Chapter 134: Chen Qiu, the Patriarch of Mock Heaven Sect, takes a breath.

Chapter 134: Chen Qiu, the Patriarch of Mock Heaven Sect, takes a breath.

The Heavenly Prodigy Road Preliminary Screening Mystic Realm.

The first stage prohibits the use of one's own spirit qi and external objects?

Chen Qiu didn't get up right away but stood at the starting point of the stairs leading into the clouds. He looked up at the Heaven-Reaching Stage.

The stairs were tall and wide.

With each step, one had to lift their leg to its highest point. Smaller-framed female prodigies would likely need to use both their hands and feet to climb.

Chen Qiu took a quick glance around, then stepped onto the stairs and began walking forward. After climbing seventy or eighty steps, he reached the intersection of the stairs and the cloud wall surrounding the plaza.

The plaza was enveloped in countless clouds and mist.

The Heaven-Reaching Stage pierced through the clouds and continued to stretch upwards.

After walking into the cloud-covered stairs for about ten breaths, he finally emerged from the mist, and the scene before him became clear.

It was as if he was in the sky.

In the clear sky, the Heaven-Reaching Stage extended endlessly towards the heavens, and his spirit sense couldn't detect its end.

Below the stairs was an endless sea of fire.

Without even thinking, he knew that falling into the sea of fire without the ability to use spirit qi would result in death or severe injury.

This was the first stage: the Heaven-Reaching Stage.

Chen Qiu stood silently, his expressionless face showing no emotion. He didn't continue climbing, and since his spirit sense couldn't detect the end of the stairs, it meant that no one could climb the stairs within the time limit of an incense stick.

His spell, "Shrink Space," and the term "Slippery Hands" were both short-distance teleportation methods that didn't consume spirit qi. He had planned to rely on these two methods to reach the finish line within the given time, but now it seemed that this plan had to be abandoned.

Firstly, the finish line was too far away, and his spirit sense couldn't detect its end.

Secondly, the sea of fire below seemed to be a map-restricted element, and randomly falling into it would result in injury or death.

He had no idea how to pass the first stage within the time limit using only physical strength.

Chen Qiu furrowed his brows, deep in thought.

He knew that the prodigies participating in the "Heavenly Prodigy Road Preliminary Screening" Mystic Realm were not from the Great Xia Country but from other countries he had never visited, like the Demon Race Prodigy. The prodigies from outside might be stronger than those from the Great Xia Country due to their lack of restrictions.

This possibility was highly likely.

However, even with great strength, there must be a certain level of understanding.

Without relying on external objects or his own spirit qi, he couldn't think of any means to complete the hundred-li-long Heaven-Reaching Stage within the time limit. It was an impossible task.

If...

If he were the arranger of this mystic realm and put himself in the perspective of the Heavenly Dao...

He had set up a realm that was almost impossible to pass. If he excluded the possibility that he didn't want anyone to pass, there was only one reason left: there must be another way to pass this stage.

"First Stage."

"All participating prodigies in this stage are unable to use external objects or their own spirit qi. They must rely on physical strength and perseverance to reach the top of the stairs within the time limit of an incense stick."

"Those who fail will be eliminated and expelled from the mystic realm."

He recalled the first stage panel he had seen earlier. Standing at the edge of the stairs, he looked down at the sea of fire below. Perhaps the end of the Heaven-Reaching Stage was in the sea of fire?

Did he need to jump into the sea of fire to pass?

Chen Qiu stood in place, deep in thought for a moment, then turned and walked into the clouds behind him. He retraced his steps back to the green stone plaza.

He stood in the center again, the very spot where he had been brought into this place.

Standing in the center of the green stone plaza, he faced the Heaven-Reaching Stage piercing through the clouds. Turning around, he took a determined step into the mist without hesitation.

One breath, two breaths...

After ten breaths, the mist dissipated, and the scene before him became clear. It was another green stone plaza, but it was new and different from the previous one. In the center of the plaza stood a stone tablet.

"Second Stage."

At the same time—

A panel wrapped in clouds appeared before him.

"Congratulations on passing the first stage. Please wait patiently for the second stage to begin."

He was still alone, with no one else in sight. On the stone tablet, there was a leaderboard displaying the fastest prodigies to pass the first stage. He found his name at the top.

"Fastest Passage of the First Stage Leaderboard."

"First Place: Chen Qiu, Patriarch of Mock Heaven Sect, completed in forty-eight breaths."

"Second Place: -"

Currently, only he was on the leaderboard, indicating that he was the only one who had passed the first stage. All the other participating prodigies were still on the first stage.

