Ling Tian Sword God

Thousands of miles away, in the Wind Country.

On the Divine Intent Sect's Sect Square, over a hundred disciples had gathered. These disciples were all elites of the Divine Intent Sect, with nearly half of them being True Disciples—the sect's backbone.

At the very front of the assembled disciples stood two figures, straight and tall: Nie Wu Xiang and Shangguan Qiushui.

Behind them stood elite disciples such as Xiao Muyu, Qu Ling Feng, Yu Qingxuan, Xiahou Lin, Li Liuxing, Zhao Qingyang, Yun Tianhe, and others from the sect.

However, among them also stood a petite and delicate young woman—Ling Yin.

Among the disciples, Nie Wu Xiang, Shangguan Qiushui, and Yu Qingxuan had broken through their bottlenecks, successfully stepping into the Grand Master Realm. Nie Wu Xiang had even advanced to the Second Realm Grand Master stage, becoming the most likely candidate in the entire Divine Intent Sect to claim the top spot in the Martial Arts Competition.

Among the other disciples, Xiao Muyu's talent stood out, with the quickest promotion rate. Just a few days ago, he achieved another breakthrough—he was now a Ninth-level Martial Master. As for the others, though they paled in comparison, they had reached the Martial Master Eighth Level at the very least.

As for Ling Yin, although her Cultivation was only at the Martial Artist Sixth Realm, her Mental Power had already reached an astonishing level.

On a platform next to the square stood the higher-ups of the Divine Intent Sect: Sect Leader Shentu Yan, Vice-sect Leader Ye Nantian, Great Elder Shangguan Hong, and other Elders and Experts of the Divine Intent Sect.

Shentu Yan was a middle-aged man with a benevolent appearance. He always greeted everyone warmly, gaining him a good reputation in Jianghu as the "Unparalleled Benevolence."

After Ling Tianyu's death, Shentu Yan became the acting Sect Leader with overwhelming support, and soon after, the official Sect Leader. Although his prestige in the Divine Intent Sect was far less than Ling Tianyu, who was the Martial Arts Supreme, his reputation and public praise were excellent.

Shangguan Hong looked at the disciples below, very proud of the abundance of talent. Although the Divine Intent Sect had suffered heavy losses in the great upheaval two years ago, the strength of the young disciples was in no way inferior to top sects like the Sky Void Palace and the Myriad Dao Sect.

In particular, Nie Wu Xiang, who was originally the prodigy ranked third on the Heavenly List, has surged forward, reaching the Second Realm Grand Master level. Moreover, his Wu Xiang Technique has been practiced to the ninth level, a rarity among the younger generation. Perhaps even the Young Master of Myriad Dao and Young Master Ye, ranked second and first respectively on the Heavenly List, are not necessarily Nie Wu Xiang's match now.

However, for this Martial Arts Competition, anyone under the age of thirty could participate. This meant that not only the younger generation but also some young Experts approaching thirty could take part.

For example, some Experts on the Young Master List are extremely powerful, and each will be a formidable opponent for the young prodigies. Unfortunately, almost all of the Divine Intent Sect's young Experts perished in the great upheaval two years ago. Consequently, only two or three people from the sect have made it onto the Young Master List, and they are all over thirty. This is a major disadvantage for the Divine Intent Sect. In this Martial Arts Competition, the hopes of the Divine Intent Sect are mainly pinned on this group of young disciples.

After this Martial Arts Competition, the Heavenly List will be rearranged according to the competition's rankings. The number of Experts on the Heavenly List undoubtedly reflects a sect's power. Of course, besides the honor and glory for their sect, participants who ranked in the top thirty-six of the Martial Arts Competition would also receive extremely generous rewards.

The top three contestants in the Martial Arts Competition would have their names engraved on the Martial Arts Monument, ensuring their fame would echo through generations and spread throughout the lands.

The Five Country Territory was vast, home to countless martial artists. Yet, how many could truly make a name for themselves in the martial world? A stage like the Martial Arts Competition drew the attention of the entire world. Anyone who performed exceptionally well there could achieve widespread fame overnight.

No doubt both the sects and individuals attached great importance to this Martial Arts Competition.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, a bird's cry echoed from the sky. The next moment, ten colossal eagle-like Exotic Beasts descended from mid-air, landing before the crowd.

