Chapter 224: The Heavenly Chosen Battle Begins
"Good disciple-grandson, the rules for this Heavenly Chosen Battle are out. Take a look and get familiar with them—we set off in three days." Hou Chunyu handed a jade slip to Gu Mo.
There were only a few days left before the start of the Heavenly Chosen Battle. After nearly a year of wrangling between the righteous and demonic factions, the final rules for this event had finally been settled.
"Alright!"
Gu Mo accepted the jade slip, sending his divine sense into it. At once, a flood of information poured into his mind.
"It's not an arena duel?!"
With just a quick scan, Gu Mo realized that the battle wasn't going to be the straightforward "arena matches" that everyone had assumed—where the righteous and demonic sides each sent out their fighters to duel one-on-one.
It made sense, after all. If it were just a series of arena fights, there would have been no need for such prolonged debate. More importantly, that format was hardly fair.
After all, those on the Heavenly Chosen Ranking weren't all skilled in combat. Quite a few had earned their place through mastery in the supporting arts of cultivation—alchemy, artifact forging, and the like.
Gu Mo himself, for instance, had made the list because of the Sunlight Glazed Flower and Torch Stump Tree he had cultivated.
For such people, a head-to-head duel would be grossly unfair.
So, this time, the rules were closer to a "battle royale."
Both the righteous and demonic factions would each send 100 participants—200 in total. No one was allowed to bring in magic treasures, pills, talismans, or formations. All would be sent into a designated battleground.
And within that area? The rewards prepared by both sides for this event. That's right—the prizes for the Heavenly Chosen Battle would be placed directly into the arena itself, waiting for everyone to fight over them.
Among these prizes were powerful artifacts, pills, talismans, and formations—things that could immediately be converted into combat strength.
But even more numerous were raw materials. Turning these into usable power would require those who specialized in the supporting arts to step forward.
Who could craft the strongest artifacts out of the same materials, or refine the most effective pills—these skills would directly affect the outcome of the battle.
Furthermore, depending on the rarity of a reward, additional trials had been set in place. Common materials could simply be picked up and used, but rarer treasures would be guarded by special restrictions. The rulebook didn't specify what those restrictions were—participants would only find out once they were there.
"Junior Brother Gu Mo!"
While Gu Mo was studying the rulebook, Ding Shiyan and Du Jinpeng came to find him. The three of them would all be taking part in the battle, and besides them, Shennong Valley would also be sending two of its true disciples.
Ding Shiyan and Du Jinpeng had sought Gu Mo out so that they could all meet these true disciples in advance, to at least have some connection when the time came.
"Oh?"
Gu Mo was curious as well. Shennong Valley's true disciples cultivated in secret realms for long stretches, rarely appearing. Even the sect's own members knew little about them, let alone those from the demonic sects, who were completely in the dark.
The other great sects—Taiqing Sect and Yin-Yang Sword Sect—each had true disciples ranked on the Heavenly Chosen List. But Shennong Valley had none, largely because so little was known about its true disciples at all.
Finally, Gu Mo would get to meet them. Naturally, he was filled with anticipation.
The three went together to the platform atop the ancient tree. In the grand hall there, they saw a young man and woman, both Golden Core cultivators.
The man was at late-stage Golden Core, while the woman's cultivation was even higher—she had already reached the peak of Golden Core.
"Junior Nephew Gu Mo!"
The young man greeted him with a warm smile as soon as Gu Mo entered.
"Greetings, Martial Uncle!"
Gu Mo froze for a moment before realizing who he was. This was his grandmaster's youngest disciple, Ji Xinglan. After becoming a true disciple, Ji had been cultivating in seclusion all this time.
"Hahaha! Junior Nephew, just stick with me during the battle," Ji Xinglan laughed. Of course he knew of Gu Mo—his own master, Hou Chunyu, mentioned this nephew every time they met, always saying he had the potential to become a true disciple himself. That alone had made Ji curious.
"I won't be sticking with Martial Uncle. As a true disciple of Shennong Valley, you'll definitely be targeted. Staying with you would only put me in greater danger," Gu Mo said, waving his hand.
For this Heavenly Chosen Battle, he planned to just "play soy sauce"—find a quiet place to lie low. Following someone like Ji Xinglan would only make him a target.
