Liáng Lóng originally thought that Lín Míng and Líng Sēn were already abnormal enough, even if they couldn't get first place, getting in the top twenty or thirty would be a piece of cake. He himself could get into the top hundred, which was also quite impressive. But now it seems, he might be the worst among these few hundred people.

  If there were over 400 or 500 people involved, wouldn't that be humiliating? How would I face going home?

  Liang Long hadn't finished speaking, when Jin Ziya's next sentence made his heart sink to the bottom of the valley. What Jin Ziya said was: "The General Assembly of the Martial Arts will be held in the Tianxuan Mountains where the Seven Mysteries Valley is located. Before the martial arts conference begins, a checkpoint will be set up to eliminate 60% of the people. Only those who pass this checkpoint will have the qualification to enter the Tianxuan Mountains."

  "Sixth rank?" Liang Long's mouth was agape. Doesn't that mean... I'm not even qualified to enter the Lian Shan Men?

  Go to the ancestral temple in Wu, can't even get through the door, isn't that losing face all the way back to grandma's house!

  Pass it on to the family, where will this face be placed? Isn't this making a joke of other people in the same clan? Liang Long has always been bearing the name of the successor of the lower house master, and many people in the Liang family are jealous of this position. If they make a joke out of it, someone will inevitably gossip again.

  He turned his head and took a look at Zhou Yu, but saw that Zhou Yu also had a bitter smile on his face, and he was also worried about entering the mountain gate.

  The master always said that there is a heaven beyond the sky and a person outside of human, this time it's finally clear, let alone oneself, even Qin Xuan is enough to be arrogant.

  "Prefect, that..."

  "What's wrong?"

  Liang Long had wanted to say forget it, since the door couldn't be opened anyway, then don't go make a fool of that person. However, seeing Qinzhi's glance sweep over, Liang Long only felt a chill at the back of his head, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and changed his words: "When are we leaving?"

  "Leave early tomorrow morning. You all go back and prepare, depart by Shenfeng Bird tomorrow, any questions?"

  Lin Ming fell silent for a moment before speaking up, "Master Qin, I have a question."

  "En, wèn."

  Translation: "Hm, ask."

  "What is the prize?"

  As soon as the question was asked, Liang Long and Zhou Yu both shrank their necks. The two of them were still worried about how to enter the mountain gate and how to return to their family without losing too much face, but Lin Ming opened his mouth and asked about the prize, this is the difference, different positions, different ways of thinking.

  Qinzi's eyes sparkled with praise as she glanced at Lin Ming and said, "First place, the reward is one Heavenly Pill! However, this Heavenly Pill cannot be redeemed immediately. You must formally enter the Seven Profound Valleys and reach the peak of the Later Heaven before it can be given to you. I think I don't need to elaborate on the value of the Heavenly Pill."

  "Besides the Tianyuan Dan, there is also a piece of lower-grade earth-level treasure equipment, attack-type, defense-type and other types can be chosen. The second to fifth place will not receive the Tianyuan Dan, but only a lower-grade earth-level treasure equipment. Sixth to tenth place will be rewarded with Tiangling Dan, which is also an extremely high-quality elixir. Eleventh to thirtieth place will be rewarded with human-grade upper-level treasure equipment and Dilin Dan..."

  Lin Ming heard about the Earth Ranking treasure and his mind stirred. "Treasures of our choice? Are there any spears?"

  Qinzi smiled, "Your weapon is quite a bargain, the value of this gun is several times that of other treasures of the same rank. Don't worry, the Seven Mysteries Valley has been established for so many years and has accumulated countless wealth, of course we have guns!"

  Is it a divine artifact?...

  Lin Ming clenched his fists.

  Qinzi saw Lin Ming's excited appearance and couldn't help but think, "This kid won't actually think he can take first place, will he? Although Lin Ming is quite strong, thinking he can take first place is still too far-fetched. With so many Nascent Soul mid-stage, late-stage, and even peak cultivators, how could a mere Bone Forging stage martial artist possibly take first?"

  Qinzi didn't know that since getting to know Mu Qianyu, in Lin Ming's eyes, these so-called geniuses of the Seven Profound Valleys were no longer worth mentioning.

  Qianyu was 15 years old when he first entered the state of meditation, 17 years old when he ascended to heaven, 22 years old when he achieved the Tao before heaven, 26 years old when he reached the ultimate stage of the Tao before heaven, and 27 years old when he half-stepped into the rotating elixir.

  At twenty-two years old, when the geniuses of the Seventh Mystic Valley were still breaking through to the Post-Heaven Realm, Mu Qiuyu had already entered the Pre-Heaven Realm.

  This difference is like heaven and earth!

  If one can't even defeat Qi Xuan Valley's so-called genius, then what's the point of pursuing the pinnacle of martial arts?

  --------------------

  Tens of thousands of miles away, Qixuan Valley.

  The Tianxuan Mountains stretch for thousands of miles, like a majestic giant dragon, traversing the central region of the Seven Xuan. The Absolute Sword Peak of the Tianxuan Mountains is six thousand zhang high, with precipitous and unimaginable peaks. All around are sheer cliffs that stand vertically for thousands of ren, and from afar, the entire Absolute Sword Peak appears like a six-thousand-zhang-long sharp sword, piercing straight into the sky!

  This is the Absolute Sword Peak, which is exactly where the Seven Mysteries Valley Sword Sect is located. With the Absolute Sword Peak as the main peak, there are twelve slightly shorter peaks surrounding it, like a multitude of stars supporting the moon.

  In the thick clouds, there is a magnificent great hall. In front of the hall, there is a bluestone square with an area of tens of meters. In the center of the square, a giant sword over 20 meters high was inserted here.

