style that is vastly different from one another. It's as if all the architectural styles of the world have been gathered in one place, dazzling and majestic, leaving Chen Xuan feeling overwhelmed.

  There are many masters here!

  Chen Yao's divine soul was incredibly vast, and along the way, he discovered dozens of Huangting Realm cultivators, all wearing different robes with various badges embroidered on them, clearly from different factions.

  Moreover, Chen Xiao also saw several two-instrument Jin Dan cultivators, who strode down the street with their sleeves fluttering, their figures elegant and refined. Wherever they passed, everyone looked on with reverence and admiration.

  In Longyuan City, a Two Instruments Golden Elixir cultivator was already a top-notch figure in the highest echelons, unlike Songyan City where the highest standard was only at the Purple Mansion Realm, and even Yellow Court cultivators were inferior, let alone being comparable to Two Instruments Golden Elixir cultivators.

  After walking for half a day, Chen Xuan roughly figured out the number in his mind and suddenly stopped a monk who was passing by.

  "What?!"

  This young monk was a sturdy youth, his cultivation had not yet opened the Purple Mansion, and he remained in the Pre-Heavenly Realm. However, on his robe hung a Heart Sword emblem, clearly indicating that he was a disciple of some major power. He was stopped by Chen Xun, who reached out to block him, and his face immediately revealed a few hints of annoyance. But after taking a look at Chen Xun's cultivation, he suppressed his anger.

  Because he could see that the young man in front of him, who seemed to be calm and composed, gave people a profound feeling as vast as the sea, at least a master of the Zi Fu realm.

  "What's going on, sir? Why are you blocking my way?" the sturdy young man asked in puzzlement.

  "No other meaning, I just want to ask, where can I sign up for the Dragon Ranking Competition?" Chen Xiao said with a smile.

  "It was this after all." The sturdy young man let out a sigh of relief: "The Hidden Dragon Ranking Competition will begin in half a month, if Senior wants to sign up, just go to the Chu Soul Guard. It's located in Longyuan City West, about 800 miles from here."

  "Alright! Thanks a lot." Chen Xiao spoke as he moved his body slightly and disappeared like the wind.

  "So fast!"

  As Chen Suo suddenly disappeared, the sturdy young man's pupils contracted and he muttered: "The Dragon Hidden List competition only allows purple mansion cultivators under the age of thirty to participate. This youngster looks like he's only around twenty years old, his cultivation is really impressive! In this year's Dragon Hidden List competition, I don't know if he can get a ranking..."

  Flying is prohibited in Longyuan City, but Chen Xiao's Tianlong Eight Steps can also take tens of meters in one step, as fast as a ghost, flying over 800 miles, and suddenly stopping his footsteps.

  In front of it, a hundred feet away, a huge black palace sprawled out, all made of obsidian, emitting a gleaming light like water. It was nearly ten thousand feet high, like a sword or spear, piercing the clouds. In the central position, a golden plaque hung - Chu Soul Guard!

  Chu Soul Guard, a cultivation institution under the Great Chu Dynasty, is feared for its power. Its reputation extends throughout the territory of the Great Chu Dynasty. Every single member of the Chu Soul Guard has at least reached the Violet Palace Realm in terms of strength!

  Of course, Longyuan City is just a branch of the Chu Soul Guard, but even so, its power is still extremely strong, comparable to the eight major sects and not at all inferior. Moreover, since it represents the Great Chu Dynasty, it has an intangible supreme authority that surpasses the General's Mansion in Songyan City by hundreds or thousands of times.

  This time's Hidden Dragon Ranking Competition, although it is jointly organized by the eight major sects of Longyuan City, the three universities and the six major clans, but foreign cultivators who want to participate need to register at Chushenwei.

  At this moment, a large number of disciples were coming in and out, like flowing water. Chen Tai looked around and found that almost all of these disciples were purple mansion disciples!

  "Damn it, registration requires paying over a hundred pounds of spiritual liquid. This Chu Xuan is really blinded by money."

  "Hey, if we were disciples of the major powers in Longyuan City, they wouldn't even need to sign up. They could just participate whenever they want and have home-field advantage. For us outsiders who are lucky enough to be able to participate, it's already not easy."

  "Pfft! What's so great about being a disciple of a major power in Longyuan City? This time, I must enter the top 100 in the Hidden Dragon Rankings!"

  "Let's not get too excited, in previous years' Dragon List competition, the top 100 were almost all taken by the eight major powers of Longyuan, with only a few external cultivators barely making it to the lower ranks."

  ……

  Monks walking out of the Black Temple were discussing enthusiastically, and all the topics revolved around the upcoming Dragon Hidden List competition to be held in half a month, which was extremely lively.

  "Is it difficult to get into the top 100? It seems that I shouldn't be too careless." Chen Xiao thought for a moment, and then walked in without hesitation.

  As soon as Chen Xiao entered the black temple, he found that the space inside was vast and majestic, with a solemn atmosphere, as if he had entered the imperial palace, the atmosphere was extremely quiet.

  One by one, the disciples wearing dark clothes and carrying long swords stood solemnly around the grand hall, their eyebrows and eyes stern, their breath strong, maintaining order within the grand hall. Apparently, these dark-clothed disciples were members of the Chu Soul Guard.

  "Get ready with your hundred jin of spiritual liquid and go over there to line up for registration." A Chu Soul Guard said coldly, pointing in the distance as Chen Yao entered.

  In the distance, a long dragon is queuing up, with young boys and girls, elderly men and women, middle-aged warriors, and beautiful ladies... all ages are present, all wearing the same purple robes of foreign cultivators.

