NOVEL NEXT Chapter 214: Training Assembly
Chapter 214: Training Assembly
After some time, the day for the Second Sequence geniuses to assemble arrived. Xu Lian, who had been busy with “closed-door cultivation,” had no choice but to pause and head to the gathering place—the training ground.
Upon his arrival, he was greeted by a sea of people. The crowd was massive, with tens of thousands of outer sect disciples, inner sect disciples, and true disciples gathered to watch. Even some miscellaneous disciples had come to join in the excitement.
“Is it always this crowded for the Second Sequence Genius assemblies, or is it just this time?” Xu Lian asked the chubby youth who was standing nearby.
The chubby youth smiled. “It’s always like this. Becoming a Direct Disciple is the ultimate goal for all disciples. Everyone looks up to Direct Disciples as role models. When Direct Disciples gather for training, many disciples come to watch. If they can even learn a move or two, it’s immensely beneficial”.
Xu Lian felt relieved. He had been a bit paranoid lately, thinking that everyone was there to watch him. It was good to know that this wasn’t the case. Recently, he had been so overwhelmed that even his “closed-door cultivation” hadn’t been peaceful.
“Senior Brother Xu is here.”
“Senior Brother Xu…”
The watching disciples made way for Xu Lian, bowing respectfully as he passed by.
Nowadays, only a few people called him “Junior Brother Xu”. Most of them addressed him as “Senior Brother Xu” because he was no longer a new disciple but a direct disciple. The principle of respecting the strong was on full display here.
“Brother Xu will definitely improve his ranking.”
A familiar female voice caught Xu Lian’s attention.
He glanced over to see a blushing girl looking at him. She was the daughter of the young couple next door. What was her name again? He had forgotten it.
During his “Closed Door Cultivation”, she had occasionally visited him, possibly encouraged by her parents or perhaps out of her own feelings. She had become quite close to Pei Zhaoxi, and it was clear that her affection for Xu Lian had grown significantly.
He was in no hurry. He would let her affection accumulate and then reap the progression points when the time was right.
“Thank you for your kind words.”
Xu Lian nodded at her slightly, offering a warm, sunny smile.
The girl was stunned. A young genius with such high talent, immense strength, handsome looks, and an impeccable background – what girl wouldn’t feel her heart racing?
Realizing her own awkwardness, she quickly turned away to compose herself.
Xu Lian took the opportunity to nurture her affection a bit more before moving on. He entered the waiting area of the training ground.
Pillows were neatly arranged here. The treatment of direct disciples was indeed different, as even this small detail showed.
Xu Lian sat down on one of the cushions and waited.
One by one, the direct disciples arrived. Without exception, they all looked curiously at Xu Lian, who seemed to be radiating. It was hard not to notice him-he was too “bright,” and his recent rise to fame had been meteoric.
Not only was he a rising star within the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land, but his reputation had also spread across the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands, and his name was now known throughout the world.
Soon, the direct disciples began to exchange strange looks and glances.
Xu Lian felt confused, but decided to take the initiative. He greeted them politely, addressing each of them as “Senior Brother” or “Senior Sister”. It never hurt to be courteous, and it had always been his style.
One senior sister pointed to the cushion beneath him and kindly reminded him, “Seating here isn’t random. It’s based on rank. If the genius who usually sits here arrives, they’ll definitely be upset.”
Xu Lian suddenly understood why the other geniuses were looking at him so strangely. He thanked the senior sister and was about to move to the last seat when a young king arrived and glared at him coldly.
“What do you think you’re doing?” demanded the young king, his face dark. “If you want my seat, you can challenge me directly.”
“Senior Brother, I apologize. I didn’t know the rules and sat in the wrong place. Please forgive me.”
Xu Lian stood up, cupped his hands in a respectful salute, and then moved to the last seat.
The young king turned the cushion over and sat down, snorting coldly. “The cultivation atmosphere in the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land has become so polluted lately that people have become superficial. Just because someone has been lucky enough to receive the blessing of divine laws, or because they are the favorite of a esteemed figure, doesn’t mean they should be put on a pedestal.”
The expressions of the other geniuses changed. Slandering an esteemed figure was a serious matter, and they had to be careful with their words.
Xu Lian’s expression darkened. He didn’t care much about his own reputation, but he couldn’t ignore the reputation of the White Fox’s True Body. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
The young king looked at him indifferently. “Did I say something wrong?”
Xu Lian’s eyes narrowed. “Do you know that being arrogant and overbearing often leads to trouble?”
The young king laughed coldly. “Oh? Are you going to run to that esteemed figure and ask them to suppress me?”
