Ancient Fiend Dragon Emperor - Chapter 43
Chapter 43: Three Stages
“Look—that’s Su Han over there.”
“He’s Su Han? The Su Han who offended the Lin Clan and Chen Clan and got banished from the Su Clan?”
“I heard that Su Han is able to cultivate again. He was able to open eight dragon veins before he ended up with berserk Qi deviation; who knows how many more he has opened? With his talents, he should be somewhat stronger by now, right?
“He has broken his dragon veins once. Although they have recovered, he will probably remain stuck as a Dragon Vein Realm cultivator for the rest of his life.”
“He’s also quite lucky. He was almost killed by the Lin Clan and the Chen Clan before being saved by the Xiao Clan. Apparently, the Xiao Clan’s second daughter who was rumored to be very ugly is actually really pretty, and for some reason she fancies Su Han. Who could have thought it!?”
…
Many people were looking at Su Han. After all, before ending up with berserk Qi deviation, Su Han was somewhat famous, having been extremely likely to open ten dragon veins.
In the past, many had considered Su Han as their rival. However, at this moment, they no longer cared about him, since the Su Han now was no longer the same Su Han from then.
Hum~
Just when everyone was busy discussing, a humming suddenly came from the top of the mountain. Immediately afterwards, a sharp screeching rang out in the sky as a huge figure appeared in everyone’s sight.
“A green-feathered snow eagle? It’s the fourth grade fiend beast: the green-feathered snow eagle!” someone yelled in shock with wide eyes and a face of disbelief.
The huge green-feathered snow eagle stretched its wings that measured a dozen meters long. Its shadow seemed to cover the whole earth.
There was a terrifying and fierce aura to the beast. Everyone’s expressions changed, impressed by the Frost Cloud Sect’s ability to conquer an untamable and prideful fiend beast such as the green-feathered snow eagle.
Several people stood on the green-feathered snow eagle. One of them was an old man with grayish hair. There were also two other men and two women.
“It’s Xiao Yuhui!”
“I heard that Xiao Yuhui has already opened ten dragon veins and become a Frost Cloud Sect Inner Elder. It would only be upsetting if I were to compare myself to her!”
“Ten dragon veins… then isn’t Xiao Yuhui destined to become super-strong in the future?”
Everyone stared in awe at one of the women that stood behind the old man.
Xiao Yuhui wasn’t just gifted, she was also extremely beautiful and was considered to be a goddess by many men.
If one were able to marry such a woman, he would be able to live presumptuously in the Martial Dragon Continent even if his own cultivation was weak.
Another woman stood behind Xiao Yuhui, and two more men on her left. One of the men, dressed in white robes, looked young and elegant, making many girls’ hearts flutter.
The man’s gaze was fixed on Xiao Yuhui and had never left.
“Yuhui, you’re from the Far Mountain Province. You’re probably more familiar with the people below. Who, among them, do you think is going to get first place?” the man asked with a smile.
Xiao Yuhui didn’t answer, but her gaze landed directly on the group of men in white robes.
The man followed her gaze, eventually locating Su Han.
“You think it’s going to be him?” The man frowned. “What’s his name?”
“Su Han,” Xiao Yuhui said indifferently. “He’s my brother-in-law.”
“Ah, I see…”
Upon hearing that Su Han was Xiao Yuhui’s brother-in-law, the man’s face revealed a smile again. “He must be very good for you to pick him. However, according to my understanding, there’s a few dark horses among the disciples this year. Your brother-in-law might not be able to get first place.”
“He definitely will.”
Xiao Yuhui seemed to have absolute confidence in her words—not because she had faith in Su Han, but because Su Han’s twenty meridians had forced her to believe in him.
“Then I’d better pay attention.”
The man took a deep breath as a shadow passed through his eyes.
He believed that although Xiao Yuhui had an indifferent gaze at Su Han, there seemed to be some emotions mixed within it. That was simply unacceptable to him.
He already believed that Xiao Yuhui was going to be his wife.
“Yuhui, about that thing… have you made up your mind?” the man suddenly asked after a brief moment of silence.
Xiao Yuhui paused, and then shook her head slightly. “Bai Yu, you and I have only known each other for a few months. It’s still a bit early to be talking about marriage; let’s leave it alone for now.”
“Yuhui, my background isn’t just limited to the Frost Cloud Sect. With your talents, if you are to marry me, I will make my clan use all of their strength to nurture you. We can even make you a Dragon Grand Realm cultivator!” Bai Yu said anxiously.
“I have heard of your background. Your clan is one of the three big clans of the Wangan Prefecture. Its roots are even stronger than the Frost Cloud Sect’s. However, matters concerning affection are not something that can be settled with a few words.”
“Alright, I’ll give you more time to consider it,” Bai Yu said helplessly.
While they were talking, the green-feathered snow eagle landed on the ground.
Its flapping wings stirred up dust. Countless men backed off to make space for the green-feathered snow eagle, leaving behind an empty gap that was several dozen meters wide.
“My name is Ping Yuzi, the Chief Inner Elder of the Frost Cloud Sect!” said the old man.
His voice was calm but powerful. It seemed to have landed in the hearts of the younger generation and made their whole bodies tremble.
“Elder!” Many of the men bent their backs as they addressed him respectfully.
Paying them little attention, Ping Yuzi went on, “The Frost Cloud Sect’s recruitment process this year will be the same as any other year’s. There will be three stages.
“The First Stage: Opening Dragon Veins!
“The Second Stage: Infusing Beast Blood!
“The Third Stage: Testing Dragon Strength!
“If you are able to earn the first place of any two stages, then you will be this year’s first place.
“Of course, if the first place of all three stages are different, then we will select the first place according to the results of the third stage. Whoever wins the third stage will become this year’s first place.”
Everyone nodded. The rules of the Frost Cloud Sect had always been this way. The first two stages tested talent and willpower. Only the third stage was a test of one’s true strength.
“This year, the Frost Cloud Sect has prepared three stacks of poor quality gold grade spirit items, two stacks of good quality gold grade spirit items, and a stack of high quality gold grade spirit items, as well as a hundred poor quality spirit stones,” Ping Yuzi continued.
Whoaa!
As soon as Ping Yuzi finished speaking, a wave of uproar rang out instantly.
“Oh my, so many?”
“Even the worse items are gold grade spirit items. Just one stack would be able to let me open another dragon vein!”
“There’s also spirit stones. A total of a hundred poor quality spirit stones. That’s worth a hundred million gold pieces!”
“The Frost Cloud Sect is indeed impressive and wealthy. Just the one hundred poor quality spirit stones is enough to feed the Far Mountain Valley’s four big clans for several dozen years.”
No one could have guessed that the prizes would be so generous. Apparently, last year’s first place had only received one stack of low quality gold grade spirit items. All the other items were silver grade.