Xue Wu Chang was speechless when he saw Lin Feng's smile. Such a beautiful smile, Lin Feng had reached the top of the competition and won. He looked happy, fresh, proud. Such a resplendent smile made him look as if he had forgotten all the dust and dirt that existed in that filthy world.
Xue Wu Chang smiled too, he hadn't smiled that way for so many years. He seemed so relaxed. Sometimes, small things were enough to make people smile.
"Lin Feng, congratulations." said Xue Wu Chang respectfully. He really respected that young man in front of him. Sometimes that young man looked so arrogant but other times he was so pure and innocent.
Xue Wu Chang hadn't respected someone like for a very long time. There were many geniuses in Shen Gong but he had never seen someone like Lin Feng. A young man that he liked from the bottom of his heart. He hope that Lin Feng would continue progress on the path of cultivation and become a glorious person.
"Thank you." said Lin Feng with the same resplendent smile. He was very grateful to Xue Wu Chang. Lin Feng could easily distinguish a fake and a real smile, he knew that Xue Wu Chang really meant it.
"Alright. The Great Competition of Xue Yu is now over. No matter your ranking, get ready to follow me to Shen Gong." said Xue Wu Chang glancing at the entire crowd. Everybody was a bit surprised, the Great Competition of Xue Yu was finished. So many had come and it seemed like so many great battles had happened. The two last battles would remain with them forever. They couldn't believe that it was over. They didn't want the competition to end.
Now, the competition was over and the best cultivators had to be rewarded.
"I wonder what award Lin Feng will get." thought the crowd… Lin Feng had finished first so he was probably going to get an incredible reward which would help him increase his cultivation level… If he became stronger, he would become terrifying.
With Lin Feng's strength, only cultivators of the Tian Qi layer could defeat him now.
Di Ling was already monstrously powerful and possessed the firmament blood. He could control firmament intent and the firmament itself. He had broken through to the very top of the ninth Xuan Qi layer but had been defeated by Lin Feng.
Duan Wu Dao had also broken through to the ninth Xuan Qi layer, and the very peak of the Xuan Qi layer. With his warlord Qi, sealed doors intent, and his sealed doors he could defeat most people of the Xuan Qi layer. Those who could defeat him were extremely rare and terrifying.
However, Lin Feng had managed to defeat Duan Wu Dao. Lin Feng was almost invincible amongst people of the Xuan Qi layer. If he became a little bit stronger, he really would have no enemy at the Xuan Qi layer.
Apart from those people, there were also empires.
The four empires were extremely influential. Young people who managed to rank high at the Great Competition of Xue Yu would bring incredible advantages to the empires they came from. The Dragon Mountain Empire had finished first, second and fourth… That kind of success was incredible. The country of Xue Yue had been particularly successful, the first and second finalists were from there. What kind of advantages would that bring to the country?
Now, the rewards were about to be distributed.
The candidates were eager to discover their prizes. Even if they hadn't finished at the top of the rankings, they were still eager to see what they would get. Having been able to participate at the Great Competition of Xue Yu was already a great honor. Shen Gong wouldn't treat them unfairly. Shen Gong would act equitably.
Duan Wu Dao, Di Ling and some few others were not happy at all. They had come to finish first but in the end the most dazzling cultivator was Lin Feng.
"Get ready, we're leaving!" said Xue Wu Chang with a charming smile. Everybody rose up in the air and prepared to leave with him.
But at that moment, a terrifying energy invaded the atmosphere. The kind of energy that made people's hearts start pounding violently.
In the air, there were a few silhouettes who intercepted Xue Wu Chang. They looked absolutely ordinary, to the extent that they didn't look surprising at all. But the Qi they were emitting astonished people, it was a terrifying Qi made them suffocate. People would have to submit themselves to power if they were attacked.
"Tian Qi layer!" People's hearts were pounding violently. Those people were cultivators of the Tian Qi layer!
"Hehehe." A few of them laughed, they were surrounding Xue Wu Chang and the crowd. Those people all had twinkling eyes, the crowd was terrified.
"Huh?" The geniuses of the competition didn't know what was going on? Why were so many incredibly strong cultivators appearing out of nowhere? All of them were astonishingly strong. It was extremely rare to see such people. It was even rarer see so many cultivators of the Tian Qi layer together.
"More than a dozen cultivators of the Tian Qi layer…" thought the crowd. Their hearts were palpitating violently. What was happening?
Could it be that more incredible battles were to come?
Everybody pulled a long face, even Xue Wu Chang. Some of those people were hiding their cultivation levels. They were preventing the crowd from leaving. Xue Wu Chang looked cold as if he had already thought about something.
"You're not from Xue Yu, what do you want and where do you come from?" asked Xue Wu Chang. His heartbeat had also accelerated. He was wondering if Shen Gong had heard about them or if today was going to be an unlucky day.
"Hehe, Shen Gong is not from Xue Yu either. How come you're bluffing?" said one of them mockingly. The crowd was confused, Shen Gong didn't belong to Xue Yu?
What did that mean?
"Shen Gong has been established in Xue Yu for several hundreds of years. Every ten years, Shen Gong organizes the Great Competition of Xue Yu and enables the strongest young cultivators to become stronger. Why do you accuse us here of bluffing people?" shouted Xue Wu Chang furiously. He was enraged. It was happening exactly as he feared, those people came to cause Shen Gong trouble.
"Since the beginning of times, you've been eliminating the bad ones and making the strong ones stronger. They are the geniuses of Xue Yu, Shen Gong indeed organizes a gathering of geniuses and helps become much stronger. But all of this only giving face, who cannot help geniuses become stronger? You're not the only ones who can do it… In exchange for what you give them, can you guarantee that you ask for nothing in return?" said one of them mockingly. Xue Wu Chang's mouth twitched, he looked even angrier.
The competition was about to finish, he had never thought that these people would come from so far away to ruin everything and tarnish the image of Shen Gong.
"Shen Gong asks them for their opinion, they have the choice. Nobody forces them to do anything." said Xue Wu Chang denying what that person was saying. However, the crowd was still surprised. Shen Gong wanted the young geniuses to do something for them, he was denying that part.
Everybody looked at the beautiful women from Shen Gong. The banquet was held to seduce and tempt them.
There were more things going on behind the curtains of the Great Competition of Xue Yu it seemed.
"Since you don't force them and give them a choice, why don't you give them the choice now and let them choose. Once they are in Shen Gong, what choice do they have? Would they be strong enough to choose once they are trapped in Shen Gong?" said someone else. They weren't allowing anyone to leave.
The geniuses of the competition were getting angry. It seemed like going to Shen Gong was tricking them into something.