These flying Exotic Beasts were specially prepared for this Martial Arts Competition. After all, flying Exotic Beasts are inherently rare, and tamed ones are even more so.

The disciples leaped one by one, employing their Light Skill, and landed on the backs of the eagle-like Exotic Beasts as gracefully as swallows.

Xiao Muyu and Shangguan Qiushui sat on the back of a giant eagle. Xiao Muyu looked around and then said with a bit of emotion, "It's been over a year since I last saw Ling Chen. I wonder how he is doing now."

"Rest assured," Shangguan Qiushui said with a smile beside them. "Given Ling Chen's growth rate and his extended period of training out in the world, he must have reached a level far beyond our expectations by now."

However, in front of the two young women, an Elder of the Divine Intent Sect shook his head. "While experiential training is beneficial and can lead to rapid growth, who can be certain that a year or so of such training surpasses a year of diligent cultivation? After all, one encounters countless situations during experiential training, making it easy to be distracted and constantly face life-threatening dangers. Diligent cultivation, on the other hand, allows for a focused mind, wasting not a shred of effort."

Yun Tianhe snorted coldly. "Elder Li is correct. He abandoned the excellent conditions of the sect to go out and train. In my opinion, Ling Chen isn't necessarily stronger than us now."

He naturally detested Ling Chen. He suspected Longyang had been killed by Ling Chen; Longyang had gone to assassinate Ling Chen, but there had been no news of him since. If Ling Chen wasn't responsible, Yun Tianhe couldn't imagine who else could be. However, without evidence, even Ye Nantian couldn't do anything to Ling Chen.

"Yun Tianhe, you can't even defeat me. Do you even have the right to comment on my brother?"

As soon as Yun Tianhe finished speaking, a mocking voice interjected, making his expression darken. He turned his head; the one mocking him was none other than Ling Yin.

Seeing Ling Yin, a look of apprehension appeared in Yun Tianhe's eyes. This Ling Yin was a freak. Despite her young age, her mental strength level had reached sixteen, which was simply unheard of.

Never mind him; even Nie Wu Xiang was quite wary of Ling Yin now. After all, a level sixteen Illusion Technique was enough to trap a Third Level Grand Master.

He didn't dare provoke this freak.

"Let's go!" Great Elder Shangguan Hong gestured to the disciples.

One after another, the ten giant eagles spread their wings, soared into the sky, and disappeared into the clouds.

「Two days later.」

Ling Chen passed through the Green Snake Lake area and journeyed into the northwest of Thunder Country. The climate here was extremely cold; mountains and lakes were covered with thick ice and snow. The biting wind felt like ice blades against his face, striking his Protective True Qi with a pattering sound.

"Grandpa, don't worry. I'm just going hunting this time. I'll be back soon." In the endless, icy mountain range, there was a small village. Outside the village, a young man of about eighteen or nineteen waved goodbye.

"Good, but you must come back before the sun sets."

The speaker was an elderly man with white hair. His voice wasn't loud, and though the wind howled fiercely, his aged voice seemed to penetrate the gale, reaching the young man's ears directly.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to come back on time." After saying this, the young man's figure flickered and vanished into the icy wind.

"Old Master, I'm afraid the Young Master won't be coming back today," a middle-aged man said, approaching him.

"Of course, I know what he's going down the mountain for," the white-haired old man replied, a sharp glint in his eyes. "But we have remained silent in the martial world for so long. It's time to let the world know of us again. The name 'Dragon Hidden' is about to re-emerge in the Jianghu!"

「Ten miles away.」

The young man laughed proudly. "Foolish old man, who would return to that godforsaken place? I, Baili Xuance, am going to attend the Martial Arts Competition to witness the young geniuses of the Five Kingdoms! Then I'll venture into the Tianyuan Continent to see the young Experts of the world! In any case, I'm not coming back!"

ROAR!

Just then, not far away, a robust Lion-Tiger Beast burst out. And on the Lion-Tiger Beast's back was a young swordsman.

A guy riding a Lion-Tiger Beast? Interesting! Baili Xuance's eyes lit up, brimming with fighting spirit as if he had discovered gold.