Chapter 125: "Mortals, they know not the art of patience."

Chapter 125: "Mortals, they know not the art of patience."

As the pillar of light descended from mid-air, the elders of various sects seated around the arena applauded. Chen Qiu, seated in his original position, was surprised by this unexpected introduction segment. He never anticipated that he would be the first participant to be introduced.

Nevertheless, he stood up, a gentle smile on his face as he nodded slightly towards the audience, and then sat back down.

An elder from a nearby sect gazed at Chen Qiu with a mix of awe and admiration, "As expected of the current peerless Law Cultivator Heaven's Pride, a young talent who has made such a splash. He's a Fifth Rank Celestial Golden Core and a Celestial Sage. His accomplishments are truly remarkable."

"But he must be a bit arrogant, right?"

"It's an astonishing feat, and there's no denying his uniqueness."

"But look at Chen Qiu, not a hint of pride on his face. He treats the Golden Core as if it's nothing special. With such a temperament on the path of cultivation, he'll surely go far. What do you think, Sect Leader?"

The elder turned to the middle-aged woman beside him, the sect leader, who, though not a young girl, exuded a unique charm that girls lacked.

"Hmm."

The sect leader's eyes seemed to wander as she gazed at Chen Qiu's gentle smile, murmuring, "Don't you feel that Chen Qiu has a special quality about him?"

"Like... like a freshly baked dessert."

"It's so tempting, you want to take a bite?"

After a moment of silence, the elder turned back to Chen Qiu, who had already sat down, and shook his head, "Not at all."

"He's putting on an act."

Qu Qi, the young master of the Qu family, couldn't help but scoff as he watched Chen Qiu's gentle smile from a distance, "When he was massacring the Evil Tribes, I didn't see any trace of that smile. With tens of thousands of lives in his hands, he's acting all gentle here."

"And he's a Celestial Sage, too."

"If this is what it takes to become a sage, the Celestial Dao is truly blind."

Qu Qi's voice abruptly stopped, and he ducked his head, whispering, "Even the Celestial Dao has been deceived."

"Is that Chen Qiu, the one who formed the Fifth Rank Golden Core?"

In the front row of the audience, a girl in a gorgeous gown turned with interest towards Chen Qiu, "It's been a while since I've seen my father. Has His Majesty expressed any opinion about this Fifth Rank Golden Core?"

"No."

The slightly older boy beside her shook his head, his face expressionless, "His Majesty is busy with state affairs and rarely attends morning court. He hardly has the time to manage a single Heaven's Pride, even if the Fifth Rank Golden Core's reputation is quite impressive."

"But a Fifth Rank Golden Core only represents great potential, not actual strength."

"At best, he's just a First Stage Golden Core."

"However, the top three spots shouldn't be a problem. As for the first place, it's definitely going to be Xiao Qiu."

In recent years, the Grand Master had been keeping a low profile, and His Majesty rarely made public appearances. Most days, he spent his time alone in the depths of the palace, not allowing anyone to enter. Occasionally, he would venture out for a stroll, and for the past few years, the Crown Prince had presided over the morning court in his father's stead nearly seven out of ten times.

Fortunately, the Crown Prince was also talented, and no major issues had arisen.

Among this group, a slightly youthful-looking boy sat quietly in the center, his head bowed as he watched ants scurrying on the ground. After a while, he suddenly lifted his foot and crushed one of the ants, then continued observing without saying a word.

The other ants didn't seem to care about their fallen comrade and continued their busy work.

This time, he lifted his foot and crushed all the ants.

No more ants were left to toil.

He was the strongest among this group, a Second Stage Golden Core cultivator, and he was only 19 years old. A 19-year-old Golden Core cultivator was a terrifying existence in the Great Xia Kingdom. He was the seventh prince of Great Xia.

The man in the center of the plaza continued his introduction with a resonant voice.

"The second strong contender—"

"The Seventh Prince of Great Xia, obtained the Golden Core at 17, a Third Rank Golden Core, and once single-handedly slew thousands of demons and monsters..."

