Vol 2 Chapter 98: Dragon Palace, Lin Jing!
Bai Yuran giggled. "That's right! But I heard from Senior Brother that many hidden geniuses have been invited to this Genius Rankings Battle. Getting first place won’t be easy."
Lin Jing replied calmly, "According to this year's rules, isn't the final ranking decided by Tianji Pavilion rather than the results of the duels?"
This ti, there were no rules—except for the restriction against killing opponents. Participants could use any ans available, showcasing their mastery of all forms of cultivation techniques. However, according to Tianji Pavilion, the duel results were only for reference. The final rankings depended on each contestant’s overall performance, as judged by Tianji Pavilion.
For instance, if a genius relied too much on external assistance, even if they won their battles, their ranking might not be high. If two contestants used the sa tier of magic treasures, but one had personally refined theirs while the other received theirs from an elder, the rankings would naturally favor the forr in a tie.
"That may be true, but the world isn’t blind. Tianji Pavilion will arrange things fairly," Bai Yuran said with a smirk. "Since I've shared so much insider information, don’t you think you should show so appreciation?"
Lin Jing looked out the window. "I agree. But now isn’t the ti. When the ti cos, I’ll use my own lifespan to request a divination from you."
Bai Yuran pouted. "So, just an empty promise, huh?"
After leaving Tianji Pavilion, Lin Jing went into seclusion to focus on cultivation.
During this period, he received intel that while Tianji Pavilion had invited many geniuses, only a little over a hundred had actually arrived at Tianji City. Nearly half of the invitees had declined to participate.
This was because only the first-place winner would receive the Rare Beast’s Blessing, causing many to hesitate.
The participants could generally be divided into two groups:
Those who had never been on the Genius Rankings but possessed the strength to make the list, hoping to use this opportunity to rise to fa.Those already ranked near the top, aiming for first place.
Those in the middle of the rankings, who had no hope of reaching first place but were secure in their current positions, mostly chose not to attend.
For Tianji Pavilion, the real goal was to shake up the top ten rankings. The number of participants didn’t matter—what mattered was drawing the world's attention.
Ti passed quickly, and soon, the day of the Genius Rankings Battle arrived.
Tianji Pavilion had prepared a colossal arena. Surrounding it were nurous floating stone platforms serving as spectator seats.
A total of 100,000 seats were available, and Tianji Pavilion had sold every last one. From Qi Refinent disciples to Nascent Soul cultivators, most of the Mystic Domain’s cultivators had their eyes on this event. Many elders had even brought their disciples to witness the clash of geniuses firsthand.
"Looks like you all have recovered well," Lin Jing remarked with a smile.
Standing on one of the floating platforms, he looked at the mbers of Dragon Palace.
Xu Zhizhi’s mouth twitched. "Honestly, my original goal for this battle was just to make it onto the Genius Rankings."
"But after what we endured last month, if I don’t at least break into the top seventy, I’ll feel like all that suffering was for nothing!"
"Don’t worry, you’ll make it. You were personally chosen by Cavern Heaven, after all," Zhong Xin said, laughing. "If you face a tough opponent, just use your best techniques. If they’re too strong, let your beast deal with it."
"That’s true. Winning that way will boost our ranking significantly. But as long as we show our strength in earlier matches, it won’t affect our climb on the rankings."
Even Wang Xiao, standing nearby, nodded. After the grueling month they had endured, he was convinced that very few people outside their group could even defeat his Battle Tiger!
The Genius Rankings Battle was overseen by Nascent Soul cultivator Tian Huihua, a Tianji Pavilion elder.
There were 128 participants in total.
Floating in the air, Tian Huihua announced, "When I call your na, step onto the arena. A match begins when one side either admits defeat or loses the ability to fight."
"First match: Gao Sheng of the Gao Family, a cultivator family."
"Versus Zhong Xin of the Zhong Family, a military cultivator family."
"Huh?!"