Xu Lian stood up and walked over to him. “Dealing with a clown like you doesn’t require the intervention of an esteemed figure. You overestimate yourself.”
The young king’s smile vanished and he stood up abruptly, his body radiating golden energy. “Are you challenging me?”
The eyes of the other geniuses flickered. It was clear that the two were about to clash.
The tens of thousands of watching disciples erupted in excitement. They hadn’t expected the assembly to begin with a confrontation between Qi Ming and Xu Lian. They were eager to see the clash between the two geniuses.
Xu Lian didn’t attack right away. Instead, he stepped onto the ring to avoid harming bystanders.
The young king followed with a cold expression, showing no signs of backing down. After all, they were both geniuses of the same sequence. Who was to say who was stronger?
The elder of the Sequence Hall arrived – the same old woman Xu Lian had met earlier. She floated in the air, but made no move to stop the confrontation.
The geniuses all stood up and bowed slightly in greeting.
Xu Lian noticed this, but he was too angry to care. He decided to act first and think later.
Without a sound, he left an afterimage behind and appeared in front of the young king in an instant. He manifested a golden Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land and slammed it down with full force!
The young king’s face changed drastically. He hadn’t expected Xu Lian’s speed and ferocity. However, as a genius of the sequence with a high ranking, he reacted quickly and unleashed his own secret combat technique.
“Boom!”…
The collision with the golden Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land caused a massive explosion as if the sun had been shattered. The entire ring trembled slightly!
The young king was sent staggering backward, his face flushed as if he had drunk fake wine.
Xu Lian was slightly surprised. He hadn’t expected the young king to be able to withstand his attack.
Sensing that the young king was at the fifth stage of the Great Grandmaster rank, just one stage below him, and that he had a powerful combat technique, Xu Lian understood why he had managed to block the attack.
If one Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land wasn’t enough, then two would be enough… Xu Lian pressed his advantage, closing the distance and manifesting two golden Heavenly Mystic Sacred Lands in his hands.
“Boom!”…
The young king pushed his Fifth Stage Great Grandmaster cultivation to the limit, unleashing his combat technique with all his might. However, he still couldn’t withstand the two Heavenly Mystic Sacred Lands. He was sent flying, his clothes torn, blood spilling from his mouth, and his body covered in wounds. He crashed into a corner of the ring like a broken sack, unconscious!
Xu Lian didn’t continue his attack. He didn’t even glance at the young king as he turned around and walked off the ring. This lesson should be enough.
The other geniuses all looked serious, silently wondering how they would fare against Xu Lian’s technique. Some frowned, unsure if they could withstand it, while others remained calm and unbothered.
The tens of thousands of disciples were silent, stunned. They hadn’t expected a fellow direct disciple to be defeated so quickly in only two moves.
“Swap Qi Ming’s identity token with Xu Lian’s and take him away for treatment,” the old woman floating in the air said calmly. She had no intention of reprimanding Xu Lian. Direct disciples were allowed to challenge each other, and the sacred land encouraged such competition as it fostered growth.
Several Sequence Hall attendants who had been waiting nearby immediately stepped forward. One of them retrieved Qi Ming’s identity token and handed it to Xu Lian with a smile on his face. Xu Lian didn’t hesitate to exchange his own identity token. Then the attendant carried Qi Ming away.
“I declare the monthly training meeting for Second Sequence Genius Disciples to officially begin. Next, I will assign the challenges.”
The old woman’s voice, though soft, clearly carried to everyone present. “Xu Lian, ranked 102, will challenge Ni Xi, ranked 89.”
“…” Xu Lian had barely settled down when he heard his name called. He sighed inwardly, stood up, and walked back to the ring.
The senior sister who had kindly reminded him earlier was stunned for a moment before following him onto the ring.
Xu Lian hadn’t expected Ni Xi to be her. He cupped his hands and said, “Senior Sister Ni Xi, please guide me.”
Ni Xi looked at him deeply. “I dare not claim to guide you. Although our cultivation levels are the same, your martial arts techniques seem to be far superior. I’m not sure I can win.”
Xu Lian smiled. “That’s hard to say. Besides cultivation level and martial arts techniques, battle experience is also crucial. Senior Sister, you’ve been a direct disciple for a long time, so your martial arts experience must be much richer than mine. I’ve just entered the sequence.”
“You can start now. There’s no room for emotions in the ring. You can have a heart-to-heart talk after the fight,” the old woman urged.
Her words… Xu Lian didn’t mind, but Ni Xi blushed slightly.
The two stopped talking and began their duel.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”…
Energy surged and light flashed.
One move, two moves, three moves… They had exchanged over fifty moves, and the outcome was still uncertain.
