Chapter 239: The storm is coming
Chapter 239: The storm is coming
Translator: Sheryl Editor: Hitesh
As the time got closer for the Hidden Dragon Rank to begin, it seemed to have gotten more and more crowded in the South Rudra Region.
Besides all those hundreds of martial institutions, thousands and thousands of lone warriors had also been running for the Hidden Dragon Ancient City. The lowest cultivation among them would still be Clasping Yuan Realm. None of them were below it, and the reason for that was very simple; only some of the powerful martial institutions would be allowed to bring some of their disciples who were not yet at Clasping Yuan Realm to watch the competitions. The rest would have to be at Clasping Yuan Realm or above. Plus, there was also a limitation on the population, once they reached beyond the set headcount unless one was an Astral Reaching Realm warrior, one would still not be able to get in.
Because of this rule, a lot of lone warriors who had already reached the Clasping Yuan Realm had left few months in advance, because if they were not able to watch the competitions, they knew they would regret it for at least three years. Moreover, this year’s competition was one of the most spectacular one ever, which happened only once every thousand years. If that would be the case, then they would hate themselves for missing it out all their lives.
When the whole South Rudra Region was getting packed, some of the powerful martial institutions were also doing their preparations. This year of Hidden Dragon Rank competitions was the most spectacular one after one thousand years, and there would be countless great martial geniuses who would appear. There was also a dragon fountain with earth qi right below the city, which meant that the ranking would directly affect the destiny of the individuals and their martial institutions. It was not just something based on religious beliefs, it was something that actually existed. Normally, all the powerful young warriors who had made it in the Hidden Dragon Rank would always make it big in the future. The higher the ranking, the greater would be the achievements, barring a few exceptions.
Therefore, in this competition, one would not only be fighting for a ranking, but also for one’s destiny.
In the Sky Demon Martial School…
An extremely high mountain had disappeared high into the clouds. On the peak of the mountain was a fancy-looking pitch black palace. Right outside the palace were two black sculptures with wings on the back and a third eye in between their brows guarding the entrance. Mortal people would not even dare to look directly at them.
Inside the palace, the leader of the Sky Demon Martial School was standing on the top with his back towards the door.
“This year’s Hidden Dragon Rank competitions are not the same. Moyan, you are the head disciple of our Sky Demon Martial School, but you had only gotten the eighth place on the rank three years ago. That was disappointing.”
In the middle of the palace, two teenagers were standing right next to each other. The teenager in black who was standing on the left bent his back and said with great respect, “Leader, I, Moyan, had disappointed you. This time, I will make it to the top three and get our Sky Demon Martial School some more luck.”
“That would be for the best. Moving on now, Qingcheng, you were only ranked 27 last time. How long do you plan to hide your power?”
The lady in purple who was standing right next to the teenager in black said, “Leader, in the last competition, my Sky Demon Great Art had only reached its seventh level. I did not have much confidence in getting into the top ten, that was why I did not use all my strength. I was waiting for this year where I can use all of my power.”
The lady in purple was indeed Murong Qingcheng.
“Your Sky Demon Great Art has reached its tenth level in such a short time, which has even gone beyond Moyan. It seems like that you had gotten some good luck out there. Very well, this time, in the top ten of the Hidden Dragon Rank, our Sky Demon Martial School will definitely take two places and become the number one rank 6 martial institution in the whole South Rudra Region.”
…
Here was a heated volcano region. In the center of the volcano region, countless palaces which were painted red were located. Looking over at the biggest volcano, it was covered in gold magma. And over that endless magma was a land which covered miles of ground. On top of it, there was a red-golden palace.
Only two people were standing in that huge palace.
“Fire, you were ranked two in the last Hidden Dragon Rank… how do you feel about this year’s competition?” A middle-aged man in red-gold was sitting on a humongous chair. The chair was made of neither wood nor any kinds of metals, it was something like a rock which was extremely tough. It looked very subtle but powerful.
The teenager said, “I, Fire Spirit Prince, will not lose for the second time.”