At that moment, dozens of images appeared in the air, showing some prodigies attempting to pass the stage.

Many of the prodigies' faces were blurred, distorted by the power of heaven and earth, making it impossible to see their features. On the dozens of Heaven-Reaching Stages, each prodigy was using their own methods to pass.

The seemingly endless Heaven-Reaching Stage was an illusion; only a small portion of it was real. The rest were phantoms, and even an ordinary Golden Core cultivator could easily pass within the time limit relying solely on their physical abilities.

He witnessed several prodigies climbing for a long time, but their spirit sense still couldn't detect the end of the stairs. So, they gritted their teeth and jumped into the sea of fire below, only to be eliminated and expelled from the mystic realm as a white light.

Chen Qiu could understand their thoughts. After all, with the remaining time and the apparent length of the stairs, it was impossible to climb to the end. The mystic realm wouldn't have an impossible stage, so the sea of fire below was likely the real end.

However...

The sea of fire below was a trap. Jumping into it would only result in elimination.

As time passed, many of Heaven's Pride chose to leap into the inferno, and some even made this decision when they were already close to reaching the true end of the Heaven-Reaching Stage.

This stage truly targeted those with Spirit Sense, especially those with a broader range.

When you realized that the end was still far away, you would naturally give up and start to think that the inferno was the real endpoint.

On the contrary, those who released their Spirit Sense but acted as if they hadn't seen anything, or those who didn't release their Spirit Sense at all, kept climbing forward. They seemed to be ascending an endless Heaven-Reaching Stage.

However, just before time ran out, they inadvertently stepped on a platform that teleported them to the second stage, the Green Stone Plaza, and informed them that they had passed the stage.

".

Chen Qiu gazed at the images of the Heaven's Pride, feeling a bit dazed as he slowly opened his mouth wide, standing in place. He had thought he had discovered the most correct way to pass the stage, but now it seemed...

His method of passing the stage seemed completely different from what the mystic realm had anticipated. Instead, it was more like he had exploited a map bug.

The first stage truly tested the physical strength and willpower of the Heaven's Pride.

When you couldn't see any hope, would you still take each step forward with determination? This metaphorically represented the cultivation path, where the end was never clear, and without great willpower, one couldn't reach the finish line.

As for the Golden Core Stage Heaven's Pride, their Spirit Sense range was limited, so even though they found it a bit challenging, they kept moving forward.

When time was almost up, and they still couldn't see the end of the Heaven-Reaching Stage through their Spirit Sense, they finally lost hope and fell into the sea.

But Chen Qiu was different.

Standing at the starting point, he released his Spirit Sense, which covered over a hundred li. Instantly, he knew that this wasn't a path humans could traverse, and without hesitation, he turned back.

And so, the leaderboard displayed the following:

"First Stage Fastest Passage Leaderboard."

"Rank 1: Chaotian Zong Zongzhu Chen Qiu, 48 breaths."

"Rank 2: Daojian Zong True Disciple Li Yishi, 670 breaths."

"..."

"Rank 6: Citian Zong Holy Son Zhang Mo, 712 breaths."

"..."

"Rank 99: Fukui Zong Inner Sect Disciple Li Hui, 836 breaths."

---

One incense stick is equivalent to three cups of tea, which is also about 900 breaths.

Chen Qiu didn't know how many people participated in the first stage, but only 1298 Heaven's Pride passed it.

And on the leaderboard, his 48 breaths stood out prominently.

The second-ranked Li Shi'er took 670 breaths, and Chen Qiu had directly crushed him by several times, which was indeed quite eye-catching.

But just then—

A panel shrouded in clouds appeared once more.

"Daojian Zong True Disciple Li Yishi, holding an Extreme-grade Celestial Prodigy Token, has one chance to revote and retry."

"Heaven's Pride Li Shi'er chooses to use this chance and leaves a message: 'Fellow Daoists, let's retry. There's a problem with the first stage. I've never heard of this Chaotian Zong Zongzhu Chen Qiu. Among the prominent sects of Xuantian Continent, there's no such sect named Chaotian Zong. There must be a problem with the first stage. Please, fellow Daoists, vote to retry.'"

"Please, Heaven's Pride, vote on whether to retry the first stage. If more than half agree, it will be considered a consensus."

".

Chen Qiu's expression turned slightly odd as he looked at the cloud-covered panel floating before him. The Celestial Prodigy Tokens had different grades, but his token seemed to have no functions. Why did Li Shi'er's Extreme-grade token have a retry chance?

Actually, he thought being second was good enough.

Was it because he wasn't first that he had to retry?