  This giant sword is carved, but it is made of mysterious iron and weighs tens of thousands of catties. If there really is a giant who can pull out this sword, it can also be used to kill the enemy.

  Under the giant sword, the master of Jianzong stood with his hands behind his back. In front of him stood a young man of about 10 years old, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, whose aura was extraordinary and unmatched.

  "Last time at Martial Arts Gathering, you lost to Ouyang Ming of Huanyuan Sect. Three years have passed and Ouyang Ming has reached the peak of Condensing Pulse, he is your greatest opponent."

  The young man fell silent for a moment before saying, "Ouyang Ming is not my greatest opponent."

  "Hmm? Then who will you list as your opponent?"

  "My greatest opponent is myself!" The young man's eyes gleamed as he spoke, "If I can't even defeat the geniuses of my own Three Product Sect in this martial gathering, how can I talk about pursuing the ultimate sword path?"

  Almost the same words as Lin Ming's were slowly spoken by a young man tens of thousands of miles away.

  "Haha, well said! You're indeed my son! This time at the martial arts meet, I have only one expectation of you - take first place!"

  "Yes, Father!"

  At the same moment, a hundred miles away, on the main peak of Hehuan Sect, a young man who looked to be around twenty years old gazed down at the sea of clouds below, his eyes filled with an air of disdain for the world.

  This young man was none other than Ouyang Ming, the young man mentioned by Jianzong.

  "Tomorrow, you are the most outstanding genius in the 100-year history of He Huan Fen Zong. The first place winner of the previous Martial Arts Conference, Su Ran, has already exceeded the age limit. This time, I hope you can win the championship!"

  Behind Ouyang Ming, a woman wearing a crown of clouds said softly. This woman was Ouyang Ming's mother. Although she was over fifty years old, her appearance looked no different from that of a twenty-year-old girl.

  "This is the first must be mine, I would rather hope that Su Ran has not exceeded his age, can have a battle with him, to wipe out past shame, what a pity!"

  The age limit for Qixuan Valley's inner disciples to participate in the General Assembly is twenty years old, two years younger than outer disciples. Ouyang Ming was exactly twenty years old and this was his last time participating in the General Assembly of the sect.

  "It's fine as long as you get first place. As for the final showdown with Su Ran, of course, you have to win it back, otherwise, it will dampen your spirits."

  "I know, Mother."

  "Moreover, don't underestimate others either. Qin Zong's Qin Wu Xin has reached the peak of condensing his veins, and although there are not many people in Qin Zong, their moves are treacherous and difficult to deal with. Then there's Huo Yan Luo from Lian Qi Zong, the sect master spent a great price to obtain a fire essence and used a special method to implant it into Huo Yan Luo's body, this person is also not to be underestimated!"

  "Yes, Mother."

  The seven great sects of the Seven Mysteries Valley, although united for common interests, are constantly at odds with each other, vying for power, treasures, cultivation resources, geniuses, and elixir recipes...

  Even at times, the dispute escalated to the point where they almost came to blows. The Valley Master of Qixuan was also powerless to stop them. In fact, if the Valley Master hadn't reached the pinnacle of cultivation and had the support of the Supreme Elder, no one would have taken him seriously.

  There is a huge hidden danger in the Seven Mysteries Valley, but this is an unsolvable problem and can only be adjusted to some extent, such as the allocation of resources within the valley, which must have a method that makes each branch acknowledge.

  Two hundred years ago, the old valley master set up a triennial general assembly of martial arts, allocating resources based on the overall score of each sect's disciples' martial arts performance, so no one could object.

  So all seven major sects will spend a lot of effort to cultivate a personally taught disciple, specifically used to impact the first place in the total sect's martial arts ranking.

  This direct disciple, first of all, must be the most talented person among the younger generation. Later, various resources are almost free to use, and the sect master personally guides the cultivation. The core skills can be learned at will.

  For these two hundred years, the first place in the General Association of Wu has basically been taken by direct disciples of various branches, with only a few exceptions also being taken by other disciples of the General Association.

  It's unheard of for an outer sect disciple to get first place, let alone the top ten. To the inner sect disciples of Qixuan Valley, those so-called geniuses from the 36 countries and second-rate martial families are basically just country bumpkins, at best only slightly stronger than their lowly servant disciples who sweep the floors.

  Their opponents were only other members of the Seven Mysteries Sect, and outsiders were never considered.

  -----------------

  From Tianyun Country to Qixuan Valley's headquarters, twenty million miles away, even riding the divine wind crane would take over ten days of flight.

  Qinzi led a group of people to the Seventh Xuanwu Prefecture Station, where a row of divine wind carvings had already been arranged, all of which were carefully selected fine breeds with flying speeds even faster than ordinary divine wind carvings.

  "Let's go."

  Qinzi waved her hand, Lin Ming leaped onto the Wind God Sculpture. With a clear cry of the sculpture, it soared into the sky, stirring up countless snowflakes that fluttered and fell.

  The cold wind whistled by my ear, and the divine bird soared to a height of thousands of feet in just a few breaths. Looking down from its lofty perch, the vast expanse of land was a silver-white blanket stretching out to the horizon, where the sky and earth met. The monotonous yet majestic white landscape seemed to evoke an inexplicable sense of heroic loneliness.

  Because the Divine Wind Bird was flying too fast, the snowflakes blowing straight into his face felt like knife blades, Lin Ming used his True Essence to prop up a layer of protective shield, blocking out the wind and snow.

  The speed of the divine wind carving is getting faster and faster, the clear cry of the eagle, echoing between heaven and earth...