Young Master in Flower City

On this day, at Broken Soul Mountain.

Broken Soul Mountain was destined never to know peace.

Now, at the foot of Broken Soul Mountain, experts gathered like clouds; many people from the various Sects within the Yanzhou Ancient Realm had already descended, each gaze as sharp as blades, exuding an invincible edge.

They gathered here today for one thing only: to sever the soul, temper the Life Spirit, refine it to greater purity, and from within that process seek an opportunity to step into Divine Separation.

Divine Separation was yet another Martial Arts Domain; compared to the Divine Level, within the vast Yanzhou, only after reaching Divine Separation could one truly be said to have stepped onto the Martial Arts threshold.

For all these people, how could they possibly miss this chance to temper themselves?

The Soul-breaking Stele, a single stele that could shatter the soul, was likewise an exceptional treasure for testing innate talent. In ancient times, many peerless geniuses had forged their Martial Arts beneath this stele, stepped into Divine Separation, risen against the current, and finally stood atop Yanzhou.

In the wide expanse ahead, prodigies from every road gathered. Their gazes turned toward Broken Soul Mountain, where they saw a stone stele towering up to the heavens. From the stele, a flight of stone steps descended; at the end of those steps lay the pinnacle of the stele itself, and one could well imagine the Soul Power contained upon it.

Moreover, strands of terrifying Soul Power pressure shrouded that stretch of void.

Yet all that power converged there, gathering without dispersing.

Who, one might ask, could ascend to the summit?

Looking across all Yanzhou, no one had ever reached the top.

The peak of the Soul Stele was a place no foot could tread.

Ancient rumor held that any who set foot there would have their souls annihilated, their Martial Arts eradicated, their very being reduced to dust and smoke.

It was said that, to this day, no one had passed beyond the eighteenth step.

The stairway had twenty-seven tiers; to tread eighteen was already unimaginably terrifying, and as of now no one could break that record.

Dong~

Between heaven and earth, it was as if a bell peal spread out, deafening to the ears.

This bell sound came from the Soul-breaking Stele itself. The Three Thousand Great Dao all took Soul Power as their foundation; within this single chime was contained boundless Soul Power, causing the firmament to change color, winds and clouds to surge, and the stele to blaze with dazzling light.

Buzz, buzz, buzz~

At this moment, figures howled forth from the void one after another, all with extraordinary bearing.

"The people of Qianhe Sect—Yan Kuan and the others—have arrived. Earlier on the road, there was a group who humiliated Marquis and Qin Lan; I wonder if Yan Kuan will cause trouble for him!"

Seeing this group arrive, many gazes swept across the crowd. They saw Xiao Tianyu and his companions standing there, but unexpectedly, when Yan Kuan arrived, it was as if he didn’t even see them.

"Senior Brother Yan, it’s them!" Qin Lan pointed toward a certain spot, her expression icy cold. Earlier, outside the Ancient City of Jingjue, she and Marquis had been humiliated far too miserably; how could she possibly swallow that insult?

"Sis!" Qin Shuang spoke up, "Can’t you just take a step back? No matter what, he’s still our savior!"

"What savior? Who asked them to save us? Without them, we could have fought our way out all the same!"

"Sis, you..." Qin Shuang shook with anger and frustration.

Among this group, her talent was the worst, and she had no say at all. Even if she wanted to argue on Xiao Tianyu’s behalf, what use would it be? No one would listen to her—not even her own elder sister.

"I’ll make him pay the price," Yan Kuan said indifferently, no ripple in his expression. "After the talent test, I’ll stand up for you."

"Thank you, Senior Brother!" Marquis nodded.

So long as Yan Kuan made a move, that group would surely live to regret it.

"The people of Bafang Sect have arrived as well!"

In the void, another group of figures strode through the air. They were the many peerless geniuses of Bafang Sect from the Yanzhou Ancient Realm, led by the prodigy Zhan Xiao.

Zhan Xiao was a man of outstanding talent, holding a lofty position in Bafang Sect, and he was also a prodigy listed on the Ancient Realm List. His reputation was in no way inferior to Yan Kuan’s; his arrival instantly drew countless eyes.

This time, among those Bafang Sect sent, Zhan Xiao was without doubt the one who drew the most attention.