However, through that message, he gained some information. The Great Xia Country was indeed a place of imprisonment, and the land that imprisoned it was called Xuantian Continent.

He wasn't given a choice.

The approval votes exceeded half, indicating that many people wanted to retry. However, only those who had passed the first stage could participate in this retry; those who were eliminated before the retry were not given this opportunity.

A flash of white light passed.

Chen Qiu found himself standing once again on the familiar Green Stone Plaza, covered in moss. He was restrained by a force of heaven and earth, and the first stage panel reappeared beside him.

You want to retry, huh?

His eyes narrowed, and a smile suddenly appeared on his lips. He decided to take a gamble.

In the instant the force of heaven and earth dissipated!

Without hesitation, he activated "Shrink Space," and his body began to continuously teleport in the air above the Green Stone Plaza until he pierced through the clouds and disappeared, reappearing in the sky above the second stage's Green Stone Plaza, slowly descending to the ground.

"First Stage Fastest Passage Leaderboard."

"Rank 1: Chaotian Zong Zongzhu Chen Qiu, 1 breath."

"..."

"What's the point?"

Chen Qiu stood before the stele with a sigh, looking at the rankings that appeared on it and clicking his tongue in amazement. "You'll be furious."

This time, he could confirm that he wasn't exploiting a map bug. Instead, this method of passing the stage was indeed a hidden passage for the first stage, as the direction he entered the clouds this time was completely different from the last, yet he still arrived at the second stage.

This meant that in the first stage, no matter which direction you took through the clouds, as long as you didn't follow the Heaven-Reaching Stage out of the clouds, you would arrive at the second stage.

After patiently waiting for some time, other names gradually appeared on the leaderboard.

The Daojian Zong True Disciple Li Yishi remained in second place, his eyes fixed on the name Chen Qiu at the top of the leaderboard.

He had already pushed his speed to the limit and still took 630 breaths to reach the finish line, which was much faster than many Body Cultivators.

He couldn't fathom how Chen Qiu, whom he had never heard of before, could have reached the end of the Heaven-Reaching Stage in an instant without relying on his own spirit qi or external objects. What method did he use?

Damn it!!!

How is it possible to do it in an instant?! Before the rematch, it took him forty-eight breaths, but after the rematch, it became just one breath. This damn guy must have self-destructed his physical body and used his Golden Core to fly across.

If there were some clauses that could accelerate the speed of Golden Core escape or other spells, it would be possible to achieve this.

But is this guy crazy? This is just the preliminary screening mystic realm of the Talented Youth Road, not the official opening of the Talented Youth Road. Is there a need to push so hard? After self-destructing his body, although the previously obtained clauses would still be retained when creating a new body, the possessed body would undoubtedly be less suitable than his original one, resulting in a significant decline in both potential and strength.

"Fine, fine."

Li Shi'er took a deep breath, calming his emotions, and muttered to himself, "Just a madman. He passed this stage by self-destructing his body, but it won't work for the later stages. Moreover, after possessing another body, he's destined to remain unknown."

"It's not worth getting upset over a madman like this."

In this preliminary screening mystic realm of the Talented Youth Road, there were many Green Stone Plazas, and each plaza had only one Talented Youth, who couldn't see each other. Their challenges didn't overlap with others.

Talented Youth who arrived early at the next stage could watch the competition.

However, even when watching, the faces of all Talented Youth were distorted by the power of heaven and earth, making it impossible to see their specific appearances.

This made Chen Qiu feel a little less entertained.

Otherwise, he would have liked to see the expression on the face of the Talented Youth who had just wasted a rematch opportunity. It would have been quite a sight.

Just then—

"Second Stage."

"This stage is a combat assessment. Talented Youth need to face one hundred thousand puppets of the same cultivation level simultaneously. Within the duration of an incense stick, if you can defeat more than ten puppets of the same cultivation level, you will pass."

"As Talented Youth, you should be able to fight ten opponents of the same level."

"Consume a Medium-grade Spirit Stone to instantly recover thirty percent of your spirit qi."

"Consume an Eight Directions Fruit to instantly recover one hundred percent of your spirit qi."

"Use a Malevolent Wood to make your voice heard by all Talented Youth."

Along with the appearance of this cloud-like panel, the second stage of the preliminary screening mystic realm began.

Immediately, Chen Qiu saw the Green Stone Plaza beneath his feet start to expand continuously.

Until its area increased by hundreds of times.

It finally stopped.

Then, one hundred thousand puppets of the same cultivation level crawled out from underground, surrounding him in the middle, creating a rather intimidating scene.

