“I think so too. Ye Zezhi has been famous for a long time and has always been among the best of the younger generation in the Central State. She'll likely take first place this time.”
Their conversation was overheard by a female cultivator nearby.
She rolled her eyes at them.
“How old is your information?”
The two men who had been speaking were taken aback and looked at her at the same time.
With her arms crossed, the female cultivator asked, “Do you know about the Yun Family's Young Lord, Yun Heng?”
One of the male cultivators looked bewildered.
“Of course I know Yun Heng. She's the Young Lord of that secluded clan who became famous in the Eastern Region five years ago.”
“But what does she have to do with the Five Domains Prodigy Gathering?”
“Don't tell me you don't know that Yun Heng is also participating in this session of the Five Domains Prodigy Gathering?”
“What's more, her cultivation is also at the late stage of the Soul Transformation Realm.”
The two male cultivators were shocked at the same time.
“What?!”
The smugness on the female cultivator's face grew.
“That's not even the most important part.”
She paused on purpose, and only after seeing their eyes fixed on her did she lower her voice and say, “The truly important thing is that Yun Heng's bone age is only twenty-five years.”
As soon as she finished speaking, both of them gasped in unison.
“A bone age of twenty-five?”
“Late stage of the Soul Transformation Realm?”
“How is that possible?!”
The female cultivator replied, “It was personally tested at the Truth-Inquiry Platform, so how could it be false? Everyone in Dingchuan City knew about it at the time.”
“Not only has Yun Heng's cultivation reached the late stage of the Soul Transformation Realm, but her bone age is also the youngest among all the cultivators in this session of the Prodigy Gathering.”
The two male cultivators looked at each other.
The one who had confidently stated his support for Ye Zezhi earlier was now wavering.
The female cultivator looked at them and asked, “Well? Do you still think Ye Zezhi is guaranteed to win?”
The two lowered their heads in thought for a moment.
One of them spoke hesitantly, “If it's truly as you say, then it does seem that Yun Heng has a greater chance of winning.”
Just as the three were discussing, a sudden commotion broke out around them.
They stopped their conversation and looked up at the image-recording array in the center of the plaza.
The projection from the image-recording array had already focused on the main platform. As Gong Yiding took a step forward, the entire plaza fell quiet.
The drawing of lots had officially begun.
On the Five Domains Platform, Gong Yiding swept her gaze across the one hundred and eighteen cultivators before her and said, “I believe everyone is already aware of the rules for the first round of drawing.”
“Among the one hundred and eighteen participants this time, there are a total of thirty Soul Transformation cultivators.”
“The Soul Transformation cultivators will step onto the stage in order of their cultivation and bone age to draw their first-round opponents from the Nascent Soul box.”
“Now, the first round of drawing officially begins.”
Gong Yiding looked down at the register in her hand.
“First up, Yun Heng.”
As soon as the name “Yun Heng” was called, more than a hundred cultivators turned their heads in unison, their eyes falling upon her.
“So she is Yun Heng.”
“It's my first time seeing her too.”
In the crowd, someone clasped their hands together and muttered in a low voice, “Please don't draw me, please don't draw me.”
Hearing this, the people nearby also began to pray.
If they were drawn by her, their journey in the first round would basically be over.
“May the Ancestor bless me and keep me from being drawn.”
“Sect Founders above, I worked so hard to get this slot. At least let me survive the first round.”
Seeing this scene, Yan Yi could not help but purse her lips and giggle.
Today, Yun Heng was still dressed in her black robe, with a black jade belt inlaid with gold bound around her waist. The Tianheng Sword hung at her side, making her look both luxurious and flamboyant.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, she slowly walked onto the main platform.
Gong Yiding nodded slightly to her and raised her hand to indicate that she could begin drawing.
Yun Heng walked up to the box containing the names of the Nascent Soul cultivators and reached inside.
The box was filled with many spheres of identical size. Their surfaces were smooth, feeling no different from one another, and divine sense could not penetrate the restrictions on them.
Yun Heng casually grabbed one and pulled it straight out.
The Nascent Soul cultivators below the stage instantly held their breath, all staring intently at the sphere in her hand.
Yun Heng handed the sphere to Gong Yiding.
Gong Yiding took the sphere, her palm facing upward as spiritual energy surged slightly.
The sphere slowly floated up into midair.
The next moment, the entire sphere silently dissipated, turning into countless tiny golden specks of light.
The specks of light shifted in midair before finally regrouping into a few clear words.
Jin Yushan, late stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.
“Ah!”
A sudden shriek of despair rang out from below the stage.
Startled, the surrounding people all looked toward the source of the sound.
They saw a male cultivator standing stiffly in the crowd, his face as pale as ash, staring at the words in the air with utter hopelessness.
Everyone immediately understood.
It seemed this person was Jin Yushan.
The other Nascent Soul cultivators who had not been drawn breathed a collective sigh of relief, their gazes toward Jin Yushan filled with sympathy.
How terribly unlucky.
Jin Yushan's mind had gone completely blank.
He came from the Jin Family of the Northern Wilderness and was the Young Lord of this generation.
The Jin Family was not considered a large clan in the Northern Wilderness, so securing a slot for the Five Domains Prodigy Gathering had been extremely difficult.
Before coming to Tiandu City, his father, the Jin Family Head, had held him close and given him repeated, earnest instructions.
It would naturally be best if he could survive the first round.
But if he was eliminated in the first round, it was no big deal either—as long as he gave it his all and did not bring shame to the Jin Family.
Besides that, his father had specifically warned him about another matter.
Under no circumstances was he to oppose Yun Heng.
Jin Yushan wanted to cry but had no tears.
Father! It's already impossible not to get targeted, because Yun Heng is going to finish me off tomorrow!
Jin Yushan held his head in his hands, completely in despair.
Surrender directly?
Absolutely not!
He was the Young Lord of the Jin Family and a cultivator at the late stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. How could he do something so cowardly as to retreat without a fight?
Go all out?
But Yun Heng was at the late stage of the Soul Transformation Realm!
Would he really not get slashed to death with a single strike?
Yun Heng had already walked down from the main platform and came straight over to him.
Jin Yushan was still immersed in his thoughts and did not notice her approach at all.
“Rest assured.”
A voice suddenly rang out beside his ear.
Jin Yushan trembled all over in fright and whipped his head up, meeting Yun Heng's gaze.
Yun Heng looked at him and said, “As long as you don't court death, I won't drive you to a dead end.”
“Just show your full strength tomorrow.”
Jin Yushan froze for a few breaths before realizing what Yun Heng had just said.
His eyes widened slightly, and his tense body relaxed all at once.
“Thank you, Young Lord Yun!”
On the main platform, the first draw had been recorded.
Gong Yiding looked down at the register once again.
“Second up, Ye Zezhi.”
Hearing this name, everyone's gaze gathered once more.
A female cultivator slowly stepped out from the crowd.
She was tall, dressed in a plain white gown, with ink-black hair simply pinned up with a white jade hairpin. Her features were cold, her expression calm, and she exuded an aura that warned others to keep their distance.
Rate on N.U.
