With the Draconic Banquet approaching, the undercurrent in the Ancient Southern Domain rippled even more violently. All of the geniuses from the nine overlord forces knew that a new era was arriving and that the Heavenly Gate would open. So, this Draconic Banquet was much greater than any in the last thousand years. If anyone missed it, they would live the rest of their life in regret.
No one wanted to be excluded from the new era. After all, this Draconic Banquet wasn’t just a competition for ranking and dragon fortune, but also a ticket to a bigger world.
The Cloud Trigram Sect was located in the Cloud Prefecture. It was surrounded by densely packed clouds, hence its name. On this particular day, the sect master was praying to their ancestors. All of the core disciples were gathered behind him as they wore grave expressions, but inwardly, they were filled with nervous excitement.
They were participating in a ceremony for their ancestor’s blessing to obtain a good ranking in the Draconic Banquet. Bai Lixuan was present among the core disciples and he stood calmly. He might be the youngest, but the sword aura that he emitted made the other core disciples stand far away.
With the Saint Physique, he was like a lightbulb that shined in the darkness. In fact, the other disciples couldn’t believe that he came from a remote area like the Great Qin Empire. During the beast tide, Bai Lixuan shined brightly and obtained a monarch demonic core.
“White, come up here and offer an incense.” The sect master turned around and revealed a gentle smile when he looked at Bai Lixuan. After all, he had great hopes for the latter.
Under all the core disciples’ envious gazes, Bai Lixuan received three incense and placed them on the altar. When he raised his head, Bai Lixuan felt something weird. It was almost like the memorial tablets had come to life and were gathering onto him.
“White, a new era is arriving along with the opening of the Heavenly Gate. You’re not only fighting for the sect, but also for yourself,” said the sect master in a strict voice as he looked at Bai Lixuan.
“What do you mean by that?” Bai Lixuan asked curiously. He had heard some things before, but he didn’t fully understand what was going on.
The sect master explained, “This is a gate to a bigger world. In the past, only heaven-defying geniuses had a chance of leaving the Profound Amber Realm. But this time, all of the geniuses participating in the Draconic Banquet will have a chance.”
A bigger world outside of the Profound Amber Realm? Bai Lixuan was greatly shocked as he couldn’t imagine the ‘bigger world’. After all, the Ancient Southern Domain was already big enough for him.
“Master, I’m back.” While Bai Lixuan was distracted, a graceful figure descended from the sky. She was a young lady that gave off an immense aura when she walked. But she also emitted a gentle charm. This young lady was Jiang Ziye.
She was one of the seven elites who defeated Wu Xiaotian in less than ten moves. Now that four years had passed, her aura was even more unfathomable.
Even Bai Lixuan was surprised by her cultivation because she made his sword intent tremble.
Then, he woke from his stupor and said, “Greetings, senior sister.”
“Ziye, you came back right on time. This is White, who is also known as Bai Lixuan. He’s a rising genius. You and him are the hope of our Cloud Trigram Sect for this Draconic Banquet. Take good care of him,” smiled the sect master.
Jiang Ziye nodded, “Okay. Based on the past, one has to reach the top ten at least. However, there’s something weird about this Draconic Banquet, so I don’t even have the confidence of making it into the top ten.”
Her words made the Cloud Trigram Sect’s sect master frown. He had no idea if Jiang Ziye was being courteous or if she really meant it.
In the Demonic Prefecture, there was a mountain range that had countless palaces adorning its peak. These palaces belonged to the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, one of the top three overlord forces in the Ancient Southern Domain.
The mountain range flowed with magma past the ancient golden buildings. In the palace, steam rose from the golden magma that could melt cosmic artifacts.
Currently, someone was enveloped in the magma, which showed how terrifying their physique was. Suddenly, an old man appeared, stopping the flow of the magma that covered the mountain.
Once this happened, a youth exited the magma and golden armor appeared on his body.
“Yan Long’zi, you’re the descendant of the dragon clan. You failed four years ago, so you’re not allowed to fail again.” The old man spoke coldly. Yan Long’zi was the second ranked king on the Draoncloud Ranking. Even though his ranking was high, the old man viewed him as a failure.
“Don’t worry. I won’t lose again,” said Yan Long’zi with a grave expression.
“Very well. All I care about is first place. If you can’t do that, then you’re no different from a piece of garbage,” said the old man indifferently. “You can only compete with those geniuses from the other realms by getting first and shining brightly at the Heavenly Gate.”
Yan Long’zi nodded his head and replied, “Master, I heard that Junior Sister Weiwei is also participating?”
A cold light flashed in the old man’s eyes and he said, “I have warned you to distance yourself from her. She’s not someone that you can get close to.”
“I dare not.” Yan Long’zi lowered his head. But after the old man left, a cold smirk rose on Yan Long’zi’s lips. Someone I can’t get close to? That’s the only type of person that interests me!
“Wuji, I never expected your Thundercloud Art to reach the thirteenth stage. For a few thousand years, no one has been able to accomplish that. You’re destined to go far and leave the Profound Amber Realm.” A middle-aged man was looking at the youth in front of him with surprise.
The youth was Zhao Wuji from the Violet Thunder Sect. He was ranked third in the previous Dragoncloud Ranking and was one of the three kings. The middle-aged man could sense two terrifying powers within Zhao Wuji’s body. Because of this, he had terrifying speculations of Zhao Wuji’s future.
Zhao Wuji said, “I’ll do what I must before leaving. I will obtain first place in the Draconic Banquet this time.”
“First?” The middle-aged man never burdened Zhao Wuji with the expectation of first place. However, he was pleasantly surprised that Zhao Wuji was so confident.
“It might be possible if you can fully comprehend the Thundercloud Art,” said the middle-aged man.
“What if I already surpassed the Thundercloud Art?” Zhao Wuji smiled as the grace coming from him was enough to suppress the entire sect.
For many years, the Indigomoon Elysium occupied first place on the Dragoncloud Ranking. This also made the Indigomoon Elysium the strongest in the Ancient Southern Domain.
The Indigomoon Elysium was also very mysterious. The other forces were more or less connected to the Sword Sect, while the Indigomoon Elysium had no such connection. When this mysterious sect first appeared and occupied the Thunder Prefecture, their position was unshakable. So no one dared to underestimate the Indigomoon Elysium, not even sects from the other domains.
The Indigomoon Elysium had a towering pavilion that pierced the clouds of their mountain range. On the rooftop stood a boy and girl who were observing the moon. Before them was a man emitting a suffocating aura. This man was Qing Ruoyou’s father, Qing Ziyang, who was an Empyrean Realm expert.
The girl behind him was naturally Qing Ruoyou and the boy was Yu Haotian who was ranked first on the previous Draconic Banquet. Contrary to everyone’s expectation, Yu Haotian kept a low-profile.
It was easy to neglect Yu Haotian’s existence if one wasn’t careful. But this was the highest ranked cultivator on the Dragoncloud Ranking who stood at the very peak. Four years ago, no one could last more than ten moves before him.
“Ruoyou, you won’t be able to make it into the top ten this time,” said Qing Ziyang.
Qing Ruoyou replied, “Although the top ten were dazzling four years ago, I still held back. This time, I’m not going to hold back.”
“Good. As for you, Haotian…” said Qing Ziyang.
“Master, my eyesight is no longer on the Ancient Southern Domain,” interjected Yu Haotian.