Chapter 38: Gathering of Talented Clouds
in, his crimson war blade already descending.Whoosh!The blade sliced through the air, but it felt like space itself had been torn apart.That sharpness, like any obstacle in its path, would only be mer...The next morning, the ten gifted individuals who had received hunting quotas were already gathered at the County Governor's Mansion.
"This is, the Purple Wind Beast"
Everyone looked at the dozen or so monsters standing before them.
The Purplewind Beast, while considered a lower-level demon beast, boasts incredible flight speed and a docile temperament. It is easily tamed, making it a popular mount for travel within the Tianyan Imperial Dynasty.
Let's go.
The head of the Chi Long Lou, Yuan Qing, personally led the team.
It took only two hours for the group to arrive at Yunzhou Prefecture.
And at this moment, within the Yunzhou Prefecture's Governor's Mansion, a large number of talented individuals selected from various counties across Yunzhou had gathered.
Yuan Qing
As soon as Su Xin and his group landed, someone immediately came up to greet them.
"Iron Eagle, remember the URL.
"
Upon seeing the arrival, Yuan Qing smiled, clearly showing that the two were close friends.
"Iron Eagle, the one behind you is from the talented selection of Si Shui County, right I heard that this time, there was even a genius who cleared the second floor of the Red Dragon Tower. Who is it" Yuan Qing asked Iron Eagle, pulling him along.
"Well, he pointed with his iron hawk towards a cold and stern man in black robes over there."
The man in the black robe stood there with a cold and stern expression, like a sharp sword, piercingly cold.
"Well, it seems like a master. Yuan Qing nodded."
"What about your Yongning County It doesn't seem to have any particularly remarkable figures, does it Hmm How is there a Haihe Great Accomplishment mixed in there" Tie Ying was also paying attention to the ten geniuses selected from Yongning County. When he saw Su Xin, he showed a strange expression.
“You mustn't underestimate this little fellow. Although he is only a cultivator at the peak of the Sea Transformation stage, in terms of strength, he is the strongest among the geniuses of our Yongning County this year. He is definitely not inferior to the strongest one in your Sisui County,” Yuan Qing said.
"Oh" Tie Ying suddenly became interested. "One who has achieved the Great Perfection of Transforming into the Sea, is the strongest in your Yongning County Come, tell me about it in detail."
Yuan Qing and Tie Ying, both managers of the Chi Long Lou in the same prefecture, were chatting as friends.
And Su Xin and ten other geniuses were now looking forward with some surprise.
Before them, a multitude of brilliant minds from every county gathered in dense throngs.
"There must be two thousand people here," Long Dao exclaimed.
Within the Yunzhou region, there are a total of 206 counties. Ten talented individuals are selected from each county, making a total of 2,060 talented individuals. Su Xin's expression was solemn.
The Heavenly Flame Empire has a total of thirty-six states. On average, each state has two hundred counties and two thousand talented individuals. That's a staggering 72,000 talented people!
This doesn't even include some powerful clans, influential forces, and independent sects that have always existed within the Heavenly Flame Empire. They don't need to go through the preliminary selection assessment. Instead, they are directly given a hunting quota every time the hunt begins.
"If you count everyone, this Imperial City Hunt should have nearly 100,000 participants!"
Su Xin, despite being from a large family and still considered a young master, naturally knew more about hunting in the Imperial City.
As for those large families, powerful factions, and even some independent sects, they all have fixed hunting quotas, which is a fact.
Like the Su family, back when their ancestor was alive, as a prominent family in the Heavenly Flame Empire, they had abundant resources and cultivated their disciples. Back then, whenever a hunting event was held in the imperial city, the Su family could obtain quite a few spots. However, after the Su family declined, these spots naturally disappeared.
"
Nearly 100,000 talents!"
"
Longdao and the others were all a bit dazed.
They were indeed the top talents in Yongning County, a mere county. However, within the Yunzhou region, they could only be considered quite excellent.
But within the vast empire, encompassing thirty-six prefectures and nearly 100,000 talented individuals, such accomplishments became rather commonplace.
With so many geniuses gathered here, Su Xin clenched his hands tightly, a surge of excitement rising in his heart.
In the past decade, among those who have tried to conquer the Dragon Seeking Tower, most are like Kang Jing, only managing to barely pass the first level or reach a standard close to it.
And slightly stronger are those like Longdao, Qiuze, Lingyu and so on.
