Hao Ren passed the tribulation without much difficulty. His special physique improved to another level. The wounds he suffered healed when the heavenly providence rained upon him. His spiritual sense increased and anything within the range of one kilometre was not too far for him to detect.
As he stood on the ground, his eyes flickered, the sparks of the golden spirit flame inside his body flickered through his eyes. The young man took a deep breath as he retrieved a set of clothing as he looked at his sister who was watching him from a distance.
He used his Cloud Breeze Step and came closer to her in a blink. He asked, "How have you been?"
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Hao Mei patted his head and said, "I am having an existential crisis."
Hao Ren was surprised and asked, "What happened?"
The young lady said, "You are catching up to my cultivation and I am beginning to doubt life."
Hao Ren rolled his eyes and asked, "Let's go back, I have somethings to discuss with you."
The people quickly moved away from the place; they did not mind the fact that someone was stalking them in the distance. Hao Ren was able to sense some fluctuation but since Hao Mei did not say anything, he did not kick a fuss over it as well.
...
In the distance, two people, one young and one old, stood in the void with their eyes trained at the group that was headed back to the city. The old man was none other than Elder Gan who had been told to move away by Hao Mei and the sturdy young man happened to be none other than the Third Prince, Hu Jitian.
Hu Jitian asked, "Master Gan, why didn't you fight that woman?"
His tone was authoritative and his gaze was cold. The old man replied, "Your Highness, that lady is a famous bounty hunter from the northern region. The technique she practices is strange and is capable of freezing the souls of the enemies she confronts. Let alone me, someone at the peak of Soul Transformation wouldn't guarantee total victory against her."
Hu Jitian frowned and asked, "To think that she is such a strong person. However, not giving face to the royal family. They need to be taught a lesson."
Gan did not say anything because it was not his place to. The royal family of the warring nation has always been arrogant because of their strength. Sighing internally, he said, "Your Highness, we shall get to the city. Making his Majesty wait is not right to do."
Hu Jitian nodded and then they left.
...
Hao Ren and Hao Mei sat facing each other and the two of them were playing chess. The young man asked, "Who was that guy?"
Hao Mei replied, "It was the Third Prince of the Warring Nation."
Hao Ren nodded thoughtfully and placed the stone on the board as he asked, "What do you think?"
He was asking her if they should be worried about his retaliation. The young lady replied calmly, "Well, these royal wards are all haughty. He will certainly try to do something against us."
Hao Ren put away the Qin and stood up and said, "I will go now. Would you come?"
Hao Mei shook her head and said, "It is just going to be preliminary, the final will start tomorrow. I will go if you make it there."
Hao Ren nodded and then left the place with Reni in two. He asked, "Sister Reni are you also going to participate in the tournament?"
Reni nodded and said, "Young Miss said I should do it."
Hao Ren asked, "Well, do your best."
Reni nodded and replied, "I am thankful for the fact that you will be participating in a different category."
The young man smiled as they reached the venue. The competition was held in the ground of the royal palace. A lot of people were gathered together at the gates of the grounds. There were four gates of the ground and royal guards were keeping order. Everyone was standing in a queue and they were seemingly waiting for their turn.
Hao Ren saw a few familiar faces and he also saw some new faces. He stood behind a middle-aged man and said, "Sister Reni, what is the first test?"
The young lady said, "Young Master, the first test is the identity confirmation, and strength confirmation."
Hao Ren nodded and the crawled over behind the crowd before they heard loud gasps coming from the front of the crowd, someone exclaimed, "The third prince has a hitting power of ten tigers."
The people were surprised, Hao Ren looked at Reni and asked with his spirit sense, 'Is the power of ten tigers considered very strong?'
Reni smiled and replied, 'The power level is divided in three levels, bulls, then tigers, and then dragons. Ten tigers are the strength of middle nascent soul realm. So, given his age, this is considered to be a good, one of the geniuses.'
Hao Ren smiled and shook his head, before he said, 'I wonder how much strength shall I display.'
Reni said, 'Try to hold back some strength, no one here is revealing their complete strength. They are all holding back for the real competition tomorrow.'
The young man nodded and then after an hour it was their turn. Hao Ren was about to go ahead when Hu Baihe came over with a smile on her face. She patted him on the shoulder and asked, "Well, I did not expect that you came over."
Hao Ren cupped his fist and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."
Hu Baihe smiled at him and said, "Are you drawing lines with me?"
Hao Ren shook his head and replied, "It is not drawing lines, but maintaining proper manners."
The princess nodded and then said, "Go and check your strength, then we will talk."
Hao Ren nodded and then he walked up to the pillar. The official standing under the pillar first inspected the identity pass, and then said, "Please hit the pillar with your best attack, strength of ten bulls is considered to be eligible for battle competition."
Hao Ren nodded and took a deep breath while walking up to the pillar, before he stepped forward and his punch landed on the pillar. The seemingly unremarkable punch shook the crowd into silence.