The Prodigies War

Everywhere was a vast range of impressive landscapes such as jagged mountain ranges and softly undulating valleys and dramatic rivers. 

A figure roared around the mountains at an astonishing speed, and a snow-white Hornless Ice Dragon soared in the air with its head held high, escorting and protecting the figure. 

The figure vanished in the blink of an eye, but it startled the birds and beasts along the way and made them scamper in panic. 

Of course, the figure was Lin Xun. 

As soon as he left Azure Hill Mountain, he had been rushing to the Great Qin Province, navigating the dangerous mountains.

In around twenty days, the highly anticipated Dao Lantern Festival would kick off on Cangwu Mountain in the Great Qin Province.

Boom!

The chains of mountains were like halberds towering into the sky. Lin Xun was shrouded in a divine glow as he cut through the air with a rip, creating a sonic boom that stung any nearby people’s eardrum. His speed was so incredible that he resembled a bolt of lightning.  

Along the way, he didn’t forget to practice and hone his strength. He had just reached the Cyclic Derivation Stage and stepped foot onto the legendary supreme path, but he still wouldn’t slack off. 

If he wanted to become an absolute apex king then his cultivation at the Cyclic Derivation Stage was undoubtedly the most important foundation. 

This cultivation stage was the last of the five great stages of cultivation. It was the head of the True Martial, Spirit Dipper, Spirit Sea, and Heaven Ascension, and above it was the Life Death Stage that countless cultivators dreamed of reaching!  

The Cyclic Derivation Stage could be said to be an important connecting link between the upper and lower stages of cultivation. If a cultivator wanted to become a king, they first had to build an incomparably solid background and foundation in this cultivation stage first!

The Cyclic Derivation Stage was divided into three levels: initial, mid, and advanced. 

At this stage, a cultivator was able to transform their Heaven Ascension Cave into a Divine Derivation Wheel to store all their origin power. 

The Cyclic Derivation, as the name suggested, signified to derive a wonderful appearance and complete the cycle of perfection.

A Divine Derivation Wheel housed a cultivator’s cultivation and profound knowledge of comprehending the dao. At the same time, it was also the source of a cultivator’s strength. 

Once a cultivator reached this stage, they could manipulate Dao Meaning Power, condense the primordial spirit, develop a divine sense, and possess earth-shaking power.

Generally speaking, a Cyclic Derivation expert was already a top existence in the world.

As for the Life Death Stage Kings, they were existences that stood at the pinnacle of the mountains, transcending the five great stages of cultivation. They had crossed life and death and sought the immortal way of life. They were all classified as overlords of the world. 

In a world without saints, kings were the most important!

Lin Xun was only at the initial Cyclic Derivation Stage and only just formed his own great dao Divine Derivation Wheel.

However, unlike ordinary Cyclic Derivation cultivators, he had set foot onto the supreme path, and his primordial spirit had transformed into a divine spirit. In addition, he had long grasped Dao Meaning Powers when he was at the Heaven Ascension Stage. 

Now, he could suppress and kill half-step kings with his overwhelming strength. So, naturally, he didn’t fear anyone in the same cultivation stage as him!

But he wouldn’t be satisfied with all that. He pursued the path of perfection so that he could set foot onto the pinnacle of the king stage when the great age came. 

“The second half of the Mystery Grotto Devour Wilderness Scripture contains the secret to forming the dao and becoming a king and is not a true cultivation art. It seems that, in order to break through life and death and become a Life Death Stage King, a cultivator needs to forge their own dao path. Only this way can make them unique in the world and become an absolute apex king…”

While pushing on with his journey, Lin Xun pondered and organized his thoughts.

The last time I passed the Omega Secret Realm, I received the rewards of the second half of the Mystery Grotto Devour Wilderness Scripture and the Heavenly Yuan Blade Art.

However, what is recorded in the Mystery Grotto Devour Wilderness Scripture are only the secrets of forming the dao and becoming a king, or rather it’s more like an account of someone’s personal experience and thoughts.

Lin Xun realized that the path he had chosen to walk was not compatible with those of the former kings. He shouldn’t follow the paths of former Life Death Stage Kings. Instead, he needed to forge a king's path that belonged to him only. 

He needed to follow the past and herald the future, and create new wonders!

This was destined to create a path unlike any other!

Each age brought forth new genius and every one of them would rule their own domain for years to come. The previous paths were just inheritances that could be inherited and should be improvised. Otherwise, it would be no different to adhering to the old-fashioned ways!

Otherwise, regardless of how great their achievements were, they would never be able to compete with the sages of ancient times.

Now, an unprecedented great age was coming, and the future was full of unknowns. If he continued to follow down the old paths, would be able to embark on the path of becoming an absolute apex king?

Ever since Lin Xun started cultivating, no one had been able to compare to him. But it was only when he broke through into the Cyclic Derivation Stage that he realized that if he rigidly followed previous inheritance paths, he might never touch upon the absolute apex king path in his life!

Therefore, he had to seek an unprecedented path that belonged to him.

This was perhaps truly considered as forging a path, forging a unique great dao path that could compete with those of ancient sages. 

Of course, all this might seem far at the moment. But a journey of a thousand miles began with a single step. He would succeed one day as long as he persisted. 

……

Three days later.

In the wilderness, Lin Xun stood upright in the air, and the Broken Blade, like a bolt of silver lightning, suddenly shot across the sky, cutting through a large stretch of mountain.

However, it was utterly silent.  