What's truly impressive are those top-tier powerhouses who have cleared the second level of the Dragon Seeking Tower. There are likely over a thousand such elite prodigies participating in this royal city hunt.
This is where true talent gathers!!
Compared to the entire Tianyan Dynasty, a mere Yongning County is simply too small!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! ~~~
Dozens of figures surged out of the governor's mansion simultaneously. At the head was a stalwart old man, none other than the governor of Yunzhou.
Yunzhou, one of the thirty-six states of the Tianyan Imperial Dynasty.
Yúnzhōu's governor was also a high-ranking official.
And being able to hold sway over an entire state, this Yunzhou governor's strength is also extremely formidable, having already reached the peak of the Breaking Void realm.
All the talented individuals from each county have arrived. Therefore, let's begin our journey.
With a command from the governor of Yunzhou, 206 counties within Yunzhou and 2,060 talented individuals simultaneously mounted their Purple Wind beasts. They then surged forward in an imposing procession toward the Imperial City.
The Purple Wind Beast is extremely fast.
Originally, it would have taken half a month's journey, but we arrived in just two days.
A multitude of people arrived at a vast plain several dozen miles from the imperial city. From afar, they could gaze upon the magnificent imperial city in the distance, but instead of entering the city, they came to a sprawling camp on the plain.
This camp, located near the royal hunting grounds, was prepared for the many talented participants in the Imperial City Hunt.
Under the personal guidance of the Yunzhou牧守, numerous talented individuals from Yunzhou entered the camp in an orderly manner. They then proceeded with identity registration one by one, each receiving an identification token and being assigned accommodation.
After everything was arranged, the crowd of people were free to move about.
……
As night fell, the camp was abuzz with excitement.
With less than two days left until the hunt begins, nearly 100,000 prodigies selected from across the Heavenly Flame Empire have arrived at this camp. With so many geniuses gathered together, it's impossible not to be excited.
Inside the camp, there are hundreds of arenas used solely for sparring and improving each other's skills.
And now, these hundreds of podia are nearly all occupied.
"Haha, good! Continue!"
"Humph, with you You're no match for me!!"
"Take my hammer!"
……
Su Xin wandered alone in the camp, passing by platform after platform. On each platform, one could see some talented individuals engaged in fierce combat.
These geniuses, who are scattered across various states and counties on a normal day, find it very difficult to find a suitable opponent. But at this imperial city hunting ground, there are simply too many opponents!
They naturally acted without hesitation.
Those who were slightly more warlike, traveled between various stages, constantly battling other geniuses.
Even Su Xin couldn't help but want to spar with someone.
After thinking about it, he still held back.
After all, he's only at the Sea Transformation stage. If someone at that stage were to continuously defeat talented individuals who have passed the first or even second layer of the Dragon Seeking Tower on a platform, it would be too eye-catching. He has enemies everywhere now, so it's best not to attract too much attention.
After the first round of hunting, he entered the imperial city. When all the top powerhouses and forces from all sides gathered on that day, it wouldn't be too late for him to display his true strength openly.
Just then……
"Haha~ You're such a fool! Your attack is so clumsy. Come on, let's clash swords again!"
A familiar voice suddenly entered Su Xin's ears.
Su Xin turned his head and immediately saw among the two people fighting on the platform, the one who looked unkempt and carried a long knife with an evil grin. He was calling himself "young master".
"It's him!" Su Xin was delighted and immediately walked towards the ring.
In the ring, the man dubbed "the big lug" by the youngsters was a towering figure close to two meters tall. He wielded a heavy broadsword, his swordsmanship powerful and weighty, imbued with a profound sense of heaviness, its aura was terrifyingly strong.
In terms of strength, this formidable man could definitely clear the second level of the Dragon Searching Tower.
Thus, such a powerful individual, before that unkempt youth, indeed seemed incredibly foolish.
Although his swordsmanship was formidable, he couldn't even touch the ragged boy's clothing. On the contrary, the ragged boy's casual swings left the burly man in a sorry state.
It was just a moment...
I lost.
The valiant man admitted defeat.
From beginning to end, he was utterly ravaged with no room for struggle whatsoever.
Below the stage, a large number of geniuses surrounded it. Seeing the fierce man admit defeat, they couldn't help but sigh softly.