"Xiao Jiqiu!"

The announcement ended.

The boy in the front row seemed not to have heard a thing, remaining still in his seat without even lifting his head, as if the introduction didn't concern him.

The man in the center of the plaza didn't seem to mind and continued.

"The third strong contender—"

"Qu Qi, the young master of the Qu family, husband to five Celestial Beauties, entered the Golden Core stage in just three years, and the former strongest Law Cultivator Heaven's Pride..."

"Qu Qi!"

". . ."

Qu Qi, who was about to stand up and greet the audience with a smile, froze at the words "former strongest Law Cultivator Heaven's Pride." His face darkened, and many others also looked at him with curious expressions.

Feeling the strange gazes, Qu Qi, already with a fragile ego, felt a nameless fire burning within. He stood up, his face expressionless, and stared at the man in the center of the plaza, demanding an explanation.

"Explain yourself. What do you mean by 'former strongest Law Cultivator Heaven's Pride'?"

The head of the Qu family, seated beside Qu Qi, turned pale at the sight and quickly grabbed Qu Qi's sleeve, intending to make him sit down. The man in the center of the plaza represented the Great Xia Kingdom, and the Qu family didn't have the strength to offend the royal family.

It was one thing to have a temper tantrum, but to disrespect the Great Xia at this moment was asking for trouble later.

The middle-aged man who was about to introduce the next Heaven's Pride contender looked at Qu Qi without arrogance or humility, smiling, "Yesterday's Qu Qi will always be the former strongest Law Cultivator Heaven's Pride because today's Qu Qi is the new strongest Law Cultivator Heaven's Pride. The Qu family doesn't have the strength to offend the Great Xia royal family."

"Hmm."

Qu Qi, who was about to say something, heard these words and stood up proudly, looking down at Chen Qiu, who was sitting in the distance. He gave Chen Qiu a challenging look, and the surrounding audience also looked at Chen Qiu with curious expressions.

It seemed like there was some bad blood between these two.

"So embarrassing, so embarrassing," Chen Qiu, seated, felt embarrassed and looked down at his feet, trying to avoid Qu Qi's gaze by bending his body.

As Qu Qi suddenly blurted out those words, Chen Qiu felt embarrassed and speechless. But when Qu Qi gave him a provocative look, he couldn't help but feel even more humiliated.

Damn it! I'll make you my first target once we enter the Talent Realm. No negotiations.

After this little interruption, everything returned to normal. The middle-aged man on the square below continued introducing the remaining renowned Talents, only mentioning those at the Golden Core stage and some well-known Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivators. The rest were simply skipped over.

Chen Qiu discreetly observed the strengths of his other opponents.

There were quite a few powerful Cultivators among them, and he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.

The strongest was at the second layer of the Golden Core stage.

Including him, there were six Golden Core Cultivators, and most of the others were at the Foundation Establishment Peak stage. This made things a bit tricky.

Why are they all so weak? Chen Qiu worried that if he showed even a bit of his strength, he might accidentally kill all these Talents.

The sects and families backing these Talents were not weak either. Many of them had Peak Golden Core Cultivators leading them. If he killed all these Talents, he would offend almost all the top-ranked sects in the Great Xia Sect Rankings.

By then, the entire Great Xia's Golden Core Cultivators might unite to hunt him down.

And for no apparent reason.

He didn't have such a murderous intent.

He only intended to plunder the Heavenly Materials from this batch of Talents to forge his Celestial Artifact, but now, seeing how weak they were, he began to ponder how to hold back during the upcoming battle. He wanted to make them feel the despair of being unable to resist without accidentally killing them all.

Of course, Chen Qiu glanced at Qu Qi, who was still feeling proud in the crowd. Some people didn't need to be spared.

It would be a perfect opportunity to kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

Just then—

A strand of Golden Core Divine Sense quietly approached him. Not a single Golden Core Cultivator on the square had their Divine Sense released, not only because of the suppression of the six Royal Family members at the Peak Golden Core stage but also because, for Golden Core Cultivators, releasing Divine Sense was a dangerous signal.

