172: Dynasty ranking battle, preliminaries begin!

Meng Yun returned to the princess's side courtyard and began to seclude himself.

With only three days left until the Dynasty Ranking Battle, and knowing that participating for the nation was inevitable, Meng Yun simply began his closed-door cultivation.

[Three days passed in a flash.]

[The 'Daily Progress' effect provides you with 3% progress towards the Nascent Soul Realm.]

[With the aid of high-purity demon seed blood, the Saint Divine Supreme Art allows your strength to advance further.]

[The blood has been completely consumed.]

[You have entered the late-stage Nascent Soul Realm, only a step away from the peak realm.]

[It is worth mentioning that, under the joint recommendation of Nangong Jing, Senior Brother Qin YuanTong, and Chen Jintong, you have become the final participant for the Nascent Soul Realm.]

[Doubts arose, and to avoid being pelted with dog feces when going out, you remained secluded.]

[Chen Jintong broke through to the Transformation Spirit Realm, reaching the mid-stage in one go with the help of the Flawless Glazed Nascent Soul. He also comprehended a Great Dao Divine Ability—Vatican Heart Salvation.]

[Chen Jintong challenged for a spot in the Transformation Spirit Realm, and Senior Brother Qin YuanTong accepted.]

[Senior Brother Qin YuanTong voluntarily gave up his qualification, citing a possible house fire on the day of the ranking battle. The outcome of their battle remains unknown.]

Meng Yun slept until dawn, then stretched lazily.

Listening to the crackling sounds from his muscles and bones, Meng Yun couldn't help but clench his fists.

The Saint Divine Supreme Art had given his physical body a strength far exceeding his current realm. Although his cultivation was only late-stage Nascent Soul, in terms of physical strength alone, he feared not even an ordinary Transformation Spirit cultivator!

Coupled with his array mastery and the effects of the demon suppression stone, Meng Yun could still easily defeat even a Transformation Spirit Peak cultivator!

It was merely a preliminary Nascent Soul group stage, a piece of cake!

Just after getting up, Meng Yun was drawn by the gentle 'wake-up call'... or rather, the sound of a maid calling at his door:

"Young Master Yu, the princess said you must depart now!"

"Alright," Meng Yun replied, fully dressed in black and gold attire, looking extraordinary and valiant.

Just like all you Daniel Wu readers.

Pushing open the door, his calm and composed expression made the maids and servants shy away, yet steal glances repeatedly.

Nangong Jing was already at the main entrance, ready to depart.

She wore a white longsword at her waist, her fighting spirit equally high.

The Golden Core Realm seeded participants, Yu Jingshen and Tang Zhiqiu, had both broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm, so she had to take their place.

Nangong Jing expressed that she found it very difficult to cope.

But even if she couldn't cope, she had to push through fiercely!

Seriously, this girl was about to explode!

"You're the first person who has ever made this princess wait," Nangong Jing huffed coldly, very much in an arrogant manner.

"In this great era of cultivation, don't use your noble status to oppress others," Meng Yun waved his fist. "Believe it or not, I'll beat you!"

He still remembered their first encounter in the current world, how Nangong Jing had suddenly attacked him with a palm strike without any warning!

A gentleman's revenge is not too late after ten years.

If one can't hold back, then it's ten thousand years early!

"You wouldn't dare!" Nangong Jing's eyebrows shot up. "My Imperial Father is a Tribulation Transcender!!"

Meng Yun sheepishly retracted his hand: "..."

So it was a Tribulation Transcender, he was completely at her mercy.

"Stop messing around, let's go." Meng Yun composed his expression, took a step, and vanished into the sky.

Nangong Jing's expression was complex, filled with a mix of love and hate for this scoundrel, and she followed closely, disappearing as well.

Indeed, the battlefield was still the square in front of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion's main hall.

Aside from the audience stands that had already been erected, from the direction of the main hall, the current Emperor Southern Palace East and the Pavilion Master of Heavenly Sword Pavilion, Western Gate Clear—figures rarely seen in ordinary times—also appeared on the viewing platform.