  Chen Xiao walked at the back of the team, silently sizing up his surroundings. Among these purple mansion cultivators in line, there were strong auras, among which two people had extremely powerful auras that even made Chen Xiao feel astonished.

  One was a young man dressed in purple and gold, with eyebrows as black as ink, flying like knives, and eyes shining brightly, like two glittering black gemstones that captivated the heart. His arms were very long, about three or four inches longer than normal, and when he charged into battle, an endless pressure filled the air, his aura thick and overbearing.

  Another was a youth wearing feathered clothes, with a straight and slender figure, emitting a warm and gentle aura all over his body, extremely unique, but his face was ordinary to the extreme, so ordinary that he couldn't be found in a crowd of people.

  Seemingly noticing Chen Xiao's gaze, the purple-clothed youth swept a glance at Chen Xiao, his eyes seeming to mock and disdain. The feather-robed youth, however, slightly nodded his head before turning away.

  "Lin Shaoqi, Purple Mansion Eight Stars cultivation, bone age twenty-three years old, qualified. This is your token."

  A hoarse voice sounded, at the front of the team, there was an old man in gray clothes sitting in front of a desk, on which lay a fist-sized jade stone, transparent and pitch-black, with a dark glow swirling around it.

  Each cultivator stepped forward, placing their palm on the jade stone. The grey-robed elder could then slightly discern their cultivation level and bone age, which was truly extraordinary.

  Appearance can deceive, but bone age is real. The Hidden Dragon Ranking only allows Zifu disciples under the age of thirty to participate, and with this jade stone, no one will be able to cheat their way through.

  It was at this moment that the young man in purple clothes who had caught Chen Yu's attention was being tested.

  "Zifu Eight Stars? Twenty-three years old? That's simply a genius!"

  "This guy's future is boundless, in this Hidden Dragon Ranking competition, he will definitely be among the top 100."

  "Hmm, Lin Shaoyi, isn't he that rare genius from the Lin family of Lanhai City who appears only once in a thousand years?"

  Upon hearing the grey-robed elder's words, the entire procession of nearly a hundred zhang in length let out cries of surprise, their gazes at the purple-robed youth filled with admiration, jealousy, and complexity.

  "Zifu Eight Stars? But there is indeed proud capital." Chen Xiao nodded, and in his heart, he couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder. Longyuan City was indeed the largest city in Nanjiang, with hidden dragons and crouching tigers, gathering talented people.

  This is just a foreign cultivator. Among the disciples of the eight major sects and other powerful forces, there may be even better innate talents than Lin Shaoyi.

  Just then, Chen Tang suddenly felt a unique aura, and he quickly raised his eyes to see the feather-robed youth stepping forward, with a splash of water-like energy flowing from his palm onto the jade stone on the desk.

  Magic!

  Chen Xiao almost recognized at a glance that the youth's palm was surging with, surprisingly, the witchcraft power that only cultivators of the Zifu or above possessed.

  "Tang Xu, huh? Cultivating the Purple Mansion's Threefold Refining Technique? Bone age of 19, qualified. This is your command token." The gray-robed elder behind the desk also let out a surprised cry, his eyes which had been cast downward suddenly lifted up, shining brightly as he looked at the feather-robed youth and nodded: "Not bad, if you're interested, welcome to join the Chu Soul Guard."

  What a commotion!

  Everyone's eyes widened, looking at the feather-robed youth, their eyes filled with shock. Refining his body to the Zi Fu realm, that was a terrifying existence that crushed all refining Qi streams within the same rank!

  Even Lin Shaoyi, who was about to leave the grand hall, stopped abruptly and turned his head to take a look at the feather-robed youth, with a slightly solemn expression on his face.

  "Zifu San Chong? It's actually higher than mine by a notch, I wonder if this person has cultivated divine powers..." Chen Tai's eyes seemed to be deep in thought.

  There were no more astonishing figures in the subsequent tests.

  When it was Chen's turn, he stepped forward slowly, took a deep breath, and placed his right palm on the jade stone. This jade stone was quite peculiar; as true yuan poured into it, it disappeared without a trace, just like a mud cow entering the sea. There were no other sensations afterwards.

  "Chen Tai, Zi Fu Six Stars, bone age... seventeen? Not bad, not bad, qualified. This is your token."

  The old man in grey handed over a palm-sized, gold-like token to Chen Tai, rarely praising him with two sentences, but without looking up at him or inviting him to join the Chu Soul Guard.

  Obviously, compared to Tang Xu who reached the third level of Lian Ti at the age of 19, Chen Tai's weight is still a bit insufficient.

  Although it was the case, Chen Tai entered the Purple Mansion's Six Stars at the age of seventeen, still causing a wave of exclamations from the team behind him. When he turned his head around, he saw a row of envious and jealous eyes staring at him.

  "If they were to find out that I also cultivate the Body Refining Technique, what kind of expression would they have? That old man in grey robes might even invite me to join the Chu Soul Guard!"

  Chen Xiao shook his head, dispelling the childish thought in his mind, holding the token with the words "Qian Long" written on it, and walked towards the outside of the main hall.

  "There's still half a month to go, the Dragon Ranking Competition is about to begin, it seems I need to make good use of this time to cultivate my skills." Chen Tai thought to himself as he walked.

  "Chen Tai, you're so bold! You came to Longyuan City without even telling us? That's really inconsiderate!"

  Just as Chen Yao had just walked out of the Chu Hun Wei Grand Hall, a strange cry came from afar. He looked up and saw that in the distance, Duanmu Ze, Song Lin, and Du Qingxi were standing there.

  ——

  PS: Map changed, seeking votes and collections to celebrate.