215: The Xuanjie Youth Competition begins

"That's right! It's not hard to check my identity. Most people in the Southern Domain know me; they call me the killing god of the southern domain. But after coming to the Profound Realm, I didn't dare to be too high-profile. There are too many powerhouses, and I was afraid of getting myself killed."

An Dong was a bit surprised and said, "It sounds like you've had quite an exciting life! Unlike us, we were born to Cultivate, day after day. Aside from the Xuan Lei Sect, we've hardly been anywhere."

"You guys have the heavy responsibility of inheriting the Sect's Legacy in the future! I'm different. My small Family only has a few people besides my parents and grandfather. There's no pressure or burden."

Lei Jun asked, "Junior Brother Jiang, you suddenly asked about Nangong Chen. Did you discover something?"

Jiang Ye nodded slightly and said, "That's right. His Realm is very high, already at the Seventh Stage of Xuan Saint Realm. That's why I was curious why he wasn't being focused on for training."

"What did you say? Are you sure he's at the Seventh Stage of Xuan Saint Realm?" Lei Jun and the others found this news hard to believe.

"Yes, I'm sure! I used a small trick to see through his Realm."

An Dong picked up his wine cup and took a drink, saying, "I didn't expect that guy to hide so deeply. His talent is much higher than ours."

Lei Jun said, "I wonder if the Sect's higher-ups know about this. With Nangong Chen having such a high Realm, it would be trouble if he did something detrimental to the Sect."

Chen Hua said, "Probably not. He might just want to Cultivate Thunder Arts in the Xuan Lei Sect. He has even over-fulfilled his usual required contributions."

Jiang Ye said indifferently, "Stop worrying so much. There are so many Xuan King Realms in the Sect; what kind of waves could he possibly make?"

"True!" Lei Jun nodded. "Come, drink!"

In a certain pavilion in Shen Xuan City...

Wu Linglong was chatting with a young man. This youth was the very Nangong Chen that Jiang Ye and the others were discussing!

"Linglong, about the marriage contract your mother set for us back then..."

Wu Linglong immediately interrupted him, saying, "It doesn't count! I don't want my life to be bound by others. Our acquaintance was just innocent childhood playmates; it has nothing to do with romantic feelings."

Nangong Chen said, "Are you looking down on me because of my status as an illegitimate son?"

"Hehe, you know I'm not that kind of person. Why bring up such a topic?"

"Then why can't you accept me? In the Profound Realm, I definitely belong to the top-tier Geniuses. Those Prodigy Disciples from various forces are several Realms behind me."

Wu Linglong said indifferently, "Nangong Chen, you don't need to waste your time on me. It's impossible for there to be romantic feelings between us."

"Is there really no chance at all? Do you have someone in your heart?"

Hearing the words 'someone in your heart', Wu Linglong's heart trembled. She hesitated for a moment but then said directly, "Yes! I like him very much, and I've been with him for a while."

"Who is it?" Nangong Chen asked nervously.

"You'll know when he admits that I am his woman."

"What did you say? That person actually hasn't agreed to you?" Nangong Chen was shocked. Someone would actually refuse a woman like Wu Linglong?

"He..." Wu Linglong hesitated, lightly biting her red lip before saying, "One day, he will completely fall in love with me."

"Hehehe! So it's unrequited love on your part?" Nangong Chen asked with a smile.

"No! He knows my feelings, and he's slowly coming to like me. He just needs a little time to fully accept me."

"For him to actually be worth you being so moved... I'm really curious who that person is. Where exactly do I fall short compared to him?"

Wu Linglong looked up at the azure sky and said softly, "Not everything can be compared. When you truly like someone, you'll understand."

"Hehe, is that so? Aside from you, perhaps I'll never have a day where I truly like someone!" A faint sadness appeared in Nangong Chen's eyes as he picked up his wine cup and drank. This time, he seemed to have been rejected quite thoroughly.

The next day.

The first round of the Profound Realm Youth Competition's qualifiers began. Those stepping onto the martial arts stage were mostly young talents at the Fifth Stage of Xuan Venerable Realm or above.

Many people from various forces, large and small, had arrived. The scene was bustling with noise, with over fifty thousand people present to watch. There were nearly three thousand Geniuses participating, all Elite Disciples carefully selected by their respective forces.

A heavyweight figure from the organizer, the Shen Xuan Alliance, also arrived: Grand Elder Qian Zheng, a super powerhouse whose Profound Energy Realm had reached the Xuan King Realm Ninth Stage.

Jiang Ye also noticed Qian Zheng. This person was the strongest he had seen since leaving home, even a notch stronger than Ancestor Lei of the Xuan Lei Sect. It seemed that choosing to stay low-profile when he first arrived here was the right choice; these powerhouses were still some distance away from him.

The competition was a single-elimination format; losing one match meant immediate elimination. Because of the large number of participants, five rounds of eliminations were held on the first day to determine the top hundred, making the intensity quite high.

Two hours later.

The competition had reached the fourth round of eliminations. Most of the participants from the Xuan Lei Sect failed to make it past the fourth round, with only a dozen or so remaining.

Jiang Ye, on the other hand, had dumb luck. His opponents in the first four rounds were all participants around the Fifth Stage of Venerable Realm. For today's final elimination round, however, he was matched against a participant at the Third Stage of Xuan Saint Realm.

Coincidentally, Jiang Ye's opponent, named Nangong Mu, was actually Nangong Chen's half-brother. In the spectator stands, Nangong Chen felt somewhat uneasy. He was representing the Xuan Lei Sect, while his brother could rightfully represent the Nangong Family.

On the martial arts stage, the two were ready. The winner would enter the top hundred.

Nangong Mu said disdainfully, "You've just had dumb luck before, meeting nothing but trash to make it to the fifth round. If you don't want me to cripple you, you'd better just surrender and get lost!"

Jiang Ye said calmly, "Can we start now?"

"Trash, you're looking for death... Huh?" Boom!!! "Ah..."

Jiang Ye directly revealed a black spear and smashed it against his chest, nearly knocking him off the martial arts stage.

In the spectator stands, the members of the Nangong Family were all shocked. The intelligence they had gathered and summarized before was wrong! The person who had supposedly reached the fifth round through dumb luck was actually this strong!

"Ugh, ah..." Nangong Mu struggled to stand up and glared at Jiang Ye, cursing, "You trash!"

Jiang Ye's expression shifted, his gaze turning cold. "I'll grant your wish!"

Boom! Sizzle!!! The Power of Thunder erupted. Whoosh!

"Stop!" a voice rang out from the stands.

Just as Jiang Ye moved to attack Nangong Mu, someone from the stands rushed down, thrusting a longsword toward Jiang Ye.

The corner of Jiang Ye's mouth curled up. "Hehe, not even as strong as that Vice Sect Master of the Taichu Sect, yet he dares to rush up to save someone!"

Just when everyone thought Jiang Ye would turn back to block the man's sword attack, he used a Thunder Flash and appeared behind Nangong Mu.

Jiang Ye shouted, "Overlord's Thunder Strike!" Pfft!!!

"Ah..."

"Mu'er!!!" The middle-aged man who had rushed down to save him was devastated. He watched helplessly as Jiang Ye's spear pierced through Nangong Mu's Dantian from behind, crippling him!