Free Web NovelChapter 196.3: Entering the Secret Realm; Lu Changsheng Shakes the Sacred Land of Tai Cang! (III)
Under Cang Yue's instruction, the candidates lined up and walked toward the divine stone one by one.
The first threshold was a hundred zhang, yet the moment many of them stepped into that range, they started struggling. The stone exerted a strange pressure on their minds, and those who could not bear it crumpled to the ground and were carried away, eliminated on the spot.
Those who made it to within several dozen zhang showed more promise, but it still was not enough. The rule was to get within ten zhang and stay there until one incense stick burned out. Only those who managed that could call themselves disciples of the Sacred Land of Tai Cang.
Cang Yue watched hopeful young martial artists collapse one after another before the stone. The sight stirred some emotion in his heart. He remembered what it had been like to stand where they stood. Back then, he had been nothing more than a wandering rogue of the jianghu, fighting and struggling as he lived on the edge of the blade.
Then, at one point, he came to the Sacred Land of Tai Cang to try his luck at becoming a disciple, never expecting that he would cause a spectacle during the selection. He had made it within a single zhang of the divine stone and stayed there for two full hours.
That day changed everything for Cang Yue. The sacred land started pouring its resources into him, and in just over a decade, he managed to climb to the rank of Martial Lord. Without the Tai Cang Divine Stone, he would not be where he was today.
Cang Yue was about to continue observing the candidates to see if any promising talents would appear when he suddenly sensed a faint breeze in the air.
Huh? Wind?
As a Martial Lord, Cang Yue was extremely attuned to the faintest movement of aura. He noticed at once that something was wrong.
He turned, and three figures materialized from within the breeze, stepping into view as if the air itself had parted for them. They looked down at the crowd below, and the crowd looked back at them in shock.
"Who are they?"
"They're walking... in the air? They have to be Martial Lords!"
"They don't look like they're from Tai Cang Sacred Land. Three unknown Martial Lords showing up here, of all days? What do they want?"
"Martial Lords from another sacred land? Are they here to start something?"
"With just the three of them? They wouldn't dare!"
The crowd burst into speculation about the identities of these mysterious strangers.
Cang Yue's expression immediately turned cold. He rose from the platform and stepped into the air. One step after another, as if climbing invisible stairs, he ascended until he stood several dozen zhang away from the three strangers.
He clasped his hands behind his back, and a powerful aura spread from him.
"Where are the three of you from?" His voice was cold and authoritative. "And what business do you have at Tai Cang Sacred Land?"
Within Tai Cang Sacred Land, Cang Yue feared no one.
One of the three, a young man, let his gaze drift past Cang Yue toward the divine stone below. "Tai Cang Sacred Land... so that's the Tai Cang Divine Stone down there?"
"What?" Cang Yue snapped, rage surging in his chest. "You're here for the Tai Cang Divine Stone? How insolent!"
He could not believe that after all these years, someone would dare come for the Tai Cang Divine Stone. He could not care less who those three individuals were. They became his enemies the second it became clear that they had set their sights on the divine stone.
Boom!
Cang Yue threw a punch. The surroundings trembled, and a terrifying force locked onto the three strangers. He intended to fight them by himself.
Bang!
Cang Yue's punch carried incredible power, but the moment the force was about to smash into the three strangers, it dissipated without a trace. It was as if an invisible barrier had swallowed the force before it could touch them.
"What the..." Cang Yue's heart sank as a realization sank in.
These strangers were not Martial Lords. No Martial Lord could neutralize his attack like that. That kind of power and presence reminded him of only one person—the Grand Elder.[1]
"So this is one of the top martial artists among the Tai Xuan people?" Lu Changsheng looked at Cang Yue and shook his head. "I'm disappointed. His strength is only comparable to the Divine Strength martial artists at best."
The three strangers were none other than Lu Changsheng, Xia Chengfeng, and Zhao Yujian.
Lu Changsheng had wanted to see how strong the top martial artists of the Tai Xuan people were, and Cang Yue had been the test.
Cang Yue was a Martial Lord, a figure said to be second only to the Martial Saints, who stood at the peak of this world in terms of combat power. However, after witnessing Cang Yue's attack, Lu Changsheng was left disappointed. Given his current strength, Lu Changsheng could snuff out someone like Cang Yue in a single breath.
"We only want the Tai Chang Divine Stone," Lu Changsheng said.
He gave a casual wave of his hand, with nothing behind it but physical strength. A gust of wind surged out and sent Cang Yue down to the ground.
Cang Yue's heart was shaken to the core. Martial Saints! The three of them must be Martial Saints!
"Which sacred land do you three Martial Saints come from?" he asked with a trembling voice.
