The Prodigies War

Early the next morning, brilliant dao radiance simultaneously emerged from the lands of the Nine Great Heavenly Passes. When viewed from above, these passes formed a giant circle with a hundred-feet-wide ancient altar at their center.

The altar resembled a blooming lotus and was covered entirely by the mysterious Principles of Fate. As the Nine Great Heavenly Passes resonated, the Fate Lotus Dao Altar also began to transform.

Bang bang bang!

The Fate Principles enveloping the altar exploded layer by layer like snapping chains. Soon after, the altar began to exude a heavy and vast primal aura, as if awakening from a deep slumber. Now shrouded in a hazy, holy radiance, wispy primal chaos, and flowing spacetime light specks, the altar appeared all the more mysterious.

At this moment, the various factions camped at the Nine Great Heavenly Passes immediately moved. Like resplendent lights raining from the sky, the cultivators rushed towards the Fate Lotus Dao Altar zone.

The zone was extremely vast and resembled an enormous circular battlefield surrounded by the Nine Great Heavenly Passes, with the altar standing at the very center.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Group after group of terrifying figures appeared. However, all of them stopped at a certain distance from the altar. The reason was simple. Whoever rushed up first would be targeted by everyone else!

If that happened, they would be the first to be expelled or even killed! After all, similar situations had occurred countless times in past epochs. Silence dominated the field, making the atmosphere feel extremely oppressive and stifling.

Although numerous old monsters were crowded around the altar, they still made sure to position according to their respective camps. Lin Xun and his group were also present. When they appeared, they instantly became the focus of everyone's attention.

At the same time, he also noticed many familiar faces, such as Jiang Mingshui and his group, Du Feng of the Buddha Epoch, and so on. As their gazes met, their hatred violently collided in the air like invisible ripples.

With a wine gourd in one hand and the other hand behind his back, Chi Qianji suddenly smiled and asked, "You’re Lin Xun?"

"Yes." Lin Xun looked over with a nonchalant expression. He already knew of Chi Qianji's identity.

"Long ago, your master and I once competed against each other here. However, I was neither his enemy nor friend, and I hold the same attitude towards you." Chi Qianji continued, "I only care about who is better, not grudges."

"Sure." Lin Xun gave a slight nod.

"Chi Qianji, when you and Bodhi fought, you were suppressed to the point of having to admit defeat after merely three hundred rounds. Where can you hide that old face of yours if you can’t even defeat his disciple?" The unkempt old man Yi Wuyin had spoken up from nearby. Eyes half-closed, his slow speech carried a tone of teasing.

Chi Qianji laughed heartily. "Our generation has long been indifferent to honor and disgrace; does it matter even if we lose?"

"If you wish to fight, I can play with you." Suddenly, a pleasant voice also interjected as a charming young girl in a red dress approached from far away. She instantly became the focus of the area.

Many old monsters showed surprised expressions.

"Dao Friend Wanjun, you’ve never participated in the competition for the Fate Lotus Dao Altar, have you?" Chi Qianji was also taken aback.

"I came to have a look." Although Su Wanjun stood alone in the distance, no one dared to underestimate her. Silence spread once more.

Guan Qianqiu of the Dao Epoch couldn't help but ask, "Everyone, shall we compete according to the old rules as usual?"

The so-called ‘old rules’ meant that each faction would send their top expert to compete. The format was simple: they would draw lots to decide the match-ups. The final victor's faction would then be allowed to occupy the Fate Lotus Dao Altar.

Other factions were forbidden from trying to seize it, or they would become everyone’s enemies. This was done to avoid excessive deaths. Although that was the case, the truth was that in previous years, casualties had been unavoidable when determining the ownership of the altar.

However, as the saying went, a gambler must accept the results; even if the representative was killed, the others couldn’t break the rules accepted by everyone.

Chi Qianji chuckled and said, "Whether we go with the old rules depends on our young friend Lin and his enemies."

All eyes immediately turned to Lin Xun, Du Feng of the Buddhist Epoch, Jiang Mingshui of the Divine Epoch, and Weng Xinghai of the Shamanic Epoch. Meanwhile, Du Feng, Jiang Mingshui, and Weng Xinghai looked toward Lin Xun. The atmosphere grew increasingly stifling.

Lin Xun was silent for a moment. He looked around and said, "I do not want to break the rules established by the elders, so if possible, we should compete according to the old rules."

Upon hearing this, many people secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If Lin Xun were to stir up a bloody storm like a few days ago, it would inevitably lead to a chaotic war! After all, the relationships between the camps were tangled and complex.

For example, some factions were hostile towards Du Feng of the Buddhist Epoch while others were allied with him. Under such circumstances, if Lin Xun went to war with Du Feng, how could his allied factions merely sit idle and watch?