"Lost another one, this is the eleventh one already"
"This is the eleventh person, and out of these eleven, only four have passed the first level of the Dragon Seeking Tower. The other seven all passed the second level, but in front of this scruffy boy, they were helpless."
"Who is this slovenly boy, and how could he be so strong"
This young man I happen to know. His name is Duan Yunfeng, a very eccentric genius. Rumor has it he spends his time traveling through the Imperial Court, challenging all sorts of strong individuals. As for his strength, among the nearly 100,000 talented individuals participating in this hunt, he definitely has the qualifications to contend for the top ten!
"Capable of cracking the top ten No wonder he's so good!"
In the crowd, there was a buzz of discussion and amazement.
After defeating the burly man, the ragged boy stood on the stage for a while, but no one came up to fight him.
The unimpressed, messy teenager scoffed and then walked off the platform.
"Duan Yunfeng!"
The messy teenager just stepped off the platform when he heard someone calling his name. He turned to see who it was.
"Su Xin"
The slovenly boy's eyes lit up instantly.
He ventured through the Heavenly Blaze Dynasty, clashing with countless talented powerhouses. However, among these brilliant figures, only a handful were truly worthy of his remembrance.
And Su Xinhui was undoubtedly the one who made the deepest impression on him.
Back then in Dongyang City, he had already achieved the cultivation level of a complete Sea of Qi, while Su Xin was only at the True Martial Realm. The gap in their cultivation levels was so vast. Yet, when it came to pure technical skill, he couldn't find a way to beat Su Xin at all. Even if he used his strongest ultimate move, he wasn't confident that he could definitely defeat Su Xin.
Such a genius, of course, deserves to be remembered.
……
The camp not only had a fighting platform, but also a tavern for leisure and relaxation.
At this moment, Su Xin and Duan Yunfeng were sitting opposite each other in a tavern.
"Su Xin, before in Dongyang City, you said you would come to the Imperial City for a hunt and fight me. I didn't expect you to really come." Duan Yunfeng was a little surprised. He hadn't expected that in just a few months, Su Xin's cultivation would have risen from the Zhenwu Realm all the way to the Great Perfection of the Huanghai Realm.
"I said I would come, Su Xin chuckled, “Duan Yunfeng, it's been a few months, your cultivation has improved. It looks like you'll definitely be in the top ten this hunting expedition."
"Haha, I can't speak for others, but for the top ten, I'm confident," Duan Yunfeng smiled with confidence.
Su Xin nodded secretly, he had already noticed Duan Yunfeng's cultivation, from the previous Dzogchen of the Sea Transformation Realm to the peak of the Sea Transformation Realm.
And back then when Duan Yunfeng reached the peak of the Sea-Transforming Realm, the power he unleashed with his cultivation method was already comparable to that of a Sea-Transforming Realm peak expert. Coupled with his swordsmanship and his profound understanding of kendo's essence, now that he has broken through to the peak of the Sea-Transforming Realm, this strength... is truly astonishing.
Even a genius who has cleared the second level of the Dragon Searching Tower, even if two or three of them work together, might not be his opponent.
And you What level are you aiming for this hunt Duan Yunfeng asked.
"You're confident you can reach the top ten, so of course I wouldn't be far behind," Su Xin said with a smile.
"Are you aiming for the top ten You sure" Duan Yunfeng stared intently at Su Xin.
Of course Su Xin nodded.
"Haha, that's great. Before in Dongyang City, your cultivation level was too low, I couldn't really fight you with all my strength. This time during the hunt... forget about the first stage hunting ground competition, once we get to the final stage battles, if we meet, I definitely want to have a good battle with you, Duan Yunfeng said."
"As agreed, Su Xin's confidence is equally high and she is very much looking forward to fighting Duan Yunfeng."
At this time...
"Senior Sister, look, it's Duan Yunfeng!"
Several figures walked past, one of them pointing in the direction where Duan Yunfeng was.
The leading woman among them couldn't help but glance at Duan Yunfeng. After a moment of contemplation, she bowed to Duan Yunfeng and then left.
"Duan Yunfeng, do you know those people who just came" Su Xin asked.
"Unfamiliar, but knowing Duan Yunfeng chuckled, “Luo Xianzi, the contemporary first genius of Ziyunzong, is also qualified to impact the top twenty in this hunt."
……ut that there's a powerful sect backing them.In a corner of the tea stall, a cold and stern young man with a sword on his back sat alone drinking tea. This cold and stern youth was naturally Su Xin."T...