These were one hundred thousand puppets of the same cultivation level. Even if only a few dozen puppets could attack him at the same time, it was still extremely terrifying. The participating Talented Youth had to dodge countless attacks under such intimidating pressure and defeat ten puppets within the time of an incense stick to pass.

And this was just the preliminary screening mystic realm of the Talented Youth Road.

One could imagine that in the Talented Youth Road a year later, all participating Talented Youth would be even more monstrous. The weakest among them would be able to fight ten opponents of the same level.

However, this stage introduced three new elements.

You could consume spirit stones or heavenly treasures to restore your spirit qi or communicate with other Talented Youth, which also tested the wealth of the Talented Youth themselves or the strength of their backing forces.

Indeed.

As Talented Youth, they should fulfill the four conditions of talent, wealth, beauty, and cultivation.

Even solitary Talented Youth, with the right opportunities, wouldn't lack the condition of wealth. If they lacked this condition, they couldn't be considered Talented Youth.

".

Chen Qiu scanned the countless cultivation puppets around him, and his expression gradually became strange. In other words, all those who passed this preliminary screening realm would be his future opponents on the Talented Youth Road.

Since that's the case, he didn't mind adding some spice to the Dao Heart of these future opponents of his.

Without further thought, as the heavenly restriction disappeared in an instant, spirit qi surged out. He didn't even test if passing through the clouds would lead directly to the third stage. Instead, a storm surge and dark clouds erupted.

Over two hundred thousand Lightning Dragons filled the entire plaza's sky.

"Boom!!!"

The terrifying pressure, accompanied by countless arcs of electricity, exploded in the middle of the Green Stone Plaza.

When the smoke cleared.

He had already appeared on the Green Stone Plaza of the third stage. On the stone stele, the leaderboard showed him still in the first place.

"Second Stage Fastest Passage Leaderboard."

"Rank 1: Chen Qiu, Patriarch of Mock Heaven Sect, passed in one breath, defeating one hundred thousand puppets."

".

Apart from him, no one else had passed yet.

A combat assessment of the same cultivation level?

It held no meaning for him.

Even if there were one million puppets of the same cultivation level, as long as these one million puppets weren't Spell Cultivator puppets, they would all be ants that he could easily crush with a single move.

For him, the term 'undefeated at the same level' was almost an insult.

He then looked at the battle scenes of the other Talented Youth floating in the air on other Green Stone Plazas and then at the thousands of Malevolent Woods in his Spirit Artifact. A smile began to form on his lips.

These thousands of Malevolent Woods were the ones given to him by the Heavenward Sect Patriarch that day. He had planned to return them before entering the Talented Youth Realm, but the other party didn't want them back.

After entering this realm, his connection with the Little World was cut off.

But the items in his Spirit Artifact could still be used.

"Cough, cough."

He took out a few hundred Malevolent Woods and threw them on the ground. Sitting cross-legged on the Green Stone Plaza, he held one Malevolent Wood in his hand and looked at the other Talented Youth still fighting in the air, preparing to offer some encouragement.

The next moment—

A voice entered the ears of all Talented Youth.

"Chen Qiu, Patriarch of Mock Heaven Sect, used a Malevolent Wood: 'Haven't you passed yet? I'm in a hurry to go home for dinner.'"

"'How nice, I see the end of this generation's Talented Youth in you.'"

"'My dinner is getting cold.

"Do you wish to join the Mock Heaven Sect? We are recruiting disciples, so bow and pay your respects to become my disciples."

As Chen Qiu was enthusiastically encouraging this batch of talented youths, a voice suddenly rang out in his ear.

"Dao Sword Sect's true disciple Li Shiyier used a Malevolent Wood: 'The Malevolent Wood prepared by your elders at a great cost is not meant for you to waste on idle chatter. Do your elders know how you're squandering it? You are merely a joke, and it's only by luck that you managed to rank first in the first stage. You're just a waste of a token.'"

"Hey!"

Chen Qiu suddenly smiled, and with a wave of his hand, the three hundred Malevolent Woods on the ground all disappeared.

"What?"

"What?"

Hundreds of voices, like a cacophony of noise, continuously echoed in the ears of the talented youths, and then they slowly added:

"Mock Heaven Sect's Patriarch Chen Qiu used a Malevolent Wood: 'Do I look like I'm missing something? If you don't have any, then go back to cultivating. It's better to go chop firewood.'"

"Can't you see I'm the Sect Leader? Do you think you're like them, following your elders around and begging for food?"

"Call me father, and I'll give you a candy."

"Speak up."

"You're mute again."

"Look at your sword, tsk, I have a friend called White Robe. I'll have him give you some pointers later."