The crowd below could hardly believe what they had heard. freewebnoveℓ.com
"What? All three of them are Martial Saints?"
"Impossible. How could three Martial Saints appear at the same time? Which sacred land could even mobilize three Martial Saints at once?"
"Maybe Martial Saints from several sacred lands have joined forces to take the Tai Cang Divine Stone."
"That's a possibility. But if they are really Martial Saints, then the Sacred Land of Tai Cang is in serious trouble."
For most of them, seeing even one Martial Saint was something they could only dream of. And now, three had appeared out of nowhere—and worse still, they had clearly come with hostile intentions.
If a battle between Martial Saints broke out here, the consequences would be unimaginable. Even the Sacred Land Tai Cang itself might be reduced to ruin.
As such, panic quickly spread through the crowd, and many people began fleeing.
Xia Chengfeng and Zhao Yujian were already making their move. Xia Chengfeng reached out and grabbed the Tai Cang Divine Stone.
Boom! Rumble!
The stone trembled violently. Then, under Xia Chengfeng's brute force, it began to separate from the ground.
"Stop!"
"How dare you act so recklessly in the Sacred Land of Tai Cang?"
"Eliminate the enemies!"
The commotion immediately alarmed the Martial Lords within the Sacred Land of Tai Cang. One after another, they rose into the air, their expressions twisted with fury. When they saw that someone was trying to seize the Tai Cang Divine Stone, their fury flared up even more, and they rushed straight toward Lu Changsheng's group.
Zhao Yujian's expression turned cold. "How annoying."
Most experts from the Ancient Region did not care much about the natives of secret realms. Even if they did not see them as ants, they certainly did not regard them as equals. Now that these natives were trying to stop them from taking the Tai Cang Divine Stone, Zhao Yujian had no intention of showing mercy.
Burn! With a single thought, Zhao Yujian released his Mind Space.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
His Mind Space, enhanced by the power of a Principle, spread across the entirety of the Sacred Land of Tai Cang in an instant. Terrifying flames filled the air, burning like a sea of fire above everyone's heads.
In the secret realm, even a fraction of his power was enough to make the Sacred Land of Tai Cang feel as if doomsday had arrived. Before such world-shaking power, the people here could not do a single thing.
"Help!"
"Martial Saint, please have mercy! Spare us!"
"We are only ordinary people who came here to become disciples! Please spare us!"
Countless people dropped to their knees and pleaded desperately. The flames in the air looked as if they could reduce the entire sacred land to ashes at any moment. As they stared up at that terrifying sight, their hearts filled with shock and despair.
None of these people had ever witnessed such power before. This was the kind of power one associated with gods and demons. To these people, the might of a Martial Saint was capable of destroying heaven and earth; it was beyond anything they had ever imagined.
"Stop!" A furious roar rang out. Immediately after, an elderly man with white hair and a white beard shot up into the air.
The elderly man raised his hand. "Void Seal!"
Instantly, Lu Changsheng's group froze in mid-air, as if an invisible force had sealed them completely.
"A Martial Saint! The Martial Saint of the Sacred Land of Tai Cang has arrived!"
"Finally! With him here, we're saved!"
The Martial Lords were overcome with relief. As long as a Martial Saint stood here, the Sacred Land of Tai Cang would not fall.
"Huh..."
"Void Principle?"
"A native of a secret realm actually comprehended the Void Principle? Even if it's only the Void Principle of this secret realm, that's still impressive."
Frozen in the air, Zhao Yujian, Xia Chengfeng, and even Lu Changsheng were genuinely caught off guard.
A Martial Lord was only comparable to a Divine Strength martial artist, yet a Martial Saint had leaped all the way to a level comparable to the Dao Foundation martial artist who had grasped a Principle. The difference was, the power of the Martial Saint's Principle did not come from the Mind Space. Instead, it was borrowed from the secret realm's heaven and earth.
Lu Changsheng understood now why there were so many Martial Lords and only one Martial Saint in the Sacred Land of Tai Cang. The gap between the two ranks was immense.
In any case, although the Martial Saint had mastered the Void Principle, Lu Changsheng, Xia Chengfeng, and Zhao Yujian were not worried. If this were the Ancient Region, the Void Principle would be terrifying, and a Dao Foundation martial artist who wielded it would be one of the most feared martial artists out there.
But here, inside the secret realm, Lu Changsheng and his companions were the world-ending forces. What was there to fear from someone wielding the Void Principle here?
Crack!
The next moment, the air around them began to crack like a mirror. Then, it shattered completely.
1. In the Chinese text, the author actually used the term "Supreme Elder." However, later on he starts referring to this character as a Grand Elder, so for consistency and clarity, we have decided to stick with Grand Elder for this character in this arc. ☜
