Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Meridian Refining Master Association!

Regarding the events happening at the headquarters of Lianyun Mountain and Demons Mountain, Yun Xiao at this moment is naturally unaware, as after a month of cultivation, he has thoroughly consolidated his breakthrough to the later stage of the Seeking Origin Realm.

And as the time after this month arrives, the headquarters of Lianyun Mountain is becoming more lively, the sight of two or three friends sparring, drinking, and having fun together can be seen everywhere.

Of course, these are some of the friendly branch leaders from various city branches. As for the younger generation of disciples of Lianyun Mountain, they are naturally eager and excited, taking the annual competition very seriously.

Not only does it offer substantial resource rewards for the top few ranks, but it also provides an excellent opportunity to improve one’s ranking on the ”Refinement Cloud Battle Ranking”.

Lianyun Mountain is divided into the Heavenly Poison Academy and Heavenly Medicine Academy, each having its own ranking in terms of the level of Meridian Refining. However, the medical and poison disciplines are distinctly separate, and a genius from the Heavenly Medicine Academy certainly cannot compete with a genius from the Heavenly Poison Academy in the Poison Meridian Skill and contend for its ranking, right?

Only the Refinement Cloud Battle Ranking is the overall ranking of the young generation throughout the Meridian Refining Master Association. It doesn’t compete for the Medical Pulse Technique nor the Poison Meridian Skill but for each refining genius’s true Meridian Qi combat power.

As a cultivator on the continent, having a strong Meridian Refining Technique can indeed earn some respect, but to firmly establish oneself on the continent, one’s combat power must also be formidable.

Take Yun Xiao for instance, his Power of Soul is outstanding, and his Meridian Refining is far beyond that of ordinary refining geniuses. But why are so many people still causing trouble for him? The reason is all because of the seemingly low-level Meridian Qi cultivation.

Talents like Ye Ku and Bai Wushuang, who are at the Peak of Seeking Origin Realm, have nobody daring to provoke them easily. This also indirectly shows the importance of Meridian Qi cultivation combat power, exemplifying the saying, ”The iron needs to be tough to strike.”.

...

”Boom!”

As Yun Xiao pushed the door open from the courtyard and headed towards the arena hall of Lianyun Mountain headquarters, another courtyard erupted with a powerful aura.

”Ha! Hahaha!”

A wild laughter came from within the courtyard, containing a hint of excitement, a touch of confidence, and a mysterious meaning that no one could explain.

Creaaaak!

The courtyard door was pushed open as a young man with an elegant demeanor stepped out. If Yun Xiao were here, he would have noticed this person was none other than Bai Wushuang, the top genius of Heavenly Medicine Academy, confined by Qian Sanyuan for a month!

”Yun Xiao, you probably never imagined that I could break through to the half-step Earth Realm within this month of confinement, right?”

As Bai Wushuang walked out of the courtyard, his smile remained, and hearing his muttering, it was clear that the strange energy wave just now was not meaningless; rather, it marked a small step forward from his foundation at the peak of Seeking Origin Realm.

Half-step Earth Realm, though strictly speaking, still falls under the category of the peak of Seeking Origin Realm, but a cultivator at this level when fighting against ordinary peak Seeking Origin cultivators, would likely very easily gain victory.

The gap between Earth Bending Realm and Seeking Origin Realm is a vast watershed, one involved with inducing Earth Essence for personal use, while the other fully controls Earth Power, commanding Earth Power or Earth Essence according to one’s will.

These two concepts are distinctly different, and the half-step Earth Realm is a transitional phase from inducing to mastering Earth Essence, marking the verge of truly becoming an Earth Bending Realm expert. Just one step more, and one can break through to Early Stage of Earth Bending Realm.

Initially, due to Yun Xiao’s performance in Treasure Mountain at the Refining Treasure Hall, Bai Wushuang wasn’t confident he could defeat Yun Xiao in solo combat, as that guy was a ruthless individual who had dealt with low-level Ninth Rank Strange Spirits.

But now, thanks to a stroke of luck during this one month of confinement, Bai Wushuang utilized certain special Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and forcefully broke through to the half-step Earth Realm. He gained boundless confidence in defeating Yun Xiao.

Yun Xiao wants to kill Bai Wushuang instinctively, but the latter feels the same way. Although their enmity has only just formed in over a month’s time, it clearly has reached an irreconcilable level.

”Yun Xiao, this time, I will not let you leave the arena alive!”

A low and venomous voice came from Bai Wushuang, and his figure quickly disappeared into the distance, heading towards the direction of the main arena hall of Lianyun Mountain.

...

Lianyun Mountain Main Arena Hall!

The Arena Hall today was already packed with people. Besides the numerous young talents and deacon guardians from the headquarters of Refining Cloud Mountain, branch chairmen from various cities had also occupied positions with good views early on, unwilling to miss any battle of the annual tournament.

This is the most lively event of the year at Refining Cloud Mountain, and many of the young talents from the headquarters have cultivation far surpassing that of the branch chairmen from the various cities. For them, it’s also an opportunity to observe and learn.