"And that Ten Thousand Dharmas Sect guy, seriously, don't say you're a Spell Cultivator, you're embarrassing all Spell Cultivators."

"And you, Zhang Mo, the Holy Son of the Bestow Heaven Sect, tsk tsk tsk, forget it, I won't say anything more. You'll understand on your own."

"Are you really talented youths? Did I come to the wrong place? I remember the token in my hand isn't a waste token."

". . ."

After Chen Qiu tirelessly used five to six hundred Malevolent Woods, the Dao Hearts of these talented youths finally showed a hint of cracking.

In the second stage,

One had to concentrate on dodging every incoming attack, and then, after evading countless attacks, countering the puppets and killing as many as possible. It was a battle where one licked blood from the tip of a blade.

But amidst the countless mocking voices in their ears,

Especially Li Shiyier, who was the focus of Chen Qiu's attention, was now hideous-looking, his eyes bloodshot, and his inner rage had reached a point where he was willing to do anything to charge towards Chen Qiu, pierce him with ten thousand swords, and only then would his hatred be quenched!

After an incense stick's worth of time,

With Chen Qiu's tireless encouragement, the number of talented youths who had passed the first stage had decreased from 1,298 to only 438.

In the third stage, at the Green Stone Plaza,

Li Shiyier's emotions were on the verge of collapse. He knew many of the talented youths participating, and he was usually seen as a leading figure among them. But now, being publicly ridiculed over two hundred times,

He was almost on the verge of Fire Poisoning.

He swore that he had never wanted to kill someone so much in his life!

Especially when he saw Chen Qiu's name on the leaderboard, which was particularly eye-catching, and his incomprehensible record.

-

"First Stage Fastest Clearance Leaderboard."

"Rank 1": Mock Heaven Sect Patriarch Chen Qiu, cleared in one breath, killed 100,000 puppets.

". . ."

"Rank 17": Dao Sword Sect's true disciple Li Shiyier, cleared in one incense stick's time, killed 987 puppets.

-

Clearing 100,000 puppets of the same cultivation level in one breath.

He simply couldn't imagine what kind of talented youth in the Xuantian Continent could achieve this; it was completely impossible.

He would bet his life that Chen Qiu must have used some special mechanism; otherwise, it was simply not achievable.

If not for Chen Qiu's influence on his mind, he wouldn't have been ranked just seventeenth, at least he would have been in the top five. As a Sword Cultivator, he was naturally skilled in offense, and this second stage should have been his forte.

But under Chen Qiu's influence,

He, who should have shone brightly, was only ranked seventeenth.

-

"It's quite tiring."

Chen Qiu looked at the names of the other talented youths on the leaderboard, sighed, and had no choice. He was a bit worried that if he couldn't beat these talented youths on the road of Heaven's Pride, it would be bad.

There was still a year before the road of Heaven's Pride opened.

Within this year, these talented youths would become stronger, and that was the original plan. As for now... these talented youths needed to find a way to mend their Dao Hearts.

With their Dao Hearts in disarray, forget about getting stronger;

Their strength would even decline.

From Li Shiyier's words, he once again confirmed that Malevolent Wood was a highly valuable item in the Xuantian Continent. After returning, he needed to check with Liu Zide about the progress and try to acquire all the Malevolent Woods in Fat State.

Then, after the Great Xia Kingdom's shackles were broken and merged with the Xuantian Continent,

This Malevolent Wood would be a significant wealth.

A few hundred Malevolent Woods in exchange for clouding the Dao Hearts of his future opponents; he felt it was a better deal.

Unfortunately, only the second stage allowed the use of Malevolent Wood.

It couldn't be used now.

Otherwise, he would have liked to train these talented youths' Dao Hearts throughout the entire process. Sometimes, increasing strength wasn't just about becoming stronger oneself but also weakening one's future opponents, which was also part of enhancing one's strength.

With their decline and his growth,

His strength would increase even faster.

At this moment, almost all the talented youths standing on the third stage of the Green Stone Plaza had gloomy expressions, their stomachs filled with anger. Almost everyone here had been singled out and ridiculed by Chen Qiu.

Chen Qiu knew that the most effective way to humiliate them was by calling out their names. A general mockery could be ignored, but when your name was mentioned, it was impossible to pretend you hadn't heard it.

Thus,

Chen Qiu, with his own strength,

Caused all the talented youths standing on the third stage of the Green Stone Plaza to suffer the greatest humiliation of their lives. What they wanted to do now wasn't to clear the third stage but to find that damn Mock Heaven Sect after leaving, no matter the cost,

To find that Sect Leader and cut off his head!

Throw his body to the dogs!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end