It almost meant a life-and-death duel.

Once Divine Sense was released, it meant that one could be locked onto at any time. And once locked on, one might face a barrage of spells, Golden Core attacks, Divine Sense attacks, or flying sword attacks.

None of these were pleasant experiences.

Therefore, in Golden Core Cultivators' social interactions, it was generally understood that they wouldn't release their Divine Sense. Doing so meant initiating a life-and-death battle, and this fight was unavoidable.

However, this strand of Divine Sense didn't seem hostile.

It stealthily moved, trying to hide its Divine Sense fluctuations as it bypassed everyone before cautiously approaching Chen Qiu and gently touching his Divine Sense to test the waters.

There was no locking on or Divine Sense attack.

It was like someone knocking on your door.

Divine Sense transmission was a unique ability of Golden Core Cultivators, but it was usually used among acquaintances. Strangers wouldn't allow others to enter their Divine Sense Sea unless they were overwhelmingly more powerful and could directly invade their Divine Sense Sea.

What if your intention was to attack instead of transmit sound? That's why Chen Qiu could clearly sense that this strand of Divine Sense was weak. He could tell that the owner of this Divine Sense intentionally released this extremely weak strand, allowing it to enter his Divine Sense Sea. Even if attacked, it would only result in a minor injury.

As the saying goes, the more skilled one is, the bolder one becomes.

Chen Qiu didn't hesitate for long before allowing this strand of Divine Sense into his Divine Sense Sea, where his "Nine Heavens Divine Perception Array" was located. This strand of Divine Sense couldn't harm him.

However, he only allowed it to enter the outermost part of his Divine Sense Sea, so the other party couldn't detect the "Nine Heavens Divine Perception Array" and could still achieve the effect of sound transmission.

Soon—

He sensed a voice from that strand of Divine Sense.

"Greetings, Friend Chen. I am the Supreme Elder of the Qu Family. I have some information that I believe will interest you greatly. Qu Qi's Storage Ring contains a large amount of Heavenly Materials for forging Law Artifacts."

"Don't ask me why I'm leaking the Qu Family's secrets."

"Because..."

"I have a premonition that you are the one who can truly save the Great Xia from its crisis!"

". . ."

Chen Qiu twitched his lips but didn't speak. For a moment, he didn't pay much attention to what the Qu Family's Supreme Elder meant by those words—was it betrayal or a conspiracy?

But it didn't matter anymore.

In Chen Qiu's eyes, Qu Qi was already a dead man. As for the Heavenly Materials in his Storage Ring, Chen Qiu would gladly accept them.

"Phew," the Qu Family's Supreme Elder, sitting next to the head of the Qu Family, breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know if Chen Qiu would believe his reason, as it was challenging to find a plausible explanation for betraying the Qu Family.

He couldn't just say,

"I'm a transmigrator with no emotional attachment to the Qu Family. Based on my past life's experience of reading novels, you, Chen Qiu, seem to be the true protagonist of this world. This Qu Qi will eventually be killed by you, and you'll take his materials. I'm trying to curry favor with you in advance to avoid being destroyed when you come to annihilate the Qu Family in the future."

This was his true inner thought, but he couldn't possibly say it out loud.

Finally—

All the renowned Talents had been introduced, and just then, a white whirlpool slowly appeared in the center of the square]. At the same time, a familiar ethereal voice resonated.

-

"Celestial Mandate Scroll": The Talent Realm has appeared five li north of the Great Xia Kingdom's capital. Only Talents under the age of 50 are eligible to enter. The ranking in this Talent Realm will determine the rankings on this year's Heaven's Pride Ranking.

After a thousand breaths, the entrance to the realm will close.

-

This regional Celestial Mandate Scroll can only be heard within the Jingzhou region.

The Talent Realm appears here every year, so the capital has built a square with tens of thousands of seats for spectators.

Within the Talent Realm, death is impossible.

When one is on the verge of death, they will be automatically expelled from the realm.