Upon hearing his na, Gao Sheng was stunned. "? First match? Am I really that eye-catching?"
"Maybe it’s your Spiritual Fortune Physique at work," Lin Jing said, arms crossed, as he looked at the armored woman stepping onto the stage.
"Damn it, why couldn't I be in an odd-numbered match? Then I might've gotten a free pass to the next round."
The Dragon Palace mbers stared at him like he was an idiot.
"The rankings aren't entirely based on wins or losses. Performance matters more. Whether you get a free pass or not doesn’t really change anything," soone pointed out.
"Alright, fine. But my opponent… Foundation Establishnt Perfection? That’s strong. I doubt my Dragon Horse can handle it alone."
"No problem. Fight together."
Hearing Lin Jing’s words, Gao Sheng leapt onto the arena.
The Zhong Family was a renowned military family, whose cultivators had served in the army for generations. Though they had no Nascent Soul cultivators, it was said that when fighting in formation, the Zhong Family army could even take down Nascent Soul opponents.
As Gao Sheng and Zhong Xin stepped onto the stage, the audience erupted in discussion.
"The Zhong Family’s True Qi Horse Manifestation technique is terrifying for its cavalry tactics and relentless charge. Zhong Xin might not be on the Genius Rankings, but that’s probably because she’s been training in the military. Now that she’s here, she’s definitely aiming to make a na for herself!"
"On the other hand, the Gao Family excels at the Great Enchantnt Technique, which enhances magic treasures with exorcism power, making them natural counters to demonic cultivators!"
anwhile, on the stage—
"Zhong Xin, of the Zhong Family," the armored woman announced. As she spoke, she summoned a phantom warhorse made of true qi, mounted it, and drew her spear. Her powerful aura locked onto Gao Sheng, whose cultivation was far lower than hers.
The Gao Family’s enchantnt techniques could enhance magic treasures, but against an opponent like Zhong Xin, Gao Sheng himself was not much of a threat.
However, he didn't introduce himself as a Gao Family mber.
"Dragon Palace, Gao Sheng, from Hidden Dragon Academy!"
With that, he took out a small jade bottle, shook it, and suddenly—a white Dragon-Horned Horse appeared, growing from miniature size to its full, majestic form.
This was the Beast-Sealing Technique, a beast-taming spell that allowed cultivators to shrink and store their beasts conveniently. The bottle wasn’t a spatial treasure, just an ordinary jade container, but it was more than enough to hold the shrunken Dragon Horse.
The horse's four hooves were clad in tal horseshoes forged from rare alloys, and it was covered in battle armor, looking awe-inspiring.
"True Qi Horse Manifestation? It won’t stand a chance against my exorcism-enhanced Dragon Horse! Let’s see how the Zhong Family’s cavalry asures up!"
Gao Sheng quickly enchanted the Dragon Horse’s armor with the Great Enchantnt Technique, strengthening it.
"Charge!"
With a roar, the Dragon Horse’s eyes glowed red, its powerful bloodline energy erupting as it galloped forward.
Zhong Xin blinked. "What the hell?"
Then, her expression changed—she had just realized that this Dragon Horse carried a King-tier Dragon Bloodline!
Moreover, it was fully equipped with rare tal armor and further enhanced by Gao Sheng’s enchantnt!
Zhong Xin wasn't the only one confused.
Even Gao Sheng’s father, watching in secret, had a dark expression.
"Damn it! Who taught you to use Great Enchantnt Technique like this?!"
He had sent his son to Hidden Dragon Academy hoping he’d learn sothing useful, but never expected this!
Yet, as bizarre as it seed, the Dragon Horse’s charge was unstoppable, smashing through Zhong Xin’s defenses and sending her flying!
"Next ti, just get a real horse," Gao Sheng said, stroking his victorious mount.
The entire arena fell silent.
And then, murmurs spread—
"Dragon Palace? What the hell is that?"
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