The other young geniuses were shocked by the cold and brutal performance of Ling Jue Yun and the young man who was drenched in blood. They did not hesitate to crush their jade token as soon as they felt the slightest sense of danger. Although crushing the jade token meant they would be eliminated from the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses, nothing was more important than preserving their lives. Even if they could become famous if they did well in the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses, everything would be for naught if they lost their lives. Moreover, since most of them were talented individuals, even if they did not do well in the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses, they would still be able to make a name for themselves in different ways.
“I can’t take this anymore. I’m leaving!”
“It’s too dangerous here. I’ll lay low for now and make a comeback during the third round…”
“Three against one? How embarrassing. I’ll leave first. If either one of you makes it to the next round, I’ll challenge you to a duel and kill you!”
One after another, the young geniuses crushed their jade tokens and left the battle ring when they saw another group that was attacked.
Since there were so many participants, it would naturally take a long time for the set number of participants to be eliminated. However, after Ling Jue Yun and the young man who was drenched in blood made a move, it seemed to cause a chain reaction. In the end, the second round of the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses ended in less than two hours with 300 people advancing to the next round.
Among the 300 young geniuses, more than 90% of them were comparable to titled Celestial Emperors. Most of them had strength comparable to a Two Star God of War at least.
On the other hand, there was a small number of participants among the 300 who only managed to advance to the third round by bribing stronger participants to help them. Although these few people were not very strong, they came from famous and wealthy clans. Hence, they had many rare treasures that tempted other participants into helping them. Nevertheless, they knew it would be inevitable for them to get eliminated in the third round.
At this time, Xu Kong Hai, the Vice Temple Master of the main Title Temple, made another announcement.
“The second round of the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses has come to an end… The third round will commence a month later. The Title Temple will release the names of participants who made it to the third round in three days. Meanwhile, those who were eliminated during the second round can decide if they want to challenge the 300 participants who passed the second round. Take this time to study your opponent; you have three chances to challenge your opponents.”
The 700 people who were eliminated in the second round would be given a chance to advance to the third round of the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses if they could defeat any of the 300 participants that passed the second round.
“A month?” Su Li was slightly surprised. “I didn’t expect the third round would only take place after a month.”
Duan Ling Tian shook his head and said, “In my opinion, this one month is for the sake of the 700 participants who were eliminated today. It’s so they can study the participants they want to challenge…”
At this time, Zhang Tian You and Wan Ting approached Duan Ling Tian to express their gratitude.
“Thank you, Duan Ling Tian.”
The duo knew they would not have been able to advance to the third round if it were not for Duan Ling Tian. Nevertheless, instead of feeling happy, they felt rather pressured after passing the second round. This was because they knew many people would challenge them to a duel after a month.
Duan Ling Tian nodded. “There’s still a month to go. Both of you should prepare yourself to accept the challenges that will come your way…”
The duo smiled bitterly upon hearing Duan Ling Tian’s words.
After the barrier was removed from the battle ring, the participants left the venue and hurried back to their respective wooden houses to cultivate, unwilling to waste even a minute.
Meanwhile, just as Duan Ling Tian was about to leave with Su Li and Ling Jue Yun, his master, Feng Qing Yang, sent him a Voice Transmission.
“Little Tian, stay back for a moment. I have an old friend who wishes to meet you…”
With that, Duan Ling Tian bade farewell to Su Li and Ling Jue Yun before he left to meet Feng Qing Yang who was with Ding Fu, the Heavenly Emperor of the Primeval Heaven.
“Master. Senior Uncle Ding,” Duan Ling Tian greeted Feng Qing Yang and Ding Fu as soon as he arrived. Then, he looked at Wei Qi, the Skeletal Dragon Celestial Emperor, who was standing behind Ding Fu and greeted Wei Qi as well. “Senior Wei Qi.
“We meet again,” Wei Qi said with a smile.
“Junior Nephew Duan, your friend was so ruthless and decisive that I didn’t even get to see you perform. It seems like I’ll have to wait until the third round to see you perform…” Ding Fu said with a smile.
The third round of the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses that will commence after a month gave the 700 participants who were eliminated today a chance to redeem themselves. As the only true disciple of Feng Qing Yang, the legendary Heavenly Emperor of the Solitary Destructive Heaven, there was no doubt Duan Ling Tian would be receiving many challenges.
Although there were some participants who feared Duan Ling Tian, there were also many who felt they were stronger than him. After all, up until now, the strength Duan Ling Tian had displayed was only comparable to that of a Two Star God of War. Nevertheless, for someone who was not even 700 years old to possess the strength of a Two Star God of War was impressive. Even Ding Fu was shocked by this. After all, those participants with strength comparable to a Five Star God of War who were over the age of 900 were not as strong as Duan Ling Tian when they were his age. Perhaps, only those with strength comparable to a Six Star God of War before reaching the age of 1,000 had strength like Duan Ling Tian at his age.