Unless one dies too quickly, bypassing the verge of death.

At this moment, many of the Talented Youths had already stood up from the square's seats and entered the white whirlpool.

"Brother Qiu."

The scholar turned to Chen Qiu and earnestly instructed, "Each Talent Paragon Realm is different. The two times I entered the Talent Paragon Realm, one was an arena battle, and the other was a competition in a vast forest where we fought for Celestial Dao fragments. Our rankings were determined by the number of fragments we collected."

"Be careful."

"Mm."

Chen Qiu nodded and waved his sleeve, gathering the scholar and the others into his Little World. Only then did he calmly walk towards the white whirlpool.

Many people witnessed this scene.

"A Little World?"

The Golden Core Talented Youth from the Liu Family, who was participating in the competition this time, saw this and her pupils suddenly contracted, a hint of disbelief flashing in her eyes. She couldn't believe that the person who had killed her sister, her enemy, possessed a Little World just like her Liu Family.

Moreover, it seemed to be of a higher grade than their Liu Family's Little World!

The Liu Family's Little World was fixed in a certain location, and it couldn't be carried around. She had never heard of any hidden clan possessing such a portable Little World.

"Now I have another reason to kill you."

The girl licked the dagger in her hand, her eyes flashing with murderous intent, and a bloodthirsty and cruel smile appeared on her lips.

If she could bring this portable Little World back to her family, it would be an unparalleled achievement.

A Spell Cultivator?

She specialized in killing Spell Cultivators. Their physical strength was almost non-existent, even at the Golden Core stage. Their bodies were weaker than Foundation Establishment Body Cultivators. The body protection spells of Foundation Establishment Spell Cultivators were as fragile as paper, but Golden Core body protection spells were quite powerful. However, Chen Qiu had just entered the Golden Core stage, when would he have had the time to cultivate Golden Core body protection spells?

Even though she knew that Chen Qiu's offensive abilities were strong.

During the Foundation Establishment stage, he had single-handedly slain hundreds of thousands of Evil Tribesmen.

But a Spell Cultivator with strong offensive abilities but no Golden Core body protection spells was no different from a fragile doll in front of her, who specialized in assassination and concealment.

"Go, Second Miss."

An elder standing behind the girl spoke in a calm voice, "The Liu Family hasn't shown itself to the world for a long time. With the upcoming changes in the Celestial Dao version, the world will soon be in chaos. It's time for the Liu Family to make a move."

"It seems many have forgotten that the Liu Family once had another name, the Shadow Family."

"Let these so-called Talented Youths of Great Xia recognize the true might of the Shadow Family once again."

As Chen Qiu stepped into the white whirlpool, he found himself in an endless, boundless wasteland. A force of heaven and earth restrained him, preventing any movement. The other Talented Youths who had entered the realm earlier were also immobilized.

Dozens of Talented Youths stood on the reddish-brown soil, warily eyeing those around them, patiently waiting for the realm to officially begin.

Only one Talented Youth was unaffected by the restraint, transforming into a streak of light and shooting towards the distance, seemingly intending to explore the surroundings while the others were still immobilized.

Finally—

After nearly a thousand breaths.

The entrance to the realm slowly closed, and a voice echoed in the ears of all the Talented Youths within. At the same time, the scene inside the realm was projected into the sky above the square outside, and the voices within the realm were also synchronized and heard in the square.

"The world is about to be engulfed in chaos, and only through a hundred battles will the Talented Youth emerge."

"In this Talent Paragon Realm, only one Talented Youth will be chosen. This Talented Youth will be the only one on the Talent Ranking, and they will be the strongest Worldly Paragon before the chaos arrives."

"In this realm, only this Talented Youth will have the qualification to forge a Celestial Artifact, and the grade of this Celestial Artifact will be higher than before."

"Whoever becomes this Talented Youth will have the power to influence the chaos."

"With so many Talented Youths, who will be the strongest?"

Immediately after.

