The Prodigies War

Despite Lin Xun's fearsome reputation, his climb wasn’t all smooth.

Rumble!

A few moments later, several heaven prides who were clearly from the same ancient orthodoxy attacked together on the fifty-foot-wide path. Their assault was unavoidable like a giant mountain descending from above.

Lin Xun could tell at a glance that these people were intentionally picking a fight.

It was very likely that they had either been instructed to obstruct him or were unwilling to be surpassed by him.

Unfortunately, although they were strong, none of them had attained the supreme path and could only be considered at the true disciple level. Hence, they were of no threat to Lin Xun.

He couldn’t even be bothered to deal with them directly. A snow-white Hornless Ice Dragon rushed out from underneath his feet and easily crushed them one after another with a swing of its tail.

Their bones shattered amidst splattering blood and flesh as they were thrown off the sides of the mountain path and disappeared.

"Demon God Lin is freakishly strong!"

Several nearby experts gasped at this sight. Not daring to block his way, they subconsciously stepped aside.

Lin Xun didn't make things difficult for them. He moved past and continued on his way.

"Demon God Lin, we meet again!" However, it wasn't long before someone couldn't hold back and ferociously attacked with a brass seal.

"It's Xing Yitian, the younger generation leader of the Lightning Wing Clan!"

"I've heard that Xing Yitian has attained the supreme path. Moreover, his lightning secret art is extremely formidable."

In the rear, the Heaven Axis Holy Land, Omega Sword Sect, Longevity Land, Black Nightmare Sky Dog Clan, and other ancient orthodoxy disciples revealed gloating expressions at this scene.

Demon God Lin had offended too many people. Hence, his path to the peak was destined to be layered with obstacles!

Xing Yitian's battle prowess was indeed extraordinary. Although he wasn’t as good as Xiao Qinghe, the gap between them wasn’t big.

Unfortunately, he was strongly suppressed by Lin Xun at the Chaos Star Beach where he not only almost died, but also lost the Moli Arrow he relied on.

Although his strength had improved greatly from then, Lin Xun's combat power had also undergone a tremendous transformation.

Swish!

Lin Xun activated the Hornless Ice Dragon Steps and instantly disappeared from the spot.

He reappeared in front of Xing Yitian and executed a light palm thrust.

"Damnit! "

Xing Yitian's expression immediately changed as he hurriedly circulated all of his power. Thunder rumbled from him as a pair of life-like dragon-snake phantasms emerged. They were made from pure lightning dao power and flowed with heart-palpitating crystalline lightning.

It was his clan’s secret art inheritance — the Dragon-Snake Lightning Dipper Art. When its potential was brought out to the extreme, it was akin to a dragon-snake rising from the land with earth-shaking destructive power.

Bang!

Lin Xun abruptly exploded as if he were paper paste.

Xing Yitian was initially stunned before all the hairs on his body abruptly stood on end. That wasn’t Lin Xun but an after-image left behind by him!

The other party’s speed had clearly surpassed his reaction ability!

"If you want to fight, I'll be waiting for you at the peak."

Lin Xun's calm and indifferent voice sounded in Xing Yitian’s ears, causing his head to snap up and find Lin Xun standing several hundred feet ahead on the mountain path!

Xing Yitian's face immediately clouded over.

He wasn't stupid. The brief encounter made him realize that the gap between him and Demon God Lin had grown even wider. The other party appeared to have long since reached an unprecedented height on his cultivation path!

For a time, he felt somewhat conflicted and regretful. Was there anyone who could put up a fight against Demon God Lin on this mountain path?

"Friend, although Demon God Lin is strong, he has many enemies and it will be difficult for even someone like him to face everyone alone. Moreover, there are already several of us who intend to join forces and deal with him together. How about it, why don't we climb the mountain together?" said a Heaven Axis Holy Land disciple. They were the first group to arrive and had witnessed the earlier scene which left them astonished at Lin Xun’s capabilities.

At this juncture, it would naturally be better if they could gather more allies to fight against Demon God Lin.

"Hmph, I will decide for myself what I will do."

Xing Yitian coldly snorted. He knew the other party’s intentions, but it didn't mean that he would allow himself to be made use of.

The Heaven Axis Holy Land disciple did not say anything else and continued to climb the mountain.

"Xing Yitian, you're already stuck between a rock and a hard place and have no way out. If we don't get rid of Demon God Lin, the peak will definitely be occupied by him. Are you happy to see that happen?"

The Omega Sword Sect disciples also arrived and gave Xing Yitian a ‘reminder.’

Xing Yitian internally struggled as he grew increasingly conflicted and hesitant.

Quickly after, the Spirit Treasure Holy Land, the Black Nightmare Sky Dog Clan, the Longevity Land, and the Azure Sea Sect...every faction that had any grudge with Lin Xun appeared one after another.

Upon seeing this, Xing Yitian finally clenched his teeth and decided to continue climbing!

As a supreme path expert, he would have a high chance of successfully ‘guarding the mountain’ if he managed to make use of everyone else to eliminate Demon God Lin.

……

Similar events continued to occur on the ninth mountain path.