“Junior Nephew Duan, I look forward to watching your performance in a month,” Ding Fu said. Then, he bade farewell to Feng Qing Yang and left with Wei Qi. He could tell Feng Qing Yang wanted to speak to Duan Ling Tian privately.
Swoosh! Swoosh Swoosh!
Not long after Ding Fu and Wei Qi left, three figures suddenly appeared in front of Duan Ling Tian. One of them was Tong Tu whom Duan Ling Tian had injured with just a strike previously. Although it was his first time meeting the other two people, he knew who they were: Gongsun Xuanyuan, the Heavenly Emperor of the Pavilion Shaft Heaven, and his third true disciple, Yu Dong Fang.
The tall and burly Tong Tu dwarfed the medium-built Yu Dong Fang when they stood next to each other. However, due to Yu Dong Fang’s extraordinary bearing, he did not look weak when he stood next to Tong Tu.
Gongsun Xuanyuan, the Heavenly Emperor of the Pavilion Shaft Heaven, was an elegant middle-aged man who was dressed in golden dragon robes. His complexion was jade-like, and he looked valiantly handsome with his sword-like eyebrows. At this moment, he looked at Feng Qing Yang and said with a sigh, “Heavenly Emperor Feng, the strength of your law of earth’s clone has grown stronger…”
Previously, when rumors about Feng Qing Yang attaining godhood had spread after he returned from the Asura Hell, Gongsun Xuanyuan had visited Feng Qing Yang. Although the duo did not spar and only exchanged a blow, Gongsun Xuanyuan could sense how far behind he was compared to Feng Qing Yang. Just Feng Qing Yang’s clone alone was enough to restrain him. In the past, he was evenly matched with Feng Qing Yang even when Feng Qing Yang used the law of destruction that he specialized in. Based on this, one could imagine how strong the Divine Energy of the gods was.
“Heavenly Emperor Xuanyuan, you flatter me too much. All I did was learn to fuse the profundities of another law…” Feng Qing Yang said as he shook his head and smiled. Then, he gestured to Gongsun Xuanyuan to take a seat.
At this time, Yu Dong Fang and Tong Tu who had followed Gongsun Xuanyuan here bowed in unison and greeted Feng Qing Yang. “Greetings, Heavenly Emperor Feng Qing Yang.”
Following that, Duan Ling Tian greeted Gongsun Xuanyuan with a bow as well. “Duan Ling Tian greets Heavenly Emperor Xuanyuan.”
Gongsun Xuanyuan was better known as Heavenly Emperor Xuanyuan instead of Heavenly Emperor Gongsun even though his surname was ‘Gongsun’. In fact, Duan Ling Tian was unaware of this fact and had only followed his master’s example.
“Junior Nephew Duan, your achievements are impressive considering you’re only slightly over 600 years old,” Gongsun Xuanyun said amicably, “Your future achievements will definitely be comparable to your master’s.” He did not wait for Duan Ling Tian’s reply before he asked Feng Qing Yang, “What do you think, Heavenly Emperor Feng?”
Feng Qing Yang laughed and said confidently, “I believe his achievements will surpass mine.”
Gongsun Xuanyuan was slightly taken aback by Feng Qing Yang’s words. After all, he had expected a modest reply from Feng Qing Yang. Who knew Feng Qing Yang would confidently say his true disciple’s achievements would be greater than his?
When Gongsun Xuanyuan regained his senses, he called out tonelessly, “Tong Tu.”
Tong Tu obediently stepped forward. A hint of reluctance flashed in his eyes as he cupped his fists together and said apologetically, “Junior Brother Duan, I apologize for being rude to you previously.”
Duan Ling Tian could naturally tell Tong Tu’s apology was not sincere and that Tong Tu had only apologized out of fear of Gongsun Xuanyuan. He shook his head and looked at Tong Tu meaningfully as he said, “There’s no need to apologize. After all, I didn’t even have a scratch from our exchange that day…”
“You!” Tong Tu’s expression turned unsightly upon hearing Duan Ling Tian’s words and seeing Duan Ling Tian’s slightly mocking gaze. Just as his Celestial Origin Energy surged out of his body, it suddenly vanished. He recalled Duan Ling Tian’s performance during the first round of the Devata Realms’ Battle of the Geniuses that clearly indicated Duan Ling Tian was stronger than him.
Duan Ling Tian ignored Tong Tu who was fuming with anger and shifted his attention to Gongsun Xuanyuan. In fact, he was inwardly excited about being able to meet Gongsun Xuanyuan. After all, the person sitting in front of him was the legendary figure from ancient myths on earth who was known as one of the Three Monarchs and Five Emperors!