"The Sanqing Sect has people here as well!"

In the boundless turbulence of the void, another group moved through the air. The leading youth’s gaze was as sharp as a blade and his bearing extraordinary; at a glance, one could tell he was a man of exceptional talent.

This was none other than Duan Sanqing, junior brother of the Sanqing Sect Leader.

His arrival was naturally destined to be the focus of all.

Not long after, more figures stepped through the air. This group wore white robes, particularly eye-catching. Each was handsome and extraordinary, their auras razor-sharp—they were people of the Celestial Cloud Sect.

Aside from the Celestial Cloud Sect, there were many other peerless geniuses from various powers; these forces all possessed unfathomable foundations within the Yanzhou Ancient Realm, with disciples too numerous to count.

For example, the Juechen Sword Sect, whose heritage ranked among the top three forces in the Yanzhou Ancient Realm. Its Sect Leader, Jue Chen, was at the Divine Level Ninth Layer; his Sword Dao Will was unrivaled, and within the Yanzhou Ancient Realm he alone could look down upon the heroes of the world.

This time, the one Juechen Sword Sect sent was the Vice Sect Leader, Jian Wushuang.

From his name alone, one knew his attainment in the Sword Dao was exceedingly high.

At this moment, within the Juechen Sword Sect’s ranks, a man in green robes stood there, his brows suffused with an Unrivaled Sword Intent. Just standing there, he seemed like a peerless divine blade, impossible to look at directly.

This man was Jian Wushuang.

His appearance was like a lone, towering standard.

At this moment, Xiao Tianyu and his companions stood beneath the Soul Stele, likewise sensing Soul Power roaring all around, as though the Life Spirits within their Life Palaces were about to be forced from their bodies; all of this was due to the stele’s influence.

However, Xiao Tianyu had yet to take it to heart.

This Soul-breaking Stele was not enough to measure his talent.

Just then, a cold voice sounded: "When the contest over the Soul Stele is finished, you will kneel and apologize."

As the words fell, Yan Kuan led the Qianhe Sect group past Xiao Tianyu, and even as he spoke he did not spare Xiao Tianyu a single glance, showing just how arrogant he was.

As for Xiao Tianyu, he paid him no heed.

Rather, he couldn’t be bothered to.

Men like Yan Kuan, so full of their own supposed invincibility—Xiao Tianyu had seen far too many in his lifetime. Yet in the end, which of them had ever been able to do anything to him? In the final reckoning, they were nothing but a joke, nothing more.

"Senior Brother will avenge us," Qin Lan cast a sidelong glance at Xiao Tianyu with her beautiful eyes, then followed after Yan Kuan.

As for Jiang Chengyi, Marquis, and Ge Cheng, the three of them looked toward Xiao Tianyu and the others with a sort of sorrowful gaze.

"Truly blind to everyone else," Bai Bufan muttered to Xiao Tianyu in a low voice, just waiting for Xiao Tianyu’s word; otherwise, he feared he would have already lost his patience and stepped in to teach them a lesson.

"They’re merely lowly people; why bother to concern yourself," Xiao Tianyu said calmly. In his eyes, Yan Kuan and his group were nothing but insignificant.

"Brother Xiao, I’m sorry!" Qin Shuang’s eyes showed her grievance; she had no idea how many times she had apologized already. Xiao Tianyu smiled gently. "It has nothing to do with you."

Qin Shuang’s simple nature left Xiao Tianyu with a very good impression.

A girl this pure was almost impossible to find in this world anymore.

However, at this moment, countless gazes all fell upon Xiao Tianyu and the others. Once the competition over the Soul Stele ended, that would be the time for Xiao Tianyu and the others to kneel and apologize—those were Yan Kuan’s very words just moments ago.

Yan Kuan naturally had the qualifications for such arrogance. Even though there was a berserk fellow at Xiao Tianyu’s side, in the eyes of these people, he was still far from comparable to Yan Kuan.

Moreover, it was said that this group came from the land of the Thousand Cities and had no background whatsoever.

Given that, no one held any hope for them.

Boom~

Just then, a thunderous roar exploded, deafening to the ears. Swish, swish~ countless gazes turned toward Broken Soul Mountain, only to see the mountain begin to collapse.