In one area, the branch chairman of Shiyun City, Ge Buqi, had a somewhat somber expression. His eyes continuously scanned a figure not far from him, seemingly having made a secret decision.

”Chairman Liancheng, dare to bet with me once more?”

Upon seeing a figure in coarse clothing slowly walking in from the hall’s entrance, sensing the person’s cultivation at the Late Stage of Origin Seeking Realm, Ge Buqi immediately decided and then called out in a deep voice, attracting the attention of many cultivators around him.

These people were all branch chairmen from various cities, and several of them had witnessed the bets between Ge Buqi and Lu Liancheng previously, so upon hearing Ge Buqi’s low call, they all showed a hint of interest.

”Oh? What does Chairman Ge wish to gamble on?”

Lu Liancheng turned his head, a glimmer of strange light flashing in his eyes. He didn’t immediately agree to Ge Buqi’s proposal, but asked with interest. After all, he had already won an Earth Void Thunder Pearl; if there was a chance, he wouldn’t mind winning another round.

”Just bet whether Yun Xiao can achieve top three... no, win the championship this time in the annual tournament. How about it? Dare to bet?”

Ge Buqi originally intended to say ”top three,” but felt it was somewhat uncertain, so directly changed it to champion. Upon this declaration, the observers couldn’t help but smirk, inwardly noting the old fellow’s audacity.

One must know at this moment, everyone could already sense that Yun Xiao, who had just entered the Arena Hall, had only Late Stage Origin Seeking Realm cultivation.

Although in just over a month he had broken through from Early Stage to Late Stage Origin Seeking Realm, which was quite astonishing, they still did not believe Yun Xiao could win this annual championship.

After all, talents like Bai Wushuang and Ye Ku, the top geniuses of both major institutes, had already reached the Peak of Seeking Origin Realm, super demons amongst others. The geniuses emerging from Refining Cloud Mountain were likely invincible in the same tier.

Although Yun Xiao had shown extraordinary performance in disciple selection trials, Meridian Qi Cultivation Combat Power and Meridian Refining Technique are entirely different domains. Excelling in one doesn’t necessarily mean dominance in another.

The branch chairmen from various cities certainly heard about Yun Xiao’s achievements in defeating the Special Envoy Xia Yong of the Spirit Fighting Commerce headquarters and the Seven Killings Guardian Zheng Qiming of the Killing Heart Sect, but in their view, it must have been due to unexpected tactics.

After all, on this continent, cultivators capable of battling across levels are extremely rare, especially against top-tier talents like Bai Wushuang and Ye Ku from Refining Cloud Mountain.

For Yun Xiao to achieve top three in this year’s tournament may not sound too far-fetched to some, but the champion position has long been set for Ye Ku or Bai Wushuang, Yun Xiao ultimately cannot compete against these people.

Perhaps Ge Buqi thought of this point just now, hence changing ”top three” to ”champion,” becoming much more cautious after having suffered once.

”I wonder if Chairman Ge still holds good items like the Earth Void Thunder Pearl on him?”

Just as everyone thought Lu Liancheng would never agree to Ge Buqi’s bet offer, from his mouth came a sentence that made everyone thoughtful.

The others might not understand Yun Xiao, but Lu Liancheng certainly does. One must know that night he hid in the shadows and saw how Yun Xiao turned situations upside down, eventually soaring away.

Although Zheng Qiming at that time was only at the Peak of Seeking Origin Realm, don’t forget, Yun Xiao only had the Peak of Qi Seeking Realm back then.

Now Yun Xiao’s strength has greatly increased, reaching the Late Stage Origin Seeking Realm. Facing cultivators at the Peak of Origin Seeking Realm, even if they are the top talents from Refining Cloud Mountain, Lu Liancheng never considered Yun Xiao would lose.

Precisely because Ge Buqi brought this upon himself, what reason does Lu Liancheng have not to accept the challenge? His main concern is what Ge Buqi can offer as a stake for their wager this time.

”Bet on the Earth Void Thunder Pearl you won from me. If I win, you return it to me. If I lose, I’ll... willingly become an ordinary elder at your Lushan City branch of Meridian Masters, how about it?”

Ge Buqi seems to have prepared his statement long ago. Although he wasn’t certain Lu Liancheng would definitely agree to his bet, he still expressed his thoughts at this moment.

Upon abruptly hearing this proposal, some branch chairmen not aware of the background found it quite novel. However, several branch chairmen who witnessed the first bet between Lu Liancheng and Ge Buqi showed a peculiar look, sensing familiarity in those words.

Their first wager was based precisely on this same stake, yet back then none of the branch chairmen expected Lu Liancheng to win. Who could have guessed Yun Xiao would ultimately secure first place in the Refining Cloud Mountain disciple selection?

This time, the stakes seem reversed, with the Earth Void Thunder Pearl now in Lu Liancheng’s possession. Would the branch chairman of Lushan City agree to Ge Buqi’s wager this time? Everyone eagerly awaited the decision!