“Great. Being the champion of the Hidden Dragon Rank, you would be able to bring us the greatest luck. If you can become the rank one, then you will truly live up to your Fire Spirit Prince title.” The middle-aged man laughed, and the whole palace seemed to be shaking. The magma outside started to scramble as well.
…
“Daoxuan, your Heartless Spell has already reached its tenth level, and your Heartless Sword Intent has also gotten to sixty percent. You have definitely become one of the rare geniuses of our Heartless Martial School.” On that steep peak, a middle-aged man in blue stood with his hands behind him. His clothes had been blown in the wind, and it looked like he could ride the wind and drift away anytime too.
The teenager with a serious look said, “Leader, you are flattering me.”
“However, the true meaning of being heartless does not mean having no emotions; instead, it should be ‘seeing everything as nothing.' As long as you don’t have any desire in your heart, why would you bother to care about the surface which is the core meaning of being ‘heartless.' If you had already seen through it, then no one on that Hidden Dragon Rank would be able to compete with you.”
“Heartless but not emotionless… see everything like it is nothing?” The cold-looking teenager seemed to be puzzled.
“Hehe, It might still be quite hard for you now. Even I had not seen it through it at your age. I just want you to start thinking in that direction. There is no need for you to be trapped by the word ‘Heartless.'”
“Yes, sir.”
Although the cold-looking teenager had not understood the deep meaning yet, he had already remembered it by heart.
…
Cang Xuan Nation, the nation that was right next to the Black Dragon Empire.
It had the biggest ground coverage among the top three nations, but its residential population was only living in one-tenth of the area while the remaining nine-tenth of the land was covered by countless mountains.
On the west side of the Cang Xuan Nation, the sky was full of colored clouds and sunshine, looking extremely gorgeous.
Visibly, a huge beam of sunshine had poured down from the sky and landed on that massive martial institution. It was indeed the second rank 6 martial institutions of the Cang Xuan Nation – the Sunshine Martial School.
“Your head disciple was ranked 6 in the last Hidden Dragon Rank, but he is now already twenty-four, which means he would not be allowed to join the competition. Therefore, the mission of being in the top ten has now landed on your shoulder, Qianyun.” The leader of the Sunshine Martial School seemed to be worried. This year’s Hidden Dragon Rank competitions would be one of the most intense ones in the past one thousand years, and would contain unimaginable luck. However, their head disciple was already twenty-four years’ old so he would not be able to join the competition. Although the second disciple grew at an extremely fast speed and was also very powerful at the young age of nineteen, he still lacked experience. It would be a bit rough for him to try to take on the champions from last competitions
The teenager who looked quite well-groomed said, “Leader, I could do whatever the head disciple managed to do, don’t worry.”
“I don’t count on you to be in the top five, but you have to get in the top ten. Everything reaches the peak, and everything will go downhill from there, so is the Hidden Dragon Rank. The luck we can get from the competition will never be this high.”
“I understand.”
…
Floating Mountain.
It was not only the name of the fascinating mountain, but it was also the name of a rank 6 martial institution.
There were two Life and Death Realm warriors in the history of this martial institution. They had once pushed the martial institution’s rank to rank 5. However, there were also up and downs for everything. So when there were no new powerful warriors like that being born, the Floating Mountain martial school had dropped to a rank 6 institution again.
However, no one would dare to underestimate the power of the Floating Mountain Martial School, not even the royal families of the top three nations.
In the middle of those mountains, a ten thousand meters’ tall mountain was floating three thousand three hundred meters in the sky. According to rumors, this mountain was brought back by the second Life and Death Realm warrior from some ancient place. It contained the godly iron with yuan magnet which worked opposite to gravity. And that was the reason the mountain was able to go against the rule of nature and float in the air permanently.
There was only one palace on that mountain, which was indeed the main palace of the Floating Mountain Martial School.
In the plaza of the main palace.
A powerful-looking middle-aged man was standing right next to a teenager, looking down on the endless ground below them.
