As his words fell, the disciples around all stirred, their gazes converging on the direction Chen Yu pointed. They were highly attentive to Lin Xuan, the sudden rising star hailed as the top genius of Qingyu City, surpassing them all.
"Very strong, formidable indeed!" Wu Qili, the top genius of the Wu family, said with a grave expression. He couldn't discern Lin Xuan's exact cultivation level or whether he had broken through to the Acupoint Opening realm. But just a distant glance gave him an intense sense of threat. He dared not underestimate him in the slightest, realizing that Lin Xuan's fame was well-earned, not hollow.
"Lin Xuan? What Lin Xuan?" A puzzled voice rang out at that moment. The surrounding disciples all looked at the speaker with odd expressions.
"Zhang He, I heard you've been in closed-door cultivation every day lately. Have you gone stupid from it? You don't even know Lin Xuan, who's been making waves and taken your title as Qingyu City's top genius?" Chen Yu said, looking at Zhang He with a strange expression.
Zhang He didn't respond, instead turning his gaze to Lin Xuan among the Lin family crowd. He knew Lin Xuan well, even intimately. He'd learned of him as soon as the Lin family's strength assessment ended and Lin Xuan's name spread across Qingyu City. He'd even obtained Lin Xuan's portrait and various related information.
Before Lin Xuan, the four top geniuses of Qingyu City had been equals, neck and neck. In truth, Zhang He had stood out slightly, hailed as the foremost among them and the city's top genius. But Lin Xuan had burst onto the scene, defeating Lin Yun—one of the four geniuses and a peak Body Refining Layer 9 cultivator—while only at Body Refining Layer 7, crossing two levels. He not only replaced Lin Yun as the Lin family's top genius but also became Qingyu City's new top genius. Moreover, he was the true number one, surpassing the original four.
For someone like that, Zhang He had long paid attention and understood. Lin Xuan's rise had brought a significant sense of crisis to the Zhang family of the city lord's mansion. As a result, Zhang He had received abundant cultivation resources. Over the past half-month, he had not only smoothly broken through to the Acupoint Opening realm but also opened five acupoints in succession, making him a formidable figure even in the early Acupoint Opening stage.
Toward Lin Xuan, Zhang He felt a mix of emotions. Now, facing him directly, Zhang He couldn't help but adopt a serious demeanor. He, too, could sense that Lin Xuan would be a major adversary. However, despite Lin Xuan's reputation and talent, Zhang He was highly confident about this competition among the four major forces. Recently, his family had found him a incomplete blood-path martial art, the *Boiling Blood Art*. Though only at the second rank, it could boil his blood and qi to exchange for power. With his blood and qi, activating the *Boiling Blood Art* could even briefly push him to the late Acupoint Opening stage, opening over fifty acupoints. He refused to believe that Lin Xuan, no matter how talented, could have broken through to Acupoint Opening in just half a month at best, let alone possess late-stage Acupoint Opening strength.
Of course, as a blood-path martial art, it was quick to master and powerful, but its drawbacks were severe. After use, it required a large amount of blood-replenishing pills and herbs, and he'd be bedridden for over a month before he could move again. Still, if it meant winning first place in the competition, this damage was nothing.
...
Under Lin Qixing's lead, the Lin family entered the square. Soon, someone from the city lord's mansion came to greet them and arranged for the Lin family. Around the square were two viewing stands—east and west. On the eastern stand sat members of the four major forces, while the western stand held representatives from the various other large and small forces in Qingyu City. Outside the square, a dense crowd had gathered. In this world where martial arts reigned supreme, still in a traditional feudal dynasty era, entertainment was scarce. The competition among the four major forces was considered the top event in Qingyu City, so many martial artists bought tickets to watch. Those with weaker backing or personal strength could only watch from outside the square.
Beside the eastern stand was a high platform. The martial artists from the Flowing Cloud Sect recruiting disciples, along with the strongest figures from the four major forces, sat there as judges for the competition.
"Ding, congratulations to the host for gaining 457 surprise points from Qi Gathering realm martial artist Zhang Quan." "Ding, congratulations to the host for gaining 178 surprise points from Acupoint Opening realm martial artist Liu Wen." "..."
On the eastern stand, Lin Xuan leaned back in his seat, holding hands with Lin Shiyun. Gazing at the attribute panel in the void before him, where energy points were growing at an accelerated rate, a glint of joy flashed in his eyes. Big scenes like this were great—just arriving had netted him so many energy points.
Then, Lin Xuan swept his gaze across the entire square. As his eyes passed, attribute panels appeared before him. Though he was highly confident about this competition, he still observed the others' situations to be safe. Soon, disappointment crept into his eyes. Among the outstanding disciples of the four major forces, only three from the other three combined had broken through to the Acupoint Opening realm—one per force. Only Zhang He, the top genius of the city lord's mansion, had barely stabilized his cultivation. The other two hadn't even consolidated their realms, their auras fluctuating, clearly having just broken through. They posed no threat. This competition should have no rivals.
Next, Lin Xuan turned his attention to other martial artists. His target this time was the high-ranking members of the various forces who carried treasures he could copy. Before long, he withdrew his gaze, again filled with disappointment. After copying Lin Qiyuan, his attribute panel had risen to the same level as Lin Qiyuan's, except for the cultivation stat. None of these high-ranking members from the various forces matched Lin Qiyuan—not even half. They weren't worth wasting energy points to copy, so disappointment was natural.
Still, it wasn't a total waste. At least he'd noticed that on the high platform, Zhao Quxin, the Flowing Cloud Sect martial artist in charge of recruitment, was also at the early Condensation Whirl realm, with an attribute panel slightly stronger than Lin Qixing's. However, his own cultivation was low, limiting his copying range to ten meters. The high platform was clearly beyond that range. He'd have to wait for an opportunity.
Of course, he would still perform well in this competition. It was a prime chance to harvest energy points, not to be missed. All this happened in just a few breaths, with no one aware of Lin Xuan's thoughts.
"Lin Xuan, what's wrong?" Lin Shiyun's gentle voice came.
"Nothing." Lin Xuan smiled calmly and began chatting with Lin Shiyun.
Time passed slowly. Another ten-plus minutes went by. The bright sunlight poured down, and the moment had arrived. On the high platform, Zhang Wenyong, the city lord of Qingyu City seated in the secondary seat, stood up and swept his gaze across the entire venue: "Silence!" The aura of the Qi Transformation realm slowly spread. Instantly, the venue quieted down, all eyes fixed on the high platform. Zhang Wenyong then continued, "I, the city lord, hereby declare the competition among the four major forces—now begins!"