Even putting aside her cultivation, if one only looked at her potential and future development, almost none of the young geniuses present could compare to her.
While they were still whispering among themselves, Yan Yi was already pulling Yun Heng along, eager to leave Lanying Pavilion.
“We were just planning to go out and look around Tiandu City.”
Yan Yi looked at Xiao Cen and Xiao Jingheng.
“Do you want to come along?”
Xiao Cen agreed very straightforwardly.
“Sure.”
“I happen to be a bit tired from cultivating anyway.”
Xiao Jingheng quickly chimed in as well.
“Me too.”
Xiao Cen turned her head and gave him a cool glance.
Then, she stepped forward and followed Yun Heng and the others outside.
Xiao Jingheng shivered under her gaze.
His Imperial Sister clearly did not want him to follow.
But so what?
He wasn't about to pass up the chance to cling to a powerhouse like Yun Heng.
His Third Imperial Sister had met Yun Heng beforehand and had already won at the starting line.
If he didn't take the initiative now, wouldn't he be left further and further behind?
Xiao Jingheng quickened his pace and caught up.
Just as Yun Heng was about to step out of Lanying Pavilion, her footsteps suddenly halted.
She felt a hostile gaze staring at her from the shadows.
It felt like a rat that couldn't stand the light, peeping in secret.
Ever since she started practicing the Taiwei Spirit Refinement Art, the strength of her divine sense had improved significantly.
Whether it was her range of perception or her ability to capture subtle surrounding breaths, she was much more acute than before.
Almost the very next instant she detected the gaze, she whipped her head around and precisely locked onto a half-closed door on the east side.
The figure behind the door saw Yun Heng look over and immediately retreated, hiding back inside the room.
This person was none other than Xie Wujiu.
He leaned his back against the door, his heart pounding rapidly.
He had never expected Yun Heng to discover his location so precisely.
Today was the first time Xie Wujiu had laid eyes on Yun Heng.
For the past five years, he had always regarded Yun Heng as a target he had to defeat.
It could be said that Yun Heng was the motivation that sustained his continuous cultivation.
He kept telling himself that he possessed a natural sword bone.
So what if Yun Heng was the Young Lord of a secluded clan?
As long as he worked hard enough, he would one day defeat Yun Heng and avenge his deceased master.
Now, this opportunity had finally arrived.
The Five Domains Prodigy Gathering.
Xie Wujiu had already broken through to the mid stage of the Soul Transformation Realm.
In five years, going from the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm to the mid stage of the Soul Transformation Realm.
Such a cultivation speed was exceptionally rare in the world.
Yet, when he arrived in the Central State, he learned that Yun Heng had already broken through to the late stage of the Soul Transformation Realm.
And her bone age was only twenty-five years.
When Xie Wujiu first heard this news, his heart was filled with disbelief.
How was that possible?
For the first time, he began to doubt his own cultivation talent.
Today, he had originally been cultivating in his room.
Hearing someone shout Yun Heng's name in the courtyard, he had reached the doorway almost instantly.
At that moment, an impulse welled up in Xie Wujiu's heart.
He wanted to walk straight out.
He wanted to stand before Yun Heng and question her.
He wanted to exchange blows with her before the Five Domains Prodigy Gathering even began.
But when he looked through the crack of the door and saw Yun Heng standing in the courtyard, chatting and laughing with Yan Yi, Xiao Cen, and the others, that impulse suddenly vanished.
Yun Heng was at the late stage of the Soul Transformation Realm.
And behind her was a secluded clan of unfathomable strength.
While he was only at the mid stage of the Soul Transformation Realm.
Furthermore, the Taihua Sword Sect had been severely crippled five years ago and was no longer what it used to be.
Did he truly have the right to challenge Yun Heng?
Xie Wujiu shrank back.
Hiding behind the door, he didn't even have the courage to walk up to Yun Heng.
With his head lowered, Xie Wujiu returned to his room, utterly despondent.
He sat down by the table, his hands tightly clenched together, feeling miserable and unwilling to accept his own impotence.
On the other side, Yun Heng had already withdrawn her gaze.
She asked in her sea of consciousness,
“System.”
“Was that person hiding behind the door just now Xie Wujiu?”
【That's right, Host.】
【It was him.】
Yun Heng chuckled inwardly.
“Wasn't he the number one genius of the Eastern Region?”
“How does he not even have the courage to face me directly?”
The System's light orb bobbed inside the Tianheng Jade.
【Could he have been intimidated by you, Host?】
As Yun Heng and the others walked along the street, Xiao Cen quickly noticed Yun Heng's distraction.
She nudged closer to Yun Heng and asked in a low voice,
“What is it?”
Yun Heng snapped out of it.
“It's nothing.”
“I was just thinking about the match process of the Five Domains Prodigy Gathering.”
Xiao Cen looked ahead.
“Up ahead is one of the best tea houses in Tiandu City.”
“Why don't we go in and have a cup of tea?”
“I can explain it to you in detail.”
Hearing this, Yan Yi immediately leaned over.
“I'm not too clear on the specific match process either.”
“It's perfect for us to listen together.”
None of them had any objections, and they walked into the tea house together.
Xiao Cen requested a private room upstairs.
The attendant led the five of them into the room, bringing a pot of spiritual tea and several plates of delicate pastries.
He poured tea for the five of them in turn, then withdrew from the room and closed the door.
The private room fell quiet, and everyone looked at Xiao Cen, waiting for her to speak.
Xiao Cen picked up the teacup in front of her and took a sip.
“Regarding the slots for the Five Domains Prodigy Gathering, everyone should already know.”
“There are a total of one hundred and eighteen competition slots in the Five Domains Prodigy Gathering.”
Everyone nodded in unison.
Yan Yi casually picked up a pastry from the table and took a bite.
Xiao Cen continued,
“One hundred of those slots belong to the major sects, great families, and empires of the Five Domains.”
She raised her hand, pointing in turn to herself, Xiao Jingheng, Yan Yi, and Jiang Qian.
“The four of us are among them.”
The four nodded once more.
“The remaining eighteen are free slots, which are people selected from the rogue cultivators across the entire Taiyan Continent.”
Xiao Cen pointed at Yun Heng.
“Yun Heng is participating through one of the free slots.”
Yun Heng raised her teacup and nodded slightly.
“The rules for this session of the Five Domains Prodigy Gathering are very simple.”
“In fact, they could be described as simple and brutal.”
“One-on-one matches.”
“We will fight until the first place is decided.”
“During the matches, any means are permitted, and life or death does not matter.”
As the last words fell, a collective gasp resounded in the room.
Yan Yi's mouth stopped chewing her pastry.
Jiang Qian's hand holding her teacup also froze in mid-air.
Xiao Jingheng's eyes widened directly.
Yun Heng was equally surprised.
“What do you mean by 'any means are permitted'?”
Xiao Cen's expression remained calm.
“No restrictions on contracted spirit beasts.”
“No restrictions on talismans.”
“No restrictions on magic treasures.”
“No restrictions on arrays.”
“No restrictions on medicinal pills.”
“Any means of combat you can think of are entirely unrestricted.”
“As long as it is your own capability, you can use it in the matches.”
Yun Heng's eyes widened slightly.
She couldn't help but ask in her sea of consciousness,
“That's not right, System.”
“Aren't tournament matches in cultivation novels usually limited by this and that, with strict rules against taking lives or landing lethal blows?”
The System quickly replied.
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