Chapter 852 - 850: Clash of Dragon and Tiger

"It's a secret. You'll find out when the time comes," Hong Xiaoxing said with a mischievous smile. "Are you coming? If you are, I'll send you an invitation."

Xu Yang took a deep breath and gave a slight nod. "It would be an utmost honor to witness Miss Hong's coming-of-age ceremony."

"Then it's settled." Hong Xiaoxing smiled and waved. Her figure faded as the screen of light grew chaotic and blurred.

With a raise of Xu Yang's hand, the screen transformed into a streak of light and shrank back into the large seal.

He thought, "Since she kept it a secret, I'm afraid it won't be a simple sparring match when the time comes. Regardless, I must make this trip."

He was determined to obtain the Black and White Meteor Tower. As for anything else, he could only wait until he knew all the details before making preparations.

Before long, Liou Sanqian returned to the room.

"How did it go?" Xu Yang asked.

"We've reached an agreement. Ordinary treasures won't be a problem," Liou Sanqian replied. "But for the top-tier ones... Hong Xiaoxing is planning to hold her coming-of-age ceremony in two months."

She was only sixteen. At the mention of this, Xu Yang couldn't help but marvel at her immense potential. She already possessed the strength to rank near the top of the Dragon and Tiger List. By the time she turned twenty—or in her twenties—backed by the profound foundation of Hongtian Ancient City, her cultivation and strength would be unimaginable.

He noted, "A coming-of-age ceremony... if there are stakes involved, it's hard to guess what they might be. But two months from now leaves us with plenty of time."

Hearing his phrasing, Xu Yang raised an eyebrow and looked at him in surprise. "Mr. Liou, could it be that Heaven's Edge Tower has other matters to attend to?"

Mr. Liou narrowed his eyes into a smile. "The Dragon and Tiger Tournament is about to begin."

The Dragon and Tiger Tournament! Xu Yang knew of this event.

Mr. Liou had briefly mentioned it before. It was a grand occasion where the various Heaven's Edge Towers within the Heaven's Edge Pavilion competed against one another. The results of the competition directly impacted the resources and treasures allocated to the tower masters and their Golden Immortal experts.

"Mr. Liou, could you share the details of this Dragon and Tiger Tournament?" Xu Yang asked deeply. Naturally, he couldn't stay out of this matter.

Mr. Liou's expression turned serious. "The Dragon and Tiger Tournament involves all the Heaven's Edge Towers under the Heaven's Edge Pavilion, but participation is restricted to high-tier towers. Across the entire Eastern Continent, there are thirty-six high-tier Heaven's Edge Towers. ℴ

"Each high-tier Heaven's Edge Tower can nominate two cultivators regardless of age or potential. Their minimum cultivation must be at the Early Stage of Golden Immortal, and their maximum at the Middle Stage of Golden Immortal. That means one Early Stage and one Middle Stage.

"Out of the seventy-two cultivators in total, Early Stage Golden Immortals will face off against other Early Stage Golden Immortals, and Middle Stage against Middle Stage. Opponents are assigned randomly, and the final rankings are determined by the number of victories.

"Once the rankings are decided, participants will enter a Grotto Heaven treasure land belonging to the Heaven's Edge Pavilion: the Dual-Color Grotto Heaven. Yin and Yang energies are born within it, nurturing numerous treasure pools. These pools primarily consist of pure Yin and Yang energies mixed with many rare Immortal Elixirs. As long as a Peak of Celestial Immortal cultivator immerses themselves in one, they are practically guaranteed to break through to the Golden Immortal Realm if their aptitude isn't too poor. It can even erase many hidden ailments.

"The more precious treasure pools offer immense help for Early Stage Golden Immortals aiming to break through and for those looking to advance their Middle Stage of Golden Immortal Cultivation.

"It's safe to say that the experts within the Heaven's Edge Towers will accumulate their foundations in advance. Even if they are capable of breaking through, they will suppress their realms and wait to do so after entering the Dual-Color Grotto Heaven during the Dragon and Tiger Tournament. The benefits are massive."

Astonishment filled Xu Yang's eyes. Although this treasure land wasn't considered the absolute pinnacle, its effects were incredibly tempting. There were countless cultivators in the world, but for the major factions, those at the Late Stage of Celestial Immortal, Peak of Celestial Immortal, and the Early and Middle Stages of Golden Immortal made up the vast majority and served as their core strength. The allure of such a treasure land for these factions was self-evident. Even he found himself deeply moved. Coupled with the Ten Thousand Medicines Cyan Lotus Milk, breaking through to the Golden Immortal Realm didn't seem difficult at all.