"Your junior nephew is rather amusing," the young woman nearby said with a smile. She wasn't breathtakingly beautiful, but her features were pleasant, and more importantly, she radiated a vibrant life force.
"The Shennong Hundred Herbs!"
Gu Mo's gaze swept over her. There was no mistaking it—she had cultivated the Shennong Hundred Herbs. That vigorous vitality was the unique wood-element pill force it produced. Gu Mo himself had that same power in his body, though his perfected Concealment Technique kept it hidden.
On Ji Xinglan, however, Gu Mo didn't sense that power—clearly his Martial Uncle hadn't yet begun cultivating the Hundred Herbs. Considering Ji had only recently become a true disciple, his foundation being a little lacking wasn't surprising.
"As you wish."
Ji Xinglan shook his head with a laugh. His master had told him to look after Gu Mo during the battle, but Gu Mo's reasoning made sense. Forcing him to follow would only drag him into danger—after all, Ji and the others would be targeting the demonic sect's true disciples. For someone like Gu Mo, that was walking straight into a deathtrap.
The same went for Ding Shiyan and Du Jinpeng—they, too, chose not to act alongside the true disciples. Different levels, different battles. Forcing their way in would only leave them injured.
Still, though they wouldn't move together, they all agreed: if they crossed paths and could lend a hand, they would.
"Good. I'm pleased you've come to this understanding," said the Valley Master of Shennong Valley, who appeared at that moment. He was clearly satisfied with Gu Mo and the others' choice.
Knowing one's place and not blindly following others—only with that mindset could they survive this battle.
"Greetings, Valley Master!"
The group quickly saluted.
It was this Nascent Soul pinnacle Valley Master who would personally escort them to the battle. The other top sects were doing the same, each sending experts of comparable level as overseers.
There would even be Soul Transformation experts standing guard. After all, this battle gathered 200 of the righteous and demonic factions' brightest talents. If anything happened to them, it would be a staggering loss for either side.
"Go and make your preparations." The Valley Master of Shennong Valley waved his hand.
Three days later.
A flying vessel turned into a streak of light and departed from Shennong Valley.
At the same time, two sword-lights shot out from Grand Sword Sect and vanished into the horizon. On this day, beams of light flew out from all the major sects of both righteous and demonic factions.
Tianyuan Realm, an offshore island.
An island that was once sparsely populated had suddenly become lively. Countless cultivators gathered on the smaller islands nearby, because here, the long-anticipated battle between prodigies was about to begin.
"This island is enormous."
Looking out through the flying vessel's window, Gu Mo caught sight of the island in the distance. To call it an "island" was almost misleading—this was more like a miniature continent. Of course, compared to the vastness of Tianyuan Realm, it still amounted to nothing more than a small island.
"This time, your opponents won't just be the demonic sect's prodigies," the Valley Master of Shennong Valley reminded them. "There are also spirit beasts on the island—including fourth-rank Beast Kings."
"Beast Kings? Valley Master, why don't you clear them out first?" Du Jinpeng couldn't help asking. Knowing that fourth-rank Beast Kings were present left him uneasy. Running into one would surely be deadly.
"It's only a Beast King at the early fourth rank. Why would we bother removing it?" The Valley Master turned his gaze toward the female true disciple. "Miao Lu, tell me—does a fourth-rank Beast King pose any real threat to you?"
"I can't defeat it. But then again, it probably can't defeat me either." Miao Lu gave a serene smile. As a true disciple of Shennong Valley who had reached the Golden Core Perfection stage, if she were still afraid of an early fourth-rank Beast King, wouldn't that disgrace the name of a true heir to a top sect?
"And you, Ji Xinglan?" The Valley Master shifted his eyes to him.
"Sixty-forty," Ji Xinglan replied after thinking a moment. His cultivation was lower than Senior Sister Miao Lu's, but while she was purely support-oriented, he had trained in combat techniques. As a result, even with a lower realm, his actual fighting ability was not weak.
Hearing their words, Du Jinpeng felt his scalp go numb. So that's how true disciples viewed a fourth-rank Beast King…
Ding Shiyan's expression was equally grave. Even as a dual cultivator who specialized in sharp and lethal sword arts, all she could manage against a fourth-rank Beast King was a safe escape—nothing more.
But Miao Lu, who was at the same realm, could stand toe-to-toe with one. The gap in strength between an ordinary genius and a true disciple of a top sect was staggering.