Likewise, seeing this opportunity, how could the hostile factions not get involved? As a result, the battle would only become bigger and even more chaotic. Du Feng, Jiang Mingshui, and Weng Xinghai were naturally also well aware of this.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if Lin Xun and Du Feng did clash, most of the old monsters around the Fate Lotus Dao Altar would ultimately be drawn in! This was called pulling a single hair to move the whole body.

As such, Lin Xun's stance could prevent all of this from happening. Therefore, even Du Feng, Weng Xinghai, and Jiang Mingshui secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t because they feared Lin Xun, but because this was a critical time to seize the Fate Lotus Dao Altar, and at the moment, they were more concerned about winning an opportunity to go to the All-Wonder Dominion.

Chi Qianji smiled and said, "Then let's follow the old rules. Each faction will send one dao friend to participate, while the others can only watch and must not interfere."

Soon, the cultivators from the various camps began selecting their representatives. In the end, there were a total of nineteen participants. While Du Feng and Jiang Mingshui were both from the Nine Palaces Heavenly Pass, since they belonged to different camps, each side sent one expert to participate.

Sure enough, Lin Xun was dispatched from the Five Elements Heavenly Pass side. He quickly scanned the other participants and immediately understood. The Buddhist Epoch had sent Du Feng, the Shamanic Epoch had chosen Weng Xinghai, and the Jiang Mingshui camp was represented by Jiang Mingshui himself.

Additionally, there were several others who Lin Xun needed to pay attention to such as Chi Qianji and Yi Wuyin. They were top-tier experts in the Fate Lotus World, and possessed unfathomable foundations, making them far from comparable to the likes of Huanglong Zhenjun.

Ultimately, Su Wanjun, whom the old monsters present feared the most, didn’t participate as she had said.

"We can start drawing lots. Since there’s an odd number, there will be one blank lot so whoever draws it can enter the next round directly."

Chi Qianji waved his sleeve, bringing forth a surge of mysterious light. The light condensed into a tube that contained nineteen 'dao lots' made of dao power. Since there were nineteen participants, after excluding the blank lot, the remaining eighteen would be divided into two groups, each inscribed with the numbers one to nine.

Those who drew the same number would be opponents. Once the lots were drawn, no one was allowed to try anything funny, not even Chi Qianji. These rules had been maintained in the Fate Lotus World for many epochs.

Soon after, everyone stepped forward one by one to draw their lots. When it was Lin Xun's turn, he drew a lot with the number six written on it. Hence, his opponent would be the person who drew the other number six lot. The number also represented the match order.

Chi Qianji loudly announced, "The two who drew number one, please step forward. Everyone else, move back."

The group swiftly dispersed, leaving two figures behind. They were Jiang Mingshui and an old monster named Fei Husheng.

Chi Qianji asked, "Have the two of you decided whether it will be life-or-death or victory-or-defeat?"

In unison, Jiang Mingshui and Fei Husheng both chose the victory-or-defeat.

Fei Husheng suggested, "Dao Friend, shall we decide the winner in three moves?"

Dressed in a gray robe, he had a youthful appearance and carried a pair of azure short halberds. He was an old monster who had survived five Great Silence Unlife Calamities.

"Sure." Jiang Mingshui nodded.

The battle soon erupted. The two old monsters displayed their techniques and attacked with full force. The battle couldn’t be considered desperate, but it was indeed very thrilling. Since it was to be decided in three moves, Both Jiang Mingshui and Fei Husheng unleashed their trump cards, showcasing terrifying and astonishing techniques.

After three moves, Jiang Mingshui narrowly won. Fei Husheng retreated dejectedly, while the old monsters in his faction showed bitter expressions. His defeat meant that they too had lost the opportunity to claim the Fate Lotus Dao Altar.

When the outcome was revealed, Lin Xun inwardly relaxed. Since Jiang Mingshui hadn’t been eliminated in the first round, there was still a chance to personally deal with him.

Chi Qianji announced, "Next, the two dao friends who drew number two, please come forward."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two figures appeared in the arena. One on side, was the leader of the Buddhist Epoch, Du Feng, looking solemn and dignified in his white monk robe and holding a snow-white whisk. On the other side was an old monster named Yong Xing, who was a hegemon comparable to Jiang Mingshui and Zhu Tianjun.

Upon seeing that the opponent was Du Feng, Yong Xing frowned, then revealed a bitter smile and shook his head with a sigh. "No need to fight, I admit defeat."

If it were the second or third round, he might have the confidence to face the other party. After all, no matter how strong Du Feng was, he would inevitably be a little tired after one or two battles, or even be seriously injured, making it easy for others to take advantage.

However, Du Feng at his peak condition was simply not someone Yong Xing could contend with. Therefore, he cleanly admitted defeat.