“Xu Lian, what are you doing?” the old woman scolded. “Where is the movement technique you used against Qi Ming? And the fighting technique that manifests the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land? Why aren’t you using them now?”
Ni Xi also noticed. “Junior Brother Xu, go all out. The greatest respect you can show to an opponent is to give it your all.”
Alright then… Xu Lian no longer held back and launched a fierce attack on Ni Xi, manifesting one golden Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land after another.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”…
Ni Xi held out for a while, but eventually she couldn’t keep up. She was forced to retreat, her face pale and blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
Xu Lian stopped immediately.
“I’ve lost,” Ni Xi said, taking out her identity token and handing it to Xu Lian.
Xu Lian took out the identity token he had just acquired and exchanged it with her.
An attendant handed Ni Xi a bottle of healing pills, and she walked off the ring.
As Xu Lian was about to leave, the old woman said, “Xu Lian, stay on the ring. I want to see your limits.”
“…” Xu Lian was completely speechless. Was this going to be his solo performance now?
“Fan Du,” the old woman called out, pointing to a genius ranked 50th in the sequence. “Step into the ring and face Xu Lian.”
Fan Du, whose cultivation had reached the seventh stage of the Great Grandmaster Rank, smiled at Xu Lian. To prevent Xu Lian from holding back, he launched a fierce offensive right from the start, forcing Xu Lian to go all out!
What could Xu Lian do? If he didn’t want to get hurt, he had to give it his all.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
Ten moves, twenty moves, thirty moves… Soon, they had exchanged over a hundred moves, and the outcome was still uncertain.
Xu Lian was a bit surprised. He kept manifesting one Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land after another, but Fan Du, relying on his higher cultivation level, managed to block them. The geniuses in the top fifty of the Second Sequence were indeed formidable.
Fan Du, on the other hand, grew more and more alarmed. For top-tier geniuses of the younger generation, fighting across ranks was commonplace and not particularly difficult—but only when facing ordinary cultivators. It was possible to win even when three, four, or five small ranks below.
However, when facing another top-tier genius, it was much harder to fight across ranks!
After all, if both sides could fight across ranks, it would essentially be canceled out.
Yet, Xu Lian, whose cultivation level was one level lower than his, was able to fight him to a standstill. Fan Du even felt that he was struggling more than Xu Lian, which was terrifying.
This was something that he had never encountered before. As a top-tier genius ranked in the top fifty of the Second Sequence, he had always been the one to defeat others across ranks. When had he ever been suppressed by someone fighting across ranks?
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”…
When they had exchanged nearly two hundred moves, Fan Du couldn’t hold on any longer. He was grazed by a golden Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land and sent flying, his shoulder shattered. He smiled bitterly, cupped his hands in acknowledgment of his defeat, and exchanged identity tokens with Xu Lian.
Seeing that the old woman was about to call another genius to face him, Xu Lian clutched his chest. “Elder, I’ve also injured my internal organs. I can’t fight anymore.”
The old woman looked at him suspiciously, hesitated for a moment, and then waved her hand. “Then go down and heal yourself. Don’t leave any hidden injuries.”
“Yes.”
Xu Lian took the healing pills handed to him by an attendant and left the ring to rest. He took one healing pill, then, noticing the suspicious looks of the other geniuses, he suddenly had an idea and took another…
Seeing this, the geniuses stopped looking at him and their expressions relaxed a bit. They seemed to have figured out his strength – which was barely enough to break into the top fifty.
Xu Lian also felt relieved. He checked his attribute panel.
[Name: Xu Lian]
[Rank: Sixth Stage of the Great Grandmaster]
[Skills: Four Symbols Battle Tactics, Great Desolate Dragon Grasping Technique, Sacred Spirit Record (Immortal Art Supplement), Breaking Wind Sword Technique (Volumes 1-3)…]
[Items: Sword of Destruction (Not Equipped)]
[Note: You currently have 6 unused progression points].
He had already decided to maintain a position in the top fifty of the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land’s Second Sequence. He would keep the six progression points in reserve and use one whenever his ranking dropped out of the top fifty, ensuring that he stayed within that range.
This way, he wouldn’t attract too much attention, nor would he be questioned by the Sequence Hall Elder for his slow progress… That was the plan.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”…
Xu Lian watched the duels between the Sequence Geniuses with great interest, occasionally cheering and clapping. This softened the looks the other geniuses gave him. Life was like that – you couldn’t just focus on shining yourself. Sometimes, one had to play the role of the green leaves, highlighting the brilliance of others to win their goodwill. Xu Lian, who had come from a poor family in Green Bamboo Town, understood this simple truth very well.