223: Ziwei Xingzhou

Two days later, Ziwei Star Continent, Tianshu City.

This towering giant city, like an immemorial divine mountain, floated at the core of the Star Continent. Its entire structure was cast from Star Divine Gold, with billions of brilliant starlight array patterns flowing across its surface. Above the city, nine "Ziwei Emperor Stars" condensed from pure Star Power rotated eternally, emitting a magnificent aura that suppressed the ages. This was the power center of the Ziwei Star Continent and the main battlefield for this continent-level Feather Transformation Realm competition.

Lin Yuan's figure appeared outside the magnificent gates of Tianshu City. He restrained the pressure of his fourth-grade chaos wings and stepped onto this ancient and noble land in his most ordinary manner. However, the primal gold seal on the back of his right hand, flashing with the ancient seal script character for "Two," silently proclaimed his identity—the champion of a Star City, a peerless Prodigy qualified to compete for the pinnacle of the Star Continent!

"Lin Yuan! It's Lin Yuan of Lihuo Star City!"

"That monster who annihilated a hundred-zhang arena with one finger?!"

"Shh! Keep it down! It's said that even the Tianyuan Dynasty bet the resources of an entire Profound Realm to nurture him!"

The whispers along the way spread like ripples. Lin Yuan's expression remained calm, but his eyes flickered slightly. The concentration of spiritual energy in Tianshu City was more than ten times that of Lihuo Star City, and the air was filled with an ancient and pure Star Origin aura. On the buildings lining the streets, array patterns and Restrictions emitting powerful fluctuations could be seen everywhere, some of which even made him feel a hint of danger. Most eye-catching of all was the towering, purple-gold pyramid-shaped building in the center of the city—the "Ziwei Battle Stage"! That would be the ultimate battlefield of the Star Continent competition!

"Daoist Friend Lin, please wait."

A voice as gentle as jade came from behind. Lin Yuan turned to see a handsome young man in a moon-white robe standing there with a smile. Floating behind him were three crystal-clear ice swords, their blades flowing with profound frost dao patterns that emitted a Soul-freezing chill. Most striking was the ice-blue vertical pupil at the center of his brow, which seemed to hold the birth and death of billions of ice crystals as it opened and closed.

"Leng Ningxiao of the Frost Heaven Sword Sect, Beiming Profound Realm." The youth bowed with cupped hands, his voice steady and unhurried. "I heard that Daoist Friend Lin annihilated a hundred-zhang arena with one finger in Lihuo Star City. Seeing you today, you truly live up to your reputation."

Lin Yuan's gaze narrowed slightly. This person's aura was as deep as an abyss, and the three ice swords behind him faintly formed a certain Great Dao array formation; he was definitely a continent-level Prodigy! More importantly, he came from the Beiming Profound Realm—one of the core Profound Realms directly governed by a divine domain of the Tianyuan Dynasty!

"Leng Ningxiao..." Lin Yuan nodded slightly. "What is it?"

"By order of the Xuanming War General, I have come specifically to deliver this to Daoist Friend Lin." Leng Ningxiao flipped his hand to reveal an ice-blue Jade Slip shaped like a snowflake and handed it over. "This contains detailed intelligence on all the competing Prodigies of the Ziwei Star Continent, including their Cultivation Technique characteristics, Great Dao comprehensions, trump cards, and more. Lord Xuanming said... he hopes Daoist Friend Lin can successfully take first place in the Star Continent to prepare for the 'Heavenly Realm Competition' in ten days."