Not long after he left, the mountains were severed from the middle and then collapsed with a loud rumble.

Every mountain was cut clean as if polished by the hand of the heavens. Anyone who saw that would be awed into silence. 

The Silent Emptiness Slash!

This was the first move in the second half of the Heavenly Yuan Blade Art. It was as silent as it was still, as empty as it was boundless. It could sever mountains and valleys without startling any monster or beasts!

Lin Xun had now grasped the complete Heavenly Yuan Blade Art, which should be called Six Slashes of the Heavenly Yuan. 

These six slashes were precisely Star-Gather, Moon-Catch, Burning Sun, Silent Emptiness, Birth Destruction, and Impermanence!

Every slash contained unfathomable and boundless earth-shattering power. It was definitely an unrivaled supreme art. 

Lin Xun hadn’t been able to fathom the true profound mystery of this inheritance when he only had the first half.

But it was different now. 

Once he obtained the complete blade art, it was as though he had discovered a brand new secret. Not only did the essence and power it contained astonish him but it also made him more and more aware of the extraordinariness of the Omega Secret Realm.

This was because the art was precisely inherited from the Omega Secret Realm.

Given his current comprehension ability, he was only barely able to comprehend the profound secret of the Silent Emptiness Slash. As for the Birth Destruction Slash and Impermanence Slash, they were too obscure and mysterious for him to fathom right now. 

He couldn’t help sighing. 

But along the way, he didn’t slack off from practicing the Birth Destruction Slash and the Impermanence Slash, hoping to solve its profound mysteries.

He estimated that within half a year, he would be able to grasp the final two slashes of the Heavenly Yuan Blade Art. 

……

Seven days later. 

He left the vast mountains.

His bearing was as imposing and fierce as a sword, and his whole figure was as sharp as the tip of a blade that had been polished thousands of times. He radiated a brilliance that made the world pale. But as he walked out of the mountains, his aura faded like the receding tide. Very quickly, he concealed all his aura and brilliance and drew it within him. 

Now, his aura was as calm as still water but with a hint of ethereal charm, which complemented his moon-white robe and flowing black hair. 

After many days of training, he had finally consolidated and further improved his cultivation base. 

Now, he was able to freely draw upon and manipulate every bit of his power. This was called maintaining a calm heart even with a thunder rumbling in the chest. 

Fallen Cloud City!

Faraway, the outline of a tremendous city loomed in the distance. It was late evening, and the setting sun bathed the city in a magnificent golden hue.  

“Once I enter this city, I would have reached the territory of the Great Qin Province. There are still around seven days before the Dao Lantern Festival starts. I wonder how many talents in the West Infinity World have gathered here already…” 

He couldn’t help but think of Yue Jianming from the Thousand Illusions Sect and Fang Linhan from the Eight Extremes Blade Temple. 

He also thought of Ji Xingyao, the current saintess of the Unsolved Mystery Sword Alms, who was also known as the leading figure of the younger generation in the West Infinity World. There was also Yu Lingkong, a peerless figure from the Longevity Land in the South Wonder World.

He even thought of Zhuo Kuanglan from the Feather Sword Sect, Xie Yutang, and Lu Jiuge, the fifth crown prince of the Fire Crow Clan.  

“They all must have already arrived in the Great Qin Province. There’s also Zhongli Wuji and Qing Lian’er, the saintess of the Blue Luan Clan... I wonder if those two would also come...”

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His dark eyes flashed a cold intent. 

He would never forget how those two attacked and criticized him in front of the world, and how they treated him as a stepping stone to boost their own name.

Shua!

Lin Xun didn’t pause for long. With a flash, he sped towards Fallen Cloud City in the distance. 

“There’s shocking news! Li Qinghuan, the younger generation talent from the Azure Sea Sect in the Clear Sky Province, and Wu Duanya from the Dark Sun Sect in Huaiyin Province have together arrived at Star Cliff City, which is just before Cangwu Mountain!”

“It’s been estimated that around five hundred genius figures from all across West Infinity World are here!”

“I heard that there is a high possibility that powerful characters from the other three great worlds will also attend the Dao Lantern Festival!”

Everywhere in Fallen Cloud City, the bustling streets, the popular restaurants, and the tea houses were filled with chatter, discussions, and theories about the upcoming Dao Lantern Festival. 

The buzzing atmosphere surprised Lin Xun. He never thought that the Dao Lantern Festival would have such an extraordinary influence. 

He gleaned some information from the conversations between the cultivators. 

“Hey, I heard that Demon God Lin appeared in Blood Mist City, I wonder if that’s true or not.”

Lin Xun frowned strangely. He came to find that he was mentioned in many of the discussions. 

“Haha, I’m more curious about whether Demon God Lin would dare to attend the Dao Lantern Festival. It seems that many of the peerless figures such as Zhongli Wuji and Qing Lian’er have some beef with Demon God Lin. They all intend to teach him a lesson at the Dao Lantern Festival.”

“I’ve also heard about it. It’s because Demon God Lin likes to be in the limelight too much and has obscured many talents. It’s understandable that they’re not very happy with him. Also, I heard that many sects and clans now believe that Demon God Lin very likely does not deserve his fame, and he is not as powerful as rumored!”

“Regardless, there is going to be a good show if Demon God Lin comes!”

Lin Xun’s expression altered again. 

He had a strong feeling that the big mouths of the Windspeaker Clan had been fanning the flames in the dark!

After all, he shouldn’t have caused that great of a disturbance and made so many people regard him as an opponent...