NOVEL NEXT Chapter 216: Divine Maiden
Chapter 216: Divine Maiden
Time flew by and the seasons changed.
Xu Lian had participated in 56 training sessions for the second sequence geniuses. During this period, to maintain his ranking and avoid reprimand, he had no choice but to use a progression point and advance with the help of the Leafless Fruit, reaching the eighth level of the Grandmaster realm.
This allowed him to maintain his position within the top 50, keeping it stable and secure.
The old woman who supervised the training was a bit frustrated. For over half a year, following the instructions from above, she had been closely monitoring Xu Lian.
Almost every training session, she would call him out for challenges to assess his progress. Strangely, every month, Xu Lian’s ranking would improve by two or three ranks, only to fall back by one or two ranks the next month.
Although there was progress overall, the slow and uneven progress was far from satisfactory. After more than half a year, Xu Lian had barely reached the 45th position.
This left her at a loss for words. On the one hand, Xu Lian had indeed made progress, but on the other hand, the progress was too slow-far from meeting her expectations or the predictions from above.
According to the expectations of the higher-ups, Xu Lian should have broken into the top ten of the second sequence within six months, the top five within a year, and the top genius of the second sequence within two years.
After a few more years of cultivation, he was expected to compete with the first sequence geniuses for the position of Holy Son of the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land.
Ultimately, he was supposed to defeat the Holy Sons of the other eight sacred lands and become the Holy Son of the Nine Heavens.
Only the Nine Heavens Holy Son would be worthy of the incomparable inheritance of the Divine Kingdom Law.
This immense pressure made her very anxious. The higher-ups had even considered replacing her as the elder in charge of the second-tier training hall, bringing in someone more capable. Fortunately, apart from Xu Lian, the other second-tier geniuses had not disappointed her, showing significant progress. This proved that her ability to manage the training hall was not the issue, which was why she hadn’t been replaced yet.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
On the arena, the 45th ranked Xu Lian was engaged in a fierce battle with the 40th ranked genius. The old woman watched silently. This was a challenge she had personally assigned, hoping to motivate Xu Lian by pitting him against a stronger opponent.
After fifty exchanges, Xu Lian was holding his own, but by the eightieth exchange, he began to struggle. Just after the hundredth exchange, Xu Lian was sent flying and gracefully conceded defeat. He cupped his hands toward the 40th ranked genius and said, “Senior Brother, your strength is formidable. I admit defeat.”
The 40th-ranked genius also cupped his hands and smiled, “I’m already at the peak of the ninth level of the Grandmaster realm, just a step away from the Transcendent realm. You could say that I’m almost a quasi-Transcendent. For you at the eighth level of the Grandmaster realm, to be able to last a hundred exchanges with me is already quite impressive.”
Seeing Xu Lian’s amiable demeanor even in defeat, the old woman felt a wave of frustration. Over the past six months, while Xu Lian’s cultivation progress had been slow, his social skills had improved dramatically. He had managed to get along with almost every second sequence genius, even reconciling with Qi Ming, who had previously clashed with him. Xu Lian’s humility and respect for those weaker and stronger than him had won him many friends.
“Enough! This is an arena for fighting, not for making friends,” the old woman said with a dark expression. She didn’t want such a harmonious atmosphere in the second sequence. What she wanted was fierce competition, preferably as intense as a feud between mortal enemies.
Xu Lian stepped down from the arena and sat on his meditation cushion, attentively watching the other geniuses’ battles. Whenever he saw something impressive, he would clap and cheer, playing the role of a supportive spectator.
The old woman floating in the air stared at the back of Xu Lian’s head, feeling the urge to slap him. As a top-tier genius blessed with the Divine Kingdom’s Law, shouldn’t he be more ambitious? Shouldn’t he be striving to surpass all the other geniuses instead of cheering for them?
After the training session ended, Xu Lian went out for a drink with some of the other geniuses as usual. Watching Xu Lian’s retreating figure, the old woman sighed inwardly. She felt that she had no way to complete the task assigned by the higher-ups. It was time to report this and let them send someone more capable to personally guide Xu Lian.
By the time Xu Lian left the tavern, it was already night. After parting ways with the other geniuses, he walked home alone.
Suddenly, the space around him trembled and his vision blurred as his surroundings twisted and distorted. When his vision cleared, he found himself standing on a bloodstained arena.
On the other side of the arena, a young man stood surrounded by a halo of light, his eyes closed as if in deep meditation.
“What’s going on?” Xu Lian asked, confused.
The young man suddenly opened his eyes, and for a brief moment, the image of the rotating sun and moon could be seen within his pupils.
“Boom!”