Among the three, only Gu Mo remained perfectly calm. A fourth-rank Beast King? Hardly worth mention. He had slain one before. With his current strength, even without relying on plant-based powers, he could single-handedly kill a fourth-rank Beast King.
The reason the battlefield hadn't been cleared of them was most likely to tone down the intensity of the clash. After all, while both righteous and demonic factions wanted to eliminate each other's prodigies, neither side wanted their own losses to be excessive.
With a fourth-rank Beast King acting as a third party, combatants from both sides would be forced to think twice before acting recklessly. It also provided room for beast tamers to shine.
If one of the beast-taming prodigies managed to subdue a fourth-rank Beast King, that would become a massive advantage. The rules for this prodigy battle had been debated for so long precisely because every angle like this had to be considered.
Of course, even if they couldn't handle fourth-rank Beast Kings, there were still plenty of third-rank monsters on the island—including many plant demons. Those were clearly meant for people like Gu Mo.
In fact, even a fourth-rank plant Beast King resided there—right at the island's core, the strongest beast on the island, with an overall combat strength equivalent to mid-fourth rank.
But that Beast King was rooted in place and could not move, which was why it had not been removed either.
"Don't even think about targeting that plant Beast King. That thing is not to be trifled with," the Valley Master of Shennong Valley warned them. With the battle about to start, as one of the rule-setters, it wasn't a violation to give his disciples some extra information about the island.
The other five top sects were no doubt doing the same. Such minor privileges came with being at the top.
As he spoke, their flying vessel arrived at a smaller island near the target site. This place served as a temporary gathering point. All two hundred prodigies from both sides would gather here before being sent together into the main island.
At the same time, everyone had to undergo inspection and hand over their artifacts, pills, talismans, and arrays. Of course, if anyone had the ability to conceal items well enough to slip past both factions' inspections, that wasn't considered a violation.
After all, some prodigies excelled in hiding things—that was their skill. This battle was designed to give everyone room to leverage their unique strengths.
Knowing this, Gu Mo had long since stashed away the Golden Flood Dragon Shears, his cave-treasure, and other items into his Black Fog Space.
What exactly that Black Fog Space was, he still hadn't figured out. But one thing was certain—no one else could detect its existence.
"Look, Shennong Valley has arrived!"
As their vessel docked at the gathering island, someone immediately shouted. As one of the six top sects, Shennong Valley naturally had its supporters.
"Shennong Valley, you're always so damned slow."
Hardly had Gu Mo and the others stepped off the vessel when a chilling voice rang out.
Following the sound, Gu Mo saw a figure wreathed in a blood-reeking aura. He instantly guessed the man's identity—the Sect Master of Blood Demon Sect.
Information on the six sect masters was widely circulated, so identifying them wasn't difficult.
"Blood Old Demon, do you have a problem?"
The Valley Master of Shennong Valley cast a cold glance at him. In front of an enemy, his usual warmth vanished.
The righteous and demonic paths had been at war for too many years, and the hatred between them was irreconcilable. Many of the Valley Master's fellow disciples had died at the hands of Blood Demon Sect.
Likewise, plenty from the Blood Demon Sect had perished to righteous sect cultivators. Shennong Valley might usually serve as support, but that didn't mean they hadn't killed their share of demons.
"Enough. Since everyone's here, let's get started."
From Blood Demon Cavern, a voluptuous female demonic cultivator radiating eerie energy stepped forward.
To her, this kind of bickering was meaningless. Better to start the prodigy battle already—slaughtering righteous prodigies was far more satisfying.
"Then let's tally the numbers and conduct the inspection."
A middle-aged man from Taiqing Sect, looking like an immortal with his refined air, also stepped forward.
No one objected. At once, all two hundred prodigies lined up to be inspected by two Nascent Soul Perfection experts—one skilled in soul probing, the other wielding unfathomable techniques. Against them, no Golden Core cultivator could possibly hide anything.
Taking advantage of the wait, Gu Mo finally had a chance to observe the participants. On the demonic side, his sword cultivator avatar was already gathering intelligence.
As for the righteous side—out of the hundred, over twenty came from Yin-Yang Sword Sect alone. Sword cultivators loved battle, after all.
The more one fought, the more one's information was exposed, making them easier targets for the demonic sects. That was why so many of them ended up listed on the Prodigy Ranking.
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