"Moreover, the final rankings affect the number of entry quotas and the selection of treasure pools," Mr. Liou continued. "There are many treasure pools within the Grotto Heaven, naturally categorized into four tiers based on the Heaven's Edge Order: bronze, silver, gold, and purple. The higher the rank, the more quotas the tower receives to enter the Grotto Heaven. Furthermore, once inside, they have priority in choosing high-tier treasure pools.

"For instance, the Heaven's Edge Tower that secures second place will get around thirty quotas to enter the Grotto Heaven, granting them access to a certain number of purple and gold treasure pools. Conversely, for those ranked at the bottom, there will barely be any high-tier pools left by the time they choose, naturally resulting in fewer cultivators experiencing breakthroughs. Over time, the strength of that Heaven's Edge Tower will gradually decline. If it falls to a certain point, they might even be stripped of their high-tier Heaven's Edge Tower qualification."

Xu Yang understood. Every Heaven's Edge Tower would receive a certain number of treasure pools across the four tiers, but the rankings determined the exact quantity of each tier they were allocated. Those ranked higher received more quotas and a larger share of high-tier treasure pools, guaranteeing massive improvements for both their Celestial Immortal Realm and Golden Immortal Realm cultivators. Those ranked lower had meager access to both high-tier and low-tier pools, resulting in fewer quotas and less improvement overall. In the end, they might only be left with one or two high-tier treasure pools, allowing only one or two Golden Immortal cultivators to advance.

"Mr. Liou, can outside help be hired for this Dragon and Tiger Tournament?" Xu Yang suddenly asked.

As if anticipating the question, Mr. Liou chuckled playfully. "Naturally not. If we could bring in outsiders, it wouldn't be the Heaven's Edge Pavilion's Dragon and Tiger Tournament anymore, hahaha!

"The participants must be cultivators belonging to the Heaven's Edge Tower itself. Although you don't officially belong to our tower, Mr. Xu, a Dragon and Tiger Venerable is exempt from all rules.

"Sigh... Among the geniuses cultivated by the Heaven's Edge Pavilion in this generation, only one ranks in the top twenty. There are a few outstanding ones in the Heaven's Edge Tower, but they are all near the bottom of the Dragon and Tiger List.

"We'd be better off having some older-generation experts compete instead."

That made sense. Only the absolute top-tier geniuses possessed terrifying combat strength. The average ones were naturally incomparable to experts who had been in the same realm for years and accumulated profound foundations; their methods and combat experience were simply lacking.

"Currently, your identity as a Dragon and Tiger Venerable is only known to a few experts in the Pavilion," Mr. Liou said with unmatched excitement. "We're keeping it a secret from the other Heaven's Edge Towers, so we'll definitely give them a massive surprise when the time comes."

He would also be entering the Grotto Heaven. Choosing a purple treasure pool would cause his cultivation to surge. While he couldn't guarantee a breakthrough to the Late Stage of Golden Immortal, it would inevitably save him a massive amount of time cultivating outside. Furthermore, the foundation provided by the treasure pool would greatly lower the difficulty of eventually breaking through to the Late Stage of Golden Immortal.

Xu Yang smiled. "I will follow Mr. Chen's arrangements."

"Take your time to heal your injuries first, Mr. Xu. After that, I'll introduce you to the other participant," Mr. Liou said.

"Alright."

Following that, Xu Yang returned to his room to heal. His top priority was to recover from his injuries. As for stabilizing treasures and the like, there was no rush to gather them; everything could wait until Hong Xiaoxing's coming-of-age ceremony. He was already confirmed for one of the quotas in the Dragon and Tiger Tournament, so he didn't need to worry about anything else. He just had to fight when the time came.

Meanwhile, Mr. Liou arrived at the top floor of the pavilion to meet with Chen Yingchuan.

"Have you told him?" Mr. Chen asked.

"I have." Mr. Liou nodded. "However, while Mr. Xu's combat strength is astonishing, Mr. Lu is no slouch either. Barring any accidents, he should be able to break through to the Late Stage of Golden Immortal after entering the Grotto Heaven this time."

Chen Yingchuan smiled faintly. "If Xu Yang can defeat Mr. Lu, our Celestial Sword City's Heaven's Edge Tower will secure second place at the very least in this Dragon and Tiger Tournament. Even if he loses to Mr. Lu, it won't matter much. We're guaranteed top three."

"That's true." Mr. Liou licked his lips and murmured, "But if he really wins, the spotlight our Celestial Sword City's Heaven's Edge Tower steals in this tournament will be unprecedented, perhaps even never to be replicated. Now that would feel amazing."

Hearing this, Chen Yingchuan couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. As a tower master, he naturally valued his reputation above all else. Just imagining such a scene made his heart race.

"Let's hope Xu Yang can give us a massive surprise."