The restraints on everyone's bodies were lifted. Before they could react, 108 arenas suddenly appeared out of thin air on the ground, and the 215 Talented Youths standing on the ground, including the one who had shot towards the distance a thousand breaths ago, a total of 216 Talented Youths, were all pulled onto the arenas.

This Talent Paragon Realm turned out to be an arena battle.

Chen Qiu narrowed his eyes and looked at the Foundation Establishment Peak man standing opposite him, his body trembling slightly, and at the cloud-covered panel floating above the arena.

"In this Talent Paragon Realm, all the heavenly materials and treasures in the storage rings of the cultivators that can be used to forge Celestial Artifacts will be extracted."

"The victor will obtain all the heavenly materials and treasures."

"..."

He looked at the empty red arena in the center, where a large number of heavenly materials and treasures were piled up, including many of his own. Most of them were obtained from the Artificer Cultivators in Fat Province.

There was even his Rainbow Fishing Rod, which he had kept as a plaything.

His Rainbow Fishing Rod was also a heavenly material that could be used to forge Celestial Artifacts.

This was something he hadn't expected.

However, it saved him a lot of trouble. The Talent Paragon Realm had done the dirty work for him. Even if he took all these heavenly materials and treasures, no one could blame him. After all, these were the rules of the Talent Paragon Realm.

At this moment.

The countdown began on the cloud-covered panel above the arena. The moment the countdown ended, it signaled the start of the first arena battle.

Chen Qiu looked towards the Foundation Establishment Peak man not far away and smiled.

This Talent Paragon Realm, due to the changes in the Celestial Dao version, had altered the previous rules. Instead of selecting the top 100 Talented Youths, and instead of forging Celestial Artifacts for the top three, it would only choose one Talented Youth and forge the strongest Celestial Artifact.

He couldn't have anticipated this.

At the same time, he also felt fortunate. Fortunately, he had broken through to the Golden Core stage before this Talent Ranking began; otherwise, he would have missed this opportunity. The Celestial Artifact of the unique Worldly Paragon would definitely be better than those from the previous Talent Rankings.

Just then—

The countdown ended.

It must be said that the Foundation Establishment Peak man opposite Chen Qiu was quite spirited. Despite his body trembling, he roared with a quivering voice, and his sword exuded killing intent. As soon as the countdown ended, he took the initiative and launched an attack towards Chen Qiu.

This sword!

As long as it pierces him... Well, even his bodyguard spirit qi couldn't withstand it.

It was still too difficult for a Foundation Establishment to challenge a Golden Core.

Chen Qiu shook his head, not wanting to waste any more time. He glanced at the man and casually unleashed a Lightning Summoning Art with its power reduced to the minimum, and a miniature version of a lightning dragon shot out.

"Boom!"

With just this one strike, the man's bodyguard spirit qi and bodyguard artifact were shattered, and he was sent flying, slamming heavily into the arena barrier before falling into a corner of the arena, his entire body broken.

The barrier was made of heaven and earth spirit qi, invisible but incredibly tough. It was nearly impossible for ordinary attacks to cause any cracks, mainly to prevent the battles on this arena from affecting the other arenas nearby.

The man lay on the ground like a pile of mud, blood bubbles forming in his mouth, and he looked at Chen Qiu with gratitude in his eyes.

Obviously, he knew that Chen Qiu had held back as much as possible.

Otherwise, that one strike would have been enough to instantly kill him.

He had already resigned himself to death, but he never expected Chen Qiu to spare his life, naturally making him feel grateful. No one wanted to die, and who had spread the rumor that Chen Qiu was cruel?

The next moment!

The severely injured man disappeared from the arena and was forcibly expelled from the Talent Realm.

"Still not good enough."

Chen Qiu furrowed his brows and looked at his right hand. He had already minimized the power of the Lightning Summoning Art, but he was still a step away from killing this Foundation Establishment man on the spot. Was there no other method with less power?

Divine Sense? That wouldn't work; it would instantly kill him.

Golden Core? That would also be instant death.

A Golden Core cultivator was overwhelmingly powerful compared to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, especially Chen Qiu's Twelfth Rank Golden Core. For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was an absolute crushing existence.