Both of them were peak powerhouses of the Tribulation Transcender Realm.

Southern Palace East's gaze inadvertently swept across the area below. Still not seeing his beloved daughter appear, he felt a slight displeasure internally.

But the time had come.

"Your Majesty, it's time," Western Gate Clear, a thin middle-aged man in a Daoist robe, gently reminded him.

"..."

Southern Palace East nodded expressionlessly, a faint, majestic smile appearing on his face:

"Fellow cultivators, subjects, today marks the opening of our White Tiger Heaven Dynasty Ranking Battle. I, your Emperor..."

The current Emperor's opening speech could be said to give them full face.

After the Emperor dragged on for a few 'kun' minutes, Nangong Jing and Meng Yun finally arrived late.

Almost at the same time, Southern Palace East's speech finally concluded.

"It's really like an old lady's foot-binding cloth, both stinky and long," Zhou Huang said of Southern Palace East, much like how people in Long Kingdom treated Trump.

In short, there was no respect.

"Exactly. He keeps repeating the same old stuff, it's just like Trump."

Other dynasty participants also criticized Southern Palace East mercilessly.

"Cough, cough." Meng Yun sat down beside them, coughing twice softly.

He heard it, but it didn't really bother him.

However, hadn't he noticed Nangong Jing's small face beside him, already almost spitting fire?

"It's all your fault!"

Nangong Jing's small foot ground fiercely against Meng Yun's expensive black and gold battle boots.

"Oh, right, right, my fault, my fault!"

Meng Yun pouted.

"If I hadn't been waiting for you, would Imperial Father have dragged on for so long?!" Nangong Jing said angrily.

Meng Yun: "..."

After Southern Palace East's opening remarks, there was another series of tedious and boring rituals.

Meng Yun, as a modern person, felt drowsy watching it, but for cultivators who severely lacked entertainment, such a spectacle was a feast for their eyes.

Finally, it was time for the various dynasty delegations to enter.

Including the Tianjian Dynasty, a total of thirty-three dynasties were participating in the preliminaries at the Tianjian Dynasty's sub-venue.

According to the rule of two-on-two combat, one dynasty would inevitably get a bye.

Originally, such a bye opportunity should have been decided by drawing lots.

However, the Tianjian Dynasty was a second-tier dynasty in the previous ranking, and its strength was evident.

Allowing the Tianjian Dynasty a bye was undoubtedly very beneficial for the other dynasties.

Under popular demand, the Tianjian Dynasty cultivators could only smile bitterly and accept this bye qualification.

Hahahahaha... so bitter, hahahahaha.

According to the strength ranking, Meng Yun followed behind Chen Jintong and walked onto the venue with the other dynasty delegations.

Although each dynasty had only five or six people, including substitutes, the gathering of prodigies from dozens of dynasties still captured everyone's attention.

They stood in dozens of rows.

Meng Yun inexplicably felt a hostile gaze.

Following the line of sight, Meng Yun met the eyes of a blonde man, and a look of surprise reappeared on his face.

What the hell? Saint Huang, that little brat, came too?

What virtue and ability did the small Tianjian Dynasty possess to gather both the Sleeping Dragon and Phoenix, two great experts, at the same time!

This time, he wouldn't let him off without a beating!

In a sense, Meng Yun didn't even have much ill will towards Saint Golden Toad. If this ruthless person hadn't met a cheat like himself, he would definitely have wreaked havoc in the world for tens of thousands of years!

In contrast, for Saint Huang, this cuckold-lover, Meng Yun truly regretted not killing him personally last time.

Meng Yun glared back: What are you looking at!

Zhou Huang silently made a throat-slitting gesture at Meng Yun.

Before Meng Yun could say anything, he heard Chen Jintong whisper beside him:

"If I hadn't entered the Transformation Spirit Realm, I would have beaten you to death..."

Meng Yun: "..."

Why did it feel like Chen Jintong's hostility towards Zhou Huang was even deeper than his own?!