Lin Yuan took the Jade Slip and scanned it with his Divine Thought. A massive amount of information instantly flooded his Sea of Consciousness, categorized clearly. Among them, three continent-level Prodigies marked as "Extremely Dangerous" were the most eye-catching:

"Ziwei Imperial Son" Jiang Jiuxiao: The direct descendant of the number one local clan in the Ziwei Star Continent, born with the "Ziwei Imperial Body," capable of channeling the power of the Nine Heavens stars. He has a Peak of the Feather Transformation Realm cultivation and is suspected of mastering the power of the "Star Dao," possessing the Origin Dao Artifact "Star Chart Scroll." He once single-handedly killed three Early Stage Myriad Dao Realm Loose Cultivators! "Nether Saintess" Ye Wumian: A mysterious Prodigy from the Nine Nether Profound Realm, practicing the "Yellow Springs Scripture" and mastering "2% of the Nether Dao," specializing in Soul attacks and curse techniques. The Nether Wings on her back can release "Yellow Springs Nether Mist," which can decay the Divine Soul of any Feather Transformation Realm cultivator upon contact! Most dangerous is the "Nether Soul Lamp" in her hand, which is said to imprison the remnant Soul of a Hunyuan Realm expert! "Heavenly Blade" Nie Kuang: A blade cultivator of humble Origin but with Heaven-Defying talent, who grew stronger through battle and emerged as a peerless killer from a sea of blood! He has pushed the "Blade Dao" to 5%! The "Heaven-Slaying Blade" in his hand has tasted countless blood; once the blade is drawn, blood must follow. He once split the spatial barrier of the Star Continent with a single strike! He was recruited by all five Imperial Dynasties but rejected them all, claiming he would "carve out a Path to the Heavens with the blade in his hand"!

Besides these, there were over twenty other continent-level Prodigies marked as "Dangerous," each no weaker than Lei Yu of Lihuo Star City, and some even stronger!

"Give my thanks to the Xuanming War General." Lin Yuan put away the Jade Slip, his eyes flickering with Chaos Heart Light. This intelligence was indeed precious, but he was more concerned with the underlying message—the Tianyuan Dynasty's level of importance placed on him far exceeded his expectations! They even prepared detailed intelligence on continent-level Prodigies for him, ensuring he would take first place in the Star Continent without fail!

"Daoist Friend Lin is too polite." Leng Ningxiao smiled slightly and suddenly lowered his voice. "Also... be careful of Jiang Jiuxiao. The Ziwei Imperial Clan is closely related to the Cangqiong Imperial Dynasty, and you... are already one of the Tianyuan Dynasty's people."

Before he could finish his sentence, a sudden change occurred!

Boom—!

Above Tianshu City, one of the nine Ziwei Emperor Stars suddenly shone brilliantly! A beam of purple starlight as thick as a bucket, like a sword of heavenly punishment, tore through the clouds and smashed down toward Lin Yuan's position! Wherever the starlight passed, space twisted and wailed, and the terrifying star pressure caused the ground within a thousand zhang to begin cracking!

"Ziwei Star Punishment?!" Leng Ningxiao's expression changed drastically. The three ice swords behind him instantly unsheathed, turning into a triple ice crystal barrier above his head. "Daoist Friend Lin, be careful! This is the Jiang family's..."

Before he could finish, Lin Yuan had already moved.

Facing this sudden star strike capable of heavily wounding an Early Stage Myriad Dao Realm expert, Lin Yuan didn't even bat an eye. The three pairs of chaos wings on his back vibrated slightly, and [Void Shuttle] was activated! His figure instantly vanished from the spot. The purple starlight slammed into where he had been standing, blasting a giant pit a hundred zhang wide and shattering the triple ice crystal barrier Leng Ningxiao had hastily erected like it was made of paper!

"Is this the Jiang family's way of treating guests?" Lin Yuan's voice came from mid-air. He had appeared a hundred zhang high at some unknown moment, his chaos wings slowly flapping as he looked down at the direction the starlight had come from.

"Hehe... A dog of the Tianyuan Dynasty is worthy of being called a 'guest'?" A cold, mocking laugh came from the direction of the Ziwei Battle Stage. A young man dressed in purple-gold robes and wearing a star crown came walking through the air. His face was as handsome as a Heavenly God, and his eyes seemed to hold rotating galaxies. With every step he took, a miniature star phantom automatically appeared beneath his feet to support him, looking incredibly noble. Most eye-catching were the "Ziwei Imperial Wings" behind him, condensed from pure Star Power, with a wingspan of ten zhang, resonating with the Star Power of the Nine Heavens with every gentle flap!