Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”Elder Su He, which clan does that chubby kid come from?”

The eyes of Second Elder Fu Du shimmered with an unusual light. As he shifted his gaze from the distant arena, he directly posed the question. His words pricked up the ears of the Great Elder Lu Zhan sitting nearby.

”Uh... This...”

Hearing Fu Du’s inquiry, Su He was momentarily stunned. After rummaging through his memory, he finally had a vague impression and said with some uncertainty, ”It seems he comes from the Zhao Family of Ningfeng City. Right, he should be the third son of the Family Head Zhao Huan!”

”Ningfeng City, the Zhao Family?”

Both Fu Du and Lu Zhan had heard of this rather well-known city in the Xuanyue Empire. However, after some contemplation, Fu Du continued, ”I’ve never heard that the Zhao Family had any exceptional talents besides Zhao Ningshu. This kid named Ling Wan seems to have a talent that surpasses even some top ten contenders on the Mortal List!”

Fu Du’s remark also expressed the doubts of Lu Zhan. Every year, their Jade Pot Sect would go out to scout for new talents from the great clans, and then offer Outer Sect entrance assessment spots to attract these gifted individuals to join the Jade Pot Sect.

Nevertheless, Ling Wan had never been held in high regard within the Zhao Family. It was not unusual that they, like Fu Du and Lu Zhan, had never heard of him.

Regardless of how inconspicuous Ling Wan was in the past, at least after the arena duel with Zhao Xin, his name had firmly embedded itself in the minds of the two influential elders of the Jade Pot Sect and was indelible.

On the arena, after cleverly reflecting Zhao Xin off it, Ling Wan bowed with his fists to the seats in the north, then casually stepped down from the stage.

When Ling Wan first ascended the stage, many looked down on him with disdain. In fact, they didn’t pay much attention to this particular fight.

Who would have thought the battle would end so swiftly, and by the hands of the unanimously underestimated Ling Wan, no less? Hence, when he descended from the arena, the gazes of the many talents had already noticeably changed.

Especially the members of Tan Yun’s small team in the distance. Strictly speaking, both Yun Xiao and Ling Wan were part of this squad. The stunning performance of these two today certainly added luster to their group.

”Hehe, big brother Yun Xiao, I was impressive, wasn’t I?”

Ling Wan was unfazed by the gazes of others; what mattered to him was Yun Xiao’s opinion. Thus, after stepping off the arena, he proudly boasted as he returned to Yun Xiao’s side.

Hearing this, Yun Xiao gave a thumbs up, then remembering something, asked: ”Ling Wan, to what degree can you control the Mixed Element Qi inside your body?”

Ling Wan was slightly taken aback, then his face soured as he replied: ”Although I can control some of the power of the Mixed Element Qi, I have to turn into a ball every time I use it. Big brother Yun Xiao, do you have any methods?”

Yun Xiao nodded and then shook his head, saying: ”Mixed Element Qi is a naturally occurring anomaly of energy. My role is only to help you guide it, as for how to control it, that’s something you’ll need to work out on your own through cultivation.”

Just as Yun Xiao said, in his previous life in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, he had also seen only one expert with Mixed Element Qi, and that expert had already cultivated the Mixed Element Qi to an extremely high realm. Even he couldn’t guarantee a victory over that expert.

The Mixed Element Qi within chubby Ling Wan was undoubtedly in its infancy, and if it weren’t for meeting Yun Xiao, perhaps he would have been treated as a monster and scorned all his life.

Once Ling Wan could barely control his Mixed Element Qi, the affliction which had him receive cold glances from childhood and even rendered him unworthy in his father’s eyes had become the very foundation of his existence.

Hadn’t they seen how people’s views of Ling Wan had changed after he defeated Zhao Xin, ranked tenth on the Mortal List? Since he had beaten Zhao Xin, it meant Ling Wan had qualified for the top ten on the Mortal List, an achievement unreachable for the vast majority of Outer Disciples.

While Yun Xiao was conversing with Ling Wan, a figure nearby was shaking slightly—none other than Zhao Ningshu, once considered the number one talent of the Zhao Family.

”Why has this little bastard become so strong?”

For some reason, Zhao Ningshu felt an inexplicable fear deep in his heart, like a venomous snake biting at his soul, making him unable to control the trembling of his body, no matter what.

Even with his confidence in his own Cultivation level, Zhao Ningshu had never imagined that he could overcome a top ten genius on the Mortal List just after joining as an Outer Disciple of the Jade Pot Sect. After all, he had only reached the Meridian Gathering Realm Middle Stage and had not broken through for many days.

Since Yun Xiao was able to defeat Zhao Xin, then he, Zhao Ningshu, if he were to face Yun Xiao in the next round, his fate would most likely not be much better than Zhao Xin’s.