“Sheng’er, just like me, you are the decedent of the Mysterious King ancestor. You have his king blood running in your veins. Unfortunately, my potential has run out, and I will never be able to enter the Life and Death Realm. However, you are different from me. You have more potential and talent than me. And you are the most powerful warrior among the young generation. One day, you might be lucky enough to face that most difficult challenge and become the new leader of the Floating Mountain Martial School. Right now, it is indeed a moment of challenge. As the descendent of a great warrior, you would have to do things that a great warrior would do – keep taking the champion place of the Hidden Dragon Rank, bringing our Floating Mountain Martial School endless luck.”
The teenager had the aura of a king. He looked down at the earth with this unique emptiness in his eyes, and said lightly, “The South Rudra Region is only a starting point for me. This true spirit continent is my true stage to shine. Eldest grandpa, don’t worry. The champion place of the Hidden Dragon Rank is already in my bag. Without any surprises, when I reach the top for the second time, it will be the time for me to leave the South Rudra Region and travel the world.”
The powerful-looking middle-aged man laughed. In his opinion, his Sheng’er was indeed talented and full of potential. He knew that he was the right person to carry the bloodline of the family. Right now, all he was lacking was an equally powerful opponent to stimulate his potential and make him even more powerful. Once he reached the level where the Mysterious Queen was at, it would be hard to make any more breakthroughs because even lion’s claws would need sharpening after spending too much time among the sheep. However, if a lion stayed among the lions, then it would only become stronger and stronger unless it had lost what it took to be a lion.
…
Ice Crystal Empire, the Ice nation.
In this huge nation, there were also two rank 6 martial institutions, the Sky Falling Martial School and the Ice Extreme Martial School.
The Sky Falling Martial School was located on a meteorite which was more than ten miles big. It was black with a hint of red, its surface having a metal-like shine.
In the lobby of the Sky Falling Martial School.
“The God is blessing our Sky Falling Martial School. Yun’er somehow has mastered the eleventh level of the Sky Falling Great Art in this critical moment.”
“Indeed. The Sky Falling Great Art is a top rank Earth Realm martial art, and its eleventh level’s power is definitely frightening.”
“Not to mention the top three, even the champion place is worth fighting for. He might even be able to win against that Sikong Sheng from the Floating Mountain Martial School.”
“Sikong Sheng had inherited the bloodline of the Mysterious King and has an unlimited potential. However, when facing extreme power, even the powerful descendants would have to fear him. Hahahaha! Awesome!”
The teenager who had a reckless aura laughed, “Leader, masters… I wish you all can keep this as a secret. I want to win the competition of the Hidden Dragon Rank as a black horse; I want to win an unbeatable reputation for our Sky Falling Martial School.”
“Naturally, all of the people here are the core masters of our Sky Falling Martial School. We will certainly keep your secret for you. However, you should not be careless. Use this period of time to stabilize the eleventh level of your Sky Falling Great Art… try to reach its limit too. Also, if you can take the champion place this time, the position of the future leader of the Sky Falling Martial School will definitely be yours.” The leader of the Sky Falling Martial School promised.
“Okay! The champion place is sure mine!”
The teenager was full of ambition and passion.
…
The Ice Extreme Martial School was located in that land of ice mountains. There were only white mountains and white rivers, and that white foggy sky.
Inside that humongous ice mountain was a palace which was made fully by ice blocks.
“Ice Ling, although our Ice Extreme Martial School does not encourage fighting, the competitions of the Hidden Dragon Rank is not only about winning. It is a great opportunity to win some luck. No matter if it is only luck for individuals or for the martial institution, it is a necessity to fight for it. I want you to take the top three of this year’s Hidden Dragon Rank.” A beautiful middle-aged lady said coldly.
In the middle of the palace, a gorgeous lady in white nodded as she said, “Don’t worry, leader. I, Ice Ling, normally don’t fight for things. But if I make up my mind for something, I sure will be the best. I will earn our school endless luck!”
“Good! Now I don’t have to worry anymore!”