"This is so difficult."

Chen Qiu sighed helplessly, unable to find a solution. The Lightning Summoning Art he had just used required the least amount of spirit qi, and he hadn't even used any spirit control techniques. Additionally, there were still over twenty virtual and real lightning dragons left after the double and tenfold casting of the Lightning Summoning Art, all of which were smashed behind him.

But even so...

For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the power still seemed a bit too much.

Were Foundation Establishment cultivators so fragile?

He turned to look at the other arenas. The other six Golden Core Talents had also quickly ended their battles, and only a group of Foundation Establishment Talents remained on the arena, fighting with great enthusiasm and providing an exciting spectacle.

Once all the arenas had determined their winners...

The victors would be reassigned to new arenas, and this process would continue until the ultimate winner stood on the highest arena as the Worldly Paragon.

This winner would obtain the title of Worldly Paragon and take away all the heavenly treasures.

Very simple rules.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

At this moment, on the Talent Paragon Realm Plaza, many sect elders rushed to the plaza with anxious expressions, quickly feeding their severely injured disciples, who had been forcibly expelled from the realm, with peak-grade healing pills.

The first round was almost over.

The spectators in the audience looked at the images from the Talent Realm in the sky with complex expressions.

The Heavenward Sect Leader gazed at Chen Qiu, who was standing quietly on the arena, and muttered, "The world is about to be in turmoil, and the Worldly Paragon will be decided. If you, Chen Qiu, can win this title, you will truly rise to prominence."

"During the world's turmoil, you will have a place."

He never expected the rules of the Talent Realm to change so drastically. Although the rules were different each time, it had always been a given that the top 100 would be selected.

The top 100 Talents on the Talent Ranking would receive blessings from the Celestial Dao daily.

Those ranked after 100 would automatically receive their rankings accordingly.

The Great Xia Royal Family...

...would also reward the top 100 and their respective sects after the Talent Realm ended.

But this time, the Talent Realm only chose one Worldly Paragon. This change was obviously due to the impending world turmoil.

Fortunately, Zhao Yi Shi didn't come.

Otherwise, it would have been a waste of an opportunity to enter the Talent Realm.

Some were happy, while others were worried.

For example, the elder of the Warhammer Sect was looking at the direction of the hidden Liu Family with a gloomy expression. Their sect's Foundation Establishment disciple had just died at the hands of the Liu Family's Golden Core Talent.

That woman was truly ruthless.

If it was just a defeat, they wouldn't have said much, as it was a matter of skill. Even if it was an accidental kill, it was still normal. In a life-and-death battle, who could hold back if they weren't overwhelmingly powerful?

But that woman, she had used a dagger to slice nearly a hundred pieces of flesh from their disciple, torturing him. Although the injuries were severe, they were only skin-deep and wouldn't cause expulsion from the realm.

That woman had laughed as she tormented their sect's disciple.

Finally, after growing bored, she instantly killed their sect's disciple, and there was no chance of being expelled from the realm.

This could no longer be considered a normal battle.

It was an act of humiliation and provocation!

The Sect Leader of the Warhammer Sect stopped the elder who was about to hurl insults and looked at the indifferent Liu Family members. After a long silence, he suddenly laughed, "If it were any other sect, we might have let it go."

"After all, your Liu Family is a hidden clan, and you have two peak Golden Core cultivators. You became known as the Shadow Family for your expertise in assassination."

"How formidable."

"But unfortunately, you don't understand our Warhammer Sect. The fact that our sect has such a mundane name means that everyone in our sect is ordinary."

"Ordinary people don't know how to endure."

"If we have a grudge, we settle it on the spot. If we can't, we die."

Immediately after...

The Sect Leader of the Warhammer Sect calmly looked at the indifferent Liu Family members and whispered to the communication talisman on his finger, "Summon the Supreme Elder from seclusion, and all the elders and disciples of the Warhammer Sect shall gather."

"Today—"

"I want this Liu Family's Golden Core Talent to die in Jingzhou."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end