Moreover, Zhao Ningshu was aware of how the Zhao Family had treated Yun Xiao over the past decade, and even within the Yulin Mountain Range and Jade Pot Cave, there had been several attempts to assassinate Yun Xiao. Where was there even a shred of brotherly affection?

Judging others by oneself, Zhao Ningshu had absolute reason to believe that Yun Xiao would definitely not spare him if given the chance. What should he do about tomorrow’s second round of the tournament?

”It seems that only by having Father personally take action can we deal with this little bastard!”

Zhao Ningshu couldn’t suppress the fear deep in his heart, but when he thought of his father, who also disdained Yun Xiao, he finally settled down. He didn’t even realize that if Yun Xiao was a ”little bastard,” then what did that make him, who shared the same parents?

An unprecedented and unique arena battle ended with Yun Xiao’s mysteriously achieved victory, and yet, the Outer Sect’s grand tournament continued methodically.

In these fights, some won, some lost, some barely won, some were disastrously defeated, and there was even a top ten Mortal List talent who, after exerting all his strength to win, passed out from injuries immediately after victory, clearly having sustained serious injuries.

Such serious injuries obviously could not be recovered overnight, which was a relief for his opponent scheduled for tomorrow. After all, this was a top ten Mortal List talent, and if the opponent was at full strength, the chances of defeat were incredibly high.

Of course, not everyone was so lucky. When one of the fights ended, the complexion of the victor’s opponent for tomorrow had turned pale.

Because the winner of this arena battle was none other than Shen Xiao, ranked second on the Mortal List, and this battle ended faster than any other, with just one move causing his opponent to be knocked off the platform.

Seeing this scene, even Yun Xiao’s face changed slightly. On the other hand, Feng Hang, ranked first on the Mortal List and who had not previously regarded anyone as a worthy opponent, his expression became somewhat grave, as it seemed he felt a hint of threat from Shen Xiao.

Shen Xiao, whose opponent was knocked off the platform, showed no emotion on his face until he turned his head to a certain direction, where he saw a figure whose face was hidden under a purple robe. A surge of intense fighting spirit burst forth invisibly.

It appeared that to Shen Xiao, ranked second on the Mortal List and a Meridian Rushing Realm talent, only Feng Hang, who was also at the Early Stage of Meridian Rushing Realm, was considered his sole rival. This Outer Sect grand tournament was his perfect opportunity to surpass Feng Hang and become the true number one of the Outer Sect.

Regardless of how stunning Yun Xiao’s performance was before, or how bizarrely Yun Xiao’s ball-like rebounding force was, Shen Xiao never paid it any mind. After all, compared to these talents, he was an entire Great Rank higher.

Feng Hang’s eyes beneath the purple robe sparked a glint, pulling at the ferocious scar, looking somewhat ruthless, in response to Shen Xiao’s somewhat provocative gaze.

Shen Xiao regarded Feng Hang as his sole opponent in this Outer Sect tournament, and wasn’t it the same for Feng Hang? Although there are two spots available in every Outer Sect tournament, who wouldn’t want to be the most dazzling one?

As for this standoff between the two, other talents participating in the Outer Sect tournament naturally could not compete or perhaps they had already conceded in their hearts that these two truly deserved the attention and there would be no suspense in this tournament.

After Shen Xiao’s fight, six more arena battles took place, and by the end of these six battles, the sixty talents who advanced to the second round had emerged fresh.

Unexpectedly to everyone, among the sixty talents who progressed to the second round, there were a few new faces, such as the Royal Family’s Third Prince Xuan Zhi, the shabbily dressed youth Yun Xiao, the strange little fatty Ling Wan, and others.

Many of the veteran Outer Sect talents found it odd because generally, newly inducted Outer Sect disciples were not expected to register for the tournament, needing to cultivate for a while before gathering the courage.

But in this tournament, not to mention newly-promoted disciples who registered, what was surprising was that aside from the Cao Family’s Cao Luo, there were four other new Outer Sect disciples who made it into the second round, truly an oddity.

Therefore, everyone was looking forward to the upcoming second round tomorrow, especially those dozens of Outer Sect disciples who had just joined. To some extent, people like Xuan Zhi, Yun Xiao, and Ling Wan represented them.

Today’s first round had concluded, and whether victorious or defeated, all talents left the Arena Hall after a moment of reflection.

However, those sixty did not dare to relax at all, as they still had the second round of the Outer Sect tournament to face tomorrow, and the opponents in this second round were likely to be much stronger than in the first.

Yun Xiao and Ling Wan also met up with Tan Yun and others, laughing and chatting on their way to the residence, but what they didn’t see was a gaze filled with malevolence watching them intently until they disappeared around a corner.

The figure who had been staring at the backs of Yun Xiao and the others finally had a trace of ruthlessness flash across his eyes and then turned his head in a certain direction, where there was also a robust figure, seemingly waiting for some command.