Naturally, after the Elders were made aware of Xiaoyao Julong, their next job was to spread the news to the rest of the Region, though there was a slight miss understanding on the major populace' part. They had assumed that Julong was just some normal Qi Nourishing Realm expert.
The Elders had conveniently left out his age, Qi Grade and lots of other important facts which contributed to him being the genius he was. Julong couldn't help but feel that his Master had something to do with that though. It was seriously like she was wanting people to challenge him.
But then again. Maybe she was.
He was currently seated back in the bamboo forest in the Saint Domain that he resided in. He had been Cultivating his Spirit when a small ripple in space appeared, allowing a small letter to drop in front of him.
It had already been opened, meaning Zi Xiao, the one who had dropped it in front of him, had already read it.
He was already aware of what this letter might be as soon as he laid eyes on it. It had only been a day or two since they had announced his identity and realm.
He rubbed his eyes.
"Well, I guess it came later than I originally thought it would."
He opened the letter and read its content. It was a simple challenge letter stating that if Julong accepted they would be fighting for his position of the disciple of Zi Xiao.
Julong was rather surprised that Zi Xiao had passed on the letter despite containing such a wager, but he knew she was rather convinced he would win in the end.
In terms of such a huge wager, if his opponent lost he would give up his Genesis Weapon. Maybe this was why Zi Xiao had proceeded?
Down the bottom, it was signed by a boy named Mushin Yuan. This is where Julong released a huff. He had heard of this person. He was currently the most powerful and promising Genius in the Qi Nourishing Realm in the whole of the Heaven, so of course he would challenge Julong for his position.
This, however, also meant Julong knew what his Genesis Weapon was.
The Mushin family was rather noble in the Zixiao Region as they used to have a Saint in their family before the World Ending War. As such, when the Saint died, his Genesis Weapon suffered damage and was passed down to the promising members of their family. This weapon was able to be restored to a Double Lotus Saint Weapon, making it extremely valuable.
He didn't know what the weapon exactly was. If it was a spear or a sword, he had no clue, but he did know its name: 'The Heavenly Saint Edge'.
Despite how much face he would lose for doing so, Julong had considered turning down the challenge until he realised what weapon he would receive if he won. In addition to this, the trust that Zi Xiao had in him, had slowly begun to seep and turn into trust in himself. He was sure he was going to win the match between them. The only reason he did not want to originally was because his position far outweighed anything that he could receive from the battle.
"So, do you agree?"
Zi Xiao's voice reverberated through his mind.
"Obtaining a Double Lotus Saint Weapon is too much of an opportunity to pass up."
"My thoughts exactly."
He slowly stood up and looked into the sky where he felt Zi Xiao's presence watching him.
"I will not lose this match."
"I have no doubt you will win. Even if you do lose, they cannot remove your status."
A small excited hum erupted from her.
"This is fantastic. I'll inform the whole Region of this development."
Julong nodded.
"I'll make sure to prepare, as I assume the match will be within the next few days?"
This was more of a request to Zi Xiao to make it so the match would come and go quickly. He had many more important things to do than fight someone.
"It's set then. Prepare yourself."
With that, he felt Zi Xiao's presence disappear from the Saint Domain.
With her gone, he resolved himself to practice some Techniques, mainly his Minor Mythic Saint Body Technique, and his yet to be named Technique provided by his blessing.
Despite having the Heavenly Spears Of Divine Light Art, one of the most powerful arts in all realms, right now he could tell the Art his blessing had given him was incredibly strong too.
He moved away from the bamboo forest, not wanting to damage it, and opted to go toward the plain of grass in the middle of the mountain range and said forest.
He had been analysing the unnamed Technique for a few days now and had found that it too was able to evolve. As such he wanted to master it properly since such an Art would be very valuable for large and chaotic fights later on.
He stopped in the middle of the plain of grass and summoned the golden shuttle to his hand. It began rotating as allowed his Genesis Qi to flow into it. In quick succession it began to blast out terrifyingly sharp Sword Qi like on the mountain that day, only this time much sharper and stronger thanks to his Grade 6 Qi.
Watching the blades rip into the ground and cause mind-bogglingly large and powerful explosions and crevices, Julong slowly formulated a name in his head.
"I think I'll call you the Ancestral Sword Shuttle."
A small vibration reverberated through the Technique. This shocked Julong. It was rare for even Genesis Weapons to form sentience, but a Genesis Art, that was unheard of. Julong summed it down to his blessing reacting through the Genesis Art since the two were connected.
He slowly stopped the barrage of Sword Qi and began thinking to himself. What if he was able to combine such a Technique with his Heavenly Super Nova? If he succeeded, it would surely become one of the most powerful Techniques in the Qi Nourishing, or even the Heavens Gate Realms.
Though he was unsure of how he would achieve such a feat, he would at least give it a go.
Creating a hand sign, and closing his eyes, he moved the Ancestral Sword Shuttle in front of his chest, allowing it to float there. Whilst doing so, a large charge of multicoloured Qi began forming a galaxy around him.
Now it was time to combine them.
As if knowing what he was planning, the blessing in his body reacted and gave him instructions. All he had to do was dissolve the Genesis Qi from the Shuttle into the Super Nova. They would then integrate and he would only need to supply a single stream of Genesis Qi instead of two separate ones to each Art.
He did so, and the Shuttle slowly turned into Genesis Qi stars which slowly floated around him, integrating into empty positions in the forming Super Nova.
When they finished forming, the multicoloured Qi had a beautiful golden array around it.
Julong stared at the technique in reverence. It was incredible, and the pressure it exuded was even more intense than he had previously imagined.
It was at that moment he felt two sets of gazes appear on him. One was sharp and piercing, the other was soft and gentle. These two gazes were from both Yao Yao and Zi Xiao. How convenient.
Julong acknowledged this and changed his hand sign. The Art began pulsing and indistinguishable undulations of Qi burst forth all around his body, rupturing and tearing all things around him. He was essentially using the Super Nova Technique on a lower scale multiple times over. After that, he felt a strange ability arise in the Art.
Swirling all around the galaxy of Qi were sharp blades of sword Qi. They all burst outward at once in accordance with Julongs wishes. The mountains and forest kilometres away from them were damaged immensely. Inconceivable amounts of bamboo were cut down, and the mountain peak had been completely blown off by the now even more explosive Sword Qi.
This was all without even using the main ability of his Technique yet.
He finally charged the real Super Nova, and quicker than what most could make out, it burst in all directions. All the previous damage seemed minimal compared to this, as it had created what was the biggest crater Julong had ever seen.
The only downside to this was that Julong could feel that his Genesis Qi reserves were low now.
"I think you will be called the Ancestral Super Nova Technique."
He could feel the slightly astonished gazes from Yao Yao and Zi Xiao on him. He was still at the Qi Nourishing Realm after all. Was this the power of Grade 6 Qi at such a cultivation Realm?
Yeah. Julong was now unbudgingly confident that he would win his match in a few days. Oh, how he couldn't wait to get his hands on a Double Lotus Saint Weapon.