The young man attacked without a word. A straight punch tore through the air, and even without using any combat techniques, Xu Lian felt as if an immense weight had descended upon him, making it impossible to dodge.
Xu Lian had no choice but to strike back. After all, with the Divine Kingdom’s Law protecting him, he wouldn’t die or be seriously injured.
“Bang!”
The moment their fists collided, Xu Lian knew that something was wrong. A tremendous force surged through his arm, and his body was sent flying as if he had been struck by an ancient beast. He crashed into a stone wall, embedding himself deeply within it.
Obviously, this young man’s cultivation level had far surpassed Xu Lian’s eighth-level Great Grandmaster Rank.
Fortunately, under the protection of the Divine Kingdom Law, Xu Lian wasn’t injured. He pulled himself out of the wall and asked, “Where is this place? Who are you?”
“Yu Xuan,” the young man said indifferently before jumping out of the arena and disappearing into the dark mountains.
Xu Lian felt completely confused. He looked around, but all he could see was the blood-stained arena, standing alone in the midst of towering mountains that loomed like sleeping giants in the night, exuding an oppressive aura.
Suddenly, a figure clad in black robes appeared on the arena, his features and form indistinct. A deep masculine voice echoed, “How did it feel to fight Yu Xuan?”
Xu Lian frowned, “Where is this place? And who are you?”
The black-robed man replied, “This is where first sequence geniuses train-the second sequence of the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land, known as the Barbarian Wasteland. It’s home to many powerful ancient creatures, and the geniuses have to fight to survive here. Every month, they must also fight on this arena to test their progress. The blood stains on this arena are from their fights. The competition among the geniuses of the first sequence is much more brutal than that of the second tier.”
“I am the Holy Lord of the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land. The Yu Xuan you just fought is the weakest of the first sequence geniuses. The fact that you couldn’t even withstand a single move from him is deeply disappointing – not only to me, but to the higher-ups as well.”
Xu Lian cupped his hands and said, “I am dull-witted, but I will strive to improve.”
The Heavenly Mystic Holy Lord said, “At least you have some self-awareness. However, no matter how hard a dull-witted person tries, he will never achieve greatness.”
Xu Lian remained silent, not knowing what to make of these words.
The Holy Lord continued, “You are unworthy of the laws of the Divine Kingdom. Therefore, the higher-ups have decided to transfer the Divine Kingdom’s Law from you to one of the top-ranked first sequence geniuses. In recognition of your contribution to bringing the Law of the Divine Kingdom to the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land, you will be granted the title of Honorary Disciple for life.
From now on, you will receive a monthly stipend equal to that of an elder. If you encounter any danger outside, the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land will also provide you with appropriate protection.”
Xu Lian felt a wave of anger. Although he didn’t care much about the Divine Kingdom’s Law, how could the higher-ups simply take it from him and give it to someone else? This was something he had earned through a year of hardship in the Hundred Boats Secret Realm. It was his own possession. Even if he didn’t want it, he would have given it to the White Fox. How could he let someone else take it?
Xu Lian said coldly, “And if I refuse? Will you resort to violence like those outsiders?”
The Holy Lord replied, “It would be best if you cooperate willingly. If not, then we will have no choice.”
Xu Lian’s heart sank. It seemed that they were willing to use force. He had thought that coming to the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land would ensure his safety, but he hadn’t expected that even the Sacred Land would covet the Divine Kingdom’s Law.
It made sense-any great power that possessed the Divine Kingdom Law would gain a significant advantage. Even the Heavenly Mystic Holy Land was not immune to such temptation.
Xu Lian said, “I am willing to give up the Divine Kingdom’s Law, but I want to designate who it goes to.”
The Holy Lord asked, “Who do you want to give it to?”
Xu Lian replied, “The person who protected me by killing many powerful experts in Pingyang County!”
The Holy Lord was silent for a moment before saying, “The Time Maiden is too proud to accept the law of the Divine Kingdom.”
“The Time Maiden?” Xu Lian’s eyes narrowed. Now, he finally understood the true identity of the White Fox. She wasn’t the Goddess of the Nine Heavens, but another divine maiden.
It seemed that the higher-ups were acting behind the Time Maiden’s back. If the Time Maiden knew about this, she would never allow it, especially since Xu Lian had once offered it to her and she had refused.
Taking advantage of the Holy Lord’s momentary distraction, Xu Lian quickly took out a purple jade token and focused his mind to activate its communication function. “Time Maiden, help…”
Before he could finish, the jade token vanished from his hand and appeared in the Holy Lord’s grasp. The Holy Lord’s eyes turned cold as he glared at Xu Lian. “Are you seeking death?”