Chapter 376 - 376 The test begins
The moment that this powerful voice disappeared, the darkness that covered the continent also faded away allowing the sun to find its way into the 'Night star continent' once again.
The crowd in the Heaven's Dome city however instantly exploded in discussions
''The test of the Holy sect will really start soon! I wonder what kind of test it will be!''
''Hehe, I am thankful I could come to the Heaven's Dome city a month ago! Participating in the House of Rankings against other geniuses really helped me grow stronger!''
''Stronger? Pfft, you are just a middle rank 8 Spirit realm cultivator! Unless you are a Nascent Soul stage expert, your only fate will be to become cannon fodder during the test!''
At the same time that the darkness disappeared, Liu Mei turned her head to look at Shun Long, before she asked in a suppressed voice that held hints of shock in it
''Long-ge, that person was probably even stronger than the Dao King of the Demon Emperor Palace right?''
Although Liu Mei didn't know how strong Duan Zhu really was, even as a peak rank 9 Spirit realm cultivator, she could discern that the pressure that this voice alone had brought her, was definitely much more terrifying than the feeling she had gotten from Duan Zhu when he had sent an all-out attack towards Little Black in the 'Dragon Lord's villa'.
Shun Long nodded his head with a solemn look in his eyes, before he said
''That person was most likely a Dao Emperor realm powerhouse!''
Shun Long would have asked Little Black to ascertain exactly how strong that person was, but after he started to absorb the dragonstone 2 weeks ago, Little Black had fallen into deep sleep.
Of course, he had already guessed that this would happen, as Little Black had already explained, that the difference in strength between a Dao King and a Dao Emperor is even larger than that of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator's and a Dao King's!
Shun Long knew that as soon as Little Black finished absorbing the dragonstone, he would definitely breakthrough to the rank 7 and be equivalent to a Dao Emperor!
At the same time, Shun Long had also spent the first 6 days that he and Liu Mei were staying in the inn, inside the 'Stone of Time', as he tried to familiarize himself with the black sword.
Although he had never used a sword in the past, but since Liu Mei couldn't use the black sword since it could reduce the strength of her undead army, he decided to use it instead, as it would make no sense for him to keep using the 'Purple Blossom staff'.
After all, in the test of the Holy sect, Shun Long was certain that there would be no lack of those people who would have rank 2 and even rank 3 gold-grade weapons, so not using his own star weapon and use his peak rank 1 'Purple Blossom staff' instead, would definitely put him at a disadvantage.
At the same time, although it was unlikely, Shun Long couldn't rule out the possibility that someone else would also have a star-rank weapon.
Although these weapons were mostly used by Dao Emperors, if one had a powerful background, there was the possibility for them to have such a weapon as well!
Coupled with Shun Long's cultivation at the peak of rank 9 in the Spirit realm, he would definitely find it extremely hard to face off against those geniuses who had long since reached the Nascent Soul stage if he had weaker weapons as well!
After all, just Yi Mingzhu and Su Shanyuan whom Shun Long had first seen in the House of Rankings fighting against each other, were already at the early rank 1 and the middle of rank 1 in the Nascent Soul stage just 3 years ago!
Shun Long could only guess how strong these people would have become by today. And the most frightening thing was, that those 2 weren't even peak geniuses of the 'Night star continent'!
Compared to the blue-haired Hu Liu who was ranked 3rd in the House of Rankings whom Shun Long had met in the 'Golden Exchange firm' more than 2 years ago, these people couldn't even be mentioned in the same breath!
Thus, Shun Long had spent almost 60 days inside the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time', trying to familiarize himself with the black sword, and compare it with the usage of a staff.
Although the staff and the sword weren't fundamentally too different in the way that they were used, Shun Long noticed distinct differences between the 2 weapons.
''The staff definitely allows someone to be more nimble and flexible with their movements, while allowing also a larger variety of attacks at the same time.
However, the sword has a much higher destructive power and offensive capabilities that are simply incomparable to that of a staff!''
