Soul Emperor Awakening

The Core Hall duel had finally arrived. The duel was not an annual event; it was held whenever the Elders deemed it necessary.

A Core Hall duel was scheduled to be held just as Lin Xuan joined; otherwise, Qing Piaoyun would never have tested him. If Lin Xuan had lacked the strength to compete, or if he hadn’t made any progress from six months ago, Qing Piaoyun would not have let him participate.

Truthfully, for Lin Xuan to be able to participate in this duel right after joining the Core Hall would have been impossible under normal circumstances. After all, this was for a spot as an Elder candidate, not some other casual position. After becoming an Elder candidate, how could one become an official Elder?

The standard was crude and direct: become a Spirit Pill Stage expert, and you could become an Elder of Qingcheng Mansion. For geniuses who could rank in the top five, this was not a particularly difficult task. Starting with their Sixth-class Talent, becoming a Spirit Pill Stage expert was almost a certainty!

The only variable was time. Therefore, the selection was a very serious matter, requiring extensive evaluation before a candidate could be chosen to duel.

Lin Xuan and the others arrived at the plaza where the duel was being held. As soon as they arrived, they saw a large crowd had already gathered. The crowd included the heirs of many great families. The three Princes of the Royal Family were present, Lin Feng of the Lin Family had also appeared, of course. In fact, almost every major figure was present.

The Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion and similar powers were naturally in attendance, having also sent many people to observe the results.

The Core Hall duel was a major event in the Soaring Dragon Empire. This was about the future Elders of Qingcheng Mansion, experts who would wield significant power. Of course they had to witness this moment unfold.

This was especially true for the Princes. If the person they supported could obtain the position of Elder candidate, wouldn’t the throne be theirs for the taking? This time, in particular, even the Great Emperor Xu Qianlong had appeared. He also wanted to watch this earth-shattering duel.

As he walked, Lin Xuan saw many familiar faces. Some were allies, but there were also, of course, enemies with deep-seated grudges, like the Fang Family. Due to Lin Xuan’s rising status, Fang Feng was completely unable to act against him.

By now, they had reached the center of the plaza, where all the participants were gathered. Liu Yue’Er had already taken her seat in the stands.

Lin Xuan observed his surroundings. There weren’t many contestants, only around thirty, but this already accounted for the majority. The entire Core Hall had only about fifty members, so thirty-odd people represented more than half. If there were only a few contestants, it wouldn’t be much of a show.

Gathered here were most of the Soaring Dragon Empire’s Elite Disciples. Everyone’s Talent Level had reached Fifth-class or higher; Fifth-class was the lowest, with the average being Sixth-class! To put it bluntly, this meant that twenty to thirty Spirit Pill Stage experts could emerge in the future. What a terrifying number.

The reason Qingcheng Mansion held such a high status was mainly because of the many experts it cultivated. After becoming Spirit Pill Stage experts, some would go out to gain experience, while others would leave to establish their own families. If anything were to happen to Qingcheng Mansion, they would rally to its side at a single call! At that point, who would dare to oppose Qingcheng Mansion? It would be suicide.

To put it bluntly, almost half of the Spirit Pill Stage experts in the Soaring Dragon Empire were cultivated by Qingcheng Mansion. As for the likes of the Divine Rune Sect, they provided all the High Grade Pattern Masters, putting their status on nearly equal footing with Qingcheng Mansion.

’Their Cultivation is all around the Fourth or Fifth Layer of the Essence Pill Stage, huh? This generation is truly full of geniuses...’ Lin Xuan looked at the other contestants, his heart filled with emotion. He was standing on the grandest stage in the Soaring Dragon Empire!

Tong Yulong was, of course, among them. He stood out from the crowd of geniuses, not because his Cultivation was the highest, but because his abilities were the strongest! After a month, Tong Yulong had honed himself to an even sharper edge. His strength seemed to have reached a new level, a change clearly brought on by the pressure from Lin Xuan.

He felt a gaze on him and followed it, meeting the appreciative eyes of Lin Feng, who gave him a slight nod. This gesture showed that he completely acknowledged Lin Xuan—acknowledged him as the Young Master!

The four Elders of Qingcheng Mansion took their seats one by one, with only the Grand Elder missing. Qing Liuyun was gone, but the position of Grand Elder could not be filled. This was because some believed Qing Liuyun was not yet dead and might still be in seclusion in some forgotten corner... Only Lin Xuan knew the truth: the murderer was Cyan Cloud Peak, who was now taking his seat among the Elders with a smile on his face, showing no remorse whatsoever.

"It is time for the Core Hall duel once again. To all who have graced Qingcheng Mansion with your presence to watch, I, Qing, express my gratitude!" An old man floated up from backstage. Though he appeared ancient, his steps were extremely powerful. His pace was neither fast nor slow, and coupled with his cyan robes, he looked like a benevolent immortal who had descended to the mortal world.

He was the Mansion Master of Qingcheng Mansion, Qing Deyun. A man as elusive as a divine dragon, his Cultivation was rumored to have reached the Peak of Core Formation Stage. As for whether he was truly at this level, no one knew for sure, as he was rarely ever seen.

Just from his appearance, it was clear that, like Great Emperor Xu Qianlong, he had entered his final stage. If he didn’t achieve a breakthrough soon, his time would be up. For a peerless expert of a generation to pass away just like that was a true pity, but there was no helping it. No one could escape the laws of heaven and earth.

Like Xu Qianlong, it was time for Qing Deyun to step down and enter seclusion, passing the position of Mansion Master to the Elders. However, the position of Mansion Master was not one that any Elder could simply take. There was a strict requirement: one had to reach Core Formation Stage Cultivation!

Qing Liuyun had already been a Half-step Core Formation Stage expert, but he was ultimately assassinated in a sneak attack by Cyan Cloud Peak. To this day, Cyan Cloud Peak has yet to break through to the Core Formation Stage, so the status quo has been maintained. Unless Qing Deyun truly could not hold on any longer, only then could Cyan Cloud Peak take his place.

"Excellent, excellent! After so many years in seclusion, I am very pleased to see that you all possess such strong talent. I hope that in this duel, you will display your greatest strength and prove yourselves!" Qing Deyun took out a handful of bamboo slips and looked at the crowd. "The choice is yours. Go!"

With a flick of his hand, Qing Deyun sent dozens of bamboo slips flying, scattering down from the sky. The crowd all leaped up to catch the slips. Lin Xuan also tapped his feet lightly to rise, catching one of the falling bamboo slips. When he held it in his hand, he could clearly see the number five written on it.

After everyone had a number, Qing Deyun turned and pointed to a cave at the side, saying, "This is the venue for your first duel: the Life and Death Cave!"

Lin Xuan looked up. So this was the site of the first duel, the Life and Death Cave. It was an unfathomably deep, enormous cavern, like the gaping maw of a tiger that could devour a person whole, leaving not even the bones behind. And this was their first trial.