The anti-Lin Xun factions tried their best to rope in other experts into an alliance against Lin Xun.

This was a surefire method to increase their chances of winning!

From this, it could be seen that they were still very fearful of Lin Xun despite their overwhelming numbers advantage. They regarded him as their greatest enemy and didn’t dare to be the slightest bit negligent.

Lin Xun was alone and hadn’t been in the Ancient Wasteland Domain for very long. Hence, he had yet to properly mature.

On the other hand, the ancient orthodoxies possessed astounding foundations and strong reputations. Most heaven prides they tried to recruit would join the alliance either out of fear or due to the prestige and influence of the powerhouse factions they represented.

As a result, the alliance grew larger and larger like a snowball rolling down the hill.

Although there were a few cultivators who rejected the alliance, they still closely followed in hopes of finding a chance to take advantage of the situation.

Fierce battles frequently broke out on the other paths as experts were eliminated from time to time. However, it was the opposite on the ninth mountain path.

All competition and fighting had strangely disappeared because Lin Xun was regarded as a top threat!

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It was a situation that rarely occurred even in previous competitions.

After all, each ancient orthodoxy would deploy as much manpower as possible to protect and escort their strongest disciple in order to maximize his or her chances at the Little Giants List.

Unfortunately, Lin Xun was alone and had no backing. This was partially why the ancient orthodoxies dared to so openly form an alliance against him.

If Lin Xun was also a disciple of an ancient orthodoxy, this bizarre situation would never have happened.

……

The situation was grim!

Lin Xun had naturally witnessed everything which filled his heart with anger and ice-cold killing intent that was rapidly growing out of control.

It was shameless and despicable for so many heaven prides from various ancient orthodoxies to form an alliance to deal with a single individual!

"These assholes seem to think very highly of me. In that case, I will happily accompany all of you to the end. Let’s see who will cry first!"

Lin Xun silently vowed.

Previously, he didn’t kill Xing Yitian for two reasons. Firstly, he didn’t wish to waste time and delay his mountain climbing.

Secondly and more importantly, once a participant climbed to the peak and began the mountain guarding phase, there would be an opportunity to obtain great dao luck!

To elaborate, every opponent defeated in the mountain guarding phase would reward the defender with an additional wisp of great dao luck.

The more great dao luck accumulated, the greater the advantage in the following ‘luck competition phase.’ 

The luck competition phase was basically the battle to determine the rankings. The higher a participant ranked, the better the rewards!

……

Swish!

Lin Xun stopped holding back and activated the Hornless Ice Dragon Steps. He transformed into a stream of light as he sprinted toward the peak at an astonishing speed.

Along the way, although the pressure released by Immortal Sacred Mountain was great, it was incapable of slowing Lin Xun in the slightest.

There were many experts ahead of him, but all of them were swiftly surpassed and left in the dust.

No matter how many shocked gazes or cries of surprise he caused, none of it could affect Lin Xun in the slightest.

At the foot of the mountain, Yan Zhanqiu happened to witness this scene, causing his brows to raise slightly, "His potential is astonishing. The fact that he managed to break Yun Qingbai’s records from ten years ago does prove how remarkable he is."

Soon after, a subtle expression emerged on his face. "However, this will only exhaust him more. In the subsequent mountain guarding stage, he will have to face continuous attacks from everyone. It is a very unwise decision. It seems that he has begun to lose his composure..."

Yan Zhanqiu shook his head before his gaze shifted to the other mountain paths. There were only a handful of people he took notice of.

Among them were the likes of Jin Muyun, Ye Chen, Xiao Cangtian, Yu Lingkong, and Ji Xingyao.

Of course, the individual he paid the most attention to was Zhao Jingxuan!

……

In less than fifteen minutes, Lin Xun finally reached the end of the ninth mountain path.

This was also the ninth peak.

A huge altar stood before him. The ancient altar gave off a sacred, misty aura. It resembled a blooming lotus flower that was half white and half black like yin and yang coexisting while also clearly separate.

This was the altar he needed to defend for the mountain guarding phase!

Victory and defeat would be decided here once the time limit of a single incense stick was reached.

Swish!

Without hesitation, Lin Xun nimbly landed on the altar.

The black and white yin and yang on the surface of the altar seemed to awaken and emitted a mysterious luck undulation.

Luck was supposed to be an ethereal and ungraspable concept. However, it currently floated above the altar in a corporeal form.

Lin Xun’s heart couldn’t help but shudder in shock. The Immortal Sacred Mountain was truly divine and unfathomable. It more than lived up to its title as one of the Five Forbidden Lands. 

Rumble!

Soon after, a dragon-shaped stone tablet emerged at the center of the altar. The nine-foot-tall structure resembled a coiling dragon reaching up to the sky.

Its eyes, whiskers, claws, and scales...were extremely detailed and the tablet radiated an ancient, majestic aura that gave rise to respect.

However, the tablet appeared gray, dull, and lifeless as if it was lacking an unexplainable power.

It was the Coiling Dragon Tablet!

The great dao luck obtained during the mountain guarding phase would accumulate above this very tablet!