These had been Shun Long's insights during the past 2 months, and although he couldn't be called an expert with the sword, he could definitely use it without too many issues.
As Shun Long and Liu Mei walked towards the plains outside of the 'Heaven's Dome city', more and more people gathered as well, as they flew out of the gates of the city almost as if they were in a race.
In the blink of an eye, 10.000 people had already been gathered, and yet the number was only growing by the seconds.
A full day later, 100.000 people, all of them at the late-stages of the Spirit realm or above, had already gathered outside of the city.
''Look, that is senior Long Hong, the person who is ranked 20th in the House of Rankings!''
''Wasn't Long Hong ranked 5th in the past until he lost to the young white lord though? How did he fall all the way to the 20th place?''
''IDIOT! Who is the young white lord? He is the youngest rising star of the continent! He is already second in the House of Rankings, and the only person above him is Sheng Huang! I have also heard people saying that the young white lord would even have a chance to beat Sheng Huang if the 2 of them fought against each other, but alas...!''
Other people also chimed in when they heard this man belittling Long Hong's 20th place
''Fool! Do you think that being ranked 20th in the House of Rankings is easy? Previously senior Long Hong was ranked 5th, but that was among the cultivators of the Heaven's Dome city! How many people have come to the city ever since he fought with the young white lord? His 20th place now isn't just 20th in the Heaven's Dome city, but in the entire continent instead!''
That person who had criticized Long Hong instantly tucked his head as he fled the scene, unable to bear the crowd's berating any longer.
More and more experts gathered, and Shun Long started to hear even more unfamiliar names, when a sudden name attracted both his and Liu Mei's attention
''Hey! Isn't that Xie Xingyi from the Xie family of the Silver mountain? I heard that she had already taken the 5th place in the rankings more than a year ago.''
''That's all you know? Half a year ago miss Xie also fought Hu Liu from the 'Golden Exchange firm' to a draw! However she disappeared shortly after, unable to take the fourth place in the Rankings!''
''Damn! I wish she would have fought more often in the rankings so I could admire her beauty every day!''
As both Shun Long and Liu Mei turned their heads towards the source of the noise, they saw a gorgeous young woman dressed in green robes walking through the crowd.
Her pale blonde hair and her stunning emerald eyes only served to accentuate her gorgeous face and stunning figure, making this woman the object of attraction for countless young men around her.
No matter what, neither Shun Long nor Liu Mei could deny the fact, that this young woman was definitely a kingdom toppling beauty.
Liu Mei had a surprised look in her eyes behind her white veil, as she turned her head to look at Shun Long and said
''Long-ge, she is probably related to madam Xie Rong from the 'Pale Moon guild'.''
Shun Long nodded his head in response, as he remembered the beautiful woman from the 'Pale Moon guild' of the Silver sword city, whose facial features were very similar to this woman's.
No matter how beautiful a woman was, he wouldn't simply be interested in her just because of her beauty.
Besides, Xie Xingyi could at most be considered on par with Liu Mei, even though they both had a different type of beauty.
Time continued to pass and more people continued to gather, but between so many thousands of people, Shun Long wasn't able to see everyone who had made a name for themselves in the Heaven's Dome city during the past 2 years!
Finally, one more day passed as well, marking the end of the 48 hours period that the powerful expert from 2 days ago had set.
More than 200.000 people were gathered in the plains outside the city, when the continent was plunged into darkness for the second time, before the same, powerful voice, once again resounded throughout the continent
''The 48 hours are over!''
As that person finished speaking, a gigantic white gate that spanned for a few miles suddenly appeared in the sky before that person then continued
''Those of you who are eligible to participate in the Holy sect's test, pass through the gates and enter inside!
However, if any of you is already above 300 years old and you still attempt to enter inside, know beforehand that you will die!
Additionally, there are no alliances in the Holy sect's test, and it is also possible, that during the test you will also lose your life!
Now... let the test of the Holy sect... BEGIN!''