Chapter 1481: Unparalleled Genius
Xiang Shaoyun was about to challenge the 10 geniuses who had arrived at the Darkdevil Sect to ask for Devil Concubine's hand in marriage. News of this had spread all over the Darkdevil Sect's guest residential area.
The 10 so-called geniuses were far stronger than the geniuses of the four ancient academies. A few of the 10 were actually the previous generation geniuses of the four academies, while some were the geniuses of some other ancient organizations. These people were around 50 years old, with the oldest being no older than 200 years old. These were the blazing suns of the dominion.
Devil Concubine was already a Saint. It was also rumored that she had comprehended the dao of time. It was only a matter of time before she obtained full mastery over it. At the time, she would become one of the strongest existences in the dominion. Furthermore, she was also an exceptionally beautiful woman. Thus, countless people wanted to marry her, but of her pursuers, only a few were qualified to be with her.
As for the 10 geniuses qualified to enter the Darkdevil Sect's guest residences, they were the ones who had won the sect's acknowledgment in terms of temperament and background.
Mo Xuwu had personally told the 10 that the one who defeated Xiang Shaoyun would be his son-in-law. All 10 eagerly awaited the battle upon hearing his words. They had all heard of Xiang Shaoyun's name, and they all wanted to personally see just how strong that up-and-coming youngster was.
Early morning the next day, the first rays of the sun shone upon the land below, signifying the arrival of a brand new day. Gathered around the Dark Ring were over 1,000 overseers and disciples of the Darkdevil Sect. They were all here to witness the fight between the young Saints.
"I heard that Xiang Shaoyun is the disciple of a lord guardian. He has also cultivated the Imperial Nether Clan's innate abilities and is strong enough to kill Great Saints. He is quite a good match for the young lady. I wonder if he can withstand the 10 geniuses today?"
"Xiang Shaoyun isn't even 50 yet, right? Even if he started cultivating from the time he was in his mother's womb, he is still too young to be as strong as a Great Saint. He must have utilized some god-grade treasures to kill Great Saints. The 10 geniuses are not to be underestimated. They are also people with god-grade treasures. Things aren't looking too good for Xiang Shaoyun."
"Heh, you might not know this, but of the 10 geniuses, one of them is also the disciple of a lord guardian. In terms of status, he is comparable with Xiang Shaoyun. It is rumored that the lord guardian intends to nurture his disciple into the next lord guardian."
"That's right. The 10 geniuses are all absolute talents in cultivation who had long made their names. They are more than qualified to be with the young lady. It's too early to say if Xiang Shaoyun can emerge victorious."
"It doesn't matter. It should be our honor to get the chance to witness the battle between these geniuses."
...
The battle had yet to start, but the Dark Ring was already buzzing with excitement. The Dark Ring was a god-grade ring that looked to be about a kilometer wide from the outside. But upon stepping onto the ring, one would find that an entirely different world existed within the ring.
An independent space had been sealed in the ring. The space was the size of a city, and a black stage appeared to be hovering above an empty land. The stage was made of saint-grade materials. Even a tiny portion of the stage could be forged into a saint-grade weapon. From how the Darkdevil Sect had forged a stage from so many saint-grade materials, one could see how wealthy the sect was.
Before long, the 10 geniuses appeared one after another. Instead of coming alone, each was followed by a powerful dao guardian. Even the weakest dao guardian was a Great Saint. One could see just how important these geniuses were for their respective organizations.
These young elites were exceptional in terms of both looks and talent. They were akin to bright stars that filled the Darkdevil Sect with brilliance, driving the female disciples wild with excitement. These female disciples had seen a lot of outstanding men, but those so-called outstanding men were nothing before these 10 geniuses.
The 10 geniuses also came in all shapes and forms. One was a purple-haired handsome young man, one was a crown prince clad in an imperial robe, one was a sturdy and muscular man, one was an elegant and graceful young master, and so on. Every single one of them was a king among Saints.
Only those who had entered the Saint Realm before 200 years old would qualify to be addressed as a king among Saints. Furthermore, a king among Saints was expected to be able to defeat those with higher cultivation levels. For a regular person, living for 200 years was almost impossible. But for a Saint, it was merely the beginning of life.
One of the 10 took the lead to step onto the Dark Ring. He had the appearance of a 20-year-old youth. He was clad in fiery red armor, had a fiery red sword hanging on his back, and had wild fiery red hair. With a bright radiance in his eyes, he scanned the crowd and shouted, "Where is Xiang Shaoyun? I, Yan Lie, will cripple you using only one hand!"
He was a seventh-stage Heaven Battling Realm cultivator. A young master hailing from an ancient clan from the Southern Wasteland, he was 120 years old, could battle Great Saints, and had great military achievements under his belt. His most famed feat was the slaughter of eight peak Saint Realm zombies when he was only a peak sixth-stage Saint. After advancing into seventh-stage Heaven Battling Realm, he had only grown stronger.
The Yan Clan was an ancient clan specializing in flame cultivation based near a volcano. Their ancestor called himself the Flame God, and they had been able to nurture generation after generation of talented Innate Flame Physique owners. Even the weakest of them had the potential to become a Saint, whereas the more talented ones had the potential to enter the God Realm.
As for Yan Lie, he was the cultivator from the clan who had appeared in the last 1,000 years with the highest chance of entering the Rebirth Realm. He would also partake in the Heaven Battling Ranking Competition that would be held in the near future. He was confident he would leave his name on the ranking during the competition.
Generally, flame cultivators had relatively bad tempers, and Yan Lie was no exception to that. Since young, he had been the brightest star that overshadowed all his peers. Thus, he had developed an arrogant and overbearing temperament. It was not surprising that he would be the first to challenge Xiang Shaoyun.
As for the other geniuses, they weren't bothered to fight to be the first challenger. Xiang Shaoyun was the direct disciple of a lord guardian and was definitely not someone to be underestimated. It wasn't a bad idea to have Yan Lie test the waters.
Before Xiang Shaoyun could appear, Devil Concubine arrived. Her flawlessly beautiful face, bright eyes, hourglass figure that was further accentuated by the black muslin outfit she wore, and the energies of yin and yang that surrounded her body made her look like a fiendish goddess. She instantly caught the attention of the 10 geniuses the moment she appeared. Of the 10, only a few had seen her before. The moment they set their eyes on her, they found themselves smitten by her beauty.
"Only I am worthy of having a woman like that," said the purple-haired handsome youth proudly.
"Yin Yang Physique, dao of time, and exceptional looks. She must be mine," declared a different genius confidently.